I'll merge this later....but this should ease some concern:
OZone
The Buckeyes opened their 2006 season against a Northern Illinois team that was expected to give them a tough game. Instead, the Huskies were nearly run out of the building in the first quarter. The Buckeyes scored early and often, effectively putting the game away by halftime. With the big lead, we got to see a lot of players on the field on both sides of the ball.
All in all, the game wasn't nearly as close as the 35-12 final score seems to indicate, but it's clear that there is a lot of work to do before the Buckeyes travel to Austin next week to take on the Texas Longhorns. Let's take a look at the stats.
Moving on to the Buckeyes, there was a lot to take away from this game. The Buckeyes played a lot of players on both sides of the ball, and we got some glimpses of players that make up the future of Buckeye football. There has been a lot of concern about the Buckeye defense and their inability to shut down the Huskies, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked at times.
When you talk about what went right for the Buckeyes on Saturday, it mostly centers around the offense. The Buckeye offense looked to be an unstoppable juggernaut through the first 15:04 of the game, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions, and despite a couple of turnovers and missed field goals, looked pretty strong through the rest of the game. Ten of the eleven Buckeye possessions for the day ended in Northern Illinois territory (44.5 yards per drive) and the Buckeyes punted only once.
Troy Smith picked up right where he left off in the second half of last season, throwing for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns. Troy looked completely in control of the offense, and strong in the passing game, hitting 13 of 17 passes for over 200 yards in the first half alone. The amazing thing about Troy's game Saturday, especially considering his play over the past two seasons, was that he didn't scramble even once during the game, and ran only one option play. He stayed in the pocket and made all of his throws in the face of whatever pressure the Huskies could get on him. There's no way to still qualify him as a running back who can throw after that game. He has developed into a great quarterback.
This, of course, wouldn't be possible without the play of the offensive line in front of him and the guys to which he is throwing the ball. The 2006 version of the Buckeye's offensive line will be as much of a strength as last season, and the receiver corps looks as if it will live up to the lofty pre-season expectations. Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez were their usual good selves, but we also witnessed the emergence of several other young receivers to add to the mix, lead by sophomore Brian Robiskie. It looks as if the passing game won't miss a beat without Santonio Holmes from last season.
When it came to the running game against the Huskies, it was a solid, but unspectacular game for the Buckeyes. Starter Antonio Pittman ended up with just over 100 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, but that wasn't what got the Buckeye faithful excited. Prized recruit Chris Wells saw his first action in a Buckeye uniform, and didn't disappoint (as long as you excuse his fumble inside the NIU 5), finishing the day with 52 yards on 10 carries and his first career touchdown. Add to that a decent showing from Maurice Wells and it's pretty clear that the running game is likely to be a good compliment to the passing game this season.
Overall, it was a good game for the offense, despite the little mistakes. In the first half, the Buckeyes gave Texas plenty to think about with multiple formations and personnel groupings on offense. It was interesting to see the Buckeyes run so much out of the classic I formation, as well as calling only one running play for Troy Smith. Running out of the I so well enabled the Buckeyes to hit some big plays to Ted Ginn off of playaction.
Flipping over to the defense, the water gets a lot muddier. On the surface, it looks like the Buckeye defense had a fairly bad day. Northern Illinois finished the game with over 350 yards of total offense, with halfback Garrett Wolfe accounting for 285 of those. Those statistics are a bit misleading. While it wasn't the best game for the defense, there were several circumstances that contributed to Wolfe's big day.
First, the Buckeyes played a lot of different players on defense...25 different players to be exact. It seemed as if the coaching staff was trying to see as many different players in action as they could, and considering they are replacing nine starters from last season, they had good reason. It didn't do much for defensive continuity, however. A big portion of playing good defense comes from knowing and trusting where your teammates are going to be, and it's pretty safe to say that this defense hasn't developed that yet.
Second, after the Buckeyes built their 28-0 lead, the defense was very vanilla. They played a lot of cover three defense with very little blitzing in the second half, which, in case you don't know how cover three works, has the cornerbacks dropping back to get a deep third of the field, effectively taking them out of run support.
