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Game Thread Ohio State 24, Penn State 7 (final; 11/07/09)

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I rewatched last years game and noticed that Gibson and Hines both had really good games.

I'm pretty confident that we will get pressure on DC in passing situations with our DL. It is vastly improved over last year and I just don't see PSU OL containing the likes of Gibson, Williams, Heyward, Worthington & Co.

To me, the key will be shutting down the running game. The fact that we have Larimore back is huge. We will be able to rotate in Denlinger, Simon, Rose, and Wilson to complement Larimore and Worthington, on the inside.

Our LB's need to step it up and fill in the gaps and Hines needs to bring the lumber at the Star position.

Our Offense is going to need all the help it can get, and so here is hoping the the Defense and Special Teams will win the field position battle. Here's also hoping the Barclay is having a great week of practice and will come through when called upon on Saturday.

GO BUCKS!!!
Beat PSU!!

:osu:
 
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You're absolutely right, we are going to see much more D-Line rotation now that Big Dex is back, along with Rose coming back fully healthy. I think we get alot of pressure on Clark, but he's not exactly a statue so it will be interesting to see if he tries to force throws (ala Iowa game) or if he takes what's given to him (which won't be much).
 
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JXC;1584594; said:
Nope...no safeties...no negative plays. If we win the toss in this one, do you think we still take the ball first?
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We've gotten it first in every game this year I think so why stop now? :biggrin:

Start out with our foot on the throat and just grind the heel in for the rest of the game...
 
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JXC;1584594; said:
Nope...no safeties...no negative plays. If we win the toss in this one, do you think we still take the ball first?
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I've always thought that when your strength is your defense, you should defer to the second half. However, I think Tressel's chosen to receive every time we've won the toss this year, so I don't envision Saturday being any different.
 
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JT always to take the ball first to set the tone of the game and hopefully score first. But with way the O' has looked early in games this year, I think it would be better to defer and give TP and company some time to relax a little and let the D' start out.

But I understand why he still takes the ball first. Since he always has done that in the past, not doing it now might signal a lack of confidence in the offense and he doesn't want to show that.

Loosing the toss Saturday might be the best thing. We've won a crazy number of coin tosses over the past two years.
 
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buckeyesin07;1584628; said:
I've always thought that when your strength is your defense, you should defer to the second half. However, I think Tressel's chosen to receive every time we've won the toss this year, so I don't envision Saturday being any different.
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I agree. So much of Tress' strategy revolves around field position. With our Offense struggling, and our Defense playing the way it is, I would think getting the ball back close to mid field (maybe our 40 with a 10 yd return) would be really important in a game like this.

However, there are no gaurantees and I'm sure Tress is also thinking, if we can get up by 7 points on these guys, it would mean a world of difference on what we could do on both sides of the ball.

:osu:
 
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Mods please merge this or split it off if you think that is necessary.

Going along with the previous few posts, can someone explain the rationale behind electing to receive when we win the toss this year?

My argument for deferring goes as follows:

1. If we elect to defer, considering how good our defense is, we are likely to get a 3 and out or make our opponents punt after picking up only one first down. This would leave our offense in good field position, on average, and take the crowd out of the game a bit (assuming we're playing on the road). Also, we get the ball in the second half, which is a plus.

2. If we elect to receive, we run the risk of going 3 and out and having to punt. Our opponent likely gets good field position, the crowd is even more fired up (again, assuming we're on the road). And we don't get the ball to begin the second half.

All of this, of course, assumes that our offense doesn't go right down and score, which I think is the more likely scenario, given the results on our offense's opening drive this year:

Navy: TD
USC: Turnover
Toledo: TD
Illinois: 3 and out
Indiana: FG
Wisconsin: 3 and out
Purdue: Turnover
Minn: 3 and out
NMSU: 4 and out

Out of 9 first possessions for our offense this year, that's

33% scoring drives and
67% drives that result in a turnover and/or a quick punt.

I'm just thinking that with those kind of odds, we'd be better off (especially on the road), deferring if we win the opening toss.

I'd be interested in hearing the thoughts of others on this topic.
 
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buckeyesin07;1584664; said:
Mods please merge this or split it off if you think that is necessary.

Going along with the previous few posts, can someone explain the rationale behind electing to receive when we win the toss this year?

My argument for deferring goes as follows:

1. If we elect to defer, considering how good our defense is, we are likely to get a 3 and out or make our opponents punt after picking up only one first down. This would leave our offense in good field position, on average, and take the crowd out of the game a bit (assuming we're playing on the road). Also, we get the ball in the second half, which is a plus.

2. If we elect to receive, we run the risk of going 3 and out and having to punt. Our opponent likely gets good field position, the crowd is even more fired up (again, assuming we're on the road). And we don't get the ball to begin the second half.

All of this, of course, assumes that our offense doesn't go right down and score, which I think is the more likely scenario:

Navy: TD
USC: Turnover
Toledo: TD
Illinois: 3 and out
Indiana: FG
Wisconsin: 3 and out
Purdue: Turnover
Minn: 3 and out
NMSU: 4 and out

Out of 9 first possessions, that's

33% scoring drives and
67% drives that result in a turnover and/or a quick punt.

I'm just thinking that with those kind of odds, we'd be better off (especially on the road), deferring if we win the opening toss.

I'd be interested in hearing the thoughts of others on this topic.
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We don't gameplan thinking that, hey, we're going to strike out here. JT has always given his QB the option to receive or kick. It's not too difficult to imagine really. Struggling QB, want him to warm up sooner rather than later. This year we've started slow and warmed up in later possesions. In that case I'd rather get the ball first and start warming up immediately.
 
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Merih;1584669; said:
We don't gameplan thinking that, hey, we're going to strike out here. JT has always given his QB the option to receive or kick. It's not too difficult to imagine really. Struggling QB, want him to warm up sooner rather than later. This year we've started slow and warmed up in later possesions. In that case I'd rather get the ball first and start warming up immediately.
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I can appreciate not sending the wrong message or entering the game with the wrong attitude. However, I think at some point you have to look at the numbers (which I've set forth above), and do what you think puts you in the best position to win the game. And I'm not sure, again based on the statistics set forth above, that electing to receive does that.
 
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I always have felt that defering in college gives your team the best chance to win. I like getting the ball in the 2nd half, and I like going on defense first. I'd love to go on defense first in this one...but I don't think we will, no matter which way the coin lands. So here is to scoring points on the opening drive :)
 
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Their offense is not as good as it was last year and our defense is better than it was last year. Their defensive secondary is garbage and we won't be looking to pound it down their throats this year. They are going to try and get pressure on Terrelle. How he handles it determines whether we win or lose. TP is a big gamer, guarantee he shows up and has a game we can celebrate about.
 
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