1. IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE
The more I think about this game the more impressed I am. We made a lot of mistakes. We came close to a lot more. And if you look at the stats - first downs, total yardage - it looks much closer than the score. But the truth is it was not nearly as close as the score.
We manhandled the Huskies. We did it with speed and athleticism and a team that is far from reaching its potential. And we traveled cross country into a very hostile environment to do so. We are not yet in the same class with USC or LSU or Florida. But we are going to be a very good football team.
Just keep that in mind as we go back to playing to the level of our opponents against teams that lost to Duke and Florida Atlantic.
2. DEFENSIVE SPEED
If there were any questions on how fast this defense is (and there are not) they should have been answered by how clearly Washington wanted to work the edges and how quickly they gave up.
3. TRESSEL BALL
I have watched enough of Jim Tressel to have a feel for when a game is in hand - or so it seems. I felt that way Saturday. Even when we went down 7-3 at the half I felt that JT was doing the things he wanted to do. There were just a few too many mistakes. Give it time - and in particular let the conditioning and depth take their toll - and we would be fine. Even if it ended up 10-7 it just had that feel. JT has more in his back pocket. Won't use it if he doesn't have to. But it is there.
Wasn't always that way. Under Coop if we got behind I was cussing and throwing things. Early days with JT it was the same. But now I seem to be picking up on his calm. It isn't always there - and we don't always win. But there are some games - most in fact - where you just know it is under control.
Am I alone?
4. BEANIE
There have been 150 games in OSU history in which a rusher has gained 138 or more yards. Seems like a lot.
But OSU has played 1143 games. So that 150 works out to just over 13% - or roughly one in 8. Beanie has just put two of those back to back - in his 2nd and 3rd starts. And he didn't play in the last 12 minutes of the game.
If Beanie weren't here I would be arguing that Saine might become our best running back since Eddie George. Instead he might be the second best on this team.
Let's just hope he doesn't obliterate himself by running as strongly as he does.
5. OL
Oh yeah.
6. STUPID DVR
I love college football. Can't get enough of it. That is why I like to record the games I can't watch live. But there is a problem.
The way my DVR works you type in what you are looking for and a list pops up as you type. My problem is that as soon as I type "C - O" my list comes up with a bunch of programs titled "Co-ed Nymphs".
Three weeks into the season and I haven't recorded a game yet.
7. CLOCK MANAGEMENT AND KARMA
Thought I knew a little about clock management until today. .
I know how JT does it. Get the lead and run the darn thing.
But Ty - he taught me some lessons. Trying to score at the end of the half and finds himself with two time outs and 9 seconds left - calling one of those TOs with the clock stopped. Granted, it worked. He got the TD on second down - but had he failed there was no choice but a FG where he could easily have had time for at least one more play had he called the TO earlier and more traditionally. But what do I know?
Then, with the game out of hand he milks the clock like he is one point down and playing for the NC. He gets a late TD and then onside kicks in a situation where getting the ball still would not have changed the outcome. Finally he calls his last TO with 51 seconds left, the ball in OSUs hands and absolutely no way to get it back. But it worked again - giving Saine just the time he needed to score from 37 yards out yards out.
TDs in the last three seconds of each half - all courtesy of Ty.
I love Karma.
8. HEY NOTRE DAME FANS!!!
How many batteries does it take to beat Notre Dame?
One - if it is a CR2032.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...m-cr2032.jpg/150px-Battery-lithium-cr2032.jpg
The world is laughing at you.
This is NOT rebuilding. Honest. Nobody rebuilds like this. MAC schools don't rebuild like this. This is catastrophic incompetence. You have players. Lots of 'em. They are pretty much all legitimate Div 1A recruits. So why do you insist on giving Charlie Tuna a pass?
You wouldn't do it for a classy black man. Why this arrogant jerk? Because of the myth of his offensive genius?
