Ohio State opens the 2010 campaign tomorrow evening against the Marshall Thundering Herd, who are led by first year coach Doc Holliday.
Marshall is projected as a middle of the pack Conference USA team, and a close game would be a disappointment for Ohio State and its fans.
That being said, Marshall is no pushover, and they should provide a solid test for Ohio State in all phases of the game.
Ohio State will be breaking in new starters on both sides of the ball, and if things go as planned, there will be plenty of opportunities for the young players to make some noise on the field.
Join us after the jump for a look at how Ohio State and Marshall match up and some players to keep an eye on.
Ohio State Offense vs. Marshall Defense
Ohio State returns the most firepower on offense since the prolific 2006 squad. The depth at running back is well documented, and no starting quarterback in the country gets more coverage or scrutiny than Terrelle Pryor.
The offensive line is deep and experienced. Watch out for Mike Adams at left tackle. Ohio State fans have been expecting big things from him for two years; is this the season he finally puts it all together?
An area of concern is depth at wide receiver. On the plus side, Ohio State never lacks athletes, and it is not unreasonable to expect a young player to step up and fill the void.
Keep an eye on the young receivers against Marshall, as one or more of them could become crucial parts of the offense as the year progresses.
I expect Ohio State to flex their muscles a bit throwing the ball, giving Pryor a chance to knock the rust off against live competition. This is still a Tressel coached team, so you can’t expect too much, but it would be nice to see Pryor air it out a little bit.
The other area Ohio State will flex its muscles is in the run game. Ohio State looks to continue the dominating ground attack they established over the last half of 2009. With a deep and talented pool of running backs, it would be nice to see Ohio State top the 200 yard mark on the ground.
Even in a blowout, there won’t be enough carries to go around, but there should be a few touches for the young guys to take advantage of. Jordan Hall, Jaamal Berry, and Carlos Hyde will all be looking to impress.
On defense, Marshall returns 7 starters.
They are led by standout linebacker Mario Harvey, who had 117 tackles and 7 sacks last season. Defensive tackle Michael Janac is also solid in the middle of the defensive line.
Marshall gave up 24.3 points and 372 yards per game last season, including 444 yards on the ground to Virginia Tech, the only ranked team they played all year.
They also lost some starters in the secondary due to off the field indiscretions.
Overall, Marshall has solid players on defense and shouldn’t be taken lightly, but they lack the depth to compete with Ohio State over the course of four quarters. A 70 point blow out is unlikely, but a close game would be extremely disappointing given Ohio State’s offensive fire power.
Ohio State Defense vs. Marshall Offense
With Mark Snyder stepping down from the head coaching position at Marshall, the Thundering Herd picked up John “Doc” Holliday to replace him. Holliday has extensive experience as an assistant coach for West Virginia under Don Nehlen and later under Bill Stewart, and also as an assistant to Urban Meyer at Florida. You can probably imagine what kind of offense he will likely favor at Marshall.
If you said “the spread” give yourself 5 points. If you said anything else, go sit in the corner of shame.
In the last few years Ohio State has made very visible changes to their defensive strategy for the specific purpose of countering the spread.
The addition of the “Leo” hybrid linebacker/defensive end and the “Star” hybrid linebacker/safety gave the Buckeyes massive flexibility in their defensive fronts. Those positions will be critical to slowing down the Marshall attack.
Since Nathan Williams will miss the game due to a knee injury, it will be important for Solomon Thomas to step up and have a big game at the LEO position. Thomas has limited game experience, but has been in the system for years. A big game from him will go a long way towards stopping Marshall as well as establishing some depth at defensive end for the Buckeyes. Both will be important, so keep an eye on #98.
Leading the spread attack for the Thundering Heard is veteran quarterback Brian Anderson. Last season he threw for 2,646 yards on 231 completions with a 14-13 touchdown to interception ratio. He’s not going to blow your socks off, but he will have the experience necessary to thrive in Holliday’s system, just not against Ohio State.
Marshall’s game plan will center on getting the ball out to their very experienced wide receiver corps. Led by WR Antavious Wilson (60 rec, 724 yds, 3 TDs) and WR Aaron Dobson (15 rec, 362 yds, 4 TDs) the Thundering Herd’s strategy will be to get these players the ball in space and let them work their magic. Aaron Dobson’s 24.1 yards per catch average is particularly frightening, especially as he looks to be getting a much larger share of the passes this season.
Also of concern is Marshall’s use of the tight end. Last season senior TE Cody Slate was the #2 receiving option for the team with 50 receptions for 607 yards and 4 TDs. Expect that to continue, despite the loss of Slate to graduation, as Holliday focuses on getting the ball to all of his play makers.
In addition to the loss of Cody Slate at TE, Marshall also loses several other key contributors from last year’s offense.
Absent this year is running back Darius Marshall, who had the lion’s share of the carries last season with 227 for 1100 yards. Darius left for the NFL, leaving the running back duties to junior Martin Ward (5-9, 201) who carried 82 times last season for 393 yards and 3 touchdowns. Marshall’s run game is not something to lose sleep over.
Marshall’s passing attack, on the other hand, will be a great test for the OSU secondary. They will be forced to play a solid game on the edges all game to keep Marshall’s receivers in check. It will be particularly exciting to see Tyler Moeller take the field again. Moeller will be playing the Star role, which will likely allow him to be on the field for a majority of the snaps on defense.
