Meet "Land Grant Holy Land"

I had a chance to ask Luke Zimmerman some Questions about the upcoming game. Luke is the big bad boss of Land Grant Holy Land (and the Quasi benevolent dictator of all College Blogs). We will have one of Land Grant's contributors on the "Last Bull In" this Thursday/Friday at midnight, so tune in or catch the replay Friday afternoon.

Now on with the interview

I don't think Urban Meyer and the Ohio State football team take anyone lightly, but certainly after a season of playing up and down to the opposition, you have plenty of reasons for healthy skepticism.

Meyer and offensive coordinator Tom Herman alike in their press conferences this week spoke with a fearful respect of the 5-4i defense Buffalo brings to the table. If it weren't for an offseason of studying/preparing for them, I'd be rather worried, but with an offensive line that while good still has some depth issues, it's possible this game starts off sluggishly for the OSU offense.

For what it's worth, I'd peg this UB squad as more talented than UAB's but just a step behind that Indiana side. Their defense might actually measure up, though.

Doran Grant moves from the number two corner up to the number one and sophomore Armani Reeves becomes next man up opposite from him. While losing preseason All-American Bradley Roby is an irreplaceable hit, the overall depth isn't as bad as it could be. True freshmen Eli Apple, Gareon Conley, and Cam Burrows should all see time Saturday, and all of them are players. For all their rawness, they'll be viable field corners from day one.

Ohio State's running backs are the deepest unit on the team. Carlos Hyde is unrivaled in goal line situations, but the other guys behind him are honestly probably more versatile. Losing Rod Smith gets a little dicey since he equal parts runs and catches the ball so well and would've been the starter otherwise, but by moving Pivot (aka the Percy Harvin position) Jordan Hall back to running back (who Meyer called the best running back in camp anyways, including Hyde and Smith), the Bucks shouldn't miss a beat.

We'll see plenty of Bri'onte Dunn and Warren Ball and I think it's probable we see true freshmen Dontre Wilson and Ezekiel Elliott plenty, too. The latter two are absolute burners and more of what national observers were used to from Meyer at Florida with his skill position guys.

I personally don't, but I think the majority of Ohio State fans probably do; another easy schedule, the team hypothetically a year better. I don't know that there's a sure fire loss either though. On paper, the Bucks will be favored in every game they play this season. But that's what's so fun/maddening about college football, right?

If I had to put money on it, I'd go with the end of September game against Wisconsin. A new scheme and staff has plenty overlooking the Badgers, but they're as dangerous as ever. If the Buckeyes have to beat Michigan twice in a season as well, while probably superior to their rivals from a talent vantage this particular season, I see it as an extremely uphill battle to emerge victorious twice.

It's all comes down to economics. I think the actual honest desire to fix what's broken in the status quo comes second to restricting access to the pie and thus keeping the power brokers' pieces larger than ever. If they happen to solve some low hanging fruit in the process, win-win, right?

It certainly will be fascinating to watch this coming offseason. I'm curious how quick this all progresses.

and a splash of grenadine.