Game Thread tOSU at Miami FL, Sept 17, 7:30 pm ET, ESPN

[WaitingforKickoff]

no comment from the capo since the first quarter of this game......damn

 

[scarletmike]

I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but with the rate the posts are coming at, it's probably buried. I think there is an authority issue on this staff. Fickell is now at least nominally in charge of a staff full of coaches who used to be his superiors. Regardless of whether he is being undermined or being deferential, it is not a healthy situation. He either needs to take control or it needs to be dismantled.

See what I said above.

I also have to wonder if Luke hasn't fully grasped his position as head coach. Sometimes it seems to me like he's still an assistant in how he conducts himself. It seems I see a lot of shots of him and Vrabel together. I realize they played together, are good friends, and are defensively minded, but it comes off a lot as being an assistant hanging with another assistant.

 

[jlb1705]

This game must have been really painful for JT to watch tonight...


:osu:

I'm sure Roger Goodell had Tressel's cable disconnected or something.

 

[ScarletnGray 33]

CFN writers giving their take.

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1107463.html

 

[JimsSweaterVest]

I joined this site right after the 2008 USC game. The battle cry on here back then was: "Fire Bollman, hire a real OC, bench Boeckman, and start Pryor." Three years later and it's a similar story. I'm not bashing any coaches or players, but I just don't want Ohio State to have an anemic offense than hangs like an albatross around the D's neck.

 

[scarletngray]

Luke is going to have some growing pains as a HC but we have to realize that he was placed in a very difficult situation. The QB situation and a stable of young WR's is a recipe for disaster. Tonight was case in point. JB had tons of time to throw. The OL did their job. But the passing game was just not there.

That's not Luke's fault. It just is what it is....

:osu:

 

[Gothmog8]

CFN writers giving their take.

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1107463.html

"This was a sad, lifeless noodle between two has-beens..."

Miami has been down for a number of years, tOSU just this season. Doesn't take long for a program to be written off... But then again, most of the reporters writing about this are like kids only interested in the latest candy.

I would use this as ammo in the locker room.

 

[jlb1705]

CFN writers giving their take.

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1107463.html

I can't believe I just wasted my time reading what those ass clowns had to say. Their general tone is that the losses Ohio State has sustained aren't that big a deal.

How many teams could lose all of this and still be successful?:

• A three-year starting QB
• Starting RB
• Starting LT
• Both starting WRs
• Their best defensive player
• A once-in-a-generation head coach

Those aren't guys who graduated or retired, those are guys who would have been on the field tonight if not for injuries and/or trumped-up NCAA bullshit from FUCKING TATTOOS.

Yes, this loss was ugly and given the personnel that was available and their performance, it was deserved. Don't try to pretend though that this is largely the same team that the Buckeyes would have normally fielded for a game like this.

 

[lvbuckeye]

Lets not forget the pick and putting the ball on the turf 3 or 4 times. Tressel would not put up with those turnovers. Not saying Miller shouldn't still be in though

If you think the pick was Miller's fault, I want some of what you've been smoking.


I'm trying to remember a game where I saw more drops. I'm failing.

 

[JXC]

Everybody is looking for answers. I think the answer is quite simple. We aren't that good. We couldn't stop the run in the first half...our defense let us down. We had no passing game, no matter who was the QB. It's just not there, no play calling is going to magically make us move the ball down the field with ease. Jordan Hall and the running game played well in the first half, but the way the game progressed, it wasn't going to win us anything.

Overall we just aren't a great team. We are young, we lost more this year than we ever have. We have more question marks than we ever have. It's a tough year for Ohio State. It's just not a normal year. Hopefully this team can grown, and rebound, and by the end of the year become a good team. But right now...it's not good.

I'm not even upset. It is what it is. Hopefully we can win some close games, and perform better than expected. But we didn't lose one we shouldn't today. We just aren't near as good as we have been the past 5 years.

At least we have the band.

 

[Young Buck]

If you think the pick was Miller's fault, I want some of what you've been smoking.


I'm trying to remember a game where I saw more drops. I'm failing.

The drops were terrible, but so was the QB-ing. What we saw out there today was an Iowa team or a bad Michigan team. It was terrible.

As a QB when you see an open receiver running from left to right is it easy to see a linebacker dropping into coverage in the zone your receiver is running into? No, that's hard. But that's a hard skill we expect of any starting QB in NCAA, much less at Ohio State.

The plain fact is situation like that prove this team just isn't ready.

The defense was clearly more talented than the offense they were facing but it took them 3 series to discover for themselves they were ready for the challenge. Say what you will about the lack of talent on this offense, but it also comes down to preparation. I think tonight Braxton Miller showed all the rough edges of a freshman who was forced to share snaps in practice with another QB. Instead of spending the off-season preparing Braxton, this coaching staff splits reps 60/40 in favor of Bauserman, benches Braxton for the entire Toledo game, and then throws Miller into the game in critical situations against Miami where he's expected to single-handedly win the game. Nevermind the fact that this coaching staff didn't give him any of the benefit of all the reps that any other starting QB gets in the NCAA. Coach Fickell talked about a plan and I think it's clear that his plan is Napoleon's Waterloo.

I think this is a bad team that is poorly coached. It's a damned shame we lost Tressell, but Ohio State needs to find their successor FAST! Because if we don't we see tonight how quickly we can become the next Michigan or Georgia or "The U". Let's hope the administration sees the same thing we do and attacks the problem immediately.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

UGLY. I'm on the Miller bandwagon. We'll have to take our lumps like in '04 and '01 and hope it pays off next year.

Michael Bennett was disruptive out there. Would like to see his role increase.

 

[Steve19]

Here is the reality.

The off-field disruptions have hurt Ohio State badly. No matter how much Ohio State fans love the guy or think that the costs of his decisions are unfair, ultimately, Buckeye fans can thank Jim Tressel for this mess.

The talent on the field at Ohio State is very good. Suspended players or not, with Jim Tressel coaching the same team, we would have expected a close win. Coach Fickell has not made optimal decisions.

Ohio State needs mobility at quarterback. Enough said. Some good news was that it was good to see Jordan Hall in the backfield. We now also know that Coach Fickell will realize that his employment as head coach at Ohio State now will rest on one game.

It's time for Buckeye fans to own the "worst case" future. In the short term, Ohio State will probably drop out of the top 25 this week. Nebraska, special teams and secondary problems notwithstanding, and Wisconsin could rout this team. They could lose five games and several recruits. Longer term, recruiting is going to suffer and problems could linger until a big name coach is appointed. They might even lose the last Big Ten game this year unless some dramatic improvement take place.

Here is the reality. Ohio State is coming off one of the most successful decades in its storied history. This may be a small bump in the road or the start of a few years of problems.

Whatever, this team needs its fans support. We all know what the worst case is. We don't need to rehash it repeatedly. Let's give these young men some encouragement, on BP and in what we say to others.

Things will come right. It may take time, but things will come right.

 

[Tanner]

just a reprehensible offensive performance tonight

 

[ant80]

We now also know that Coach Fickell will realize that his employment as head coach at Ohio State now will rest on one game.

I don't think this has been said before. If we can't beat the scUM this year, Fickell is done.

But sincerely, I just hope we retain Fickell for a couple more years and then try to get Hazell back, as HC this time. He should've been the HC if it hadn't taken the position at Kent State.