Ken
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2nd Thoughts: The Game
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
(I think that Urban is addressing you)
Well, that was satisfying, wasn’t it? After looking “flat” the previous week in their loss to Michigan State, the Buckeyes looked potent in their demolition on the Wolverines, 42-13. The defense continued its high level play against Michigan, and as you saw, the offense looked the way we’ve been expecting it to all season.
Let’s get right into this…
Special Teams
In contrast to last week (9 punts), Cam Johnston had a fairly low-intensity day. He only punted twice, averaging 35 yards (net 25) per kick. Cam actually “kicked” the ball three times, but during his second attempt (OSU’s 2nd series) he was spun around by UM’s Tyree Kinnel, which resulted in a roughing the kicker penalty. The Buckeyes subsequently score on the extended series.
Sean Nuernberger was not asked to kick a field goal, but did go 6-6 in extra points.
Nothing remarkable with the return/coverage teams; which is usually a good sign.
Defense
The defensive effort was spotty a handful of times, but overall this was a sterling performance by the defense. Even though Ohio State held a 14-10 halftime lead, it was not comfortable. Michigan held the ball for 18:32, converted 8/11 3rd down plays and amassed 235 yards.
Evidently Ash/Fickell made some adjustments at halftime. In six UM possessions, the Silver Bullets allowed a field goal, but also forced two punts, two turnovers on downs and Joey Bosa’s interception. In UM’s last four possessions, they ran 19 plays that totaled only 42 yards. Allowing 2.2 ypp doesn’t give an offense much wiggle room.
In contrast to what I felt was last week’s lack of focus, the defense was very focused. The defense had only one penalty, a PI call on Damon Webb who got tangled up with Jake Butt on a helter-skelter Rudock scramble-pass.
The defense allowed 307 net yards passing. Before you get clutch your pearls, this was on 47 attempts. Despite all this UM only had 1 TD via passing. The flip side is that UM had to pass, since the Silver Bullets shut down the UM running game. The Wolverines had 57 yards on 25 carries, which works out to 2.3 YPC.
Bo Schembechler had to have been a restless over the weekend. First, UM loses to Ohio State, then uses his grave site as a prop for Buckeye “nut-crushing” and finally abdicate the running game that Bo cherished. Harbaugh may be “old school”, but he’s no Bo.
Offense
Let’s get this out of the way right now; this planning an execution by the offense was the best (in the circumstances) that I’ve seen all year. The offensive line was crisp off the ball, the runners ran with “authority” and the receivers made athletic catches coming off well run routes.
Last week, OSU ran the ball a total of 29 times for a UM-like 86 yards. In contrast, on Saturday, Ezekiel Elliott ran 30 times for 214 yards. The Buckeyes ran the ball 54 times for net 369 yards. In regards to passing, J.T. Barrett only tossed the ball 15 times, but completed 9 of them for 113 yards (7.5 per attempt). The 4:1 mixture of run to pass seemed to work out well. This was a very efficient offense.
Ohio State had 11 possessions. They ended in; 2 punts, 2 end-of-half, and 1 on downs (let’s run 4 plays just to look civil) and 6 touchdowns. In reality, 6 of OSU’s first meaningful possessions ended in TDs. Their last three possessions seemed more of a “let’s run clock and end this” approach. This was a very efficient offense.
Playcalling
We all saw the Odd Couple (Beck/Warinner) occupying the upstairs booth, as befitting their roles as Co-coordinators of the Offense. I’m still not sure (if you are, please remark in Comments) who was responsible for play-calling. I’m intrigued that the offensive line performed at probably their highest level on Saturday with their nominal coach “upstairs.
Frankly, this was clever game planning. It (emphasis on running) seemed designed to take advantage of a very block-able UM defensive line and UM linebackers that are slow, un-athletic and poor tacklers. Well done.
Other
Re-energized
It was wonderful to see Urban energized, and dare I say “playful” (late in game) on Saturday. This season may have been a bit more unsettled than originally envisioned, so it was a treat to see Urban enjoying himself. Special mention goes to Shelley Meyer for alertly dodging the Gatorade bath. Well done.
CFB Lineup
The Buckeyes end the regular season at 11-1, 7-1 and await the results of this week’s conference championship games to learn their bowl game fate. Don’t book your travel arrangements to Florida or Texas yet. The flat performance against MSU is even more annoying after Saturday’s game.
