2008 Football Rumblings

[osugrad21]

Link

OSU football: Change could be good
It might be time to elevate Pryor to No. 1 QB
By JON SPENCER
For The Advocate

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel talked about rolling up his sleeves and getting back to work. He might want to roll up his pant legs while he's at it because his Buckeyes have dipped their toes -- the good ones they have left -- in the murky waters of national irrelevancy.
One of those fan-waving, ABC-inspired signs derisively said it all during Saturday night's latest flop on national TV: Another Buckeye Catastrophe.
Spin all you want about the boo-boo on Chris Wells' big toe and any mitigating impact it might have had on USC's 35-3 blowout, but no feeble attempt at damage control can change the perception that America's Team To Hate once again lived down to the expectations of its naysayers.
Without Beanie, the Buckeyes looked like weenies.Charlie Weis had a better day and his ended on crutches.
In its past three games against elite competition -- sorry, nobody in the Big Ten counts -- Ohio State has lost by 27, 14 and 32 points. The 14-pointer was not that close, given the 31 unanswered points LSU rung up nine months ago in the national championship game.
"Obviously, we're going to take a beating around the country and the world," linebacker James Laurinaitis said.
Cont...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Ohio State the aftermath
Falling Buckeyes face a crossroads
Boone questions team's lack of emotion
Monday, September 15, 2008 3:11 AM
By Ken Gordon


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Kyle Robertson | Dispatch
Todd Boeckman threw for only 84 yards, was sacked four times and intercepted twice in the 35-3 loss to USC.

Alex Boone, Ohio State offensive tackle: "We can't play like that, and if we play like that the rest of the season, we won't be anything."


LOS ANGELES -- Out here in earthquake country, Ohio State offensive tackle Alex Boone was concerned about aftershocks.
The Buckeyes got rocked Saturday night 35-3 by top-ranked Southern California.
Down the tubes went OSU's dream of an undefeated season and of playing in another national championship game. Down the polls the Buckeyes plummeted, from fifth last week to 13th in the Associated Press poll and 14th in the USA Today coaches poll.
The specter of a quarterback controversy reared its ugly head, as senior starter Todd Boeckman continued to get pounded and struggle while freshman Terrelle Pryor gets more playing time.
It was OSU's most lopsided loss since a 63-14 beating at Penn State in 1994.

Continued......

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OSU Insider

Monday, September 15, 2008 3:03 AM

Kyle Robertson | Dispatch
Quarterback Todd Boeckman is helped off the ground by offensive tackle Alex Boone after getting sacked in the second half Saturday.

Next game: vs. Troy
Where: Ohio Stadium
When: Noon Saturday
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: WBNS-AM/FM (1460/97.1)
25 words or fewer

Ohio State goes from veteran-laden national contender to Beanie-less, rudderless ship on fire (QB controversy). Boeckman or Pryor? How about a new O-line?
In the polls

Like what happens to an underperforming company in the NASDAQ, the Buckeyes -- fifth in both major polls a week ago and second just two weeks ago -- did a free fall in active trading yesterday. They wound up 13th in the Associated Press media poll and 14th according to the coaches in the USA Today poll. Who's No. 1? Southern California left no doubt.

Continued.....

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Analysis
Vanilla offense, soft defense in need of a jolt

Monday, September 15, 2008 3:01 AM
By rob ollerray stein


Questions to ponder in the wake of Ohio State's 35-3 loss to Southern California on Saturday night:
Who's missing from this picture?

No one would suggest that quarterback is not the most important position on a football field, but there are reputed to be 10 other players out there. So while there is heavy panting about a QB switcheroo, the rest of the offense demands attention, as well. At the moment, anyway, Ohio State seems content to employ as few as four skill-position players against an 11-man defense, the fullback and tight end becoming such afterthoughts that they may as well be wearing jerseys numbered in the 60s and 70s. It's not like an offense that put up only 207 yards couldn't have used the extra help, but the lack of diversity seems glaring. Of course, it all starts up front, but even the use of seven blockers is not allowing for time and space.

