Game Thread 2015 Sugar Bowl: (1) Alabama vs. (4) Ohio State, Jan 1st @ 8:30p ET, ESPN (civilized thread)

[beau]

Yes your defense should have it Eze all day.

In the Big Ten East division, only ONE team with a winning record besides tOSU in conference play.

One offense cannot be truthfully measured against another unless they have played the same opponents on the schedule during the season, so this is a very subjective statement. But whatever, this is all useless banter on here and that is why they play the game. GO BUCKEYES!

I am biased, but I do believe Ala has played a tougher schedule. Ala is banged up because of this but should be pretty healthy Jan. 1. And yes I know OSU is banged up too. I think the game will be close.

 

[BUCKDUBBS007]

I think the game will be close.

That is realistically what we are hoping for going in.

 

[beau]

True. Cardale is much bigger than Prescott.

Your inexperience at QB will not be an asset.

 

[Bill Lucas]

I don't think Ala will have much success running on Y'all. However, Cooper and co. will give us a yard or two in space. I also don't think OSU will be able to run with great success against our defense. Your young QB's ability to pass is the key to your success IMO. With our pretty good passing game, I think the indoor site helps the Tide. If was an OSU fan, I would want to play Bama on a cold and windy day with chilling rain. This will be Ala's third game, this season, playing indoors. Advantage : Alabama

And without saying the word there it is...speed. I think you're going to be surprised at the speed of Ohio State on both sides of the ball and on the defensive line. This isn't your grandma's B1G team anymore.

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

For our Bama fans...

The guy making this tackle.... He's our 3rd string (Now starting) QB

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

All three,have better offenses than OSU, so I think we are good.

Texas A&M, Mississippi State, and Auburn have better offenses than Ohio State?

Scoring offense:
Ohio State ...... 45.2 ppg ( #3)
Mississippi State 37.2 ppg (#14)
Auburn .......... 35.8 ppg (#22)
Texas A&M ....... 34.4 ppg (#31)

Total offense:
Ohio State ...... 507.6 ypg ( #8)
Mississippi State 506.2 ypg ( #9)
Auburn .......... 489.2 ypg (#17)
Texas A&M ....... 449.3 ypg (#31)

 

[Systems_id]

Your inexperience at QB will not be an asset.

Tell that to Wisconsin hehehehehe.

 

[BamaInHoustonRTR]

Texas A&M, Mississippi State, and Auburn have better offenses than Ohio State?

Ohio State may have the better offense but do you think those stats mean anything? Have you ever taken a stats course? You cant take offensive production from an entirely different league of defenses and compare them to a different population. Stats don't compare like that.

 

[JCOSU86]

Yep, because they are in the SEC. Here's that "circular reasoning" I hate so much.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

True ...but your young QB is no Dak Prescott.

Tell that to Wisconsin...

 

[jwinslow]

Hi board! It's going to be a fun new years huh?

Yes, Alabama has struggled in the past with some hurry up teams. Nick Saban has recruited lighter linebackers and defensive ends to combat this type offense. This was his first year really with experienced players to stop the HUNH. He has focused more this season on conditioning particularly of the defense and linebackers than he has before. I think they looked a little out of sorts against Ole Miss when they were running no huddle. We had the wrong group in or something at least one time. They have managed it pretty well since then I think. Forcing teams into predictable down and distance helps a lot. Does OSU stick to their tendencies. MSU ran Dak Prescott on 3rd and 3 like every play and that was mainly what got them beat. Horrible playcalling IMO.

Good stuff and welcome! One thing that OSU has become very good at doing is breaking tendencies. Some of this is the shift away from Braxton (who was electric with the ball but just okay at operating the offense), some of it is the depth of personnel they are building, some of it is just good playcalling.

Jalin Marshall is a chain mover and very effective on handoffs and especially the pop pass / jet sweeps. This efficiency causes defenses to overpursue and focus on that option, leaving a lot of plays open on the backside. To some degree, they almost overdo it in terms of using him as a decoy but the emergence of that play as a steady 4-12 yd gain has really transformed the offense.

The similarity in personnel also make it difficult to get a presnap read for what is coming. Discipline, gap assignment and beating your men are crucial, and I'm sure Alabama will be up for the challenge. It will be fun to see who wins enough battles to tilt the scales.

The refs only stop play when the offense substitutes. IDK what you are watching, but if he's standing over the ball it's because one of your guys stepped off of the field and the defense gets time to adjust.

Right and we do not witness that very often (they often keep the same personnel out there or are not in a rush to snap it again). OSU typically uses tempo to maintain the same personnel and prevent substitutions. They only go fast on occasion (in contrast to Oregon or other squads). In a way it's a bit of a surprise when they actually use their uptempo attack to go fast :)

Alabama runs the hurry up offense as good as anybody now so you might get a taste of your own medicine. I'm more worried about Zeke Elliot than anybody else. That guy can flat out play ball. I do like OSU's blocking up front. Good thing Bama has a good d-line. I watched OSUs season highlights and most of the Big 10 title game.

Zeke's a very well rounded back. His running ability is well established but his lead blocking ability and hands are also quite strong (despite the rare drop in the CCG). The kid craves contact:

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Here he is again...

 

[BamaInHoustonRTR]

For our Bama fans...

The guy making this tackle.... He's our 3rd string (Now starting) QB

Well hopefully he is having to make a lot of tackles like that during the game.

 

[BUCKDUBBS007]

Your inexperience at QB will not be an asset.

Looked pretty good behind a seasoned and hungry O-Line against a top 10 national defense in the Big Ten championship while winning the MVP in his first college start ever.

 

[SECorBust]

Your inexperience at QB will not be an asset.

I don't see it that way either. He throws a nice fade. He's pretty good with the short routes. First thing I did after finding out we were to play OSU was look and see if one of the other two QBs would be healthy enough to start for this game. Jones by himself will not beat Bama IMO. For Bama the game hinges on shutting down the run game or making OSU predictable. I have no clue what OSU has to do to win. Play very well up front on both sides and get some breaks?