The post 2nd Thoughts: The Game appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
(I think that Urban is addressing you)
Well, that was satisfying, wasn’t it? After looking “flat” the previous week in their loss to Michigan State, the Buckeyes looked potent in their demolition on the Wolverines, 42-13. The defense continued its high level play against Michigan, and as you saw, the offense looked the way we’ve been expecting it to all season.
Let’s get right into this…
Special Teams
In contrast to last week (9 punts), Cam Johnston had a fairly low-intensity day. He only punted twice, averaging 35 yards (net 25) per kick. Cam actually “kicked” the ball three times, but during his second attempt (OSU’s 2nd series) he was spun around by UM’s Tyree Kinnel, which resulted in a roughing the kicker penalty. The Buckeyes subsequently score on the extended series.
Sean Nuernberger was not asked to kick a field goal, but did go 6-6 in extra points.
Nothing remarkable with the return/coverage teams; which is usually a good sign.
Defense
The defensive effort was spotty a handful of times, but overall this was a sterling performance by the defense. Even though Ohio State held a 14-10 halftime lead, it was not comfortable. Michigan held the ball for 18:32, converted 8/11 3rd down plays and amassed 235 yards.
Evidently Ash/Fickell made some adjustments at halftime. In six UM possessions, the Silver Bullets allowed a field goal, but also forced two punts, two turnovers on downs and Joey Bosa’s interception. In UM’s last four possessions, they ran 19 plays that totaled only 42 yards. Allowing 2.2 ypp doesn’t give an offense much wiggle room.
In contrast to what I felt was last week’s lack of focus, the defense was very focused. The defense had only one penalty, a PI call on Damon Webb who got tangled up with Jake Butt on a helter-skelter Rudock scramble-pass.
The defense allowed 307 net yards passing. Before you get clutch your pearls, this was on 47 attempts. Despite all this UM only had 1 TD via passing. The flip side is that UM had to pass, since the Silver Bullets shut down the UM running game. The Wolverines had 57 yards on 25 carries, which works out to 2.3 YPC.
Bo Schembechler had to have been a restless over the weekend. First, UM loses to Ohio State, then uses his grave site as a prop for Buckeye “nut-crushing” and finally abdicate the running game that Bo cherished. Harbaugh may be “old school”, but he’s no Bo.
Offense
Let’s get this out of the way right now; this planning an execution by the offense was the best (in the circumstances) that I’ve seen all year. The offensive line was crisp off the ball, the runners ran with “authority” and the receivers made athletic catches coming off well run routes.
Last week, OSU ran the ball a total of 29 times for a UM-like 86 yards. In contrast, on Saturday, Ezekiel Elliott ran 30 times for 214 yards. The Buckeyes ran the ball 54 times for net 369 yards. In regards to passing, J.T. Barrett only tossed the ball 15 times, but completed 9 of them for 113 yards (7.5 per attempt). The 4:1 mixture of run to pass seemed to work out well. This was a very efficient offense.
Ohio State had 11 possessions. They ended in; 2 punts, 2 end-of-half, and 1 on downs (let’s run 4 plays just to look civil) and 6 touchdowns. In reality, 6 of OSU’s first meaningful possessions ended in TDs. Their last three possessions seemed more of a “let’s run clock and end this” approach. This was a very efficient offense.
Playcalling
We all saw the Odd Couple (Beck/Warinner) occupying the upstairs booth, as befitting their roles as Co-coordinators of the Offense. I’m still not sure (if you are, please remark in Comments) who was responsible for play-calling. I’m intrigued that the offensive line performed at probably their highest level on Saturday with their nominal coach “upstairs.
Frankly, this was clever game planning. It (emphasis on running) seemed designed to take advantage of a very block-able UM defensive line and UM linebackers that are slow, un-athletic and poor tacklers. Well done.
Other
Re-energized
It was wonderful to see Urban energized, and dare I say “playful” (late in game) on Saturday. This season may have been a bit more unsettled than originally envisioned, so it was a treat to see Urban enjoying himself. Special mention goes to Shelley Meyer for alertly dodging the Gatorade bath. Well done.
CFB Lineup
The Buckeyes end the regular season at 11-1, 7-1 and await the results of this week’s conference championship games to learn their bowl game fate. Don’t book your travel arrangements to Florida or Texas yet. The flat performance against MSU is even more annoying after Saturday’s game.
The post 2nd Thoughts: The Game appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...