P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >>
2016 RECORD 11-2, 8-1 Big Ten
COACH Urban Meyer (61-6 in ensive co-
ordinator this year, as Meyer pulled one
of his signature moves by adding a former
rival to his sta>. This time it was former
Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson. Things
didn't end well for Wilson in Blooming-
ton, but his o>enses were always dy-
namic, and now he's working with Ohio
State talent. Should be a winning combo.
The Buckeyes also return a 1,000-yard
rusher in Mike Weber, six members of
last year's starting defensive front seven,
and kicker Sean Nuernberger, who hit 16
of 24 -week is
well-timed. It arrives just before that
showdown with the Lions.
GAME OF THE YEAR Would it be an ex-
aggeration to claim that Ohio State plays
an 11-game exhibition schedule followed
by a one-game regular season? Consid-
ering how seriously the Buckeyes seem
to take the national championship race,
probably so. But the fanatical and re=ex-
ive disdain in Columbus for all things
maize and blue continues unabated.
Michigan is obviously Ohio State's
biggest game, and there's nothing the
Buckeyes would like more than to extend
their dominant run by beating their
archrival for the 13th time in the past 16
meetings (the 14th time if you count a
37-7 romp in 2010 that they were later
forced to vacate).
OUTLOOK There was a lot of talk at this
time a year ago that the Buckeyes were in
a rebuilding phase. They ended up play-
ing 29 freshmen, including 11 true fresh-
men, yet still went 11-2 and made the
College Football Playo>. Regardless of
how you feel about the decision to
choose them over Penn State in the CFP
ense and seven on
defense, and some of the rising stars –
notably junior wideout Parris Campbell,
who starred in the spring game – could
turn out to be upgrades over the players
they're replacing. We'll get an idea in
September how good this team is, as the
Sooners will provide a useful measuring
stick. If the Buckeyes rip them again –
hardly an impossibility – they'll serve
notice that the preseason hype was de-
served. Not that their Big Ten rivals need
a reminder of the challenge that Ohio
State poses. –M.H.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
TOP RETURNEES
PASSING
J.T. Barrett 233 of 379 | 2,555 yds. | 24 TD | 7 int.
RUSHING
Mike Weber 182 att. | 1,096 yds. | 9 TD
RECEIVING
Marcus Baugh 24 rec. | 269 yds. | 2 TD
TACKLING
Jerome Baker 45 solo | 38 asst. | 83 total
INTERCEPTIONS
Jerome Baker 2 int. | 90 yds.
W E E K 8 | O C T O B E R 2 8 | O H I O S T A D I U M
BARRETT
Steve Manuel