You are reaching historic lows for your program. Absolutely any other coach would be vilified if, in the third year of their program, they put this putrid excuse for a team on the field. Yet you calmly repeat the "next year" mantra and talk about when he gets his own players on board.
Perhaps one of you academic geniuses can document the mathematical proof that links 5 NFL Super Bowl rings to college success.
You haven't lost 5 straight games. That isn't at all what you have done. You haven't come closer than three touchdown in any of those five games. You have lost by an average of more than 27 points in those 5 games. You have given up 187 points in those 5 games. This is NOT rebuilding.
I heard a talking head yesterday say that ND wasn't tackling and couldn't even snap the ball because they had so little talent. Huh? HS school teams can tackle and snap the ball. That doesn't take talent. It takes coaching.
You have yet to score an offensive touchdown in 12 quarters and last I checked you get 11 players just like everyone else. Just like the CFU team chat challenged Texas and the Appalachian St team that beat Michigan and just like little Hawaii who had a total of 3 three star recruits (no fours or fives) in 2003 and 2004 combined Those are the years Ty let you down so badly and put Charlie in this position - or so the argument goes.
Here's a clue. Brady Quinn would have been good without Charlie Weiss. Brady Quinn threw for fewer yards with a lower completion percentage and less yards per completion in his second year under Weiss than he did in his first.
In fairness I must congratulate you on 27 positive rushing yards today. That is five more than the total of your penalties, fumbles, interceptions and sacks. And it is five less than your rushing attempts.
But don't mind me. It's all good. I'm not laughing, just smiling.
It's the rest of the world that is laughing.
PS - You are now officially last in the nation in scoring.
PSS - Any recruit who isn't reconsidering his commitment isn't nearly as bright as you all argue someone must be to get into ND in the first place.
PSSS - USC is on your schedule.
9. PLAY OF THE GAME
Almost went with catch by Hartline near the end of the 3rd quarter. The one where I, along with the announcer, thought the Washington player had gotten the take away. Great focus and at a key time.
Then I considered Laurinitis' second interception. He wasn't just in the right place by accident.
Even thought about the running into the kicker penalty that kept the Washington D on the field early in the game when doing so is so important.
But this weeks award goes to JT for his impersonation of Phil Michelsen. Didn't think he had it in him.
(Of course, Beanie gets a lifetime achievement award for a combination of carries over the past two games.)
10. QUARTERBACK CONTROVERSY
Boeckmans is the man.
Two dropped interceptions, balls thrown behind receivers, and a non-call fumble where even if his arm was going forward the pass itself was not. All in the first half. (My favorite may have been the early under-throw that caused the receiver to stop and drew an interference call from a DB who had little choice but to run into the receiver.)
But he did an awful lot right. And he got better as the game progressed. There may be an upper limit on his potential - particularly with his mobility - but he can become very, very good.
So Boeckman is the man - if only because there is no one else.
11. ANOTHER REASON TO HAVE SEX
I heard the talking heads say today that penetration creates turnovers.
http://www.finance-weblog.com/50226711/turnover.jpg
I like turnovers.
12. MEANINGFUL STATS OF THE WEEK
4th quarter TOP - 11:08.
Turnover margarine +4
(I like margarine on my turnovers.)
Of OSUs 13 drives five lasted three plays or less. Four of those ended in touchdowns.
Washington third down conversions:
1st half - 6 of 10
2nd half - 0 of 7
13. LITTLE THINGS
Just over six minutes left in the game and OSU takes an intentional delay of game prior to a punt to give Trepasso more room. We field it at the 4.
Washington subsequently punts from the 11 instead of the 27, giving us the field position that sets up an easy score.
14. UNICORN SIGHTING
Give JT the lead and he runs clock. That is what he does. Saturday we lead by 13 with less than four minutes left - and scored two more touchdowns. You won't see that often. (He even apologized for one of them - an act which is as much an insult as the TD itself for my money.)
