I've seen quite a bit of them. It would be a good matchup and a tough game.
Offensively, they did not really start clicking until the second half of the season. Early on, their entire offense revolved around Troy Smith, a very athletic QB, running out of the pocket. In recent weeks, though, his passing game has improved greatly and the numbers have been big. I will point out, though, that their schedule has been much softer since the Penn St. game. A game in which their offense was anemic.
They have three very fast WR's. Ted Ginn is the big name, but he's probably the third best WR on the team. He's always a threat to take it the distance on offense or on special teams. IF, and it's a big if, he hangs onto the ball. His hands and seemingly his concentration are bad.
Santonio Holmes is their best WR. Not has fast as Ginn, but probably only Reggie Bush is. Holmes has better hands and runs better routes. If he comes out this year, he may be the first WR taken. Their third WR is Gonzalez, I think his play is better than Ginn's. His straight line speed is great, but he's not as shifty.
Their RB Pittman has quietly had a 1,200 yard season with much of that coming against the second half schedule.
Their offense can score, and I expect them to against our defense. But in a shootout, the winner is often the offense that makes less mistakes. I would expect more mistakes out of their O.
Their defense is as advertised. They are very hard to run on. Their D-line is not as good as Tennessee's but their LB corps is the best in the country, hands down. AJ Hawk may be the best defensive player in the country. He is big and very fast. He is a big reason their run D is stellar. It is hard to hit big numbers running draws against them because of his quickness and reaction. Unfortunately, our strength in the running game is DW's vision on draw plays.
Their LB unit took a hit when Bobby Carpenter went down. If Hawk's the best LB in the country, I'd say Carpenter is no worse than 5th or 6th. He was also their third down pass rush specialist who they would put on the line in the nickel. He was very dangerous there. If he can't play, it does hurt their defense. They are deep at LB and can cover there, but they do lose their best pass rusher. Which should help.
As athletic as their LB's are, they are still not corners. I think the best way to attack them is to spread them out with multiple WR's. Make them work in space. This strategy doesn't work unless you have to O-line to keep their DL off the QB. That's why a lot of teams have failed trying to spread their D. Our line has proven to be excellent in pass protection so this is a big plus.
Their pass defense is the weak sister of the D. Still better than most, but the best place to attack them. They have given up big numbers through the air on a few occassions.
As I alluded to earlier, our best bet is a shoot-out, but what's new. That's been our MO all season.
I despise Ohio St., but they have a good team. There's a reason these two teams are being matched up. We can beat them. But they can beat us. I like that Charlie has a month to prepare.
