O-H-I-O! Ohio State Dynasty (NCAA 12)

[jdx66]

Quote: Originally Posted by MarylandMan

Wow dude. 5 recruits? Will you have to sign walk-ons or something?

I got lucky in that I didn't have too many holes to fill. I got unlucky that I accidentally offered a scholarship to a punter and he insta-accepted in week one.

I do have some walk-on scrub types, but they're mostly third string backups. As long as I stay decently healthy, I should be good to go. That said, if I lose my freshman center I'm SCREWED.

I have 10 scholarships to give now, but I have 9 holes to fill so there won't be a talent grab at skill positions. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for following!

[jdx66]

Quote: Originally Posted by Knickerbocker91

Nice way to end out the 2011 season and good luck in 2012. With Posey back and Stoneburner on the line, whoever is QB will definitely have some options on who to pass to.

Miller's getting the job. You're right though, it doesn't matter who started. With Posey and Stoneburner as targets and Berry in the backfield, the offense is loaded with talent. Should be a fun season.

[jdx66]

Ohio State defeats Bowling Green 34-31
Bucks survive scare in the Shoe

Columbus, Ohio - There wasn't a whole lot that went right for Ohio State in their season opener against in-state foe Bowling Green, but ultimately, it didn't matter as the Buckeyes defeated BGSU 34-31.

Bowling Green at Ohio State
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Bowling Green (0-0, 0-0)	7	10	7	7	31
Ohio State (0-0, 0-0)	7	14	10	3	34

Bowling Green won the toss and elected to defer. Ohio State RB Jordan Hall took the kickoff back 17 yards before he was hit and fumbled the ball. Bowling Green recovered, and Buckeye coach Patrick Johnson knew it was going to be a long day.

"That's never how you want to start the season," Johnson said. "Never."

BGSU capitalized on the turnover and extremely short field. HB Mark Mays converted a six yard scamper for the opening score.

Hall's fumble and Bowling Green's ensuing touchdown took some of the luster off of sophomore QB Braxton Miller's first career start. Losing by seven heading onto the field, Miller looked like a veteran. The speedy quarterback led a long drive and capped it off with a 21 yard passing touchdown to WR Evan Spencer.

Bowling Green answered with a field goal in the second quarter. Ohio State then tacked on two touchdowns. The first came on a one yard Jaamal Berry run and the second on a 50 yard pass from Miller to senior WR DeVier Posey. It was Posey's first reception in more than 18 months.

"It felt good, man," Posey said about the first touchdown play. "Just to be out there. Help the team and personally do well. It's all you can ask for."

Bowling Green struck once more before the end of the first half - an eight yard passing touchdown from Matt Schilz to freshman WR Andre Oliver.

Miller opened the second half with a 17 yard passing score to senior TE Jake Stoneburner. The big fella' had four receptions for 57 yards and the touchdown.

Mays scored on a three yard rush, and Ohio State K Drew Basil tacked on a 31 yard field goal to end the quarter with the score 31-24 in favor of the Buckeyes.

In the final period, Schultz hit WR Joe Huston for a five yard touchdown. Basil kicked another field goal (34 yards) late in the quarter to give Ohio State the lead. The defense held BGSU to a turnover on downs to end the game.

Miller completed 11 of 20 throws for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Berry took 31 carries for 144 yards and one score. Posey led the team in receiving with 4 receptions, 86 yards, and one touchdown.

Senior LB Etienne Sabino led the defense with 13 tackles, including one sack.

The Buckeyes (1-0, 0-0) host Connecticut (0-0, 0-0) next week. Bowling Green (0-2, 0-0) will host Idaho (0-1, 0-0).

Player of the Game
Pos	Player	statistics
QB	Braxton Miller	11-20, 206 yards, 3 TD, 17 carries, 46 yards

National Notes - The Polls
Poll	POS	SCHOOL	MoVe
Coaches	N/A	Ohio State
AP Top 25	N/A	Ohio State

[jdx66]

Quick update before I hit the sack... I added a table of contents to the first post where I'll link the first entry of each season.

Also, I'm changing to 9 minute quarters and that's now reflected in the first post too.

[Knickerbocker91]

Close game there to start the season, but nice to see you pull the win. That fumble on the first play of the season really sucks, good thing it didn't determine how the rest of the game would end up.

[jdx66]

Ohio State survives Uconn 27-24
Bucks win bigger than what scoreboard shows

Columbus, Ohio - The Bucks survived a late game push by the Huskies of Connecticut on Saturday afternoon. UConn scored a late game touchdown to bring themselves within three points, but Ohio State recovered the onside kick. That sealed the game.

Connecticut at Ohio State
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Connecticut (0-0, 0-0)	3	7	7	7	24
Ohio State (1-0, 0-0)	0	13	7	7	27

Sophomore QB Braxton Miller proved phenomenal against the Huskies, throwing for 252 yards on 14-23 passing and running for 93 yards and a rushing touchdown. The UConn defense had no answer for the kid from Huber Heights, Ohio.

UConn struck first, converting a 26 yard field goal halfway through the first quarter. The Bucks answered in the second, engineering a long drive capped by a Drew Basil 24 yard kick. The Bucks tacked on a touchdown two possessions later, a 17 yard rushing score from Miller.

The Huskies answered shortly thereafter. HB Lyle McCombs scored on a 10 yard rush. The Bucks managed a 19 yard field goal as time expired in the second, giving them the 13-10 halftime lead.

In the third, the two teams traded a pair of rushing touchdowns. Ohio State RB Jaamal Berry scored on a nine yard scamper. Three possessions later, McCombs nabbed his second touchdown for the game on a five yard run.

