• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

It's going to be USC, whats everyones thoughts?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
Buckeye86;670648; said:
I wonder which game film Tressel and the other coaches are studying right now? You gotta figure all of this extra time we get to prepare has to be a big advantage (not to mention all the extra tickets our fans our buying right now).
Click to expand...

Speaking of that when does bowl practice start? Is it safe to assume that we are preparing for USC as early as tomorrow?

Sorry if thats a stupid question.
 
Upvote 0
scarletandgrey11's breakdown was excellent...it's hard to add much to that.

Any analysis that includes results from previous years is pure ESPiN nonsense. Reggie Bush is wearing a Saints uni, and Leinart is playing in Phoenix. This is a VERY different team.

I point out those two positions, because that's where I think two of their more serious weaknesses lie -- Booty is a decent QB, but he can be rattled and may not handle the pressure of a NC game well. Hit him early, hit him hard and hit him often.

USC also doesn't have a run threat that you have to focus on. This will allow us to drop the safeties deep to help out with Jarrett and Smith.

What impressed me greatly is their speed at linebacker. USC pursues well, though I thought their tackling at times was suspect. I haven't read the measurables, but their DL didn't look big to me either. If Beanie is holding on to the ball, I think that he would make for a fine battering ram. We also tend to underrate Pittman's physicality, and I think he'll lay some hits out on USC defenders.

USC's safeties are hitters as well -- I like the idea of getting our more physical receivers, like Hall and Hartline up against those guys, or if we're lucky, our tight ends.

After seeing Tressel's game plan to dismantle the scUM D, I'm excited to see what he's going to cook up. There are matchups that we can take advantage of, so it should be a fun game.
 
Upvote 0
Several folks have mentioned Quinn's 70+ yards rushing...keep in mind that 60 came on one broken play where no one was in the secondary once Quinn escaped past the LOS. I'm not saying that Troy can't inflict damage with his feet, but let's keep Quinn's rushing total in perspective.
 
Upvote 0
MililaniBuckeye;670676; said:
Several folks have mentioned Quinn's 70+ yards rushing...keep in mind that 60 came on one broken play where no one was in the secondary once Quinn escaped past the LOS. I'm not saying that Troy can't inflict damage with his feet, but let's keep Quinn's rushing total in perspective.
Click to expand...
QFT. that run was hilarious... BQ was totally gassed at the end.
 
Upvote 0
While Washington and Gable aren't Bush and White, they still present a very credible rushing attack behind a powerful OL lead by All-American Sam Baker. Underestimating SC's rushing attack would be a mistake. Stopping SC's offense starts with stopping the run. If you force SC to be one dimensional, you can force Booty to make mistakes or at least limit big plays from Jarrett/Smith.

SC's strength on defense is the versatility of their players. Mays, Ellison, Sartz are all LBer/safety hybrids who can provide excellent coverage and hit like a ton. The Thomas kid may be the best corner we face all year, and that includes the Davis kid from Illinois. The DL is their weakness. I suspect that Tressel will start the game trying to pound USC up their guts. We have the backs to wear them out.
 
Upvote 0
MililaniBuckeye;670676; said:
Several folks have mentioned Quinn's 70+ yards rushing...keep in mind that 60 came on one broken play where no one was in the secondary once Quinn escaped past the LOS. I'm not saying that Troy can't inflict damage with his feet, but let's keep Quinn's rushing total in perspective.
Click to expand...
after the play, a guy- not an Ohio State fan- turned to me and said, "Troy Smith would have scored." :biggrin:
 
Upvote 0
MililaniBuckeye;670676; said:
Several folks have mentioned Quinn's 70+ yards rushing...keep in mind that 60 came on one broken play where no one was in the secondary once Quinn escaped past the LOS. I'm not saying that Troy can't inflict damage with his feet, but let's keep Quinn's rushing total in perspective.
Click to expand...
Did you see the game? I was surprised at how easily Quinn was able to roam at times.

He escaped up the middle a few times, and eluded the USC LBs outside the pocket a few other times. It surprised me given the speed & hype for the SC defenders.
 
Upvote 0
Not so fast...

USC had a very rocky mid-season. USC had close wins against Washington, Wash St, and Arizona St. After the West coast OSU beat them, USC has dominated every team since. They man handled Cal and ND. They are much improved as the season has gone on. Also, "Tricky Pete" is an awesome game day coach as well as "D" coordinator as is JT. Pete is allot better game day coach than LLLLLoyd Carr. Give Pete 30 plus days to scheme a "D" to play against us could be a problem. OSU will have to execute JT's plan without error because "Tricky Pete" will be doing same. Both teams have excellent athletes and star players its going to boil down to which team executes the game plan better and turn overs. All in all, I'll give the edge to OSU and JT and our Heisman QB TS. :biggrin:
 
Upvote 0
Brady Quinn rushed many a play last night in which there was no reason to rush. It seemed as though he didn't quite have the pocket presence that a senior "Heisman candidate" should have. There was an initial rush, but once that was eluded, he had time to find the play. He just didn't on many occasions. That bodes well for Troy. I think playing with the ND offense last night, in the exact same situations, Troy would have matched USC score-for-score, and definitely would have capitalized on the momentum swing of those two first-half turnovers.

Of course, I also noticed that Weis is horrible at calling run plays. 3rd and 1, he called an option pitch to Walker that started six yards behind the line. And this when he had every intention of going for it on fourth down regardless! Weis was horrible last night. The running game was solid all night, and he only occasionally utilized it, and that often with draws.

USC is solid, but unthreatening. Even with a few big plays by Smith or Jarrett, Ohio State is ahead of the curve on everything else.
 
Upvote 0
USC v. OSU

USC certainly has incredible talent on their team. They kind of sleep their way through the Pac 10 though and get away with poor execution and some bad decisions. The Pac 10 is not a good conference these days, but SC still has world class talent. That lack of challenge and disparity hurts SC in close tough championship games.

OSU also has great talent and plays more disciplined football on both sides ofthe ball. They've beaten some very good football teams and played some very good football as a team.

That being said, either one of the teams could come into the game flat or not on all cylinders. You may give SC the emotional edge because they lost the national championship last year on a close one. I give OSU an edge with the sheer gritty leadership of Troy Smith.

If both teams come in rolling, I say Ohio State by 10 to 14. If SC plays like they did all season, the game won't be close...OSU. If SC's hot and OSU's not (for some odd reason that I don't think is possible) SC will win but I can't predict the score. I can't see a Jim Tressel team ever getting blown out. But if SC's really hot and we're not I can't see it any other way. 8(

Let's hope that JT can keep the team's collective focus together and the Bucks come out glorious. Not that it's not already been a great year, but another championship would just be glorious.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top