Third, the vast majority of Northern Illinois' offensive output came on just two types of plays. The Buckeyes were caught by screen passes to Wolfe on two different occasions for big yardage, and in the running game, Northern Illinois ran the same pull play to the outside over and over to great success in the second half. The success of that play owed a little bit to the fact that the Buckeyes were playing so much cover three and had no run support from the corners. All of the pursuit was coming inside out, and the Huskies had great success cutting that off for big gains.
All excuses aside, it still wasn't the greatest day for the linebackers and safeties. Not only did they look timid and hesitant on many plays, but their angles and tackling left a lot to be desired as well. I feel most of this can be attributed to inexperience as individuals and as a group and will improve as the season goes on, but leaves most Buckeye fans a little less confident about going up against Texas next week. Those worries may be a little pre-mature because of the circumstances that led to Wolfe's big day.
On the bright side, the defensive line looked very tough from the first snap of the game, and will obviously be the strength of the defense this season. They finished the day with six sacks and many tackles for loss on the day. Vernon Gholston stood out over the course of the game, as it seemed he was in the backfield wreaking havoc on nearly every play.
Also on the bright side, Northern Illinois didn't really do anything with the ball when it mattered in the first quarter. So much was made about Wolfe and the Huskie offense after they managed to get things going in the second half, but no one seems to bring up the fact that the Huskies barely managed anything in the first half outside of the long screen pass play to Wolfe. I think most Buckeye fans are going to be pleasantly surprised by the Buckeye defense against Texas. It just wasn't as bad as it seemed.
Overall, this was a pretty good way for the Buckeyes to start the season. While it wasn't good that they lost the turnover battle and left 20 points on the field (two fumbles inside the opponent's 10 and two missed field goals), it is a little reassuring to know that the score could've easily been in the fifties. Going up against a back like Wolfe and giving up a lot of yards on defense also makes sure this team won't get complacent in the future. The defense has some work to do to improve, but knowing that they have work to do will help keep this team from resting on its laurels.
Now it's time to get ready for the big rematch with Texas. Let's see if the Buckeyes can do enough to erase some of those memories from last year. The first huge bump in the road to defending their number one ranking lies in Austin.
OZone
Football By the Numbers - OSU vs. Northern Illinois By Jeff Amey
The wait is finally over, Buckeye football is back!The Buckeyes opened their 2006 season against a Northern Illinois team that was expected to give them a tough game. Instead, the Huskies were nearly run out of the building in the first quarter. The Buckeyes scored early and often, effectively putting the game away by halftime. With the big lead, we got to see a lot of players on the field on both sides of the ball.
All in all, the game wasn't nearly as close as the 35-12 final score seems to indicate, but it's clear that there is a lot of work to do before the Buckeyes travel to Austin next week to take on the Texas Longhorns. Let's take a look at the stats.
Run/Pass Breakdown
63 Total plays--489 yards--7.8 ypp
27 pass (43%)--20/27 for 318 yards 3 TD
36 runs (57%) for 171 yards 2 TD--4.8 ypc
27 pass (43%)--20/27 for 318 yards 3 TD
36 runs (57%) for 171 yards 2 TD--4.8 ypc
11 Total Drives
ave. of 5.7 plays--44.5 yards
ave. start--OSU 41
1st Down--31 plays (49%) for 265 yards ave. start--OSU 41
12 pass (39%)--9/12 for 151 yards 1 TD
19 runs (61%) for 114 yards--6.0 ypc
ave. gain of 8.5 yards
2nd Down--21 plays (33%) for 142 yards19 runs (61%) for 114 yards--6.0 ypc
ave. gain of 8.5 yards
7 pass (33%)--6/7 for 99 yards
14 runs (67%) for 43 yards 1 TD--3.1 ypc
ave. of 6.5 yards to go
ave. gain of 6.8 yards
3rd Down--10 plays (16%) for 74 yards14 runs (67%) for 43 yards 1 TD--3.1 ypc
ave. of 6.5 yards to go
ave. gain of 6.8 yards
8 pass (80%)--5/8 for 68 yards 2 TD
