1. WHO'S YOUR DADDY?
There we were, on the road in an environment so hostile even the officials were unable to function. Facing the #14 team in the country, led by an experienced quarterback - something we haven't done all season in case you haven't heard. Our first road test of the season (according to Corso), a game we are picked to lose (according to Mark - can somebody please hold this jerk accountable for what he says - May). Do we have a chance? Can we pull it off? Can we make a statement?
Hell yeah!
That, ladies and gentlemen, was a good old fashioned butt whipping. Forget that the score was close from time to time. OSU was in control from the opening play. They played fearless, composed, mistake free, intimidating football. They played like champions. Only 22 days from the day they made a statement in Austin (doesn't it seem like forever ago?) they put an exclamation point behind it in Iowa City. And thus they completed what must be the greatest September in the history of OSU football. Those three dates we all circled and highlighted (Texas, PSU, Iowa) are now written over with large red W's.
Only a few short months ago I was looking at pre-season projections and wondering how anyone could have us rated #1 (unlike Notre Dame fans who would have been asking why they weren't rated higher). Surely there were good teams that returned a solid offense AND an experienced D. Well darned if those pollsters don't know what they are about. So pull out your Big Ten standings and notice the bottom five teams in the league. That, plus one school from the MAC, is your schedule between now and November 18th. For the next 6 weeks we continue to collect "lap leader" money and practice for Michigan.
It is a good time to be a Buckeye.
2. GONZILLA
I thought "the catch" against Michigan was one for the ages - till last night. I have now watched that play 10 times, half of them in slow mo. On his first cut he made three tacklers whiff. Then he ran through a group of four before Hartline threw "The Block". In case you didn't notice, Hartline knocked #99 (a DE) into #47 (a DT), knocking #47 (Iowa's player of the game according to ABC) to the ground.
If you want to make a killing in the market this week buy stock in the company that sells those tents Gonzilla is sleeping in.
3. OFFICIATING
Let's get it out of the way. I have never complained about officiating in one of these threads. I am not really complaining now. I am just dumbfounded.
For starters, there were ZERO penalties against Iowa. None. Nada. Despite all the pressure on the only experienced quarterback OSU has played so far - Iowa never held. They did not pull Gonzilla's jersey on third down to stop our second drive. They did not trip Ginn to stop a later drive. They did not tackle Pittman three steps out of bounds. They were flawless.
But my favorite sequence came with back to back plays in the first quarter. First Washington held the Iowa receiver on a call that sustained their first scoring drive. Well, he might not actually have held him - but he wanted to. You could tell by the look in his eyes. Good refs see that stuff. Then the only experienced quarterback we have played so far managed to execute a throwing motion without moving his arm forward. Again, it may not look like he was throwing the ball, but he wanted to. The refs knew.
But the refs on the field couldn't touch the guys in the replay booth. Under NFL rules no coach would have challenged Ginn's catch. But these guys actually found grounds to overturn it. Maybe they got confused about the distinction between an incompletion and a fumble, or perhaps they missed the rule about the ground not causing a fumble, or that hitting a guy after he hits the ground can't cause a fumble.
But the real evidence that the refs were off is that OSU played almost flawless football as well. Other than the Washington phantom call we had procedure on a kickoff and a late delay of game. Even Boone wasn't whistled for anything. Sorry, no way.
OK. Sometimes refs get tight. They are afraid to make a call because they don't want to "decide the game". The way I though it worked was the refs enforced the rules. If they don't make calls that is when they are deciding the game. Fortunately it didn't matter. But if it had we would all be whining like Oklahoma school girls.
Oh, and Hall moved early on his TD catch. But he didn't mean to - so it was a good "no call".
4. MISLEADING STAT OF THE WEEK
No matter how bad JT whips you he always leaves something on the table that makes it look like he didn't. This week it was "Average Yards Per Play" - normally a pretty meaningful stat.
Iowa 5.6
OSU 5.4
Yeah, that's the game I saw.
