Ohio State Football: Previewing the Miami Game

After eking it out against Toledo 27-22 on Saturday, Ohio State prepares to play its first road game against Miami on Saturday, Sept. 17. The Buckeyes are currently 2-0, while Miami lost its season opener to Maryland 32-24.

A lot has changed for both programs since last year, when Ohio State beat Miami in Columbus 36-24. Click "Begin Slideshow" to learn everything you need to know before Saturday. 

The Running Game

Ohio State 

Last week, Ohio State's offense produced 112 rushing yards, compared to Toledo's measly 46. With top running backs Dan "Boom" Herron, Jordan Hall and Jaamal Berry still out (The university has not stated at this time whether Hall will be back for Saturday's game), the Buckeyes must rely on sophomore Carlos Hyde and freshman Rod Smith to take the bulk of the carries.

Miami 

Against Maryland, Miami put up a respectable 172 yards rushing. Lamar Miller, a redshirt sophomore, ran for 119 yards and one touchdown. Miller averaged a 6.6 yards per carry. Junior Mike James only mustered 34 yards rushing.

The Bottom Line

 Miami's Miller is impressive, averaging over six yards per carry last year, and off to another good start this season. The advantage goes to Miami.  

The Receiving Game

Ohio State

 Tight end Jake Stonebruner continued his scoring streak, catching a 43-yard touchdown from quarterback Joe Bauserman against Toledo. Bauserman hit several different receiving targets, and Devin Smith led the receivers with 67 yards.

Miami

 Miami had 195 total receiving yards against Maryland. Miami did not score a touchdown using its offensive weapons in the passing game. Receiver Allen Hurn led the Hurricanes with 69 yards receiving.

The Bottom Line

With Ohio State and Miami's offense still in chaos from team suspensions for NCAA violations, there is no distinct advantage for either team.   

The Quarterbacks

Ohio State

 Though senior Joe Bauserman played the entire game against Toledo, head coach Luke Fickell insists that he still has two starting quarterbacks: "I feel we have two quarterbacks. I've got confidence in both of them. One just hasn't had as many opportunities yet," he said at the postgame press conference.

Though Fickell originally stated that freshman Braxton Miller would play in the second half, Miller did not take a snap against Toledo. "We thought for momentum reasons and some different things, that we just wanted to stick where we were," he said. "We'll make sure we sit down and evaluate and look back over to see if there's any way if we had to do it over again, we'd do it different."

Miami

 After being suspended for accepting discounted goods and services, quarterback Jacory Harris will be back against Ohio State. Harris, along with four other players, will be eligible to play on Saturday.

On Friday, Harris released an official statement of apology.   

"Then all the fans, I want to apologize for something that happened our freshman year. We were all young, but still no excuse for what happened. And apologize to this team for everything that's been going down and putting them through things they had to go through during this hard time."

The Bottom Line

Though sidelined for three games of last season with a concussion, Harris impressed onlookers with his passing game. His sophomore year, Harris threw for over 3,000 yards. He is the better quarterback and as long as he is not nervous after being gone for so long, Miami will take the advantage over Ohio State.   

The Defensive Game

Ohio State

 Ohio State focused on on shutting down Toledo's running game and making the Rockets one-dimensional. It worked, as the Buckeyes held Toledo to only 46 rushing yards last week. However, the team missed key tackles that almost led to an upset.

"Tackling was the other huge thing going into the football defensively that we knew we had to do a great job of. That is probably the biggest area that stood out to me that we made this thing a lot closer because we didn't do a great job at tackling and doing a great job of fundamentally of just getting leverage and getting the ball back inside," Coach Fickell explained at the press conference.

Miami

 Miami had a huge problem keeping momentum and staying consistent on defense. The Hurricanes did not have any sacks against Maryland, and there were too many missed tackles.

The Bottom Line

 Ohio State truly has the better overall defense, but it will be difficult to shut down Miami's running game and Harris' passing. However, the Buckeyes are making defense a focus at practice this week, and this should help significantly.  

The Bottom Line

Last year, Harris threw four interceptions again Ohio State in Columbus. This year, he will be returning to Miami's stadium with a chip on his shoulder and an axe to grind. In his first game back, expect Harris to have a huge game.

Braxton Miller did not play against Toledo, and the environment may be too much pressure for the true freshman. Veteran Joe Bauserman has been consistent, but he is not electrifying enough to make big plays. 

As much as I would like to root for the Buckeyes and promise that they will prevail, Saturday's matchup will be tough, physically and mentally. The Hurricanes have a huge home field advantage and Miami fans are still better over the last two losses to the Buckeyes (including the 2002 national championship).

This game will be close, and it will come down to which team simply makes more mistakes.

Score Prediction: Miami 27, Ohio State 21.