OBSERVATIONS FROM THE NC GAME

[Death Valley]

This is the only thing I have a problem with, I mean Ohio State gets ripped for not having a tough OOC schedule this year, which it was weak, but OSU goes out of the way to schedule tough OOC, even when the Big Ten is tough. Granted it wasn't as good as it usually was this year, but still. I don't think that just because it is the SEC the teams can just say "We have it tough in conference, we don't need to travel or play any tough OOC." Granted the SEC was tough this year and I do give credit to LSU for playing Va Tech this year, but it was a home game they did not travel out of the region this year. People are already bashing OSU's schedule next year and we go to USC, hell we went to Washington this year. It may not have meant much in the long run, but at the time everybody was saying OSU would lose. I mean Alabama was 17th when they played LSU, and c'mon that was a crap ranking for them, the one win that stands out to me was the Tennesee blow out and a loss to UL-Monroe. IMHO I just don't see where all the inconsistencies come from. I'm not hating I just don't get how some of these teams get the benefit when there are team that are actually consistant but don't get the credit. I guess it this year for LSU it was like it was last year for OSU where they played 3 total #2 teams and went a stretch in a month where they played all ranked teams. Like I said I'm not hating I just don't understand the inconsistencies.

I think you answered your own question. I really don't see how anyone can question our schedule as a whole this year. I don't care about OOC or in conference. Just look at the ranked teams that we played and where most ended up. I can't help that you think teams had a "crap ranking" when we pllayed them. The fact is that the same can be said about a lot of teams especially at the start of the season. For instance Michigan had a good preseason ranking and they dropped off after the App. St loss. So let's pretend that you had beaten them before they played App. St. and they were ranked in the top 10. I wouldn't discredit the win because they were ranked when you beat them. Your team just needs to go out and play the games and not worry about where other teams are ranked. But just looking at our entire body of work we played a very demanding schedule and were rewarded with a chance to compete for the BCS title.

 

[Death Valley]

Death Valley, all BuckeyeInTheBoro was trying to say was that the Buckeyes put up a good game. OSU had 353 yards, while LSU only had 326. OSU averaged 4.8 yards per rush (145 yards from 30 carries), while LSU only averaged 3.1 yards (152 yards from 49 carries). OSU averaged 8.0 yards per pass (208 yards from 26 attempts), while LSU only averaged 6.4 yards (174 yards from 27 attempts). The only reason OSU lost is because so many crucial moments in the game went in favor of LSU (penalties, turnovers, sacks, blocked kick).

And LSU did not blow out OSU. Sure, we won by a comfortable two TDs, but that's not a blow out. The term "blow out" means that one team completely destroys the other team, like UF did to OSU last year 41-14 (UF had 370 yards, OSU had 82), like LSU did to VT this year 48-7 (LSU had 598 yards, VT had 149), like LSU did to Notre Dame last year 41-14 (LSU had 577 yards, ND had 291), and like LSU did to Miami the year before that 40-3 (LSU had 468 yards, Miami had 153).

To have a blow out, everything has to be lopsided in favor of the winning team (especially the score and total yards). Telling OSU that LSU blew them out this year is like claiming that Florida blew out LSU last year, when they beat us 23-10 (LSU had 318 yards, UF had 288).

I never said it wasn't a good game. Okay 41-14 is a blowout, but without the last score under two minutes the score of the game is 38-17 which is a whopping 6 points off of the blowout score from last year. I'm not here to discredit anything OSU did as a team in the game. Maybe blowout was a bit strong but it was a word that was used in this thread. The point I am making is that the game was never really close after the 2nd qtr.


As for the yards and stats argument. Blame OSU for giving LSU a short field and puting them in great situations.

 

[krazeyk]

wait...didn't LSU taack on an unnecessary touchdown in the last 4 min?

 

[Nutriaitch]

wait...didn't LSU taack on an unnecessary touchdown in the last 4 min?

If we had tacked on the "unnecessary" TD down the stretch of the Kentucky game, it never goes to overtime.

The TD drive we blew was actually in the 3rd quarter of that game, so not really relevant here.

 

[sandgk]

I never said it wasn't a good game. Okay 41-14 is a blowout, but without the last score under two minutes the score of the game is 38-17 which is a whopping 6 points off of the blowout score from last year. I'm not here to discredit anything OSU did as a team in the game. Maybe blowout was a bit strong but it was a word that was used in this thread. The point I am making is that the game was never really close after the 2nd qtr.

Not disputing the game outcome of a comfortable win by LSU but ...



That drive started at 5:50 on the clock - and took 4:00 off the same.

The Buckeyes then responded in 29 seconds.

As for the yards and stats argument. Blame OSU for giving LSU a short field and puting them in great situations.

Absolutely right, which is exactly what we have all been doing, placing emphasis on the foibles, penalties, errors and bloops that left open the door for 31 unanswered points after a 10-0 lead.

