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

[bukIpower]

where was Jamaal Berry at today? He was in for his long kickoff return, and saw him drill someone on a punt return, but after that he wasn't on the field. Wasn't on the field for anymore kickoff returns, punt returns, and obviously offense.

I really wish these guys would get some looks though on offense. The reason why our offense started working when Boom was in there was because Boom was hitting holes near full speed and lowering his pads. I said from day 1 that Boom strikes me as a guy with by far superior vision than Brandon, and I just don't see the point in giving Brandon many looks. He's had 4 years now to show what he can do, and his running is really putting this offense in 3rd and long situations.

Never has it been so widely regaurded that the backs ups are better than the starter. Saine on 3rd down suites me just fine, but on 1st/2nd give me the other three.

 

[stxbuck]

My final thought on this game is quite simple. Our struggles is a product of the entire OOC lineup. Its not the talent we destroyed but how we destroyed it.

Maybe leaving Pryor in against EMU to pad his stats a bit wasn't the best idea. He should have been sat at the halftime, period. If Bauserman and/or Guiton struggled - oh well keep them in and let them learn how to over come adversary. We saw today what we saw then, Bauserman plays poor, we bench him and put our star back in. That just reinforces the idea of playing bad is okay for backups because you find yourself on the bench. We would had been screwed if Pryor was down for the game and more. Maybe next week if we handle Indiana the coaches need to prep the backups for more than a few series. We know our 3rd AND 4th string running backs are ready to go, but for some reason our QBs aren't. Again, this can be attributed to Pryor being left in blowout games for too long.

Injuries have plagued the defense so far this early part of the season. Not sure how to solve that but I will say that our Luke Fickell has done a hell of a job making sure his entire D, to include back ups, are ready to go at any moment. Im not just impressed by the plays but more so the depth of the Silver Bullets.

Not a good game today but there is always next week. A win is a win. Go Bucls.

An extra couple of series aginst crappy teams are not going to turn Bauserman into a stud. By this point in his career he is what he is-the backup. Due to tOSU's somewhat up and down QB recruiting, the backup QB this year is not a youngster being groomed for the spot-it is Bauserman.
TP is still maturing as a QB-every rep he gets-blowout or not-is still a good thing,IMO. Next year, if TP is back, perhaps Taylor Graham should be groomed as the primary backup-unlike Bauserman(the 2nd time after baseball) and Guiton(who is learning nicely), Graham was not recruited b/c the position needed a warm body for a backup.
Hopefully Pryor's quad is 100%, and he and Posey work on their chemistry this week in practice-they have not been connecting for he last two games.

 

[maheider]

Did Illinois get 4 time outs?

I believe they did get four timeouts in the second half. At the 18 yard line with about 11 minutes left, we called timeout on a 4th and 1. BTN came late out of the break as they often do, and showed the teams coming back from the line to the sidelines as if they had already lined up. The BTN guys said useless stuff about Jedi mind tricks by the coaches etc., but never actually said that the Illini called timeout. To me, there really can be no other explanation for the teams going back to the sideline since the Buckeyes definitely did not call a second one in a row. I am pretty sure the OSU Radio announcers said Illinois called a timeout but I can't go back and listen to that.

Then, after that play, Zooker challenged the spot and lost, resulting in a charged timeout. So, by my count they burned two timeouts, but were only charged one.

They were granted two more after this point, so they did get four by my count. Now, as it turned out (with our late TD) it did not really matter, but in a close game like this it certainly could have. If it had come down to a play where Illinois needed a field goal to win, and had a spare timeout to use to get the field goal team on the field it would have been a travesty.

Big Ten officials seem to have their issues every year, and this seems to be another of these incidents.

Anyone out there agree or disagree with what I at least think I saw???

