Tag: Justin Fields

Ohio State has a strong argument for 3 2019 Heisman Trophy finalists

Justin Fields, J.K. Dobbins and Chase Young could all end up as Heisman finalists.

Most college football teams are lucky if they have one Heisman Trophy candidate on their roster. Ohio State has three, which is undoubtedly one of the many reasons the Buckeyes have been No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings in three of the last five weeks.

Quarterback Justin Fields, running back J.K. Dobbins and defensive end Chase Young are all outstanding players. The Heisman field is a bit crowded this season — despite LSU quarterback Joe Burrow being the clear favorite in the second half of the season — but these three players have strong arguments to be finalists.

So when Monday’s voting deadline comes around, maybe we’ll see five or even six finalists invited to the December 14 ceremony in New York.

Regardless, Ohio State is understandably vocal about its three players in the running and released its “Heismen” campaign Tuesday on Twitter. And their cases are pretty compelling.

Although he’s not up there with Burrow’s nation-leading 78.3 completion percentage — although, no one is — Fields is still having an incredible season worthy of Heisman consideration. With a 68.2 completion percentage, the sophomore quarterback has thrown for 2,654 yards and the third-most touchdowns so far with 37. He also has just one interception and had added 10 rushing touchdowns to his resume.

However, the double-edged sword for Fields is that he’s not carrying the Buckeyes’ top-5 offense alone with Dobbins out there too. The junior running back is ranked fourth nationally with 1,657 rushing yards and is tied for fifth with 19 touchdowns. Most recently, he had a stellar performance against Michigan in Week 14, finishing with four touchdowns for the first time in his career while breaking the 200-yard mark.

And then there’s Young, who is unquestionably the most dominant defensive player in the country and should terrify every opposing quarterback. The junior defensive end is disruptive, athletic and fast, and he’s a huge reason why Ohio State is ranked No. 2 in passing defense and No. 4 in rushing defense. Young leads the nation with 16.5 sacks this season, despite missing two games because of an NCAA suspension, and has 38 total tackles.

But the Heisman winner is almost always on offense, so that’s his disadvantage. Former Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson remains the only player to win the Heisman, which he did in 1997.

In addition to LSU’s Burrow, Fields, Dobbins and Young are up against Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who could still be a finalist despite suffering a season-ending injury in Week 12 against Mississippi State.

The best the Buckeyes’ trio and fans can hope for is that there is a small enough margin in the voting that all three are finalists and invited to the ceremony in New York. And this year, that’s not really much of a reach.

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Ohio State vs. Wisconsin 2019 Big Ten Championship football Preview And Prediction

Ohio State will tussle with Wisconsin for the second time this season in the Big Ten Championship Game. Here’s our preview and prediction.

Records

Ohio State (12-0), Wisconsin (10-2)

Broadcast, TV, Game Time

Date: Saturday, December 7
Game Time: 8pm ET
Network: FOX
Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis – Capacity: 70,000
All-Time Series: Ohio State leads 60-18-5
Last Meeting: Ohio State defeated Wisconsin 38-7 earlier this year

Boom! There’s nothing quite like owning your arch rival. The Buckeyes took care of business in impressive fashion with a dominating win over the Wolverines in Ann Arbor this past Saturday.

The regular season is done and now it’s time to focus on bigger prizes, namely a Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff birth.

The Buckeyes will  face the Badgers of Wisconsin in a rematch of a crossover game from earlier in the season in which Ohio State cruised to a 38-7 victory in less than ideal weather conditions.

Weather won’t be a factor under the cover of Lucas Oil Stadium as Ohio State looks for its third straight Big Ten Championship.

On to Indy!

Next … The game plan

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Ohio State head coach Ryan Day believes Ohio State should have three Heisman candidates

Ohio State University’s head coach Ryan Day believes his Buckeyes have three Heisman Trophy candidates.

The Ohio State football team is 12-0, and it has been largely been due to the Buckeyes’ first-year head coach Ryan Day. He has figured out how to thrive with one of the most talented teams in the nation.

One of just three teams to enter the conference championship weekend undefeated, the Buckeyes have been dominant, crushing most teams en route to clinching the Big Ten East a week early.

Although Day has constructed most of the team’s quintessential gameplans, they’ve executed them behind three players that could all be considered finalists for the Heisman Trophy.

And Day is drinking his own Kool-Aid, also believing he has three players that deserve to be in New York for the ceremony.

Chase Young, Justin Fields, and J.K. Dobbins are the three. That trio involves one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks, the nation’s best defender and arguably the best running back in college football.

Young, with potentially three games remaining, already has the most sacks in a single season in Ohio State history this season — all while missing two because of a suspension.

As for Dobbins, he’s broken into the university’s top-two in all-time rushing yards while not even seeing the bulk of the second-half carries in what feels like the majority of Ohio State’s games.

Lastly, Fields has been the engine that’s created such a dynamic Ohio State offense.

