Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Ohio State Depth Chart vs Indiana

DEPTH CHART: CARDALE JONES LISTED AS SOLE STARTER AT QUARTERBACK FOR OHIO STATE FOR FIRST TIME IN 2015

By Eric Seger 
Cardale Jones is finally listed as Ohio State's only starting quarterback in his team's depth chart ahead of the Indiana game.
It's officially Big Ten season at Ohio State and the nation's top-ranked team heads to Indiana Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff against the 4-0 Hoosiers.
The Buckeyes released their latest depth chart Tuesday afternoon and the most notable change is junior quarterback Cardale Jones is the lone starter at quarterback for the first time in 2015.
Notes:
  •  Parris Campbell remains absent from the lineup. He missed Ohio State's 38-12 victory against Western Michigan Saturday with a strained ligament in his knee and a bone bruise. His status is unknown for the Indiana game, though Urban Meyer said he thought he would be back. Expect an update Wednesday after practice.
  •  Curtis Samuel remains a starter at wide receiver in Campbell's place, while Braxton Miller is still the team's starter at H-back.
  •  The battle at kicker rages on between Sean Nuernberger and Jack Willoughby, though the latter's received all the game reps at the position through four games.
  •  Corey Smith moved ahead of Jeff Greene and became the backup to Michael Thomas at wide receiver.
  •  True freshman Liam McCullough is now listed as backup longsnapper.
  •  Sophomore cornerback Damon Webb remains absent. He was suspended hours before Ohio State's game against Northern Illinois Sept. 19.
OFFENSEDEFENSE
LT 68TAYLOR DECKER6-8315SR DE 59TYQUAN LEWIS6-3260SO
  74JAMARCO JONES6-5310SO   10JALYN HOLMES6-5265SO
LG 54BILLY PRICE6-4315SO DT 92ADOLPHUS WASHINGTON6-4290SR
  78DEMETRIUS KNOX6-4305FR   52DONOVAN MUNGER6-4300SO
         OR93TRACY SPRINKLE6-3290SO
C 50JACOBY BOREN6-2285SR DT 90TOMMY SCHUTT6-2295SR
  79BRADY TAYLOR6-5300FR   51JOEL HALE6-4295SR
         OR77MICHAEL HILL 6-2305SO
RG 65PAT ELFLEIN6-3300JR DE 97JOEY BOSA6-6275JR
  75EVAN LISLE6-7305SO   6SAM HUBBARD6-5265FR
RT 57CHASE FARRIS6-5310SR SLB 43DARRON LEE6-2235SO
  59ISAIAH PRINCE6-7305FR   35CHRIS WORLEY6-2225SO
TE 81NICK VANNETT6-6260SR MLB 5RAEKWON McMILLAN6-2240SO
  85MARCUS BAUGH6-5255SO   55CAM WILLIAMS6-1225SR
WR 3MICHAEL THOMAS6-3210JR WLB 37JOSHUA PERRY6-4254SR
  84COREY SMITH6-1195SR   33DANTE BOOKER6-2233SO
  89JEFF GREENE6-5220SR        
QB 12CARDALE JONES6-5250JR CB 13ELI APPLE6-1200SO
  16J.T. BARRETT6-2225SO   12DENZEL WARD5-11180FR
RB 15EZEKIEL ELLIOTT6-0225JR        
  25BRI'ONTE DUNN6-0215JR SAF 23TYVIS POWELL6-3210JR
  28WARREN BALL6-1225JR   16CAM BURROWS6-0208JR
H-B 1BRAXTON MILLER6-2215SR SAF 11VONN BELL5-11205JR
  2DONTRE WILSON5-10195JR   1ERICK SMITH6-0202SO
WR 4CURTIS SAMUEL5-11200SO CB 8GAREON CONLEY6-0195SO
  82JAMES CLARK5-10185SO   2MARSHON LATTIMORE6-0195FR
WR 17JALIN MARSHALL5-11205SO        
  5JOHNNIE DIXON5-11194FR        
  83TERRY MCLAURIN6-1200FR        
SPECIAL TEAMS
K 98JACK WILLOUGHBY6-2210SR H 95CAMERON JOHNSTON6-0195JR
 OR96SEAN NUERNBERGER6-1220SO        
P 95CAMERON JOHNSTON6-0195JR PR 17JALIN MARSHALL5-11205SO
KO 98JACK WILLOUGHBY6-2210SR   15EZEKIEL ELLIOTT6-0225JR
  96SEAN NUERNBERGER6-1220SO        
LS 41BRYCE HAYNES6-4220SR KR 4CURTIS SAMUEL5-11200SO
  49LIAM MCCULLOUGH6-2210FR   28WARREN BALL6-1225JR


