Game Thread BCS National Championship Game: tOSU 24, LSU 38 (final)

[utgrad73]

I'm not really sure if this should go here or in the game thread...

In today's college football landscape it is really starting to feel like you cannot be successul over a 13 game season without having a mobile QB. The last team to be great with a traditional QB was USC 3 or 4 years ago. Even that extremely talented team got upstaged by a VY led Texas team.

I like Boeckman and Henton, but this team needs Pryor and more depth at WR to give those positions more speed. We need to play more disciplined football and make fewer mistakes - easier said than done but a few of those last night really hurt. I'm not saying this because we fell on our sword last night, but with a second QB as a running threat and we've are a different team.

IMO, Pryor could help. But Boeckman and Henton can learn from this and make the difference next season. Pryor would add depth at QB along with Posey and Stoney. Next season is bright, but something needs to be done at the helm with or without Pryor. Let's hope Pryor likes tOSU a little better because we offer more in terms of football and basketball than Michigan.

RR may take a few years to put together his spread offense at Michigan. If Pryor wants to play football, let's hope he picks the good guys. JT better do some fast talking if he wants to keep him at tOSU, RR already has TP on speed dial.

Just a few rambling thoughts as I grunt through my day. Another year of listening to Mark May, I don't know if I can take it.

 

[NOTREDAMECHIEF]

For me this loss is so much easier to handle.

Last year, I was in shock. I had no answer for why the Buckeyes laid an egg, and the loss was, to me, simply astonishing.

This year, I saw what happened. The Tigers executed, the Buckeyes did not. I can live with that. Getting beat happens. I hold my head up today, as should all Buckeye nation. We are fans of one of only 3 teams to be 1-2 in Title shots in the BCS era.

This team.... I would have been happy with a 2 loss season when it all began.. Lo and behold, that's where we are. I did not expect the opportunity to root on a championship effort. This young team provided that. The future remains bright for Ohio State football.

Great post... during the game last night I read thru some of your posts and
quite frankly some of the posts went way over the line. Once a fan always a fan: how would some of you handle it if you had a fat,arrogant coach that gave you 3 wins this season??

Again, great post.

 

[ZoMaN504]

It's not going to happen. Everyone who you think will go the NFL will. Terelle Pryor will play for Michigan. Ohio State will get hammered in Los Angeles against USC in September. I wish I could stay positive but it is just not hapenning. It will take Ohio State 5 years to get back into the National conversation. All seems dark. I hope tomorrow will be better. I hope Ohio State does not become a museum to the past.

1st of all, Freeman's already coming back. Gholston said he talking to Tress right when they get back, you dont think he wants to come back after seeing what guys like Dorsey have done while returning for their senior season. None of these guys are honestly ready for the pro's, except vern. They can't tackle great in space, they blow assignments, and they need to mature (just being honest, they need a bit more polish). Also, the guys from bucknuts stated TP as being a 95% shot at coming to o-state last night. Sure Michigan may get him for a weekend, but you dont think guys like Brewster and Posey will be calling and texting him daily til he commits. 5 years to get back? Have you seen the guys we have coming in and on our bench, so much talent, although I do think some coordinating changes may need to be made.

Regarding last nights game, it seems OSU has lost that nastiness about them. Michigan, as much as i HATE them, has it. When they lined up against florida they wanted it. IF a ball was thrown up, they knew damn well that if they didnt make the play there was no way the florda guy was going to either. Even when guys like hart fumbled, he got up, kept his head up b/c he knew they'd get another shot. Maybe its coaching, i dont know, but these guys need to get some intestinal fortitude. Some guys had it, but not enough. Maybe it comes with experience. We certainly had the talent to beat lsu, but we weren't nasty enough. And when I say nasty, i dont mean personal fouls and losing your head, i mean fighting for jump balls, laying out their receivers when they throw those little dump passes, etc. One more thing, I noticed a lot of time when flynn went for the option, no one hit him! Sure i saw Vern follow him, but there's no way gholston can chase down their rb's, so he needs to tackle flynn, even if he does pitch it, that stuff rattles qb's, and flynn wasn't rattled at all last night, except the 1 qtr and we saw how that went.

