After calming down from the OU loss, I started re watching last years ScUM, Ped St, Wisky Clemson, this years IU and OU games as well as the MSU game from 2015(just the OSU offensive drives), and found one constant, a lack of consistency and identity on the offense. I without a doubt think that OSU has as much Talent as Bama, OU and any other top team in the country. The difference is a team like Bama, knows their identity on offense, smack you in the mouth with our talented RBs and massive OL, and then when they got you on the ropes they put their foot on the opponents necks with a down field pass, and then continue to bludgeon you with the smash mouth running. Its been this way since Saban arrived In Tuscaloosa. Bama is the bully that will punch you in the mouth, steal your gf and dare you to do something back. And they've been able to punk the entire SEC for years and a few rivals in the CFP(OSU and Clemson) have been able to punch back but only a very select few.
OSU has no clue what they want to do on offer we, unlike Bama. I think JT can be the man to guide OSU to another NC(as I also think Haskins can as well), but it has to be with a true offensive identity. We're kidding ourselves if we think a collection of Jalen Hurts, Blake Sims, Greg McElroy, AJ McCarron is better than JT. JT has as much talent as all of them, but they were all put in positions to win. They were all game managers(as is JT), and were never in control of taking over a game, they let their RBs and OL do that. when Bama lost, it was because the QB was forced to do too much, and tried to make plays on his own, there are few instances where they were just flat out beat(Ole Miss with the crazy plays a few years ago and Clemson last year), but in all the QB was just a manager.
Urban was blessed with 2 QBs who had the ability to take over games with their legs(Braxton and Tebow) and keep defenses on their heels, but JT ain't that. And OSU has been blessed with stellar RB play since Urban arrived and he hasn't leaned on it enough, except in 2014 when riding Zeke got us an NC. But then when you go to 2015, you see Urban panic at close games like MSU, and get "cute" and start to go away from Zeke and try to lean on JT more in the run game, and thats a big mistake. Zeke was getting in stride and then it was taken away in favor of running JT on plays that fans in the nosebleeds knew was coming. And in all the close games since Herman left, that has been the case. But when we won those games, Urban and JT are heroes and everything is great, but with a loss you can see the true issues with the offense. JT may be A problem, but he's not the MAIN problem. As much as I'd like to see a new QB like Haskins in, I believe we can also win with JT. But our RBs need to be used a lot more! No way should JT ever out rush both the RBs, let alone one. I would give him the ball to run 8-10 times a game max and then feed JK Webber until the other team says uncle. It will also help our OL as well. Its not a secret that OL rather run block and pass protect, and Prince will do much better mauling a guy run blocking than consistently getting blown by in pass protection. Its near impossible to utilize play options when the QB is the primary runner, no defense in the nation will fall for that, besides give the ball to the guys who's expertise is actually running the ball! We recruited elite RBs to do just that.
And also, we should stop with the 6 man WR rotation, its a not so subtle secret that we dont have 6 competent WRs, IMO, Mack, Victor and Campbell should be starters with Dixon spelling them when needed. No offense but McLaurin is great in interviews and is a solid leader but he has hands of stone. Hill is a guy who has been in so many offenses that he hasn't even mastered being a WR, and he's more of a guy who's average at many things and not good at any one thing. Its not a knock on the guys, but just an honest opinion
No team has been able to win big in any level of football with an identity of what the team wants to do. Right now we have a team of coaches confused in what they want to do, whether they're a spread power team or a read option. I say stop paying so much attention to the deep ball and punch the other team in the mouth and that will open up the passing game. Too much has been made about Devin Smith, bug he wouldn't have been so open if the other team wasn't so focused on Zeke ripping them a new one. We are a spread power run team, IMO, just as Bama is a pro style power run team, OSU just spreads teams wide and then should beat them with their RBs. Just my synopsis, sorry for writing so much but I got on a roll