5. KUDOS TO KINNICK
That was the most hostile looking environment I have ever seen on TV. The sense of color - all that yellow (oops, I mean gold) - was quite imposing - even more so than last year's White-Out (now available in every color of the rainbow at a stadium near you).
And they stayed with it pretty good as well - considering. They even got back up for the fourth quarter as though the outcome was as yet undetermined.
Loved Ginn's quote that the yellow actually helped OSU because it made things brighter - he was afraid they would all wear black. Such a kidder.
Too bad ABC never showed the back of those yellow shirts. They had a drawing of an Iowa cheerleader bent over JTs knee with her skirt up. Beneath it read "We Got Spanked by the Buckeyes".
And by the way, where were the OSU faithful? I found it hard to accept that OSU had turned back part of our 4,000 tickets, but the streaks of yellow amidst our scarlet indicate it might have been so.
And speaking of hostile environments. I watched USC struggle a bit yesterday before pulling one out on the road against Washington St. So I was wondering, when does USC get the benefit of urine bags and penny-filled-marshmallows in Madison? When do they get to listen to the lion roar in Happy Valley? Where in the entire PAC-10 conference do they put on a show like they did in Kinnick? Or is it nothing but fast tracks and attentive, but quietly respectful, crowds?
And finally, I am very disappointed in ABC. I was OK that you made us watch Alford. I was even alright with your story about the Iowa fan stealing Woody's hat. But after our late TD why couldn't you have kept the camera on all those long faces. Those were priceless. That is why you play road games.
6. KUDOS TO THE FIRST EXPERIENCED QUARTERBACK WE HAVE FACED ALL YEAR
A less experienced QB would have thrown more than three interceptions (after all Mitchell was within a hair of two more).
I love it when teams say the other team didn't beat them - that they beat themselves by committing turnovers and missing receivers. It's called DEFENSE. Not having time to throw. Good coverage. Receivers thinking about the last hit they took.
7. KEITH BYERS II?
I hope I am wrong. Both OSU and ND are coming up on the "soft" portions of their schedules. Playing under CW Quinn is a lock to put up huge numbers. Lots of yards and bunches of TDs. Playing Tressel-ball the same is not likely to happen for Troy.
Yesterday may be the template for these next few weeks. ND scores 35 points and Quinn throws 38 times for 316 yards. OSU scores 38 points and Smith throws 25 times for 186 yards. As the scores get more lopsided it is likely that Quinn's numbers go up as Smith's level off.
But who commands a field better than Troy Smith? He was not intimated by Kinnick - he OWNED it. If the Heisman is about numbers and media hoopla it is Quinn's. If it is about champions it is Troy's.
8. MEANINGFUL STAT OF THE WEEK
Time of possession.
If you have the ball for 5:33 in any given quarter you are not doing well. Iowa had the ball for 5:33 in the SECOND HALF. They had ONE possession in the third quarter. You don't spot OSU 11 points and then give them the ball for an extra 19 MINUTES in the second half and do particularly well.
9. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
OK, so it is 4th and 6 at the Iowa 34. Less than 10 minutes in the game and we are up 14. And Brent Musburger says; "Interesting call coming up for Jim Tressel. Do you think he will punt"?
WTF? It isn't like he has never covered a JT game before. You gotta start laying off the juice Brent.
10. RUNNING BACKS
Finally, Jonathan Wells has his breakout game. And who knew about the hands? Well, make that "hand". This kid will be better than Pittman - but not yet. Pitt is still the man. He chewed up Iowa when they were fresh and took the hard hits late when everybody knew we were going off tackle. Hell of a one-two punch.
11. NOTABLE PLAYS
The Ginn fumble recovery. I don't know if the outcome of the game could have been changed, but if anything could have, a fumble on your first play from scrimmage deep in your own territory might have been it. As it were the recovery was more the way the receiver tumbles than a great play by Ginn.
The Gholston clothesline. I will have to check with Grad on this one, but I don't think one arm neck high is the preferred tackling technique. That WAS a great play.
12. KUDOS TO COACH HEACOCK
Tell me again what the weakness of this team is supposed to be? I don't think it was supposed to be the lack of a return game (you are trying too hard Teddy) or a QB who has trouble running the ball effectively. Wasn't it something about an inexperienced D?
