Ohio State Football: NCAA 2012 Simulation, Week 2 vs. Toledo

Last week, I featured a matchup with Ohio State and Akron in an NCAA 2012 football simulation.

There wasn't a whole lot of discrepancy between the virtual final score and the actual game. In my simulated contest, the Buckeyes bomb-shelled the Zips, 49-0, while holding the MAC cellar-dwellars to 102 yards of total offense.

Back in Columbus, where the real action took place, OSU tore apart Akron limb-from-limb, rustling up 500-plus yards of offense and ultimately winning by a score of 42-0—just a touchdown off from my X-Box 360's prediction.

OSU's defense also ended up holding the Zips to under 100 yards.

Week 2 holds somewhat of a more challenging opposition with the Toledo Rockets arriving to the Horseshoe; the MAC favorites defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats, 58-22, in their season opener.

Ohio State football is just hours away. Let's check out a preview of this week's battle between the Buckeyes and the Rockets.



*Note: According to CBSSports, coach Luke Fickell has named running back Carlos Hyde as the starter for the second straight week. Jaamal Berry and Jordan Hall, who were unavailable Week 1 due to injury and suspension, will be active and will see the field. Also, quarterbacks Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller will share snaps, as they did against Akron.

This simulation reflects these notifications.

First Quarter

Toledo elected to receive the opening kickoff and began its drive at the 20-yard line. It got off to a hot start against the Buckeyes defense, marching down the field with eight plays for 58 yards, using the no-huddle offense.

It was then that cornerback Travis Howard—back from suspension—said enough was enough. The junior intercepted Terrance Owens and took it the distance for a touchdown, giving Ohio State an early 7-0 lead.

The Rockets, looking to regain composure, retook the field in hopes of answering the turnover. However, Dominic Clarke, who was located on the opposite side of Howard, decided he wanted in on the action and picked off a confounded Owens.

OSU's offense jogged onto the gridiron for the first time, with just under nine minutes left in the first quarter.

And they didn't stay on for long.

On the very first play, QB Joe Bauserman launched a 55-yard bomb to true freshman receiver Devin Smith for a touchdown, putting the Bucks on top, 14-0.

A quick three-and-out performance by the Toledo offense put Ohio State in position to put the game away early. However, a five-play, 36-yard drive, that included a 30-yard pass from Bauserman to tight end Jake Stoneburner, was halted when Drew Basil missed a 51-yard field goal wide right.



Second Quarter

The Rockets, in need of an offensive spark, got things rolling with a 14-yard pass from junior quarterback Austin Dantin to wideout Bernard Reedy.

However, a sack from John Simon and a false-start penalty disrupted the brief success and resulted in a missed field goal from 45 yards out.

This was the first we'd see from freshman phenom QB Braxton Miller, who looked as if he forgot his talent at home. He threw two straight inexcusable incomplete passes before scrambling for 10 yards on a 3rd-and-10 situation. Carlos Hyde then took three handoffs in a row for 19 yards, setting up a 29-yard touchdown pass from Joe Bauserman to fullback Zach Boren.

Toledo's offense continued to look abysmal, giving the ball back to the Buckeyes after three offensive snaps.

Fickell took haste of the opportunity. After a few solid gains from running backs Jaamal Berry and Jordan Hall, Bauserman once again found the end zone and threw in the air, this time to WR Chris Fields for a 33-yard score.

The scoreboard read 28-0 in OSU's favor.

Another short appearance by the Rockets' non-existant offense gave Ohio State good field position at its own 45-yard line. But it was Toledo's defense that stepped up and forced a field-goal attempt, which continued to be the Buckeyes' weakness as Basil missed his third effort in as many tries this season—this time from 49 yards.

Six seconds remained on the clock when Tim Beckman's offense finally breached the scoreboard. Missed communication on the defensive side of the ball led to a 60-yard catapult for Toledo's first score of the game, ending the first half.



Second Half

The second half contained less scoring and more dominance by the Ohio State defense.

Running backs Jaamal Berry, Jordan Hall and Rod Smith saw plenty of carries as the OSU offense felt more inclined to run the ball than push it through the air.

Nonetheless, Joe Bauserman threw his first interception of the 2011 season when attempting to spot the ball on a 3rd-and-long situation.

Braxton Miller saw the most playing time in the third quarter, but was limited to just nine passes throughout the entire game.

On the bright side, kicker Drew Basil made a valid effort to redeem himself, putting through two field goals (46, 45) in as many tries.

The defense didn't allow another point until three minutes remained in the fourth quarter, when Dantin completed a touchdown strike through the air. By then, the backups had already acclimated themselves on the field for a good while.



Final Score:

Toledo, 14

Ohio State, 41

Game Summary

Fifth-year senior QB Joe Bauserman shined for the second straight week, gaining a lot of ground on his freshman counterpart. By performance alone, it looks like the 25-year-old college football veteran will be the go-to guy for the highly anticipated matchup at Miami.

Ohio State's defense looked immaculate and the offense showed precision. Both made very few mistakes and proved to be ready for the Hurricanes. The Toledo Rockets were not looked over.

The return of Jaamal Berry and Jordan Hall provided immediate wisdom and superiority for not only the ground game, but also special teams. Both looked chiseled and they will be a two-headed monster until Dan "Boom" Herron returns from suspension.

The Rockets head into Week 3 with their heads down, but still focused on a MAC championship. However, the road doesn't get any easier, with the Boise State Broncos coming to town.



Game Stats

Toledo:

10 first downs
212 offensive yards
32 yards rushing
180 yards passing
3-10 (30 percent) 3rd-down conversions
3 turnovers

Ohio State:

18 first downs
386 offensive yards
159 yards rushing
227 yards passing
5-11 (45.4 percent) 3rd down conversions
1 turnover



Noteworthy Statistics

Toledo:

QB Austin Dantin: 8-15, 129 yds, 2 TD, INT

RB Adonis Thomas: 14 att, 30 yds (2.1 YPC)

WR Bernard Reedy: 4 rec, 89 yds, TD


Ohio State:

QB Joe Bauserman: 9-13, 182 yds, 3 TD, INT

QB Braxton Miller: 4-9, 45 yds, 1 att, 10 yds

RB Carlos Hyde: 12 att, 56 yds (4.7 YPC)

RB Jaamal Berry: 10 att, 42 yds (4.2 YPC)

RB Jordan Hall: 7 att, 34 yds (4.9 YPC)

RB Rod Smith: 3 att, 6 yds (2.0 YPC), TD

WR Devin Smith: 2 rec, 63 yds, TD

WR Chris Fields: 3 rec, 58 yds, TD

FB Zach Boren: 2 rec, 50 yds, TD

TE Jake Stoneburner: 4 rec, 69 yds

DT Adam Bellamy: 8 tackles (2.0 TFL), 2 sacks

DT John Simon: 4 tackles, 1 sack

LB Andrew Sweat: 7 tackles, 1 sack, INT

CB Travis Howard: 2 tackles, INT

CB Dominic Clarke: 4 tackles, INT