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Game Thread Game Ten: #1 tOSU 17, Illinois 10 (11/4/06)

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HabaneroBuck;652893; said:
Tressel was not trying to make this a close game, LV. He was trying to milk the clock (figuring they could just run for first downs against the Illini) WAAAAYYY too early. I give Tress some benefits of the doubt, but this was 2003 Cincinnati all over again. The lack of first-down passes downfield in the second half was quite frustrating. The Illinois fans said that their team had a good run D... and you know what? They do.

The only preparation an attack like today does is show that we should NOT go about playing Michigan like this at all. Don't believe Ball State made it a game today by playing into the Michigan D's strength.
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I can agree with that...what happened to the option-look pass in the 2nd half? Where was the roll out all game? The simple hitches?


JT buttoned it down early when he saw the defense could win it.

So I guess the question is: where is your concern? Heisman or beating scUM? Easy to say both...but its not that simple. Ask Troy about his preference. I don't think he will say Heisman.
 
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I can say two things about today.

1. We won.

2. Glad we had a game like this toward the end of the season to get it out of their system and focus on the remaining two games. Each team has a game like this every season. The timing probably could not have been better.
 
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MililaniBuckeye;652886; said:
First game all year that I was up pacing back and forth in front of the TV, shaking like a leaf...I fucking hate that feeling.

I totally disagree about "Tressel purposely keeping it close". Now, I do believe that he did lock down the offense in the second half because he believed 100% in his defense...but when you get stuffed for loses on first-down runs in three consecutive drives, it puts the offense in a hole and gives the other team the opportunity to get back in it. Keep in mind we had four yards total offense in our first four second-half drives.

I hope this second half offensive performance doesn't affect the confidence of Troy and the rest of the offense. Win or not, I think being so unproductive throughout the entire second half has to put a certain degree of doubt in your subconscious.
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I dont think one half of one game is going to affect our confidence.
 
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osugrad21;652901; said:
I can agree with that...what happened to the option-look pass in the 2nd half? Where was the roll out all game? The simple hitches?


JT buttoned it down early when he saw the defense could win it.

So I guess the question is: where is your concern? Heisman or beating scUM? Easy to say both...but its not that simple. Ask Troy about his preference. I don't think he will say Heisman.
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Well...

That and betaing MIchigan likely means the rest will take care of itself...

At any rate... Luca is right... This was merely Tressel being Tressel...
 
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Thoughts on the game:
Positives:
-The defense is playing great. Not good, but great. We seems to have captured that attitude that no matter how many yards the ballcarrier gets, he goes down hard. And when you have that attitude, the ballcarrier usually doesn't get very far. They won us the game.
-The offense was able to move the ball in the first half. The offense played well in the first half.

Negatives:
-We never put the game away. The playcalling in the second half would not have matter at all if we had been able to put the game away. We didn't, and the momentum carried Illinois to very closely pulling this one off. That's my only complaint: you can be conservative, but make sure you put the game away first.
-The offensive line was pitiful. However, Illinois had at least 8 men in the box at all times. There's not much you can do if you are placed in that kind of situation.

Those are the only things that really concerned me. And if you want to go into some of the other issues, well, Quinn is now very much in the Heisman race again. And if you are Zook, you've gotta use this as a springboard to convince talented highschoolers out there that Illinois can compete with the #1 team in the nation and convince them to join an already impressive nucleus of good young players.
 
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Penn State last year showed that the Buckeyes can be beaten at their own game, and I don't want to see Michigan have any chance to beat us in that fashion this year. This game gives me a slightly queasy feeling about "Tressel-balling" Michigan again, that's all. Michigan's best chance is a 17-10 ball game.
 
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Phew...the 2002 heartburn made a comeback. While I was 100% confident of victory, it was painful to watch our offense struggle so mightily. The confidence issue was brought up, but I think this team is too sound in the leadership department to lose confidence. Smith is a student of the game, he will learn from his mistakes, and that behavior has in the past and will again carry on to the rest of the team.

The fact of the matter is, we're 10-0. Today was our first close game all year, and it's November.
 
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The game should not have been this close, i dont understand the play calling today. i mean if the illini who have only won 2 games can score 10 points how are we not scoring at least 30 points. im starting to get worried about michigan because they might beat us now if our performence is even better than todays. i dont care if the wind did anything, because it sure didnt look like it didnt do anything to the illini, they blitzed so many times?????i just dont have the trust in our team as much as i did in the first 9 games, because the illini is so far the worst team we faced this season, i believe...or it could be close to a couble other teams....but still we must face the fact that we are worried, and i know im not the only one...
 
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ChrisWells28;652914; said:
The game should not have been this close, i dont understand the play calling today. i mean if the illini who have only won 2 games can score 10 points how are we not scoring at least 30 points. im starting to get worried about michigan because they might beat us now if our performence is even better than todays. i dont care if the wind did anything, because it sure didnt look like it didnt do anything to the illini, they blitzed so many times?????i just dont have the trust in our team as much as i did in the first 9 games, because the illini is so far the worst team we faced this season, i believe...or it could be close to a couble other teams....but still we must face the fact that we are worried, and i know im not the only one...
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"dude, I'm in the 8th Grade!"
 
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Face it... we just did not play a good game today. Tressel did not purposely keep it close; the truth is the Buckeyes just did not play like we all know they can. However, I'm actually kind of glad that we played like crap, because this should wake us up for The Game on November 18th, and we will not lose against Michigan.
 
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panic_button.jpg
 
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Bob Buck;652919; said:
Face it... we just did not play a good game today. Tressel did not purposely keep it close; the truth is the Buckeyes just did not play like we all know they can. However, I'm actually kind of glad that we played like crap, because this should wake us up for The Game on November 18th, and we will not lose against Michigan.
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So you honestly think the playcalling just went conservative by accident in the second half?
 
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