Game Thread FIESTA BOWL: tOSU 21, Texas 24 (01-05-09)

[Dryden]

I was thinking of just posting, "run run pass. run run pass. punt." :tongue2:

 

[East Texas Horn]

Has x-ray randy posted yet?

Word around hornfans is that his compilation of stats Vol. 2 ( including 40 Yrd times, with and without pads), is soon to hit the electronic airwaves.

 

[jwinslow]

Would someone mind posting a little synopsis of the Buckeye offense this year? I didn't watch any of your games this year other than the one against USC and a tiny bit against MSU, so I have no idea what the Pryor offense looks like.

This doesn't give you a good feel for the breakdowns, but Lexco has the best videos out there (for OSU anyway). Make sure to click on the link for each (to open youtube.com) and click watch in high quality.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzrn06hyX-o]YouTube - Ohio State Vs. Michigan 2008 Highlight Video[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuzjOiuvULk]YouTube - Ohio State VS. Purdue and Michigan State 2008[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvQqpgzuJcc]YouTube - Ohio State VS. Wisconsin 2008 Highlight Video[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeIeUn6HaUA]YouTube - Ohio State VS. Troy and Minnesota 2008[/ame]

Personally, my favorite pryor play:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAwHVigwKyg]YouTube - Pryor Escapes Troy[/ame]

Captures a bit of his arm strength (still 95% arm), escapability and desire to be a passer first. Sorry Mr. Rodriguez.

 

[schwab]

Here you go

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nzrn06hyX-o]YouTube - Ohio State Vs. Michigan 2008 Highlight Video[/ame]

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4UaQBasaA]YouTube - 2008 Ohio State Vs Michigan State[/ame]

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=98xdTVW_hi0]YouTube - 2008 Ohio State vs Northwestern[/ame]

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MQH_is2m5mM]YouTube - 2008 Ohio State Vs Youngstown State[/ame]

These are the games we put up 40+, and the link to our offensive output vs. USC is there, you just can't see it... :tongue2:

 

[Dryden]

Word around hornfans is that his compilation of stats Vol. 2 ( including 40 Yrd times, with and without pads), is soon to hit the electronic airwaves.

Rumor I heard was that they're still awaiting delivery of a hand crafted timepiece they've imported from Switzerland solely for recording Sergio Kindle's 40 time.

 

[EngineerHorn]

Thanks for the info, jw. I do remember seeing the pistol formation and plenty of shotgun.

 

[morbitzerker]

Pryor is going to be one of the pieces that may keep us in this game. Orakpo v. Boone is giving me indigestion and Pryor's scramble ability will be crucial in keeping plays alive, or even the offense alive. I hope this goes well.

Just heard where McCoy will come back for his senior season at UTex. I wonder what Buckeye fans will hear in another two years.

 

[Zander42]

Would someone mind posting a little synopsis of the Buckeye offense this year? I didn't watch any of your games this year other than the one against USC and a tiny bit against MSU, so I have no idea what the Pryor offense looks like.

1st Down - I formation, Beanie run up the middle
2nd Down - I Formation, Beanie run up the middle
3rd Down and long - I formation, play action pass attempt, Pryor does something great for a 1st down.

Repeat

(3rd and short - Not sure, don't think that has happened this year.)

This will continue until Beanie breaks one and we score or until we get a false start from the line, then we punt or kick a field goal, depending on field position.

Oh, and if Brandon Saine comes in the game, he's getting the ball on a wheel route. That's the only reason he comes in the game. That's the Ohio State version of getting "crazy" with the play book.

In all seriousness, if Pryor continues his improvement in the passing game like we expect, I wouldn't be suprised to see a lot more throws on 1st and second down. He has shown great ability to improve from week to week and as jwinslow said, he improved quite a bit during the bye week.

Beanie will get his yards. I don't think Texas has the front 7 to stop him, but if you keep his "long" runs to 30 yards or less, you'll be going a long way toward containing the offense. Think bend don't break, let him run between the 20's force field goals in the red zone. By the same manner Colt will get his yards too. I think Pryor is the wildcard. Good game from him and I think we have a pretty good chance in a good ole-fashion southwest shootout. YEE-HA!!

-z

 

[jwinslow]

Prepare for a heavy dose of stiffarms as well, Beanie and Pryor bring a lethal set of those, as you'll see above. The purdue video has about 3-4 in one play.

 

[generaladm]

Would someone mind posting a little synopsis of the Buckeye offense this year? I didn't watch any of your games this year other than the one against USC and a tiny bit against MSU, so I have no idea what the Pryor offense looks like.

