DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Oh Boy!! College football is finally here! Go Bucks!

Boy am I excited! Tomorrow night is football night again! OSU takes on Marshall. I'll be at the Winking Lizard on Bethel watching the game with the Buckeye Browns Backers (we'll have the Browns game on too)

Here's todays Dispatch article to whet the OSU fans appetite..

Ohio State football
Quest to be best
Lineman Cameron Heyward is determined to trump the dominating season Ndamukong Suh had last season
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 02:52 AM
By Tim May

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


Wednesday, September 1, 2010
While Cameron Heyward espouses the Ohio State team ethic every chance he gets, he has made no secret of his intention to bull-rush his way to being the best defensive lineman in college football this year.

In fact, when asked whether he wants to be the Ndamukong Suh of 2010, he answered quickly:

"I want to be better than Suh," the senior captain said.

Whether he even comes close to the season Suh had for Nebraska last year, when he wound up fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, remains to be seen. But Heyward said a meeting with coach Jim Tressel earlier this year convinced him not to be bashful about striving for such lofty goals.

"Suh is a great player, but (Tressel) made it clear to me - he was telling me about his dad (the late Lee Tressel, former championship-winning coach at Baldwin-Wallace), and how his dad had a street named after him," Heyward said. "And (Jim Tressel) said he wanted a highway named after him.

"So I think when you want to be the best, you've got to be better than the best. You can't just be Suh. You don't want to be known as a player who was just as good as Suh. It's not being cocky or anything; I just want to be the best out there."

Heyward made that his mission when he returned for his senior year and bypassed the NFL draft, where he likely would have been a first-round pick.

"The way he approached his offseason workout this summer is, he really took the bull by the horns and tried to get bigger, faster, stronger," linebacker Ross Homan said. "And in fall camp, this dude was a beast. He's a monster. He single-handedly can take (on) an offensive line."

One reason Heyward, who will line up at defensive end most of the time, worked harder in the offseason was to prove he is capable of taking part in more than just the 60 percent of plays he participated in a year ago.

"The coaches are going to be counting on me a lot more," Heyward said. "But I think a lot of guys have taken that challenge, just getting more well-conditioned, preparing for this season even harder than they did before. Really, you want your team to be able to depend on you every play."

One of Heyward's biggest admirers is Purdue defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, who had a field day in the Boilermakers' upset of Ohio State last season. He sees the 6-foot-5, 288-pound Heyward as a prototype disruptor.

"His size at the defensive end position is something that really stands out to me," said Kerrigan, who is 6-4 and 263 pounds. "I always felt like I was a big guy at that position, but then I looked at him and said, 'Well, I guess I'm just average.'

"He's a guy who really stands out because of his athleticism at that position and how physically dominant he can be at times. I was watching a replay of the Ohio State-Penn State game the other day on the Big Ten Network, and he just completely overmatched some of the players."

Homan expects to see such play from Heyward often this year.

"He loves the game so much, he is very competitive, very intense on the field," Homan said. "You'll have to kill that dude to get him off the field. And when you look at that dude on the field, it makes everyone else better."

In the quest to improve, Heyward watched video of Suh and the Nebraska defensive line's stunning performance against Texas in the Big 12 championship game last year, and also zeroed in on the play of Gerald McCoy at Oklahoma. McCoy was taken third in the NFL draft, right behind Suh.

"And I've tried to watch NFL tapes when I can get ahold of them, to see defensive linemen and how they can disrupt offenses and just get after the quarterback," Heyward said.

So what could elevate him above all others?

"I am just never going to give up on a play," Heyward said. "I might be that guy down the field trying to hawk somebody down. I might not be the fastest, but I am going to give you all I've got."

tmay@dispatch.com

I'm totally ready. Bucks and Browns tomorrow. It's prolly a good thing the Reds have a day off or else I'd wear out the remote.

GO BUCKS

I just put 2 and 2 together and realized what week 2 means, let's do this

I'm ready. Marshall / OSU tonight.

