All eyes will be on Terrelle Pryor early in the game as Buckeyes fans wait to see if he's really recovered from a strained quadriceps.
View full sizeThe Buckeyes say quarterback Terrelle Pryor is close to 100 percent healthy after suffering a quadriceps strain last week, but no one will really know until he's in action today.COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jim Tressel said the "pop" that the Ohio State quarterback heard when he went down against Illinois last week was from his left knee brace, not something inside his body. All week, the Buckeyes have said Pryor was fully practicing and looking like he was 100 percent. Tressel said if you didn't know he'd been hurt, you couldn't tell by watching.
Watch for yourself.
There are three levels of quad strains that describe the severity of the injury. The Buckeyes didn't say how bad Pryor's was, though the fact that he returned last week, even though he was limited, was a good sign. Still, these injuries don't always magically disappear.
Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria sat out the final 10 games of the regular season while being careful to recover from a quad strain. Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber missed a game last season with a quad strain. Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, the player to whom Pryor is most often compared, left a game in 2007 with a quad strain and sat out the next week as well.
As always, there's a difference between practice and games, so it needs to be seen how Pryor holds up when he accelerates for the first time, or if there's any effect when he pushes off his plant leg to fire a pass. Watch if Indiana defends Ohio State any differently, whether a linebacker hangs around to keep an eye on Pryor or if the Hoosiers aren't quite as worried about his running.
Then, watch for the rope-a-dope. Maybe Ohio State wants Indiana to slack off on defending Pryor as a runner and then have him take off.
"It's a lot more dangerous if you plan that he's going to stay in the pocket and then he doesn't," OSU defensive tackle Dexter Larimore said. "That's the worst thing that can ever happen -- you're going against a mobile quarterback and you didn't think he was a mobile quarterback. . . . If you come in and think he'll stay in the pocket and he's running all over the place, that's a million times harder."
2. Is Ohio State's offensive line angry?
After the Eastern Michigan win, OSU center Mike Brewster said the offensive linemen had been grading out so well, the coaches had to raise the standard for what it meant to have a winning performance. Then last week against Illinois, the line was so off that fullback Zach Boren was named the Buckeyes' offensive lineman of the week.
"That's interesting," said OSU left guard Justin Boren, his brother. "I'm like, 'Zach, that must mean all they care about you for is as a blocker.' He always dreams about getting the ball. If you're getting the offensive lineman of the week award, you're not getting the ball."
The offensive linemen were upset with how they played last week. Will they play like they want to make up for it?
3. Indiana's pistol
It's not new to the Buckeyes, with the Hoosiers using the pistol formation last season when Ohio State beat Indiana, 33-14. The shortened shotgun, with a running back lining up behind quarterback Ben Chappell, was borrowed from Nevada. You'll remember Ohio State experimenting with it briefly with Beanie Wells in 2008.
The Hoosiers don't run that well out of it, ranking last in the Big Ten at 107 yards per game and second to last at 3.6 yards per carry. There's another formation to watch -- receiver Tandon Doss taking a direct snap as the quarterback in a wildcat formation.
4. Denard Robinson
We know the Michigan quarterback isn't in this game, but keep the TV on to watch Michigan State-Michigan on WEWS Channel 5 at 3:30 p.m. Jim Tressel will be rooting for his good friend, MSU coach Mark Dantonio. But for Ohio State's strength of schedule, a Michigan win actually would help more, since the Buckeyes play the Wolverines later in the season but don't play the Spartans. Studying Indiana's defense, Tressel watched film of the Hoosiers' loss to Michigan last week and caught his first glance of Robinson this season.
"If he gets a sliver, he's gone," Tressel said. "He's a good player, and he can change the field real fast."
It's never too early in the season to keep an eye on Michigan.