Pre-season preview: #1 ranked Ohio State at #24 Virginia Tech!

#1 R.P.I. defending national champion “the” Ohio State @ #24  R.P.I. Virginia Tech:

Today’s word of the day is… revanche!OXVT 60

re·vanche

(rə-vänch′, -väNsh′)

noun.

  1. The act of retaliating, especially by a nation or group to regain lost territory or standing;
  2. revenge.
  3. 35-21*
  4. 7th.September.2015???

* and remember, (praise be @coach God)……….you did read it here, first!

As there is only one, as in, 1 sports writer in all the land who can still go 2-o in picking this series. And if all you uppity Buckeye sports writers, retinue, and not cognoscenti, who did such a great job calling the Hokie upset last year; in particular the ones who took the pre-game time to nag me regarding just how dum’ my prediction was……….and still is……….. if you don’t like that?

Than same as last year yo’…………. BUCK you and BUCK off!

As VT has a real live shot in this one, and try as Buckeye hacks and fans alike might,
you still can’s spell VicTory without little ole VeeTee.

OSU Defense: (starters back=7)

  • 34th in rushing defense
  • 13th in team pass efficiency defense
  • 19th in Total D

    New Kid on the BLOCK
    VHT (very highly touted) indeed!

This was a very good Buckeye stop-unit men last year men. It’s just that it never (quite) got around to be completely great vs. the run.

Or should I say consistently great vs. the run. It is however a big, rumbling, imposing looking defense with only 1 front-line projected starter south of 275 lbs.! The new Mike Lb (#5 Raekwon McMillan) was only the #1 Lb’ing recruit in the whole USofA a year ago, so he prolly sucks. The new Cb (Damon Webb) was only the 5th ranked Cb outta high school in the nation. He prolly sucks too.

That said, the only credible bugbear I could find here was that State was 94th in first down defense last campaign. Curious as well that Meyer’s squad went stop-unit Christmas in autumn and freely gift-wrapped 28 defensive first downs on penalties last year.

Or in other words, does this out-athlete bend though don’t break defensive approach remind you of anyone? As it surely reminds me of the heyday 1990’s Miami Hurricanes who dared you to make 50-90 yards worth of opposing plays vs. The U’s superior athletes for the length of a full touchdown scoring field. As more often than not one of those superior Buckeye athletes will make a play and sit your offense down. Even if your offense did notch a first-down or even 3-4 in the process.

Defensive letter-grade(s):

OHIO STATE D

(Defensive letter-grade: A-, as this side of the ball is just a scosche south of the Statie’s offensive side of the ball, and we are catching their 2016-2017 replacement starts at the best possible time, early on, before they settle in and sit down like studs)

State Offense: (returning starters=8)

  • 8th in Rushing O
  • 2nd in Passing Efficiency Offense
  • Total O=9th

    Better stop this one, before this one gets goin'...
    Better stop this one, before this one gets goin’…

Is there a deeper Qb trifecta in America? No. As in no way no how! (there are Pro teams not this deep in quality Pivots)

Is there a better Tb in America than #15, 6’0” 227 lb. Jr. Ezekiel Elliott and his 2,098 total yards in ’14? Prolly not.

Now that praise rightfully bested, recall that State deploys a good sized offensive line, though not quite a Miami U Jurassic Park sized one –the one that routinely gives us fits. Al 5 oLine starters do return however, and they are basically a laterally nimble, coach Grimy physically strong, as opposed to envelopment blocking A.E.P. high voltage powerhouse at the point of attack.

Whomever emerges from the trifecta Qb1 derby is prolly the de facto best Qb in the Big-Ten. With the Buckeye Qb2 and Qb3 back-ups left to dicker it out in regard to where they slot in the Big-10’s Top-5 pivots overall. Pass catching is clearly less experienced, and might just be the least talented part of the Buckeye offense. That being said, that was a relative statement indeed. As pass catching slots somewhere between the highest possible B+ and lowest possible A—. And yah; most of the other 129 D-1 2015 men’s football teams would love to have Ohio State’s offensive problems.

Offensive letter grade(s):

OHIO ST O

(Offensive  letter-grade: A+++, as the State pitch-n-catch game will only get better, and you could very much indeed argue that the run-shape is already the 1st-best in all the land. This team is gonna score a lotta points in 2015 folks, with the obscene 700 total point plateau within reach, if not within grasp)

Buckeye Special Teams: (both K and P return)

  • 4th in Net Punting
  • 18th in Punt returns
  • 29th in KO returns
  • basically a 2 outta 3 FG Kicker (that could use some work)

(Special Teams letter-grade: yah; FG kicking could indeed be better; though beyond that Special Team’s foible? Not a lotta weakness here; and there is a whole lotta will start in a year or two or three, raw, chip, starts somewhere else right now; talent, an A)

Xfactor(s):

  • combatant’s entering health post August camp=??? (to be determined)
  • weather=??? (bad Labor Day nite weather might just slow State down a bit)
  • motivation=modest payback edge to OH.State, (though VT will be sky-high as well)
  • surface: very mild advantage to VT’s natural surface familiarly, ditto the So.Endzone kick altering winds
  • Experience/Resume`: Even than a State advantage due to 3 extra games/practices last year
  • Homecourt: favor of VT, this is already a hard tix to come buy

Put thy hand on the O&M Bible and tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. VT's upset odds=???

