Game Thread UCF Knights at tOSU - Sat, Sep 8, Noon ESPN2

[bukIpower]

and btw this announcing crew was the worst I've heard in all my years watching OSU. I hate to say this but can we please get PAM WARD back?

Joey even had some pretty bad commentary. Saying that Urban doesn't mind running the QB because he views them as tough running backs?

 

[Steve19]

My overall reaction is that the Buckeyes let themselves down a bit in this game. They were not really focused and did not really impress on either side of the ball. The defensive secondary was shocking at times and Miller apparently is still not ready to back teams down that dare him to throw.

I really expected Meyer to read them the riot act and get them back into it at halftime--and I thought he had early in the second half--but overall they are not as much of a completed project as I had hoped at this stage.

I think that they potentially can lose four games, but I still think that they are going to lose two. Call me an optimist, but I see signs of something developing that could be very special.

I'm worried about the injuries on this team. Hyde, two shoulders being favored today. Hall not yet back. Miller taking punishment. They are a bit thin and injuries could really wreck things for the year.

 

[bukIpower]

What sucks is how two of the backs fumbled today (boren, Smith). We do not have another running threat right now other than Braxton. Hall cannot get cleared quick enough! He is going to be huge for us once we can get him back so that he can actually just take some pressure off of Braxton.

Not to mention if they key on Braxton it can free up Hall and vice versa. We do not have that threat to open the field yet. Once we do though (this year or for sure next year) this offense will be very tough to stop.

 

[buckeyes_rock]

Braxton looked banged up and gassed at times today. I was really hoping to see Urban work on the passing game a bit more today especially after Hyde left the game. As well as Brax runs the ball, I'm concerned about the passing game...

 

[Mac]

Just got an update...that kid from Tulane, Devon Walker is in serious condition. He suffered a broken neck on the last play of the 1st half in the Tulsa/Tulane game. Prayers go to him and his family

 

[HorseshoeFetish]

Just got an update...that kid from Tulane, Devon Walker is in serious condition. He suffered a broken neck on the last play of the 1st half in the Tulsa/Tulane game. Prayers go to him and his family

Damn. Hate to hear that..I only saw a quick clip, was it his teammate he collided with?

Keep fighting young man.

 

[redguard117]

Broken neck... Oh boy that is terrible. Prayers to him and his family

 

[Mike80]

Are they related to Orlando Jones?

No but they are related to former Ohio State received Daniel Hartford.

 

[ucfknight]

First, allow me to say Congrats on winning. It was really a good game. I was actually surprised about how well we played. Really impressed by the effort of this team. We had so many missed chances though, which is disturbing. Oh can I just say, Braxton Miller for heisman, I didn't realize HOW good he truly was, as I don't get Big Ten Network. I mean goddamn is he good. Anyways here's my breakdown of ucf:
QB: eh. Bortles did alright. He made some good throws then made some really shitty ones. Thought he should have read defense better. IDK if it was the crowd or if he is just too young or if Luke did that good of disguising coverage. Whatever it was it rattled him. Would have liked to have seen Gabbert, but we will see how Bortles progresses.
HB: I said losing Murrary wouldn't be big and it wasn't. Storm and Harvey played well.
WR:Besides the drop at the end they played well. I like Godfrey at WR. JJ and Hall played well, McDuffie was eh.
front 7: Played like shit. Braxton Sandusky'd them.
secondary: Most impressed by their play. They got beat on short routes, but did good in run coverage and neutralize Devin I thought. I thought he'd go off on long routes, but he didn't which shocked me.
Coaching: God I hate George Taaffe and GOL.

Anyways I hope OSU wins the big 10, in name. Braxton wins the heisman. Oh I for one welcome our new overlord Urban Meyer.

 

[Mike80]

Damn. Hate to hear that..I only saw a quick clip, was it his teammate he collided with?

Keep fighting young man.

It was and they had to do CPR on him on the field and on the way to the hospital

 

[redguard117]

On a less tragic and weighty note, how was the stadium? Did we get the striping effect or did everyone just say fuck it? Also, how do we feel about Hyde for next week?

 

[jlb1705]

A few quick thoughts:

Penalties - unacceptable.

Tailback fumbles - unacceptable.

Pass defense - INTs and key PBUs belie how mediocre/poor this team is in coverage right now. Huge lapses - maybe somebody smarter than me can tell whether it's down to individual mistakes, lack of communication or whatever.

Downfield passing game - absent. Is it down to receivers not getting open, or is it down to Miller not making the right decisions at the right times as a thrower? I've seen a lot of plays where the ball arrives before the receiver is ready. Are the throws rushed or do the receivers not have their heads in the game?

Braxton Miller - putting up huge numbers, but there is a ton of room for improvement, mainly in decision-making and in being fundamentally sound as a thrower. He carried the ball a lot today, way more than anybody wants to see I think. Today, part of that was because it was necessary to concern the win. Running the ball, he's a genius and is Ohio State's best weapon. I think some of those extra carries though are from making the wrong reads or wanting to go 1-on-11 rather than giving the ball up at the right time. He's good enough to go 1-on-11 a lot, but if it's there for a teammate I'd like to see him give the ball more than he has been.

