Game Thread tOSU at Illinois, Sat Oct 2, Noon ET, BTN

[NJ-Buckeye]

Being that Tressel mentioned WIND at least a hundred times in his interview.. I woulda thought that maybe Guiton woulda been a more interesting choice instead of Bauserman

Zach Boren is going to be arrested... assault... a lot... watch those bounce outs by Boom... Zach was abusing people.. not blocking them... it was felonious assault

 

[Buckeye_Nate]

I really didn't think Illinois did anything all that well...very disappointed in the game plan and play calling.

This game was much closer than it should've been. The conservative approach ended up having the opposite of the desired effect and put the Buckeyes in a position where they could've lost the game in a game that really should not have been close. Again, I don't think Illinois really did much of anything all that well...how this game ended up being close is beyond me.

Believe in the talent.

 

[macbucknut]

Scary

Did not have TV out here on the left coast. Caught some on gamecast. Boy they scare me sometimes. They looked a little conservative today...but glad we pulled it out!

 

[MondayAMGenius]

Being that Tressel mentioned WIND at least a hundred times in his interview.. I woulda thought that maybe Guiton woulda been a more interesting choice instead of Bauserman...

Loyal to a fault.
Bauserman = Maurice Wells

 

[NFBuck]

boom will get you plenty of singles and a few doubles. he doesn't swing for the yard, though, which is why i can't recall any homeruns from him. berry and hall? those guys can swing the bat. saine? he needs to start wearing women's panties in order to break the slump.

next time, i'm going with cricket as my metaphor.

Well, there were a couple against scUM, but there's a "special olympics" joke somewhere there...

 

[southcampus]

I felt like the defense stepped up in a big way today after Illinois' early bit of success. I hope Tyler Moeller is able to recover from what appeared to be some sort of arm or shoulder injury, but it didn't seem good. Haven't seen anything on that yet.

 

[daddyphatsacs]

But the situation is different this year with an undefeated, ABC championed Boise State, and maybe an undefeated TCU, and maybe an undefeated SEC and a Pac-10 team too could be an issue down the road. Hell, if Bama or UF win the SEC CG after an epic game today a one loss SEC team might slide by you if you falter down the stretch if the Big-10

Don't we hear the same thing nearly every year and yet as the year winds down, the list gets smaller? Gator, you are fooling yourself if you think the BCS will allow Boise to get in over an undefeated OSU squad. I also think you are giving Bama and/or Florida too much credit. If I'm not mistaken, isn't that the same Florida squad that struggled at home against Miami, OH? You could argue much as the Buckeyes did today on the road to a conference game. Bama looked [censored]ty (on the road) against an overrated Arkansas team last week. Arkansas will lose at least 5 games this year.

As for the Pac 10, the year usually starts with a list of pretenders out that way, and they usually fall off. I expect nothing different this year.

 

[Coqui]

Pretty obvious Tress was not throwing the football when OSU was going from Right to Left (on TV) BTN made no mention of wind, but I'm told from someone who was there that the wind was a factor.

Everyone should have known about the wind after that 1st missed field goal by Illinois

 

[daddyphatsacs]

I really didn't think Illinois did anything all that well...very disappointed in the game plan and play calling.

This game was much closer than it should've been. The conservative approach ended up having the opposite of the desired effect and put the Buckeyes in a position where they could've lost the game in a game that really should not have been close. Again, I don't think Illinois really did much of anything all that well...how this game ended up being close is beyond me.

Believe in the talent.

All games are not going to go as "you" plan them to in your mind. That being said, if the biggest issue we have is bitching about style points after an 11 point win, I'll take it. Every year I hear this same BS about Tressel. The guy knows how to win games, much more than you think you do.

 

[Dryden]

I know a lot of people hate the Eric Collins/Chris Martin pairing, and they've called most of the games already this year, but the most glaring deficiency in that crew is that they apparently can't look at the flags, or see Tressel on the sidelines absolutely furious because the wind is messing up the part in his hair.

This is the second game this year these two nimrods have done where they question the running in one quarter and the slinging-it in the next.

Check the wind, fellas. Watch the kickoffs and punts. It's really not that hard, and I was watching it on TV in standard def yet still figured out what the deal was after seeing two kickoffs and two punts.

 

[daddyphatsacs]

I know a lot of people hate the Eric Collins/Chris Martin pairing, and they've called most of the games already this year, but the most glaring deficiency in that crew is that they apparently can't look at the flags, or see Tressel on the sidelines absolutely furious because the wind is messing up the part in his hair.

