Game Thread Game Two: Texas 25, Ohio State 22 (final)

[HabaneroBuck]

RB Carlos Snow (late 80's): should have been All-American and NFL star. Solid career tempered by injuries.

RB Sean Penney (mid 90's): Accolades galore. Injured. Vertebra?

OT Jefferson Kelly (mid 90's): Top 5 line recruit in the country. Shoulder problems? Never played.

RB's Richard Hall and Kelton Lindsay (late 90's): Huge disappointments, to say the least. Came in together as top 10 RB's in the country.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Pay Attention, because Hawk and your outstanding Linebackers will definately need practice to shut this play down...
The Zone Read....And Vince and RT, run it to perfection....

I wonder how perfect they ran it when Oklahoma shut them out. Several things for you to keep in mind:

• We have a pretty good mobile QB who will be giving our defense plenty of good VY-like looks right up to game time...the defense will be prepared.

• That same defense was deemed by Oklahoma State as the best defense, top to bottom, they saw all last year, including the Oklahoma defense that shut down, and shut out, Young and company.

Texas had better bring its best game, or it'll be a long evening for the Longhorns.

 

[Zurp]

Pay Attention, because Hawk and your outstanding Linebackers will definately need practice to shut this play down...
The Zone Read....And Vince and RT, run it to perfection....

Now Texas is in trouble. "Y'all" give away your secret. Ohio State never would have known about Texas' playcalling or even who Vince Young is if you'd never posted his information on Buckeye Planet. Now it's just the matter of a simple email message to Coach Tressel......... Done. That play is now going to be accounted for in the Buckeye D.

Any more helpful hints you have for us on this message board?

 

[Taosman]

Just had to know that at some point this would deteriorate to a pissin contest! Some good interaction has occurred though!


Hay, Habanero, how do you take your eggs? Red or Green? I go for green!

 

[bukIpower]

yeah I don't think it really matters whether or not VY comes to play with RT..... bus AJ/BC/AS all will not let texas run all over them.

as for Texas having a better secondary I don't agree with that. I've read that your secondary has been getting beat decently bad this year.

Advantages OSU-Linebackers,Recievers,Secondary,Special Teams
Advantages Texas-O-Line, D-Line, QB

Wash-Running back

 

[UT1999]

not sure what you've been reading about the Texas secondary getting beat bad this year (assuming that meant 2004 season), but that really isn't true. We had a new D-Coordinator last year who had us playing a bend but don't break zone who gave up yards but not the big plays (at least until the Rose Bowl).

All of that being said that D-Coordinator is now the HC at Syracuse and we have Chizik who was at Auburn last year. Thus the secondary could be extremely tough or could have some cracks, but one thing is sure there is a lot of talent and speed in the secondary.

 

[bukIpower]

well it was something to the extent that recievers were getting deep on them... just what I think was posted about your spring game I believe? If I'm wrong them my bad....

another reason I give OSU the advantage is 3-4 starters are back..... with actually no starters are missing if you count Everett becuase he did start some last year.

 

[High Lonesome]

well it was something to the extent that recievers were getting deep on them... just what I think was posted about your spring game I believe? If I'm wrong them my bad....

another reason I give OSU the advantage is 3-4 starters are back..... with actually no starters are missing if you count Everett becuase he did start some last year.

not sure how this is an advantage, texas has 3-4 back in the secondary too. Now if you want to call it something to build on or something that makes you excited then fine, but an adavtage would be something that you have that texas doesn't.

I wonder how perfect they ran it when Oklahoma shut them out. Several things for you to keep in mind:

• We have a pretty good mobile QB who will be giving our defense plenty of good VY-like looks right up to game time...the defense will be prepared.

• That same defense was deemed by Oklahoma State as the best defense, top to bottom, they saw all last year, including the Oklahoma defense that shut down, and shut out, Young and company.

Texas had better bring its best game, or it'll be a long evening for the Longhorns.

