Inside the Beat: Picking through the OSU-USC debris
Monday, September 15, 2008 4:59 PM
By
Ken Gordon and
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
One of the hundreds of e-mails we have received already in the wake of Ohio State's 35-3 beatdown last Saturday at Southern California was titled, "Cleaning up after Ike." The e-mailer likened the people of Texas clearing away downed trees and debris to what he felt Ohio State should be doing today: Clearing away the deadwood from the Buckeyes' starting lineup and/or coaching staff. That's the mood today, certainly. It's tough for Ohio State fans to absorb another blowout, and now they want assurance of change. We take a look at what's ahead:
GORDON: It's difficult not to get swept away in the tide of fan anger and calls for change, but the reporter in me can rationally break down the USC loss: red-zone mistakes in the first half, the absence of tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells, poor offensive line protection, penalties. I can do the same for the title-game loss to Louisiana State in January, too. But I agree with those who have e-mailed and pointed out the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Something is amiss, Tim, something larger than "lack of execution," right?
MAY: When you play a team that's better than you -- no debate now, Southern California is as awesome, terrifying and smooth-playing a team as OSU has played in recent years -- and you play them at their place, you have to be near flawless in execution. That was not the case on Saturday night by any stretch. And when that happens, weak points become as apparent as a throbbing toe. Ironically, some of the e-mailers said it's time for the Buckeyes to get out of their rut, not taking into account for the first time in the Jim Tressel era the team did something unexpected, it alternated quarterbacks, sometimes on a play-to-play basis, in an attempt to keep USC off balance. It worked on that second drive, but mistakes left OSU with only a field goal. What I'm saying is the coaches did think outside the "Beanie box," but in the end, it led to just three points.
Cont...
