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September 11, 2015As Virginia Tech learned on Monday, playing The Ohio State University Buckeyes is no day at the beach. After a short week, the University of Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors come surfing into Columbus looking to upset the No. 1 Buckeyes. OSU showed in Week 1 that their offense can explode like a volcano. Does Hawai’i stand a chance, or can they bid “aloha” to a win right now?
Saturday’s contest marks the first clash between the Buckeyes and Rainbow Warriors. Members of the Mountain West Conference since 2012, Hawai’i previously belonged to the Western Athletic Conference. They won the WAC four times – 1992, 1999, 2007, and 2010. Hawai’i has not qualified for a bowl game since the 2010 season when they lost the Hawai’i Bowl to Tulsa 62-35. The club has not won a bowl game since defeating Arizona State 41-24 in the 2006 Hawai’i Bowl.
Midnight football. That’s what comes to mind when I think of Hawai’i. The time difference allows the Rainbow Warriors to play their home games in the evening locally with kickoff often coming at midnight eastern time. If you watched the Rainbow Warriors’ first game last week (1 a.m. EST kickoff) then I am sorry to hear about your insomnia. However, you would know that Hawaii defeated Colorado at home 28-20. While the Buffaloes have not set the world on fire since joining the Pac-12 (or since 2001 for that matter), the victory showed that Hawai’i should not be taken lightly and they do not fear playing a Power 5 conference.
Senior quarterback Max Wittek completed 19-of-38 passes for 202 yards, three TDs, and two picks against Colorado. The Rainbow Warriors split the carries between junior running back Paul Harris and junior Steven (“Boom Shaka”) Lakalaka who ran for 68 and 30 yards, respectively. The Buckeyes’ secondary will need to contend with junior wideout Marcus Kemp, who burned Colorado for 116 yards receiving including a 79-yard touchdown reception. The game will hold special meaning to Harris, who hails from Columbus.
The Buckeyes meanwhile need to get their minds off revenge and onto “The Grind.” While the Virginia Tech game carried an intense emotional force, the Buckeyes cannot afford to savor their redemption for long. Questions remain for Ohio State at quarterback. Redshirt junior Cardale Jones started against the Hokies, looking both hot and cold at times. Redshirt sophomore J.T. Barrett relieved him in the second half looking as healthy and dangerous as ever. The official OSU depth chart lists them as co-starters with head coach Urban Meyer describing the situation as a work in progress, saying, “they both have to be on call and ready to go.”
The Buckeyes will also benefit from the return of formerly suspended Joey Bosa, Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson, and Corey Smith. Marshall handled punt returns in 2014 and may return to that role now that he is available. Meyer hinted that Braxton Miller may see some time as a punt returner as well, but also stated, “I don’t think it would be fair to put him in that environment back there.” Meyer is clearly taking a cautious route with Miller. Either Miller or Jalyn Holmes would be a welcome change from Ezekiel Elliott, who looked unsteady on special teams and muffed a punt in the second quarter that Virginia Tech recovered and later turned into a touchdown.
Odds and Ends:
• The Buckeye offense has thrown a touchdown pass in 24 consecutive games dating back to the 2013 season, tied with the 1994-96 squads for the longest streak in school history. A touchdown pass on Saturday would set the new record. While such a toss seems likely, the real question is: who will throw it?
• After his highlight-heavy return to action, Braxton Miller was named the Big Ten’s offensive player of the week. Against Virginia Tech the quarterback-turned-H-Back racked up 78 receiving yards, 62 rushing yards, and two touchdowns. And you worried he might be rusty.
• Ohio State has won 14 consecutive games going back to last season. The only other time a Buckeye outfit won exactly 14 games was in the 1899-1900 seasons. The streak was eventually broken by Ohio Medical 11-6. I am not especially worried about that unit playing spoiler again.
• Ohio State is currently 8-1 all-time versus the Mountain West Conference. The only defeat came at the hands of Air Force in the 1990 Liberty Bowl.
It goes without saying that the University of Hawai’i does not move the needle as much as Virginia Tech did. Still, a short week could lead to sloppy play, turnovers, or mental mistakes for Ohio State – all of which would be critical for a Rainbow Warrior upset. Even with a few blunders, however, the Bucks are the top team in the country and should have no trouble dispatching the their opponents. Have a safe flight home, Hawai’i. Mahalo for coming.
3 Comments
State University of Ohio – 91
Hawaii – 0
Elliot rushes for 700 yards in his bid to become the first ever 4000 yard rusher.
The Four Letter Sports Science proves Cardale throws harder than a 105mm howitzer as he throws a pass through a Hawaii DL and 2 DBs, and imbeds the football in the wall behind the endzone.
and if the score wasn’t going to be embarrassing enough… they’re gonna get waxed wearing these:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LYmiwJqFFhQ/UI4Qon9ZSEI/AAAAAAAADGA/tOBtduTcjOA/s1600/RainbowDashPony.jpg