RugbyBuck said:

Yes, I don’t disagree with any of this and I still think that when matched up against a better than usual opponent, that is the time to overwhelm and end them early. What’s the point of having better talent if you don’t use it when you need it. Playing the same efficiency game as always lowers your margin for error. Going forward against CFP-level teams, I hope we come out hard and put it out of reach for them early. Then, we can sleeper hold them.

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I think that's where you tip the cap to IU. We didn't have as many chunk/explosives inside the framework of "efficiency" as we normally do. Even when we did, the IU secondary tackled better than anyone has al year.

Those are the things that make it look like we "let it loose" and overwhelmed an opponent early. In reality he's playing at the same pace and with the same strategy he has all along.

My biggest indicator of OSU turtling up is did they still try to feed Smith? Given his injury I'd say I was pleasantly surprised at how deliberate they were in getting him the ball.

I still think ND should be in over Bama

Just read Tim Shoemaker saying 60% of the red zone snaps came with either 3 or 4 tight ends on the field. Not going to pretend I'm breaking down tight end blocking tape but it's clearly not working b/c this team has bad been all season in short yardage

scarletngray said:

Matched up with the winner of Texas A&M and Miami. Who do you want?

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I wanted ole miss but the selection committee is dumb. I’d rather play A&M over Miami, but since the game is in Texas I’d rather it be Miami.

Wells4Heisman said:

A&M in Dallas would be a brutal pull. Have confidence in that match up but still

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They beat Texas in Dallas last year. Texas has a far larger fanbase. Not worried.

osuvictory1 said:

Guilty as charged. IU played hard for sure. I just have a feeling Day was holding stuff back like last year, and will turn it up a notch in the playoffs. That is where I am drawing correlations.

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I don't think Day was holding anything back last year or last night. I think people expecting a repeat of what we saw against Tennecheat and Oregon in the Rose Bowl is not indicative of what this team is this year - hell it wasn't even really what we saw against Texas or Notre Dame either last year. They have the talent to do it but it's not their comfort zone. I think a lot of things last night were matchup driven as well - whatever IU's game plan was, they executed it almost to perfection, especially in the first half. And it wasn't really exotic either - get pressure on the QB early, take away his quick reads and make a young guy go through the progressions in the biggest game of his life to date. And the hell of it is, Sayin still was pretty damn good (21/29, 258, 1 TD, 1 INT).

Their comfort zone is doing the normal stuff at such an efficient rate that it accumulates - @Jaxbuck said something like do the right thing 3% and 4% better all game long and it adds up - and that's exactly what these guys are.

Indiana did a hell of a job taking away some of those normal things, and Ohio State - no matter the reason, let downs from TCUN, not the more solid game plan, distractions with the coaching and recruiting stuff, whatever - took too long to adapt and adjust. They DID adjust, but it wasn't fast enough and it wasn't quite to their typical level of efficiency.

But in the end, I don't think they really held anything back. IU deserves the credit. This was a hell of a learning experience for Ohio State and now they have 3 weeks to absorb it, grow from it and get better going forward.

shetuck said:

i agree that sayin looked uncomfortable. at some point it was clear that Day told him to get the f*ck out of the pocket if it's collapsing. he did better throwing on the run but that takes away a lot of options that he's had all year.

imagine sayin was double-pumping because he got paranoid after the pick he threw, not for some other real reason. he would've done that against tsun as well, but tsun wasn't able to pressure him. so i think sayin needs to work that twitchiness out somehow. thought it would've been worked out during practice, though, against our 1's on the defense.

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I saw one play for absolute certain that he pulled it down to avoid what was going to be a clear pick. Imo, he was reading things properly and then they were changing faster than he has ever seen. He (probably) did a good job not to throw a few more picks. I really think people will see this in a different light when the X & O guys do their thing.

I still say the issues last night were 1a) Game plan and adjustment 1b) Interior OL got whipped. Sayin's performance is down around 9th or 10th thing.

Jaxbuck said:

Negatory on that (imo)

I think we got the best draw we could have asked for.

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Maybe. I figured Tulane/Ole Miss would've been a cakewalk to the Semis.

Jaxbuck said:

You can't just change who you are even if you think it's a good idea, which I don't think it would be.

Every outcome is based on skill + luck. When you are confident in your superior skill, you want to suppress luck because that's the only thing that can help your opponent.

If I have a big advantage per play, I want fewer plays.

If I have a small advantage per play, I want more plays.

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Yes, I don’t disagree with any of this and I still think that when matched up against a better than usual opponent, that is the time to overwhelm and end them early. What’s the point of having better talent if you don’t use it when you need it. Playing the same efficiency game as always lowers your margin for error. Going forward against CFP-level teams, I hope we come out hard and put it out of reach for them early. Then, we can sleeper hold them.

A&M in Dallas would be a brutal pull. Have confidence in that match up but still

Since a certain South Bend based university needs to join a conference, I would still kick the tires of bringing them into the fold. However, the B10 powers can’t be bending the knee for them. They need a conference more than our conference needs them.

TampaBuckeyes said:

Cotton. I had heard that Ohio state would prefer the cotton not considering opponent. Hopefully Miami can win it.

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Yes. Pulling for Miami but if there’s one defensive line that can hurt us it’s Miami.

That’s what it’ll take to beat this OSU team.

Well we have to likely play Texas Am in Texas.

Had to do that last year but this AM team isn’t what Texas was last year.

