Factory Of Sadness
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5 Reasons The Ohio State Buckeyes Will Crush Northern Illinois

By Nick Dudukovich

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Sep 12, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Gareon Conley (8) intercepts the ball and Hawaii Warriors wide receiver Quinton Pedroza (5) tackles him in the second quarter of the game at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

1. Cornerback Play

Buckeye fans know what they’re getting in cornerback Eli Apple, but the jury was still out on Gareon Conley entering 2015. He struggled at the end of last season and the pressure of Ohio State making a national championship run appeared to make Conley buckle.

The Buckeyes signed Conley in 2013 with the anticipation he’d be a shutdown corner, and now that he’s got the mental side of the game figured out, Conley is trending in the right direction, via ESPN:

"“Last year I was a thinker…I thought a lot about making mistakes and worrying about what-if this, what-if that. Now I just play to my ability and I know that my coaches and my teammates are confident in me. I felt down in the dumps [at Michigan State], and I know I can’t get that play back, but I just kept thinking about it over and over again. That led to more bad plays. I’m probably going to have more bad plays because nobody is perfect, I just know now after every bad play you have to snap and clear, play the next play.”"

Northern Illinois’ quarterback Drew Hare is having a great season thus far, completing about 78 percent of his passes. But he’s yet to face a secondary like this as he’s had his success against UNLV and Murray State.

With Conley play up to expectations, there should’ve be a lot of room to move the ball through the air.

Next: 3rd Down Dominance

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