This is the second game this year these two nimrods have done where they question the running in one quarter and the slinging-it in the next.

Check the wind, fellas. Watch the kickoffs and punts. It's really not that hard, and I was watching it on TV in standard def yet still figured out what the deal was after seeing two kickoffs and two punts.

Agreed. Martin is annoying and is a pro at doublespeak.

If Tressel threw the ball a bunch and Pryor got hurt worse, or threw a bad pick.....they'd be talking about how OSU needs to find a solid ground game outside of Pryor.

 

[Steve19]

I think this put a good scare into the Buckeyes that shouldn't hurt too much in the polls. What I like is that the Buckeyes had to win it on the ground. Smashmouth. In the trenches. Defense.

I am really not surprised that this team was flat after the last two games. It was too easy. Indiana also will not be a walkover next week. We should be prepared for Camp Randall.

As for rankings, get to the last three games of the year unbeaten and win those games over at least two ranked teams, and I don't see how the Buckeyes don't get in.

It was ugly but it was a win. More importantly, it was a character builder. So, there are some good points for a tester like this against a team you thought you'd smoke.

Oh, and Zook, nice try. Buckeyes will not save your job.

 

[bukIpower]

Wind or Not, count me in as not happy with the playcalling. Particularly when we were pinned at the 1 yard line and decided to punt the ball after three straight runs up the middle. I mean I get the first and maybe the Second down runs, but atleast run a playaction rollout and give TP the ability to pick the first down or throw the ball on quick hitter. In wind, yes you don't want to go deep with the ball, but I think the short/intermidiate routes are still safe IMO. Pryor knows how to take care of the ball, and if they pull this [censored] against someone with a more serious offense we just may lose the game next time. By hamstringing the offense it kept Illinois in striking distance.


What do they have to do? Hall is extremely dangerous on the punts and Berry almost breaks it everytime he touches the ball but they kept pounding Saine for 1-2 yards for the first 3 quarters. Boom I thought did a great job getting tough yards and he found room that to be honest Saine probably just doesn't find.

Seriously, was Berry injured? Because not only did he not get any carries but after his long kickoff return he wasn't even out there returning kicks anymore or on Punt Returns. Is he in the dog house or something?

This is the big ten, Weather is going to suck, but you can't be THAT predictable. If you are going to be predictable, and your backs aren't effective, make the switch earlier in the game. #1, #7 and #4 deserve a shot to produce if our starter isn't going to gain yardage up to half time.

On a side note Defense played great, and the Special teams looked like they use to. Offense though the game plan sucked, and the fact they were going for the whole "dont make mistakes" plan almost cost us the game. Pryor for the most part is going to take care of the ball let him throw it when the defense is giving it to him.

 

[Nicknam4]

Does anyone else thing our offense was getting too predictable?

 

[utgrad73]

Nice conference win guys. I think playing for the wind was a good call with a questionable (injury wise) TP. That said, playing a few more games like that could win you the Big-10 title and a #3 BCS ranking at year's end.

Even if you disagree with what voters want to see, they want to see you dominate and can punish you in the polls for not getting style points. This was a one score game for all but a few minutes. With the Pac-10 teams putting up points, and the extra bump the press gives the SEC after our four straight BCSNCs, you being #1 or #2 at the end is not a given by any means. It will continue to be a threat that you might get jumped if you have some more - non-spectacular shall we say - close wins. Yeah, 2002, I know. But the situation is different this year with an undefeated, ABC championed Boise State, and maybe an undefeated TCU, and maybe an undefeated SEC and a Pac-10 team too could be an issue down the road. Hell, if Bama or UF win the SEC CG after an epic game today a one loss SEC team might slide by you if you falter down the stretch if the Big-10 is deemed to be in a down year by the talking heads, through no fault of tOSU.

But I am often puzzled when Tress does not unleash the talent y'all have in certain situations. I think that a young OC with a more innovative set of plays - coupled with your beast of a defense and Tress' generalship - would be able to light up the points.

When the wind blows and the rain falls, the type of football the Big Ten plays is epitomized by Jim Tressel. He knows how to win games and play the "weather". I'd be willing to bet that many of the SEC matchups will be close games. I really don't think UF will be close against Bama, that's my myopic viewpoint from Ohio.