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The Big Game is Still Big This Weekend

November 21, 2008

The (3-8, 2-5) have struggled mightily in new head coach ’s first year.

They have lost eight times, which is the most in school history, snapped a streak of 38 straight bowl games, suffered their first losing season since 1967, and to add insult to injury, lost to No. 15  State (9-2, 6-1) at home for the first time since 1990.

The transition into the era has been rough. While a rocky year was expected, no one anticipated it would be this bad for .

The offense has been pitiful, averaging a mere 299.2 yards per game, which is dead last in the . They are also tied for ninth in the  in scoring, with an average of only 21.5 points per game. 

Quarterbacks and have not been able to execute Rodriguez’s . At times, both quarterbacks have had a tendency to be inaccurate and miss open receivers. 

YouTube legend  has struggled in his freshman year with injury problems. Also true freshman wide receiver Darryl Stonum, out of Sugarland, , has failed to live up to his billing this year, with only 13 catches for just 143 yards and one touchdown.

However much of these offensive struggles were expected in Rodriguez’s first year.

The defense, which returned seven starters from last year’s team was expected to be good enough to give chances to win games. However, that has not been the case.

The secondary has been terrible this season. The  are 10th in the in pass defense, allowing 234.2 yards per game and just over seven yards per catch.

If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, then think again. will have to travel to Columbus this weekend to take on their most hated rival, (9-2, 6-1). The are ranked 10th in the , and both of their losses were to opponents ranked inside the top three, and .

Highly touted true freshman quarterback  has been a huge part of the Buckeye offense.

Pryor took over for the struggling senior starter after their loss to . Since then, he has thrown for 1125 yards, 10 touchdowns, only three interceptions, and has completed 64.7 percent if his passes for a passer rating of 152.2.

Pryor’s strong suit, however, is running the football. He has a total of 560 rushing yards, six touchdowns, and averages 4.8 yards per carry.

Then there’s Chris “Beanie” Wells, who is currently sixth in the in rushing with 957 yards and has seven touchdowns.

A surprising stat is that the are 10th in the in total offense. So how have they won nine games this year?

They have a great defense with standout seniors in linebacker  and cornerback Malcom Jenkins. The rank second in the conference in pass defense and fourth in the conference against the run.

So fans have to be asking themselves: Is there anyway to salvage this season? Can beat in Columbus and avoid losing to the for a record fifth consecutive time?

The answer is yes. While may not stack up to the on paper, they certainly have history on their side. As mentioned before, has never beaten five times in a row.

More good news for Rodriguez is that the only coach in history to lose to in his first year was Elton Wieman way back in 1927.

This game is still very important to both teams. needs to avoid the upset in order to give themselves a chance to earn a bid with a loss. They also have a good chance at an at-large bid.

For , this win might not get them to the , or any bowl for that matter. But for the it would mean redemption.

It would mean they can salvage something from a clearly lost season and abysmal start to ’s era at . It would end the ’ dominance of the , for one year anyway.

This win could restore some pride to ’s football team and give fans a hope of the great things that are expected to come in Rodriguez’s years at .

On a side note, the for this weekend’s game is 19 points. This equals the largest point margin in the history of the rivalry.

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