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Game Thread Ohio State 20, Wisconsin 17 (Oct. 4)

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"The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."

DaddyBigBucks;1279539; said:
Apart from being a bitchin' Eric Clapton song, "Crossroads" also happens to be a location. A location where the Buckeyes find themselves.

It's not just that this is game 6 of a 12 game season.

Think about that for a minute.

In less than 51 hours, the Buckeyes' regular season will be half over.

But this "Crossroads" is about more than just time flying by. It's about a game that will decide which direction this team is going.

In some sense, every game does that. But once in awhile, a game means a little bit more... Some times, a lot more.

In 1968, it was at home against Purdue. In 2002, it was against Purdue, but in West Lafayette. Last year, it was not just a game; it was a half. Namely, the 2nd half in Seattle.

This year, the "Crossroads", for good or ill, is in Madison.

2008 has been a disappointment thus far; and yet promise remains. A promise of better things to come. But will better things come this year?

The defense has not been playing up to their potential. They return more starters than any defense in living memory from a team whose differential statistics were amazing. But they have struggled against the run, which is not in keeping with Ohio State's identity under Jim Tressel. They have shown flashes of being able to turn it around. If the team is to win in Madison, they must turn it around this week.

The same is true for the offense. They have shown improvement, but they must live up to their prodigious potential this week.

The very thing that holds the promise of better things to come, the internal competition within the team; is the very thing that will tear this team apart if another loss is tallied on Saturday night. I have seen this happen to far too many teams to accept that there is a third course here. Win, and the internal frictions become the heat that anneals the team and strengthens it. Lose, and the internal frictions fan into a bon fire.

Perhaps I'm being too dramatic here. But I have a hunch we'll never know whether I am or not.

Buckeyes 31
Badgers 17


Crossroads Crossed
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DaddyBigBucks;1279539; said:
Apart from being a bitchin' Eric Clapton song, "Crossroads" also happens to be a location. A location where the Buckeyes find themselves.

It's not just that this is game 6 of a 12 game season.

Think about that for a minute.

In less than 51 hours, the Buckeyes' regular season will be half over.

But this "Crossroads" is about more than just time flying by. It's about a game that will decide which direction this team is going.

In some sense, every game does that. But once in awhile, a game means a little bit more... Some times, a lot more.

In 1968, it was at home against Purdue. In 2002, it was against Purdue, but in West Lafayette. Last year, it was not just a game; it was a half. Namely, the 2nd half in Seattle.

This year, the "Crossroads", for good or ill, is in Madison.

2008 has been a disappointment thus far; and yet promise remains. A promise of better things to come. But will better things come this year?

The defense has not been playing up to their potential. They return more starters than any defense in living memory from a team whose differential statistics were amazing. But they have struggled against the run, which is not in keeping with Ohio State's identity under Jim Tressel. They have shown flashes of being able to turn it around. If the team is to win in Madison, they must turn it around this week.

The same is true for the offense. They have shown improvement, but they must live up to their prodigious potential this week.

The very thing that holds the promise of better things to come, the internal competition within the team; is the very thing that will tear this team apart if another loss is tallied on Saturday night. I have seen this happen to far too many teams to accept that there is a third course here. Win, and the internal frictions become the heat that anneals the team and strengthens it. Lose, and the internal frictions fan into a bon fire.

Perhaps I'm being too dramatic here. But I have a hunch we'll never know whether I am or not.

Buckeyes 31
Badgers 17


Crossroads Crossed
Click to expand...

Great post DBB. I don't think you're being too dramatic at all. A buddy text me earlier and asked me what I thought about this game. I told him one of two things would likely happen, imo. I said either one: We lose a close one and this team may just fall apart to an extent...or two: We roll Bucky and this team looks like what we all expected coming into this season. Being who I am, I have no choice but to believe the latter.

Buckeyes buck Bucky 34-10
 
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Best Buckeye;1279555; said:
Mark May picks the badgers to win, now there's a surprise...:shake:
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I should start a new thread entitled "the brilliant things that Mark May says". That would be post #1.