In his sophomore season, Fields has 37 passing touchdowns and ONE interception. Tack on almost 2,700 passing yards, 470 rushing yards and ten more rushing touchdowns, and Fields has seemingly made every big play when it’s mattered most.

Fields and Dobbins put up four touchdowns each against Michigan. It wasn’t just this past Saturday that they’ve been atop their game, the dynamic duo has been running the Big Ten all season.

Had Ohio State been in more four-quarter games, we could be talking about any of these three as Heisman favorites. Sadly, it seems LSU’s Joe Burrow is running away with the award.

Still, getting at least two from Ohio State to make the trip to New York would be special.

Ohio State Football names its Players of the Week against Michigan

The Ohio State Buckeyes put a 29-point beatdown on their northern rivals, and it was behind the dominant performances of their four players.

The Ohio State Buckeyes put a 29-point beatdown on their northern rivals this past Saturday. From start to finish, it was all Ohio State after Michigan got out to a lead early.

Michigan took their first drive to the house and put up sixteen first-half points on the nation’s best defense. While that wasn’t expected, Ohio State did respond in a big way, scoring the very next drive.

The Buckeyes took a 28-16 lead into half time. After a 14-3 third quarter, the 42-19 ballgame was all but over as the sea of red started to crowd one of the endzone sections.

That said, Ohio State has released its offensive and defensive players of the week.

Offensively, it was J.K. Dobbins and Justin Fields.

There are no questions asked here.

Dobbins ran for 200-plus yards, averaging 6.8 yards per game. He found the endzone four times. Fields then threw for four more touchdowns and 302 yards, his second 300-yard performance of the season.

Defensively for the Buckeyes, they appointed Davon Hamilton and Jeff Okudah.

Okudah, the nation’s best corner and projected top-five pick, was all over the field against the Wolverines. Surprisingly, they opted to actually throw his way, ending the game with two pass deflections.

For Hamilton, he finished the game with four solo tackles, two tackles for loss and one big-time sack. Chase Young was neutralized against a sturdy Michigan front.

Moving forward, although they didn’t need the victory to clinch the Big Ten East, the Buckeyes will be taking on Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game this coming Saturday at 8 pm EST.

Justin Fields: Ohio State ‘takes (The Game) more seriously’ than Michigan

The Buckeyes QB said after the game it’s evident that OSU takes the rivalry more seriously.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  After what looked like an impressive start on the offensive side of the ball, Michigan’s defense was a sieve against Ohio State, allowing 313 yards passing and an astounding 264 yards rushing, en route to another Buckeyes blowout victory, 56-27.

Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson had his third-straight 300-yard game through the air, but with 250 of that in the first-half, it was a rough game in the second for the maize and blue.

Chalk a lot of it up to Ohio State being the superior team. But Michigan also had a lot of self-inflicted wounds, including a staggering amount of drops made by the wide receivers before the game got out of hand.

So why do the Buckeyes continue to dominate the Wolverines like this? Is it a talent gap that’s making the difference?

Perhaps, but that’s not how OSU quarterback Justin Fields sees it.

After the game, he feels like Ohio State flat out just cares more than Michigan does, thus, it perpetually rolls in The Game, each one getting seemingly more lopsided than the last.

“I just think that we take it more seriously than they do, I think,” Fields said. “We prepare for it all year. Like (Director of Football Mickey Marotti) said, we’re preparing for them next year right now.

“I think it just means more at Ohio State. That’s pretty much the bigger reason we have more success than they do.”

That’s not necessarily how Jim Harbaugh sees it.

“I thought our team was well-prepared, I thought they were playing good football, I thought it was a football fight,” Harbaugh said. “It got away from us today. Give them credit for playing well.

“Yeah — we really want to win the game — yes.”

Now the maize and blue have to lick their wounds for another year, as The Game won’t repeat until 2020 in the regular season finale in Columbus.

Ohio State prolongs Michigan’s misery with 8th straight win: 5 things we learned

Ohio State declawed its arch rival Michigan once again in a similar fashion as last year. Here’s five things we learned.

Michigan will have to wait yet another year to get a shot at Ohio State. The Buckeyes shook off a quick start from the Wolverines, got the big-play machine going and raced out to a big lead in Ann Arbor, then held on for their eighth-straight victory over Michigan 56-27.

The defense wasn’t it’s usual stout unit, but at the end of the day, you simply take the win in a rivalry game and move on. There were a lot of bizarre and unusual things that happened in this one, and plenty to take from what we saw.

As is customary, here’s five things we learned from yet another victory over That Team Up North.

Ohio State won the battle up front

Michigan’s defense has looked fantastic through the last few games. But … it had yet to meet an offensive line like Ohio State’s. This Buckeye O-line is big, strong, and athletic and were able to lean on the Wolverine front all game long.

The team that wins the rushing battle in this one wins almost every contest without fail, and you could see the control Ohio State and J.K. Dobbins had in making holes and pushing the point of attack. Sure, there were some big plays through the air, but the ground and pound was the difference in this one.

