I haven't watched The Game sober in probably 20 years. Considering I just turned 36... I suppose I should feel like a scum bag.
It's the one day a year I just cut loose. Take off the coaching/analyst cap, let the emotion drive me and feel that spiritual connection to not only Buckeye football; but all of those who shared that mutual connection, both still with us, and those dearly departed. (RIP Grandma, she was the football matriarch of the family)
When the news broke, I had a lazy, errand filled weekend a couple months later. Ended up putting on The Game 2022, the first time I had watched any footage of it since the loss. I don't discount some of the coaching blunders as early as the 2nd drive from Day. A grab bag of plays on that 2nd drive, not being setup by previous calls or setting up future calls. But even with that, the Bucks were still driving and it was pretty clear when they hit the 30 yard line that scUM started panicking about the possibility of being down 14-3 early.
Going back to chart some plays, the blown up Z-return escort was the first poker 'tell' of the game. Everything from the backside run fit integrity not being maintained, the single high safety not keying run despite zero high hat, scUM seemingly allowing a run-side light box count and the weakside LB barely scraping off his tackle stack and letting 2nd level guards just run by him....
Very next play, scUM dials up a zero cover and sends the house. That same playside DB who wasn't triggering to a play-side run read was crashing hard pre-snap. A hard crash against a team that had hit that bubble RPO on them a couple times in the first series for gains. Leaving the scum CB's 1 on 1. After scUM went 3 and out the next drive, it only got worse from there. I believe I charted the entire first half, it's on my desktop somewhere? But I mean it was so bad at one point I remember watching corners with zero safety help squat on routes that you're all but handing a walk-in touchdown too if you're even remotely wrong on guessing. So much your position coach and DC would have pulled you the moment the whistle blew just to chew your ass out.
I can promise you this, had I been on the straight and narrow when it was live, I would have rushed to BP to call bullshit on *something*. What? I'm not sure. But it looked funky as hell the moment the scum suckers started getting down early and needed to keep themselves from a multi score hole.
Does this absolve Day & Co for their blunders? No. I remain cautiously guarded about our coaching staff. And they did themselves absolutely no favors in 2022, the biggest getting away from the running game. Something that cost CJ his Heisman and this team a better playoff seeding. But I saw a ton of white light this post-season - a ton of soul searching. But the key in this game is consistency. Otherwise you're Larry Coker. I'm hoping we see more consistency with Coach Day, especially the last Saturday of November.
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