Game Thread Ohio State 3, Southern Cal 35 (Sept. 13)

[bukIpower]

Anyone else think UVA had an alignment problem on defense? Numerous times their defensive end was lined up so far inside that the tackle was able to close in the left side of the dline! Usually this wouldn't be a problem if the OLB was over top of the Tackle protecting the outside but man on one run near the endzone I remember on the replay I counted 6 defenders on one side of the ball and like 1 where the ball really went.

This will be a great game! However, I will say that USC plays the type of ball that can really embarress us if we dont' come ready to play. Blitz, blitz, blitz on defense and big plays on offense spell trouble if we don't prepare well for this team. I swear though i hope USC comes at us like they did UVA though with that very very aggressive defense. Because if Todd can stand in there and hit that slant or hit a back out of the backfield they leave themselves very exposed to the big play. We need beanie big time in this game to keep that defense on the field. I look at USC's defense like Clubber Lang from Rocky 3 haha... Big hitters, Strong, Physical but I bet if you keep them on the field they are in TROUBLE because of that style. If we can manage 9 yards in the first two plays and set up multiple 3rd and 1's I'm confident beanie can power through for 2 yards.

What I do not want to see from a defensive standpoint is 3 defensive lineman... I hate that formation, I really do because I believe it really exposes our defensive lineman. I understand that a linebacker or Thad Gibson is quicker off the edge but I'd rather subsitute a DB than a lineman against USC or they'll kill us with draws and the sort.

I would like to see our defense mainly in Nickle with the Extra DB being Moeller (LB/DB Hybrid). With our Dline being Wilson, Heyward, Rose, Worthington. This type of a line up against them on 3rd downs would be sure nice to see I think.

USC's quick pass to the outside I think won't work at all against us. With Jenkins to one side thats going to be hard to do. I would love to see Jenkins come up and pop Mcknight on one of those quick passes!

 

[Taosman]

I think a bigger question will be will our starting WRers get separation fast enough to allow Todd to get rid of the ball and not take so many hits. YSU was getting to Todd for cryin' out loud! How many times was he hit Saturday?

 

[bukIpower]

I agree big time with that Taosman... Even the Broadcasters were saying that our recievers are having trouble finding room. This, IMO, has been a big time problem for the past 2 years. I think part of the reason is when we do throw the ball its in very run oriented formations. I think a lot of Todd being hit though was due to the fact that the recievers just couldn't get open and the oline can only hold up so long to any amount of pressure. I thought a lot of the time he had all day to throw but some of the times he ended up on his ass were due to coverage.

When we go five wide go FIVE WIDEOUTS. I hate just throwing tightends/RB's out into the flats too that just makes it easier for a defense to cover people IMO. if we throw bout Posey, Small, and Sanzo instead of Beane, Smith, and Nicol thats a huge difference in the way a defense has to defend. The explosion is just not there if they're not TRUE wideouts.

 

[Kurt Sexington]

I agree big time with that Taosman... Even the Broadcasters were saying that our recievers are having trouble finding room. This, IMO, has been a big time problem for the past 2 years. I think part of the reason is when we do throw the ball its in very run oriented formations. I think a lot of Todd being hit though was due to the fact that the recievers just couldn't get open and the oline can only hold up so long to any amount of pressure. I thought a lot of the time he had all day to throw but some of the times he ended up on his ass were due to coverage.

When we go five wide go FIVE WIDEOUTS. I hate just throwing tightends/RB's out into the flats too that just makes it easier for a defense to cover people IMO. if we throw bout Posey, Small, and Sanzo instead of Beane, Smith, and Nicol thats a huge difference in the way a defense has to defend. The explosion is just not there if they're not TRUE wideouts.

This is an interesting point for both teams. The USC secondary is really big and if the OSU receivers dont get physical with them, they could end up having massive difficulty getting off the line and creating enough seperation for Boeckman to work with.
For USC's part, the short stuff they were throwing against UVA will almost certainly not work against a guy like Jenkins so they will have to figure out how to pick up short yardage without giving the OSU secondary a great shot at a pick 6 every time.
For OSU I think it comes down to realizing that this is the biggest secondary they will ever see size wise and they need to stick to their routes and really get physical so that Boackman has options. For SC, they have to understand that throwing free balls up the gut is a recipe for interceptions. Jenkins and the rest of the OSU DBs arent just going to sit around while Sanchez and his WRs play pitch and catch.

 

[jwinslow]

This is an interesting point for both teams. The USC secondary is really big and if the OSU receivers dont get physical with them, they could end up having massive difficulty getting off the line and creating enough seperation for Boeckman to work with.

Robiskie and Hartline aren't soft by any means, their struggle to separate at times is more technique and speed driven than strength.

For OSU I think it comes down to realizing that this is the biggest secondary they will ever see size wise and they need to stick to their routes and really get physical so that Boackman has options. For SC, they have to understand that throwing free balls up the gut is a recipe for interceptions. Jenkins and the rest of the OSU DBs arent just going to sit around while Sanchez and his WRs play pitch and catch.

Coleman and Russell are pretty solid at coming downhill, that would play into their strengths as well... Jermale Hines also, if Coleman is unable to play (unlikely, just speaking in hypotheticals).

