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buckeyeboy
Still fortitudinous
I do not agree with those people who have said that OSU didn't execute well in the second half and Illinois had a great second half. Rather, IMO whoever was calling the plays got so conservative that they alsmost cost us the game. I think there are very few defenses in the country that couldn't shut another offense down if the defense knew the exact plays the offense was going to run. That's what we had here.
I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched virtually every drive for us in the second half start with two runs up the middle to Pittman, who would gain somewhere between 2 and -3 yards. Then our offense would throw, facing anywhere from 3rd and 8 to 3rd and 13. They'd blitz, and Troy would get sacked or hurried. If you don't believe me that play-calling, and not the players, were the problem here, then ask yourself why we had 200+ yards of total offense in the first half and moved the ball at will, whereas we had about 20 yards of total offense in the second half and looked like a bad high school team.
I don't really know what Tressel was trying to prove with that play calling, but I hope he learned that a 17 point lead at halftime is NOT the time to pack it in and assume a win when you're playing on the road in the Big Ten. After the first two drives of the second half, he should've realized that ultra-conservative play-calling wasn't working, and he should've gone back to the first half play-calling that got us 200+ yards. IMO, the coaching was very, very hard to understand yesterday, and it almost cost us the game.
I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched virtually every drive for us in the second half start with two runs up the middle to Pittman, who would gain somewhere between 2 and -3 yards. Then our offense would throw, facing anywhere from 3rd and 8 to 3rd and 13. They'd blitz, and Troy would get sacked or hurried. If you don't believe me that play-calling, and not the players, were the problem here, then ask yourself why we had 200+ yards of total offense in the first half and moved the ball at will, whereas we had about 20 yards of total offense in the second half and looked like a bad high school team.
I don't really know what Tressel was trying to prove with that play calling, but I hope he learned that a 17 point lead at halftime is NOT the time to pack it in and assume a win when you're playing on the road in the Big Ten. After the first two drives of the second half, he should've realized that ultra-conservative play-calling wasn't working, and he should've gone back to the first half play-calling that got us 200+ yards. IMO, the coaching was very, very hard to understand yesterday, and it almost cost us the game.
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ginn421
Think Long
I've always been a fan of big Schafer, but there were numerous times last night that one could see the loss of Boone hurt. Maybe Rehring at T and Schafer at G would have worked better.
On a more positive note, how about Trapasso?? He had a couple AMAZING punts late in the game that helped us out big time.
On a more positive note, how about Trapasso?? He had a couple AMAZING punts late in the game that helped us out big time.
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daddyphatsacs
Let the cards fall...
soph17;653046; said:
Are you kidding me? If were overrated then who is #1?
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daddyphatsacs
Let the cards fall...
buckeyeboy;653237; said:
I think he did that with Michigan on his mind. Troy ran the ball quite a bit more yesterday, and it seemed like we hardly threw it. What, maybe 2 long passes all day? It seems like over the past couple of weeks we have been transitioning to this. Maybe I'm wrong here, but that is the vibe that I have gotten over the past couple of weeks. I'm thinking that this could be our coaching staff getting into the heads of Michigan.
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PlanetFrnd
Head Coach
daddyphatsacs;653262; said:
Whatever Tress is doing now, you can bet he won't be doing it against scUM
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This was tresselball at it's best. Illinois never stopped playing,even when behind by 17.
I only got to listen to the 2nd half of the game on my car radio. but it sounded like tresselball. Jt does everything by plan. It all does point to the Meech game by design. It is meant to develop the team as he wants it to. And to show teams thats there is no one thing they can hang their hat on.
one week WR's. next RB's, then TE's. then tresselball. It is never the same from week to week.
Lord ,I love/hate tresselball
Even when it's ugly it's beautiful.
I only got to listen to the 2nd half of the game on my car radio. but it sounded like tresselball. Jt does everything by plan. It all does point to the Meech game by design. It is meant to develop the team as he wants it to. And to show teams thats there is no one thing they can hang their hat on.
one week WR's. next RB's, then TE's. then tresselball. It is never the same from week to week.