Frst off, thanks for your very thorough answer to my question about UT's rushing game. It sounds like it's a pretty similar strategy to the last time we met, but with maybe less talent in the top RBs, and a lot more confidence from McCoy. In the 06 game, the outside runs were very effective early, but the OSU D adjusted to play more contain than attack, and were able to string those out. It will be interesting to watch this year, because much of our back 7 played in 06, and they have 2yrs more experience. Keep an eye on Jermale Hines and Tyler Moeller, two guys who had breakout years in the OLB/NB hybrid position. Both have tons of speed on the outside and can tackle. They give us the ability to stay in a Nickel package against spread offenses, and still respect the run. Both have shown the ability to blitz, also.

As far as the Buckeye offense, it has been in a state of flux for most of the season. There were, IIRC, three games where the O did not manage a TD (1-2 in those); games where they struggled, but came thru; and games where they were explosive. The loss of Beanie for three games (and not %100 for much of the season) obviously had a big effect. Inconsistency at O-line and WR were problems thru the first 2/3rds of the season, as well. With Beanie out, opponents tried to get to Boeckman with blitzes, due to his tendency to hold on to the ball too long. Pryor did see some time at QB from day one, but mostly in a spread-option role, and was not able to lead extended drives. After the USC debacle exposed the line's inability to protect Boeckman, Pryor was given the starting job for good. His passing has shown flashes, but he does not generally get more than 20 attempts per game. His mechanics are raw, but has made some big time throws, and shows consistent improvement. He had a big debut against Troy U for 4 TD passes, showed great command in the game wining drive against Wisky, but other times, his passing game has been a mixed bag. Pryor is a special talent with his feet, whether on designed runs, scrambling, or buying time in the pocket. He's definitely a work in progress, but has shown amazing development in a short time. In his first few games, he was able to run a spread-option look with some success, but that disappeared for some reason. For now, he is used as a moble pocket passer, with a few runs thrown in. He has shown maturity well beyond his years, and is nearly unflappable. If you haven't seen much tape of him, check out youtube (or try his thread here). He will be an elite player sooner than later.

As I mentioned, the WRs have struggled a bit. Robiskie and Hartine both had an uncharacterisitic ammount of drops, and appeared, at times, to have issues with concentration/effort. Both have rebounded in the late season. I'm sure some of the early troubles had to do with the QB change. Neither have elite speed, but are good route runners with good hands. The third WR spot has never been nailed down by anyone this year. Ray Small had the early chance, but had discipline issues throughout, and is now exclusively a returner (and a good one). Dane Sanzenbacher has seen the most time. He's a small, quick but not fast, possession WR who runs great routes and plays with wreckless abandon (which brings some durability issues). Devier Posey is a frosh with great potential, but has not seen much PT for unknown reasons. The TE group is solid, but not spectacular. Rory Nicol and Jake Ballard are both prototypical sized TEs who can block and are reliable receivers, though not elite Winslow/Beckum types. Brandon Smith splits time between FB and TE, and has been very reliable as both.

I think you've heard of Beanie Wells. Despite his early injury, and playing much of the season with a reinforced boot (and a few smaller dings), he has returned to the level of one of the best RBs in the country. Although he has not been able to get quite the same yardage on the bread and butter plays, he has shown even more ability to break a long one at any time. Beanie should be the focal point of the offense against UT, and don't be surprised if the UT D seems to keep him under wraps, only to see him break one up the middle and throw a safety to the turf on his way to the endzone. Behind Beanie, only Daniel "Boom" Herron has emerged as a consistent contributor. A smallish, stout runner (5'10", 195), he is deceptively strong and has some speed in open spaces. Getting his first action after a redshirt year, he is mostly a straight ahead hit-the-hole-hard kind of guy. In the past few games, he has shown the ability to make the small cuts that allow him to get to the next level, and had a breakout 49yd TD run against UM. Maurice Wells and Brandon Saine provide depth, but have not produced much, although both can be receiving threats out of the back field.

As far as schemes, expect a lot of Beanie from standard I-form and single back sets. Base/Iso is the bread and butter, some off-tackle, rarely a sweep or toss; Beanie is a monster on cut backs. Many of our big gains have involved a guard pulling. Multiple WR sets can be run both with Pryor under center and in shotgun, but mostly in long yardage situations. The "pistol" formation (kind of a short shotgun with the QB 3 yds back, and a RB behind) was used in the middle of the season, but seems to have been abandoned. The passing game has been pretty vanilla, as far as I can tell, as you would expect with a frosh QB. Honestly, I can't predict what we'll see in the bowl game. I've watched every game this year, and haven't been able to pin down any consistent tendencies, except for relying on Beanie. Much of the offensive production this year has come from big plays. Beanie and Pryor can pick up yards in chunks on the ground, and though Pryor is not a constant threat with his arm, he has managed to hit a few deep ones.

