Game Thread Ohio State 27, Iowa 24 (final, OT, 11/14/09) - Rose Bowl bound!!!

[UpNorthBuckeye]

love it

I work in Ann Arburr in tsun and it will be so nice to go to work Monday morning.

Another great Tresselball win. Love it.

but.... I thought that even for Tressel the 4th quarter was a little over the top. It was like watching 3 rounds of Rope-a-Dope.

I mean, great win and I wouldn't trade our coach for anyone, but... wouldn't it be fun to do something like hang 55 on U.S. freaking C. on their home field?? Word is that when Stanford hit 48 they went for two to go for the 50 point mark... ended up getting another 7 on their way to 55 ---- the most points ever given up by USC in their history.

So yeah, I love the way the Buckeyes win, I love the fact that JT has had one losing streak in his whole time at OSU.... but Herron 12 times up the gut in the 4th??

Well you know, as much as it frustrates us fans sometimes, it must absolutely drive the opposing teams CRAZY.

Go Bucks, just win!! even in O.T.!!!!!!

 

[scott91575]

As much as Tressel and the coaching staff gets to me at times, OSU has the 4th highest winning percentage of any BCS school (1/2 game behind Oklahoma). A win in the Rose Bowl and Ohio State will have the 2nd most BCS wins in his time (still would be 2 behind USC). 6 B10 titles. Despite the bad press, tough to argue with that.

 

[buckeyefan_1]

We just won our 5th consecutive big 10 title and a trip to the rose bowl and some of you are complaining about HOW we won? Really? Second guessing a coaching staff after WINNING? Wow. Why not just enjoy the moment and be thankful for all of the success that the Buckeyes have had? We have a great fan base but there are some among us who just amaze me. Honestly.... Tressel>us........ GoBucks!!!!!! A scUM beatdown then the Rose Bowl baby!!!

 

[Pryor2Posey]

interesting article

Buckeyes, The Vest do it their way


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jim Tressel, this is your life:
You sing "Carmen Ohio" with the band after glorious triumphs. You listen to the victory bell ring. You watch the field at the Horseshoe become a teeming sea of celebrating scarlet as fans pour from the stands after beating Iowa 27-24 in overtime to win a Big Ten title.

Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes got it done their way - ESPN

 

[scott91575]

The funny thing is people are criticizing Tressel for taking the ball out of Pryor's hands, but asking Pryor to make players could very well be one of the reasons why OSU lost to USC and Purdue. It is clear that this team is putting much less emphasis on Pryor making plays, and therefore cutting down on the mistakes in the Purdue and USC games.

 

[Steve19]

Post thoughts...

--Back to basics...after last week, didn't expect today's gameplan on either side of the ball. A 1st time starter and we aren't unleashing hell on him from all angles? Dunno...

--Special teams...worst game overall that Ive seen in JT's era. All around bad.

--OL...I can't blame the OL even though they will likely take some heat. 5 guys can only do so much...especially when they are outnumbered.

--Boom & Saine & TP...helluvan effort tonight from all of them.

--Anderson Russell...2 INTs. Not exactly redemption, but a great way to go out on Senior Day.

--Matt Millen....you suck...at everything.

Sums up my views pretty well. There were several surprising choices made by Ohio State coaches on both sides of the ball.

I just don't understand why Ohio State didn't set out to unsettle the young quarterback and his confidence from the start of the game. Sure, Ferentz would have been preparing for blitzes, but there was plenty of opportunity to blitz more than Ohio State did.

Special teams, usually a strength of Ohio State, were shocking, although a few well-timed blocks to the back did help the Hawkeyes on the kickoff return.

With that in mind, the officiating of this game produced some very questionable calls. I forget which Ohio State player was called for a block in the back when the Buckeyes began at the 20 after an excellent kick return to near midfield. Watching on the internet, my screen froze for a second when the block was supposed to have happened and it was clear that the Iowa player was facing the Ohio State blocker when the block began and that the block was, if anything, to the shoulder from the side as the Iowa player began to turn, not to the back.