I highly doubt(not to mention would be very critical of tressell) that troy smith will give your d looks "right up to game time". Will he play agianst your starting D in spring? absolutely. Wil he be running the scout team durring the season? I would hope that you dont put your #1/1a qb in at scout team. this is all assuming that you are talking about smith. I guess you could be referring to some redshirt guy that i dont know about, or maybe a backup reciever that you will let pretend to be vy.

Ya'll seem very prowd that osu called you the best defense that they played all year. You do realize that doesn't infer any degrees of better. You might have been the best defense that they played, but that doesnt mean that you were infinantly better than ou/texas

 

[jwinslow]

Agreed, we just were very proud of the level of defense our team closed at and that comment puffed up our chests more, for better or worse.

As for Smith, he might jus tplay with the scout team two weeks before the Texas game, as Zwick will be the starter. And from the sounds of it, all three QBs are doing well, but Zwick is pushing Smith hard in practice so it may not be quite as big of a risk to have Smith face the 1st team D. We'll see... I would bet Smith would take the challenge of prepping his defense while Zwick is still the starter (heading into the Miami game, that will be the case)...

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I think what these folks are trying to say abour our defense is:

Okie State said we were better than OU,
OU shut your Texas down,
hence, tOSU will shut Texas down.

Before you Longhorns jump on me, I am not agreeing or disagreeing with this sentiment, merely attempting to explain in one or two syllable words in order to make it more comprehensible.

 

[High Lonesome]

I think what these folks are trying to say abour our defense is:

Okie State said we were better than OU,
OU shut your Texas down,
hence, tOSU will shut Texas down.

Before you Longhorns jump on me, I am not agreeing or disagreeing with this sentiment, merely attempting to explain in one or two syllable words in order to make it more comprehensible.

Using the rrs as an example of anything doesn't hold much water in my book. There are way too many other factors besides the players on the field. Not the least of wich is the total feeling of domination that texas players have had the past 3 or so years. It is also not good when your coach comes out publicly the week of the game and says that you are going to use a conservative gameplan ( and then proceeds to do just that). I know the members of this board understand and respect the diffrences of a rivalry game.

 

[sacosud]

Go Bucks

I think Texas is the best in the Big 12 this season and I believe OSU is the best in the Big 10. I believe like I said in earlier posts this is going to be a instant classic. OSU offense reminds me alot of FSU offense the year Warrick and company won the national championship in Sugar Bowl against VT. except Smith is alot more mobile than Weinke. VY reminds me alot of Mike Vick not quite at that same level as Vick yet but close. I see alot higher score than most Buck fans but I do see OSU winning. I say get your VCR or DVD recorder ready!!!!! This is going to be one you will watch over and over again.

 

[Full Flask]

First post from this Horn, and I didn't read the whole thread, though I made it to page 25. My thoughts . . .

I think this will be a low-scoring game, something like 17-13, with the edge going to Ohio St. because of the home field. It's early, but at this point, I think y'all will and should be favored by 5-6 pts.

A lot of you seem to think your offense has turned the corner and will have too many weapons for us to handle . . . you may be right, but I suggest that you not get your hopes up too high based on two good offensive games. As we both proved, Michigan's D is hardly anything to write home about, and Okie St.'s D was just plain horrible. Up until the Michigan game last year, Ohio State has been known around the country for three years as the bet-on-the-under team . . . great defense and special teams, terrible offense.

And the defense Texas will field will be better than any you faced last year. I know we didn't do well in the Rose Bowl, and we played one terrible half against Okie St., but other than that, this was a very good defense last year. They made big plays and stepped up when it counted (2nd half against Okie St. forcing 10 straight 3 & outs) (4th quarter against Michigan). With 9 starters back (10 if you count DE Mike Williams), it will be better, even without DJ. And the kick coverage that plagued us in the Rose Bowl has been maybe the #1 priority of the offseason, so you know it will be better. This unit was ranked higher than y'all by one spot in scoring defense last year (18 vs. 19), so we can play some D, too.

