Game Thread Ohio State vs Northwestern, 10/29/16, 3:30pm ET ESPN/WatchESPN

[bukIpower]

To me I understood after the first quarter that again this was going to be a severe struggle. it just shouldn't be this way and I absolutely cannot stand our stubborn staff quotes after the game.

Asked about helping Arnette out with Carr? "We thought playing our defense was best". Well ok cool but what happens if you could play your defense better by putting our best cover corners on the kid who got 150 yards receiving.

Why do we have to accept that we are just a running offense or have to "play our defense?" dammit just do things that put us in position to dominate.

Because it's this attitude that loses games against better teams. This defense will have no answer for Jake Butt and the same excuse will be said after the game win or lose. Just make them fight left handed dammit

 

[Hstead]

I thought the play calling was better than it was the past three games. Much more play action on first downs. Personally, I thought the oline played fairly well. JT had enough time on most pass plays to bake a cake and eat it too. The receivers are not the problem either. There were numerous plays where a WR had separation and had his man beat. Nearly every time JT didn't see them. Dixon had his man beat so bad once he was 7 yards behind him and at least 42000 fans yelled " throw the ball" all at once right before JT went to the flat for an incompletion.

JT is not seeing the field, not throwing anyone open, and holding it too long. Same problems Cardale and he had last year. No development or improvement.

I also think the routes suck for the most part and I don't mean execution or technique, but selection. The plays make the WRs look worse.

I will also add the crowd booed the speed option call on 3rd and 6 late in the game. It was pathetic.

 

[OSUK]

Houston - I mean Columbus - we got a problem. Actually, we have problemS. I don't know what they exactly are, but that's not going to stop me.

The good news is they won and bought themselves another week to get it figured out.

The bad news is that the things we see and can objectively point to as problems may be symptoms rather than the disease. I am seeing execution mistakes, some lack of fundamentals like fitting run gaps and staying on rush lanes, some piss poor play calling esp on 3rd down, and too many other things to mention. Overall, what I see is regression in performance in all three phases. It's really dumbfounding.

Pulling from the 1800s when I played, you are always struggling with something. The coaches work on it in practice. You learn from film. Sometimes you lose a winnable game, and a team learns a lot from that. But when you don't fix stuff, or stay stuck in regression, IMO that is a result of poor player leadership and/or poor followship, a lack of team character, or a lack of team unity.

I sense some division and a lack of togetherness. But no way to know for sure. Whatever the problem is, I do trust Urban to fix it if it is fixable.

 

[Zurp]

I will also add the crowd booed the speed option call on 3rd and 6 late in the game. It was pathetic.

We sure did. And I only say "we" because I was part of the crowd - not because I boo'd. I didn't want to boo because it would sound like I'm booing the players. But I would like to boo the call. Other than one play early when we got some good yards, it wasn't working all afternoon. I think mostly it was that the crowd (myself included) was frustrated that we weren't scoring as easily as we'd all like.

But a win is a win. Meyer has never won a championship with an undefeated team. And every champion has a game or two where they struggle. Hopefully that's all this was.

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

I thought the play calling was better than it was the past three games. Much more play action on first downs. Personally, I thought the oline played fairly well. JT had enough time on most pass plays to bake a cake and eat it too. The receivers are not the problem either. There were numerous plays where a WR had separation and had his man beat. Nearly every time JT didn't see them. Dixon had his man beat so bad once he was 7 yards behind him and at least 42000 fans yelled " throw the ball" all at once right before JT went to the flat for an incompletion.

JT is not seeing the field, not throwing anyone open, and holding it too long. Same problems Cardale and he had last year. No development or improvement.

I also think the routes suck for the most part and I don't mean execution or technique, but selection. The plays make the WRs look worse.

I will also add the crowd booed the speed option call on 3rd and 6 late in the game. It was pathetic.

i was just about to post about where the responsibility lies among the players, play-calling, and player-development. it's nearly impossible to see where the issues specifically are when you're not in the stands. that being stated, because i fail to believe that we're signing untalented athletes at receiver and that the defensive backfields we're facing are stellar, i've suspected that the problems primarily center on barrett and the coaches. your post bolsters that opinion.

i still think barrett is a good quarterback, of course, but i think conference foes are now prepared for him. they know what's coming, and the coaches aren't helping one bit. whether it's quarterback and wide receiver development or whether it's the playbook, and i do think it's both, things need to change after this season. warinner and beck should not be carrying the playbook in their hands. zach smith is a very good recruiter, but why can't his players separate and why can't they gain yards after the catch? in terms of the latter, it's probably because of the playbook... i guess. as stated in the game thread, the overwhelming majority of our receptions that are not check-downs to a running back are to receivers sitting down and squarely facing barrett. it's all fly patterns, curls, and check-downs. where in the world are the crossing patterns and slants? but perhaps that goes back to barrett. to be sure, it's infuriating to watch.

we'll have too much talent and too much experience next season for there to be the same problems. i am confident that meyer will force some turnover.

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

tim beck and ed warinner... how much experience do they have as actual offensive coordinators? not asking because i think they are bad, but with what i saw all last season and so far what i have seen this season. just makes me curious how much actually being the offensive coordinator experience they actually have at this point in their careers. does anyone happen to know?

in regards to beck, what i remember from the nebraska fans is that at first they were like...

and then they were like...

 

[lvbuckeye]

JT holds onto the ball all damn day. He gets a ton of time. The OL can't pass it for him. Now whether that's JT not finding receivers or receivers not getting open, I'm not sure. Probably a little of both. But I vehemently disagree with the level of blame you're placing on the OL. They've held up well despite loaded boxes and an inept passing game, excluding the end of the psu game

Pass protection has been pretty good. Barrett is holding the ball too long. It's the run blocking that is lacking. Granted, it was Hyde and Zeke, but this is the first time since Urban has been here that they simply can't just line up and blow the DL off the ball.

