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

[WaitingforKickoff]

Excellent point ... and one that needed to be stated. IMHO, USC is better at every position with the possible exception of middle linebacker (even); tailback (slight edge to Beanie over McKnight, but USC has much better depth); and cornerback (clear edge to Jenkins, slight edge to Washington & Chekwa). OSU was talented enough to play with USC last night - just like they were talented enough to play with Miami in the 2003 BCS title game - but the "intangibles" simply weren't there to even out the talent disadvantage ... and in fact many of the intangibles went USC's way (intensity, penalties, composure).

I also think that it's the intangibles and a lack of fortitude that really did us in in this game. If football games are just about talent, then we shouldn't play the games anymore, because we can just ask an arbitrator from NFL scouting to gives us an average star of all the players on the two deep. But clearly that's not how you play the game. I've said this before but I'll say it again: your weakness doesn't kill you, but your refusal to adopt or to even acknowledge your weakness sure will. Chris Wells had 89 yards rushing in the first quarter against LSU, and what do we do? We gave him the ball four time in the second quarter, when the outcome of the game was being decided. And last night, it seemed about just every time after Pryor does something well, like scampering for 14 yards, we pull him out of the game and insert Boeckman in obvious passing downs. And we still blame the QB for getting sacked on those plays?

 

[buckeyes_rock]

I'm surprised no one has brought this up. This might be USC'S best team since Pete Carroll's started at USC and thats scary. Sanchez in my opinion, will be the best QB out of USC in Pete Carroll's years at USC.
About USC, the Defense is amazing and the offense has it all ,with extras to go. That team depth is scary and with how many players went to the NFL from last years team. I hope they win the national title , I take that back they will win it. At least Ohio state lost to a great team.

No doubt, USC is an awesome team with bucket-loads of talent. Although I held out hope that we'd hang tough and find a way to win, in my heart I knew USC would probably win this game. But that's no excuse for how poorly the Buckeyes executed. This could've at least been a ball game. That said, yes...hats off to USC. They played a phenomenal game and deserve to be #1. They showed up to play and we really didn't.

Good luck Trojans with the rest of your season. I'd be shocked if anyone on their schedule is able to hang with them this year. It'll be interesting to see who they face in the championship game. I'd enjoy seeing some other team get their lunch handed to them on the big stage. :)

 

[troy#1]

No doubt, USC is an awesome team with bucket-loads of talent. Although I held out hope that we'd hang tough and find a way to win, in my heart I knew USC would probably win this game. But that's no excuse for how poorly the Buckeyes executed. This could've at least been a ball game. That said, yes...hats off to USC. They played a phenomenal game and deserve to be #1. They showed up to play and we really didn't.

Good luck Trojans with the rest of your season. I'd be shocked if anyone on their schedule is able to hang with them this year. It'll be interesting to see who they face in the championship game. I'd enjoy seeing some other team get their lunch handed to them on the big stage. :)

Thanks for wishing SC luck! Same to OSU! This might sound funny, but we are gonna need help getting through the conference schedule. No matter how good the Trojans are, some pac-10 teams give them fits! Good luck to the bucks the rest of the way, and fans, keep your heads up, you are fans of a great institution rich in history and tradition. Look forward to going to the shoe next year!

 

[Kurt Sexington]

I don't disagree with you at all. However, the majority of the blame has to be laid squarely at the feet of the coaching staff for it's lack of PROPER preparation. Even this can be laid at their feet for lack of mental prep.

Absolutely. Players play with confidence when the coaching staff prepares them well. If a coaching staff prepares you to win, you will go out the expecting to win. OSU has a great head coach though and that is enough to stay positive about, in my opinion.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Thanks for wishing SC luck! Same to OSU! This might sound funny, but we are gonna need help getting through the conference schedule. No matter how good the Trojans are, some pac-10 teams give them fits! Good luck to the bucks the rest of the way, and fans, keep your heads up, you are fans of a great institution rich in history and tradition. Look forward to going to the shoe next year!

