Game Thread Game Two: #1 Ohio State 24, #2 Texas 7 (9/9/06)

[UTMNC]

You say I know nothing about your team. Well on the defensive side even some tOSU fans don't know for sure about Nine new starter's, give me a break. Im well aware Coach Tressel always has his defense ready, and the tOSU defense, whoever the new starter's are, some will have game experience. The tOSU defensive line with that freak of nature DT D. Patterson, LB M. Freeman and your two defensive end's, I can only think of one of their name's right now, Richardson, and the other one are both like 6'6 close to 300 pounds, Wilson, I think is the other DE but I don't know if he is the starter, just those alone will be as good as anyone we face with maybe the exception of OU, which isn't too bad. I don't have your roster in front of me, but I know your secondary will be big(I think their all over 6' and close to 200 pounds) which means if they can play bump and run, our 185 pound WR may have hell getting off the line of scrimage, yes I know your DB are faster than last year's, plus you have guy pretty much like M. Griffin from UT for your safety, I think it's N. Patterson. The question is not will your "D" be a top 5 defense as it always, it's will it be one in early sept.

Yes, your offense is going to be very, very good, but you did lose key people. Your center position, I agree is easier to fill, although Mangold? was very good. S. Holmes, not so easy to replace. Review my earlier post, I already said against UT, which I think will be the toughest defense you face in 2006, a reciever like Hall or one of your young TE could be more effective with so much focus on Ginn and Gonzalez. Well, UTMNC is cashing in his chips for the night. Hook EM.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

My reference to Ginn and Gonzalez not being effective was in reference to the 2005 UT game, I could care less what they did against ANY other team. If Ginn and Gonzalez go off on Texas this year, I will be the first one to give them their props.

That's your problem...you think just because a player wasn't the star for us against you that the player is "ineffective". You know what? I think that Gonzo's two catches for 33 yards is pretty "effective"...it may not be all that "productive", but 16.5 ypc is hardly "ineffective".

 

[UTMNC]

To tired to argue the last post. UTMNC is cashing in his chips. P.S. t_BuckeyeScott, congratulations on the birth of your daughter, I have two and neither is a UT fan, I guess having witnessed my behavior during TX-OU games growing up fixed that. Hook Em.

 

[campies]

I'm liking this discussion a little more now. UTMNC, the scotch seems to have subsided (ever so lightly) and you are becoming reasonbly pleasent again (relatively speaking, no offense- hoookem). Let's get down to business a little.

In regards to the Texas defense, lets look at it, shall we? The consensus among Texas fans is that it will be better than last year. Well, I'm not sure about that, but here are some reasons to be optimistic:

1) We return 7 of 11 starters. Of those lost, the most significant I believe are SS Michael Huff, and CB Cedric Griffin. Obviously, their draft status supports that in comparison to Aaron Harris and Rod Wright. The fact is, for as much as we celebrated our D-line and the expectation of good LB'ing play from Harris and co. following the Rose Bowl win over Michigan, those two areas in 2005 were largely a disappointment. A disappointment that is, and what do you know? We won a National Championship in spite of it all. The truth is, our defensive line was solid though not spectacular, and our linebacking play was suspect at times, plagued by inconsistency and complacency. The rushing statistics in particular support that fact throughout the course of the year. Our celebrated pass defense was in the top 10 throughout the year, while our rushing defense slipped to 30th by the time Lendale White got done gashing us. This wasn't terribly suprising. Despite our optimism, our linebacking play in particular was decidedly average throughout the year, with our leader in the middle,Sr Aaron Harris, though he started strong, routinely missing gap assignments and struggling with fatigue. The younger guys, on the other hand, Killebrew and Kelson, often played overly assertive, at times drawing personal foul penalties. The fact is, we have a lot of room for improvement in the linebacking department, and with an additional year in Linbacking Coach Chizik's system for the returners, combined with the influx of well-groomed RS-Fr talent like Roddrick Muckelroy and Fr Sergio Kindle, we feel good about our ability to get better, particularly against the run, which will always be key. (Nota Bene: As good as we were on defense in 2005, and as excellent Michael Huff was contributing to that, the secondary in which he played assumed far too big a role in run support compared to what would have been ideal. Obviously, as a great talent, he among others stood out as versitle enough to cover both the run and pass effectively, however, ideally, we would have our D-line control the run with our LB's assisting in part, and our secondary containing the pass, with our LB's assisting in part. That principle alone gives us hope for improvement in spite of the loss of Huff and Griffin, etc.)

