Ohio State Begins to Worry About Miami after Defeating Marshall Soundly
Ohio State played Marshall on Thursday night to kick off their 2010 season and won convincingly (45-7) after allowing the Thundering Herd to only score on a blocked kick. The Buckeyes now start to prepare for the Miami Hurricanes who also played Thursday night. There was some concern that the Buckeyes might be looking past Marshall but the Conference USA team did present an equal match with OSU playing backup lines early and often during the primetime game. Miami beat Florida A&M 45 to nothing and will come to Columbus in 8 days ranked highly against a #2 nationally ranked Buckeye squad. Miami is currently ranked #13 but should move up slightly in the next AP poll.
By Steve Patterson
Earlier in the week, Ohio state found out that they will be a member of a Big Ten division including Penn State and Wisconsin. More important to fans and alumni of the program is the game against rival Michigan is to remain at the end of the season. Michigan finds themselves in the opposite division featuring Iowa and Nebraska when the 2011 season starts. It is possible for Ohio State to play Michigan two times in a row if they both win their divisions leading up to the conference championship. This news was less important to the Buckeye players themselves as they prepared for the Marshall game.
Head Coach Jim Tressel stated after the game that the team is looking forward to an exciting game in Ohio Stadium next Saturday and feel the extra days to prepare and heal with be helpful. Ohio State entered the game without starting defensive end Nathan Williams and with their starting corner back Chemdi Chekwa still healing from a hamstring injury. They also had three players sidelined during the game including backup offensive lineman Corey Linsley, special teams player Dorian Bell and freshman running back Carlos Hyde.
The game last night was the first Thursday night opener since 1997 when the Buckeyes played Wyoming. It was marks the 11th opener in a row that the team has won with last season’s Navy opener being one of the more difficult match-ups in the run. Ohio State did not have any trouble with Marshall who is working through the difficulties of adjusting to a new coaching staff. Terrelle Pryor was the offensive standout for the Buckeyes, and now a contender for the Heisman, completing 17 of 25 for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Also very impressive for Ohio State was starting tailback Brandon Saine who rushed for 103 yards on only 9 carriers with 2 scores.
Next weeks game against Miami is the first match-up against the Hurricanes since the two teams met in the national championship in 2003. Ohio State has continued to dominate year-in and year-out under Jim Tressel while Miami had a difficult period, including a coaching change, and have begun to rebuild. The game will be television on ESPN at 3:40pm and should prove more information about the quality of the Buckeyes in 2010 than the match-up with Marshall did.