Ohio State vs. Toledo

* Date, Time: Sat., Sept. 19, noon (Eastern)

* Location: Cleveland Browns Stadium (surface, grass; capacity, 73,200)

* TV: ESPN-Plus regional syndication (Announcers: Michael Reghi and Doug Chapman). This game will be available on ESPN-Plus outlets across the Midwest, including WSYX-TV (Ch. 6) in Columbus. Click here for the list of affiliates. It will also be a part of the ESPN Game Plan pay-per-view package nationally.

* Records, Rankings: Ohio State, 1-1 overall, ranked 11th in Associated Press poll and USA Today coaches poll; Toledo, 1-1 overall, unranked.

* Coaches: Ohio State, Jim Tressel (ninth year at OSU, 84-20; 24th year overall, 219-77-2; vs. Toledo, first meeting); Toledo, Tim Beckman (first year at UT, 1-1; vs. OSU, first meeting).

* Series History: Ohio State won the only previous match-up with Toledo in 1998 (49-0). The schools are set to meet again on Sept. 10, 2011, in Columbus.

* Toledo Schedule: Sept. 5, at Purdue, L 51-32; Sept. 11, Colorado, W 54-38; Sept. 19, vs. Ohio State (at Cleveland); Sept. 26, at Florida International; Oct. 3, at Ball State; Oct. 10, Western Michigan; Oct. 17, Northern Illinois; Oct. 24, Temple; Oct. 31, at Miami (Ohio); Nov. 11, at Central Michigan; Nov. 20, Eastern Michigan; Nov. 27, at Bowling Green.

* Toledo Key Players (2009 Stats): QB Aaron Opelt (56 of 90 passing, 742 yards, 7 TDs, 2 INTs; 12 carries, 132 yards, 2 TDs), RB DaJuane Collins (29 carries, 187 yards, 2 TDs), WR Eric Page (15 catches, 266 yards, 2 TDs), WR Stephen Williams (15 catches, 185 yards, 2 TDs), Star DB Barry Church (14 tackles, 1 INT), LB Archie Donald (13 tackles).

* Toledo Fast Facts: Location: Toledo, Ohio; Enrollment, 22,336; Conference: Mid-American Conference; Nickname, Rockets; Colors, Midnight Blue and Gold; Stadium, Glass Bowl (surface, FieldTurf; capacity, 26,248).

* Ohio State Schedule: Sept. 5, Navy, W 31-27; Sept. 12, USC, L 18-15; Sept. 19, vs. Toledo (at Cleveland); Sept. 26, Illinois; Oct. 3, at Indiana; Oct. 10, Wisconsin; Oct. 17, at Purdue; Oct. 24, Minnesota; Oct. 31, New Mexico State; Nov. 7, at Penn State; Nov. 14, Iowa; Nov. 21, at Michigan.

* Ohio State Key Players (2009 Stats): QB Terrelle Pryor (25 of 46 passing, 351 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs), RB Dan Herron (35 carries, 116 yards, 2 TDs; 5 catches, 34 yards), WR DeVier Posey (8 catches, 95 yards), WR Dane Sanzenbacher (4 catches, 115 yards, 1 TD), LB Brian Rolle (17 tackles), LB Ross Homan (14 tackles, 1 INT), DB Kurt Coleman (14 tackles, 1 INT), DE Cameron Heyward (12 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFLs).

Depth Charts

Ohio State Offense

WR 8 DeVier Posey, 6-3, 205, So.

9  Duron Carter, 6-2, 190, Fr.

82 Ray Small, 5-11, 180, Sr.

LT  55 Andrew Miller, 6-7, 295, Jr.

76 J.B. Shugarts, 6-8, 298, So.

LG 56 Justin Boren, 6-3, 315, Jr.

71  Corey Linsley, 6-4, 275, Fr.

C  50 Mike Brewster, 6-5, 296, So.

74 Jack Mewhort, 6-7, 290, Fr.

RG 70 Bryant Browning, 6-4, 312, Jr.

66 Andrew Moses, 6-3, 280, Sr.

RT  64 Jim Cordle, 6-4, 297, Sr.

79  Marcus Hall, 6-5, 300, Fr.

TE 86 Jake Ballard, 6-6, 256, Sr.

11 Jake Stoneburner, 6-5, 230, R-Fr.

QB  2 Terrelle Pryor, 6-6, 235, So.