That's just off the top of my head. If you have more specific questions, let me know and I'll see what I can come up with. If you're really interested, you can check out the archives at O-Zone Columns and Features , Jeff Amey does a statistical breakdown of every game called By the Numbers. I wasn't on BP for the last two Texas games, but from my experience discussing football with UT fans, they are among the most knowledgable about their team and CFB in general. Looking forward to reading what you guys think about the game. Interesting thought, the last two games were decided by which team had the best player in the country on their side (I thought VY should have won the Heisman), this year McCoy and Beanie are both top notch players, and Pryor seems to be on the cusp of joining the party. Should be a great one.

 

[morbitzerker]

Beanie will get his yards. I don't think Texas has the front 7 to stop him, but if you keep his "long" runs to 30 yards or less, you'll be going a long way toward containing the offense. Think bend don't break, let him run between the 20's force field goals in the red zone.

We all love Beanie and we all know he is a BEAST, but UTex is 2nd in the NCAA for rushing defense, they are allowing 73.6 yards a game. That's good, real good. There D-line is really tough, and the Texas LB's are strong as well.

TP may make some crazy plays and passes that will take some pressure off the running game, but think along the lines of the Penn State game, who is 8th nationally and allows 95.9 yards a game. How did the OL fare that game? How effective was Beanie?

Granted TP was not as developed as a passer then and didn't have the time he has had now to develop even more, PSU forced the O to pass, and they did effectively for the most part, but all on third down. Beanie is great, and he will probably get his yards, but his OL needs to step up and show up to give this team confidence to fight.

 

[EngineerHorn]

Beanie will get his yards. I don't think Texas has the front 7 to stop him, but if you keep his "long" runs to 30 yards or less, you'll be going a long way toward containing the offense. Think bend don't break, let him run between the 20's force field goals in the red zone. By the same manner Colt will get his yards too. I think Pryor is the wildcard. Good game from him and I think we have a pretty good chance in a good ole-fashion southwest shootout. YEE-HA!!

-z

This is kind of the same conclusion I came to. I think Beanie will get 100 yards, but it won't be because he's consistently getting 5-6 a pop. I can see him getting shut down for 20 of his carries, with 80 yards on the other 4.

The front 7 is actually really good, but that's been mostly against spread teams. It's most effective when Kindle lines up at DE in passing situations opposite Orakpo. Against the I, Henry Melton will play strong side DE with Kindle at SLB.

Miller is a prototype DT, but the other one will be either Houston or Lewis, who are both converted DE's and go about 270. Again, they're effective against finesse spread teams but I'm not sure how they'll do against a power running team. Okie State is a good running team but they do mostly zone blocking and zone read stuff.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

We all love Beanie and we all know he is a BEAST, but UTex is 2nd in the NCAA for rushing defense, they are allowing 73.6 yards a game.

Take away Boeckman's -27 yards due to sacks, and we had a decent 22 carries for 91 yards (4.1 ypc) against USC's rush defense which finished ranked 5th in rushing defense at 83.3 ypg...and that was without Beanie. Penn State did hold us to 61 yards on 31 carries, but that was because PSU decided the stack the line and challenged us to throw the entire game (and our OL decided to take night off for most of the plays). Pryor has improved to the point where if Texas tries to pull the same crap PSU did, the Horns will get burned by the pass. If the OL decides to execute, I can see use putting up 150-200 yards rushing in the game, between Beanie, Boom, and Pryor.

 

[seed702]

I absolutely love that we're playing Texas. The 2 regular season games with Texas were amazing for BP. Their fans (minus the couple of shit heads) are unbelievable knowledgeable, objective, and polite.

Welcome again, Longhorn fans. Hook em! ...just not on January 5th.

Looking forward to this thread reaching 50 pages...and I'm on the "most posts per page" setting.

 

[seed702]

Oh and by the way. Booked my hotel room today. Me and the lady are going. Her first Buckeye game.

Also, the Buckeyes are 3-0 when I attend.

2003 Washington
2004 Kansas State
2006 Notre Dame

All dubs. Longhorns are in for a long day!