Stanford Happens!

Best of luck. Your fan base isn't the easiest in the world to embrace (let's face it, neither is ours), but I can NOT stomach another SEC MNC.

 

[MaxBuck]

There is absolutely no shame in losing to a team as talented and well-coached as this year's Southern Cal team. And by all accounts they won with class, as you'd expect given their coach.

Buckeyes should not hang their heads, but I truly believe we need substantial changes in coaching.

1. Absolutely no excuse for our being so thoroughly dominated on both lines of scrimmage. Bollman's lines have never really produced the kind of surge that a truly great college team needs to have. We saw the inklings of this performance in both the Ohio and YSU games, when our lines were played essentially to a standstill.

2. What is up with the penalties at critical junctures? Every team will have some, and expecting perfection would be silly. But this team seems to have a penchant for getting them at particularly damaging times.

3. I'm still a bit flabbergasted that Pryor saw no more time than he did. Very early in the game it became evident that Southern Cal would storm the battlements when Boeckman was in the game, and that he could not be effective under the smothering pressure (I'd argue that few, if any QBs could). Yet Coach Tressel continued to rotate the two, with predictable results.

I don't argue that Coach Tressel is a dinosaur, but it seems evident that some changes in coaching philosophy would be prudent if we want ever again to perform effectively against the Big Boys. Right now we are not one of them, not even close.

 

[MaxBuck]

... I don't see ANY reason to believe that Ohio State has the same level of talent as USC.

...Feel free to keep saying that "the talent is there". But someone please back it up with something tangible. The hyperbole is getting tedious.

I'd agree that our talent is not equal to USC. Certainly at QB, Mark Sanchez has demonstrated he may be the best in a long line of outstanding field generals developed by Pete Carroll.

With that said, do you truly believe the talent disparity is enough that we should have gotten our butts kicked so thoroughly and embarrassingly? I don't.

 

[WaitingforKickoff]

Absolutely. Players play with confidence when the coaching staff prepares them well. If a coaching staff prepares you to win, you will go out the expecting to win. OSU has a great head coach though and that is enough to stay positive about, in my opinion.

Good point, although this is more than about not building confidence. I think this boils down to a play calling philosophy that flat out tempers momentum when the offense is moving and breeds panic when it is not. Whenever someone is stepping up, like Pittman was against UF, Beanie against LSU, or Pryor against SC, we abruptly decide that it's time to give someone else the ball to make the attack 'more balanced'. And by doing that, we've just shown the tendency that the opposition had been expecting, thus resulting in sacks and worse. And when we are not moving the ball, we become even more predictable. The most crucial drives in the UF, LSU and SC games all end up being something like rushing up the middle on first down, imcompletion on second and long and sack on third and long. After we punt, the opponent drives down the field and puts the dagger in the heart. You just can't make this stuff up.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

I don't argue that Coach Tressel is a dinosaur, but it seems evident that some changes in coaching philosophy would be prudent if we want ever again to perform effectively against the Big Boys. Right now we are not one of them, not even close.

I don't think that JT is a dinosaur. I do think that he needs to be a little more aggressive early in big ballgames, work to instill a mean-spirited hunger in his teams, and be willing to throw the gameplan away when it's not working.

We saw in Troy Smith's senior year, that JT can adapt when he feels the need/feels he has the tools. The combination of last night's loss and the presence of Pryor should be very strongly telling him that both those conditions currently apply.

 

[Mike80]

Feel free to keep saying that "the talent is there". But someone please back it up with something tangible. The hyperbole is getting tedious.

The talent is there. The EXECUTION is not however, nor is the mental toughness needed to push through the adverse times.

Ohio State was able to move the ball when they executed the plays and didn't commit dumb penalties. It wasn't a lack of speed and when the blocks were made and the reads were decisive, the ball moved.

On defense when the tackling was strong, the contain kept and the fills made, USC had some issues. Now a blown coverage here and a pick play there caused 14 points, but the talent was there to play with USC.

