The Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked fourth in the nation after winning their first two games by wide margins and with quarterback Braxton Miller returning from a knee injury, the rare West coast trip for the Buckeyes against California in Berkeley should be an entertaining matchup.
The game against the Golden Bears is the first road test for an Ohio State team that went undefeated last year and Miller will be looking to get back into action after getting banged up last week in a win over San Diego State. Miller was injured and suffered a knee sprain early in the contest on a tackle and after he was held out of the rest of the game the team doctors kept a close eye on him all week and head coach Urban Meyer said he was confident that he would play after Kenny Guiton came into the game for the Buckeyes and led the team to a victory with two touchdown passes and three scores total.
Check here for the Buckeyes and Golden Bears live stream.
The Buckeyes are at their weakest when they are on the road and Meyer is one of the best coaches in college football when taking his team into hostile territory and Miller will be returning after Guiton led Ohio State in passing yards and rushing yards last Saturday. Ohio State defeated Buffalo to open the season with a 40-20 win and after taking on San Diego State and winning easily 42-7, the Buckeyes will have their first real challenge of the season with California. Cal has been able to remain comfortable with three games at home to start the season and now they are 1-1 after defeating Portland State and losing to Northwestern in their season opening game.
The Buckeyes know the Cal can score and the defense for the Golden Bears will be on edge after giving up nearly 500 yards passing to Portland State in the shootout they won 37-30 and Cal had to make a comeback to win the game. The Buckeyes have played this team recently after winning during their 12-0 run last season and that time Cal was visiting and now Ohio State gets to return the favor. Miller will be the focus for Ohio State and Cal, as both will be wondering how healthy he is for the game. Miller was the main reason the Buckeyes won last time around, as he had nearly 250 yards passing and four touchdowns in the victory.
Ohio will next play Florida A&M in an easy game before a matchup against number 20 Wisconsin and this could be one of the toughest stretches for the team heading through the season. After hosting the Badgers the team will travel to play the much improved Northwestern and then they will host both Iowa and Penn State on ESPN/ABC. The last stretch of the season is tough with three of the last four on the road, including Purdue and Illinois back to back. The team hosts Indiana before playing on the road against Michigan and depending on how good Ohio State plays, the final matchup against the Wolverines could have national implications.
Cal is 1-1 on the season after losing to Northwestern to open the year 44-30 and then they defeated Portland State in a surprisingly close game, winning 37-30. The team will play Ohio State at home before opening up in the Pac-12 with a road game against Oregon and that game could be very tough for the Golden Bears to win. The team will host the Washington State Cougars next before heading to UCLA for a very tough road test. The Bruins just defeated Nebraska and will be riding high, while Oregon State and Washington are next on the schedule. The team finished with Arizona and USC at home before travelling to Colorado and then the team will play against No. 5 Stanford.
The Cal and Ohio State game will be on Fox at 7:00 PM.