 

[RuGettinIt]

Regarding last nights game, it seems OSU has lost that nastiness about them. Michigan, as much as i HATE them, has it. When they lined up against florida they wanted it. IF a ball was thrown up, they knew damn well that if they didnt make the play there was no way the florda guy was going to either. Even when guys like hart fumbled, he got up, kept his head up b/c he knew they'd get another shot. Maybe its coaching, i dont know, but these guys need to get some intestinal fortitude. Some guys had it, but not enough. Maybe it comes with experience. We certainly had the talent to beat lsu, but we weren't nasty enough. And when I say nasty, i dont mean personal fouls and losing your head, i mean fighting for jump balls, laying out their receivers when they throw those little dump passes, etc. One more thing, I noticed a lot of time when flynn went for the option, no one hit him! Sure i saw Vern follow him, but there's no way gholston can chase down their rb's, so he needs to tackle flynn, even if he does pitch it, that stuff rattles qb's, and flynn wasn't rattled at all last night, except the 1 qtr and we saw how that went.

Excellent! I saw 2 times I can think of when Coleman could have laid Flynn out once and Perilloux out once on the option. Who knows that might have caused an errant pitch then or later in the game.

 

[lvbuckeye]

I think osugrad's 5 points a few posts back summed it up very well. But what I don't understand is this- LSU didn't really do anything different from what they've been doing most of the year, and our D looked confused about how to stop them. We've got access to game film, how could they not be prepared for what might be coming at them? Am I missing something? It is shocking to see a Tressel game plan get shut down twice in big games. This is something he's very good at, and I'm very surprised to see him stumped.

Having said that, I have to agree with what several have already said- we had a great season. We've had a great several years. There are hundreds of D-1 programs who would kill for the results we've had since Tressel has taken over.

Our guys don't go into a game looking to lose- they practice hard and play hard, and mistakes or not, I believe they give it their best.

As bummed out, or angry as you may be, you NEVER give up. We are The Ohio State University, and we'll be back next year to give this another shot.

i'm sure that i'm going to catch a lot of flack for this, but IMHO, our coaching staff is subpar. bottom line: we're able to out-athlete damn near everyone we play. when we play a team with equal or better talent, we look completely lost.


and we need DTs like a flower needs the sun.

 

[t_BuckeyeScott]

I like Boeckman and Henton, but this team needs Pryor and more depth at WR to give those positions more speed. We need to play more disciplined football and make fewer mistakes - easier said than done but a few of those last night really hurt. I'm not saying this because we fell on our sword last night, but with a second QB as a running threat and we've are a different team.

IMO, Pryor could help. But Boeckman and Henton can learn from this and make the difference next season. Pryor would add depth at QB along with Posey and Stoney. Next season is bright, but something needs to be done at the helm with or without Pryor. Let's hope Pryor likes tOSU a little better because we offer more in terms of football and basketball than Michigan.

RR may take a few years to put together his spread offense at Michigan. If Pryor wants to play football, let's hope he picks the good guys. JT better do some fast talking if he wants to keep him at tOSU, RR already has TP on speed dial.

Just a few rambling thoughts as I grunt through my day. Another year of listening to Mark May, I don't know if I can take it.

Then don't turn on ESPN. Its that simple. I'm indulging myself this morning but I may take a break for while from the Planet. A cleansing if you will. My confidence is a little shaken but look back at JT's post game quote. I don't know shit.

Am I dissapointed that in the last 2 bowl games the Buckeyes have easily looked like the less creative original offense on the field. Absolutely. But I don't know why that's the case. The Buckeyes didn't have a Tebow and Harvin on offense. Maybe JT felt with the players on hand he couldn't call those type of plays. Maybe JT doesn't call short quick routes because TB doesn't make quick reads well or mabye because the recievers don't seperate well. I also don't think anyone really thinks a RS Freshman with few playing appearences would have been any better in that game than Todd.

