REVIEW - TWSS Fans Interact: Game-Day Preview; Oklahoma

#2 Ohio State (1-1,1-0) #5 Oklahoma (2-0,0-0)

Ohio Stadium, Columbus

TV: ESPN - Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor

Radio: 97.1 WBNS The Fan - Paul Keels, Jim Lachey, Matt Andrews

7:30 p.m.

Ohio State lost the first match-up in 1977 on a last second field goal but has won the last two headed into Saturday night. \ Both teams winning percentages are eerily similar: OSU 128 seasons 887-323-53 (.724) Oklahoma 123 seasons 874-321-53 (.721)

Headline - Boomer Sooner in The Shoe

What will the atmosphere be like for this long awaited match-up?

Ryan - I'm hopeful the atmosphere will be raucous and loud. I want fans screaming. I want people who are there to wake up Sunday morning unable to talk from screaming so hard. I want Baker Mayfield to be unable to think straight. Mostly, I want the crowd to be loud to drown out the noise of “Boomer Sooner.".

Annie - First home game of the season, night game….would be fun to register on the seismometer like we did last fall during the MeatChicken game. Loud and electric...OSU fans ALWAYS deliver!

Rebut - The Shoe was ridiculous as usual and the fans stayed engaged as long as they had a reason to. There were times during the game that I could not speak loud enough for someone standing next to me. Once it appeared the game was in hand late in the fourth and the fans started to file out the exits.

Ohio State D versus Oklahoma O

What do you think of these units head to head and who has the advantage?

Ryan - Their O line is experienced and arguably the best in the nation. Our D line has depth. That depth had the capability to wear an O line out. I want to believe our depth and speed will ultimately wear them out and allow the speed to get the Baker Mayfield and disrupt his game. He's dangerous out of the pocket when the play breaks down, so our corners and LBs need to be watchful, as well.

Annie - Oklahoma has a huge beef with us, especially after our “basic D” came into their house last year and embarrassed the heck out of them. Our D is young, and with youth sometimes comes inexperience. Simply put, we can’t let Oklahoma convert on as many third down plays as we did in the Indiana game. With that being said, our staff/boys made huge adjustments at halftime against Indiana and the results were favorable. We need our boys to have a solid first and second half of play. On paper, Oklahoma has the advantage, but our boys will find a way to get the job done.

Rebut - Ryan and Annie were spot on for their assessments here . . , but the things they said that cannot happen did. Baker Mayfield won the game out of the pocket, on the run and on third downs. True to the battle in the trenches the Oklahoma offensive line stayed strong and gave Mayfield more opportunities than not. At the end of the day, the more experienced team won this battle.

Ohio State O Versus Oklahoma D

Same question as above but with a twist, who has the advantage here and also who is more likely to struggle due to inexperience?

Ryan - Eventually our O line gelled and powered through the defense of Indiana. They need to come out with that power from the start. Open big gaps for “J.K. Weber" to run through. I'd like to see the crossing patterns continue and Parris Campbell to break off a long play or two against their defense. I'd give the advantage right now to Oklahoma here because I still have concerns about the passing game.

Annie - Ohio State’s weakness on O is our wide receivers, if they come up big, we’ll be in good shape. Also, if J.T. can be consistent, (much like he was in second half against Indiana) I look for us to put up 30+ points.

Rebut - This is a tough one to swallow for most Buckeye fans due to the fact that Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day were suppose to fix everything. Two things are clear after this top five match-up. The Buckeyes are still very young at the skill positions and if J.T. cannot get the ball away quickly and his progression breaks down? The Buckeyes are in trouble!

Oklahoma took away the crossing routes with a stout D and the gaps that were there for Weber weren't for Dobbins. The disappointing thing here is Weber was giving the team momentum and did not return until later in the game after leading the Buckeyes down the field.

The second thing that is clear about this Buckeye offense' identity is it is a run first offense and if they have to get out of that, they are in trouble.



Last Time They Met - Special Teams

Who stole the show last season and will there be a repeat performance at home in the Shoe? If not, who will be this game's star?

Ryan - Noah Brown stole the show last year. He, obviously, will not be there in this game, so I'm counting on the three-time captain Joseph Thomas to become the star we know he is.

Annie - Who stole the show for me last year ...the refs when Joe Mixon dropped the ball before entering the endzone on his 97 yard kickoff return….we got robbed!!! I would love to see a huge kickoff return by our special teams unit to shove it in the Sooners faces….I’ll take a big hit for a turnover too!


Rebut - Nobody for the Buckeyes really stole the show on Saturday night but every time Parris Campbell had a return on a kick-off, he shined.Parris probably needs punt returns added to his play selcetion.

Of course the actually rebut here is Baker Mayfield, he took care of business Saturday night and then some. May have set the tone for a Heisman run the rest of the season.

Special teams can win ball games nowadays, which team has the upperhand here and why?

Ryan - Our punter was pretty wonderful against Indiana. Of course, you hope to never see the punter, but he was great. Parris Campbell returning can be deadly and break the game wide open. Fingers crossed he returns a kick for a touchdown.

Annie - I’ll go with the Bucks…more experience…I don't know darn thing about special teams to be honest.

Rebut - Parris tried to keep the Buckeyes in good field position after an Oklahoma score and Drue Chrisman was deadly with his leg flipping the field every-time he was needed.

OSU was big underdog last year and went in kicked the Sooners in the Boomer. While not as heavy of a favorite, how does OSU prevent that from happening this time?

Ryan - They need to set the tone early. Establish the running game and allow J.T. to play-action pass off of that. There will be huge holes in the middle of the defense, so play action to a crossing route in the middle can help. I don't need to see long, deep passes. Just long enough to get first downs.

Annie - Defense wins games and ultimately….championships!

Rebut - Neither of these happened in this epic match-up. The Buckeyes were basically(sorry) dominated in just about every fashion of the game. By the time the running game could get going, the Buckeyes needed to throw the ball and that became disastrous.

Final Thoughts - Offensive firepower versus defensive will

It’s arguably the best offensive line in the nation (Oklahoma) vs. the best defensive line (Ohio State), what is the best match-up between these lines (player vs. player) and who will impose their will overall and why?

Ryan - Nick Bosa played the most snaps of anyone on the DL against Indiana, I believe. I'd like to see him matched up with the tackle and see his speed get to the QB. He was so close to getting multiple sacks a few times last week, this week I'd like to see it happen.

Annie - I look for Nick Bosa to come up huge..I’m still waiting for him to have his “wow” game…praying tonight is it! Another final thought….how did this adorable lil Buckeye “rose” end up answering with this group of yahoos?!?!?!  HAAHAHA….KIDDING….LOVE YA, BOYS!

Rebut - Sam Hubbard was a monster in this game and was the glue that kept the defense in it until the wheels started to come off in the second half. Youth in the back 6/7 is problematic when you are playing against a talented offense. They will grow up quickly due to this loss.

At the end of the day, the offensive line for Oklahoma withstood the rotation and skill of the Buckeyes even though they got to Mayfield seven times Saturday night. Jerome Baker put the hit of a lifetime on Mayfield and he still came back!