Game Thread Ohio State 6, Penn State 13 (Oct. 25)

[SABucksWife]

Yesterday's game was the 1st game I watched since the season started. (most of you will understand) It felt good to yell at the TV for a bit and remember the good times. I was very sad to see them lose. But we can't win them all. I feel bad for Pryor I don't think anyone was anymore upset than he was at himself.

 

[BernieBucks78]

It was no typo...

Was this a typo? We actually need PSU to win out for us to make it to a BCS bowl.

If they win out and we win out, the Rose Bowl would select us to replace Penn State.

PSU will certainly not lose more than one game. If they do lose one game, even though we would be co-bigten champs, the Rose Bowl would have their big ten rep and no one else will take us this year.

10 slots
6 BCS conference champs
1 notre dame
1 non-bcs conf. team
2 at large

With only 2 at large bids this year (probably), if the Rose Bowl is already full, everyone else will pick either an SEC or Big 12 team IMO.

Bigdaddy - as far as I understand the BCS, we will still go if we win out. Each conference can only have 2 teams max. so...with 10 slots:

2 = Big 12
2 = SEC
1 = PAC 10 (USC) - unless ofcourse they lose another PAC-10 game...then we are out.
1 = Big East Champ (they only have one ranked team right now)
1 = ACC Champ (they only have one ranked team right now)
1 = Buster

Notre Lame will not make it, unless they beat USC. They are not even ranked now and still play USC. They have to be in the top 8 (BCS) to secure a slot.

That leaves 2 slots open for the Big Ten! (PSU and tOSU). Unless they decide to take another team out of the ACC, Big Least, or PAC-1??? That would be insane! Of the ACC and Big East, their champ will be ranked below us.

 

[BernieBucks78]

???

Does anybody agree with me that at the end of the game Todd should have been put in because he has abetter arm. T.P. was under throwing every single ball. Todd i think as a captain has better leadership.

no

 

[morbitzerker]

I don't see the arm strength that was so hyped coming out of high school. Troy had a problem with putting too much heat on the ball - this really is not the case with Pryor. And I believe it's easier to tell a guy to ease up than to just expect a guy to throw harder.

I think we need some parameters on what exactly you mean by "arm strength." On the last offensive play, the kid was standing on about the 48/49 and chucks it to the end zone, that's impressive "arm strength" to me, seeing as how he hasn't even had much time on a weight program. Now if you mean the deep throws being underthrown, or some other throws not getting there with zip, I can understand that because I feel that sometimes he needs to rip the pass there but has trouble. This probably all goes into the fact that he hasn't had alot of with Coach Daniels, and still needs to work on his technique, footwork, reads, etc.

 

[Waller]

That is the first loss in years that I can walk away from without feeling bad. I thought the D played great for the most part and put us in a position to win. PSU's D did a similar job. Yes, our O line was horrible, but that has been known for some time. We need a new crew in there, and hopefully next year we have one. The coaching in terms of offense left something to be desired, at some point Tressel needs to let Pryor make some mistakes. But in the end, we lost to a better team. A team that has a real shot at playing, and even winning the national championship.

What makes me sick though isn't the team or the coaches. It is the fans that have simply lost all sense of how great we have been doing the past few years. Used to be beat Michigan, and that was a good year. Now that we do that routinely, that is not enough. Just got done talking to my dad, and he wants Tressel gone, and I expect that there are a lot of other Buckeyes who feel the same. Tressel has not only restored the program, he has elevated it. Graduation rates are much better, we are almost always in the hunt for a national championship, and Tressel emphasizes preparing these kids for life, and not just the playing field.

Sorry, but had to have a bit of a rant there. Tressel has his faults, but I sudder to think what will happen when he leaves.

GO BUCKS!!

 

[Waller]

Does anybody agree with me that at the end of the game Todd should have been put in because he has abetter arm. T.P. was under throwing every single ball. Todd i think as a captain has better leadership.

No.

 

[ysubuck]

It's better than our fuzzy picture 2 field goals

 

[fourteenandoh]

i think we could have won that game without attempting one running play. the dink and dunk passing game was open all night long, and TP was making good decisions. he can use his feet to buy time, and receivers can break off routes and get open. all in all, i was very happy with everything our team did last night though (including the game plan) except maybe a bit dissapointed in the OL.

 

[pokey]

I call that taking what the defense gives you. They stacked the LOS and sold out to stop Beanie. 16 of 25 for 226 yards is decent, don't get me wrong. But PSU decided they were going to challenge Pryor to beat them with his arm, they were right to do so, and it worked. Pryor had that good statline, but it didn't include a single TD from him (or anybody else for that matter). But maybe 16 of 25 for 226 yards was the next step for him in getting opponents to account for his arm, and that would be a good thing even if it didn't bring a win last night.

It has to be tough for Beanie to get a crease when it's 5 or 6 teammates there to block 8 opponents on every 1st and 2nd down. If anybody wants to assert that the OL isn't holding up their end, you won't catch me disagreeing. I just don't think that's the entire story.