15. RULES QUESTION
On a play that could have turned this game earlier Hartline made a great grab of a tipped pass. But it was ruled no catch because the receiver had gone out of bounds before making the play.
But he wasn't a receiver on the play. It was a tipped ball. An OL could have caught it. Anyone know if that was the proper interpretation?
16. NACHO REPORT
Gotta lose some weight.
Till I do no nachos for me - not at home. At least not when Mama is in the house.
So all I could do was sit in the Barcalounger and think about those stadium nachos - and the cheese bitch. The way she rolls those hips when she fills the cheese wells. That extra button open at the top of her uniform. The pattern the cheese splatter make on her apron.
Bet she wouldn't shut me off. No matter how big I got.
17. THE CHANGING FACE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL
UCF has been playing football since 1979. They have been playing Div 1A since 1996.
What is remarkable is not that they challenged Texas Saturday.
What is remarkable is that they HOSTED Texas. And hosted them in their very own 70,000 seat stadium.
There is gold in them thar' hills. It is going to continue to change CFB and folks like us who root for traditional powers are not going to like what it does. Not in the long run.
18. BIG TEN
That's right. - Ten.
Holding. Personal Foul. False start.
Those and the near intercepts are cause for concern. Or should be. We can't get away with that against North.., er Minnes... er ...
Well, we better fix it before we play Michi...
Oh, never mind.
19. LOCKER
Glad we got him this year. Took a licking and kept on kicking. Amazes me how these kids can keep on getting up.
True threat once he learns to read defenses.
20. USC
Sick.
Nebraska will drop like a rock - but they shouldn't.
Just sick.
Oh, and they play Notre Dame.
Think about it.
21. TRAVEL PLANS
Just a note for the folks who PM me when I don't get the observations up. I am heading out right after the NU game. Going hiking in Nova Scotia Also a couple of days in Boston where I plan not only to check "attending a game in Fenway" off my life list, but to do it for a playoff game - and likely against my beloved Tribe.
So, no observations for two weeks - unless my grandson posts something.
The more I think about this game the more impressed I am. We made a lot of mistakes. We came close to a lot more. And if you look at the stats - first downs, total yardage - it looks much closer than the score. But the truth is it was not nearly as close as the score.
We manhandled the Huskies. We did it with speed and athleticism and a team that is far from reaching its potential. And we traveled cross country into a very hostile environment to do so. We are not yet in the same class with USC or LSU or Florida. But we are going to be a very good football team.
Just keep that in mind as we go back to playing to the level of our opponents against teams that lost to Duke and Florida Atlantic.
2. DEFENSIVE SPEED
If there were any questions on how fast this defense is (and there are not) they should have been answered by how clearly Washington wanted to work the edges and how quickly they gave up.
3. TRESSEL BALL
I have watched enough of Jim Tressel to have a feel for when a game is in hand - or so it seems. I felt that way Saturday. Even when we went down 7-3 at the half I felt that JT was doing the things he wanted to do. There were just a few too many mistakes. Give it time - and in particular let the conditioning and depth take their toll - and we would be fine. Even if it ended up 10-7 it just had that feel. JT has more in his back pocket. Won't use it if he doesn't have to. But it is there.
Wasn't always that way. Under Coop if we got behind I was cussing and throwing things. Early days with JT it was the same. But now I seem to be picking up on his calm. It isn't always there - and we don't always win. But there are some games - most in fact - where you just know it is under control.
Am I alone?
4. BEANIE
There have been 150 games in OSU history in which a rusher has gained 138 or more yards. Seems like a lot.
But OSU has played 1143 games. So that 150 works out to just over 13% - or roughly one in 8. Beanie has just put two of those back to back - in his 2nd and 3rd starts. And he didn't play in the last 12 minutes of the game.
If Beanie weren't here I would be arguing that Saine might become our best running back since Eddie George. Instead he might be the second best on this team.
Let's just hope he doesn't obliterate himself by running as strongly as he does.
5. OL
Oh yeah.