Lord ,I love/hate tresselball
Even when it's ugly it's beautiful.
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PlanetFrnd
Head Coach
Best Buckeye;653272; said:This was tresselball at it's best. Illinois never stopped playing,even when behind by 17.
I only got to listen to the 2nd half of the game on my car radio. but it sounded like tresselball. Jt does everything by plan. It all does point to the Meech game by design. It is meant to develop the team as he wants it to. And to show team thats there is no one thing they can hang their hat on.
one week WR's. next RB's, them TE's.then tresselball. It is never the same from week to week.
Lord ,I love/hate tresselball
Even when it's ugly it's beautiful.
I absolutely agree
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smartone
Zen Master
daddyphatsacs;653262; said:
I am hoping your last point is an excellent one. While the play calling in the 2nd half was strange, the fact that Pittman couldn't run, and the Illini offensive line viciously sacked TS 3 times bothers me. These events were not designed to get "...getting into the heads of Michigan'. the Illini sacks occured within 4 seconds after TS snapped the ball. They went throught out great offensive line like we normally go through offensive lines. And it wasn't just one rusher, TS was hit by 2 rushers each time. I was very surprised.
Now for the positive note, the top 4 teams performed as follows:
OSU - won by 7
Michigan - won by 8 - but they gained 500 yard, of which 335 were by run.
WV - Lost by 10
Florida - won by 6
They say LSU's win an upset. That's bullcrap. But Ainge has come a long way and TN is a good team. Arkansas s/b in the top 8, imo.
The Illini game bothered me as well b/c it's not like we were playing last year's Penn State's team. Perhaps we needed a close game, but to stuff our run, sack TS, stifle our pass, and hold us to under 30 yards in the 2nd half is a little hard to swallow.
NW is a better team. I'm concerned.
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PlanetFrnd
Head Coach
smartone;653281; said:
IL kept everyone in the box because it was clear that JT was going to run the ball every time. The one-receiver sets allowed them to apply tons of pressure up front leading to the poor running/sacks. It it is worrysome except that our offense will not be running 2002 Tressel ball against better opponents. I'm more bothered by the TD we gave up.
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OZone
Football
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook
By John Porentas
Old Mo: Ohio State dominated Illinois for two periods and seemingly had things going its way early in the second half, but the Illini were able to slowly seize control of the momentum of the game and completely dominate OSU in the fourth quarter. According to many of the OSU players, they could feel it happening, but just couldn't do anything about it.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Malcolm Jenkins[/FONT]
"Momentum swung their way after a couple of turnovers from us. Once it swings its kind of hard to get it back. They did a good job of playing ball and getting after us," said Buckeye defensive back Malcolm Jenkins.
"It was just a swing of momentum. We kind of had the momentum the whole game. Once it swung they brought out everything," Jenkins said.
While the momentum swing was probably most visible when the Illinois offense drove 80 yards to a fourth-quarter touchdown, the OSU players after the game gave credit to the Illini defense for making the plays that really swung the momentum. Their domination of the OSU offense gave the entire Illini team a boost.
"After they kicked the field goal they didn't really have the momentum. It started to shift a little bit. When they continued shutting down our offense and making plays defensively, I think that's when they started getting confidence and realizing that if they score the game would be close," said Jenkins.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Antonio Smith [/FONT]
"The whole fourth quarter their defense did a wonderful job, really fought hard and stopped our offense a couple of times," said cornerback Antonio Smith.
"Getting that field goal gave them a little hope. I think that boosted their confidence a little bit, and then getting an interception midway through the fourth quarter definitely excited the team. At that point they probably felt like they had a chance to do something," Smith said.
"Their defense played a heck of a game. I think their offense really fed off their defense," concurred linebacker Marcus Freeman.
"I would say the last time we turned the ball over you could see them get going a little bit, you could see their eyes kind of light up," added Jay Richardson.
Ohio State netted just 20 yards in the fourth quarter and was shut out in the second half by the inspired Illinois defensive effort.
