Game Thread Game One: #1 Ohio State 35, Northern Illinois 12 (9/2/06)

[osugrad21]

Official Defensive Stats

Ohio State
## Player Solo Ast Tot TFL/Yds FF FR-Yd Intc BrUp Blkd Sack/Yds QH
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
32 Mitchell, Brandon 8 2 9.0 1.0/2 . . . . . . .
1 Freeman, Marcus 4 5 6.5 0.5/1 . . . 1 . . .
21 Russell, Anderson 4 2 5.0 1.0/1 . . . . . . .
99 Richardson, Jay 3 1 3.5 2.5/8 . . . . . 1.0/3 .
50 Gholston, Vernon 2 3 3.5 2.0/11 . . . . . 1.5/9 .
33 Laurinaitis, James 2 2 3.0 . . . . . . . .
2 Jenkins, Malcolm 2 1 2.5 . . . . . . . .
51 Homan, Ross 2 1 2.5 1.0/2 . . . . . . .
14 Smith, Antonio 1 3 2.5 0.5/3 . . . . . . .
78 Barrow, Alex 2 . 2.0 1.0/2 . . . . . . .
3 O'Neal, Jamario 1 1 1.5 0.5/4 . . . . . 0.5/4 .
97 Patterson, David 1 1 1.5 1.0/3 . . . . . . .
23 Patterson, Nick 1 1 1.5 . . . . . . . .
2C Washington, Donald 1 . 1.0 . . . . . . . .
92 Denlinger, Todd 1 . 1.0 1.0/3 . . . . . . .
8B Wilson, Lawrence 1 . 1.0 1.0/8 . . . . . 1.0/8 .
52 Kerr, John . 1 0.5 . . . . . . . .
90 Pitcock, Quinn . 1 0.5 . . . . . . . .
6 Grant, Larry . 1 0.5 . . . 1-49 1 . . .

 

[OSUBuckeye4Life]

Can anyone tell me where to find these? All I've found is the offensive stats.
If someone has them handy as is willing to post them that would be great.

http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2006-2007/01noill.htmlhttp://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2006-2007/01noill.html#GAME.DEF

 

[rocketman]

Just got back from Columbus to find out my DVR didn't record the game. I am beyond irate. Buckeye victory aside the weekend kinda sucked...went to UD after the game for some retarded reason and got stuck watching the ND-GT game with a crap load of de facto Irish fans. They were annoying.

Maybe it was because I was sitting with my friend who is always very over-critical of our Buckeyes, but I am concerned about next week. NIU ran that sweep play a million times to the right and got like 15 yards per attempt. While Wolfe was scary, you gotta think Texas is drueling over the chance of being able to run all over our defense with their extremely talented o-line and RB's. I wasn't expecting our defense to be impenetrable, so I guess its just a reality check. If anything, it's very good to have a tough first opponent to have a "trial by fire" of sorts and flesh out issues before taking on Texas.

On offense...well...they're pretty good. We were joking around in the stands, figuring that the final score would be like 88 points if we continued at the pace they were going in the 1st quarter. Troy's passer rating must be off the charts. That 62-something yard pass to Ted could not have been more perfectly thrown. Ted obviously was a stud, Robo made some very impressive catches. Beanie looked unstoppable and maybe that fumble was due to fatigue or something cause they were riding him that entire drive. He might be the gamebreaker next week. Pitt looked great too. I love how our receivers make great blocks too, though Ginn could have been caught holding a couple times here and there. We're gonna have to put up a lot of points next week if we're going to have a chance next week.

I'm still really, really pissed my DVR didn't record this game. I hope my friend recorded it...

 

[ashlandbuck]

Thanks guys. I appreciate it.
I couldn't remember Kerr having a tackle. How many minutes did he play?
I never saw him near a play. Did Homan or Grant replace him at times? Or both?
Grant may be a real find. The kid just looks like a football player.

I'm a little concerned about the defense. I had this strange feeling of deja vu while watching NI run through them so often in the second half. I kept looking for John Copper on the sidelines.
Honestly, I think they got a little relaxed and sloppy after the quick lead.
They will have to be much better next week.

I give a defensive game ball to Jay Richardson. He had a heck of game.
Also, saw something special from Denlinger when he blew up the O' lineman to make a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
They are so young. There are going to be at least 11 sophmores and freshmen that will contribute a lot on defense this year.

 

[scooter1369]

I was glad to see Hartline, Robiskie, Small and Dukes all getting the ball yesterday. Troy/Zwick spread the ball around real well.

Mo Wells is going to make a play this year that is going to leave the stadium mouth agape. Count on it.

Ginn made a great statement yesterday. 123 yards receiving and a pair of TD's on only four catches. Expect to see a lot pooch punts and pop-up kickoffs to O'neal and Gonzo.

Watching the plays develop from behind the offense/defense in the upper B Deck, I could tell when Wolfe was going to bust a big one. On hi one big catch and run, Laurinaitis had blitzed from zone he ran to. Leaving it wide open. A bad pursuit angle cost us 30 yards on that play.

Brandon Mitchell's play yesterday is exactly why I thought he should be a captain this year. He was all over the place.

Vernon Gholston could have had 6 sacks if he wasn't being held so damn much. We can't seem to shake this cloud. Every team that comes in here gets the calls (or non-calls) all day. Gholston was wearing the Tackle like a cheap suit all day, and it never got called. Groping like that is a major offense in 48 states and most countries. My blood pressure threatened to end my day early because of it. If Texas gets away with that shit like NIU did, we're fucked.

 

[palmbuck]

NIU got a lot of yards off flare passes. Last year Texas did too.
Is the D telegraphing or showing tendencies? Do they know when a corner blitz is coming? Is the D rotating too slowly?
Can I get a little help from one of you gurus?