Last week 3 of our top 5 tacklers were DL. This week there were no DL in our top 6 tacklers. Why? Because our defense does what it needs to do. They give up plays and yards, but they stop you and control the game. For the most part Iowa moved the ball in the way that our game plan allowed for them to move the ball. You did it Mr. Heacock. You brought these kids together and got them through the toughest part of the schedule looking like world beaters. And we have six weeks to work out any kinks.
And how bad is it to lose a safety who came in as the #84 rated RB in the country and have to replace him with a kid who was recruited as the #3 CB? Or have a former walk on lead you in tackles? In case you missed it Jim Tressel is now winning without the talent that John Cooper recruited.
13. BEATING THE ODDS
If I had mortgaged my house and invested everything in Enron at just the right minute and then sold it at just the right minute as well, I would be quite wealthy. But I was never much of an investor and never much of a fan of Enron.
However, if I had bet $20 on OSU to beat MSU against the spread last year, placed my winnings on OSU to win against the spread the following week, and continued the process through last night - I would now have an amount just shy of $41,000.
If the bookies are doing their job, beating the spread 12 straight times is like correctly calling heads in 12 straight coin tosses.
14. TRESSEL BALL QUIZ
We have all seen it now for 5 plus years. We know how it works. Get up in the first half and run out the clock in the second. So here is a question to see if you really know how Tressel-Ball works.
There are less than 5 minutes remaining. It is 3rd and 8 at the 12 yard line. You are up 14 points and playing on the road. Do you:
A. Run the ball to the middle of the field to keep the clock moving and set up for a chip shot field goal that will put you up by three scores?
B. Throw into the end zone?
If you answered "A" you understand Tressel ball like everyone else - except Jim Tressel. Maybe I owe Brent an apology.
There we were, on the road in an environment so hostile even the officials were unable to function. Facing the #14 team in the country, led by an experienced quarterback - something we haven't done all season in case you haven't heard. Our first road test of the season (according to Corso), a game we are picked to lose (according to Mark - can somebody please hold this jerk accountable for what he says - May). Do we have a chance? Can we pull it off? Can we make a statement?
Hell yeah!
That, ladies and gentlemen, was a good old fashioned butt whipping. Forget that the score was close from time to time. OSU was in control from the opening play. They played fearless, composed, mistake free, intimidating football. They played like champions. Only 22 days from the day they made a statement in Austin (doesn't it seem like forever ago?) they put an exclamation point behind it in Iowa City. And thus they completed what must be the greatest September in the history of OSU football. Those three dates we all circled and highlighted (Texas, PSU, Iowa) are now written over with large red W's.
Only a few short months ago I was looking at pre-season projections and wondering how anyone could have us rated #1 (unlike Notre Dame fans who would have been asking why they weren't rated higher). Surely there were good teams that returned a solid offense AND an experienced D. Well darned if those pollsters don't know what they are about. So pull out your Big Ten standings and notice the bottom five teams in the league. That, plus one school from the MAC, is your schedule between now and November 18th. For the next 6 weeks we continue to collect "lap leader" money and practice for Michigan.
It is a good time to be a Buckeye.
2. GONZILLA
I thought "the catch" against Michigan was one for the ages - till last night. I have now watched that play 10 times, half of them in slow mo. On his first cut he made three tacklers whiff. Then he ran through a group of four before Hartline threw "The Block". In case you didn't notice, Hartline knocked #99 (a DE) into #47 (a DT), knocking #47 (Iowa's player of the game according to ABC) to the ground.
If you want to make a killing in the market this week buy stock in the company that sells those tents Gonzilla is sleeping in.
3. OFFICIATING
Let's get it out of the way. I have never complained about officiating in one of these threads. I am not really complaining now. I am just dumbfounded.
For starters, there were ZERO penalties against Iowa. None. Nada. Despite all the pressure on the only experienced quarterback OSU has played so far - Iowa never held. They did not pull Gonzilla's jersey on third down to stop our second drive. They did not trip Ginn to stop a later drive. They did not tackle Pittman three steps out of bounds. They were flawless.