Saturday keeping my eye on Youngstown St @ PSU, Purdue @ Notre Dame & UConn @ Michigan.

Then on Monday, I'll be watching Boise State / Virginia Tech in the Redskins' stadium.

But most important, my mighty O.U. Bobcats hosting WOFFORD Saturday night. O...H...I...O...!!!!!!

We are.....Marshall!

Ha ha ha, just kidding. I don't like the Herd much either (being a Toledo alum).

I'm hoping for a huge blowout tonight. I'd like to see Pryor play awesome, for the sake of your BCS title hopes. I think it's possible OSU could still win it all if he's not a Heisman candidate at the end of the year, but not likely. This is his year to shine and I think he has to. Hope he finally does.

I think the two big games are (3) BSU @ (10) VT & then (24) Oregon State @ (6) TCU. I think one will lose. Something tells me Oregon State is gonna win. We need an official "College Football Week 1 - Predict the Upset" thread.

SO what did you guys think of pryor? the game pretty much went as planned OSU D pitched a shut out(if it wasn't for the stupid special teams blocked FG) and the O dropped 45...i haven't seen OSU blow anyone out like this and play with such confidence in a while...i'm loving it!

Pryor did scare me few times in the first half...he had 2 horrible throws that made u wonder whta heck he was thinking about...so i'm not 100% on him...it was after all just marshall...if Miami brings the heat next week look out...we might see him lob some passes up for grabs

2 or 3 bad throws, and one really dumb throw.

but overall, he looks improved. but we'll find out next week when a pretty good team comes into the shoe.

saine looks great.

and that defense has at least 4 guys who will knock you on your ass. moeller, heyward, rolle, and homan. that group is gonna be real real good.

Quote:

---

Pryor did scare me few times in the first half...he had 2 horrible throws that made u wonder whta heck he was thinking about...so i'm not 100% on him...it was after all just marshall...if Miami brings the heat next week look out...we might see him lob some passes up for grabs

---

I'd say he looked improved. The first TD was put in a perfect spot where only Posey could catch it. The majority of his throws were pretty good, but both of you guys are right; we'll see next week. He had little pressure in his face, and his receivers were getting huge separation. There should be some pressure next week and a bit smaller windows to throw into.

The bad throws made me nervous, but what really made me nervous was late in the third qtr, Pryor bounced one outside and had 3 defenders waiting for him. Instead of running out of bounds, he charged into them and took a helmet close to that knee brace. All I could think about was a few years ago when Beanie Wells go hurt in that first meaningless game and wasn't available when we went into USC. Pryor was lucky.

Also, I'm impressed with Moeller's speed and open field tackling. The two plays in my mind are a sweep by Marshall's speedy RB where Moeller beat him to the sideline, and a beautiful open field tackle on a WR screen when there was only Moeller and the WR out there.

I'll stop rambling now, but one thing did irk me. The Buckeyes took at least two late cheap shots at the QB. Very stupid. It didn't matter in this game, but in a tight game, the last thing you need to do is bail the other team out with a free first and 15 yards.

Should be a great game... I'm actually happy I didn't see the Marhsall game because I don't want to get too excited just yet.

I think Miami will be a great test for us. I would not be surprised to see it come down to the wire and if (God Forbid) we lose I wouldn't be overly surprised...

of course I'm hoping we blow them out

Only thing I'm really bummed about is it's not a night game. Oh well... can't have everything

We're driving (quickly) to the Outer Banks in order to get there by gametime,....

The Outer Banks of NC? Fortunately they are still there.

We got a great deal on an after-Labor Day house on the beach at Nags Head,...but might get delayed by a funeral, and not get to NC in time,....(gotta stop at the Package Store in Quantico,...)

The good thing with a Miami victory would be, the ACC's movin' on up, eh ?

Good surf in Nag's Head (for the east coast, that is)

I'm probably just a tad too old for surfing,...good thing is, with national TV, I won't have to surf for a place to watch Ohio State,...Sunday vs. Tampa is a different story, but I'm being told there's plenty of places with the package,....