Which of the remaining teams on the schedule could be successful using the above strategy to shut down our offense? Northwestern??? Illinois? TSUN?

 

[BrutusMaximus]

Might get banned for this but so be it. Unless we have some coaching changes, we are going to keep going through this. Play calling was horrible. Not at all taking advantage of the talent we have. Playing for field goals bites us in the ass as usual. The line was just bad. Again I think is at least part coaching. I cannot believe our talent at O-line is that bad.

The D played a good game, and I feel bad for them that we played for field goals again instead of unleashing some offense. Such it is though.

 

[fourteenandoh]

Might get banned for this but so be it. Unless we have some coaching changes, we are going to keep going through this. Play calling was horrible. Not at all taking advantage of the talent we have. Playing for field goals bites us in the ass as usual. The line was just bad. Again I think is at least part coaching. I cannot believe our talent at O-line is that bad.

The D played a good game, and I feel bad for them that we played for field goals again instead of unleashing some offense. Such it is though.

read the aftermath thread, if you haven't already. some interesting comments regarding coaching/play calling.

 

[ginn421]

"Unleashing the offense" is easier said than done. It's not like flipping a switch and then BAM you have offense. How do you tell the difference between bland playcalling and just plain bad execution? Maybe there were good plays called, but Pryor just missed the read or the open receiver or audibled out. He had time on many of his attempts, but again held on to the ball too long. That doesn't sound like someone who just needs to "open up the playbook" to succeed. I agree that there may be better ways to utilize the athletes we have, but it all depends on the QB and he's just not there....yet. I can't wait until he is.

As far as the OL goes, a couple guys were abused badly on passing downs a few times, but the blame can't be laid completely on them for the lack of running game. Sure, they didn't play an outstanding game, but when there are more hats close to the line to block than OL to block them, logic says there will be defenders free to make the tackle.

 

[BrutusMaximus]

As far as the OL goes, a couple guys were abused badly on passing downs a few times, but the blame can't be laid completely on them for the lack of running game. Sure, they didn't play an outstanding game, but when there are more hats close to the line to block than OL to block them, logic says there will be defenders free to make the tackle.

Exactly, so all you have to do is throw over the top, swing to the outside, etc. Our offensive imagination is terrible. We didnt run more than 1 or 2 misdirections all night either. It was either off tackle left or right, or pass. That was basically all I saw. I dont mind losing to a better team at all, as long as we give it our best effort. We were not doing that. We were playing WAY too close to the vest (pardon the pun), and it killed us.

Anyway, I will switch to the other thread, just didnt look for a seperate one.

/rant

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

I didn't mind the opening JoPa montage.. after watching the one after the game.. it was like he had died or something..

As for the opening montage, they played that during GameDay, and my wife asked me if he had died. She thought it was weird to do that for a person still living. She's a total non-football fan though...

Bigdaddy - as far as I understand the BCS, we will still go if we win out. Each conference can only have 2 teams max. so...with 10 slots:

2 = Big 12
2 = SEC
1 = PAC 10 (USC) - unless ofcourse they lose another PAC-10 game...then we are out.
1 = Big East Champ (they only have one ranked team right now)
1 = ACC Champ (they only have one ranked team right now)
1 = Buster

Notre Lame will not make it, unless they beat USC. They are not even ranked now and still play USC. They have to be in the top 8 (BCS) to secure a slot.

That leaves 2 slots open for the Big Ten! (PSU and tOSU). Unless they decide to take another team out of the ACC, Big Least, or PAC-1??? That would be insane! Of the ACC and Big East, their champ will be ranked below us.

Notre Dame only has to be in the Top 8 or so to get a guaranteed slot. They only have to get to 9 wins to be eligible, and that is very doable IMHO.

They play Pitt, BC, Navy and Syracuse before USC. All 4 of those pre-USC match-ups are winnable. Pitt was over-rated before this past week, and still are in many minds. ND really does have a legit shot to beat them. BC is down this year.

No eligible ND team will be passed over, regardless of whether a more "deserving" team is available. BCS slots are not about what you "deserve".

Some folks suggest that that last statement makes the Buckeyes a shoo-in. It used to... I'm not so sure anymore.

Either way, I don't need a BCS berth at this point. A January 1st bowl is still a good way to end a season that is already a disappointment.

And the fact that we consider a season that ends with a January 1st bowl a disappointment means we're Ohio State fans.

 

[jlb1705]

Which of the remaining teams on the schedule could be successful using the above strategy to shut down our offense? Northwestern??? Illinois? TSUN?

None of them. That was kinda one of the points I made in the post before that one. I think a lot of other teams have had the same idea, but Beanie is such a damn good RB that he can overcome it against most teams. Penn State had the talent and discipline to execute it against him. Hats off to them. I don't think anybody else on the slate will be able to pull it off like they did.