Game Thread Ohio 14, Ohio State 26 (Sept. 6)

[Gothmog8]

Yeah, but they beat the [censored] out of Virginia... We're doomed.

That same Virginia that squeaked past Richmond this week???

Virginia does not seem to be very good so far... and yet USC gets crowned football's elite for whipping them. USC is the only team that can lose to a "Stanford", and have excuses made for them by the media for their "hiccup", when, quite clearly, USC is the best team ever and should always be ranked #1.

(is my sarcasm font on?)

 

[cincibuck]

That same Virginia that squeaked past Richmond this week???

Virginia does not seem to be very good so far... and yet USC gets crowned football's elite for whipping them. USC is the only team that can lose to a "Stanford", and have excuses made for them by the media for their "hiccup", when, quite clearly, USC is the best team ever and should always be ranked #1.

(is my sarcasm font on?)

You giving me the trojans and points?

 

[Bleed S & G]

Wow. I just feel good to pull out the W. Time for USC..

 

[shetuck]

On point 2: Not a lot of film for USC to look at..... Do just enough to win... play it close to the vest... I'm not sure why anyone on this board is surprised (not suggesting you're in the "chicken little" category, 07, just using your post as a sounding board)

This is the one thing that's bugging me about some of the background chatter this year.

We said that same thing last year, almost all year. We got pumped up about the NC game because we thought we were going to see all these new wrinkles that JT hadn't shown anyone all year. And then...

Kinda reminds me of that dude that used to come on the old gong show and claim that he's going to "play this here guitar". Never happened, but he never got gonged either.

I'm as optimistic about next Saturday as anyone. If the team play with heart, we're going to come away with a win. I'm just not gonna let myself get all caught up in the bravado about all the new looks we're going to see, because I'm not all that sure that there's anything behind the curtain - the one we're making up ourselves... and I'm damn sure that JT is not trying to act like the wizard of Oz.

 

[utgrad73]

And wouldn't you think that the entire Trojan football team was tuned into the game on ESPN on Saturday since the had a bye week. As they sat there replaying every significant play, we were fighting to recover from the deficit. Opening up the playbook would give them more to prepare for and tip our hands so to speak.

Trust the coach, we will prevail.

 

[Gothmog8]

You giving me the trojans and points?

I am not sure what you mean. The USC Trojans cannot be given to you with points, by me. They rule the world, as indicated by the ESPN poll map that has the world, except Ohio, picking them to win next week. (Kinda looked like the map for the 2002 NC game.)

However, if USC were to let me speak my mind, without media control, I would pick OSU to win in a sloppy game of overconfidence (USC) and scrappiness (OSU).

 

[Gatorubet]

Whatever it was you guys had, the Gators caught it too.

The only good thing for both of us was a win - and everybody else looked bad too.

 

[buckeyes_rock]

This is the one thing that's bugging me about some of the background chatter this year.

We said that same thing last year, almost all year. We got pumped up about the NC game because we thought we were going to see all these new wrinkles that JT hadn't shown anyone all year. And then...

Kinda reminds me of that dude that used to come on the old gong show and claim that he's going to "play this here guitar". Never happened, but he never got gonged either.

I'm as optimistic about next Saturday as anyone. If the team play with heart, we're going to come away with a win. I'm just not gonna let myself get all caught up in the bravado about all the new looks we're going to see, because I'm not all that sure that there's anything behind the curtain - the one we're making up ourselves... and I'm damn sure that JT is not trying to act like the wizard of Oz.

C'mon, he's got to have a kitchen sink somewhere in his playbook.

But seriously, I've been thinking the same thing for a while now. I guess with the arrival of Pryor, I'm guilty of thinking that JT must've started putting in some wrinkles the day Pryor signed his letter of intent. And also that with some of the athletes that we have, you have to find ways to get some of those guys the ball in some space.

A little off topic, but it seems like every time I've watched Tebow play at Florida, there's at least 2-3 plays a game where some guy is just wide open because the offense confused the defense so much that they blew an assignment. I'd have to really think hard to remember a time when we had some guy not named Ted Ginn who got the ball with no one within 10 yards of him.

Maybe the major wrinkles will show up next year when it's TP's show. But in the meantime, we have to bring more to the table than smashmouth Beanie to beat USC. I know it's been beat to death already, but with a whole week to go before the game, I might just drive myself crazy overanalyzing every little detail. Oh well, at least I know I have a problem and that's the first step toward recovery right? :)

The good news is, at least our wakeup came before the USC game. No excuse for our guys to be complacent next week. They now know they have to show up in every facet of the game. Gut check fellas. Go get some Trojans!

 

[Jaxbuck]

This is the one thing that's bugging me about some of the background chatter this year.

We said that same thing last year, almost all year. We got pumped up about the NC game because we thought we were going to see all these new wrinkles that JT hadn't shown anyone all year. And then...

Kinda reminds me of that dude that used to come on the old gong show and claim that he's going to "play this here guitar". Never happened, but he never got gonged either.

