It’s been an interesting week for anyone following Ohio State football, to say the least.
Outtakes from the Penn State game
Last Saturday, the 3rd ranked Buckeyes dispatched the 7th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions 20-12 in convincing fashion, before a sellout crowd exceeding 105,000 in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State’s defense dominated this game from the outset. Leading up to the game, Penn State was knocking down doors, albeit against weak opponents. We hadn’t watched any game film, but the scores and margins of victory were convincing enough to ask the question “Is Penn State REALLY for real this time?”
The Nittany Lions have been pretenders in the past: Looking like world-beaters coming out of the gate, only to falter in their first major test. It’s the same story in 2023, the Lions aren’t as good as advertised. Their defense is strong, but Penn State’s offense has no leadership. They have a young, inexperienced quarterback, a running back-by-committee approach, and no elite wide receivers. Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar threw the ball 42 times – about 75% of the plays called were passing plays – but only completed 18 passes, and yards per attempt was only 4.5 compared to 8.6 yards per attempt for Ohio State’s quarterback Kyle McCord. McCord had 95 more passing yards than Allar on seven less attempts.
Penn State’s lack of leadership showed on third-down plays; the Lions converted only one of sixteen third downs for the game, thwarting any kind of positive momentum for the offense. Penn State was ineffective enough that Ohio State didn’t have to do much on offense, and they didn’t.
Marvin Harrison, Jr. is the Terminator of college football
From what we’ve seen through seven games, Ohio State isn’t a great team in all respects, but they have an elite defense and an ALL-WORLD wide receiver in Marvin Harrison, Jr. Buckeye fans have seen their share of elite wide receivers since Brian Hartline took the helm as wide receivers coach in 2018 including Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Jaxon looked all-world in the 2022 Rose Bowl against Utah, but a hamstring injury derailed his 2022 season and his career at Ohio State.
Marvin Harrison, Jr. is blossoming before our eyes. For a wide receiver to catch 7+ passes for 160+ yards and a touchdown, that’s a career day for most. Harrison has achieved this mark three times in seven games, including last week against Penn State. Harrison caught 11 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, a performance good enough to earn Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors.
MHJ was used sparingly in the season opener against Indiana and was injured early in the second half against Notre Dame, but he has 100+ receiving yards in the other five games. Marvin isn’t just elite, he’s all-world, and Ohio State is not shying away from riding the “Marvin Train” all season long.
Penn State’s outlook for 2023
The loss against the Buckeyes was Penn State’s first defeat of the season, but it probably won’t be their last. Penn State should get by Indiana this weekend, the Hoosiers are making every team look good this year. However, Maryland looks more dynamic, and I expect the Terps to win their matchup the following week. The week after Maryland, Penn State takes on the Michigan Cheatin’ Wolverines, which will probably be another loss. Michigan won’t have to steal signs to beat Penn State, just rattle their quarterback.
Michigan Cheatin’ Wolverines
My dad would have loved the sub-header “Michigan Cheatin’ Wolverines”. Dad would yell “cheaters” anytime a flag was thrown on the other team, but always with a lot more oomph when the Buckeyes were playing the school up north. Buckeye Bernie would have laughed endlessly with a glass of scotch in hand. Mom would have said “They’re in deep doo-doo” and she’d be right.
College football has never seen a cheating scandal of the scope and magnitude of the sign-stealing scheme perpetrated by Michigan and organized by Connor Stalions. Everyone in the football program is culpable; it’s impossible to be a player on the team and not know about the operation. The fraud was too deeply ingrained in the culture of the defense.
What will the punishment be when the smoke clears? It’s almost hard to fathom.
Crime and Punishment
Fire the coach? Check. There’s no way Harbaugh didn’t know of the scandal; head coaches know everything about the program that relates to football. The head coach knows everyone on the sideline during the game, everyone has a purpose.
Vacate wins? Check. If there’s evidence Michigan cheated in a game, and Michigan won the game, logic states that cheating helped them win the game. The wins must be taken away, including their two wins against Ohio State.
But how many wins will be taken away? Heading into the 2023 season, Michigan was the all-time winningest college football program with 989 wins. Tied for second are Ohio State and Alabama with 953 wins. If Michigan must vacate the last two seasons as has been rumored, they will lose 25 wins. If the Wolverines also must vacate their 2023 wins, as one would expect, their current number will be 964. With seven wins each in 2023, the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide are up to 960 wins, less than a handful behind! I hear my dad laughing joyfully again.
The story of Michigan cheating will continue to blow up as more and more evidence is uncovered. But the Bucks need to compartmentalize it, forget about it. However difficult it may be to wipe the smile off your face – Michigan is Ohio State’s biggest rival after all – the Buckeyes need to put the scandal out of mind and focus on the next game. Ohio State is going on the road to face the Badgers in prime time! Camp Randall will be rocking, jumping around, and altogether intimidating for a young quarterback.
LEVEL 5 UPSET ALERT!!
For the first time all season, the Buckeyes are leaving the states of Ohio and Indiana. They are traveling to Madison, WI, Camp Randall Stadium to be exact. One can look at recent history and see that Ohio State has dominated Wisconsin, winning nine consecutive games against the Badgers, a few in embarrassing fashion. It’s safe to say the Badgers aren’t the caliber of program they were when Barry Alvarez was at the helm. Alvarez stepped down as Athletic Director in 2021, and he was head coach from 1990-2005.
Wisconsin’s football program peaked under Alvarez, and while the program hasn’t valleyed, they are not the conference power they once were. The Badgers have benefited from playing in the weak Big Ten West division. That benefit will be gone next year when the Big Ten goes division-less like the olden days.
Camp Randall is a difficult environment, especially for night games, especially if Wisconsin’s hanging around in the fourth quarter when it starts getting cold. Ohio State’s had its share of difficult contests at Camp Randall Stadium. The last two games have been decided in overtime, with the Bucks coming out on top in 2012 and 2016.
Urban Meyer was Ohio State’s head coach the last time the Buckeyes traveled to Madison, and Luke Fickell was on his staff as linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator. Fickell was an outstanding nose guard for the Buckeyes and played for some dominant defenses under head coach John Cooper in the mid-1990’s. Fickell was on the team that defeated Arizona State in the 1997 Rose Bowl, a team that look destined to win a national championship until a 4th quarter meltdown against Michigan State.
Luuuuuke!
Fickell served as interim head coach at Ohio State in 2011 following Jim Tressel’s departure. It was a difficult year for the coach and a learning opportunity. When Fickell was ready to return to head coaching, he took lessons learned to the University of Cincinnati, where Fickell served as head coach from 2017-2022. He took the Bearcat program to new heights and kept it there. Cincinnati doesn’t get the best recruits, but Fickell is getting the best out of them.
Luke Fickell is now the head coach at Wisconsin. Gulp. Upset alert.
Wisconsin isn’t the team they were, but if anyone can lead a resurgence, it’s Luke Fickell. The Badgers are 5-2 and haven’t played anyone good, but there would be no better springboard for Fickell as the Wisconsin coach than to upset Ohio State in prime time. The Badger football team will be ready to play, they’ll be playing loose and free and trying to create havoc.
This game isn’t about skilled positions, it’s about the trenches, momentum, mental toughness. If the Buckeyes can survive this, and I think they will survive, Ohio State has a good chance to roll up to Ann Arbor with an undefeated record. And you can take it to the bank Michigan won’t be stealing signs this year. Ohio State defeats Wisconsin 27-13.
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