Look for James Laurinaitis Thursday on the Latest Big Ten Quad with Host Eddie George‏!

James Laurinaitis will host BIG TEN QUAD tonight @ 8:00 pm with Eddie George Simeon Rice and Lorenzo White. I will post more later about the Ohio State USC game. I just wanted to make sure that I got that posted before it got to late.

Tomorrow...Ohio State vs. USC!

It's finally here! Tomorrow we will have the chance to watch Terrelle Pryor prove himself. This game will say a lot about coach Tressel choice to bench Todd Boeckman. Here's a little history to explain what this game means.

The numbers themselves are staggering ...



-More than 300 all-time First-Team All-Americans

-Almost 150 NFL total First-Round Draft picks

-Close to 60 combined College Football Hall of Famers

-46 total Rose Bowl games

-18 combined recognized national titles

-7 Heisman Trophy winners ... each!

Ohio State and USC. Is there a better combination of talent and history? That's debatable, but come Saturday the only number that matters is 1 ... as in 1 more classic clash!

Here's a look at the series ...

SERIES RECORD Southern California leads the all-time series with the Buckeyes by a 12-9-1 count. The first meeting between the two schools was a 13-12 USC home victory in 1937. The latest meeting at Ohio Stadium came in 1990, a 35-26 USC victory in Columbus. Ohio State's last win was a 42-21 victory in the Rose Bowl following the 1973 season

The winner has averaged 25.3 points per game during the series, with the losing team averaging 8.6, making the average margin of victory 16.7 points. Seven of the previous 22 meetings have been shutouts. Six games have been decided by a touchdown or less. The home team has won nine of the 15 regular season matchups.

Ohio State is 50-24-2 overall against the Pac-10; the Buckeyes have faced every conference school at least twice in football. In regular season games, Ohio State is 44-17-2 against the Pac-10.

The OSU-USC Series:

1937 at USC 13, Ohio State 12
1938 USC 14, at Ohio State 7
1941 Ohio State 33, at USC 0
1942 at Ohio State 28, USC 12
1946 Ohio State 21, at USC 0
1947 USC 32, at Ohio State 0
1948 at Ohio State 20, USC 0
1949 Ohio State 13, at USC 13
1954 Ohio State 20, USC 7*
1959 at USC 17, Ohio State 0
1960 at Ohio State 20, USC 0
1963 at USC 32, Ohio State 3
1964 at Ohio State 17, USC 0
1968 Ohio State 27, USC 16*
1972 USC 42, Ohio State 17*
1973 Ohio State 42, USC 21*
1974 USC 18, Ohio State 17*
1979 USC 17, Ohio State 16*
1984 USC 20, Ohio State 17*
1989 at USC 42, Ohio State 3
1990 USC 35, at Ohio State 26
2008 at USC 35, Ohio State 3 *Rose Bowl

Jack Tatum - Saturday's honorary captainDefensive back 1968-70

Jack Tatum was one of the dominant defensive players and most intimidating forces in college football during his career at Ohio State. A three-year starter, a two-time All-American and the national Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, he was known for his tenacity and fierce style of play. The 6-1, 208-pound Tatum came to Ohio State as a running back, but moved to defense in the spring of his freshman year. He was a mainstay of the defense for the next three seasons as OSU rolled up a 27-2 record and won the 1968 national championship, two Big Ten titles and played in two Rose Bowls. The Oakland Raiders selected him in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft. In his nine-year career, he was named to the Pro Bowl three times and was a member of the 1976 Super Bowl champion Raiders. He was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

USC Coach Pete Carroll Connected with OSU

Pete Carroll, current USC head coach, was an assistant for the Buckeyes in the 1979 season under Earle Bruce. Carroll, who coached the defensive backfield helped guide the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl that season, ironically losing a tight 17-16 decision to USC. Read Carroll's bio from the 1979 season below.

