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MotS&G The FAU Owls (0-0) VS The Ohio State Buckeyes (0-0)

Richard Tongohan

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The FAU Owls (0-0) VS The Ohio State Buckeyes (0-0)
Richard Tongohan
via our good friends at Men of the Scarlet and Gray
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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We are now within 24-hours folks! We all have waited and seen the offseason develop and now we are so close to game time, I can barely contain myself–and I am positive that you all can’t do it either! After another offseason that featured a few more key players departing to live their dreams in the NFL, I cannot begin to tell you how much they will be missed, but we will be fine. Talent at Ohio State comes and goes, but they always restock to perceived “bare” cupboard. Let’s see how the cupboard stacks up against the Florida Atlantic Owls in my new 24-hour preview with five burning storylines.

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The transfer portal savior comes in as the first and probably the most important on this makeshift board of mine. The “bare” cupboard (the quarterback room) was one of the major storylines that haunted the Buckeyes in the offseason and with the sudden departure of Matthew Baldwin, the position looked grim, but the Buckeyes added the aforementioned Fields and Hoak to bolster their depth, with Fields beating out Hoak for the starting position for the Buckeyes.

Fields certainly has the hype behind him, even before the spring game, but he seems poised to become the leader of this offensive charge. He will replace Dwayne Haskins who left to become the Redskins’ first-round pick. Fields has the wheels to run and the gun to sling the ball to his playmakers, but will we see a slow-developing rise? Or will he come out guns blazing in what could be a tune-up match with an overmatched Owls team?

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J.K. Dobbins returns from what he himself has called as a sub-par season at the Buckeyes Cadillac position, he will attempt to redeem himself in the 2019 season. In a season where he logged 1,053 rushing yards and 263 yards receiving, he is looking for more yardage in what could be his last season at Ohio State. He will look to best his 12 TD total to establish himself as a legendary Buckeye RB and leave his mark.

He is a shifty runner and he can handle passes out of the backfield, which suits the offensive scheme. He will be leaned upon heavily to occupy the defenders in the box IF Fields cannot sustain the aerial assault, Dobbins will start up the ground assault, but he has reinforcements in long-forgotten Demario McCall and Master Teague. They also have two-studs in Marcus Crowley and Steele Chambers lying in wait if or when the game gets out of hand. Can this stable of backs, especially the Dobbins make an immediate impact? Can they place the game out of reach to earn some rest to prepare for a tough game against Cincy and their former coach?

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The question is will the Slobs play to their usual standard? The Slobs are usually great year in and year out, but with the departure Prince, Jordan, and Knox, can the next generation of slobs live up to the expectation and help Dobbins gash offenses? With a nearly-new starting five of Munford, Jackson, Myers, Davis, and Bowen can they be another nasty starting five?

Branden Bowen has healed from his season-ending injury a season ago, and he has thrust himself into a starting role beating former five-star Nicholas Petite-Frere for the job. He does have the potential to go out with a bang and what better opportunity than this season with being an integral part of a potentially lethal offense? His fellow slobs are also fighting to retain their reputation as Munford returns to man to blindside, former Rutgers stud enters the fray as the starting Left Guard, another former five-star talent in Myers finally grabs a starting role at Center and the same for Davis at Right Guard. The depth is there as well, but for now, the starters will look to secure the trenches for Fields and Dobbins. Can they live up to the standard or even exceed it as the season winds down.

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Damon Arnette left NFL money for another season for redemption in the Scarlet and Gray. The story a year ago was his inability to cover and the consistent penalties incurred, but with a new position coach in Hafley, he had to come back to prove himself. He, along with Okudah and Wade have all secured their usual spots can the trio regain their BIA swag? Or will they fall further away from the standard that has been a constant for the past few years?

On the back end, at the Safety positions, Jordan Fuller also turned down the NFL for one more season at Ohio State. He will pair up with Brendon White, who broke out last season and became an impact player once he received his shot. Can they DB’s reduce the poorly-timed penalties and live up to the BIA reputation? Or will they go through the growing pain along the way with their new secondary coach? Will the takeaways become their specialty once again? Or will they continue to get gashed by opposing the offensive playmakers time and time again? Can they stop the constant bleeding and negate those same playmakers?

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Lastly, to go along with the defense, can the Linebacking Corps recover from what was a horrible year from the defensive side of the ball–particularly with the play from this group. Tuf Borland and Pete Werner always seemed to be out of position and opposing offenses picked on them. Will they be able to put those worries to rest with two more new, but familiar coaches in Washington and Mattison? Can they be counted on since they have regained their roles as starters?

Another question is can the backups get some reps to carve out their roles once the game gets out of hand? Make no mistake, the trio of Pope, Browning, and Mitchell are ballers, but they fell behind the seasoned vets who were starters a year ago and that it is nothing to be ashamed about. They will most likely carve out crucial roles as backups, but the trio of thumpers will be something to watch during mop-up duty. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them inserted into starting roles later in the season if nothing changes for the defense.

PREDICTION:

Ohio State defeats FAU 49-13.

Ohio State will start out rusty and eventually right the ship, both on offense and defense. The starters will gain much-needed reps and put the game out of reach by halftime and then earn well-deserved rest in the third quarter. Fields will rack up 210 yards through the air with a pair of TD’s and 45 yards on the ground. Dobbins will tear it up and go for a minimum of 100 yards and a TD with a couple of catches out of the backfield. Hill and Zone 6, along with the TE’s will be used frequently in a balanced attack, scoring at least three times. The defense will start up slowly, but they will eventually regain their swagger and have a game. 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, and a forced fumble, and one would result in a defensive score. The backups will gain valuable experience in clean-up duty and they will score twice more to secure the win.


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