 

[Best Buckeye]

I'm hoping Jwins has pictures of the blonde babe in the black outfit that was taking pictures behind the tOSU bench......TTIWWP

 

[TJnTN]

This game felt like a game from TP's freshman year. Limited offense, oline struggling all game, defense making big stops to keep us from losing. Only this time around we didn't have a Beanie Wells to bail our offense out. Guess you could say TP played that roll up until the injury. I'm hoping the wind had a lot to do with the play calling. My biggest disappointment was just the run blocking and the running game as a whole.

 

[Onebuckfan]

Bottom line is Jim Tressel is Jim Tressel. When he sees he can win a game on the wings of his defense, he's going to pack up the tents and do it. When they started with the gimmick plays on the opening drive, I knew they had nothing and I'm sure JT saw the same thing. After that opening drive, they got very little. He's not going to take unnecessary risks just for style points. Especially with the wind and an early turnover. Today, that was definitely the right call. Just like 2006, the score was close, but I don't think the outcome was ever really in doubt.

Exactly..Jt goes for the win..if you want entertainment watch Oregon..JT can't go 8-4 , Oregon can!

 

[robbothehut]

Maybe I'm a glass half full kind of guy. But I don't think there is any room to jump all over the offense.

Illinois has very good athletes. Ron Zook can recruit. Thankfully, he can't teach them how to tackle without grabbing a face mask or stay on sides, but they can play. Furthermore, those good athletes were selling out to stop the run. Which wasn't a bad move on a windy day, no Stoneburner and Posey not playing well.

So we ran the ball, well the same play, over and over and over. Yet we still managed to move the ball even when Illinois knew exactly what we were going to do. JT did this last year to get the O-line to sack up and run block and it worked..thankfully he's doing it earlier, before a Purdue like disaster, this year.

We were a pick 6 away from a real disaster on a windy day. After a couple extra blood pressure pills and screaming some of the same complaints that are being said in here at the TV, in retrospect, I have no issues with the offense.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Bottom line is Jim Tressel is Jim Tressel. When he sees he can win a game on the wings of his defense, he's going to pack up the tents and do it. When they started with the gimmick plays on the opening drive, I knew they had nothing and I'm sure JT saw the same thing. After that opening drive, they got very little. He's not going to take unnecessary risks just for style points. Especially with the wind and an early turnover. Today, that was definitely the right call. Just like 2006, the score was close, but I don't think the outcome was ever really in doubt.

First, this isn't a direct response to NFB, his is just the last comment I saw on this subject so I quoted it to represent the argument in general.

Second, I have come to grips with the fact that a Tressel/Bollman offense is going to have days like this no matter the talent level. I don't care to even waste the brain cells trying to figure out why anymore.

I cannot come to grips with people trying to tell me that Tressel plans it this way. That game was in doubt up to the final game clinching drive. He wasn't reducing risk by keeping it a -1 mistake from by defense away from disaster-game for 3 1/2 quarters. If he could have scored 4 TD's in the first half he would have. The problem was that up until the final drive they couldn't, simple as that.

This game in particular saw the Illinois offense get the ball with 8:27 left in the 4th quarter, trailing by only 7 and promptly move into OSU territory under a minute later on only 3 plays. They drove all the way to the OSU 13 before kicking a FG. Anyone who is prescient enough to have known Illinois had zero chance of scoring a TD there based on the first series of the game should be in Vegas making millions. Putting your team in that kind of position on purpose (which I don't think Tressel does) would be a far cry from risk avoidance in my opinion.

I understand this is a Buckeye board and some homerisim is to be expected but Tressel didn't walk out there, feel the wind and say "you know what screw scoring 35 points, lets keep this baby close right up to the end. Points are for pussies."

When the offense struggles it isn't Tressel eschewing style points, its just a case of a day when that is the best the offense can do for whatever reasons(s).

 

[Bleed S & G]

I cannot come to grips with people trying to tell me that Tressel plans it this way. That game was in doubt up to the final game clinching drive. He wasn't reducing risk by keeping it a -1 mistake from by defense away from disaster-game for 3 1/2 quarters. If he could have scored 4 TD's in the first half he would have. The problem was that up until the final drive they couldn't, simple as that.