How are you going? Down through Rocky Mount or east and down through Williamsburg/Chesapeake? Lots of places to stop from Williamsburg to Norfolk and watch a game with all of the military there, they get games from all over.

And yes, I'm not a big Miami fan but I do want to see the ACC get back into the national discussion. I'd rather it be Virginia Tech but it could be both and we will know a lot about both in a couple weeks as Miami plays OSU and VT plays Boise State.

Ran into a guy in a Boise State shirt at lunch today who said he was here for the game. I had to ask him if he was lost because the game is Monday and it's in Washington, DC..

Norfolk from the north,...I guess that's the Chesapeake way,...I'll PM ya'.

Little scare there for a minute at Happy Valley,...7-6 'Guins !

30-7 now, Penn State.

Uconn is just blowing it vs um

Dropped a pass that would have put upon on the michigan 1, then had a 38 yard fg blocked

Next drive, dropped ball on a 20+ pass

Mch fumbled the next punt, uconn had a chance at it then couldn't fall on the ball, way to suck

5 yard punt by uconn, nicely done

Alright.... Texas woke up.... up 17-3 now...

Osu fans are gonna want to root for vtech tonight. A Boise state win decreases the buckeyes chance at a national title with 1 loss.

probably..but what if boise is the ONLY undefeated team?

If bucks lose early they can still come back and go to the national title game as #2

Quote:

---

It doesn't "decrease" the chances of OSU getting in with 1 loss, it eliminates them.

---

Isn't it a bit early to be on the dope?

One loss eliminates ANY team's chances until EVERYONE else, or all BUT one team, also loses one (or more),...then you are "back" in it (depending of course, on the logic of your "lone" loss,...opponent & ranking, home/away, score/blowout?, etc. etc.,...the things that determine where you are at in the poll & thus the BCS,....)

I'm not trying to speak for Buck, but the reality is, if you lose one, you're out until a flurry of other stuff magically happens.

I think he's assuming Boise goes unbeaten. But right now, I'm assuming, Ohio State, the winner of the Notre Dame/Michigan game, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and a few others are also all going to go unbeaten, and that is impossible with the conference title games and h-t-h's.

When everyone HAS one loss, your are/might be IN it (depending). When there are 2 unbeatens, you are OUT.

Boise State could easily fail to get into the BCS game, even if they go undefeated. They play a really weak schedule, and a 1 loss team with a stronger and a conference championship win could easily bump them in the BCS poll.

The real and best test of where they are will be when the initial BCS rankings come out. If they are 3 or below, I don't see them making the championship game if there is a quality 1 loss team.

Quote:

---

It doesn't "decrease" the chances of OSU getting in with 1 loss, it eliminates them.

---

OSU can still play for a national championship if Boise goes undefeated and OSU has one loss.

Just say no

The BCS is rigged enough to where they'll find a way to exclude whoever they want. It's all about TV markets. Boise doesn't really draw such market so it's likely that even if they go undefeated they won't make a national championship game.

i disagree with that.

boise st in the chip is gonna draw some viewers. sure the boise market is nothing compared to others, but nationally people are gonna watch. they made a name for themselves in 2007 and theyre still waiting on their chance.

besides, if the boise st fans complain about not getting in, they can point to a really weak sched. they have this game and nothing else. with the way things are set up they have to run the table and hope for a few things to fall their way. it's only fair to the teams in the bigger conferences who have to slug it out every week.

Quote:

---

Okay, I suppose you're right.

---

just trying to give the masses a level headed approach

Wow........Navy just blew it to Maryland.

They had so many chances to score and blew it in the red zone too many times including the last play of the game!

That would have been a sweet win for Navy...but did not happen!

GO NAVY!

You go wide at the goal line,...you don't allow the defense to defend 4-5 yards of width,...make them defend it marker to marker.

That plan doesn't always work, but when you have the triple-option offense Navy does, it was less than intelligent to go otherwise.

especially with navy's line which is the smallest line i have ever seen.

Boise State looking nasty. Just straight owning Va Tech right now.

Yeah BSU is straight up handling VT at this point...