2) Speaking of an extra year in the system....... Its no secret that Texas has had 3 defensive cordinators in its past 4 years. Coach Chizik will be the first in his 2nd full year since Carl Reese finished up in 2003 after a 6 year stint. The added repetion and familiarity of the schemes can only be a positive for a more polished overall unit. That and the youth of the majority of the returning defense that continues to mature gives us great hope given the production we've already seen from this group.

3) Aside from that youth, which includes 8 Jr's to-be or underclassmen on next year's 2-deep (not counting freshmen contributors), that gives way to the 4 or 5 Sr classmen to lead the way with leadership and experience. Its a great balance really: talented, battle-tested youth manning one half of the unit, with grisseled, Senior veterans leading the other half. Sr defensive ends Brian Robison and Tim Crowder will be competent and effective in holding down the line, with starting CB's Tarrell Brown, and Aaron Ross, backed by FS Michael Griffin (the Godfather) anchoring the secondary. As good as these guys are, similar to you guys' situation, the key will be finding quality depth behind the starters, and for us thats a little bit less of a challenge, but still a big one. CB's Ryan Palmer and Brandon Foster are physcial, fast, and excellent in nickel coverage, albeit a litttle undersized, so don't be suprised if we insert true freshman CB Chykie Brown (6'1 180, 4.4), among others, into the game early (depdending on how he does vs UNT the week before) to get a physical and explosive 5th DB in there to stir things up.

From all accounts, and film, the guy looks like a real gamer who could come in and contribute early, similar to Chris Gamble a few years back, exciting the crowd with his athleticism and youth. Chykie is definately athletic enough to play offense or defense but he should be used strictly as a DB for the coming season. Hell, I love these debates. Its 4 am on a Sunday morning and I"m on Buckeyeplanet.com talking with you guys!! Isn't this what makes college football interesting and great???? Lemme know your thoughts...

 

[UTMNC]

Campies, Im right there with everything you mentioned. Here's may main concern's.
1. The tOSU defense will not be as good as last year, but it's still going to be as good or better than anything we see all year, with the exception of maybe OU.

2. I have nightmare's of G. Davis right before kickoff, pulling out his old 2 running play's right up the gut for a grand total of 3 yard's, then, ask our young QB's to consistently make BIG play's on third down, will not work against tOSU.

3. Tressel is the MASTER at field position. I swear, sometimes I think he run's certain play's on third down, just so he can put his punter in perfect position.

4. I know our defense will be good, but for some reason I think this game could be like the Arkansas game in Austin a few years back, where they just ran right the hell at us and wore us down, then in the 4th qtr, M. Jones just ran right by us.

5. I understand were going to have some 3 play's and out series, the question for me is, HOW MANY. If G. Davis isn't willing, or dosen't trust Snead or Colt to be able to TAKE SOME CHANCES, then our QB's could play a mistake first half, but the score might be 10 - 0 tOSU by then. G. Davis has to try for a couple of homerun plays, What Im saying is conservative = guranteed loss.

6. MY BIGGEST FEAR: tOSU win's the coin toss, and instead of the NORMAL defer until the second half call, they say we want the football, and after Ginn returns the ball to mid-field, DKR Memorial get's quite real quick.

7. Replacing almost 1200 total yard's by R. Taylor.

 

[Zurp]

Campies, Im right there with everything you mentioned. Here's may main concern's.
1. The tOSU defense will not be as good as last year, but it's still going to be as good or better than anything we see all year, with the exception of maybe OU.

This goes without saying. You don't lose those three linebackers and claim to be "as good" at anything as last year.