 

[krazeyk]

If we had tacked on the "unnecessary TD down the stretch of the Kentucky game, it never goes to overtime.

Agreed but I was just pointing this out to DV.

I never said it wasn't a good game. Okay 41-14 is a blowout, but without the last score under two minutes the score of the game is 38-17

 

[daveeb]

Both teams tacked on an unnecessary TD. In my eyes, the final score was 31-17.

 

[morbitzerker]

Death, I agree. I do think LSU's schedule as a whole was better. However, I just don't agree how it seemed like this year with the media hype the SEC apperead to be getting the benefit of the doubt in some cases, maybe it is a little bit of Big Ten bias but I do try to look at things objectively. I am not trying to take anything away from LSU as they played a great season both teams were beneficiaries of key losses. Its just that Ohio State caught alot of slack this year when typically it is tough OOC where as other teams do not have the same OOC, although this year it was uncharacteristically weak.

On to other things though, next year will be another fun season. Congratulations, LSU.

 

[GeauxTigers99]

What were some of your thoughts on the LSU players that grabbed much of the media attention before the game?? Do you think they were as good as advertised or over-hyped??

 

[jwinslow]

What were some of your thoughts on the LSU players that grabbed much of the media attention before the game?? Do you think they were as good as advertised or over-hyped??

Dorsey - Spielman summed it up well. Great player, not on every play. Jean-Francois (perhaps thx to Dorsey) made 4x as many big plays.

Hester - tough nosed, tough yards, par for the course... his M.O. Classic clash at the goalline with JL.

Holliday - sick cutback on that 9 yarder, but overall contained pretty well by us slow northerners. Strength, smarts & execution won that game more than speed.

Byrd has a big mouth... didn't really back it up much. Didn't need to either, though.

Steltz did not show well, but also didn't get much of a chance to redeem that horrendous angle.

Highsmith (more hyped on the boards) was a force... (also other than the beanie run ).


Under the radar:

Crowton -

Corners, played out of their minds... other than being tossed like a ragdoll on one play. Now perhaps this OSU WR corps didn't possess the speed we're used to (Ginn, Gonzo, Holmes), but I've never seen that kind of blanketing under tressel, and we've faced some outstanding corners over the years.

 

[daveeb]

Yeah, the Ohio State corners aren't necessarily as fast as before to say the least. In that respect, a few underneath passes to Sanzenbacher, Ballard, Nicol, Saine, and Washington may have forced LSU to open up a bit on pass coverage while going deep.

But yeah, anyway, a few 40 times I saw on NFLDraftScout include:

Ted Ginn - 4.38
Anthony Gonzalez - 4.44
Santonio Holmes - 4.38

Brian Robiskie - 4.57
Brian Hartline - 4.56
Ray Small - 4.43

So yeah, I guess you could say that the speed went down a bit.

 

[GeauxTigers99]

Under the radar:

Crowton -

Corners, played out of their minds... other than being tossed like a ragdoll on one play. Now perhaps this OSU WR corps didn't possess the speed we're used to (Ginn, Gonzo, Holmes), but I've never seen that kind of blanketing under tressel, and we've faced some outstanding corners over the years.

I agree, I thought Crowton did an OUTSTANDING job w/ the game plan.

And I have no idea where those two corners came from, not real sure if they've played for LSU all season or if we just suited them up for this game. Before the game I had said they were solid players but nothing extraodinary. Maybe so, but I thought that Zenon and Jackson played the game of their careers, and really allowed the defense to concentrate on stopping Beanie.

 

[jwinslow]

Maybe so, but I thought that Zenon and Jackson played the game of their careers, and really allowed the defense to concentrate on stopping Beanie.

Zenon, Jackson, Flynn... could I add Jean-Francois? Sure was an unlucky time for their career nights.

 

[Nutriaitch]

Hester - tough nosed, tough yards, par for the course... his M.O. Classic clash at the goalline with JL.

I'm gonna miss this kid. He is nowhere near the most talented RB LSU has had in the last 20 years or so, he was the best IMO. He really and truly carried this team the 2nd half. Without him, we don't beat Florida, and definitely don't make it to the BCS CG. With him in the game in that 3rd OT, I think we at least make that 4th and 2.

Under the radar:

Crowton -

Gatorubet is gonna disagree with me, but I think if we'd had Crowton last year, it would have been us in Glendale last year instead of UF. He has been a 1000% upgrade from Jimbo Fisher. We broke our school records for ypg, and points in a season before the Arkansas game even happened.

 

[Nutriaitch]

I thought that Zenon and Jackson played the game of their careers, and really allowed the defense to concentrate on stopping Beanie.

Zenon forgot that he was a D-1 corner after the Arizona game last year. He finally remembered again halfway through the 4th quarter against TN in the SEC CG.