Chimdi Chekwa is a maybe and will be replaced by the ready and able Travis Howard if he can’t go. Expect to see Chekwa and Howard rotate frequently and for Chekwa’s role to be very limited. The most recent news has Chekwa starting the game and playing the first two series before the coaches give the nod to Howard. This will be an opportunity to see what Howard can do, so #18 is also worth keeping an eye on.
Lastly, CJ Barnett has managed to overtake Orhian Johnson at strong safety on the depth chart. Orhian Johnson’s injury problems this fall has given Barnett a chance to impress and he did just that. Johnson still seems to be in the mix, and will likely see the field, but for now he’s the backup.
At linebacker Ross Homan and Brian Rolle will likely see the most playing time. The coaching staff will do their best to get Andrew Sweat on the field as well.
It would be nice to see Sweat and Sabino get plenty of time in this game, but against the spread, expect to see Tyler Moeller on the field more often than the third linebacker.
On the line, as mentioned, Solomon Thomas will see extensive action in place of the injured Nathan Williams. We’ve heard nothing but exciting things from camp about the defensive line, so things seem promising on that front.
Look for some young guys (Bellamy, Hankins, Goebbel) to see the field extensively, giving all of us the chance to see if they are the real deal.
Special Teams
Marshall’s Punt Team vs. Ohio State’s Punt Return
I envision this being the most active match up of the day, unless, of course, Ohio State puts up a ton of points and are forced to kickoff a lot. Marshall returns 2 year starter Kase Whitehead to handle the punting duties. Last year he averaged 39.2 yds per punt.
The Buckeyes really struggled returning punts with a very pedestrian 8.0 yds/return last season. Ohio State fans will be in a holding period waiting to see who gets a shot at returning punts. I see Posey back there for sure as the most sure handed guy on the team, it is up in the air who else might get a chance.
Dane Sanzenbacher had a few opportunities last year as well, and is the other sure handed, if not electric, option.
Whoever is back there, the running room will likely be limited with the short kicks from the Marshall punting game.
This could be a chance to see freshman Corey “Philly” Brown who is one of the fastest and most electrifying players on the roster for the Buckeyes. Will Tressel go with his sure handed starters, or a young, potentially mistake prone youngster?
Marshall’s Kick-Off Team vs Ohio State’s Kickoff Return
Ohio State averaged 22.3 yds per return last year. With Lamarr Thomas and Ray Small both gone we will see new guys back there this season, which might not be a bad thing.
Jordan Hall and Jaamal Berry will get the first crack at returning kicks according to Tressel. Hall looked electric in the spring game, and Berry is one of the most elusive players on the team. Given the depth at running back, this should be a great way to get them some touches and to see what they can do.
Ohio State’s Punt Team vs. Marshall’s Punt Return
Ben Buchanan will take over the punting duties this year after backing up Jon Thoma last season.
Buchanan played in one game as a backup, he had 4 punts that averaged 42.8 yds. He won special teams player of the week for that performance.
Ben is concentrating solely on punting this year after attempting to handle place-kicking duties in addition to punting last season. This move should allow him to be more consistent in his punting duties.
On the receiving end of the punts, Andre Booker gives Marshall a legit threat to take it to the house, so it will be a nice challenge for the coverage team. Marshall finished ranked 27th nationally in punt returns last season. Buchanan will need hang time to allow the gunners to get down and cover.
Ohio State’s Kick-Off Team vs Marshall’s Kickoff Return
Drew Basil, an incoming frosh, will handle the kickoff duties for Ohio State according to the depth chart. It is very impressive for an incoming recruit to handle kick offs, and is a testament to Basil’s leg strength.
Ohio State did have trouble covering kicks last year, but Marshall will be without their star returner from last season (Darius Marshall) who departed to the NFL early. They do return Andre Booker, a sophomore. Booker emerged last year as a punt and kick return threat to the tune of 400 total return yards and one TD.
Booker could have a big night in Ohio Stadium if the kick coverage is not improved and if Basil struggles to put it deep. It is almost certain that Tressel has spent a lot of time on kick coverage this off season given his emphasis on special teams, so once again, this will be a nice early test for Ohio State’s coverage teams.
Field Goals! Tressel Ball!
Ohio State will use Devin Barclay to kick the ball through the uprights. He returns after taking over for an injured Aaron Pettrey last season. He finished the year 7-10, including the clutch game winner in OT against Iowa.
Ohio State will look for consistency after struggling last year, hitting on only 70% of their field goal opportunities collectively. Consistency will be important thanks to the kicking game being such an important aspect of Jim Tressel’s offense. Scoring more touchdowns in the red zone would be a nice touch as well.
Marshall returns Tyler Warner (3-5), their All-Frosh team kicker from two years ago. He did not attempt a FG last year, as he was behind Craig Ratanamorn, a semi-finalist for the Groza award.
Overall Special Teams Preview
Both teams will be breaking in a lot of new faces, but Marshall can’t compete with the athletes Ohio State puts on the field in the coverage and return game.
Special teams is a chance to see what some young players can do, and some big hits and big returns would be a nice way to kick off the season against an over matched Marshall squad.
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