2. I have nightmare's of G. Davis right before kickoff, pulling out his old 2 running play's right up the gut for a grand total of 3 yard's, then, ask our young QB's to consistently make BIG play's on third down, will not work against tOSU.

Texas will get a couple of first downs with this strategy, but Ohio State would be able to play conservative defense and count on missed passes to force Texas to punt. Texas will need to do more than that.

3. Tressel is the MASTER at field position. I swear, sometimes I think he run's certain play's on third down, just so he can put his punter in perfect position.

Absolutely. Third and ten, Smith knows that it's not the end of the world to have to punt the ball. If the first down isn't there, Smith knows he can pick up a couple of yards, bring the punting team on, and give the defense a turn on the field.

4. I know our defense will be good, but for some reason I think this game could be like the Arkansas game in Austin a few years back, where they just ran right the hell at us and wore us down, then in the 4th qtr, M. Jones just ran right by us.

Of course, this all sounds pretty good to me. I think the key is the offensive line. If Ohio State can give Smith some time, he'll pick Texas's defense apart. Similar to what Young did all year last year. He gets enough time, he's calm enough to get the ball to where it needs to be. And if he doesn't get enough time, many times, he runs away from trouble for more time or for positive yards. But 2002 showed me many times that "the best defense will beat the best offense." If Texas has the defense that I've been reading about on this board, I'll be pretty concerned about that.

5. I understand were going to have some 3 play's and out series, the question for me is, HOW MANY. If G. Davis isn't willing, or dosen't trust Snead or Colt to be able to TAKE SOME CHANCES, then our QB's could play a mistake first half, but the score might be 10 - 0 tOSU by then. G. Davis has to try for a couple of homerun plays, What Im saying is conservative = guranteed loss.

I guess I don't know enough about Texas to agree with this. When it comes to what I've seen of Tressel, many times, conservative = guaranteed win. Maybe, though, Texas's conservative gameplay on offense can't beat Ohio State. Again, I don't know enough about Texas.

6. MY BIGGEST FEAR: tOSU win's the coin toss, and instead of the NORMAL defer until the second half call, they say we want the football, and after Ginn returns the ball to mid-field, DKR Memorial get's quite real quick.

First, I don't know if Ohio State will want the football to begin the game. I haven't seen any stats on how Ohio State tends to choose after winning the coin-flip. But I'd guess that they'd play conservative and start out on defense, if they get the choice.

Second, Ginn won't return the ball to mid-field. If he's tackled at all, it will be right away - around the 25 or so. If he's to mid-field, he's gone. (Not trying to start a "who's faster" argument again.) I think that once he's to mid-field, Texas's only hope is to be held by a tOSU player whose emotions are too high, or a "hitting a defenseless player" penalty, or whatever that one was.

7. Replacing almost 1200 total yard's by R. Taylor.

I would have thought that replacing VYoung would be a bigger concern. Once Young is gone, I don't care who you line up on offense - I feel better about tOSU's chances.

 

[bukIpower]

UTMNC- I respect that last post

1) You're right we won't be as strong on defense next year, but I'd have to say we will be the best you'll see all year (including Oklahoma) even though we have 9 starters to replace.

3) Tressel loves to run plays to set up punts, and with us having a great punter field position could be huge in this game

4) I look for Ohio State to try and wear Texas down with our 4 good backs and Troy Smith running the ball. Ohio State has been known as a very well conditioned team especially in the 4th quarter, and it'd be dumb to come out and pass the ball into a very good secondary 40 times...

5) I disagree here.. I think conservative would be a great thing to do against us. We've been known last year to turn the ball over. If I was Texas I'd make sure the young Qb's play within what they can do and make sure that Texas keeps the ball. Texas IMO should play great defense, mistake free offense and try to take the game with tosu mistakes.

6) Tosu will NEVER accep the ball at the toss.... I'd like to see tosu take the ball because you're right if we took the ball to midfield with a Ginn return and then took for 7 that'd quiet "ya'll" down haha...