But my favorite sequence came with back to back plays in the first quarter. First Washington held the Iowa receiver on a call that sustained their first scoring drive. Well, he might not actually have held him - but he wanted to. You could tell by the look in his eyes. Good refs see that stuff. Then the only experienced quarterback we have played so far managed to execute a throwing motion without moving his arm forward. Again, it may not look like he was throwing the ball, but he wanted to. The refs knew.
But the refs on the field couldn't touch the guys in the replay booth. Under NFL rules no coach would have challenged Ginn's catch. But these guys actually found grounds to overturn it. Maybe they got confused about the distinction between an incompletion and a fumble, or perhaps they missed the rule about the ground not causing a fumble, or that hitting a guy after he hits the ground can't cause a fumble.
But the real evidence that the refs were off is that OSU played almost flawless football as well. Other than the Washington phantom call we had procedure on a kickoff and a late delay of game. Even Boone wasn't whistled for anything. Sorry, no way.
OK. Sometimes refs get tight. They are afraid to make a call because they don't want to "decide the game". The way I though it worked was the refs enforced the rules. If they don't make calls that is when they are deciding the game. Fortunately it didn't matter. But if it had we would all be whining like Oklahoma school girls.
Oh, and Hall moved early on his TD catch. But he didn't mean to - so it was a good "no call".
4. MISLEADING STAT OF THE WEEK
No matter how bad JT whips you he always leaves something on the table that makes it look like he didn't. This week it was "Average Yards Per Play" - normally a pretty meaningful stat.
Iowa 5.6
OSU 5.4
Yeah, that's the game I saw.
5. KUDOS TO KINNICK
That was the most hostile looking environment I have ever seen on TV. The sense of color - all that yellow (oops, I mean gold) - was quite imposing - even more so than last year's White-Out (now available in every color of the rainbow at a stadium near you).
And they stayed with it pretty good as well - considering. They even got back up for the fourth quarter as though the outcome was as yet undetermined.
Loved Ginn's quote that the yellow actually helped OSU because it made things brighter - he was afraid they would all wear black. Such a kidder.
Too bad ABC never showed the back of those yellow shirts. They had a drawing of an Iowa cheerleader bent over JTs knee with her skirt up. Beneath it read "We Got Spanked by the Buckeyes".
And by the way, where were the OSU faithful? I found it hard to accept that OSU had turned back part of our 4,000 tickets, but the streaks of yellow amidst our scarlet indicate it might have been so.
And speaking of hostile environments. I watched USC struggle a bit yesterday before pulling one out on the road against Washington St. So I was wondering, when does USC get the benefit of urine bags and penny-filled-marshmallows in Madison? When do they get to listen to the lion roar in Happy Valley? Where in the entire PAC-10 conference do they put on a show like they did in Kinnick? Or is it nothing but fast tracks and attentive, but quietly respectful, crowds?
And finally, I am very disappointed in ABC. I was OK that you made us watch Alford. I was even alright with your story about the Iowa fan stealing Woody's hat. But after our late TD why couldn't you have kept the camera on all those long faces. Those were priceless. That is why you play road games.
6. KUDOS TO THE FIRST EXPERIENCED QUARTERBACK WE HAVE FACED ALL YEAR
A less experienced QB would have thrown more than three interceptions (after all Mitchell was within a hair of two more).
I love it when teams say the other team didn't beat them - that they beat themselves by committing turnovers and missing receivers. It's called DEFENSE. Not having time to throw. Good coverage. Receivers thinking about the last hit they took.
7. KEITH BYERS II?
I hope I am wrong. Both OSU and ND are coming up on the "soft" portions of their schedules. Playing under CW Quinn is a lock to put up huge numbers. Lots of yards and bunches of TDs. Playing Tressel-ball the same is not likely to happen for Troy.
