My grading of Ohio State:
Quarterback: A. Troy Smith was awesome. Two touchdowns, zero interceptions. It seemed that the incompletions tended to be dropped passes, rather than poorly-thrown passes. He seemed to read the defense like a book, and his leadership at key moments of the game was vital.
Running Game: B-. It did well enough at times to keep the clock rolling, but it wasn't the "we're going to run you over every time we run the ball" game. Not that I was expecting such a game. I think that the Bucks did at least as well as I was expecting them to do against Texas's defense.
Receivers: B+. That's mostly because of Gonzalez in the first half. But there were some key drops in the game. Ginn dropped one between two defenders as he was being hit. (I know that that's a tough catch to make, but a Heisman-hopeful receiver makes that catch.) Maurice Wells had a pass fly right through his hands (and hit him in the face). He might have heard footsteps. Robiskie missed a 3rd-down pass that hit him in the hands. It was a bit of a stretch, but his job is to make catches like that. Even Gonzalez dropped a pass begining the fourth quarter. But those three receivers each caught critical passes. I don't know that that counts as a "coming out party" for Robiskie, like some predicted, but he still played very well.
Blocking: A-. I think there was only one sack given up all night. There was another play where Smith was called on intentional grounding (the call was late, but it was correct, in my opinion), and he was forced to run a couple of times. They didn't create any consistent running game, but they allowed Smith enough time to do his thing, for the most part. You can't really expect any more against Texas's defense.
Overall Offense: A-. I think Chizik's defenses had averaged giving up fewer than 1 touchdown per game over the past 2+ years. Three touchdowns against a defense like that is outstanding.
Defensive Line: B. I don't know if it's Texas's stellar offensive line, or what, but Ohio State was weak against the sweeps and screens, again. Texas didn't seem to be able to do anything up the gut, but I don't think they tried very often. Why risk a down or two on something you think is OSU's strong point if you can get an almost sure thing going outside?
Linebackers: B. They stepped up when they had to, but they weren't always there to help stop the outside runs. I know I don't need to say anything about the play of Laurinaitis, so I won't. The rest played well enough to win, so I won't complain too much. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Hawk & Co.
Defensive Backs: A. I thought that Colt McCoy looked very calm as Texas's quarterback, and I thought that that would be bad news for Ohio State's secondary. I was wrong. They made their plays and didn't give up any big yards.
Overall Defense: A. They executed the "Bend but Don't Break" philosophy about as well as you could ask. At one point in the second half, Ohio State was up 17-7, but Texas had more total yards. The game was much closer than the score was, and it came down to the big plays. Ohio State's defense didn't give up the big plays.
Special Teams: A-. I was about to give the special teams a B, or lower. I hate to see missed field goals. Like with the linebackers, I may be spoiled by the recent years of great kickers. But I think a kick that close should be automatic for Ohio State. But Trappasso was far better than we could have asked. I think he averaged 1000 yards a punt. In Tresselball, where field position is key, Trappasso can be a giant among children.
Overall: A. You can't ask for anything better. I think the only thing keeping me from A-plussing this game is the fact that Ohio State didn't score on EVERY offensive play and force a turnover on EVERY defensive play.
Player of the Game: I don't want to do the easy, conventional call and say "Troy Smith." But maybe I have to. He was clearly the difference in this game. I think I might cheat on this part and say that the player of the game was Vince Young. His absense, in my mind, was what won the game for Ohio State. Not that McCoy isn't a great quarterback (I hope Ohio State doesn't have to face him again before his four years are up). But Vince Young was so far above all other players to play Ohio State last year that he may have been the only player who could have won that game last night.
Even the Mr. was watching that with me & said they just won"t accept that we are #1!!!!!! He said that was horse $hit for him to say USC should be #1!!!