Game Thread Ohio State 34, Minnesota 21 (Sep. 27)

[OregonBuckeye]

Eh, maybe I've been spoiled with MoC and Beanie these past few years, but I just don't see "it" with Herron.

He's never going to touch Beanie or Clarett status but I think we could see a tailback by committee approach with Boom, Saine, Berry, Hyde, and Hall play out. That's what Texas had with Young in '05 and it didn't hinder their offense one bit.

 

[scooter1369]

We were leaped in the polls by USF and Auburn? Auburn? Are you fucking kidding me?

 

[NightmaresDad]

Ok, you guys that know more about football than an ol' track coach, tell me, is it just me or do both lines, O and D, look bad? It seemed to me that the only thing that allowed Terrelle to pass was his ability to run out of trouble. Is that a realistic observation? And let's also note that we ain't gettin' no push from the front 4 on D.

IMHO:
O-line - had some missed blocks yesterday, but not too mnay. Brewster missed a few, Person missed a few, again, and Browning got knocked on his butt once and missed a few blocks again. Nicol has really been struggling the last few games too, if you ask me. Hope he's OK, though.
Cordle had omly one really bad play that I remember.

D-line - I think some might be expecting some kind of NY Giant's type QB pressure, and you're just not going to get it against the kind of offenses that we've been playing. 2 and 3 step drops, screens and quick outs, just not going to happen. With all that, I thought the last two games the d line played fine. Seeing more penetration up the middle. N Williams looks like he will contribute quality minutes the rest of the season. He will be a good one. VERY strong for his size.

I'd like to see how many other teams hold Troy to 300 yards and 10 pts this season.

We'll get a chance to see how stout the new d-line is next week, for sure.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

And let's also note that we ain't gettin' no push from the front 4 on D.

Damn tootin', pa'!

 

[Rookie]

We were leaped in the polls by USF and Auburn? Auburn? Are you [censored]ing kidding me?

Ohio we struggled, Troy we struggled, and Minnesota scored 21 on us even though the game was well in hand. As Mark May would say a top team would blow these teams out. I'm not saying I agree with him, but ever since last year the pollsters started to actually look at the scores rather than the records. Until the pollster actually watch each and every game they are not going to have a fucking clue.

Next week its going to be a rude awakening with TP and Beanie in the back field. Wiscy better bring their A game, because I know we're going to bring ours.

 

[3074326]

We were leaped in the polls by USF and Auburn? Auburn? Are you fucking kidding me?

I've been saying this since we lost to USC, we're out of the title picture.. we're going to have to win the rest of our games convincingly and hope for pretty much everyone ahead of us to lose at least two games.. the new polls support that.

 

[billmac91]

I've been saying this since we lost to USC, we're out of the title picture.. we're going to have to win the rest of our games convincingly and hope for pretty much everyone ahead of us to lose at least two games.. the new polls support that.

We'd probably be 10 and 12 vs. 12 and 14 had we won by a wider margin however. That was a choice JT made. I don't think we can really complain about this weeks polls. We know what the pollsters look at...they don't watch games, and the final score was much closer than it should have been.

I know JT doesn't play for the pollsters, but if this game had occurred 5 weeks into the future, I'm not convinced the score isn't 45-14.

 

[3074326]

We'd probably be 10 and 12 vs. 12 and 14 had we won by a wider margin however. That was a choice JT made. I don't think we can really complain about this weeks polls. We know what the pollsters look at...they don't watch games, and the final score was much closer than it should have been.

I know JT doesn't play for the pollsters, but if this game had occurred 5 weeks into the future, I'm not convinced the score isn't 45-14.

I think it has more to do with us being Ohio State at this point. I know we're a different team, and we will be a much different team at the end of the year, but most people don't care anymore. We were exposed against an elite team, again, and I think that was our shot at redemption this year. Just my opinion, and I do realize that I'm in the minority with this opinion. I don't really see us moving up unless we pound our remaining strong opponents (mainly Penn State and Wisconsin, although Wisconsin losing yesterday did not help at all).

I don't think it's fair/right. I just think that's how it's going to go down.

 

[billmac91]

I think it has more to do with us being Ohio State at this point. Just my opinion, and I do realize that I'm in the minority with this opinion. I don't really see us moving up unless we pound our remaining strong opponents (mainly Penn State and Wisconsin, although Wisconsin losing yesterday did not help at all).

I don't think it's fair/right. I just think that's how it's going to go down.

I mostly agree with you.

The thing is, we had a chance to pound an opponent, but we called off the dogs.

Had we not called off the dogs, we're definately ranked ahead of Auburn and possibly USF. By not "pounding" Minnesota, we gave the pollsters a reason to have teams jump us.

But yes, there are many voters out there that will not be favorable to us.

 

[3074326]

I mostly agree with you.

The thing is, we had a chance to pound an opponent, but we called off the dogs.

