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tOSU @ Northwestern, Sat Nov 5, 12pm, ABC

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Systems_id said:
The alarm comes from the team struggling in the exact same areas they've been struggling with for three weeks now. Like if this was a one-off performance I'd probably give them a pass and still probably feel good. The fact that they had trouble running the ball against a rush defense ranked in the 100s after struggling the past two weeks should have everyone at the WHAC at Defcon 1 The fact they also gave up 200 yards to an equally poorly ranked rushing offense is also alarming although probably not as much since the defense has shut down much better run teams than NW in the past. Actually I think every single team we've played up to this point has a better rushing offense than NW and the D has mostly handled business. Could've just been an off day. Passing games gets a total mulligan since the wind looked like a total shit show even on TV.
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I saw a similar game last year, Pats and Bills. Same deal, 50 mph winds. No one could do anything in that game. Pats finally broke a big run and won 14-10. The next time they played, the Bills were unstoppable. I wouldn’t take too much from the game yesterday. I’m just as concerned about the run game as everyone else, but I’m not getting worked up about yesterday’s game.
 
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Bborg140 said:
I saw a similar game last year, Pats and Bills. Same deal, 50 mph winds. No one could do anything in that game. Pats finally broke a big run and won 14-10. The next time they played, the Bills were unstoppable. I wouldn’t take too much from the game yesterday. I’m just as concerned about the run game as everyone else, but I’m not getting worked up about yesterday’s game.
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The problem isn't just yesterday, it's that it's another data point in a concerning pattern. If OSU hadn't been struggling the prior two weeks running the ball, I'd just chalk it up to a bad game and move on. You'll notice I'm not freaking out about the passing game despite going 10/26 for a miserable 76 yards. Yesterday should've been a day OSU had 300+ on the ground with ease.
 
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Systems_id said:
The problem isn't just yesterday, it's that it's another data point in a concerning pattern. If OSU hadn't been struggling the prior two weeks running the ball, I'd just chalk it up to a bad game and move on. You'll notice I'm not freaking out about the passing game despite going 10/26 for a miserable 76 yards. Yesterday should've been a day OSU had 300+ on the ground with ease.
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Agreed. I don't know what's more concerning, the fact that seemingly every first down run gets 1 yard, leading to a 2nd and 9, or that there has been consistent failure on 3rd and short, just like last year. Obviously, you're going to need to convert 3rd and short on the ground at some point. Look at last year's tun game. Get the ball to start the 2nd half, 1 point game, a chance to establish some momentum. And Henderson gets stuffed for a loss on 3rd and 2.
 
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Tough game to pass in with the ridiculous winds yesterday, and the drops are not typical, and didn't help.

That o-line? Running game? Needs lots of work and improvement moving forward. Who knows, they might start rolling.

I'm not concerned about the run defense, I think Knowles will have that fixed immediately.

It's the former things that are a concern.
 
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Onebuckfan said:
I agree about the ‘it’. They shouldn’t have struggled with NW. Positives they overcame adversity even if continual drops created it. Hull was a. Nifty back and wasn’t easy to tackle. But in the end something is lacking..and most of its in the run blocking or run scheme. We have NFL caliber linemen who can’t run block was hoping Frye could fix that ..
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I’m not sure which of the YouTube videos it was who said it, and after hearing the comment, I had to agree. Paraphrasing: The weather was good for eliminating the passing game. Typically that’s 3-4 TDs. Add 21-28 to our score and nobody is bitching.

The run D did look a little suspect. I agree that there probably was cause to bring at least one more into the box, but aside from the 1st Q, they were right at 3-yards a carry. With the first quarter, when they had the wind to their back… and it was relatively calm for the day and passing was an option for them, they were 3.5 yards average for the game. Yes, they got gashed in the first quarter, but after that… statistically, it wasn’t as bad as they eyes would have you believe.

I too hope they run blocking gets figured out. I suspect that the run game is a bit vanilla and easier to defend — obviously stressing the OL as they have to block in situations where the defense clearly knows what they have to do. Combine zero ability to legit run play action yesterday… it was a tall order for the OL to look good. Pat needed do nothing to defend the passing game… Mother Nature was his 12th man.
 
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Amazing how everyone is looking at the flaws rather than 'what worked'. Admittedly the weather (wind/rain) put a damper on tOSU's O, but worked against NW as well. But that's B10 weather, no? The second half D (tOSU) seemed to 'get after it', and stop those obvious runs. Give it to that NW scatback, he's a gamer, and certainly not afraid to take a hit. The NW QB as well, looked like a skinny computer geek, but had a heart to him. Surprised that Knowles didn't send word down to sideline before halftime regarding the direct snap runs, and putting a S to spy on the NW QB, as the weather wasn't very conducive to passes. He stuck with his 4-2-5 alignment, even when conditions indicated otherwise might be a tad more successful. Don't remember NW putting out more than three WRs (?). Not tOSU's best look, but reviewing the other games on the tube, we got away with a win. Guess you could say that NW is the best 1-8 team in the country. PS, Oline struggled, have heard the talking heads say one or more were not completely healthy. Sad commentary if a healthy 2 stays on the pine while a hurting starter struggles. Shouldn't be that way on a championship team, IMO. Anyway, let's take the win and finish strong. go Bucks
 
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I'm a little more concerned about the run game than I was last week.....but I'm also looking at 2 straight weeks where opponents just sold out to stop the run. In the first game, we inexplicably decided to not go down field until the 4th quarter with our unstoppable passing game. In this game, we weren't allowed to pass (even though we inexplicably tried several times). Hopefully we'll go back to having games where teams have to respect our passing game because a) it's not a tornado and b) we actually use it to set up the run.
 
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My counter to bringing more guys into the box is that it also increases the chance for long plays if a guy misses a tackle. OSU seemed to be content with NW getting 3-4 yards on most carries knowing that if they could get NW for a negative/zero play that NW likely would not be able to consistently pick up 6-7 yards on 3rd down. They seemed content to let them try to drive the field but were not going to get burned for a 60 yard run.

That may just be rationalization on my part, of course. And I’m not sure I would approve of that approach against a more consistent offense.
 
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I get some concern about the run D after last season, but the D isn't 100% set up to stop power running.

And while NW did kinda run a high school offense, it's effective at chewing clock and keeping you on schedule due to regularly getting 3-4 yards, especially before the defense adapts. If an offense is ok with not putting up that many points in return for ball control, they'll figure out how to get yards. Doesn't win many games but it's incredibly frustrating.

It's something I've noticed with a lot of B1G teams and why they still struggle to compete nationally at a higher level. A lot of power running, grinding, and simple passing games that work in certain conditions but will get you clobbered when you can't hang onto receivers in bowl games and don't play in shit. I get why Rutgers and NW do it, because they're reliant on grit or having a group of 20 seniors who've played for 5 years and 2 talented guys. But most of the conference plays slow ball with minus athletes and is more focused on being frustrating and maybe pulling out 1 win in 10 rather than building a team that can exploit defenses.

It's why even after all the bravado about TTUNs exquisite running game and fans clamoring for it, they still got fuckstomped against Georgia. And would again this year. I'm concerned about the D being able to handle their heavy formations and make tackles, but I prefer having a more flexible defense that can adapt and handle modern offenses.
 
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