The Buckeye Battle Cry

Bringing back our weekly feature from last season (with some new writers!), here are some things that the staff at tBBC would like to see from the Buckeyes against the Thundering Herd.

Jeff

Attack secondary, score points, Ohio State has just the man for that job.

Foot On The Gas Pedal – Oregon was shocked when Ohio State came out and called a pass play 9 of their first 10 snaps.  Opponents of Tresselball are not used to this.  Make the entire NCAA stand up and recognize that the playbook is wide open in 2010.

Go Up Big And Rest The Starters - by the end of the third quarter I don’t want to see any starters left on the field, unless they require specific work.  This game isn’t so much about playing Marshall, it’s about getting tuned up for Miami.  Make it happen.

The Secondary Is Weak, So Abuse It! – Marshall was returning their top two defensive backs, then in April they went all Oregon on us and got arrested.  Both DeQuan Bembry and T.J. Drakeford have been dismissed from the team, leaving the secondary in shambles.  Show no mercy, boys.

tBBC is excited to partner with Cole Blaney to bring you video previews and reviews for this season.

Here’s his preview for the season- enough to get you through the workday and ready for kickoff-

Ohio State has also picked up their second football commitment for the 2012 class in Columbus DeSales RB Warren Ball.

Vico has the details and some video for your viewing pleasure.

Waiting ain’t easy- DJ Cool Ray brings this truth for real:

waiting for this moment by coolray614

Waiting for kickoff… For TP and BRolle, for Cam and Brew, for Saine and Boom, for passes to the TE, for #54 wreaking havoc, for Ty Moeller bringing the wood, for Tress, for TBDBITL to play the song that anchors this site.

Waiting…

Enough talk about expansion, coaching changes in college football, moving  The Game, uniform colors, pending NCAA sanctions for other places than Columbus.

Waiting for the season…

Waiting to see the Young Bucks, the Seniors, the Scarlet and Gray. Waiting to prove that the Rose Bowl was not a fluke, but a premonition of things to come.

Waiting… it’s what gave birth to tBBC.

The wait is almost over.

Go Bucks.

What we alluded to earlier has come to pass. The Big T1e2n Divisions for 2011 are as follows-

• Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern
  
• Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana
  

In addition, The Game will be the last game of the season, but only for the next two years.

Lots of rumors swirling today, including those about conference divisions for 2011.

What we’re hearing is as follows (from 97.1 FM in Columbus, FWIW):

• MSU, TTUN, Neb, NU, Iowa, Min
• OSU, Wis, IL, IU, PSU, PU

Sure, why not…

Background on the designs from Nike.

At least they are actually throw backs this year.

The design is a throw back to the 1942 Buckeye squad. It honors both their national championship in 1942 and their service to our country in WW2. Whether you like or dislike the way it looks, it is great to pay tribute to men that couldn’t  deserve it more.

Let's go!

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.

Since I seem to be the go-to guy for all things wardrobe related (no malfunctions, thanks be to God), here’s the latest news on the Nike Pro-Combat front.

The “big doin’s” is tomorrow in New York, but from what the Miami website posted we discovered the following:

• Ohio State: Stylized script numbers, a replica U.S. flag on the jersey sleeve and the camouflage-print base layer honor the WWII-bound Buckeyes, National Champions of 1942.

Here’s the “official” website for the unveiling; tBBC is working on exclusive coverage of this event.

If it’s a 1942 model, then it might look like this:

We talked about this earlier, but here are the highlights from Braxton’s game against Cincinnati Moeller:

Who’s ready for football?

Now that I'm here in the Emerald City, I'd really like to see the Wizard.

Every week, Jay will be bringing you insight into the upcoming game by taking a look at the opposing head coach. Let’s get ready for football!

Thursday will be a big day for Marshall head coach John “Doc” Holliday. Playing a premier opponent like Ohio State always presents an opportunity for a coach to pick up a big win for their program, but for Holliday, who has been on the college football scene for over 30 years now, the game will be especially significant.  This is because the Marshall-Ohio State game will be Holliday’s first game walking the sidelines as a head coach.

Having been an assistant coach at West Virginia, Florida, and North Carolina State, Holliday was announced as the new head coach at Marshall last December, replacing Mark Snyder and bringing promise of restoring a tradition of winning to a faltering Marshall program.  Walking into the ‘Shoe on gameday could certainly be an intimidating spectacle for a new coach entering their first game, but most likely a veteran like Holliday will be all business.  He’s seen Ohio State before, most notably in the 2006 BCS National Championship Game, when Holliday was serving under Urban Meyer at the University of Florida.

Quick hits from around the webs:

• Personnel items for Marshall- Nate Williams out, Chimdi questionable, Hall and Berry returning kicks.
• This year’s “Is he a Buckeye or an ESPN shill?” debate just got interesting, as #4 picked the Buckeyes over the Sooners in Glendale.
• Rumors abound regarding Florida State DB Dionte Allen transferring to Ohio State for his senior year. He would have one season of eligibility remaining, and was a HS teammate of Taurian Washington. The Buckeyes were among the finalists during his initial recruiting process.
• Former Buckeye Maurice Clarett is a new member of the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL. Teammates include Jeff Garcia (yup, that one).
• Future Buckeye Braxton Miller highlighted his talents in a 35-28 loss to Cincinnati Moeller on ESPNU last night, amassing most of his 212 rushing yards in the first half.  Moeller coach John Rodenberg was quoted as saying “He is the best I have faced”- high praise, given that assessment of his offensive line’s ability to protect him may indicate that he made most of that yardage without much help.
• In the “News From Up North”, former Wolverine QB Steven Threet joins Ryan Mallett in finding success outside of Ann Arbor, earning the starting job at Arizona State. If our favorite QB does transfer, odds are good that he’ll land on his feet.
• Change the game? Takes the “awesome” out of this-

We have 3 days left! 72 hours! Can Thursday come any sooner? Can we start the wild ride that that the 2010 Football season will be. It is upon us, you can smell it in the air!

"BSaine Thru the Hole" Photo by Jeff/Gross Getty Images

Continuing the countdown with one of our 6 captains, Brandon Saine, who is ready to step up in a large way. I know that we have a lot of talent in the backfield and we will spread the ball around, but I think being a senior and a captain will help cement him as the #1 go to guy.

With that, we will see what we have all been waiting on from the former Ohio Mr. Football player out of High School.  He dealt with some lingering injuries early in his career, and had a semi breakout year last year, averaging over 5 YPC and finishing the season with 739 Yds.  Some might say that was a breakout season, but I believe he is capable of much more as he just oozes with talent.  He also brings an added dimension to the offense by being a great receiver out of the backfield.  The other thing that might go unnoticed at times will be the valuable leadership in the offensive backfield!

Here is to a 1,000 yd season from our number one back!

The Buckeye Battle Cry will be counting down the Top 25 players of the past decade all spring/summer.  Every Monday and Thursday, Jim will be announcing a new player.  Our #1 player will be presented on Monday, August 30th.  Three days later, the 2010 season officially begins.  To view the previous entries in our Top 25, click here.

Troy Smith (2004-2006)

They could make a movie about Troy Smith’s journey at Ohio State. From an athlete who struggled to find a position on the team to a Heisman winning quarterback, the path Smith took was incredible, and there were many ups and downs along the way.

Troy’s transformation from an athlete into a quarterback was almost as drastic as his transformation from an immature college student into one of the best leaders to ever play at Ohio State.

Smith had a few run ins with trouble (including accepting illegal benefits that resulted in a two game suspension) but he learned from them and grew from them like only a true champion could.