1979 Season Glance

Former Ohio State player and assistant coach Earle Bruce is named head coach. The Buckeyes finish the regular season 11-0 and come within a point of a national championship, falling 17-16 to Southern California in the Rose Bowl. Bruce is named the Big Ten and national coach of the year in his first season.

Here's a link if you want to read a little more about the players and this game--
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=987019

Paint the Town Scarlet!

Show your buckeye pride!

Paint the Town Scarlet

Fans can get geared up for the Sept. 12 primetime matchup with USC (8 p.m./ESPN) by participating in the week-long lead up promotion "Paint the Town Scarlet." Fans have the opportunity to enter a contest for the best decorated homes or offices (exterior only with flags, lights, etc.) to be selected and displayed during the USC game on the Ohio Stadium south end zone video board.

Also starting Sept. 7, fans can purchase a special Ohio State-USC commemorative game day T-shirt from the Official Team Shop.
Spread Scarlet Statewide

Fans also are encouraged to spread their Scarlet Fever statewide as the Buckeyes travel to Cleveland in Week 3 to play a neutral-site away game against the Toledo Rockets at Browns Stadium Sept. 19 (noon/ESPN Plus).

Scarlet and Gray Fridays/Lose the Blue Week vs. Michigan

Ohio State has a season-long Scarlet & Gray Fridays campaign to promote Ohio State licensed apparel in the workplace, culminating in the annual "Lose the Blue" clothing donation drive for Good Will of Central Ohio. Last year, Ohio State fans donated more than 7,000 pounds of blue clothing during the campaign.

The Ohio State Department of Athletics and the Ohio State University Office of Trademark and Licensing Services run the "Lose the Blue" clothing drive annually during the week when the Michigan and Ohio State football teams renew their storied rivalry. In 2007, more than 6,000 pounds of clothing were donated.

Summit your photos--
webmaster@buckeyes.ath.ohio-state.edu

Ohio State vs. Navy Box Score

Scoring Summary


FIRST QUARTER


Ohio State- TD 12:37 Dane Sanzenbacher 38 Yd Pass From Terrelle Pryor (Aaron Pettrey Kick)



Navy- TD 5:43 Ricky Dobbs 16 Yd Run (Joe Buckley Kick



Ohio State- FG 1:30 Aaron Pettrey 23 Yd



First Quater final score 10-7 OSU



SECOND QUATER



Ohio State- TD 9:01 Terrella Pryor 2 YD Run (Aaron Pettrey Kick)


Ohio State- FG 00:55 Aaron Pettrey 25 Yd



Second Quater final score 7-20 OSU



THIRD QUATER



Navy- TD 1:24 Marcus Curry 16 Yd Pass From Ricky Dobbs (Joe Buckley Kick)



Third Quater final score 14-20 OSU



FORTH QUATER



Ohio State- FG 14:11 Aaron Pettrey 52 Yd



Ohio State- TD 11:56 Daniel Herron 6 Yd Run (Pat Failed)



Navy- TD 6:15 Marcus Curry 85 Yd Pass From Ricky Dobbs (Joe Buckley Kick)

Navy- TD 2:23 Ricky Dobbs 24 Yd Run (Two-Point Conversion Failed)

Ohio State- DC 2:23 Brian Rolle 2-point conversion return


Forth Quater Final score 31-27 Ohio State


GAME ATTENDANCE: 105,092

Boeckman Moves Up to #3 QB!

I just found out today that Todd is the #3 QB. Here's the article if you would like to read it. It's basically the same thing I posted Wednesday. But I'll post it anyways.

The Jaguars have released 25-year old QB Paul Smith. Smith played in 2 pre-season games for the Jaguars completing 8 of 15 passes (53.3%) for 87 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 interceptions. He also carried the ball 1 time for 3 yards. Undrafted rookie Todd Boeckman from the Ohio State Buckeyes moves up to the #3 job for the Jaguars. Todd Boeckman lost his starting job at Ohio State last season but he was very effective two years ago for them. Last season Boeckman completed 57 of 93 passes (61.3%) for 620 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 interceptions (130.7 QB Rating). He completed 255 of 402 passes (63.4%) for 3,085 yards with 31 TD passes and 16 interceptions in his four years at Ohio State. He should be able to handle holding a clipboard for the Jags this season.