Schwab said:
He's built like Dayne, he plays Dayne's position, he's plays at Dayne's alma mater... easy to see why Badgers fans ride his boxers.

We do the same things with our players. We check out the last 15 years and the players they remind us of, and instantly fall in love. I for one, don't think Hill is a player to sneeze at. He may not be Ron Dayne-ish in production, but I'm only concerned about this one game out of his entire career. It only takes once. If we stop him cold, then we can talk about that. Until then, he actually reminds me of Ron Dayne. :)
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Oh, the vocal majority on Bucky boards at this point acknowledges Hill is at best "pretty good", and at worst "pedestrian". I was pretty much of that opinion from day 1. The only attributes he possesses are tremendous determination and slightly above average power. The latter he only utilizes a minority of the time. More or less he's a dancer with a big caboose.

I think he's actually been very fortunate to avoid Ohio State his first two seasons and could use injury as an excuse for his lackluster performance in minimal carries against Michigan last year. Basically his only really impressive performance came against Tennessee in the '07 Outback Bowl. He had a solid game against PSU his freshman season also. Generally though he's stat-stuffed against cupcakes. That's not to say Wisconsin can't run against the likes of OSU.....but it will take a call to the bullpen and John Clay or Zach Brown before the bases are loaded with nobody out.
 
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Bernini;1279659; said:
Oh, the vocal majority on Bucky boards at this point acknowledges Hill is at best "pretty good", and at worst "pedestrian". I was pretty much of that opinion from day 1. The only attributes he possesses are tremendous determination and slightly above average power. The latter he only utilizes a minority of the time. More or less he's a dancer with a big caboose.

I think he's actually been very fortunate to avoid Ohio State his first two seasons and could use injury as an excuse for his lackluster performance in minimal carries against Michigan last year. Basically his only really impressive performance came against Tennessee in the '07 Outback Bowl. He had a solid game against PSU his freshman season also. Generally though he's stat-stuffed against cupcakes. That's not to say Wisconsin can't run against the likes of OSU.....but it will take a call to the bullpen and John Clay or Zach Brown before the bases are loaded with nobody out.
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Personally I think that Clay is the best back on your roster..
 
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BUCKYLE;1279677; said:
:lol:

In my opinion it should be the 463rd post in this thread. :biggrin:
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That was the joke. We could make it the 463rd post in this thread.....but I don't think Wisconsin will have the game wrapped up THAT early. The 463rd post will probably be penned sometime in the 1st quarter. It should take until the 2nd quarter at least. :)

BTW, it's always the pundits that make unfavorable predictions/analysis about somebody's favorite team who are idiots. I'm guilty of it as well.
 
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CPD

The Wisconsin Way: Buckeyes wary of dealing with Badgers' old-fashioned power game

by Doug Lesmerises Thursday October 02, 2008, 10:19 PM


Morry Gash/AP file photoWhen he starred at Wisconsin, current Browns left tackle Joe Thomas represented the power game that the Badgers have featured for a generation of college football.
COLUMBUS -- Old school is officially odd in the Big Ten, and Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema not only takes pride in that, he hopes to exploit it. Like a hardened old rhino in a conference zoo filling up with cheetahs and antelope, Wisconsin won't apologize for its power and no has no plans to incorporate the spread offense, which has crept to some significant degree into every conference offense other than Wisconsin and Iowa.
"Not at this point," Bielema said before the start of the season. "Never say never, but the biggest thing we have going right now is when you're getting ready to play us, it's going to be a little bit of a different preparation, just from the standpoint of getting all the guys in the right spot and trying to simulate what our guys do."
(Bielema also took a quick shot at recruiting Terrelle Pryor, visiting Jeannette High School, and Pryor would have been doing more than handing off and dropping back wherever he went, so change is always possible.)
Once upon a time, part of the spread's appeal was the fact that defenses didn't see it that much. Now the trend has flipped and lining up with two tight ends and handing off inside practically looks like a flea flicker. Bielema has trouble stealing ideas because when he looks around, he doesn't see many comparable teams.
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CPD

Ohio State football: Wisconsin's Beckum like Winslow

by Doug Lesmerises Thursday October 02, 2008, 5:48 PM


medium_Beckum.jpg
APWisconsin tight end Travis Beckum after one of his six catches this year.