Had we not called off the dogs, we're definately ranked ahead of Auburn and possibly USF. By not "pounding" Minnesota, we gave the pollsters a reason to have teams jump us.

But yes, there are many voters out there that will not be favorable to us.

I'm with you. Like I said, my opinion isn't what I think, it's what I think will happen. :tongue2:

If we're in a situation that dogs need calling off against any of our remaining "strong" opponents (PSU, Wisconsin, Illinois, MSU), I hope we don't call them off. I know we won't run it up against MSU, but we really have to impress to even have a remote shot. I just don't see JT running up the score/I don't see us dominating all these games.

 

[Telekinesis]

The only thing I don't like about JT is this don't run up the score crap. I disagree with any type of holding back methods. It's football, not a teen beauty competition where we have to protect the feelings of little girls.

There's a difference between having class and hindering your team. I believe you can still be classy and stomp a team in the dirt. If it ends up being 74-0, so be it. Teaching football players to hold back will do nothing but hurt their careers.

How many times do we have to get the score ran up on us before we can go out and unleash an assault on the competition? When it comes to letting our ranking take a shot in the mouth, you've got to put your manners aside and let us put the clamp down. You'll also notice the way we tend to score first (even on top teams) and then start to slack.

7-0 lead on Florida, 10-0 lead on LSU, 3-0 lead on USC...

I think after we break that opening score, our players mentalities are so conditioned not to kill the opposing team that we end up losing. It's so common for us to strike and then lose our swagger that it makes me wonder if they've been brainwashed by the notion of backing off once the game is in hand. I'd like for our team to be allowed to destroy an opponent a few times just to see if it makes a difference in their overall performance throughout the year.

 

[Sportsbuck28]

The only thing I don't like about JT is this don't run up the score crap. I disagree with any type of holding back methods. It's football, not a teen beauty competition where we have to protect the feelings of little girls.

There's a difference between having class and hindering your team. I believe you can still be classy and stomp a team in the dirt. If it ends up being 74-0, so be it. Teaching football players to hold back will do nothing but hurt their careers.

How many times do we have to get the score ran up on us before we can go out and unleash an assault on the competition? When it comes to letting our ranking take a shot in the mouth, you've got to put your manners aside and let us put the clamp down. You'll also notice the way we tend to score first (even on top teams) and then start to slack.

7-0 lead on Florida, 10-0 lead on LSU, 3-0 lead on USC...

I think after we break that opening score, our players mentalities are so conditioned not to kill the opposing team that we end up losing. It's so common for us to strike and then lose our swagger that it makes me wonder if they've been brainwashed by the notion of backing off once the game is in hand. I'd like for our team to be allowed to destroy an opponent a few times just to see if it makes a difference in their overall performance throughout the year.

There's a few games a year that JT most definately doesn't hold back... especially Northwestern after 2004.

I'll cede to Mili here because I know he has the stats on this.

 

[Telekinesis]

There's a few games a year that JT most definately doesn't hold back... especially Northwestern after 2004.

I'll cede to Mili here because I know he has the stats on this.

I'm not so sure that was due to not holding back. I'm thinking they were just that horrible.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Boom had some solid runs yesterday, and Zoom looked better than lately on his kick returns (his speed was better and he showed flashes of the power he displayed in his first few games last season). Even with Beanie gone next year, I think we'll be more than adequately covered at the RB position. It's the OL that is the key to running success...

 

[matcar]

The only thing I don't like about JT is this don't run up the score crap. I disagree with any type of holding back methods. It's football, not a teen beauty competition where we have to protect the feelings of little girls.

There's a difference between having class and hindering your team. I believe you can still be classy and stomp a team in the dirt. If it ends up being 74-0, so be it. Teaching football players to hold back will do nothing but hurt their careers.

How many times do we have to get the score ran up on us before we can go out and unleash an assault on the competition? When it comes to letting our ranking take a shot in the mouth, you've got to put your manners aside and let us put the clamp down. You'll also notice the way we tend to score first (even on top teams) and then start to slack.

7-0 lead on Florida, 10-0 lead on LSU, 3-0 lead on USC...

I think after we break that opening score, our players mentalities are so conditioned not to kill the opposing team that we end up losing. It's so common for us to strike and then lose our swagger that it makes me wonder if they've been brainwashed by the notion of backing off once the game is in hand. I'd like for our team to be allowed to destroy an opponent a few times just to see if it makes a difference in their overall performance throughout the year.

Those of you caring about the score or the polls are lost....just lost. Look, if we're fortunate enough to go through the rest of the schedule undefeated (and the way our d-line is playing, I wouldn't count on it), then where Auburn and USF are will be irrellevant. Seems like we should just be focused on our next opponent rather than worrying about polls. Sheesh, the team that shellacked us by 30+ just got done getting exposed by what other folks are now calling the "real OSU". So I'd think we could sit the fuck down, eat our humble pie, and focus on the next game and let the polls take care of themselves.