Big Play: Until the Illinois game OSU's big plays this football season have pretty much come from the offense. Against the Illini however no bigger play was made than Brian Robiske's recovery of the Illinois onside kick after the Illini had scored a touchdown with under two minutes to play in the final quarter. The ball went through Brandon Mitchell's hands and then bounce around a while before Robiske finally hauled it in. OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel said it was an anxious moment for him.
"I almost jumped out there," said Tressel of the play which took place in front of the OSU bench.
"It looked like it was available too long. It seemed like Robiske was the umteenth person to touch it, but that's onside kicks and that's life and thank goodness we got it," Tressel said.
School of Hard Knocks : When you're 9-0 and ranked number one you are expected to dominate in you games; just winning is not enough when you are an overwhelming favorite. That at least is the public perception, but following the game the OSU football team had a different outlook on all that.
"I don't know what 'overwhelming favorites' does for us. It doesn't spot us any points or give us any first downs. It's just a phase someone wants to use. You have to go in and you have to win every battle," said OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel.
The Buckeyes felt after the game that the tight game with the Illini and the lessons learned would serve them well over the remainder of their schedule.
"We've come back from cloud nine and we're back to reality and know we can be beat," said Malcolm Jenkins.
Jim Tressel put it a different way.
"I think anytime you're tested and you're bruised and battered I think that's always good for you. In life or in football you learn more in your suffering than you do in you wonderful moments. Yeah, I think we'll learn from it," Tressel said.
"Hopefully we can learn from what we didn't do well when the game kind of turned the other way and grow from it," Tressel said.
Who Cares?: The close call at Illinois will no doubt fuel some debates this week in Columbus and around the country, which is a little ironic since the Buckeyes did in fact win the game. One place where there will be no "debate" is on the OSU football team where they are happy to have won a Big Ten road game.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Troy Smith[/FONT]
"A win is a win anyway you cut it, whether you score 50 points or you score 17. If it's not the way you want it who cares. We won today and we'll continue to grow," said quarterback Troy Smith.
"A win is a win. We're 10-0 right now and we have to look forward to playing next week. There's going to be critics, there's going to be nay-sayers any way you do it," said Smith.
Learning Experience: OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel likes his teams to get better as the season progresses, but outward appearances will be that the Buckeyes took a step back against Illinois. According to several Buckeyes however, the Illinois experience may prove to be a good thing.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Doug Datish[/FONT]
"I think it's a valuable learning lesson for us. We needed a battle. This was definitely one for us," said center Doug Datish.
"As the season goes you might say that in a win like this that some of the young guys grew up today. Guys like Troy and I have been through it before, but anytime you can come out of a battle with a win everybody grows up a little. It's valuable experience," Datish said.
"We did need a game to really test us and learn from our mistakes and really grow from because we truly haven't had a battle for all four quarters," added Quinn Pitcock.
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook
By John Porentas
Old Mo: Ohio State dominated Illinois for two periods and seemingly had things going its way early in the second half, but the Illini were able to slowly seize control of the momentum of the game and completely dominate OSU in the fourth quarter. According to many of the OSU players, they could feel it happening, but just couldn't do anything about it.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Malcolm Jenkins[/FONT]
"It was just a swing of momentum. We kind of had the momentum the whole game. Once it swung they brought out everything," Jenkins said.
While the momentum swing was probably most visible when the Illinois offense drove 80 yards to a fourth-quarter touchdown, the OSU players after the game gave credit to the Illini defense for making the plays that really swung the momentum. Their domination of the OSU offense gave the entire Illini team a boost.
"After they kicked the field goal they didn't really have the momentum. It started to shift a little bit. When they continued shutting down our offense and making plays defensively, I think that's when they started getting confidence and realizing that if they score the game would be close," said Jenkins.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Antonio Smith [/FONT]
"Getting that field goal gave them a little hope. I think that boosted their confidence a little bit, and then getting an interception midway through the fourth quarter definitely excited the team. At that point they probably felt like they had a chance to do something," Smith said.