Taver Johnson knows the type. An assistant with the Browns in 2004, the OSU cornerbacks coach saw what the Browns wanted when they drafted tight end Kellen Winslow and he sees Wisconsin getting that from tight end Travis Beckum, who has a chance to end up as a first-round NFL pick himself. Johnson was quick to jump on the comparison.
"He's very talented like Kellen is," Johnson said this week. "Now he's not as big as Kellen, but he's athletic and fast and he runs very good routes and he can go up and get the ball."

He's actually not that much smaller, Beckum listed at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds while Winslow goes 6-4 and 250.
Winslow was a two-year starter in college, and these were his numbers in 38 games at Miami.
* 119 catches for 1,365 yards, a 11.5 avg and 9 TDs
Now in his third year as a starter, here are Beckum's numbers at Wisconsin in 28 games.
* 142 catches for 1,953 yards, a 13.8 avg and 11 TDs
No one's claiming Beckum is Winslow. He won't be the No. 6 pick in the draft. But he's in that role as Wisconsin's go-to guy as a tight end.
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CPD

Ohio State football: Updates from Tressel

by Doug Lesmerises Thursday October 02, 2008, 2:38 PM


A few notes from Jim Tressel's meeting with reporters this afternoon:
* J.B. Shugarts might have to be scratched from the potential offensive line rotation. The freshman saw time at right tackle in the second half last week, but Tressel said Shugarts hurt his shoulder in practice this week and may not be able to play Saturday. They'll find out more at practice this afternoon.
* Steve Rehring is still on track to play somewhere on the offensive line after missing two weeks with injury. Tressel wouldn't commit to a position, guard or tackle, or a number of plays, saying it could be 24 snaps or 64 snaps or any number depending how the games goes.
* Tressel talked about whether the Buckeyes are at all limited in their offense with Terrelle Pryor at quarterback. Familiar question, interesting answer.
Cont..
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Canton

Angry Badgers pose a threat to Buckeyes
Wisconsin working to avoid 0-2 Big 10 start
Friday, October 3, 2008
By RUSTY MILLER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS The game at Wisconsin already was going to be difficult enough for Ohio State. Then Michigan had to go and beat the Badgers, making them even more dangerous by backing them into a corner.

Now the 14th-ranked Buckeyes are expecting the No. 18 Badgers to be angry, inspired and desperate to avoid an 0-2 start in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes speak from experience.

"I definitely know that's how we came out after the USC game. Things were a lot more intense in practice that entire week. I would imagine their coaches would do the exact same thing for them," Ohio State safety Anderson Russell said in the days leading up to Saturday's game at Camp Randall Stadium. "Our team really came out with a chip on our shoulder. I would imagine they're going to come out the same way."

The Buckeyes (4-1, 1-0) were hurting for the first 24 hours after their 35-3 beating at Southern California on Sept. 13, then gradually turned that disappointment into motivation. They vowed that they still had a lot to play for, that they still could win their fourth straight Big Ten title and an unprecedented third consecutive outright championship.

Since then, they have won games over Troy and Minnesota. They know they can't afford another slip-up.

"Basically, we can't lose another one to accomplish all the goals that we set for ourselves," tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells said.

Wisconsin Head Coach Bret Bielema said it was difficult watching the films from his team's 27-25 loss at Michigan last week. The Badgers (3-1, 0-1) led 19-0 before the Wolverines spun off the next 27 points. A late Wisconsin touchdown brought the Badgers close, but a successful 2-point conversion pass was disallowed by a penalty.
Cont...
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