 

[Kurt Sexington]

Robiskie and Hartline aren't soft by any means, their struggle to separate at times is more technique and speed driven than strength.Coleman and Russell are pretty solid at coming downhill, that would play into their strengths as well... Jermale Hines also, if Coleman is unable to play (unlikely, just speaking in hypotheticals).

Robo and Hartline are top notch but they arent huge guys, especially Hartline. Although the SC corners arent huge, the safeties are both big and fast so Robo and Hartline will need to be more aware of their routes and Boackman will have to throw the ball where only his receivers can get it. He can't just air it up there and leave his receivers out to dry or they will get killed.

As far as SCs receivers go, they are wildly inconsistent though that is (allegedly) changing with the emergence of Rojo and Damian Williams. Those guys looked good on Saturday against a crappy secondary but they wont get the same type of seperation against Jenkins and Co. when they play OSU.

 

[maximumblitz]

[USC is] certainly not underestimating the buckeyes.

We have USC just where we want them.

OSU will be practicing hard and digging deep, knowing that it will take an extraordinary performance to beat USC without Beanie.

Pete C is laughing and joking about Beanie being injured:
ESPN - USC ready to prepare for the Buckeyes - College Football Nation

The entire world is talking about how great USC is. They are a great team, but can they handle the success?

If Beanie gets cleared a day or two before the USC game, watch out.

 

[Kurt Sexington]

We have USC just where we want them.

OSU will be practicing hard and digging deep, knowing that it will take an extraordinary performance to beat USC without Beanie.

Pete C is laughing and joking about Beanie being injured:
ESPN - USC ready to prepare for the Buckeyes - College Football Nation

The entire world is talking about how great USC is. They are a great team, but can they handle the success?

If Beanie gets cleared a day or two before the USC game, watch out.

I doubt Carroll was making light of Beanie Wells' injury, especially since he is a coach whose teams have been consistently some of the most injured in the land. If he was, however, taking Wells injury lightly that would certainly be unfortunate.

 

[BUCKYLE]

Pete C is laughing and joking about Beanie being injured:
ESPN - USC ready to prepare for the Buckeyes - College Football Nation

The entire world is talking about how great USC is. They are a great team, but can they handle the success?

Whew. You almost had me. I was about to be pissed off all over the place.

Petey was giving a smartass answer to a stupid question. The reporter asked if he knew Beanie was hurt. No biggie there.

Can they handle success? I thought that's what they've been doing for six plus years now.

 

[jwinslow]

Pete C is laughing and joking about Beanie being injured:

No, not really. A wry smile does not equal laughing and joking.

 

[Kurt Sexington]

No, not really. A wry smile does not equal laughing and joking.

I know a lot of CFB coaches are jackasses and some are just plain mean but I have difficulty believing that any coach takes injuries lightly just because they know what a total, unpedictable bitch they are. PC is a coach whose teams in the last year have been plagued by injuries all over the field and Im sure the guy doesnt like to hear about injuries to anyone just because he knows how painful and annoying they are.

 

[jwinslow]

Without hearing the clip, it sounds like he was sarcastic and said 'He did?!" (jokingly shocked) only to smile when admitting he already knew. Doesn't really seem like a commentary on Beanie whatsoever.

 

[Kurt Sexington]

Without hearing the clip, it sounds like he was sarcastic and said 'He did?!" (jokingly shocked) only to smile when admitting he already knew. Doesn't really seem like a commentary on Beanie whatsoever.

Strategically Im pretty sure PC wants him there anyways because a loss, blowout loss, win, or blowout win, would all look worse if Wells wasn't playing for OSU. If youre going to play a big, marquee game at the beginning of the season that will influence your rankings in some way, you want EVERYONE from the other team to be there so that if you win there are no doubters questioning your victory and if you lose you can say it was to a fully loaded team.

 

[BuckeyeGanoosh]

Strategically Im pretty sure PC wants him there anyways because a loss, blowout loss, win, or blowout win, would all look worse if Wells wasn't playing for OSU. If youre going to play a big, marquee game at the beginning of the season that will influence your rankings in some way, you want EVERYONE from the other team to be there so that if you win there are no doubters questioning your victory and if you lose you can say it was to a fully loaded team.

That's putting him on a pretty lofty pedestal. Keeping "PC", he for the most part has to keep his mouth shut on the topic. Imagine him saying, "that is an important loss", and how that could be misconstrued. On the other hand, I'm positive that in the back of his mind is some ease thinking his D won't even have to deal with Beanie and come out with a W.

Seems to me that fans are more sensitive to the not at full strength talk, and especially USC since that's the consensus excuse for any of your recent disappointments. I'm truly over it, and while I wish for every kid to be healthy just because they're human beings, I don't care who questions the victory. I look back to our Championship run a couple years back, and we scraped out so many games with pure guts and attrition, that I could care less about the aesthetic qualities of a victory anymore. A W is a [censored]ing W.

 

[BuckeyeGanoosh]

And the Big10 sans Ohio State would be pretty crappy, too.

At the moment, I can't argue with that. If the Illini and MSU would've pulled out W's, we'd have an early argument. What's surprising is that we don't play each other more often in the bowl season.