Marquee Matchups on Pinnacle...Thoughts...

[Nigel Tufnel]

Looking at Texas @ OSU on Sept. 10th....currently, Pinnacle has OSU -2. I don't like taking games this far in advance due to injuries, etc. At the same time, I really think OSU is winning this game....by at least a FG.

Tressel will say over and over again that he is preparing for Miami (OH) because that is their first game....I refuse to believe it. I think he is certainly not looking past Miami (OH), but I also believe he has been spending the summer preparing his team for Texas. If there is one thing I will never bet against....its OSU when Tressel has time to prepare. The guy has killed me the last three bowl games....and for some reason, I'm using the same rationale here.

Two very talented and deep teams. A great QB with a great Oline against a great defense with a top corp of LB's waiting for him.

I can't overlook the home field, night game on national t.v. issue. I know Texas is big time...but I honestly wonder if they can fathom the hostile environment they are going to be encountering in the Horseshoe. It is going to be pure insanity. This has been one of the most hyped OOC games in years...

Thoughts on giving the -2 prior to the season starting?

[FlyersFan]

My first thought is this......i'm going to be there in that stadium...:prtytme: :yeah: . OSU won't defend Young like the idiots from up north did in the Rose Bowl. They will make him beat them with his arm. I think that home field advantage is HUGE in this one. This is probably one of the top 2 non conference games at OSU in the last 25 years (UND being the other in the mid 90's). I think that the 2 teams are about even on paper defensively. Offensively they have young, BUT we have Ted Ginn Jr. who is every bit as explosive if not more. Intangible is coaching which clearly goes to OSU, IMO. I think money will pour in on TEX as the sentiment seems to be that TEX will win from what i am reading. This one will probably be a pick'em at game time. I am going to wait and see what the line will be. Also want to see what OSU's QB situation is for that game. GL!

[bigbag12]

im with FF on this. i think public perception/betting on tu will swing this line to even or texas -1 or -2. really like OSU at home in this game so long as line doesnt move above 3.

[Q-Unit]

they will be lucky to get past the mighy MIAMI of OHIO redhawks (i think they are the redhawks?)

LOL!:flush:

[WildBillPicks7]

Betts for Miami-OH is a good QB and I know the Buckeyes will be looking slightly ahead. 17 pts to grab looks very nice for in-state game with a new head coach trying to make his mark too.

UT will be charged up for this game as well. Young is a stellar athlete that can't be taken lightly and when he scrambles, look out. He also has a rocket for an arm, ala, Randall Cunningham formerly of the Eagles/Vi-queens and Faiders..

Nice post Nigel. Very intriguing matchups with early lines I agree.

Check out these early lines from Phil Steele's Power Sweep and the MGM Grand.

Michigan -16 vs Notre Dame 9/10

Oklahoma -8 @ UCLA 9/17

LSU -6 vs Tennessee 9/24

Ohio State -7 vs Iowa 9/24 (very good defensive matchup)

LSU -6 vs Florida 10/15 (Could be a wake up call for LSU)

One very much improved team that many will slightly look at this year and they might be a bit under-priced though their first game they seem to be over-priced is Wake Forest. There RB, Barclay and their QB's are very good as well as a very improved defensive team with good special teams as well.

BOL this year Nigel!

WB:thumbs:

[joepa66]

Flyer and I are gonna be dizzy watching Young scramble for his life and pitching dead quails all over the place......Bucks first must tame Miami-OH and that's never an easy task, then get set for Tejas. My cousin is OSU's starting long snapper, Drew Norman, and this summer he's been beaming about this team and the UT game! Buyer beware but me like the Bucks vs. UT but not vs. Miami-OH. By the way, Drew's younger brother Tony is the long snapper for Air Force!!!

[joepa66]

Just a headsup......Smith better get his shit together NOW!

The last thing Ohio State — or Justin Zwick — needed was a setback before the season starts. Consider the Buckeyes’ offense set back, at least this week.

Zwick sustained a sprained ankle near the end of practice Tuesday and did not practice while wearing a walking boot Wednesday. The redshirt junior, who led Ohio State to a win in the Alamo Bowl last year while playing with a hamstring injury, rolled his left ankle during the first day this summer that Ohio State coaches took the black, no-contact jerseys off the QBs.

Zwick could be sidelined for several weeks, though his status for the Sept. 3 opener may not be in danger. Zwick’s father, Bill, said the sprain wasn’t minor.

“It’s a medium grade sprain ... not minor, not major,” he said. “It was better (Wednesday) certainly than it was Tuesday night,” Bill Zwick said.

The starting quarterback position is back in Zwick’s hands, at least for the opener against Miami of Ohio. Zwick began last year as the starter but struggled in three straight losses before being hurt during a game against Iowa. Troy Smith then took over.

Smith is suspended for the opener for taking money from a booster. His status after that is unknown, but he is expected to be eligible for the second game, a nationally televised game against top-five ranked Texas.

If Zwick’s ankle injury lingers into the end of this month, redshirt freshman Todd Boeckman would be pressed into duty. Boeckman has not played in a game since his senior season at St. Henry High School in 2002. He was grayshirted in ’03 and redshirted last year.

“I’m excited about this season,” Zwick said last week. “I can see things better and I’m more comfortable. ... It’s going to be great to break the huddle with a year under my belt.