7) Besides Vince Young this wll hurt you the most... RT was capable of catching outta the backfield and his moves were very very impressive last year. He honestly scared me the most when he had the ball in his hands. RT is a huge loss for your offense because having him would put a hel of a lot more pressure on our young defense.. You still got the weapons to get the job done though but you gata get the lucky bounces. Hopefull they fall our way this time though haha...

 

[UTMNC]

I didn't list V.Y. simply because he was gone for sure, but R. Taylor was kind of a shock, and those 100 typg he gave us will start to be noticed starting around game 2. The Loss of Taylor takes away quite a few options for G. Davis.

 

[Cornerback6]

Not that it matters, and I hate to interrupt a good series of posts, but could anyone imagine how much more star power this game would have if no juniors left early? Our secondary would be insane and our offense even scarier. Texas with Vince again...oh man, this game would be action-packed.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

7. Replacing almost 1200 total yard's by R. Taylor.

he didn't get 1200 total yards against OSU, so that must be irrelevant

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

1. The tOSU defense will not be as good as last year, but it's still going to be as good or better than anything we see all year, with the exception of maybe OU.

...

3. Tressel is the MASTER at field position. I swear, sometimes I think he run's certain play's on third down, just so he can put his punter in perfect position.

...

6. MY BIGGEST FEAR: tOSU win's the coin toss, and instead of the NORMAL defer until the second half call, they say we want the football, and after Ginn returns the ball to mid-field, DKR Memorial get's quite real quick.

See how better you are when you put the scotch down?

1. Finally you see that our defense isn't going to dropoff as much as most think.

3. You are correct. He will plan to get position for his punter if getting the first down isn't within reasonable reach.

6. I can absolutely guarantee you that Tressel will defer and put our defense on the field.

 

[campies]

I'll be honest, I'm not too concerned about the possible loss of Ramonce, as good as he was, for a couple of reasons:

1) Its possible he's not gone at all and will get re-instated just fine, and....

2) while he was valuable for sure in all facets of our offense and kicking game, we used him more as an accessory than a focal point. There are plenty of other talented return men (that may actually be better than RT) like Quan, J. Shipley, or Vondrell McGee(?) that will do the job perfectly well. Its not as if Ramonce led the nation in kickoff average or had any returns for touchdowns (spring game EVERY year doesn't count). On offense, yes, he was effective, but assuming he's gone, his touches will be more than evenly made up for among carries to Jamaal or Selvin, and passes/reverses/etc to Shipley, Cosby, etc. In the games, he was neither the best wideout nor best running back in our lineup, though he did both better than any other, which made him valuable. Personally, I still hope things work out for him, both for his life, but also in terms of a return, however, I'm confident we can produce just fine without him.

 

[jwinslow]

1) Its possible he's not gone at all and will get re-instated just fine, and....

has that been heard anywhere besides the person from RT's apartment complex?

 

[UTMNC]

Even if R. Taylor is cleared of these charges, I believe his grades will still be an issue. I would love to have him, but Im holding my breath. I still say UT's biggest concern is a repeat of the U. of Ark. game. I think the Hog's satisfaction came from not only beating us in Austin, but the fact that from about midway through the 2nd quater on, they said, we are going to run right at your very good Defense, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it, no trick plays, just WHAM, right in the mouth. This OL of tOSU has the look on paper to be able to do the same thing.

OT- Boone-6'8 325 lb
OG- Downing - 6'4 305 lbs
OT- Barton- 6'4 310 lbs
C- Datish- 6'5 295 lbs (shrimp)
OG- Rehring 6'8 329 lbs

That's alot of beef too have leaning on you for 4 qtr's

 

[bukIpower]

Wellin how do you neutralize a fast defense? You run straight at them. Ohio States defense while young will be faster than last years, and with that being said thats why whoever RUNS the football will win this game. I've always thought Both teams had good d-lines and both teams had good o-lines and as well as running backs! This should be an excellent game, but don't forget about Chris Wells 6'3" 225 (he's more like 240 they say but he's listed at 225). Texas will have to rotate lineman often because we do have 3 backs that like to run between the tackles (pittman/haw/c-wells), and you're correct we got some big lineman. I can't wait for this game!