My worries are on the offensive side. Greg Davis' offenses have flopped time and time again in big games against good defenses (see OU 2000-2004). And I think this is a very bad matchup for us. We will have someone come through at RB, don't doubt that for a minute. Selvin Young is just one possiblity. We are loaded with young talent at the position, and with so many options, someone will step up. And our OL is going to be one of the best in football. But from reading on here, it seems that the weakness of your D is a lack of a 2nd good CB, and a lack of a good pass rush from the DE position. I don't have a whole lot of faith in Young's ability to exploit that weakness, even though our receivers should be improved. Our bread 'n butter zone read rushing attack plays right into your strength which is the LB's and S's.

We do have some other weapons, though, and I think we need to run a lot of misdirection to use your team's speed against you. Despite the rawness of the skill players, this will be the fastest offense Texas has ever fielded. Vince Young, Ramonce Taylor, Jamaal Charles, Quan Cosby, Jordan Shipley . . . all those guys have the speed to take one the distance any time they touch it. Since I think we will have trouble sustaining long drives against you, to have a shot, we are going to need some big plays, and luckily we have some guys who should be able to do just that.

We are going to have to open it up and take some chances on O or we will get shut out like against OU, but Vince seems to make a couple of throws every game, e.g. forcing it downfield into triple coverage, that make you just shake your head and wonder what the hell is he thinking? . . . and if he starts throwing interceptions, it could be a long day.
____________
2004 Fun Stat
Ohio State Offense: 320.8 yds./game
Ohio State Defense: 332.0 yds./game

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Full Flask, welcome to the board, and great objective first post. I do have a couple minor disagreements:

1. I would think that OSU will score more than 17 points...maybe not a lot more, but I doubt seriously we'll be kept under 20.

2. I don't think we'll be favored by 5-6 points. I think that since Texas will most likely be ranked higher in the polls, we won't be favored by more than 3 points, if we're even favored.

 

[zincfinger]

2004 Fun Stat
Ohio State Offense: 320.8 yds./game
Ohio State Defense: 332.0 yds./game

Flask, you have a different definition of fun than I do.

A lot of you seem to think your offense has turned the corner and will have too many weapons for us to handle

I've got one major question as to whether this will be true, and it's the O-line. A lot of Bucks fans are pretty confident about the O-line this year, and that's based on the fact that it finished strong last year, as well as the fact that good things are being said about spring practice. After a mostly lackluster season, the line played a great game against Michigan, dominated OK St., and everyone's returning. This has happened before, though. The problem I have is that I've had the same feeling for the past couple of years, and it hasn't panned out yet. I was dead sure that our '03 line was going to dominate, with big seniors across the board. But they were decent at best, and half of that line started or saw significant PT in the NFL last year. But at least they finished with a dominating performance against K. St. That and the fact that it was now a "Tressel recruited line", thought to mean more agile and athletic, led to the belief that we'd have a very good line in '04. Didn't really happen. I'm hopeful that the line this year will be good to great, based on the assumption that the Tressel O-line recruits needed most of a season to mature. But that's the key to me, and I think it's still a little bit of a question. If the O-line is better than it has been in recent years, our offense will be very difficult to stop, even for a top-quality defense. If the O-line runs through 80% of the season as decent-at-best again, well, the offense will go the same way.

Ohio State has been known around the country for three years as the bet-on-the-under team . . . great defense

Kind of the same situation on defense. Our defense was not especially great for much of last year, and it was because of the D-line. The previous two years, I'd agree with you, but that perception of stifling defense wasn't really accurate for much of last year. For next year, I think our secondary's going to be fine, and our linebacking corps. speaks for itself. Rush end aside, there were games last year where our D-line got no push at all, and was not especially strong against the run. I fully expect that to be better this year, and it did improve toward the end of the year last year. But D-line, and not just a rush end, has to show major improvement relative to last year as a whole, if our defense is going to be better than just pretty good.