"Their defense played a heck of a game. I think their offense really fed off their defense," concurred linebacker Marcus Freeman.
"I would say the last time we turned the ball over you could see them get going a little bit, you could see their eyes kind of light up," added Jay Richardson.
Ohio State netted just 20 yards in the fourth quarter and was shut out in the second half by the inspired Illinois defensive effort.
Big Play: Until the Illinois game OSU's big plays this football season have pretty much come from the offense. Against the Illini however no bigger play was made than Brian Robiske's recovery of the Illinois onside kick after the Illini had scored a touchdown with under two minutes to play in the final quarter. The ball went through Brandon Mitchell's hands and then bounce around a while before Robiske finally hauled it in. OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel said it was an anxious moment for him.
"I almost jumped out there," said Tressel of the play which took place in front of the OSU bench.
"It looked like it was available too long. It seemed like Robiske was the umteenth person to touch it, but that's onside kicks and that's life and thank goodness we got it," Tressel said.
School of Hard Knocks : When you're 9-0 and ranked number one you are expected to dominate in you games; just winning is not enough when you are an overwhelming favorite. That at least is the public perception, but following the game the OSU football team had a different outlook on all that.
"I don't know what 'overwhelming favorites' does for us. It doesn't spot us any points or give us any first downs. It's just a phase someone wants to use. You have to go in and you have to win every battle," said OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel.
The Buckeyes felt after the game that the tight game with the Illini and the lessons learned would serve them well over the remainder of their schedule.
"We've come back from cloud nine and we're back to reality and know we can be beat," said Malcolm Jenkins.
Jim Tressel put it a different way.
"I think anytime you're tested and you're bruised and battered I think that's always good for you. In life or in football you learn more in your suffering than you do in you wonderful moments. Yeah, I think we'll learn from it," Tressel said.
"Hopefully we can learn from what we didn't do well when the game kind of turned the other way and grow from it," Tressel said.
Who Cares?: The close call at Illinois will no doubt fuel some debates this week in Columbus and around the country, which is a little ironic since the Buckeyes did in fact win the game. One place where there will be no "debate" is on the OSU football team where they are happy to have won a Big Ten road game.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Troy Smith[/FONT]
"A win is a win. We're 10-0 right now and we have to look forward to playing next week. There's going to be critics, there's going to be nay-sayers any way you do it," said Smith.
Learning Experience: OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel likes his teams to get better as the season progresses, but outward appearances will be that the Buckeyes took a step back against Illinois. According to several Buckeyes however, the Illinois experience may prove to be a good thing.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Doug Datish[/FONT]
"As the season goes you might say that in a win like this that some of the young guys grew up today. Guys like Troy and I have been through it before, but anytime you can come out of a battle with a win everybody grows up a little. It's valuable experience," Datish said.
"We did need a game to really test us and learn from our mistakes and really grow from because we truly haven't had a battle for all four quarters," added Quinn Pitcock.
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OZone
Football
Buckeyes Hang on to Escape Illinois with Narrow 17-10 Win
By John Porentas
For a just over half the game the No. 1 Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) played like a number one team, but when the fourth quarter rolled around, it was the fighting Illini of Illinois (2-8, 1-5 Big Ten) that looked like a dominant team. Illinois came within an eyelash of taking the Buckeyes to overtime, but in the end could not overcome a 17-0 first half deficit and OSU limped home to claim a 17-10 Big Ten road win to remain undefeated on the season with just two regular-season games left to play.
Through three quarters the Buckeyes were dominating on the scoreboard and on the stat sheet. OSU led 17-0 thanks to 17 first-half points and had outgained the Illini 204 total yards to just 100. Freshman tailback Chris Wells had scored on two yard run to cap an 80 yard, 14 play drive on the opening kickoff, and Antonio Pittman went one yard for a touchdown to score after an Illinois turnover had set up the OSU offense just 38 yards from paydirt. Buckeye kicker Aaron Pettry added a 50 yard field goal to put OSU up 17-0, but despite their lead and statistical dominance, the Buckeyes were showing some vulnerability. Freshman tailback Chris Wells fumbled the ball for a turnover on a play on which he did not appear to get hit. Wells simple dropped the football out in the open field ending what looked like a promising drive at the Illinois 36-yard line.