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Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:
The Top-3 Qb’s in the Heisman Race this year you ask?
Could the all be from Columbus Ohio?
I know, I know…

That reads straight krazy, though is it? As that is just how loaded for bear this Buckeye squad is at Qb coming into the 2015 August Camp pre-season. 1 stud is gonna start at Qb on Labor Day night and 2 studs are gonna sit. Simple as that.

p.s. a  Wr, yes a Wr, had a 539.2 Qb Rating last year! (no, I’m not making that up)

However, “the” Ohio State has a few foibles here and there, and yes again: “I know, I know”. It ain’t many and and as I said above: most other teams would love to have “the” OH.State’s problems. That said, here are the few things that could make this game a contest and this contest and a hotly contested fight down in the New River Valley on Monday night…

  •  left-side defensive line, all gone! (and guess where W.Teller lines opposite up?)
  • MLb gonzo too.
  • 1 Cb to maybe pick on
  • 2 very experienced starting Wr’s have left the building
  • 65% FG kicker is back (in a pinch or close game I mean)
  • And yah people; I’m now officially reaching…

Why?
Because OH.State is pretty much at the point of “reload” in lieu of “rebuild”. All 5 starting offensive line-man return; this from the 8th ranked rushing O, and the 2nd ranked (with three, (3) different starting Pivots) and the 2nd ranked passing efficiency offense!

Supreme Court ...approved!
Supreme Court …approved!

 


the takeaway:
The takeaway is thus… yes, there are a few (as in not many) although a few areas to target for Bud Foster and coach Scot Loeffler in scarlet and gray 74,000 student terms. Albeit it not many. And there will be even less one would have to expect as the Buckeye season wears on and this defending national champion, matures.

Or in other words, if there is such a thing as a good time to play “the” Ohio State next year? It damn sure is in game no.1.

It may take the Buckeye’s hyper complicated offense a game or three to to get up to urbane or should I say: Urban full-speed.

It may take the rookie MLb and Cb reloading starters a game or three to get fully locked, cocked and ready to rock.

Or it may only take them a couple of quarters if they truly hit the ground running. As “the” Ohio State is the odds on favorite to repeat as defending national champs with good reason(s).

This team is loaded for Big-10 (and beyond) bear, make no mistake on that one folks. As it is tough to envision the Buckeyes getting dropped much more than once in 2015. Ergo, therefore, to wit, and to be quite R.A.T.T. candid? It is gonna take at least the VT O&M A-game punch to topple “the” Ohio State. Maybe no less than our A+++ punch of the season. Anything less than that and you have to like the Buckeye chances. Now, and that reality firmly in place, one of the things I did detect in last year’s Eye in the Sky series was a bit of Buckeye fatigue late in the game. Meyer does not exactly have a legacy Holtz kid reputation as cruel taskmaster extraordinaire as training camps go. The Meyer way is to say Dabo Swinney+.

More talent, more smarts, and a few parts more efficacious finesse. Something of a Don.Trump’s Boise State if you will. Something of a less flighty (better coached) and more succinct Oregon Duck. Though one that pitches better than it catches as contact goes. If you do not believe me, just roll (pardon the sporting pun) the tape of the Alabama play-off game and watch Alabama out hit or out Joe Fraizer the sleeker slicker Ohio State gone Ali football club all night long. And than watch that big bad swaggering So.Eastern Crimson flavored casus belli not matter 1-iota in the end.

In this football game mighty Virginia Tech must not create its own luck, Virginia Tech must outright inflict it. Virginia Tech MUST win the battle of first down, and Virginia Tech must get this Ohio State offense off the field A.S.A.P. That means going for it on 4th and short as opposed to a long range FGA or faking a punt. Virginia Tech must hang hang hang and hang around some more. Becoming a pressure packed O&M milestone around the neck of  heavily favored (18.5 points), Ohio State and keep this one close for the duration and then try to steal this one late.

Gonna take a perfect Hokie game to win this one men, and that’s prolly code for winning by 1 full play or less. Anything less and “the” Ohio States slowly wears a game and gritty Virginia Tech down and pulls away to win by just barely into double-digits in the final 10-20 minutes on a finishing scoreboard that will appear wider than the majority of the contest itself truly was. That said, right now? I have this one as a 1-score game.

(upset odds=22%)

(unOPT digits:)
Virginia Tech
=3o, “the” Ohio State=36

LETS GO!

HOKIES!

bourbonstreet**

OSU Snoppy

4 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. A lot depends on a healthy oline after fall camp. Take Hokies and the points

    1. Agry.
      And no doubt about it.

      ANY injuries there are pretty much crippling.
      Our margin of error in this one is <<< than "the" OH.States

      b.street

  2. Hey man, what are you hearing on the retirement front?

    If you had to bet, would you lay money on this being the last go-round?

    thx

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