2 runs (20%) for 6 yards 1 TD--3.0 ypc
ave. of 5.8 yards to go
ave. gain of 7.4 yards
conversions--6/10 (60%)
4th Down--1 play (2%) for 8 yards2 runs (20%) for 6 yards 1 TD--3.0 ypc
ave. of 5.8 yards to go
ave. gain of 7.4 yards
conversions--6/10 (60%)
1 run (100%) for 8 yards--8.0 ypc
ave. of 1 yard to go
ave. gain of 8.0 yards
conversions--1/1 (100%)
Playaction Passingave. of 1 yard to go
ave. gain of 8.0 yards
conversions--1/1 (100%)
5/6 for 153 yards 1 TD
First Downs--2011 by run
9 by pass
9 by pass
FORMATION BREAKDOWN
Two back formations--28 plays (44%)5 pass (18%)--4/5 for 142 yards 1 TD
23 runs (82%) for 116 yards 2 TD--5.0 ypc
Shotgun Formations--21 plays (33%)23 runs (82%) for 116 yards 2 TD--5.0 ypc
18 pass (86%)--14/18 for 167 yards 1 TD
3 runs (14%) for 5 yards--1.7 ypc
One back formations--14 plays (22%)3 runs (14%) for 5 yards--1.7 ypc
4 pass (29%)--2/4 for 9 yards 1 TD
10 runs (71%) for 50 yards--5.0 ypc
10 runs (71%) for 50 yards--5.0 ypc
RUN TYPE BREAKDOWN--36 attempts
counter/trap--none
draw--3 (8%) for 16 yards--5.3 ypc
sweep--1 (3%) for 10 yards--10.0 ypc
end around--none
base/Iso--11 (31%) for 36 yards 1 TD--3.3 ypc
power--2 (6%) for 4 yards--2.0 ypc
QB run/scramble--none
option--1 (3%) for -1 yards--(-1.0) ypc
stretch--17 (47%) for 108 yards 1 TD--6.4 ypc
TEAM--1 (3%) for -2 yards--(-2.0) ypc
draw--3 (8%) for 16 yards--5.3 ypc
sweep--1 (3%) for 10 yards--10.0 ypc
end around--none
base/Iso--11 (31%) for 36 yards 1 TD--3.3 ypc
power--2 (6%) for 4 yards--2.0 ypc
QB run/scramble--none
option--1 (3%) for -1 yards--(-1.0) ypc
stretch--17 (47%) for 108 yards 1 TD--6.4 ypc
TEAM--1 (3%) for -2 yards--(-2.0) ypc
Other Stats of Note
- 1 offensive penalty for the game
- Ohio State started on NIU side of the 50 three times--3 TD's
- 4 for 6 in red zone scoring (4 TD's)
- No sacks and 2 turnovers (2 fumbles)
- 43 of 63 offensive plays took place on NIU's side of the 50--(68%)
- 14 of 63 plays went for no gain or loss--(22%)
- Number of Troy Smith scrambles--0
- Number of OSU drives ending in a punt--1
- Number of OSU offensive players with at least one touch--12
Moving on to the Buckeyes, there was a lot to take away from this game. The Buckeyes played a lot of players on both sides of the ball, and we got some glimpses of players that make up the future of Buckeye football. There has been a lot of concern about the Buckeye defense and their inability to shut down the Huskies, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked at times.
When you talk about what went right for the Buckeyes on Saturday, it mostly centers around the offense. The Buckeye offense looked to be an unstoppable juggernaut through the first 15:04 of the game, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions, and despite a couple of turnovers and missed field goals, looked pretty strong through the rest of the game. Ten of the eleven Buckeye possessions for the day ended in Northern Illinois territory (44.5 yards per drive) and the Buckeyes punted only once.
Troy Smith picked up right where he left off in the second half of last season, throwing for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns. Troy looked completely in control of the offense, and strong in the passing game, hitting 13 of 17 passes for over 200 yards in the first half alone. The amazing thing about Troy's game Saturday, especially considering his play over the past two seasons, was that he didn't scramble even once during the game, and ran only one option play. He stayed in the pocket and made all of his throws in the face of whatever pressure the Huskies could get on him. There's no way to still qualify him as a running back who can throw after that game. He has developed into a great quarterback.
This, of course, wouldn't be possible without the play of the offensive line in front of him and the guys to which he is throwing the ball. The 2006 version of the Buckeye's offensive line will be as much of a strength as last season, and the receiver corps looks as if it will live up to the lofty pre-season expectations. Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez were their usual good selves, but we also witnessed the emergence of several other young receivers to add to the mix, lead by sophomore Brian Robiskie. It looks as if the passing game won't miss a beat without Santonio Holmes from last season.