6. STUPID DVR
I love college football. Can't get enough of it. That is why I like to record the games I can't watch live. But there is a problem.
The way my DVR works you type in what you are looking for and a list pops up as you type. My problem is that as soon as I type "C - O" my list comes up with a bunch of programs titled "Co-ed Nymphs".
Three weeks into the season and I haven't recorded a game yet.
7. CLOCK MANAGEMENT AND KARMA
Thought I knew a little about clock management until today. .
I know how JT does it. Get the lead and run the darn thing.
But Ty - he taught me some lessons. Trying to score at the end of the half and finds himself with two time outs and 9 seconds left - calling one of those TOs with the clock stopped. Granted, it worked. He got the TD on second down - but had he failed there was no choice but a FG where he could easily have had time for at least one more play had he called the TO earlier and more traditionally. But what do I know?
Then, with the game out of hand he milks the clock like he is one point down and playing for the NC. He gets a late TD and then onside kicks in a situation where getting the ball still would not have changed the outcome. Finally he calls his last TO with 51 seconds left, the ball in OSUs hands and absolutely no way to get it back. But it worked again - giving Saine just the time he needed to score from 37 yards out yards out.
TDs in the last three seconds of each half - all courtesy of Ty.
I love Karma.
8. HEY NOTRE DAME FANS!!!
How many batteries does it take to beat Notre Dame?
One - if it is a CR2032.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...m-cr2032.jpg/150px-Battery-lithium-cr2032.jpg
The world is laughing at you.
This is NOT rebuilding. Honest. Nobody rebuilds like this. MAC schools don't rebuild like this. This is catastrophic incompetence. You have players. Lots of 'em. They are pretty much all legitimate Div 1A recruits. So why do you insist on giving Charlie Tuna a pass?
You wouldn't do it for a classy black man. Why this arrogant jerk? Because of the myth of his offensive genius?
You are reaching historic lows for your program. Absolutely any other coach would be vilified if, in the third year of their program, they put this putrid excuse for a team on the field. Yet you calmly repeat the "next year" mantra and talk about when he gets his own players on board.
Perhaps one of you academic geniuses can document the mathematical proof that links 5 NFL Super Bowl rings to college success.
You haven't lost 5 straight games. That isn't at all what you have done. You haven't come closer than three touchdown in any of those five games. You have lost by an average of more than 27 points in those 5 games. You have given up 187 points in those 5 games. This is NOT rebuilding.
I heard a talking head yesterday say that ND wasn't tackling and couldn't even snap the ball because they had so little talent. Huh? HS school teams can tackle and snap the ball. That doesn't take talent. It takes coaching.
You have yet to score an offensive touchdown in 12 quarters and last I checked you get 11 players just like everyone else. Just like the CFU team chat challenged Texas and the Appalachian St team that beat Michigan and just like little Hawaii who had a total of 3 three star recruits (no fours or fives) in 2003 and 2004 combined Those are the years Ty let you down so badly and put Charlie in this position - or so the argument goes.
Here's a clue. Brady Quinn would have been good without Charlie Weiss. Brady Quinn threw for fewer yards with a lower completion percentage and less yards per completion in his second year under Weiss than he did in his first.
In fairness I must congratulate you on 27 positive rushing yards today. That is five more than the total of your penalties, fumbles, interceptions and sacks. And it is five less than your rushing attempts.
But don't mind me. It's all good. I'm not laughing, just smiling.
It's the rest of the world that is laughing.
PS - You are now officially last in the nation in scoring.
PSS - Any recruit who isn't reconsidering his commitment isn't nearly as bright as you all argue someone must be to get into ND in the first place.
PSSS - USC is on your schedule.
9. PLAY OF THE GAME
Almost went with catch by Hartline near the end of the 3rd quarter. The one where I, along with the announcer, thought the Washington player had gotten the take away. Great focus and at a key time.