The Buckeyes seemed to pick up where they had left off when the second half began. The OSU defense forced a three-and-out on the first series of the half. On the ensuing possession OSU stalled at the Illinois 31, but punter A. J. Trapasso booted one out of bounds at the Illinois three-yard line to apparently put the Illini in world of hurt. The Illini, however, were not about to fold their tents.
Illinois was able to turn that field position around in the remainder of the third period and while doing so keep the Buckeyes off the scoreboard. The Illini, who had not crossed the 50-yard line all day, did so when a 31 yard A. J. Trapasso punt went out of bounds on the OSU 47-yard line. The Illini marched 37 yards to the OSU 10 where they finally ran out of downs and settled for a 27 yard field goal that not only put them on the scoreboard but was the first inclining that they were beginning to take command of the game.
"I thought we had the tempo of the game pretty well in hand through the first two series of the third quarter," said OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel.
The Buckeye offense had struggled in the third quarter, but had avoided the big mistake. Following the Illinois field goal however, OSU quarterback Troy Smith made the big mistake when he tossed an interception allowing Illinois to take possession on their own 35-yard line.
"We were up at halftime and came out and stopped them right away and moved the ball down the field and didn't finish that drive and really from that point on lost a grip on the momentum and didn't create any momentum," Tressel said.
Illinois could not capitalize immediately when on the very first play James Laurinaitis intercepted pass to give the ball back to the Buckeyes. That stemmed the tide, but the Illini were pumped up after creating the OSU turnover.
The Illinois defense came onto the field following that turnover to force a three-and-out, and following another Trapasso punt, the Illini drove 80 yards for a touchdown to cut OSU's lead to 17-10 with 1:40 remaining on the clock.
Illinois' only hope was an onside kick, and the Illini nearly got the play they needed. Their onside kick went through the hands of safety Brandon Mitchell and bounced around for the taking, but when the dust settled, OSU sophomore wide receiver ended up with the football to all but end the game. The Buckeyes were able to run three plays to run the game clock down under 30 seconds, then Trapasso punted for 55 yards down to the three-yard line with just four seconds left on the clock. A desperation pass completion ended the game with the Illini on their own 19-yard line.
"The first thing that I saw was that they were lining up to kick to our side," said Robiske.
"Brandon was right in front of me and I saw it bounce high and I saw it go right through his hand and bounce off somebody to the left of me. I saw it out of the corner of my eye and I reached out and grabbed it."
"Illinois is a good football team playing hard," said Tressel.
"What I'm impressed with is they just keep playing. What was particularly impressive was we were midway through the third quarter and really we're in decent command of the game and they're still playing. Not that our guys stopped, I don't think they did that at all, but the tide got turned a little," Tressel said.
In the fourth quarter, the Illini outgained the Buckeyes 133- 20 and outscored OSU 10-0 in the second half. Despite their narrow escape, the Buckeyes were pleased to get away with the win.
"We have an understanding that Big Ten road games are going to be a battle through and through, and it was just that today," said quarterback Troy Smith.
"Playing here in their environment and home stadium is really tough.
"A win is a win anyway you cut it, whether you score 50 points or you score 17. If it's not the way you want it who cares. We won today and we'll continue to grow," Smith said.
Buckeyes Hang on to Escape Illinois with Narrow 17-10 Win
By John Porentas
For a just over half the game the No. 1 Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) played like a number one team, but when the fourth quarter rolled around, it was the fighting Illini of Illinois (2-8, 1-5 Big Ten) that looked like a dominant team. Illinois came within an eyelash of taking the Buckeyes to overtime, but in the end could not overcome a 17-0 first half deficit and OSU limped home to claim a 17-10 Big Ten road win to remain undefeated on the season with just two regular-season games left to play.