When it came to the running game against the Huskies, it was a solid, but unspectacular game for the Buckeyes. Starter Antonio Pittman ended up with just over 100 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, but that wasn't what got the Buckeye faithful excited. Prized recruit Chris Wells saw his first action in a Buckeye uniform, and didn't disappoint (as long as you excuse his fumble inside the NIU 5), finishing the day with 52 yards on 10 carries and his first career touchdown. Add to that a decent showing from Maurice Wells and it's pretty clear that the running game is likely to be a good compliment to the passing game this season.
Overall, it was a good game for the offense, despite the little mistakes. In the first half, the Buckeyes gave Texas plenty to think about with multiple formations and personnel groupings on offense. It was interesting to see the Buckeyes run so much out of the classic I formation, as well as calling only one running play for Troy Smith. Running out of the I so well enabled the Buckeyes to hit some big plays to Ted Ginn off of playaction.
Flipping over to the defense, the water gets a lot muddier. On the surface, it looks like the Buckeye defense had a fairly bad day. Northern Illinois finished the game with over 350 yards of total offense, with halfback Garrett Wolfe accounting for 285 of those. Those statistics are a bit misleading. While it wasn't the best game for the defense, there were several circumstances that contributed to Wolfe's big day.
First, the Buckeyes played a lot of different players on defense...25 different players to be exact. It seemed as if the coaching staff was trying to see as many different players in action as they could, and considering they are replacing nine starters from last season, they had good reason. It didn't do much for defensive continuity, however. A big portion of playing good defense comes from knowing and trusting where your teammates are going to be, and it's pretty safe to say that this defense hasn't developed that yet.
Second, after the Buckeyes built their 28-0 lead, the defense was very vanilla. They played a lot of cover three defense with very little blitzing in the second half, which, in case you don't know how cover three works, has the cornerbacks dropping back to get a deep third of the field, effectively taking them out of run support.
Third, the vast majority of Northern Illinois' offensive output came on just two types of plays. The Buckeyes were caught by screen passes to Wolfe on two different occasions for big yardage, and in the running game, Northern Illinois ran the same pull play to the outside over and over to great success in the second half. The success of that play owed a little bit to the fact that the Buckeyes were playing so much cover three and had no run support from the corners. All of the pursuit was coming inside out, and the Huskies had great success cutting that off for big gains.
All excuses aside, it still wasn't the greatest day for the linebackers and safeties. Not only did they look timid and hesitant on many plays, but their angles and tackling left a lot to be desired as well. I feel most of this can be attributed to inexperience as individuals and as a group and will improve as the season goes on, but leaves most Buckeye fans a little less confident about going up against Texas next week. Those worries may be a little pre-mature because of the circumstances that led to Wolfe's big day.
On the bright side, the defensive line looked very tough from the first snap of the game, and will obviously be the strength of the defense this season. They finished the day with six sacks and many tackles for loss on the day. Vernon Gholston stood out over the course of the game, as it seemed he was in the backfield wreaking havoc on nearly every play.
Also on the bright side, Northern Illinois didn't really do anything with the ball when it mattered in the first quarter. So much was made about Wolfe and the Huskie offense after they managed to get things going in the second half, but no one seems to bring up the fact that the Huskies barely managed anything in the first half outside of the long screen pass play to Wolfe. I think most Buckeye fans are going to be pleasantly surprised by the Buckeye defense against Texas. It just wasn't as bad as it seemed.
Overall, this was a pretty good way for the Buckeyes to start the season. While it wasn't good that they lost the turnover battle and left 20 points on the field (two fumbles inside the opponent's 10 and two missed field goals), it is a little reassuring to know that the score could've easily been in the fifties. Going up against a back like Wolfe and giving up a lot of yards on defense also makes sure this team won't get complacent in the future. The defense has some work to do to improve, but knowing that they have work to do will help keep this team from resting on its laurels.
Now it's time to get ready for the big rematch with Texas. Let's see if the Buckeyes can do enough to erase some of those memories from last year. The first huge bump in the road to defending their number one ranking lies in Austin.