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Game Thread Ohio State @ Indiana, 08/31/17 @ 8:00 ET (ESPN)

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I was Chief Encourager last night. For some reason, all my buddy OSU fans are Negative Nellies, and they were losing their minds through 2 1/2 qtrs.

I kept telling them this was the first game of the year, Indiana couldn't get 1 yard rushing, the Hoosiers were moving the ball via perfect throws by Lagow, ridiculous catches, and completions off of tipped balls; even tho the DB's were getting killed, they were right there; and that the universe would be restored to normal order eventually because 1) it's a law 2) talent and depth would eventually show.

I gotta admit there was a point where I was doubting all of that, but there are rules of winning in football, and generally they play out over the course of 4 qtrs.

The DL was as advertised. Ridiculous, nasty, filthy, etc. Can't wait to see what they can do against Barkley and a more balanced offense. DB's struggled in the first half, but that's all Indiana had, Schianno had them playing pretty basic, and it wasn't like the DB's were getting beat or weren't there to defend. So, the DB's are the weakness? I'll take it because it wasn't a talent issue, and they will do nothing but get better.

Dobbins - wow. RB controversy? Wilson intentionally had the offense play a little hand-cuffed in the first half. JT Barrett was to give and not pull on the zone read. It seemed to me that Indiana figured that too, and played the give. JT played really well overall. His stats and the scoreboard say so. The first half looked a little too much like the end of last year and it freaked people out. But once Wilson let JT run, and the receivers shook it off, it was all good. They still need to hit a couple of those long ones. But then again, JT did hit one, Parris just blew it. Redeemed himself tho.

So, all in all, a good start. Not as dominating as we wanted in terms of how we watched and felt about it, but very dominant in other ways. Another way to look at it is that the areas where they were exposed are fixable.
 
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My opinions:
Ohio State's defensive backs looked as though 3/4 of them were starting their first game.
Ohio State's defensive linemen looked as though they had 10 on the field at any moment. Maybe that was the problem - too many linemen and not enough backs. Or maybe they should set some linemen in there to play defensive back. Either way, that line is a monster.
Dobbins is a stud. Is he better than Weber? I like that we have 2 good backs, though. 3 if you count that Williams guy.
Other than a few drops, I liked the wide receivers. I want to see Campbell more, and was a little heartbroken when he dropped that one. But Barrett went back to him and it paid off.
Barrett - I wonder if he's getting used to Wilson, or vice versa. The offense looked as though Wilson was playing it safe for a while, before hitting the gas.

Overall, I'm WAY happier with this team after 1 week than I was after 1 week in 2014. See what happens next week...
 
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Poe McKnoe said:
OSU should to hit a couple of guys who are way too fast for the opposing defenses to handle and break the game open. That's what has been missing for a couple years.
Click to expand...

Certainly a necessity in the passing game, it just seems like they're going to be really dependant on these type of shallow throws. I know it's only based on 1 game, but i really want to see consistent intermediate and deep throws. Otherwise its going to be really difficult to beat Bama/FSU, etc.
 
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One man's b.s. opinions:

1. The overall team depth, speed, and athleticism, especially on defense, is absurd, even for an Urban Meyer-recruited team. I couldn't even begin to keep track of who was in the game on D and saw jersey numbers early that I didn't expect to see. The LBs looked like guided missiles. Every time IU tried to run or throw wide, I just laughed. NOBODY is going to get to the edge with any consistency at all on these guys.

2. The run defense was vicious. It had been said that Schiano was going to have the DL rush a bit wider and more aggressively this year, and I had concerns about whether we'd give up some plays in the running game because of it. I had very few concerns during the game because nobody's going to beat OSU without having some success running the ball . . . no matter how pretty they look (for a while) throwing it. I would like to see the DL get even more insta-pressure on the passer and bat down some more balls.

3. The secondary had some growing pains, as did the LBs in coverage, but I love that they faced a lot of adversity (and two games worth of throws). Lots to look at on film for next time, proven coaching, and plenty of talent keeps my level of concern low. Ward is clearly the #1 corner and got a ton of work because he had single coverage all night against their best WRs: He won some and he lost some, but he was always in the picture.

4. Offensively, the biggest concern for me for the season is simply whether J.T.'s vision and mental computer is fast enough and his throwing fundamentals good enough to consistently deliver the ball to the right place ON TIME when under duress against a really tough defense. Overall I saw 40% flashes of 2014 with cleaner-looking fundamentals and nice accuracy, albeit not yet much better timing, and 60% residual 2015-16 fuckery. I did think that his ball-faking was improved and elite, which gives me confidence that Day knows what's he's doing, and I also thought that he was more decisive and accurate on the quick flat passes and more accurate, albeit not more decisive, on middle of the field zone-beaters than he has been in the last two years. Overall, I'm optimistic but I'm not quite drinking the kool-aid yet. I would also like to see the coaches encourage JT to quickly and decisively take off when nothing's there on a passing play (especially when it moves the chains on 3d down: please just take the sure thing) and give him a few more creative designed running plays/RPOs (and not as many straight zone-reads) early in games because I think that a bit of success running the ball tends to settle him down as a passer.

5. Re: the running game: We're good, and I'm guessing that we'll see a bit more running from the H as the season progresses. I'd like to see Weber and Dobbins split 40 carries per game fairly evenly and predict (you heard it here first) that barring injury both will go over 1,000 yards on the season. Dobbins also looks like a weapon in the passing game, and I look forward to watching his wheel routes. OL didn't seem great early, but was generally solid and got nastier as the game went on.