Ohio St.-Indiana Preview


There is a new, giddy feeling for unbeaten Indiana early this season. For Ohio State, it's same old, same old.
The last time Indiana (4-0) and Ohio State (4-0) met with unbeaten records was Oct. 3, 1942, when each was 1-0. The Hoosiers and Buckeyes also opened the 1954 season against each other.The Hoosiers look to improve to 5-0 for the first time in 48 years on Saturday as the top-ranked Buckeyes try to extend the nation's longest road winning streak in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
A 31-24 win over Wake Forest last Saturday gave the Hoosiers wins in their first four games for the first time since 1990, and they are on the verge of 5-0 for the first time since 1967. Of course, that would take beating Ohio State for the first time in 20 tries since 1988.
"They're the best team in the country," freshman receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr. told the Hoosiers' official website. "You can't hide that."
You also can't ignore a pair of streaks that lead the nation for the defending national champions. The Buckeyes have won 14 straight road games and 16 in a row overall. Add to that a Big Ten-record 24 consecutive conference wins, and 5-0 looks further away for Indiana.
But high expectations lead to tough grading for Ohio State. The defense has been sparkling, allowing 49 combined points, but an offense that scored 84 in two College Football Playoff games last year has not displayed the same firepower.
Quarterback Cardale Jones has been inconsistent, and after his benching in a 20-13 win over Northern Illinois, he started last Saturday but was again up and down in a 38-12 victory over Western Michigan.
He finished 19 of 33 for 288 yards with two touchdown passes, but he completed just 6 of 14 passes in the second half with an interception. Jones, who also had a fumble which the Buckeyes recovered, ran 10 times for 32 yards and has been limited to 48 on the ground after getting 99 in the season opener.
''Overall, I thought Cardale played okay,'' coach Urban Meyer said. ''I still give him the okay because we have high expectations.''
Under-thrown passes irked Meyer, but he said that type of issue is fixable.
"If you are not executing down-the-field throws because your guys can't get open, that's a major problem," he told the team's official website. "That's a recruiting error, an effort error, something, and that wasn't the problem... it's just a matter of execution."
Unlike Jones, Ezekiel Elliott has continued his tear from late last season when he closed with three straight games of at least 200 yards rushing. The junior has now posted nine consecutive 100-yard games and is third in the Big Ten with 113.8 per game.
The player at the top of that list is Indiana junior Jordan Howard, the nation's leading rusher with 675 yards.
Howard is the Big Ten's co-offensive player of the week after rushing for 168 yards and a touchdown against Wake Forest. The transfer from UAB became the only FBS player in the last 20 seasons to rush for at least 140 yards in each of his first four games with a team.
"(Being named Big Ten player of the week) means a lot to me, but I guess it means a lot to the team because it shows we're doing something well," Howard said.
Ohio State will be Howard's biggest test. The Buckeyes have held opponents to averages of 12.2 points and 253.3 yards - both among the top 10 in the FBS - and join Missouri as the only Power Five conference teams not to allow a rush of more than 20 yards.
However, after giving up averages of 106.0 rushing yards and 2.6 per attempt through three games, the Ohio State run defense appeared vulnerable last week. That unit allowed 169 yards to a Western Michigan team which totaled 43 rushing yards against its previous two FBS opponents.
The Hoosiers will likely be without one of their top interior defensive linemen in tackle Darius Latham, who has been suspended for the second time this season. The school did not provide additional details about what led to the suspension but the indefinite suspension begins immediately.
Latham has 10 tackles in three games and leads the team with five tackles for loss. The junior is tied for second in sacks with two.