I do not disagree with you Jax - but - you can see the "Tressel Ball" coming out in the 3rd & 13 run call.

I do not disagree with the call per say, by that I mean, I understand the call. I understand wanting to play field postion at that point in the game. I'm not sure if I prefer that style to at least trying to pick up the first down.

One on hand, TP throws a pick and mometum swings to Illinois. On the other hand, we pick up the first and put the game on ice before the final drive.

With all of that said, just win baby. Can't argue JT's win % so I won't.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

I didn't have a problem with the 3rd and 13 call......I had a problem with the calls that put us in 3rd and 13. They weren't even disguising their blitz.

 

[Onebuckfan]

Illinois weakness was pass defense and we didn't try to exploit it...wind or not JT mada a consicious decision to run the ball we won case closed

 

[cincibuck]

I do not disagree with you Jax - but - you can see the "Tressel Ball" coming out in the 3rd & 13 run call.

I do not disagree with the call per say, by that I mean, I understand the call. I understand wanting to play field postion at that point in the game. I'm not sure if I prefer that style to at least trying to pick up the first down.

One on hand, TP throws a pick and mometum swings to Illinois. On the other hand, we pick up the first and put the game on ice before the final drive.

With all of that said, just win baby. Can't argue JT's win % so I won't.

Tressel ball works much better when you have a punter who can average more than 25 yds per punt and when you have special teams that can cover punts and kick offs. I think this is what is surprising me -- that and the return to days when OSU fails to be in the top three in the conference with running backs. Pre season I thought the Bucks were set in that category. Mid season and I'm wondering what the problem is.

 

[Jaxbuck]

I do not disagree with you Jax - but - you can see the "Tressel Ball" coming out in the 3rd & 13 run call.

I do not disagree with the call per say, by that I mean, I understand the call. I understand wanting to play field postion at that point in the game. I'm not sure if I prefer that style to at least trying to pick up the first down.

One on hand, TP throws a pick and mometum swings to Illinois. On the other hand, we pick up the first and put the game on ice before the final drive.

With all of that said, just win baby. Can't argue JT's win % so I won't.

I agree. I'm not going to critique it play by play. It is what it is.

As far as arguing and win % goes that's kind of a slippery slope. First of all, a top pilot isn't the only person qualified to work on an airplane. Secondly, if a business makes a profit it still reviews it's operations to see how it can make more profit. It doesn't sit back and say we have enough money, send everyone home for the rest of the year.

Yes, Tressel has won a lot with offense generally being the weakest link. That does not mean better offense moves you away from winning. That is just faulty logic. Offensive prowess seems to be equated to flashy, gimmicky and losing if you read a lot of the posts on OSU boards.

I do not subscribe to any of those theories. A more effective offense reduces risk it does not increase it. An effective offense moves you closer to winning not farther from it. I refuse to accept the notion that OSU cannot be as consistently excellent on offense as it is on defense. When you think about it there is really no reason why it can't be, unless of course you use the flawed logic that generally falls into the "Tressel does it on purpose" camp.

I don't believe that for one second. What you see from the offense is the best they can do on any given Saturday.

 

[thackattack]

Anyone out there agree or disagree with what I at least think I saw???

I was listening to the game on the radio, and Illinois definitely got 4 timeouts. Unless 'losing a challenge' rules have changed...

When we lined up to go for it on fourth down after our timeout, Zook called a timeout to get a different defensive unit out there. After the lost challenge, they should have been down to 1, but alas, 2 remained.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Illinois weakness was pass defense and we didn't try to exploit it...

OSU had 18 pass attempts in 60 offensive plays. Only 10 of them were completed and 2 were picked off.

They most certainly tried to exploit it, they just couldn't.