My thoughts...
[censored] MSU and their whiny bitch fans. They make that chant about Braxton Miller, and then whine about every hit delivered to their QB or WRs? [censored] right off with that [Mark May].
I have a lot of respect for Mark Dantoino, but it's eroding. Keep making comments in the media. If you're still there when Ohio State rotates back on your schedule, you might come to regret it.
This game was a perfect example of the ways in which Braxton Miller needs to improve. His stats belie just how green he still is.
People keep saying that Ohio State is in trouble because Miller is the entire OSU offense. From where I sit though, it doesn't have to be that way. I know the Buckeyes aren't all that great at the skill positions right now, but there is some help there. The offense could be better and Miller could take fewer hits if he becomes better at making reads and decisions. I lost count of how many times I screamed at my TV to just give up the damn ball to the RB. I'm waiting for a Goldilocks moment from him. First he was carrying the ball too much, then it was not enough... I'm waiting for it to be "just right".
I do agree that the tackling has improved overall from what it was a couple weeks ago. But that one play (you all know the one) was as bad as I've ever seen.
I read thru the entire thread and noticed a lot of complaints about the playcalling. What did you want to see. They had one successful vertical play where Miller locked in on his guy, and credit to D. Smith - he did a great job getting open. There were a ton of other pass plays though where Miller hung on to the ball as long as Joe Bauserman. As a result, when they wanted to pass the ball we were left with a lot of bubble screens. That's an unfortunate thing because I would say that this team executes less than 10% of its attempts on that type of play, between inaccurate throws, poor blocking and poor footwork/positioning/ballcarrying by the receiver. The thing about that kind of play though is that it doesn't require a decision on the part of the quarterback. So when you want to pass, the other team is blitzing and you're having trouble getting your QB to make a read (let alone the correct one) you run plays like that. I don't like it, but I think I understand why it's taking place.
I think this game could have used a bigger dose of Carlos Hyde. He ran like a grown-ass man when he got his chances, he just didn't get enough of them. I would have liked to see some carries from Rod Smith, but with the way the game went I can understand why it didn't happen.
I'm not entirely sure if they have all of the right assistant coaches, but the more I see the more convinced I become that there are personnel issues too. Some of them are going to require growth from young players already in the system. Some of them are going to take players graduating, moving on or being replaced. I'm not going to name names. I think they are playing hard and care about Ohio State for the most part. At the same time, there are positions that are not near the standards that we are used to.
Finally, a few remarks about the commentators. Herbstreit sounds like he was hired from Bleacher Report. Musberger is a horrible caricature of himself. He's a [censored]ing cheerleader, and he doesn't pull it off the way somebody like Gus Johnson does. Let's forget his wink-and-nod relationship with gamblers for a moment (his Pete Rose autograph reference at the end was especially cringeworthy.) When he's talking up an underdog he comes off like a bad cheerleader. When he's talking up a favorite or a traditional power he comes off like a jocksniffing booster with all of his insider crony anecdotes. It's past time for him to hang it up.