The final period opened with a Berry's second rushing score, a one yarder. The Bucks took a commanding 27-17 lead and looked to have the game wrapped up. The defense held Connecticut to three straight incompletions to open their ensuing possession.

Then, the Huskies struck. On fourth-and-ten, UConn QB Michael Box connected with TE Ryan Griffin for a 65 yard touchdown pass.

Connecticut was unable to produce possession of the ball following an onside kick. Berry took three consecutive hand-offs from Miller, converting a first down and sealing the victory. Reserve QB Kenny Guiton entered the game to take a knee.

Berry finished with 111 rushing yards on 34 attempts and scored two touchdowns. Chris Fields was the week's receiving standout. Fields caught six balls for 107 yards. TE Jake Stoneburner and WR Corey Brown caught a total of 7 receptions for 134 yards.

Senior WR DeVier Posey followed his spectacular performance last week with a dud in the game against Connecticut. Posey was targeted twice, dropping both balls.

Ohio State (2-0, 0-0) hosts Conference-USA's UAB (1-1, 0-0) next week. UConn (0-1, 0-0) will attempt to rebound from their loss when they travel to Maryland (2-0, 1-0) for a regionally broadcasted night game.

Player of the Game
Pos	Player	statistics
QB	Braxton Miller	14-23, 252 yards, 16 rushes, 93 yards, TD

National Notes - The Polls
Poll	POS	SCHOOL	MoVe
Coaches	N/A	Ohio State
AP Top 25	N/A	Ohio State

Recruiting News:
The Bucks received a commitment from HB Joe Fisher on Saturday. Fisher made an unofficial visit to Ohio State's campus and made his intentions to sign with the Bucks known. The Bucks now have nine remaining scholarships to give.

New Buckeye Commitment
NAME	POS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Joe Fisher	HB	Ohio	6'4	184

[HARLEE23]

Loss to Michigan?

[jdx66]

Bucks maul UAB 80-0 but lose Miller
Big win comes with big price

Columbus, Ohio - The University of Alabama-Birmingham never stood a chance in the Shoe. The Buckeyes came into the Saturday afternoon game after two straight closer-than-comfortable wins against lesser opponents. They weren't going to make that mistake again.

UAB at Ohio State
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
UAB (1-1, 0-0)	0	0	0	0	0
Ohio State (2-0, 0-0)	7	42	21	10	80

The big story is not the big win, however, but the season-ending injury starting quarterback Braxton Miller sustained early in the second quarter. Miller rolled to his right on a play-action boot, saw open field, and took it down the sideline. At the end of the play, Miller was hit by a UAB defender and took an awkward fall. Miller broke his collar bone and is not expected to make it back for the rest of the season.

The injury bug didn't bite just once. Starting running back Jaamal Berry was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with a concussion. With two key starters out of the game, how did the Buckeyes fare?

Pretty well.

UAB elected to receive after winning the toss, and Ohio State held the Dragons to a three-and-out. Miller led the team downfield on their first possession but only managed a 30 yard field goal.

On their next possession, QB David Isabelle threw an interception to Ohio State CB T.Y. Williams. Berry capitalized on the short field, taking a five yard scamper for six.

The Bucks then held UAB to another three-and-out. On the third play of the drive, Miller rolled right and ended his season with a broken collar bone. In stepped reserve junior QB Kenny Guiton, a talented but unproven passer more suited to the traditional pro-style offense than Miller's spread offense skillset.

Guiton fared pretty well taking control of the Bucks offense. Guiton stepped in for Miller on that possession and took OSU down the field, capping off the march with a 13 yard scramble for a touchdown.

On their next possession, UAB's Isabelle threw another interception to CB T.Y. Williams. This time, Williams returned to pick for six.

Things continued to spiral out of control for UAB throughout the game. Before leaving the game with his concussion, Berry amassed 48 yards on 12 carries and scored one touchdown. Senior RB Jordan Hall filled the void admirably. Hall took 31 attempts for 152 yards and three scores. Guiton also had a rushing touchdown.

That's not the only touchdown Guiton was involved with. The junior passer completed 22 of his 33 throws for 430 yards and a whopping five touchdowns - not a bad night for his first major duty as a Buckeye. How did Guiton respond after the game? With humility and tact.

"That's never how you want to take the starting job. I never want to see a teammate get hurt, especially one as talented as Brax."

"I'll do my best to step in and lead the offense, but I know this is Braxton's team. I hope I can prove my worth to everybody."

He's off to a good start.

Asked about how the team will cope with the loss of Miller, Coach Patrick Johnson had this to say of his Buckeye offense: "You saw it tonight. We've got another talented quarterback on the team, and his name is Kenny Guiton. Kenny barely lost the position battle to Braxton, so it's no surprise he played so well."

Will it affect how the offense is run?

"No doubt," Johnson said. "We're going to tailor the offense more to Kenny's skill set. We'll look to run a lot more pro-style packages - lots of one-back and I-formation sets. The good news is, these sets are perfect for allowing Jaamal and Jordan to have big games."

The Bucks won a game big tonight, but lost a big player in the scheme of the season. At Ohio State, you reload and that's exactly what the Bucks will look to do with Kenny Guiton at the helm.

Ohio State (3-0, 0-0) hosts California (1-2, 0-1) next week. UAB (1-2, 0-0) heads to South Carolina (1-1, 0-1).

Player of the Game
Pos	Player	statistics
QB	Kenny Guiton	22-33, 430 yards, 5 TD, 1 rush TD

National Notes - The Polls
Poll	POS	SCHOOL	MoVe
Coaches	N/A	Ohio State
AP Top 25	N/A	Ohio State