Yertle;612017; said:
I didn't know where to put this, so I figured I'd start a new thread...
It seems that over the past few seasons, the Buckeyes don't seem to get the holding calls that they deserve. I remember making a stink (i.e. bitching) about it during the 2002 season, and sometimes I feel like I haven't stopped complaining about it since. Gohlstin, Patterson, and Pitcock were tackled on numerous plays this past weekend without flags. I don't get it. Anyways, that brings me to my question:
What's going on with the OSU holding calls (multiple choice)?
1. This a result of me being unable to take off my scarley glasses. All fans moan about their d-linemen getting held on almost every play. By the way, I was watching the MNF game last night with a Steelers fan (I know, I know, but he's still a friend...) and he sounded a lot like I do.
2. Refs tend to let things slide a little more when a d-line is dominating an o-line. It seems that since 2002, Ohio State has had very quick DE's, which can obviously lead to "take downs" by offensive tackles.
3. In an attempt to speed up and add offense to the game, the officials are calling less holding across the board.
4. This all just part of my imagination.
Leaving the narrow issue of holding aside, I did some general research on OSU and OSU opponents' penalties since 2001 (when Coach Tressel took over the program). The penalty ("P") numbers, penalty yards ("Y"), and penalty yards per game ("PYPG"), including bowl games are as follows:
2001: OSU: 68P/551PY/45.9PYPG - OSU Opp. 61P/437PY/36.4PYPG
2002: OSU: 76P/571PY/40.8PYPG - OSU Opp. 66P/561PY/40.1PYPG
2003: OSU: 93P/799PY/61.5 PYPG - OSU Opp. 82P/565PYPG/43.5PYPG
2004: OSU: 71P/537PY/44.8PYPG - OSU Opp. 72P/548PY/45.7PYPG
2005: OSU: 65P/578PY/48.2PYPG - OSU Opp. 59P/425PY/35.4PYPG
2006 9/20: OSU: 19P/170PY/56.7PYPG - OSU Opp. 14P/102PY/34.0 PYPG.
The OSU average per season for 2001-2005 is: 74.6P/607.2PY/48.24 PYPG (The PYPG isn't precisely accurate because I just averaged the seasonal PYPG numbers w/o weighting seasons according to the number of games played. Still, it should be pretty close)
The OSU Opp. average per season for 2001-2005 is: 68P/507.2PY/40.22 PYPG (With the same accuracy disclaimer for the PYPG).
I got or derived the statistics above from the official OSU AD website. I also checked out the NCAA's penalty rankings by fewest number of penalties called against a team for OSU for the Tressel era (through 2005). I did not do this by yards because the NCAA statistics don't include bowl games. The numbers are as follows:
2001: 18th
2002: 20th
2003: 76th
2004: 37th
2005: 18th
Observations based on the numbers:
1. Under Coach Tressel, OSU has consistently incurred more penalties than its opponents. OSU has had more penalties and more penalty yards than its opponents in four out of the five full years of the Tressel era and is on pace to do so again in 2006. For those who might think that Coach Tressel needs to impose more discipline, however, it is important to note that OSU has placed in the top third of NCAA programs in fewest penalties committed in four of Coach Tressel's five full years (and has placed in the top fifth three of the five years). Since OSU's opponents have consistently been penalized even less than OSU over that same period, it seems clear that the perception among some OSU fans that OSU opponents don't get many penalties called against them is an accurate one.
2. With the exception of 2003, OSU's penalty numbers have been remarkably consistent (65-76P/537-578PPY/40.8-48.2PYPG). While the 2003 team always claimed that the then-full blooming Clarett fiasco wasn't a distraction, the high outlier 2003 penalty numbers suggest that perhaps it was. Alternatively or in conjunction, perhaps the negative media coverage that year affected officials at a subconscious level or Will Smith's apparent mission to commit more obvious personal fouls than Bill Laimbeer that year was sufficient to skew the numbers.
3. While I didn't include the number above, the perception among many OSU and other Big Ten fans that Michigan "gets the calls" appears to have some merit. UM's rankings in the NCAA's "fewest penalties against" statistic are:
2001: 13
2002: 12
2003: 7
2004: 11
2005: 1
I'm too lazy to look up UM opponents' penalty statistics, but I'll give greenies to anyone who does so and posts them here.
More general b.s. observations:
1. Although the numbers support the conclusion that OSU "doesn't get the penalty calls" on opponents that it deserves, it seems possible that the relatively predictable nature of the OSU offense and bend don't break rather than gambling philosophy of the defense over much of the sample period may have tended to induce fewer mental errors (note also the few turnovers forced by the OSU defense in 2004 and 2005) by opponents than might otherwise be the case. Of course, the early 2006 evidence doesn't seem to support this hypothesis.
2. Re: holding, my b.s. observation is that it seems almost impossible for an OSU DL to get a holding call against the offense. Watch the first play of the NIU game for an example. On the outside, however, it seems that officials are better at picking up on holding, and I do think that OSU DB's get away with quite a bit of hand checking in pass coverage (the absurd 2003 NCSU game notwithstanding). Overall, the Big Ten just seems to let the interior holding go, but it is damn frustrating when OSU typically has a strong DL. I think Pitcock's been tackled in the open field more than TGII and Gonzo combined this year.