USC was the better team last night no doubt. But if Ohio State ever wants to truly play with the big boys (and this counts for Florida as well as LSU) they will have to execute their plays and they will have to win the game in the trenches.

and I'm with LJB - it's time to cut bait and play Pryor and get him ready to lead this team for at least the next 2 years.

 

[Mike80]

We saw in Troy Smith's senior year, that JT can adapt when he feels the need/feels he has the tools. The combination of last night's loss and the presence of Pryor should be very strongly telling him that both those conditions currently apply.

That brings me, unfortunately, to point 2.

I don't think JT feels he has the leeway to do this right now with the people he has.

I DO think we see a completely different gameplan with Beanie in their last night. I don't think JT wanted to be using Todd the way he did but he had no other choice.

Pryor, on the other hand, will give him that sense that he can handle more. the kid's play last night was truly one of the only bright spots.

 

[Kurt Sexington]

Good point, although this is more than about not building confidence. I think this boils down to a play calling philosophy that flat out tempers momentum when the offense is moving and breeds panic when it is not. Whenever someone is stepping up, like Pittman was against UF, Beanie against LSU, or Pryor against SC, we abruptly decide that it's time to give someone else the ball to make the attack 'more balanced'. And by doing that, we've just shown the tendency that the opposition had been expecting, thus resulting in sacks and worse. And when we are not moving the ball, we become even more predictable. The most crucial drives in the UF, LSU and SC games all end up being something like rushing up the middle on first down, imcompletion on second and long and sack on third and long. After we punt, the opponent drives down the field and puts the dagger in the heart. You just can't make this stuff up.

I've had issues with SC's play calling in past years, but one thing I will give them is that when something is working they go with it until it doesn't work anymore. There is never any good reason to go away from what's hot in football, period. Youre RB is picking up ten yards a play going down the gut? Keep running him. When the opposition finally figures out how to stop him, it will either be to late or they will be changing their game plan so fundamentally that it will leave them vulnerable somewhere else. Same goes for passing, defense, or any other part of the football game.
College football is a game of momentum. You need to be able to embrace those momentum shifts and try to extend the "highs" your team wil encounter during the game for as long as possible. Pete Carroll's team are probably the best in the nation at utterly demoralizing teams for the very reason that they find what the opposition can't deal with early and then do it repeatedly for the rest of the game. It's often a winning strategy and as a true fan of Tressell I would like to see him embrace that concept a bit more because I think it will lead to success.

 

[Jake]

Obviously both sides are loaded with talent and speed, but I can't help but wonder if it's not been "game plan" that's been the problem for Ohio State, and say Oklahoma during the past few years. Both teams have rolled through the regular season only to be stunned in their BCS Bowls. I wonder if they have a habit of predictability that some of the other coaches have picked up on and exploited. We talk so much about the players.

I knew someone had made this post before the game. :ohwell:

"They did everything we saw on film, nothing changed," said USC linebacker Rey Maualuga, who had five tackles and a pick six.

 

[Mike80]

I knew someone had made this post before the game. :ohwell:

"They did everything we saw on film, nothing changed," said USC linebacker Rey Maualuga, who had five tackles and a pick six.

that would explain why the swapping in and out of Pryor and running some of the newer plays seemed to work decently in the first half.....

Again I hate to say it, but it's either an originality thing (which I doubt) or it's being comfortable with the people on the field executing the plays (which seems more likely to me at least)......

Tressel has earned the chance to correct this ship. This isn't Lane Kiffin in his first ever head coaching job here. Short of a new coaching regime entirely (which isn't going to happen), Tressel has to be the guy to get it done.

 

[MaxBuck]

Tressel has earned the chance to correct this ship. This isn't Lane Kiffin in his first ever head coaching job here.

Mike, thank you for bringing a grin to my face. It could always be worse - we could be saddled with Lane Kiffin (or Charlie Weis)!