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Ohio State is 1-0 all-time against Marshall, with the lone win coming against the Thundering Herd in 2004. The Buckeyes pulled off the victory 24-21 with a last second 55-yard field goal by Mike Nugent. He was their best offensive player that year, so Ohio State went on to a mediocre 8-4 season while Marshall finished 6-6 in 2004.
Now, six years later, the Buckeyes and Thundering Herd take the field again. Marshall is the overwhelming underdog, but the Buckeyes have a history of playing supposedly lesser competition close during the season’s early weeks.
Here are the particulars for Thursday’s Ohio State – Marshall season opener:
- Ohio State-Marshall Location: Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH
- Ohio State-Marshall Time: Thursday September 2nd, 2010 – 7:30pm
- Ohio State-Marshall TV: Big Ten Network
- Ohio State-Marshall Announcers: Eric Collins and Chris Martin, with Charissa Thompson
- Ohio State-Marshall Spread: Ohio State -28.5 (as of Sunday, August 29th via DocSports)
- Ohio State-Marshall Over/Under: 47.5 (as of Sunday, August 29th via DocSports)
MARSHALL Thundering Herd
Coach: Doc Holliday (0-0 career)
Doc Holliday is a big story in this preview. Holliday is taking over Mark Snyder’s (former Ohio State Defensive Coordinator) team and made a splash with a really good group of recruits using his past ties developed when he was Florida’s recruiting coordinator.
Despite this being Holliday’s head coaching debut, he has been a respected assistant in the college rankings for a long time, including 22 years at West Virginia (his alma mater), 4 years as associate head coach and wide receivers coach at NC State, and 3 years as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for Urban Meyer at Florida. So it should not be easy for Ohio State’s defense to prepare, since there is no tape on a head coached Doc Holliday team.
The big name for fans to look for is junior QB Willy Korn, who is in his first year at Marshall after transferring from Clemson for off field problems. Coming off of a 21-17 victory over Ohio University in the mighty Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, Marshall has seven returning starters on both sides of the ball. The passing attack is blessed with three returning starters (two WRs and one TE) to throw to. (UPDATE: Last year’s starter Senior Brian Anderson won the competition and will start at QB. Willy Korn moved to safety, transfers.)
The seven returnees on defense will have to face the best offense they will face all year in the first game of the season. They should have their hands full, although Ohio State’s Rose Bowl tape will probably be the best preparation since the Buckeyes shouldn’t stray far from that game plan this year. The best chance the Herd defense has is if Ohio State turns it over or plays too conservatively to save their best for Miami (FL) the following week.
Watch for first year starter Junior DT Brandon Bullock to plug the middle weighing in at over 360 lbs. He will force Ohio State to take their chances spreading it out to the edges.
OHIO STATE Buckeyes
Coach: Jim Tressel (229-78-2 career, 94-21 at Ohio State, 8-1 versus Michigan)
Sorry, it is never too early to mention Coach Tressel’s domination over Michigan.
Terrelle Pryor had an awful game in a loss against Purdue from a turnover stand point last year. From that point forward (6-0) Ohio State kept the offense close to the sweater vest and threw out the spread passing options for the rest of the year en route to another Big Ten Championship.
That is, except for the Rose Bowl.
Ohio State threw the ball 37 times and had enough to beat Oregon’s speedy defense 26-17. Coach Tressel said during practice leading up to the Rose Bowl they were practicing drives where all they did was pass and realized it was the most effective the offense had been all year. This prompted Pryor’s and the offense’s output.
That said, there was still balance in the game and that was the key. They spread it out more and it was different than the unbalanced run-run-run-don’t-turn-it-over mentality they had in the previous 5 wins. And according to Vegas it was an upset, and more importantly an impressive victory.
Why am I talking about last year? Simple. The Buckeyes must stay aggressive with their offensive attack or the offense will go through droughts of mediocrity like they experienced last year. It’s not as if the Buckeye offense was too aggressive in the Purdue loss last year, it is more that they weren’t aggressive enough. And on plays where they were supposed to be conservative, Pryor tried to do too much to over compensate and ended up with four turnovers and a loss. If they do not put pressure on opposing defenses every game then a bad loss to a lesser team like Marshall could end up happening.
Defensively the biggest question mark is the defensive line. They need to make sure they can put pressure on the quarterback and if they can’t do that against Marshall then preseason expectations won’t be met. Of course Senior DE Cameron Heyward will make his presence felt, but if he is double teamed or cannot put pressure on every play than they need first year starters like Junior DE Nathan Williams and Sophmore DT John Simon to make some noise. If that is NOT the case, look for a lot of blitzes from their strong returning linebacker core, which will mean the defensive backs need to be stout and mistake-free. Three of the four are returning starters against the pass.
Ohio State-Marshall PREDICTION:
We don’t know a whole lot other than the obvious in the first game of the season in college football. If you have not heard, Tressel and the media have been going crazy about true freshman Corey “Philly” Brown at wide receiver and possibly returning punts. He’s been compared to both Percy Harvin and DeSean Jackson but has a bigger build already at 6’1” 185 lbs. Maybe we will get a fun glimpse of him against Marshall so he can build his confidence.
This is a night game on a Thursday, and Tressel is only 3-2 in night games at home. I don’t believe he has ever coached a Thursday game but being the first game of the season it will not be a factor. The bigger historic picture might be Marshall’s inability to win on the road in opening games. They have lost ten straight by a 23 point average, including 0-5 versus the Big Ten by an average score of 40-16.
Factor Ohio State’s lackluster offenses under Tressel early in the season and looking forward to Miami the following weekend, I am confident making this prediction:
Ohio State 38 Marshall 16
Take Marshall on the points (+28.5), but take the OVER on the Over/Under unless ridiculous weather arises (not expected).