Navy No Easy Opener for No. 6 Buckeyes; Post-Practice Interviewsþ

Well I decided today that I'm still going to post articles about Ohio State even though Todd Boeckman is graduated. After all this is an Ohio State blog too. Saturday is the season opener and I think everyone is excited for that.

By Rusty MillerAssociated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- This much is certain when it comes to No. 6 Ohio State's recent series of opening-game opponents: Navy is no Youngstown State.

While the Penguins were almost grateful to open the season at Ohio Stadium the last two seasons, the Buckeyes recognize that Navy won't be nearly so star-struck.

The Buckeyes opened with 38-6 and 43-0 routs of Youngstown State, the only Football Championship Subdivision team Ohio State has ever played.

Navy is at another level.

"We've got a great Navy team coming in week one," offensive guard Bryant Browning said. "First off, those guys have won a lot of games. They go to bowl games, and they win. We're usually facing, I guess you could say, a lesser opponent sometimes -- you could say it that way. But Navy is not one of those teams. They're going to come in here looking for a big upset."

Ohio State's contest against Navy on Saturday -- the first regular-season meeting between the teams since 1931 -- is not expected to be so lopsided as recent debuts for the Buckeyes

"Navy's no pushover," quarterback Terrelle Pryor said. "And you know they're going to be tough. They serve our country. You also got to appreciate that too because they serve our nation and protect us."

There are also a couple of other reasons why the game could be a problem for the Buckeyes.

For one, the Midshipmen's triple-option attack is something foreign to a defense that regularly faces spread attacks.

"Whenever you play someone like Navy it raises the urgency because you can't look at them and say, 'Well, I know what they do. Yeah, this is what they run. We know how to stop that,"' coach Jim Tressel said. "Plus our guys have a tremendous respect for the people who choose to go into that particular world. You've got to be courageous and our guys know that. ... It'll be an eye-opener for us."

For another, a date with No. 4 Southern California, which ravaged the Buckeyes 35-3 in SoCal a year ago, is looming a week later. The Buckeyes know they can't be distracted by that, since they'll likely have their hands full with the Midshipmen.

Unlike Youngstown State or the Mid-American Conference schools the Buckeyes usually open against, the Midshipmen won't be intimidated by the more than 100,000 in attendance. They've played on big stages and in big games, winning their last 13 against Army and Air Force to take the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy the last six years.

Apparently, Ohio State's fans have noticed.

Tressel said that athletic department officials have told him that there is as much or more interest in Navy tickets as any game on the Buckeyes' schedule. He hinted that the Ohio Stadium record attendance of 105,711 could be eclipsed.

A typical cupcake in the opener wouldn't draw nearly so much attention.

Navy returns 25 letterwinners and 13 starters from a team that went 8-5 last season, led the nation in rushing for an NCAA-record fourth-consecutive season (292.4 rushing yards per game) and went to the EagleBank Bowl, losing 29-19 to Wake Forest.

Junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs leads Navy's offense. He gained 495 yards and scored eight times a year ago.

All the Buckeyes are wary of the Midshipmen's option game.

"We haven't seen this since I've been here," linebacker Austin Spitler said. "The preparation has been unbelievable and the coaches have really stressed the importance of doing our 1/11th. Since it's something we haven't seen, it is a difficult situation."

And no easy way to open a season

Jaguars sign Todd Boeckman again!

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed rookie quarterback Todd Boeckman and waived first-year quarterback Paul Smith today.

Smith was cut Sunday and replaced by former Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman, who is joining the Jaguars for the second time. He was originally signed June 17 and cut July 31. Now he has a shot at being a practice-squad player.

This is his new roster picture.