Then I considered Laurinitis' second interception. He wasn't just in the right place by accident.
Even thought about the running into the kicker penalty that kept the Washington D on the field early in the game when doing so is so important.
But this weeks award goes to JT for his impersonation of Phil Michelsen. Didn't think he had it in him.
(Of course, Beanie gets a lifetime achievement award for a combination of carries over the past two games.)
10. QUARTERBACK CONTROVERSY
Boeckmans is the man.
Two dropped interceptions, balls thrown behind receivers, and a non-call fumble where even if his arm was going forward the pass itself was not. All in the first half. (My favorite may have been the early under-throw that caused the receiver to stop and drew an interference call from a DB who had little choice but to run into the receiver.)
But he did an awful lot right. And he got better as the game progressed. There may be an upper limit on his potential - particularly with his mobility - but he can become very, very good.
So Boeckman is the man - if only because there is no one else.
11. ANOTHER REASON TO HAVE SEX
I heard the talking heads say today that penetration creates turnovers.
http://www.finance-weblog.com/50226711/turnover.jpg
I like turnovers.
12. MEANINGFUL STATS OF THE WEEK
4th quarter TOP - 11:08.
Turnover margarine +4
(I like margarine on my turnovers.)
Of OSUs 13 drives five lasted three plays or less. Four of those ended in touchdowns.
Washington third down conversions:
1st half - 6 of 10
2nd half - 0 of 7
13. LITTLE THINGS
Just over six minutes left in the game and OSU takes an intentional delay of game prior to a punt to give Trepasso more room. We field it at the 4.
Washington subsequently punts from the 11 instead of the 27, giving us the field position that sets up an easy score.
14. UNICORN SIGHTING
Give JT the lead and he runs clock. That is what he does. Saturday we lead by 13 with less than four minutes left - and scored two more touchdowns. You won't see that often. (He even apologized for one of them - an act which is as much an insult as the TD itself for my money.)
15. RULES QUESTION
On a play that could have turned this game earlier Hartline made a great grab of a tipped pass. But it was ruled no catch because the receiver had gone out of bounds before making the play.
But he wasn't a receiver on the play. It was a tipped ball. An OL could have caught it. Anyone know if that was the proper interpretation?
16. NACHO REPORT
Gotta lose some weight.
Till I do no nachos for me - not at home. At least not when Mama is in the house.
So all I could do was sit in the Barcalounger and think about those stadium nachos - and the cheese bitch. The way she rolls those hips when she fills the cheese wells. That extra button open at the top of her uniform. The pattern the cheese splatter make on her apron.
Bet she wouldn't shut me off. No matter how big I got.
17. THE CHANGING FACE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL
UCF has been playing football since 1979. They have been playing Div 1A since 1996.
What is remarkable is not that they challenged Texas Saturday.
What is remarkable is that they HOSTED Texas. And hosted them in their very own 70,000 seat stadium.
There is gold in them thar' hills. It is going to continue to change CFB and folks like us who root for traditional powers are not going to like what it does. Not in the long run.
18. BIG TEN
That's right. - Ten.
Holding. Personal Foul. False start.
Those and the near intercepts are cause for concern. Or should be. We can't get away with that against North.., er Minnes... er ...
Well, we better fix it before we play Michi...
Oh, never mind.
19. LOCKER
Glad we got him this year. Took a licking and kept on kicking. Amazes me how these kids can keep on getting up.
True threat once he learns to read defenses.
20. USC
Sick.
Nebraska will drop like a rock - but they shouldn't.
Just sick.
Oh, and they play Notre Dame.
Think about it.
21. TRAVEL PLANS
Just a note for the folks who PM me when I don't get the observations up. I am heading out right after the NU game. Going hiking in Nova Scotia Also a couple of days in Boston where I plan not only to check "attending a game in Fenway" off my life list, but to do it for a playoff game - and likely against my beloved Tribe.
So, no observations for two weeks - unless my grandson posts something.