At least we’ll avoid UGA in the peach if we win. We’ll play them in Arizona

Jaxbuck said:

I'll be interested to see what the film break down guys show. I saw it a little but it's hard on tv.

Mostly going by how many times I saw Sayin double pump/pull it down.

Usually they kill zones. Last night they couldn't. It's a mix of all of it imo, Sayin was exposed a bit but a veteran DC and a very veteran defense did what most teams just can't do so I'm just not all that worried about it. Sayin has shown an ability to learn and he competed last night, his numbers were great.

He, along with the entire team, just got beat by the slimmest of margins at a few critical inflection points in the game. It's the style both coaches play, someone had to win it, someone had to lose it.

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i agree that sayin looked uncomfortable. at some point it was clear that Day told him to get the f*ck out of the pocket if it's collapsing. he did better throwing on the run but that takes away a lot of options that he's had all year.

imagine sayin was double-pumping because he got paranoid after the pick he threw, not for some other real reason. he would've done that against tsun as well, but tsun wasn't able to pressure him. so i think sayin needs to work that twitchiness out somehow. thought it would've been worked out during practice, though, against our 1's on the defense.

Cotton. I had heard that Ohio state would prefer the cotton not considering opponent. Hopefully Miami can win it.

Mike80 said:

I really really wish people would stop comparing last night to the TCUN 2024 game. It's a VERY lazy take that doesn't come close to the actual reality.

For starters, Indiana this year is far superior to that TCUN team. Ohio State found ways to lose both games, but last night was a lot more about Indiana making plays when it needed to, and 2024 against the cheaters was about Ohio State trying to be something they weren't that year. Also, while the offensive game plan last night was less than optimal, it was NOT beating its head into the wall repeatedly like in 2024. Further, while there were some struggles in the first half, it was VERY clear the offense transformed into something else in the 2nd half, and I attribute a lot of that to Sayin settling down and seeing the game more as his speed. The running game did find some room to operate (remember sacks come out of the rushing totals) and was effective in the 2nd half.

If I wanted to pick an analogue to a previous loss, I'd say it's a lot more like Oregon from 2024 or maybe Sparty from 2013. The struggles on 3rd down really stick with me, a lot of them were short and weren't converted - oddly enough the longest 3rd down they converted was the last play of the game.

Anyway, last night was nothing like TCUN 2024 in basically every aspect except the final score.

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Guilty as charged. IU played hard for sure. I just have a feeling Day was holding stuff back like last year, and will turn it up a notch in the playoffs. That is where I am drawing correlations.

Tanner said:

I hate everything. That we can't a yard when we need it. It's just baffling to me. I dont have a problem with Day choosing to kick a field goal in theory. But does anyone want Fielding taking big kicks? And that INDIANA beat us fair and square lol

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Fielding hadn't missed all year from 20-29 yards. The first 4th down wasn't a "big kick" since it was still early enough to not be a game deciding kick. Less pressure. The O-line wasn't playing great so there was less of a chance to get 1 yard that to get the field goal.

System_id said:

Or screwing us out of an easier path

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Negatory on that (imo)

I think we got the best draw we could have asked for.

Well, their miss of the CFP eliminates one guaranteed win for the Buckeyes.

Ya hate to see it;-)

OHSportsFan said:

Slow pace of play is great when you’re leading but Day played himself into no margin for error with that 8 minute drive in the 4th.

And then we had the error (missed FG). For how great that 12 minute drive was in The Game, that one also stalled out. Fielding just made that one, and it didn’t have much difference because the Bucks were safely ahead (and in total control).

Credit to IU limiting explosive plays - either with pressure or Sayin not progressing enough to find guys. It seems like there’s still a way to play bend-don’t-break defense against this team until we get into short yardage/field positions and shoot ourselves.

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You can't just change who you are even if you think it's a good idea, which I don't think it would be.

Every outcome is based on skill + luck. When you are confident in your superior skill, you want to suppress luck because that's the only thing that can help your opponent.

If I have a big advantage per play, I want fewer plays.

If I have a small advantage per play, I want more plays.

OHSportsFan said:

Slow pace of play is great when you’re leading but Day played himself into no margin for error with that 8 minute drive in the 4th.

And then we had the error (missed FG). For how great that 12 minute drive was in The Game, that one also stalled out. Fielding just made that one, and it didn’t have much difference because the Bucks were safely ahead (and in total control).

Credit to IU limiting explosive plays - either with pressure or Sayin not progressing enough to find guys. It seems like there’s still a way to play bend-don’t-break defense against this team until we get into short yardage/field positions and shoot ourselves.

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Agree. I understand why you're doing it in the regular season to limit wear and tear etc. But Day said when it's time go they would...and then they didn't. He's obsessed with winning games with running the ball for some reason. If you asked any opponent if they want Ohio State to play fast and have Sayin get the ball out fast and throw the ball every play to Smith and Tate, I doubt they would say yes

System_id said:

Or screwing us out of an easier path

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Miami doesn't scare me at all, and neither does aTm.

Committee: “Someone needs to join a conference.”

My first blush is they put all three teams that profile as bad match ups for us (IU, Oregon and maybe TT) on the other side of the bracket.

Full stop.

Miami, TAMU, Ole Miss and UGA are all weak in one area or another that doesn't give them a lot of ways to beat OSU this year.

TampaBuckeyes said:

Can they decide after the first round? Playing in Texas or Miami are the options.

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I’d guess Miami then. I think they’ll have to set it all today.