Game Thread Game One: Ohio State 38, Youngstown St. 6 (final)

[Bleed S & G]

hey found this on our tailgating site, im pretty sure this came from a poster over here (mili?)

 

[Yertle]

I'm not sure what you mean by "keeping the throttle down". Do you think that when the game's within a couple of scores and the first-team offense is in, that Tressel won't have them trying their damnedest to score touchdowns? Of course they won't have the same sense of urgency as they would if the opponent were Michigan, but they will be trying to get into the endzone by means of their normal offensive approach. As far as the comparison to Spurrier, your point's probably true, but Spurrier is known as an outlier in terms of actively trying to lay huge, lopsided scores on inferior opponents - which is of course why you chose him as your example. Tressel, like most elite-program coaches when facing inferior opponents, gets the game well in hand with a three-to-four-score lead, and then inserts the back-ups (depending somewhat on time remaining, and bearing in mind that occasionally the "inferior" opponent puts up a serious fight).

I mean exactly what you're suggesting - once the score is in hand, get the backups in the game.

I remember Jim Rome talking about a high school basketball player catching hell for scoring 100 points in a game and beating the opponent by 90+ points. Jim's point (and I completely agree with him) is that you can't blame the player for putting 100% into each and every play - regardless of the score. You blame the coach for continuing to call the kid's number, or not playing the backups when his team is up 40. Same thing applies here. You want 100% effort at all times, it's just a matter of who is in the game.

That being said, we may be getting ahead of ourselves to suggest that the second or third string will see considerable playing time. I'm hoping to jump up by 30 before halftime, but these early season games never seem to go as well as planned. I will be happy to see the backups before the fourth quarter, and as I've learned from watching JT's Buckeyes, I'm mostly looking for the win.

 

[Hubbard]

hey found this on our tailgating site, im pretty sure this came from a poster over here (mili?)

Yep that's a Mili original, what made me try a black and tan. (looks better than it tastes)

 

[zincfinger]

I'm not sure what you mean by "keeping the throttle down".

I mean exactly what you're suggesting - once the score is in hand, get the backups in the game.

I guess what I meant by running the score up is keeping the thottle down with the first team in the game.

I apologize for the nitpick, but since you explicitly referred to keeping the throttle down "with the first team in the game", how could 'keeping the throttle down' in that context mean 'getting the backups in'? From the original context, I imagined "keeping the throttle down with the first team in the game" meant something like, playing with an unusually limited playbook, or working on the offense's known areas of weakness, rather than trying wholeheartedly to get into the endzone. With the first-string, as you said. These are things that theoretically could be done, and to some extent probably will be done. But I'd still argue that the first-string offense will be trying to score touchdowns, first and foremost, at least in the early stages of the game.

I'm hoping to jump up by 30 before halftime, but these early season games never seem to go as well as planned.

There certainly hasn't been any shortage of surprisingly tough "tune-up" games, either during Tressel's tenure, or during the latter stages of Cooper's. But there have also been plenty of examples where OSU steamrolled an outgunned pre-season opponent exactly as expected. And YSU, as good as they are at their level, does not have the talent level of a San Diego State, or a Northern Illinois. I think the steamroll comes out for this one. Not with a Spurrier-like turning of the knife, but a steamroll nonetheless (metaphor alert).

 

[Yertle]

Wow, you just broke my brain... okay, maybe I'll start over.

To me, "keeping the throttle down" is maintaining an aggressive playbook with the first string in the game.

And, for the record, there seems to be three approaches in blowouts.

1. Pile up the points aka "keeping the throttle down" (think Spurrier)
2. Become conservative in the play calling with first string (NFL teams seem to take this approach)
3. Put in the second/third string with the same playbook

I'm a huge fan of #3. Let the backups play with the full playbook.

 

[zincfinger]

Wow, you just broke my brain... okay, maybe I'll start over.

To me, "keeping the throttle down" is maintaining an aggressive playbook with the first string in the game.

And, for the record, there seems to be three approaches in blowouts.

1. Pile up the points aka "keeping the throttle down" (think Spurrier)
2. Become conservative in the play calling with first string (NFL teams seem to take this approach)
3. Put in the second/third string with the same playbook

I'm a huge fan of #3. Let the backups play with the full playbook.

I basically agree with you at this point (although "throttle down" seems to have taken the opposite meaning from what I thought it meant, but that's not really important). And I'm not a fan of counting my chickens before they hatch, but let's suppose that the OSU first-string offense is able to have its way with the YSU first string defense, and that the OSU first-string defense is able to have its way with the YSU first-string offense. Tressel will throttle down (pull the reins, as most non-Spurrier coaches would do) by bringing in the backups once the game is well in hand (let's say a 3 to 4 touchdown lead in the second half). Whether the game develops to a solid but reasonably competitive win, or a complete blowout, will be somewhat out of Tressel's hands at that point. It will come down to how competitive the YSU first-stringers are with the Buckeye second and third-stringers. If they're competitive, it will be respectable. If they're still outgunned, it will get ugly, and Tressel won't be able to stop the ugliness unless he puts his third-string in "let's not try" mode, which I don't think he will do.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

hey found this on our tailgating site, im pretty sure this came from a poster over here (mili?)

Hey! That's copyright infringement...you owe me a case of hefeweizen.