I do hope Tressel's offenses show more creativity/ originality/diversity next year, but he may not have the right horses. I think the Buckeyes may need more players with short area quickness. Hopefully a Devon Torrence steps up or a Flash Thomas comes in and shows what he's got.
I don't have the answer. I do believe JT wouldn't put his players in positions where he doesn't believe they can succeed. Maybe that's why we saw the offense we saw this year.

I have a lot of questions, few answers, but as JT alluded, I know shit.

Great post... during the game last night I read thru some of your posts and
quite frankly some of the posts went way over the line. Once a fan always a fan: how would some of you handle it if you had a fat,arrogant coach that gave you 3 wins this season??

Again, great post.

Now that is PERSPECTIVE!

 

[osugrad21]

One more thing, I noticed a lot of time when flynn went for the option, no one hit him! Sure i saw Vern follow him, but there's no way gholston can chase down their rb's, so he needs to tackle flynn, even if he does pitch it, that stuff rattles qb's, and flynn wasn't rattled at all last night, except the 1 qtr and we saw how that went.

Our option responsibilities have been terrible over the last few years...I agree 100%.

 

[OhioExile]

At the very least know how to spell the man's last name....It is Pryor.....

 

[lvbuckeye]

Are you for real? 5 losses in 3 years, 3 BCS games, two NC game appearances, 3-0 vs. UM.

Yeah, feel free to leave. [strike]Don't[/strike] break your head diving off the bandwagon. Pathetic.

FIFY.

 

[nwbuckeye]

I said in a previous post that I believe the upcoming year will be the toughest test yet for Tressel. Sure we have a boatload of talent coming back, even if some of the juniors bolt for the NFL, but there is gonna be a serious mind game to overcome. We saw frustration in this game when things started going downhill and the reality of living with two straight NC smackdowns is gonna be tough for the coaches to overcome. IMHO we are edging close to the Hawaii's and Boise St of the world; given the lack of great teams in the Big Ten it is not inconceivable that we can go undefeated in the upcoming years. But, if it comes down to 3 undefeated teams at the ends of the year or even two 11-1 teams they are gonna give the nod to the non-OSU teams as sure as shit. Do I think we are in the same league as Hawaii/Boise St....NO we would handle them not easily but beat them nonetheless. What I do think is that the National perception of OSU and the Big Ten is at an all time (at least for me) low and it is gonna be tough to make it back to the NC game even with a perfect or near perfect record. The pollsters will not forget the last two years..Florida was maybe a flook in their minds but now Florida/LSU sends a pretty convincing message.
If it sounds like I am bashing my Buckeyes, that is not true at all but it is gonna be a long struggle to get the swagger back in this team after the last two years. Something has to change on defense, and I for one would love to see the zone defense go the way of the dodo. The reality of giving up 79 points in back to back NC games needs to be addressed. Either the lack of being battle tested in the Big Ten has left our athletes weak in the big game (see '02 and the many close games) or our defensive scheme leaves something to be desired. DT recruiting as has been pointed out should be a priority as well as letting our prized recruits man up on defense. Watching teams dink and dunk their way down the fields is as aggravating as it gets, when is the last time we got burned consistantly on the long ball? Until it happens let our athletes man up and take our chances; the D we are playing works against weaker opponents but not against the elite teams.
Would you let your son come to OSU if he was a tight end...no way in hell. We may as well put two more linemen out there with TE numbers for as much use as we get out of them, hell without looking at the tapes I bet nobody even bothered to cover them by the end of the game since they are rarely if ever utilized.
Ok that is my last rant but I hope the theme is well taken. We may very well go 12-0 or 11-1 for the near future but unless some things change, it is gonna be tougher and tougher to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to choosing the two teams to go to the NC game. I have nothing but pride in what our players were able to accomplish this season, BUT I also believe that JT is gonna have one hell of a struggle getting his team to be able to leave behind the pain of the last two years and be ready mentally and physically to take on whatever the Big Ten and especially the other conferences have to throw at em.