6. WRs. I liked seeing several of them locked up blocking DBs in the running game and on short passes to others without getting flagged. I think that the effort is there. As far as the passing game goes, given the importance of timing, I wonder if "six starters" is like two starting QBs in that if you've got six, you don't have three. I don't know who the best guys are or how snaps are actually being allocated, but I'd like to see three guys get 2/3 or 3/4 of the snaps so that some consistency can be developed. There's talent, but guys simply need to get open faster and stop dropping catchable balls.

7. It's a little thing, but even though he didn't really have an opportunity to return anything, K.J. Hill looks a lot more solid fielding punts than what we've had back there in recent years. Now, maybe if there was a bit of blocking . . .
 
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9 things from our trip to Indiana:

1. It seems like that stadium has been under construction for 20 years. When will it end!?!?! But seriously, it was easy to get in and out, but it's a cement cauldron. Thankfully it wasn't 95 degrees or else it would have sucked. The flyover was cool (A-10s are awesome) and they put on a decent show. The scoreboard was a little annoying though, they had a speaker out of whack and it sounded weird.

2. From the start, I was wondering what kind of team we'd see. When the 1st drive happened, it didn't look quite right but they moved the ball. Then they basically took the next quarter off before forcing the ball down the field and scoring the TD to make it 14-13. they turned the corner at that point and really got it rolling in the 3rd and 4th. Dobbins is the real deal but the key has been and always will be JT. In the 1st half he was missing throws, his receivers weren't always open and it seemed like they were thinking instead of doing. In the 2nd half that all flipped - he was hitting the open guys, his guys were getting open and they were playing FAST. It made a world of difference.

3. That damned fade Indiana kept throwing was a nightmare to watch. You could see it coming every time they ran it. I don't know if OSU gave them a different look (it didn't seem like they did) or they just completely went away from it, but IU stopped throwing it about halfway through the 3rd after they made it 21-20. No idea why. OSU didn't stop it more than once or twice.

4. This D-line got it cranking and after IU stopped snap-catch-throwing the ball, they were all over the QB. IU not having a running game helped them pin their ears back, but there were very few blitzes and they had semi-consistent pressure all night.

5. Parris Campbell is fast. So is Dixon. Not quite Teddy Ginn fast, but fast.

6. Fat man touchdowns are awesome. Fat man spin moves where he SPINS THE GUY TRYING TO TACKLE HIM are even awesomer.

7. Boogie picking isn't a good look. Boogie picking and eating is even worse. 5 up/downs coach. :shake:

8. To the 120-lb IU frat boy who leaned down to within 3 inches of my 7 year olds face and called him a jackass, enjoy delivering pizzas for the rest of your life bitch.

9. It's good to get out of the 1st game of a year on the road in a conference game with a Win. I'm very glad we got to see the offense we were hoping to see, even if it took nearly 3 quarters for it to show up. Onward and upward guys!
 
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If the WRs didn't drop 4 catches then IT is looking at 24 of 35 for close to 400 yards. I thought he showed good poise, scanned the field Well, and importantly threw balls that WRs could catch in stride. The only critique I have for JT is his arm strength isn't going to allow us to throw those 50+ vertical routes where the WRs get to run under it. A lot of his passes that are of length tend to hang and he has issues getting the ball there on a rope.

May create issues with teams still packing the box
 
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INDIANA QUOTEBOOK: BUCKEYES PLEASED WITH HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS, NO WALLY PIPP TALK, SPECIAL MOMENTS FOR BOWEN AND DIXON

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Football can be a game of halftime adjustments, and it certainly appeared to be for the Ohio State football team on Thursday night.

The Buckeyes trailed Indiana at halftime, 14-13, but ended up running away from the Hoosiers in the second half, winning the game, 49-21.

Ranked as the No. 2 team in both major polls with aspirations of finishing the year at No. 1, Ohio State wasn’t happy to be trailing an unranked team 30 minutes into the game. Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer, though, felt his team took the right approach at halftime to set itself up for a win in the second half.

"A little bit pissed, and they understand they didn’t play very well," Meyer said of the Buckeyes’ demeanor at halftime. "But I didn’t see any panic. I thought the offensive coaches did a nice job in their conversations, and the same with the defense."

After Ohio State’s offense got off to an underwhelming start, especially in the passing game, quarterback J.T. Barrett was encouraged by the way his unit responded in the second half – and felt it did so in a way it would not have done last year.

"I thought we operated in that second half faster," Barrett said. "Just older, experienced guys, whether receivers, O-linemen, tight ends, so I think the conversation is better on the sideline, as far as adjustments, because guys know what they’re looking for. Since the conversation, it’s easier to come out of a person’s mouth when they know what they’re talking about, so I think that was good. Especially when it got to halftime and was able to talk it through and really voice what was happening out there on the receivers, tight ends and O-line."

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...l-moments-for-branden-bowen-and-johnnie-dixon
 
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Mike80 said:
8. To the 120-lb IU frat boy who leaned down to within 3 inches of my 7 year olds face and called him a jackass, enjoy delivering pizzas for the rest of your life bitch.
Click to expand...
If frat boy had done that to either of my kids when they were that young, frat boy would be delivering pizza from a wheelchair accessible van. I admire your restraint...
 
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