 

[Yertle]

I basically agree with you at this point (although "throttle down" seems to have taken the opposite meaning from what I thought it meant, but that's not really important). And I'm not a fan of counting my chickens before they hatch, but let's suppose that the OSU first-string offense is able to have its way with the YSU first string defense, and that the OSU first-string defense is able to have its way with the YSU first-string offense. Tressel will throttle down (pull the reins, as most non-Spurrier coaches would do) by bringing in the backups once the game is well in hand (let's say a 3 to 4 touchdown lead in the second half). Whether the game develops to a solid but reasonably competitive win, or a complete blowout, will be somewhat out of Tressel's hands at that point. It will come down to how competitive the YSU first-stringers are with the Buckeye second and third-stringers. If they're competitive, it will be respectable. If they're still outgunned, it will get ugly, and Tressel won't be able to stop the ugliness unless he puts his third-string in "let's not try" mode, which I don't think he will do.

HA! I think I see the basis of our confusion (other than my overall alcohol consumption, that is). When I said "keep the throttle down" I was referring to "keeping the pedal to the metal" or in other words not easing up. "Throttling down" would obivously mean the opposite.

Okay, now that this is taken care of, I can go treat myself to another beer.

 

[calibuck]

No way does Tress run up the score. Not his style to begin with, and not against his former team (and friends up there). He doesn't want to make his coaching colleagues look bad.

On the other hand, how do you tell a third stringer, who wants to make a good impression to NOT try to score. Can't imagine Henton (or Schoenhoft) feeling pleased to hear 'hand it off to the fullback on a belly series' rather than hitting a steaking WR down the sideline.........but you do what the coach tells you or get banished to Siberia.

By the way, how do you get the Guinness to 'float' above the lighter Pilsner/Ale? And I thought it was called a 'arf and 'arf, as well as a black and tan........

7 days and counting.

:gobucks3::gobucks4:

 

[Taosman]

I can't recall Tress ever running it up!

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

On the other hand, how do you tell a third stringer, who wants to make a good impression to NOT try to score. Can't imagine Henton (or Schoenhoft) feeling pleased to hear 'hand it off to the fullback on a belly series' rather than hitting a steaking WR down the sideline.........but you do what the coach tells you or get banished to Siberia.

Jon Heacock won't be pissed at JT if Saine happens to bust off a long TD run or Henton throws a short pass on third down to pick up the first and it turns into a TD. He knows that if OSU is indeed up big, the deep bench will be in and will be in for "game experience"...he also knows that even as a I-AA team, his first-string defense should be able to hold, or at least slow down, our third-stringers.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

Penguin Plans?

In just a few hours, we will begin game-week

Now it's time to put in the game-plan.

What would you do, if you were Coach Heacock? What would you do if you coached YSU?

Please: spare me the debate about whether you give the boys a spirited "let's win" speech or you try not to get their hopes too high. That's not remotely interesting.

I want to hear football strategy. How would you attack Ohio State's defense? How would you deal with a bigger, stronger, faster d-line than your boys have seen since Penn State last year? How would you deal with the fastest group of linebackers they will ever see?

How will you try to slow down a mammoth o-line when your defensive ends both weigh about 240? How on earth do you defend all our speed on the outside? Do you count on Coach T. to not use the speed on the outside and just focus on stopping the power game?

Pop quiz: What do you do?

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

I want to hear football strategy. How would you attack Ohio State's defense? How would you deal with a bigger, stronger, faster d-line than your boys have seen since Penn State last year? How would you deal with the fastest group of linebackers they will ever see?

Exactly how NIU and Florida did...I'd run shit to the outside all fucking day and make the Buckeyes tackle in space, and then isolate a WR on a LB and go to him when I need a first down. I'd dump screens once or twice a drive to keep the pass-rush honest. Lastly, I'd run quick slants...we never did seem to shut those down last year.

How will you try to slow down a mammoth o-line when your defensive ends both weigh about 240? How on earth do you defend all our speed on the outside? Do you count on Coach T. to not use the speed on the outside and just focus on stopping the power game?

Line stunts is the only way I could see YSU getting any sort of pass rush, which they may be able to do since this is the first game of the year and our OL always seems to take a while to gel. I'd also blitz my ass off and try to rattle Boeckman, who has--what, 20--passes in his career. As for pass defense, while YSU's backs are not in the same galaxy as Florida's, I'd play a jam/press coverage right form the LOS...make the WRs fight their way open.

 

[t_BuckeyeScott]

If I was Tressel I might go ahead and send over the play calls to YSU to see what kind of mettle this team has.

 

[sandgk]

Exactly how NIU and Florida did...I'd run shit to the outside all fucking day and make the Buckeyes tackle in space, and then isolate a WR on a LB and go to him when I need a first down. I'd dump screens once or twice a drive to keep the pass-rush honest. Lastly, I'd run quick slants...we never did seem to shut those down last year.


Line stunts is the only way I could see YSU getting any sort of pass rush, which they may be able to do since this is the first game of the year and our OL always seems to take a while to gel. I'd also blitz my ass off and try to rattle Boeckman, who has--what, 20--passes in his career. As for pass defense, while YSU's backs are not in the same galaxy as Florida's, I'd play a jam/press coverage right form the LOS...make the WRs fight their way open.

Interesting, I don't see a reference to the Tight End - explicitly - in that strategy on offense. Yet, Irizarry is the player who accounted for the biggest quotient of reception yards in their recent O-D scrimmage.

I think the Buckeyes should keep their eyes open for Louis over the middle.