Next … soft in the passing game

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Buckeyes up on Michigan at half despite giving up big plays through the air

Ohio State used a big play offense and opportunistic mistakes by Michigan to go into the half up 28-16.

The Ohio State offense has been moving the ball in the typical fashion we’ve seen all year long and carry a lead of 28-16 over Michigan in the first half. However, it’s the defense that is looking suspect so far today. It might have something to do with the absence of Shaun Wade.

Wade was dressed and participated in the pre-game warm up, but has yet to make an appearance in the contest. His absence is being felt in a big way as the Buckeye D has given up more passing yards in one half than in any one game this season. Of course, it doesn’t help matters that the refs seem to be okay with the Wolverine offense line bear hugging Chase Young.

Hard to complain about a 12 point lead. We’ll see what the adjustments the Buckeyes can make at the half to slow down the Michigan passing game.

JK Dobbins has three rushing touchdowns and 103 yards, and passed Ezekiel Elliott to become the second all time leading rusher in Ohio State history behind only Archie Griffin.

The Buckeyes will have the ball to start the the second half.

 

 

 

Ohio State vs. Michigan: 5 reasons the Buckeyes win The Game

The Game between Ohio State and Michigan is getting closer and closer. Here’s five reasons the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines Saturday.

It sure seems like we’ve said this on more than one occasion, but Ohio State is most likely about to meet its greatest challenge of 2019. The turnover bug hit a little bit last week against Penn State to keep things close, but the Buckeyes have still beaten every opponent on the schedule by two scores.

Now comes the big one, the annual grudge match against Michigan. And even though Ohio State has rented out the Wolverine program like a cheap timeshare over the last couple of years, Jim Harbaugh seems to have this team playing its best football of the season.

Still, there’s no denying that OSU is the more talented and deep team across the board. Here’s five reasons the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines on Saturday at high Noon.

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Next … Athlete on athlete

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5 Players to Watch Against Ohio State

Michigan football takes on Ohio State in the season finale as the Wolverines try and pull off an upset. Who are the five players to watch?

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Michigan’s biggest challenge of the year, Ohio State, is this week as the Wolverines look to try and pull off something nobody has been able to do this season, beat the Buckeyes. Michigan is coming off a 39-14 win over Indiana. Ohio State is coming off a 28-17 win over Penn State that made the Buckeyes look human.

Ohio State’s playoff hopes are on the line this week as a loss would put them up in the air. A win in the Big Ten championship off a loss to Michigan would put them right back in the fight. A loss could still be something as if they beat Michigan, then lose in the title game next week, their season could be over. Beating Michigan gives them a cushion if they lose the conference championship game next week.

Michigan would love nothing more than to ruin the Buckeyes playoff hopes and undefeated season. For that to happen, they will need everyone to help out and contribute to their absolute best. Check out which five players to watch for Saturday’s game below.

1. QB Shea Patterson – MICHIGAN

When you talk about Michigan’s recent success, it all starts with the quarterback play by Shea Patterson. Patterson has been playing the best football he’s ever played lately, throwing for 1,001 yards, 12 touchdowns and an interception in his team’s four-game winning streak. Patterson is taking control of the offense and doing things we haven’t seen until recently.

He’s taking shots downfield, letting his receivers go up and grab the football where the defender can’t grab it. He isn’t running as much as he was earlier in the year, but that can certainly change this week when going up against the best defense in the country. Patterson needs to keep playing with the hot hand that he’s had recently if he wants to keep his record in Ann Arbor without a loss.

For Ohio State’s offense, their quarterback who is in the Heisman race this year…
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Five reason to be thankful as Ohio State fans

Ohio State fans might be spoiled, but that’s because of the success the Buckeyes have had over the years. Here’s 5 reasons to be thankful.

It’s Thanksgiving and we all have reasons to be thankful… food on the table, family and friends, health, and of course our Ohio State Buckeyes. We thought, on this day of thanks, it would be nice to share five things were thankful for concerning the Scarlet and Gray.

Only five reasons to be thankful? There’s plenty more, but we know you only have so much time before the tryptophan kicks in fast asleep in your La-Z-Boy.

Let’s give thanks.

No. 5 – The Transfer Portal

Let’s give thanks for the transfer portal. Without it, no Justin Fields. That’s not a knock on Tate Martell, but let’s be honest, Fields has been better than anyone could’ve expected.

Maybe Tate Martell could’ve been the guy for the Buckeyes this season. But Justin Fields has shown poise and maturity far beyond his years. His numbers aren’t as gaudy as some other QBs on nationally ranked teams, but he has been one of the best in college football all season long.

And without the transfer portal, Buckeye fans would have had to wait a year or maybe he never even transfers with the old rules of having to sit out a year.

Maybe the portal comes back to bite OSU in the future and we lose a prize recruit, but for now, we give thanks for the transfer portal that brought us Justin Fields.

Now about Joe Burrow … well – there’s that.

Next … the new head man in charge

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