14 Joe Bauserman, 6-2, 220, So.

TB  1 Dan Herron, 5-10, 193, So.

3 Brandon Saine, 6-1, 217, Jr.

FB 44  Zach Boren, 6-1, 255, Fr.

49 Adam Homan, 6-4, 235, Fr.

37 James Georgiades, 6-1, 240, R-Fr.

WR  12   Dane Sanzenbacher, 5-11, 175, Jr.

5  Taurian Washington, 6-2, 179, Jr.

7  Lamaar Thomas, 5-11, 186, So.

K 20 Aaron Pettrey, 6-2, 199, Sr.

12  Devin Barclay, 5-11, 195, Jr.

Ohio State Defense

DE  90 Thaddeus Gibson, 6-2, 240, Jr.

43 Nathan Williams, 6-4, 245, So.

DT  84 Doug Worthington, 6-6, 276, Sr

53 Garrett Goebel, 6-5, 280, R-Fr.

9   Robert Rose, 6-5, 285, Sr

DT  72 Dexter Larimore, 6-, 300, Jr.

92 Todd Denlinger, 6-2, 292, Sr.

54 John Simon, 6-3, 265, Fr.

DE  97  Cameron Heyward, 6-6, 287, Jr.

87 Lawrence Wilson, 6-4, 274, Sr.

98 Solomon Thomas, 6-5, 240, So.

WLB  51 Ross Homan, 6-0, 229, Jr.

42 Andrew Sweat, 6-2, 220, So.

MLB  36 Brian Rolle, 5-11, 221, Jr.

41 Tony Jackson, 5-11, 227, So.

SLB  38 Austin Spitler, 6-3, 234, Sr.

6 Etienne Sabino, 6-3, 232, So.

CB 13 Andre Amos, 6-1, 183, Sr.

10 Devon Torrence, 6-1, 193, Jr.

SS  4  Kurt Coleman, 5-11, 188, Sr.

19 Orhian Johnson, 6-2, 178, R-Fr.

FS  7   Jermale Hines, 6-2, 210, Jr.

21 Anderson Russell, 6-0, 205, Sr.

CB  5 Chimdi Chekwa, 6-0, 188, Jr.

18 Travis Howard, 6-1, 180, R-Fr.

P  48 Jon Thoma, 6-2, 201, Sr.

17 Ben Buchanan, 6-0, 200, R-Fr.

Toledo Offense

LT 74 Mike VanDerMeulen 6-7 315 So.

71 Danny Farr 6-5 285 R-Fr.

LG 68 Jared DeWalt 6-4 318 Sr.

78 Phillip Manley 6-5 310 So.

C 69 Kevin Kowalski 6-4 290 Jr.

77 Zac Kerin 6-5 270 Fr.

RG 65 Nate Cole 6-2 305 Jr.

60 A.J. Lindeman 6-6 300 R-Fr.

RT 70 John Morookian 6-5 291 So.

62 Chris Meenan 6-7 334 Jr.

TE 86 Danny Noble 6-5 236 So.

81 Tom Burzine 6-4 255 Sr.

QB 11 Aaron Opelt 6-2 225 Sr.

4 Austin Dantin 6-2 185 Fr.

RB 22 DaJuane Collins 5-10 211 Sr.

6 Jake Walker 5-11 210 So.

WR-X 85 Robin Bailey 6-5 230 Sr.

88 Stephen Williams 6-5 199 Sr.

WR-Z 7 Kenny Stafford 6-4 195 So.

84 Sam Gaymon 6-3 200 R-Fr.

WR-M 12 Eric Page 5-10 165 Fr.

10 David Pasquale 6-2 215 R-Fr.

PK 85 Alex Steigerwald 5-11 181 Sr.

3 Ryan Casano 5-10 175 So.

Toledo Defense

DE 40 Alex Johnson 6-2 244 Jr.

89 Skylaar Constant 6-4 285 Sr.

DT 56 Derrick Summers 6-2 258 Sr.

52 Johnathan Lamb 6-4 258 So.

DT 98 Maurice Hill 6-2 286 Sr.

97 Malcolm Riley 6-3 267 So.

DE 58 Douglas Westbrook 6-3 233 Jr.

23 T.J. Fatinikun 6-2 230 Fr.

MLB 48 Beau Brudzinski 6-1 228 Sr.