 

[bukIpower]

Yes... The biggest thing I noticed was how Vernon Gholston was all over the QB on the option but where the hell was the guy responsible for the pitch man??? They ran the option I believe 4 time, and I know this because I remember each time they ran free when it looked like we had it stopped.

My opinion of this game was that we had a good game plan both ways, but failed to execute a lot of the time. The one thing I would've wanted to see our defense do more of was disguise our blitzes. They killed us in our man to man packages and I was hoping to see zone blitzes, and the type of defense were everyone lines up near the line so its hard for the offense to know whats coming. The tackling, the pursuit, and especailly detail to assignments definatly need to be worked on though. How many times did we blitz and not get pressure and have people running free? We did out gain LSU so you have to look at little things like Personal Fouls as well. We played undisciplined all game on defesne. ALL GAME.

On offense, I was actually decently happy with the way they played. The oline I thought did great with the running game! Why we went away from it? I'll never know, because IMO we needed to keep their offense off the field because it was evident we were going to have troubles stopping them. When your RB has 9 carries but 118 yards at the half and you don't continue to run him there's problems! Yes, we got behind but I'm talking more directly to when we were in the game or even leading. They should've ran the ball till they proved they could stop it. IMO worse coaching decision of the game. I know Tress likes to have his balance but if you're getting 5 yards a pop you stick with it. We ran the ball so little that Beanie never had to come out of the game. Usually when we run the ball well we have to use our 1,2, and 3rd string tailbacks because it's too tough for a RB to carry all the load.

Couple more things I wanted to just get off my chest as well. I could get dinged for this but I don't mean this in any disrespect to our team/conference. IMO I would not want to see our team in a NC the next 2 years unless we beat a program that is one of the best in the nation. Sure, we beat Texas last year but they didn't have VY and Mac Brown will never be a great gameday coach. We've had some very nice victories in Tressels time and I still think he's one of the best out there (as is our program), but until we beat someone that we can truely beat our chest about It would be better for College football if the true top 2 teams play for the NC. I believe this year we ARE a top 5 team no doubt, and our talent level is right there at the top as well, but now I believe we've got to prove our credibility all over again. IMO if we beat USC in the next 2 years THEN we will deserve to go back if the chance presents itself. However, if we lose to USC and win out and end up in the NCG I'll feel like we robbed someone of a shot at the title. We as a program have got to beat a team that we can actually point at and say "this is why we deserve to be there". The last two years our schedule has not prepared us for what elite teams have already faced during their seasons. Our schedule is definatly on the rise with USC, Oklahoma, Va Tech, Miami, and the rest but until we beat one of those teams I'd say it'd be hard to put us in another game if we are lucky enough to ahve that shot. The big ten has got to get better, and I pray/hope our conference can somehow improve because we're going to be the ones suffering if it doesn't. Running the table in the big ten to me is not as difficult as it once was, and I believe it will get back to elite status soon but until it does we have got to win big OOC games if we want to be considered Valid.

I mean we've had our shots and we've not only lost but basically tanked both games.Next year I'll be rooting for us to run the table and get back to the NCG as always, but it will be that much harder for people to put us in a NCG if other teams have the same record as us and we dont' have any impressive victories. Thats just what I feel right now, but the future looks bright for our team so keep your heads up boys. GO BUCKS!!

 

[scarletngray]

I haven't read every post in this thread, so this may have already been stated....but I think a lot of people forget just how young this team was this year. Only 3 Seniors in the starting line up. We were predicted to finish third in the Big Ten.