Continued.....

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Buckeyes are keeping some dreams alive Southern Cal spoiled their national title hopes, but a Big Ten title is possible, if they work hard
By Ken Gordon
Columbus Dispatch

Published on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008
LOS ANGELES: Out here in earthquake country, Ohio State offensive tackle Alex Boone was concerned about aftershocks.
The Buckeyes got rocked Saturday night 35-3 by top-ranked Southern California.
OSU's dream of an undefeated season and playing in another national championship game went down the tubes. The Buckeyes also plummeted in the polls, from fifth last week to 13th in the Associated Press poll and 14th in the USA Today coaches poll.
The specter of a quarterback controversy reared its ugly head, as senior starter Todd Boeckman continued to struggle and get pounded while freshman Terrelle Pryor gets more playing time.
It was OSU's most lopsided loss since a 63-14 beating at Penn State in 1994.
But beyond that, Boone sees an even more ominous sign, that maybe this Buckeyes team doesn't have the requisite heart.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Ohio State, Big Ten come in for heat after bad weekend
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
BY TODD PORTER
[email protected]

COLUMBUS After another big flop on the big stage, Jim Tressel wasn't really in any mood to talk about national image and his conference's place there. What Tressel was concerned with was his offense's lack of production all season in the red zone.

Still, though, Tressel entertained the question. The Buckeyes have been soundly defeated in the last two national championship games and thumped by Southern California on Saturday. The Big Ten, in general, is dangerously close, if not already there, from falling from the ranks of elite conferences.

Tressel initially bristled at the Big Ten reputation question from a national writer.

"Taking a lot of heat from whom?" Tressel said.

"From everybody who's not an Ohio State fan," the writer pressed.

"That's the fun of football, Tressel said. "You have your opinions of who's what and who's not. Do I wish we could've won the game for a lot of reasons, one of which is you love to represent your conference? I'm proud of our conference, and I'm proud of our team. So I guess maybe I'm only concerned with the Ohio State fans, I don't know."

In the aftermath of a 35-3 loss to No. 1 USC, Ohio State watched its ranking tumble from fifth in the country to out of the top 10. The Buckeyes' free fall stopped relatively short, though, at No. 13 in the writers' poll and 14th in the coaches'.

The Big Ten took a licking over the weekend. Not only did Ohio State get pasted, but:

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Five things Tressel will not talk about

http://www.limaohio.com/sports/season_28252___article.html/last_one.html#slComments
September 15, 2008 - 10:43PM
Jim Naveau
COLUMBUS - Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel and some of the Buckeyes players will face the media today to give their version of what went wrong in a 35-3 loss at Southern California on Saturday night and to talk about what happens next.
As a veteran of more than a few post-mortems like this, I can predict with a fair amount of certainty what will happen.
There will be a lot of talk about stepping up, taking it to the next level, winning a Big Ten championship and playing them one at a time because you just never know what might happen.
No fingers will be pointed. That's not the Tressel way. And you will hear that there are no big problems, just "one or two things" that need to be corrected.
Any relation to the harsher realities of the situation will be purely accidental.
I can almost guarantee you that Tressel will not talk about these five things today:
1. He won't tell you that opposing teams figured out Ohio State's passing game last season and OSU still hasn't found an answer.
In the first nine games of last season, quarterback Todd Boeckman averaged 13.1 yards per completion and ran the ball 2.8 times per game.
Since then in seven games he has averaged 10.0 yards per completion and has run the ball 7.3 times per game.
Obviously, defenses are covering the Buckeyes differently, pressuring the passer differently and giving them a different look than the one where Boeckman was able to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball downfield early last season. Ohio State's response to that change has been generally ineffective.
Cont..

