NEO High School Football: Ohio High School Playoff Predictions
November 6, 2015Love Stinks, the Browns stink, but save the petitions – WFNY Podcast – 2015-11-06
November 6, 2015On Tuesday, the year’s first College Football Playoff poll was released. Ohio State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten), the defending national champions, opened at No. 3 in the rankings. With so many undefeated teams remaining, the Buckeyes now know where they stand in the committee’s eyes. The most pressing issue for the Buckeyes, however, is Saturday’s prime time contest with Minnesota (4-4, 1-3). As the two Big Ten stalwarts prepare to do battle, let’s take a look into the matchup.
Ohio State leads the all-time series with Minnesota, 43-7. The Buckeyes have an eight-game winning streak over the Golden Gophers; Minnesota has not bested OSU since a 29-17 road victory in 2000. The Bucks have won 23 of 24 going back to the 1980s. Despite being one of the oldest matchups in the Big Ten, the overall margin is surprisingly one-sided. Last season, the scarlet and gray traveled up to snowy Minneapolis and came away with a gutsy 31-24 victory.
Before the year began, Minnesota aspired to contend in the Big Ten West. Instead, the club has struggled from the word “go” this season. The Golden Gophers took a tough home loss to TCU in their opening game before handling their next three non-conference opponents. In conference play, the Gophers defeated Purdue and lost to Northwestern, Nebraska, and most recently Michigan. The battle for the Little Brown Jug came down to the last play of the game. Down by three on the Michigan 1-yard line with two seconds to go, interim coach Tracy Claeys elected to go for the win with a quarterback sneak. The Wolverines snuffed it and the Gopher season continues to underwhelm.
This week’s program whisks us back to 1949. From the wilds of Columbus, a frightened gopher appears from the treeline. He timidly creeps along, clutching the ball with hopes to scamper into the end zone without detection. Suddenly, a herd of Buckeyes appears. Enormous as trees, they surround the frightened rodent. He desperately seeks an escape, but knows that he will find none. The Buckeyes close in. Instinct tells them what to do. (Minnesota won the game, 27-0.)
In 2015, junior quarterback Mitch Leidner leads the Gophers’ aerial attack. On the year he has completed 141-of-244 passes (58 percent) for 1,627 yards, eight touchdowns, and six interceptions. His favorite target is senior KJ Maye, who has pulled in 39 catches for 408 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Rodney Smith has 541 yards on the ground this season, with one touchdown to his name.
Sophomore defensive tackle Steven Richardson leads the team with 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Senior defensive back and Cleveland native Antonio Johnson leads Minnesota with 55 total tackles. Urban Meyer expects to get the Gophers’ best shot under the lights Saturday. “I think they’re an excellent team,” Meyer said. “They’re hitting their stride right now as well.”
After the Buckeyes pantsed Rutgers two weeks ago, 49-7, most of Buckeye Nation figured that all quarterback discussion would cease. In an unexpected turn, head coach Urban Meyer suspended J.T. Barrett for an off-field incident during the bye week . Cardale Jones now makes his return to the starting lineup. Jones started the first seven games of the season and is undefeated as a starter. Presumably Barrett would reclaim the reins when he is eligible to return against Illinois, but the Bucks need to contend with Minnesota first.
Urban Meyer expects Jones to seamlessly re-enter the offense. “Cardale had a great week of practice last week, he’s engaged, he handled everything like a man…He’s 10-0 as a starter. That’s not even a hesitation.” Interestingly, Braxton Miller is now listed as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart. Could we perhaps see Miller lead a series or take over once OSU enters the red zone? Meyer did not tip his hand. “It’s a just a matter of fact, he can throw, how prepared is he to throw. So we’re going to work on that this week as well and get him ready to go.”
Much is made of the College Football Playoff rankings. ESPN relishes playing their “Who’s In?” commercials during games, inviting fans to engage in flights of fancy, imagining their beloved school playing in the semifinal. In my opinion, the playoff should be far from the minds of Buckeyes fans, students, and alumni. The path appears clear: win the East Division, win the Big Ten, hope you are in the top four. While Michigan State remains the biggest opponent on the slate, Ohio State would be foolish to take Minnesota or Illinois for granted. Either team would delight in playing spoiler. So long as the Bucks keep their focus on Saturday, they should handily capture their 22nd consecutive victory.
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