Little Sisters of the Poor
Remember when Gordon Gee, former Ohio State University President, said that Ohio State didn’t play the Little Sisters of the Poor and that’s why TCU didn’t belong in the Bowl Championship. Wisconsin found out in the Rose Bowl that year, 2011, that TCU is a pretty good program. Now TCU, ranked 15th in the country, is set to play Ohio State (#4) in Arlington Texas on Saturday in prime-time. The original home and home set in 2018 was changed to the single neutral site at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Jump Start to the Playoffs
The TCU Horn Frogs are hoping to jump start their College playoff birth this year with a win against the talented OSU Buckeyes. Gary Patterson will lead the TCU team on Saturday at 8pm on ABC while Urban Meyer will still be serving a three game suspension. Patterson feels that Ohio State is stronger because of the suspension of their head coach for not reporting domestic abuse allegations against his former wide-receivers coach.. TCU joined the Big 12 from the Mountain West and comes into the game with many returning defensive line starters.
Ohio State Size
Ohio State comes with one of the largest offensive lines in the country, moving Michael Jordan to center from guard in the off-season. The Ohio State line averages 6’6” and 313 lbs. TCU has a small and athletic defensive line averaging 6’2” and 254 lbs. Ohio State plays zone-read with blocks and run/play/option plays. Their size makes moving the ball easy.
Dwayne Haskins Jr
But the real story has been the break-out performance of quarterback Dwayne Haskins who has powered the OSU offense to 1,300 yards in two games and thrown for 9 touchdowns. Ryan Day, interim head coach, commented on Haskins improvement on the field but more importantly in the film room and the weight room. Haskins understands the position better this year than he did last year because of a good amount of study. And he is stronger because of time working with the strength and conditioning team.
TCU has started 2018 with two convincing wins, against SMU and Southern Jaguars. Ohio State is favored by 12.5 points.
ESPN College Gameday will be at TCU’s campus on Saturday morning.
2018 Ohio State Football: TCU Trailer