Category Archives: big ten football

Ohio State: Schedule Ruined Their Season

Oregon and Auburn will meet in the BCS Championship game this season. Both teams were undefeated and even if Ohio State did the same, they wouldn’t made it. They would have been left out with TCU. Their non-conference schedule is to blame, since they finished the season with a worse SOS than Boise State. What can Ohio State do to help their cause in the future? Can they make the big game with their current schedule in 2011 and 2012?
The Ohio State Buckeyes are perennial contenders to win the BCS Championship, but their lone loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, killed that goal this season. Their non-conference schedule was weak compared to other teams and not playing Michigan State this season, made their strength of schedule mediocre. It was the way the schedule fell and out of Ohio State’s control…for the most part.

When your non-conference schedule consists of Marshall, Miami (FL), Ohio, and Eastern Michigan, you know that you need to dominate your Big Ten schedule if you want to jump up the polls. Miami (FL) was supposed to be their marquee matchup this season, but the Hurricanes had a disappointing season, which turned OSU’s win into an average victory. The BCS is part of the checks & balance that the sport needed to keep the playing field more than just a beauty contest of the usual suspects. When Ohio State lost to Wisconsin, they were the #1 team in the country and the Badgers weren’t looking like the team that finished the season scoring 70 points a game. Even if the Buckeyes beat the Badgers and finished the regular season undefeated, they wouldn’t have made the BCS Championship game. Oregon and Auburn would have had a better computer average and left them left out, just like TCU.

Ohio State’s 2011 schedule is a little harder with their non-conference schedule being home games against Akron, Toledo, and Colorado, and a road game at Miami (FL). Colorado and Miami (FL) will have new coaches, so you don’t know what kind of first season those coaches will have. The addition of Nebraska to their conference schedule will definitely help their strength of schedule, but they don’t face Iowa for the next two seasons.

In 2012, Ohio State’s schedule ramps up, all four non-conference games are at home against Miami (OH), Cincinnati, California, and UAB. They hope that Cincinnati and California will be top 25 teams by then.

The schedule is set in stone for the Buckeyes until 2012 and I’m sure the “powers that be” are already hammering away at the schedule for the next four years after that. They need more marquee non-conference games, but it is hard to predict this far out. Miami (FL) home & home were supposed to be huge games, for both teams, but the Buckeyes picked them during the wrong two seasons. You don’t want to schedule all top 25 teams or you will end up with a schedule like Notre Dame did for years and face all contenders with Navy thrown in. Ohio State do need a tune-up game or two in their schedule. The Big Ten schedule is grueling and playing contenders on top of it, could lead to the team tailing off at the end of the season.

The addition of the Big Ten Championship game will help every team try to get into a better bowl game. If Ohio State were undefeated and had a chance to play Wisconsin again or Michigan State at the end of the year, maybe they had a shot at leapfrogging Oregon this year.

The answer for what Ohio State needs is luck. You can only worry about your own team and schedule the best you can. You just cross your fingers that the other teams will take care of their business and when you play them, you come out with a win.

By: TwitterButtons.com

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What’s Next For Juice Williams?

I guess the blame for Ron Zook’s disappointing last two seasons have finally fell upon Juice Williams. He said today that he is going to bench Williams in favor of junior quarterback, Eddie McGee. Williams was the taste of the town two seasons ago when he upset Ohio State in the Shoe and lead his team to a Rose Bowl bid. It has been a rocky road since then and now the senior has found himself on the bench. What is next for Juice Williams? Could the NFL be in his future?

In 2005, Isiah “Juice” Williams, was one of the top quarterback recruits in the nation. He played for Chicago Vocational Career Academy and chose to stay close to home and play in-state at Illinois. A lot of the successful college quarterbacks at that time were Vince Young, Troy Smith, and you could even add Marcus Vick in that discussion. They all fell in the same category as a duel-threat quarterback that can use his legs to move to the ball. Since that time, Vince Young has fluttered in the NFL, Troy Smith has barely sniffed the ball for the Baltimore Ravens, and Vick (either one) has fell into legal problems off-the-field. It could be the paradigm-shift that has caused teams and colleges to stray away from those types of colleges, but Williams can’t blame anything except for his own ability.

A strong running game with Rashard Mendenhall helped Williams beat Ohio State and head into the Rose Bowl in 2007. When Mendenhall left for the NFL, Illinois became one-dimensional and had to rely on the passing game and Williams’ feet to move the ball. A series of injuries and suspensions have lead to a disappointing season in 2008 and at the beginning of this year. Arrelious Benn hasn’t been 100% this season and when you take away a target like that, the quarterback will suffer. Eddie McGee has shown that he is a better passer than Williams and also has some speed that could be useful, but Williams’ intangibles are still better. He has clearly been rattled by his lack of production and maybe sitting him down is the best for the team. I wouldn’t back a plan that would permanently bench Williams, he’s a weapon, try to get him into the game in a Wildcat type of play-set and you could benefit.

If you are looking toward the 2010 season, getting McGee into the game for some regular reps is a smart decision, but Zook can’t bet that he’ll be around for it. Zook has taken a lot of heat for putting together great recruiting classes, but not getting much out of them. If he does get fired after this season and I ran a major program, I would hire him as an assistant coach and only let him recruit. He has shown that he can recruit with the best of them, but his coaching ability is suspect to this point.

Do I think that Juice Williams can play in the NFL? Not right now, but if the Wildcat system catches on even more, he could be a nice undrafted free-agent signing. I could see him going up to Canada and trying his ability out up there. If he is a success, maybe he can catch on with a team has a 3rd string or practice squad player. This benching is bad news for Williams and his professional career, but he must remember this moment and keep working. You never know what can happen, Matt Cassel never even started a game in college and he’s a starter in the NFL.
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