Ohio State Linebackers

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Gophergrandpa

Gophergrandpa

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Ohio State mostly plays a 4-2-5 defense. Astoundingly, in the 2021 draft, Ohio State has 2 LBs drafted and 2 more signed as undrafted free agents. Essentially, every LB in their 2020 two-deep is off the the NFL. After missing on a transfer portal LB target, it looks as though every guy in the Ohio State two-deep at LB for the Minnesota game will have never started in a college game. Of course, each LB in that two-deep will be an exceptional athlete, extremely highly rated out of HS. But an offensive strategy that targets, and puts extra stress and quick decision-making responsibilities on, the Ohio State LBs might be something to try to think about for the opener. https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...er-options-for-2021-are-already-on-the-roster
 


A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I don't even know if they'll show up for the game it's already over so much...
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On a serious note, I think what is scary about this game is that as you dive into some of the things like this it adds to the reasons why there is hope there that we could pull off the upset.

Obviously there is zero doubt they are going to have super talented athletes all over the field, but they are also lacking for experience in some very key spots and will be running out guys who have not played much if any college football yet.

On the flip side, we are as deep and experienced as I can ever remember a Gopher squad being. This is a very dangerous game for Ohio State. And it is an opportunity for Fleck and the Gophers to send a message to the college football world that 2019 wasn't a fluke and this team is ready to explode onto the National scene in a big way.

The best part of all is that the Gophers have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If Ohio State wins, nobody will be shocked. But if we come out and beat them it will get a ton of attention and people will take notice.
 

MNVCGUY said:
On a serious note, I think what is scary about this game is that as you dive into some of the things like this it adds to the reasons why there is hope there that we could pull off the upset.

Obviously there is zero doubt they are going to have super talented athletes all over the field, but they are also lacking for experience in some very key spots and will be running out guys who have not played much if any college football yet.

On the flip side, we are as deep and experienced as I can ever remember a Gopher squad being. This is a very dangerous game for Ohio State. And it is an opportunity for Fleck and the Gophers to send a message to the college football world that 2019 wasn't a fluke and this team is ready to explode onto the National scene in a big way.

The best part of all is that the Gophers have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If Ohio State wins, nobody will be shocked. But if we come out and beat them it will get a ton of attention and people will take notice.
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I'm hopeful that they've got 'a chance'.

But as far as Ohio St. having to replace players. Last time they won a natty they had to replace their starting QB ... twice. Still won it all.

Depth for Ohio St. sometimes means there's an even BETTER guy waiting to play :O
 

I wasn’t trying to minimize Ohio State’s awesome talent pool. Second only to Alabama’s based on HS ratings. And the Ohio State LBs who show up for the Gophers game, having developed while waiting their turn, might be as or more effective than the ones from 2020 they replaced. I’m just trying to figure out where, if anywhere, there might be a niche on the Ohio State squad that could be a little less dominant on day one than the team in general.
 
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BTW, Ohio State, on one betting board, has opened up as 13 point favorites against Oregon. The spread against the Gophers might exceed 21. Ouch.
 

I would trust Ciarrocca to exploit inexperience in the LB corps, but I don’t trust Simon to do the same.
 





Gophergrandpa said:
BTW, Ohio State, on one betting board, has opened up as 13 point favorites against Oregon. The spread against the Gophers might exceed 21. Ouch.
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The more they are favored by the better in my opinion. Will make it that much sweeter if we pull the upset or make it a battle.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
BTW, Ohio State, on one betting board, has opened up as 13 point favorites against Oregon. The spread against the Gophers might exceed 21. Ouch.
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What was the Penn State spread? If we can make the Bank hostile territory like it was in that game, why not us? Why not now? First in person game post-Covid, national spotlight, yadda yadda. I want to see that field full of fans when the clock hits zeros. Let's go!
 

Gophergrandpa said:
BTW, Ohio State, on one betting board, has opened up as 13 point favorites against Oregon. The spread against the Gophers might exceed 21. Ouch.
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Don't see a spread on OSU-MN yet, but you're probably right. The Oregon line has dropped to 9.5 on DK, btw...but unusually, it's +102 OR and -125 OSU.

Here's some other notable early lines:

Nebraska -9 @ Illinois
Clemson -4 vs. Georgia
Wisconsin -3.5 vs PSU
Alabama -17.5 @ Miami
Purdue -5.5 vs. Oregon St
Iowa -5.5 vs. Indiana
NW -6.5 vs. MSU
ISU -4.5 vs. Iowa (Week 2)
OK -18 vs. Nebraska (Week 3)
Wisconsin -1.5 @ ND (Week 4)
Minnesota -3.5 @ Purdue (Week 5) <-- This is the first MN line I see listed on DK
Minnesota -3.5 @ NW (Week 7) <-- DK is surprisingly VERY down on NW. 16.5 pt dogs to Wisc
 




TeeBee said:
What was the Penn State spread? If we can make the Bank hostile territory like it was in that game, why not us? Why not now? First in person game post-Covid, national spotlight, yadda yadda. I want to see that field full of fans when the clock hits zeros. Let's go!
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PSU favored by 6.5.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
BTW, Ohio State, on one betting board, has opened up as 13 point favorites against Oregon. The spread against the Gophers might exceed 21. Ouch.
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Give me 21/Gophers at home in the opener, and I tell that betting clerk to keep pushing that ticket button until he runs out of paper or I run out of $.
 



LesBolstad said:
Give me 21/Gophers at home in the opener, and I tell that betting clerk to keep pushing that ticket button until he runs out of paper or I run out of $.
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Same. Mention of that line is actually what inspired me to log in to DK and check. It's not available, but if it's that high I'm going in heavy.
 


MGGopher said:
Same. Mention of that line is actually what inspired me to log in to DK and check. It's not available, but if it's that high I'm going in heavy.
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Somebody said the Ohio State line over Oregon dropped to -9.5, still a high number for a team of Oregon's caliber. Maybe the -13 line was designed to coax out early bets? I will be very interested to see the opening line on Ohio State--Gophers, maybe in a month or two. Could be money to be made by the venturesome.
 
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Gophergrandpa said:
Somebody said the Ohio State line over Oregon dropped to -9.5, still a high number for a team of Oregon's caliber. Maybe the -13 line was designed to coax out early bets? I will be very interested to see the opening line on Ohio State--maybe in a month or two. Could be money to be made by the venturesome.
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Oregon is one of those perennial "second class top teams". They're very good ... but understandably nobody ever seems to know if they can win vs the first class top teams.

9.5 seems reasonable to me.
 

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