By Jordan Hansen
With the College Football Playoff putting such an emphasis on quality wins, this season has been full of marquee early season matchups.
None might be more exciting than No. 4 ranked Ohio State heading to Norman for a date with No. 14 Oklahoma. The Buckeyes are around a 2-point favorite to win the game, but they certainly aren’t underestimating the Sooners or their head coach, Bob Stoops.
“He’s very confident in the way he does his business,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said about Stoops during the weekly Big Ten teleconference. “I like his approach to the game and the program.”
Meyer also went on to say he considers Stoops a friend and likes his outlook on life.
It goes a little deeper, apparently. Meyer has visited Norman before and has seen firsthand how Stoops runs his program. There is a lot of respect between the two coaches, which always adds something to this type of game.
On paper, it’s an exciting matchup. Oklahoma does have a loss, but it’s to No. 6 Houston on a neutral field at the beginning of the season.
Meyer talked a bit about scheming, and one stands out to him as a real worry.
“It’s going to be hard to run the ball,” he said. “Our offense is balanced, but we like to run, and it’s going to be hard to get that going. I know Houston had some success throwing the ball, but very little running it.
“That’s our biggest concern.”
Rutgers picks up a win
Chris Ash got his first win as Rutgers head coach on Sept. 10 against Howard.
Even if it was against a lowly Football Championship Subdivision school, it still is a major achievement considering the amount of turmoil the program has had in the past two years. The Scarlet Knights will not be good this year, but a first win is a place to start.
“We’re happy about getting our first ‘W,’ ” Ash said on the weekly Big Ten teleconference.
“We started off slow, but we finished strong, and I liked our resiliency throughout the game.”
Uh, Northwestern?
With Rutgers getting a win, there is exactly one winless coach in the Big Ten — Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald. The Wildcats lost to Western Michigan in their season-opener and then to Illinois State last weekend.
Both are non-Power 5 schools, and Illinois State is an FCS program. There’s a distinct lack of offensive identity, and quarterback Clayton Thorson has not looked good.
The defense has, for the most part, played well, but that really doesn’t matter if a team can’t score.
“It starts upfront. We were inconsistent on Saturday,” Fitzgerald said on the teleconference. “It’s very difficult to be successful offensively when 12 of your 18 third downs are third and long. It’s very difficult to be successful offensively when over half your plays over the 50-yard line result in failure because of self-inflicted wounds.”
This also might be something that takes a while and could be painful. Offensive coordinator Mick McCall could be the first to go.
Coming off of 10 wins last year, it looked as if Northwestern would contend this season. Now the team will be lucky to make it to a bowl game.
“I’d love to tell you that it’s an easy fix,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s guys doing what they’re supposed to do when they’re supposed to do it and our coaches coaching them to do it better.
“It’s not rocket science here.”
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