Through three quarters the Buckeyes were dominating on the scoreboard and on the stat sheet. OSU led 17-0 thanks to 17 first-half points and had outgained the Illini 204 total yards to just 100. Freshman tailback Chris Wells had scored on two yard run to cap an 80 yard, 14 play drive on the opening kickoff, and Antonio Pittman went one yard for a touchdown to score after an Illinois turnover had set up the OSU offense just 38 yards from paydirt. Buckeye kicker Aaron Pettry added a 50 yard field goal to put OSU up 17-0, but despite their lead and statistical dominance, the Buckeyes were showing some vulnerability. Freshman tailback Chris Wells fumbled the ball for a turnover on a play on which he did not appear to get hit. Wells simple dropped the football out in the open field ending what looked like a promising drive at the Illinois 36-yard line.
The Buckeyes seemed to pick up where they had left off when the second half began. The OSU defense forced a three-and-out on the first series of the half. On the ensuing possession OSU stalled at the Illinois 31, but punter A. J. Trapasso booted one out of bounds at the Illinois three-yard line to apparently put the Illini in world of hurt. The Illini, however, were not about to fold their tents.
Illinois was able to turn that field position around in the remainder of the third period and while doing so keep the Buckeyes off the scoreboard. The Illini, who had not crossed the 50-yard line all day, did so when a 31 yard A. J. Trapasso punt went out of bounds on the OSU 47-yard line. The Illini marched 37 yards to the OSU 10 where they finally ran out of downs and settled for a 27 yard field goal that not only put them on the scoreboard but was the first inclining that they were beginning to take command of the game.
"I thought we had the tempo of the game pretty well in hand through the first two series of the third quarter," said OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel.
The Buckeye offense had struggled in the third quarter, but had avoided the big mistake. Following the Illinois field goal however, OSU quarterback Troy Smith made the big mistake when he tossed an interception allowing Illinois to take possession on their own 35-yard line.
"We were up at halftime and came out and stopped them right away and moved the ball down the field and didn't finish that drive and really from that point on lost a grip on the momentum and didn't create any momentum," Tressel said.
Illinois could not capitalize immediately when on the very first play James Laurinaitis intercepted pass to give the ball back to the Buckeyes. That stemmed the tide, but the Illini were pumped up after creating the OSU turnover.
The Illinois defense came onto the field following that turnover to force a three-and-out, and following another Trapasso punt, the Illini drove 80 yards for a touchdown to cut OSU's lead to 17-10 with 1:40 remaining on the clock.
Illinois' only hope was an onside kick, and the Illini nearly got the play they needed. Their onside kick went through the hands of safety Brandon Mitchell and bounced around for the taking, but when the dust settled, OSU sophomore wide receiver ended up with the football to all but end the game. The Buckeyes were able to run three plays to run the game clock down under 30 seconds, then Trapasso punted for 55 yards down to the three-yard line with just four seconds left on the clock. A desperation pass completion ended the game with the Illini on their own 19-yard line.
"The first thing that I saw was that they were lining up to kick to our side," said Robiske.
"Brandon was right in front of me and I saw it bounce high and I saw it go right through his hand and bounce off somebody to the left of me. I saw it out of the corner of my eye and I reached out and grabbed it."
"Illinois is a good football team playing hard," said Tressel.
"What I'm impressed with is they just keep playing. What was particularly impressive was we were midway through the third quarter and really we're in decent command of the game and they're still playing. Not that our guys stopped, I don't think they did that at all, but the tide got turned a little," Tressel said.
In the fourth quarter, the Illini outgained the Buckeyes 133- 20 and outscored OSU 10-0 in the second half. Despite their narrow escape, the Buckeyes were pleased to get away with the win.
"We have an understanding that Big Ten road games are going to be a battle through and through, and it was just that today," said quarterback Troy Smith.
"Playing here in their environment and home stadium is really tough.
"A win is a win anyway you cut it, whether you score 50 points or you score 17. If it's not the way you want it who cares. We won today and we'll continue to grow," Smith said.
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