32 Dan Molls 6-1 215 Fr.

WLB 42 Archie Donald 6-2 235 Jr.

38 Robert Bell 6-0 222 Fr.

Star 8 Barry Church 6-2 219 Sr.

45 Isaiah Ballard 5-11 190 So.

or 44 Drey’lon Pree 6-2 198 Jr.

LCB 5 Daxton Swanson 5-10 165 Fr.

21 Andreas Ashwood 6-1 190 So.

SS 34 Lester Richmond 6-1 205 Sr.

19 Joe Bates 6-1 190 Sr.

FS 29 Jermaine Robinson 6-3 195 Fr.

43 Mark Singer 6-1 195 So.

RCB 26 Byron Best 5-9 185 Fr.

9 Kenny Veal 6-0 180 So.

P 2 Bill Claus 6-0 187 So.

3 Ryan Casano 5-10 175 So.

Breaking It Down

* When Ohio State Has The Ball: The USC game was a fairly abysmal performance for the OSU offense and quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The good news is that Pryor and the offense have a great chance to get back on track this week against Toledo. New Toledo coach Tim Beckman made his name as a defensive coach and one day I imagine the Rockets will be among the best MAC teams defensively.

But in two games, Toledo has surrendered 51 points to Purdue and 38 more in the win over Colorado. This should be just what the doctor ordered for an OSU offense that struggled to gain much consistency in the loss to USC.

Pryor needs to get back to the (largely) efficient ways he showed last year. He also needs to get back to distributing the ball to OSU’s various weapons. It would be great to see some guys like Brandon Saine, Ray Small, Taurian Washington and others join the party.

Toledo’s best defensive player is safety Barry Church, who plays the “Star” position as the fifth DB in the 4-2-5 defense.

* When Toledo Has The Ball: Toledo rolled up 624 yards total offense in its win last Friday over Colorado. The Buckeyes will be tested by Toledo’s spread offense, which is triggered by senior quarterback Aaron Opelt.

Toledo is going to convert some first downs, both running and throwing. RB DaJuane Collins and WRs Eric Page and Stephen Williams are strong talents to go along with the multifaceted Opelt. OSU will need to be patient with Toledo’s spread and look for ways to create some turnovers.

Against USC, the Ohio State defense played an amazing game from start to finish … well, until about seven minutes left. This should be a great challenge. OSU’s nickel defense will be put to the test as Toledo loves to get the ball out quickly. Opelt is also a threat to run the ball. The OSU defense needs to pack a lunch and get after the Rockets from the first series.

* How It Will Go: After the heartbreaking loss to USC, Ohio State needs to bounce back in a big way against Toledo. The Buckeyes can feel sorry for themselves for the way that loss ended up. Or they can go up to Cleveland and give this game their best shot.

Ohio State needs to get after Toledo. This game could set the tone for the rest of the season. It is also important to see how Pryor responds to what was one of his worst games as a college quarterback. If he can get back on track this weekend, it would be huge with the Big Ten season beckoning a week later.

Toledo is flying sky high right now after its win over Colorado last Friday. The Rockets will go into this game believing they can play with the Buckeyes. It is up to Ohio State to quash that notion as soon as possible.

I think Toledo’s offense will provide some early issues for the Buckeyes. But my guess is OSU will make some adjustments and also come up with some big plays to turn the tide. It could be a tight game for 2-1/2 or three quarters, but I think Ohio State pulls away late. Wouldn’t it be great to see Cleveland’s hometown pride, Ray Small, come out of his funk and spark a big Ohio State win? That would be just what the doctor (and this offense and this team) ordered. I’ve got it: Ohio State 41-14

* For The Record: I am 1-1 straight-up and 2-0 against-the-spread with Ohio State. (OSU is a 20-1/2 point favorite over Toledo.)

* Other Picks: On this week’s Bucknuts Radio Hour (click here to listen to this great show), everybody picked Ohio State over Toledo. Mr. Bucknuts picked OSU 38-20. Bill Kurelic said OSU 24-14. Dave Biddle said OSU 34-13. Kirk Larrabee said OSU 34-17. Jeff Rapp had OSU 33-20.  Last week, Biddle, Larrabee, Rapp and Garry Paskwietz of WeAreSC.com all correctly picked USC’s win over Ohio State. Biddle (24-20) and Rapp (27-23) were closest in terms of margin.

-- Steve Helwagen