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

September 15, 2008

Riding the storm out

To those who don't live in the central Ohio area, we got hit hard by the remnants of Ike last night. The Dispatch crew returned from Los Angeles to find trees downed, debris on the streets, and power out across most of our area.
That would include me....so I apologize in advance for not being able to do my usual Sunday-Monday film study and breakdown on the blog. Hopefully, I'll eventually be able to watch the tape.
I have fled from home to a coffeeshop (whose wireless was down) to the Ohio State media room to finally get some work done.
As we speak, Tim May and I are working on Inside the Beat, but it may not be posted until early Tuesday, because our web site sports editor also is dealing with power outages!
I realize it could be worse, though, as surely many folks in Texas right now realize. I pray for a quick recovery there.
In the meantime, let me review my Five Keys to the game I wrote in last week's Gameday:
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

BN Free-Tressel Discusses QB Situation, Wells Status, More

 

[osugrad21]

DDN

Questions for Buckeyes don't end at quarterback


By Rusty Miller
Associated Press

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

COLUMBUS ? Three games into the season, there's no question Ohio State is searching for answers.
Coach Jim Tressel was practically a one-man news conference Tuesday, asking himself rhetorical questions 38 times during his 40-minute news conference on Tuesday. He used the word "question" seven more times.
Think he's consumed with questions?
A 35-3 loss to top-ranked USC ? in addition to ongoing questions (that word again) about Chris "Beanie" Wells' tender right foot and a percolating quarterback controversy ? have created doubts in and around the Buckeyes heading into Saturday's game against Troy.
"I think that's fair to say that there's a lot of questions about this team," punter A.J. Trapasso said.
Tressel was almost a game-show host he asked so many questions.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

OSU analysis: Fix the Buckeyes? It's possible, in five not-so-easy steps

by Doug Lesmerises Tuesday September 16, 2008, 9:56 PM


"I think everyone in America, as they looked at our schedule, said the most dangerous game on Ohio State's schedule is Troy," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday.
Actually, the most dangerous game was USC. But Troy has the talent to trip a team making the same old mistakes. So here are five suggestions for the Buckeyes as they attempt to bounce back from a 32-point loss that was the worst of the Tressel era.
1. Handle the quarterbacks with care: Interceptions are like arsenic to Tressel. Interceptions returned for touchdowns? Don't go there.
During OSU scrimmages, the defense earns 12 points for taking a turnover all the way back, because Tressel sees them as doubly valuable. So Todd Boeckman hitting Rey Maualuga in the chest with a pass that turned into 6 for USC and a 21-3 Trojan lead Saturday has obviously affected Tressel's view on his QB situation.

Marvin Fong/The Plain DealerSure, the OSU fan base is screaming for more time for freshman QB Terrelle Pryor. They'll get it, too, against Troy on Saturday. But what happens when the new guy throws an interception or two?
That included not naming a starter for Saturday, when something like "Todd is our guy, but Terrelle will play," was the expected Tressel response. Instead, Pryor will get two-thirds of the practice reps this week to get ready and half the snaps in the game. He took 39 percent of the snaps against USC. "We said if we had a game last night with what we were planning to do, that we envisioned that it would be 50/50," Tressel said Tuesday of a proposed quarterback split, "but it will be affected by what we do in practice and obviously what occurs during the course of the game."

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Ohio State Insider: Still waiting on Wells

by Doug Lesmerises Tuesday September 16, 2008, 10:23 PM


COLUMBUS -- The latest from Foot Central -- it sounds a lot like last week.
Ohio State running back Beanie Wells practiced Tuesday afternoon, cutting on his injured right foot in drills after only running in a straight line on Monday. OSU coach Jim Tressel said that the key to whether Wells can play against Troy on Saturday is how he feels Wednesday.
"If he can handle that, we can upgrade him from questionable to probable," Tressel said. "If he can't, we'll leave him right where he is."
Last week, Wells had serious soreness after his first practice on Wednesday and Tressel ruled him out for the USC game on Friday night.
"He looked pretty good," said running back Dan Herron, who started in place of Wells against the Trojans and ran for 51 yards on 11 carries. "He did the running back drills and everything and that involved cutting. He said he felt OK, so he's looking better."