 

[osugrad21]

NIU got a lot of yards off flare passes. Last year Texas did too.
Is the D telegraphing or showing tendencies? Do they know when a corner blitz is coming? Is the D rotating too slowly?
Can I get a little help from one of you gurus?

Some were flares, some were set screens...both eat up over-aggressive defenses.

The 2nd screen was a great call by NIU...it happens.

The rest were poor execution by the defense and Wolfe being a stud.

 

[MondayAMGenius]

You don't count a fumble on the opposition's goal line as a lost TD? You might want to change "Genius" to "Goofus"...

Ouch!

Hey MilliVanilli,

MondayAMGenius, as in Monday Morning Genius, is a crack on myself. It's akin to 'monday morning quarterback' Like everyone on BP I second guess things. Didn't think I needed to explain.

Good wisecrack though,,

 

[palmbuck]

Thanks Grad.

One thing I'm gonna watch for against Texas is if they try a lot of flares and how it works for them.

 

[G-FORCE]

Alright I just got back from the game, and here are my thoughts.

Lets get what I was right about out of the way.
Wolfe is a stud. He is unstoppable. Anybody who argues that after he tore through your D for 280 yards is stupid.

Now as for the rest of the games................
-Your offense is damn good. We did what we do and didn't double Ginn (which I liked), but he is just too damn fast. Smith is a helluva QB, and Pittman is a fantastic runner. We aren't the only D you will do that to. That game was more your offense being that good, then ours being that bad.

- The game really didn't go as different as I thought it would. The main difference was the play of Horvath. He was freaking terrible. He threw like 2 passes further then 7 yards down the field. He had Britt Davis open at least 4 times and either took a sack or didn't throw it to him. He was the main reason we only scored 12.

- Your offense sort of had us in shock in the 1st quater. It's a damn good offense, but we can play better D then that. We settled down and played better after the 1st. I am sure part of that has to do with you guys not going 100% after the 1st, but it settled down. Your offense was better then I expected, I will admit that.

- I like the Shoe about twice as much as I liked Michigan. I was most amazed that the entire stadium was full 15 minutes before kickoff! It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen, and it made me realize exactly who you were.

- You guys showed why you were #1. You have a scary good offense, and your defense won't be facing Garrett Wolfe evey week. It'll be fine.

I had a great time this weekend, and go Bucks the rest of the year!

 

[jlb1705]

Yea, I wasn't trying to bash Zwick, just pointing out to JLB that you can't blame the head coach when soemthing like that happens. Blame JT for when he switched them, but not for execution.

That's exactly the point I was trying to make. In my original post, I said "a little of the blame" falls on Tressel. QB and C are probably the two most sensitive positions when it comes to making substitutions. I definitely blame Zwick for the fumble - it's stupid not to - he did it. The way Tressel inserted him into the game was a less than ideal situation to sub him in though. Even if he were doing it to "prepare" him for an injury situation, Tressel would know that he's preparing somebody for that less than ideal situation, and should assume any risk/blame that comes with creating that situation artificially.

In summary, blame Zwick for the execution, blame Tressel for increasing the risk of poor execution.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

Some were flares, some were set screens...both eat up over-aggressive defenses.

The 2nd screen was a great call by NIU...it happens.

The rest were poor execution by the defense and Wolfe being a stud.

I miss Donte Whitner and A.J. Hawk so much. They ate up screen passes so well. I mean, you couldn't take a step after catching a screen pass before A.J. or Donte tackled you.

 

[aesculus glabra]

Alright I just got back from the game, and here are my thoughts.

Lets get what I was right about out of the way.
Wolfe is a stud. He is unstoppable. Anybody who argues that after he tore through your D for 280 yards is stupid.

Now as for the rest of the games................
-Your offense is damn good. We did what we do and didn't double Ginn (which I liked), but he is just too damn fast. Smith is a helluva QB, and Pittman is a fantastic runner. We aren't the only D you will do that to. That game was more your offense being that good, then ours being that bad.

- The game really didn't go as different as I thought it would. The main difference was the play of Horvath. He was freaking terrible. He threw like 2 passes further then 7 yards down the field. He had Britt Davis open at least 4 times and either took a sack or didn't throw it to him. He was the main reason we only scored 12.

- Your offense sort of had us in shock in the 1st quater. It's a damn good offense, but we can play better D then that. We settled down and played better after the 1st. I am sure part of that has to do with you guys not going 100% after the 1st, but it settled down. Your offense was better then I expected, I will admit that.

- I like the Shoe about twice as much as I liked Michigan. I was most amazed that the entire stadium was full 15 minutes before kickoff! It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen, and it made me realize exactly who you were.

- You guys showed why you were #1. You have a scary good offense, and your defense won't be facing Garrett Wolfe evey week. It'll be fine.

I had a great time this weekend, and go Bucks the rest of the year!

I too wish you luck the rest of the year. Wolfe was awesome, PERIOD. I truly hope you get to taste victory in the MAC Championship Game later this year.

 

[hawaiianbuckeye]

Props to NIU RB Wolfe!

I wasn't at the game nor did I see it. I was busy on ASSignment in Alabama covering the Hawai'i game for the local paper. I love SEC games! Beautiful co-eds, sun dresses and high heels!

Anyway, all the Ohio State stats look great but this one is a testiment to both NIU's RB and our defense over the last 5 years!

Northern Illinois’ Garrett Wolfe became the first opposing player to run for 100 yards at Ohio Stadium since Wisconsin's Anthony Davis rushed for 168 yards on 39 carries Oct. 9, 2004. Wolfe is just the third opposing player to reach 100 yards rushing at Ohio Stadium since the 2001 season. Wolfe also had five catches for 114 yards.

HAYN

 

[G-FORCE]

He's really good.


At least I was right about that.