Bryan Leonard: Indiana at Ohio State
How can you not play an Ohio State team which obviously looks to please the alumni at every turn?
They went out of their way to cover the spread earlier against Cincinnati with a 50 yards field goal up by 27 points with less than two minutes to go. The Buckeyes have now cashed 13 of their last 14 games.
Indiana is off of back to back come from behind victories including last week's shocking upset of Iowa. That was the Hoosiers first victory over a top 15 team in 19 years. But we're not overly impressed by their recent success as both Illinois and Iowa have extreme offensive weaknesses. What is more telling is how Indiana has done when stepping up in class. Against Wisconsin they lost 52-17 at home allowing 539 total yards to the Badgers. The Hoosiers have had a very weak schedule taking on the likes of Ball State, Connecticut and Illinois. They are not ready for the team speed of the Buckeyes. Last year Indiana managed just 1.1 yards per carry against Ohio State and a similar fate will leave new QB Lewis in a world of hurt. Ohio State is second in the league in sacks and if the Hoosiers are one-dimensional it will be a long night for the young quarterback.
Ohio State has just Minnesota, Illinois and Northwestern on deck, so there will be no lookahead. This is a game where QB Smith can pad his Heisman Trophy numbers. Indiana hasn't faced a good passing team all season, yet they allowed 289 through the air to Ball State, 330 to Wisconsin and 292 to Iowa. This one could get ugly really fast.
Game Time: 10/21/2006 11:00:00 AM
Play: Ohio State -31.0
By: Bryan Leonard
How can you not play an Ohio State team which obviously looks to please the alumni at every turn?
They went out of their way to cover the spread earlier against Cincinnati with a 50 yards field goal up by 27 points with less than two minutes to go. The Buckeyes have now cashed 13 of their last 14 games.
Indiana is off of back to back come from behind victories including last week's shocking upset of Iowa. That was the Hoosiers first victory over a top 15 team in 19 years. But we're not overly impressed by their recent success as both Illinois and Iowa have extreme offensive weaknesses. What is more telling is how Indiana has done when stepping up in class. Against Wisconsin they lost 52-17 at home allowing 539 total yards to the Badgers. The Hoosiers have had a very weak schedule taking on the likes of Ball State, Connecticut and Illinois. They are not ready for the team speed of the Buckeyes. Last year Indiana managed just 1.1 yards per carry against Ohio State and a similar fate will leave new QB Lewis in a world of hurt. Ohio State is second in the league in sacks and if the Hoosiers are one-dimensional it will be a long night for the young quarterback.
Ohio State has just Minnesota, Illinois and Northwestern on deck, so there will be no lookahead. This is a game where QB Smith can pad his Heisman Trophy numbers. Indiana hasn't faced a good passing team all season, yet they allowed 289 through the air to Ball State, 330 to Wisconsin and 292 to Iowa. This one could get ugly really fast.
Game Time: 10/21/2006 11:00:00 AM
Play: Ohio State -31.0
By: Bryan Leonard