Coach Tressel wins, but he wins this game in a way that allowed the other team to take winning out of his control after building a two touchdown lead. When Iowa came back with the kickoff return for a touchdown, we needed to put the pedal to the metal one more time.

Finally, Tressel is being criticized for not allowing Pryor to take control of the game but we're talking about a quarterback had two turf toes, a gimpy ankle and leg and a cut to his throwing hand during the game that required bandaging. Hard to know if Tressel was being too conservative or if he saw more in practice this week or of the hand injury that told him to not take the chance throwing the ball against an Iowa defense that generated plenty of interceptions this year.

We won. A win is a win and this is the Rose Bowl win. But, this team better evaluate itself critically watching film this week. They put a team that was at least two touchdowns worse than them in a position to win.

Enter Ann Arbor with an attitude that The Game is won already and it could be a lot closer than people think, even if TSUN do suck.

 

[southcampus]

After the game I shook Coach Heacock's hand and told Pat Forde he sucks to his face. My life is complete.

 

[sflbuck]

I don't have any problem with the offensive play calls. From my prespective, the offense gave a us a 14 point lead in the 4th quarter. With our defense that should have been enough. Iowa got back in the game with special teams play and luck (offside wipes out int and missed intreception/completion) on the last drive. Iowa had not been effective in stopping the run in the 2nd half. If Saine breaks off a long run for a TD on our second to last possession, we'd be calling Tressel a genius. On our last possession, I think if we had better field position we would have seen a more aggressive offensive playcalling. But starting on 18 yard line, one mistake gives Iowa the game (FG of under 40 yards).

I do agree with those posters that question not getting after Vandenberg early and often. NW went after him and got a good result. We stayed back and let him look good. When we started getting pressure, he made mistakes.

I also think that we have to give this team alot of credit for this win. Iowa has been winning ugly all year (some may call it lucky). When Iowa tied the game, I am sure every player and coach on the Iowa sideline believed that it was their destiny to win this game and the Big Ten. But instead the OSU defense shut the door and Barclay nailed the kick.

 

[hdcolumbus]

interesting article
Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes got it done their way - ESPN

The article started off interesting, then it fell into typical Forde ballyhoo of Tressel hate.

Edit:

And...

 

[hdcolumbus]

Does anyone else believe tOSU will leapfrog LSU when the BCS standings come out? I can honestly see the Bucks sitting at 7 this afternoon after beating a top 10 BCS team (ahead of OSU), USC getting owned by Stanford and LSU beating a 3-7 LA Tech team by only 8 points.

 

[Steve19]

A thought that I have after the Iowa game: This Vandenberg kid could be very good next year. He did not do as well as the sportscasters would have us believe but he exceeded my expectations considerably.

 

[buckeyes_rock]

My voice is still hoarse this morning from screaming so much at the game yesterday...but I have to say, I can't believe how loud the Iowa contingent was. They were organized and loud. I've never noticed the away team making that much noise. So hats off to them and their freshman QB who appears to have a bright future for Iowa.

The game was a great time...but even though I ran on the field and stood on the O, I still left the game not nearly as excited as I should've been. It's an odd feeling to think, the Bucks just won the Big Ten and I should be so pumped, but instead found myself wondering what the heck happened there in the 4th quarter.

Amazing experience, so glad I was there. But I sure hope to see a much better and creative game plan for scUM this week.

As a side note, it sure appeared to me that TP is just not well yet. He didn't even try to run the ball much and when he did, he just didn't look 100%. I can't help but wonder how much of the play calling was about TP being hurt. Who knows I guess.

I loved how after the game, Tressel said that he told his guys to celebrate and enjoy it for a few hours, but when the clock strikes midnight, it was time to get back to work because as Tress said...well, you know what week it is. LOL!

Go Bucks!

 

[craigblitz]

I don't think Vandenberg played all that great. I think he didn't play as bad as what we all thought he would. As pointed out a lot of his play was because he had time and the Bucks did not bring any pressure. For the most part they gave him short passes and it worked.

