Well?
With all due respect to Brent Mustangburger
I am soooo happy that Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt are covering the first
game. I believe that Klatt is the No. 1 analyst in the game and I am
pretty sure that the Buckeyes are undefeated when Gus Johnson calls the
play-by-play. And his enthusiasm
to me makes the game more special. (In all honesty, there are about a
dozen calls I could have picked for that link - I'm just lazy that this
TD pass was the first one I found).
Speaking of entertaining personalities,
how about FAU coach Lane Kiffin? Sure, he was a train wreck of a coach
with the Oakland Raiders, then went to Tennessee and publicly accused
Urban Meyer of cheating, jilted Tennessee after one year (right in the
heart of recruiting season) to jump to USC, where he bombed again and
got pulled off the team bus to be fired, AND who tries to pick up women
in bars under the alias of "Joey Freshwater." I mean, who among us hasn't done one or all of these things? Good times. Good times.
Anyway,
turns out the dude, in addition to making us all chuckle, maybe can
coach. He arrived at FAU in 2017 inheriting a team that had finished
3-9 in three consecutive seasons, and finished the season 11-3. Last
season was a bit of a disappointment, finishing 5-7, but 3 of those
losses were by 3 points or less. Could have easily been 8-4. And the
"calvary" is coming in the form of former Florida State QB Deondre
Francois and former Alabama RB B.J. Emmons transferring to Boca Raton.
So he's getting some good talent to come play for him.
Kiffin
was the Offensive Coordinator at Alabama for a few seasons (including
2014 when the Buckeyes beat them in the Sugar Bowl), and his 2 years at
FAU have demonstrated that his teams can score. In addition to the two
transfers noted above, the Owls have the best OL in Conference USA and a
talented group of receivers. Watch out for TE Harrison Bryant (40) on
Saturday.
Unfortunately, on
the defensive side of the ball, FAU is a whole lot of "meh." In 2017,
they gave up 390 yards per game and nearly 23 points per game. In 2018,
those numbers got worse - 425 yards and 32 points per game. The
returning "talent" doesn't give reason to hope for much improvement.
While
they are predicted to win Conference USA this year, their recent
contests outside the conference have not been met with rave reviews.
Last year, the Owls went to Norman and lost to Oklahoma 63-14. In
Kiffin's first year, Navy beat them 42-19 and Wisconsin delivered
a 31-14 defeat. In fact, FAU has lost their last 8 road openers and
their last 23 games against "Power 5" foes by an average of 42-10. Oof!
When
the Buckeyes open the season against a non-conference opponent at home,
good things happen. And when I say "good things, I mean lots of points
and covering the spread. For example, 2018-Ohio State 77, Oregon State
31 (line: Ohio St by 39.5); 2016-Ohio State 77, Bowling Green 10 (line:
Ohio St by 27.5); and 2012-Ohio State 56, Miami 10 (Ohio St by 25.5).
Much there to like.
But,
what about the new QB? The new OL? The new Defensive coaches and last
year's sketchy defense? "Bah humbug," I say. Fields is going to be
fine. He's talented and he doesn't have to win the game - just manage
it. J.K. Dobbins may get 25-30 carries and 200 yards in this one. FAU
is not going to stop him and the OL is good enough to open holes. The
running game is going to allow Fields to be sure on his throws, and our
WR group is wickedly-talented and FAU's secondary is no match. As for
our defense, I think the coaching and the scheming will make last year's
players better. Way better.
Vegas is not so sure, labeling the Buckeyes as 27.5 favorites with an over/under of 64. As my good friend George Santayana
used to tell me, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to
repeat it." Vegas seems to forget the "first home game of the season v.
non-conference opponent" history for the Buckeyes. I hope Gus and Joel
have plenty of fill material for the second half because they gonna
need it.
Schaef Says give the points and bet the Over:
Florida Atlantic 7 7 0 7 - 21
Ohio State 7 21 21 10 - 59
No comments:
Post a Comment