Tressel shot down rumors that Wells might require surgery or is out for the season, saying, "I have not heard that once."
Wells first injured his foot against Youngstown State on Aug. 30.
Fumble fault: Another measure of Tressel's current feelings toward quarterback Todd Boeckman came in the explanation of the sack of Boeckman that forced a fumble late in the second quarter Saturday. USC's Clay Matthews blitzed from the right edge, left tackle Alex Boone blocked down on another player, tailback Herron let Matthews by and went into the flat for a pass and Boeckman took a blindside hit and coughed up the ball.
Who's fault? The quarterback. Tressel didn't cover for Boeckman, explaining how USC had faked a similar blitz on the previous play, so Boeckman thought the Trojans were faking again. He should have read the blitz and thrown a quick pass.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Ohio State football: Pryor and Wells sharing the field?

by Doug Lesmerises Tuesday September 16, 2008, 3:07 PM

Marvin Fong/ The Plain DealerThis tandem could move off the sideline and on to the field Saturday.
How about a backfield of Terrelle Pryor and Beanie Wells on a regular basis against Troy on Saturday? It could happen.
OSU coach Jim Tressel said today that at the moment he expects Pryor and senior Todd Boeckman to split the quarterback snaps 50-50 on Saturday, while tailback Wells is questionable while recovering from a right foot injury.

Wells missed Ohio State's last two games after hurting himself against Youngstown State on Aug. 30.
"Beanie right now is listed as questionable by the medical staff," Tressel said, noting that Wells did well working out and running straight lines on Monday. "Today will be the day where he has to go back and do all the cutting and all those kinds of things and that's where we got our setback last week, so we'll have to see how that goes, but we'll update that day-to-day."
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Rotating QBs for OSU? Tressel will consider it this week
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
BY TODD PORTER
[email protected]

COLUMBUS Other than the Southern Cal football team, Jim Tressel didn't return from California impressed by much.

Along with the way, the Trojans took it to the Buckeyes on Saturday, Tressel's young quarterback topped the Ohio State head coach's list.

And that will be enough to earn true freshman Terrelle Pryor more playing time.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Todd Boeckman did himself no favors with two interceptions and a fumble in the 35-3 loss. One of Boeckman's interceptions was returned for a touchdown that Southern Cal turned into a momentum-swinging 21-3 lead.

Pryor completed 7-of-9 passes for 52 yards. He also ran 11 times for 40 yards. He didn't back down from more experienced USC players getting in his face. In fact, he gave it right back to the Trojans and their fans as he walked off the field.

Pryor has made steady progress through three games. He will get a chance to show that even more Saturday against Troy at Ohio Stadium.

"Terrelle has been very impressive," Tressel said. "There's not many freshmen that I've had with very limited reps who have been able to conceptually pick up as much as he has. He's a pretty special player.

"Did anyone think he looked shook out there? I didn't."

Troy is OSU's last game before the Buckeyes open Big Ten play Sept. 27 against Minnesota. This may be the right time to work Pryor into a more prominent or even a starting role.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Pryor, Boeckman competing for top role as Buckeye QB
UPDATE: 12:28 PM, Tuesday, September 16, 2008
BY TODD PORTER
[email protected]

COLUMBUS Whether Ohio State has a new quarterback or not could be determined in practice this week.

Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel said the Buckeyes will use the next three practices to determine whether freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor will earn more playing time from starter Todd Boeckman.

Pryor and Boeckman alternated plays during a 35-3 loss at USC last week. Pryor, however, played well and has become Ohio State's leading rusher with running back Beanie Wells injured.

"The nice thing is we have three good practice days this week to have a nice healthy competition," Tressel said. "I think Terrelle has shown he has unusual moxie about him. He didn't seem out of place in that game. He didn't seem like a guy playing his first game. He has a good presence about him."
Cont...