 

[Steve19]

I think the problem is Barrett. He is tentative on every play. He is no longer the running threat he once was. He's a good QB going through a rough patch.

Don't know what it looked like from the stands but the TV folks showed him going through his progressions on several plays and it was highlighted on TV as a strength. To me, he just looked tentative. Holding the ball too long on several hand offs, looking at the sidelines after plays with a WTF look on his face, missing wide open receivers.

I like the player but I think he's not at all what he needs to be right now.

 

[ScriptOhio]

OHIO STATE 'NUTTED UP' IN FOURTH QUARTER TO AVOID DISASTER, SAVE ITS SEASON

With the game tied 17-all and 12 minutes, 19 seconds remaining on the clock, Ohio State got the ball on its own 37-yard line after Northwestern punted. The Buckeyes were on the ropes for the second-straight week and were suddenly in serious danger of losing their second-consecutive game.

A loss Saturday against the Wildcats would have essentially ended Ohio State’s season. The Buckeyes’ hopes of playing in the Big Ten championship game were likely out the window. The College Football Playoff? Kiss it goodbye.

Ohio State needed to win the game. Period.

Six plays and 63 yards later, the Buckeyes were in the end zone after a 3-yard touchdown run by Curtis Samuel. And after Ohio State’s defense held Northwestern to a field goal on the ensuing drive, it proceeded to run out the clock thanks to some key plays on third down by quarterback J.T. Barrett, and the Buckeyes survived, 24-20.

“I thought our guys nutted up when they had to,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said afterward. “The two final drives were big.”

Yes, they were. The two final drives of this game essentially saved the Buckeyes’ season.

Ohio State didn’t play a great game against Northwestern. The Buckeyes appeared to have their offense back on track after scoring 17 points on their first three possessions, but then things stalled for a long period of time before those two fourth-quarter drives sealed the win. At times, the Wildcats were able to gash Ohio State’s defense. Northwestern had scoring drives of 75, 82, 84 and 60 yards.

There are still countless areas in which the Buckeyes need to improve, but Ohio State is still going to celebrate tonight.

“Nothing was perfect,” Meyer said, “but we’re going to enjoy that win.”

Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...utted-up-in-fourth-quarter-to-save-its-season

 

[ScriptOhio]

OHIO STATE GRINDS OUT VICTORY AGAINST NORTHWESTERN, BUT PERSISTENT ISSUES MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO GAUGE PROGRESSION OF BUCKEYES

Knowing issues and questions surround his football program, Urban Meyer isn't about to discount leading Ohio State to yet another victory. Even if it came in very unexciting, unimpressive and non-explosive fashion, the Buckeyes took care of Northwestern on Saturday.

They don't look like the same team that ran roughshod over Oklahoma earlier in the season but Meyer isn't about to let that ruin his evening.

“We're going to continue to get better,” Meyer said Saturday minutes after his No. 6 Buckeyes outlasted the Wildcats 24-20 at Ohio Stadium. “Is this team whatever everybody wants them to be? Probably not yet, but they're working very hard to get to that point.”

Even though it took the majority of the game to decide if Ohio State would come out on top against Northwestern, Meyer and the Buckeyes did just enough in the end to do so. Quarterback J.T. Barrett and the offense took over with 3:30 remaining on the clock following a Jack Mitchell 33-yard field goal, as Pat Fitzgerald elected to kick with three timeouts in his back pocket with the belief his defense could get the ball back.

It never happened.

Barrett ripped a pass to Noah Brown for 16 yards to convert a 3rd-and-8. Three plays later, he scampered 34 yards down the sideline on 3rd-and-10 to effectively put the game out of reach. To quote Meyer, his team "nutted up" when it had to in order to win.

Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...issues-make-it-difficult-to-gauge-progression

 

[Telekinesis]

Let's keep this all in perspective. A win is a win. I didn't exactly see scUM mopping the floor with MSU yesterday, and if my memory is correct, Northwestern walked out of the MSU game with a W.

I'll have to go back and watch the game again in a more sober state, but I thought the boys played alright. Northwestern looked tough.

What I do recall was the play calling and the march down the field on that first drive, which showed me that this team can compete with any team in the country when it is firing on all cylinders.

The D definitely gave up some big plays. I felt like Northwestern had a matchup that they liked and exploited it repeatedly. That QB can put the ball on the money, I was impressed with his play yesterday. Kid is good.

The Bucks have a lot that they can improve on, but I'm thankful for a hard fought win by a young group, and I'll be damned if it isn't an excellent day to be a Buckeye.

 

[cincibuck]

We used to run the TE down the seam in these cases.....where has that play gone......

In search of Nick Vanett and Jeff Huerman.

 

[buckeyebri]

it's all fly patterns, curls, and check-downs. where in the world are the crossing patterns and slants? but perhaps that goes back to barrett. to be sure, it's infuriating to watch.

This right here in spades. I watched yesterday as NW threw back to back to back slants for good yardage against us. I saw Clemson, FSU, and hell even a Freshman at SC throwing the slant with great succes. This seems like a perfect pass for Barrett throw.

 

[buckeyebri]

In search of Nick Vanett and Jeff Huerman.

Yes, these guys were great at this play. Why it still isn't being run is really the mystery here. It's not like Baugh doesn't have the ability....

 

[buckeyebri]

Pass protection has been pretty good. Barrett is holding the ball too long. It's the run blocking that is lacking. Granted, it was Hyde and Zeke, but this is the first time since Urban has been here that they simply can't just line up and blow the DL off the ball.

I hate to say it but TEMPO. We were an uptempo team then and even early in the season and it was working.