I'm as optimistic about next Saturday as anyone. If the team play with heart, we're going to come away with a win. I'm just not gonna let myself get all caught up in the bravado about all the new looks we're going to see, because I'm not all that sure that there's anything behind the curtain - the one we're making up ourselves... and I'm damn sure that JT is not trying to act like the wizard of Oz.

agreed 100%

The talk of JT not wanting to show anything to USC is getting way out of hand. Does anyone really think when this game was so close that JT is going to risk messing around and losing just to launch some suprise offense on USC? Same on defense, if we are really going to do something besides the usual rush 3 drop 8 on 3rd and long don't you think they would have strated doing it when they were losing late in the game to OU? No, what you saw in a game that was very much in doubt gives you a pretty good peek at this staffs hole cards imo.

We might see a few new plays but that's it. Hopefully we see a lot more passion and a lot better execution.

 

[BrianO]

DTs and explosive plays

I watched some of the DVR recording again, perhaps a mistake. In general I am somewhat depressed by the lack of physical play by OSU. This is not about USC, this is about the Buckeyes. I would have to imagine that the players, coaches, and supporting staff expected more in this type of game. Certainly the alumni did.

-DT's no penetration and can't keep the OL off the LB's(again I see little to no improvement in this area from last year)

I think this is a key concern for me. As you mention these are the guys that if they are playing well make LBs look good. We did get heat off the edges. This would have been more effective if the DTs could collapse the pocket so the QB could not simply step up into the pocket. A few times when we got pressure from the edge, the DTs got ridden out of the picture and it appeared that the red sea parted for the QB (potentially D-line stunts gone bad).

The good news is that we appeared very vanilla and I guarantee that will change next week. Hopefully a good mix of blitz packages (including LBs and safeties up the middle) will cover up for this average part of our D. Perhaps we can take more risks with the 2 DBs that return from suspension.

On offense we have so many very solid players (the Brians, Boom and Zoom, etc) with a nice crop of Freshman coming online. Many with good hands and good execution but outside of Beanie we do not have as many real game changers as I would like (can you ever have too many). These are the type of guys that turn the short yardage play into a 50 yard TD (yards after the catch and yards after contact). Small is close. He has excellent football skills he just lacks that extra gear we saw in Ginn, Holmes, Galloway, etc... These are the athletes that can cover up for a lot of ills by hitting the home run ball even if the offense is not clicking on all cylinders.

All in all the Buckeyes are 2-0 and continue to control their own destiny.

 

[FWBuckeye]

Whatever it was you guys had, the Gators caught it too.

The only good thing for both of us was a win - and everybody else looked bad too.

Agreed. There was quite a bit of that going around yesterday. More than a few good teams looking sluggish until late in the game.

 

[matt_thatsme]

I watched the game again on DVR and it was just as painful as the first time I watched it. This was the second game in a row that the WRs didn't get consistent seperation from DBs. I wanted to pull my hair out every time that I heard a guy at the bar say "get Boeckman out of there!" Hell, he didn't have much to throw at, so to say that he is completely to blame for the offensive woes is absurd. I don't even want to get started on the O-line. The entire offense looked so incredibly lethargic, I don't think that will be a problem next week.
I completely agree with the previous post, we should not schedule MAC teams.

 

[BuckeyeTillIDie]

Whatever it was you guys had, the Gators caught it too.

The only good thing for both of us was a win - and everybody else looked bad too.

Yeah, except tOSU will be the only team ridiculed all week long, even though the #8 team got crushed by a NR opponent, Auburn won by 14 over So. Miss, and, as you said, a handful of other teams didn't look too good this week.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Yeah, except tOSU will be the only team ridiculed all week long, even though the #8 team got crushed by a NR opponent, Auburn won by 14 over So. Miss, and, as you said, a handful of other teams didn't look too good this week.

Goes with the territory. I didn't see too many pre season discussions about WVU or Auburn being NC contenders.

We can't have it both ways. If we want to be considered one of the elite teams we need to be prepared to fade the heat when we lay an egg.

 

[osugrad21]

The talk of JT not wanting to show anything to USC is getting way out of hand. Does anyone really think when this game was so close that JT is going to risk messing around and losing just to launch some suprise offense on USC? Same on defense, if we are really going to do something besides the usual rush 3 drop 8 on 3rd and long don't you think they would have strated doing it when they were losing late in the game to OU? No, what you saw in a game that was very much in doubt gives you a pretty good peek at this staffs hole cards imo.

We might see a few new plays but that's it. Hopefully we see a lot more passion and a lot better execution.

Ok, maybe there is a little extra emphasis on that...but are you suggesting that was a full-blown gameplan? The route combos were basic, the running game was 100% basic and the defense was just playing football.

Sorry, but I'm not buying it. I'm not saying there will be a brand new offensive scheme next week....but I can guarantee you there will be much more planning and exploitation.

JT fought with one arm behind his back yesterday.