Yesterday may be the template for these next few weeks. ND scores 35 points and Quinn throws 38 times for 316 yards. OSU scores 38 points and Smith throws 25 times for 186 yards. As the scores get more lopsided it is likely that Quinn's numbers go up as Smith's level off.
But who commands a field better than Troy Smith? He was not intimated by Kinnick - he OWNED it. If the Heisman is about numbers and media hoopla it is Quinn's. If it is about champions it is Troy's.
8. MEANINGFUL STAT OF THE WEEK
Time of possession.
If you have the ball for 5:33 in any given quarter you are not doing well. Iowa had the ball for 5:33 in the SECOND HALF. They had ONE possession in the third quarter. You don't spot OSU 11 points and then give them the ball for an extra 19 MINUTES in the second half and do particularly well.
9. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
OK, so it is 4th and 6 at the Iowa 34. Less than 10 minutes in the game and we are up 14. And Brent Musburger says; "Interesting call coming up for Jim Tressel. Do you think he will punt"?
WTF? It isn't like he has never covered a JT game before. You gotta start laying off the juice Brent.
10. RUNNING BACKS
Finally, Jonathan Wells has his breakout game. And who knew about the hands? Well, make that "hand". This kid will be better than Pittman - but not yet. Pitt is still the man. He chewed up Iowa when they were fresh and took the hard hits late when everybody knew we were going off tackle. Hell of a one-two punch.
11. NOTABLE PLAYS
The Ginn fumble recovery. I don't know if the outcome of the game could have been changed, but if anything could have, a fumble on your first play from scrimmage deep in your own territory might have been it. As it were the recovery was more the way the receiver tumbles than a great play by Ginn.
The Gholston clothesline. I will have to check with Grad on this one, but I don't think one arm neck high is the preferred tackling technique. That WAS a great play.
12. KUDOS TO COACH HEACOCK
Tell me again what the weakness of this team is supposed to be? I don't think it was supposed to be the lack of a return game (you are trying too hard Teddy) or a QB who has trouble running the ball effectively. Wasn't it something about an inexperienced D?
Last week 3 of our top 5 tacklers were DL. This week there were no DL in our top 6 tacklers. Why? Because our defense does what it needs to do. They give up plays and yards, but they stop you and control the game. For the most part Iowa moved the ball in the way that our game plan allowed for them to move the ball. You did it Mr. Heacock. You brought these kids together and got them through the toughest part of the schedule looking like world beaters. And we have six weeks to work out any kinks.
And how bad is it to lose a safety who came in as the #84 rated RB in the country and have to replace him with a kid who was recruited as the #3 CB? Or have a former walk on lead you in tackles? In case you missed it Jim Tressel is now winning without the talent that John Cooper recruited.
13. BEATING THE ODDS
If I had mortgaged my house and invested everything in Enron at just the right minute and then sold it at just the right minute as well, I would be quite wealthy. But I was never much of an investor and never much of a fan of Enron.
However, if I had bet $20 on OSU to beat MSU against the spread last year, placed my winnings on OSU to win against the spread the following week, and continued the process through last night - I would now have an amount just shy of $41,000.
If the bookies are doing their job, beating the spread 12 straight times is like correctly calling heads in 12 straight coin tosses.
14. TRESSEL BALL QUIZ
We have all seen it now for 5 plus years. We know how it works. Get up in the first half and run out the clock in the second. So here is a question to see if you really know how Tressel-Ball works.
There are less than 5 minutes remaining. It is 3rd and 8 at the 12 yard line. You are up 14 points and playing on the road. Do you:
A. Run the ball to the middle of the field to keep the clock moving and set up for a chip shot field goal that will put you up by three scores?
B. Throw into the end zone?
If you answered "A" you understand Tressel ball like everyone else - except Jim Tressel. Maybe I owe Brent an apology.
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.....
Now's the time to begin preparation for Michigan, as well as start to work on playing time for our Buckeyes who are going to take over next year (and keep our starters from getting too banged up and hurt).
) and therefore miss the other 3 hours of comments where he praises OSU. He jammed OSU down the throats of ND fans during the entire fiesta bowl, and was certainly complimentary yesterday.