Elyria's Danny Noble says he is ready to rumble at Cleveland Browns Stadium this Saturday.

Noble, who caught his first career college touchdown pass last Friday, is more than ready to take on the No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes.

"This is the game to make my season," Noble said. "I'll be in my hometown. My family is going to be there, everybody I know is going to be there. And again it's Ohio State, one of the top teams in the nation. Our team can't wait to get in the ring with them and rumble."

Noble caught a career-best five passes for 56 yards, which included his first career TD reception at the Glass Bowl in Toledo's 54-38 win over Colorado on Friday. His quarterback Aaron Opelt threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for two more. The Rockets out-gained the Buffaloes, 624-451.

"It felt good. That was a highly anticipated game," Noble said. "We wanted to go into this game and play as hard as we could. This game was the one we needed to make a name for ourself and see where we would be at this season. Scoring against them and being able to put up as many points as we did, made it as fun as it possibly could've been."

Noble, a 6-foot-5 236 pound sophomore, didn't expect to grab a starting spot this season. Although he worked hard in the offseason, he never thought it would pay off so soon. He went from tight end to wide receiver, and notched the No. 1 spot going into the season.

"I didn't expect to do as well," Noble said. "I just went into camp and played as hard as I can. The coaches gave me the opportunity to start and so far I'm making it worthwhile. I want to do whatever it takes to help my team win."

He credits his offseason conditioning — sprint school — which helped teach him how to run faster and better. It also gave him endurance to run harder and longer.

"Everybody is way faster and stronger in college," Noble said. "I've also had to block bigger and faster defensive backs. I'm not the biggest tight end or slot receiver, I had to learn how to block technique-wise."

"In practice, we do everything at a high tempo. Our offense is high powered in practice so I expect us to go out in the game and do the exact same thing. We did that last Friday."

The win was also rookie head coach Tim Beckman's first. He also defeated Colorado as the defensive coordinator, while he was at Oklahoma State.

"He's great. I couldn't ask for a better coach," Noble said. "He's a friend when he needs to be friend, but when it's time to step out there on that field, he's the ultimate drill sargeant and that's what I need. That's what our team needs. So far it's been successful."

Noble also said it would be an amazing feat to pull off an upset on the Buckeyes. No Ohio team has beaten the Buckeyes since 1921 when Oberlin defeated Ohio State, 7-6.

"I couldn't imagine what it feel like," Noble said. "This is our biggest game of the season. I'll be at a loss for words if we win."

Noble is a sophomore after playing in seven games last season. He was red-shirted his true freshman year.

At Elyria High School, Noble was an All-Ohio special mention in Division I, while also notching a first-team All-Northeast Lakes District selection. He caught 26 passes for 506 yards, which included nine touchdowns. He also recorded 67 tackles and four sacks on defense.

swalker@MorningJournal.com