The one touchdown pass that was between two defenders was a ball that should have been broken up by Coleman and he had several picks and should have had two more (off sides Williams) and the one that his Checkwa in the numbers.

The score does not show it but the Buckeyes had this game the whole time from the 2nd quarter on. Plays that made a huge impacts to keep it close:

- Weak PI in Chekwa
- Flag on the INT for a touchdown
- 3rd and short they got it and fumbled and we have to punt
- The kick return for a touchdown (That play was so terrible)

All in all Iowa is a good team and a couple of breaks their way as well could have been a different ball game.

Being at the game it just felt like they were not going to lose no matter what. Big plays could have been there yesterday but Tress did not want to cash them in. When they had the ball on the 40 I was begging from my seats to see a play action deep route, begging for it :).

It seems a lot of people are not enjoying this win and they should be. Even if the Big Ten is way down we are still Big Ten champs again and that is pretty awesome. If there was a year that Ohio State could have that streak broken I truly believe it was this year and they still got it done.

Great win, Great 2nd part of the season, now I hope to see them dominate the 3rd part (*eatchicken) and their Bowl.

Go Bucks!

 

[JimsSweaterVest]

interesting article



Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes got it done their way - ESPN

I like that article. Love the ending too.

But Saturday was for celebration -- and nobody knows how to celebrate like you, Jimmy T. When last we saw you, your wife was driving a very sensible, pragmatic Toyota Venza underneath the Ohio Stadium stands. You were sitting in the passenger seat, placidly eating a sandwich.
Surely, there was a glass of milk waiting for you when you got home.

 

[Dryden]

I don't think Vandenberg played all that great. I think he didn't play as bad as what we all thought he would. As pointed out a lot of his play was because he had time and the Bucks did not bring any pressure. For the most part they gave him short passes and it worked.

The one touchdown pass that was between two defenders was a ball that should have been broken up by Coleman and he had several picks and should have had two more (off sides Williams) and the one that his Checkwa in the numbers.

The score does not show it but the Buckeyes had this game the whole time from the 2nd quarter on. Plays that made a huge impacts to keep it close:

- Weak PI in Chekwa
- Flag on the INT for a touchdown
- 3rd and short they got it and fumbled and we have to punt
- The kick return for a touchdown (That play was so terrible)

All in all Iowa is a good team and a couple of breaks their way as well could have been a different ball game.

Being at the game it just felt like they were not going to lose no matter what. Big plays could have been there yesterday but Tress did not want to cash them in. When they had the ball on the 40 I was begging from my seats to see a play action deep route, begging for it :).

It seems a lot of people are not enjoying this win and they should be. Even if the Big Ten is way down we are still Big Ten champs again and that is pretty awesome. If there was a year that Ohio State could have that streak broken I truly believe it was this year and they still got it done.

Great win, Great 2nd part of the season, now I hope to see them dominate the 3rd part (*eatchicken) and their Bowl.

Go Bucks!

It's a disservice to a really good Iowa team to look at all the what-ifs for the Bucks, but not look at all the what-ifs for the Hawkeyes, namely: The shanked FG and the three HUGE drops by Stross. If Stross catches the TD pass in the end-zone and OSU starts playing the entire game from behind, the whole thing goes differently.

Going down the chain of what-ifs as if OSU dominated a game they won by three points in OT is like going back and retroactively saying previous games were shutouts.

- Weak PI in Chekwa
- It was a legit call on Chekwa. He needs to play the ball, not run into his man.

- Flag on the INT for a touchdown
- If Nathan Williams doesn't start the play across the LOS, then it's probably not an easy pick and return.

- 3rd and short they got it and fumbled and we have to punt
- ?

- The kick return for a touchdown (That play was so terrible)
- OSU missed at least three tackles. That KR was earned by Iowa because OSU handled the coverage poorly. Did you go back and adjust the game score last week to remove the TDs set up by Ray Small's returns, since the return game doesn't really count?

Vandenberg played very well, as did the Iowa team. Don't be a sore winner.