And though we need to give LSU its props, it was mental mistakes (5 personal fouls - reminded me of the Cooper years) and stupid penalities (when we have the ball at LSU's 5 yd line and get a motion call, etc.) that really contributed to this loss as much as anything.

I'm also amazed at how LSU could only have 2 penalities going into the last couple minutes of the game, wen we were barraged by penalty calls all night. But this has been a pattern all year.

Anyways, I'm still proud to be a Buckeye and with the recuiting classes we are getting, we will be in the thick of things for years to come.

GO BUCKS!!

:osu:

 

[Buckeyecty4]

On those options.. where were the safeties, CBs, and OLBs to come and clean up the pitch man.. they were blocked way too easily..

I didnt see DWash and Jenkins coming up and blowing up plays on the edge like they did all year.. they just were blocked too easily be the WRs..

Let me also say this, which may be harsh..

We need new leaders on this team.. I dont want to hear Alex Boone anymore, I dont want to hear Brian Hartline anymore, goodbye Kirk Barton.. these guys love their school and our pround Buckeyes, but they talk the talk and dont walk the walk..

They're in the paper, on the radio, on TV making excuses for last yr about how we werent focused, took the game lightly, and how this year we're all business..

Now today, all the quotes I've seen are excuses.. we shot ourselves in the foot, we beat ourselves.. Boone sitting there and once again worrying about how the media is now gonna perceive us.. Boone saying the team let up after going up and thought it was gonna be an easy night..

I cant stand this stuff.. after u get handled last yr, how can u ease up and get complacent up 10-0 in the 1st quarter of a title game..

Just stop with the excuses.. this team needs some new leadership from the players, something it seriously lacked this yr...

Stop with the excuses, stop with the obsession about what the media is saying about you, and stop with the notion that you lost because u made too many mistakes.. Face the reality, that u should not be caring wut Mark May and ESPN says, and that when you get beatdown two straight years, its because you arent as good as the other team.. get in the weight room, the film room, and practice field and get better!

 

[ZoMaN504]

On those options.. where were the safeties, CBs, and OLBs to come and clean up the pitch man.. they were blocked way too easily..

I didnt see DWash and Jenkins coming up and blowing up plays on the edge like they did all year.. they just were blocked too easily be the WRs..

Let me also say this, which may be harsh..

We need new leaders on this team.. I dont want to hear Alex Boone anymore, I dont want to hear Brian Hartline anymore, goodbye Kirk Barton.. these guys love their school and our pround Buckeyes, but they talk the talk and dont walk the walk..

They're in the paper, on the radio, on TV making excuses for last yr about how we werent focused, took the game lightly, and how this year we're all business..

Now today, all the quotes I've seen are excuses.. we shot ourselves in the foot, we beat ourselves.. Boone sitting there and once again worrying about how the media is now gonna perceive us.. Boone saying the team let up after going up and thought it was gonna be an easy night..

I cant stand this stuff.. after u get handled last yr, how can u ease up and get complacent up 10-0 in the 1st quarter of a title game..

Just stop with the excuses.. this team needs some new leadership from the players, something it seriously lacked this yr...

Stop with the excuses, stop with the obsession about what the media is saying about you, and stop with the notion that you lost because u made too many mistakes.. Face the reality, that u should not be caring wut Mark May and ESPN says, and that when you get beatdown two straight years, its because you arent as good as the other team.. get in the weight room, the film room, and practice field and get better!

I have a feeling Beanie is going to be the driving force next year for this team, and you know he isnt letting up :osu:

 

[bukIpower]

completely agree... we need to shut up and play football. I don't know about new leaders though?? Animal, Freeman, Gholston, and Jenkins I think are good to great leaders.

also we are a very young ball team, but thats not an excuse. We are young but we're experienced after a full season of work. I think LSU playing a better schedule and playing closer games is what prepared LSU for us. They'd seen it all before, where as we HAVE NOT. Hopefully next year with USC we'll be better equiped to handle our big game in a Bowl.