Offensive backfield in general - how many mix-ups and aborted plays were there today? Fortunately none of those plays led to turnovers or injuries, but they did take the offense off schedule. I have to keep telling myself that this team is still learning the system.

Defense - could you just fucking tackle the guy? One thing that I saw a lot today that I HATE HATE HATE about modern football is defensive players keeping a ballcarrier upright and letting him move the pile forward because they're trying to strip the ball instead of bringing the man down. How many extra yards were given up that way on drives that led to scores? Ohio State didn't used to do so much of that. I'll be disappointed if that becomes a trend with this team.

Carlos Hyde - get well soon. This team needs him bad. If you consider Jordan Hall a hybrid player rather than a true tailback, that leaves Hyde as far and away the best option at the TB position, and for now there isn't another player that I trust at that position.

ESPN - GTFO. That was one of the worst live event productions I've ever seen. That was sub-public access.

This is going to be unpopular and I hate to say it, but today I saw a winning performance that was reminiscent of the kind that M*ch*g*n used to have under DickRod that we ridiculed mercilessly. I'm not saying that the direction or trajectory of this program is at all similar, just that today's performance was. The Buckeyes relied far too heavily on their running QB, he had a lot of carries and took a lot of hits. They were pushed around in the trenches on occasion. They had poor lapses in the secondary. They looked confused and made stupid mistakes at times. Again, I'm not saying that's the direction this program is headed in, it's just that's the best way I can summarize my disdain for the overall performance.

I hated the call to go for it on 4th down the first time the Buckeyes tried it early in the game. They were still in their own end, they had UCF on their heels, and it was a long yard to convert it. The risk there greatly outweighed the possible reward. UCF got the stop and that gave them a mental and emotional foothold in the game.

Aside from Miller's brilliance running the ball, the most encouraging thing I saw was Coach Meyer's reactions to some of the shortcomings on the field, and two specific instances stand out. The first of those was the second call to go for it in 4th down. At that point I think he was just trying to prove a point that he (and his team) were not going to be denied and that come hell or high water they were going to convert one of those big short yardage situations. It worked, and I think that will served them well down the road. The other instance was where he called Rod Smith out of the game. He was pissed off, and he did show Smith up, but it was deserved he didn't go all Brian Kelly while doing it.

Hopefully there's a big improvement between this week and next.

 

[daddyphatsacs]

It was and they had to do CPR on him on the field and on the way to the hospital

That is just so scary when you hear those kinds of things. It snaps everything back into perspective, that's for certain. I hope he is okay and fights through it. It's a damn shame to see a young kid suffer such a tough injury.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

There's no such thing as a bad win. There are, however, ugly wins, and this was one of them.

This defense baffles me. There is so much talent in the front seven, yet they play so soft, both physically and schematically. Like last year, the safeties are a huge weakness. Roby is a monster at CB, and Howard has gotten noticeably better. Overall, the defense, under Fickell, seems "Tresselized". I don't think that Meyer wants to plays defense like this - passive, minimal blitzing, bend but not break.

The 3rd-and-25 play, where UCF converted, really took the steam out of the Buckeyes. That was a perfect example of the team playing soft when they should have been out for blood. A better team takes more advantage of that momentum shift and might have pulled out a victory.

A sloppy game - penalties, turnovers, missed hand-offs, lack of timing in the passing game.

In a strange way, Braxton Miller reminds me a little bit of Craig Krenzel. Not in their respective styles of play - nothing could be more different. But like Krenzel, Miller will go through long stretches where he is mediocre to bad, and then come up with a game-changing play. Miller is not a very good quarterback right now - he needs to be a lot more consistent, become a much better decision maker, and somehow give this team a downfield passing game - but he is undoubtedly one of the greatest pure talents in Buckeye history. If Urban and his offensive staff can find a way to maximize Miller's natural ability, then he could lead this team to a national championship. If not, then get used to a lot of games like today's, with a number of the decisions going against Ohio State.

Definitely an ugly game, but I think that Urban Meyer will use that to his advantage. I'd bet that this team finds out this week what Meyer means by "playing angry".

 

[bukIpower]

There's no such thing as a bad win. There are, however, ugly wins, and this was one of them.

This defense baffles me. There is so much talent in the front seven, yet they play so soft, both physically and schematically. Like last year, the safeties are a huge weakness. Roby is a monster at CB, and Howard has gotten noticeably better. Overall, the defense, under Fickell, seems "Tresselized". I don't think that Meyer wants to plays defense like this - passive, minimal blitzing, bend but not break.

The 3rd-and-25 play, where UCF converted, really took the steam out of the Buckeyes. That was a perfect example of the team playing soft when they should have been out for blood. A better team takes more advantage of that momentum shift and might have pulled out a victory.

A sloppy game - penalties, turnovers, missed hand-offs, lack of timing in the passing game.

In a strange way, Braxton Miller reminds me a little bit of Craig Krenzel. Not in their respective styles of play - nothing could be more different. But like Krenzel, Miller will go through long stretches where he is mediocre to bad, and then come up with a game-changing play. Miller is not a very good quarterback right now - he needs to be a lot more consistent, become a much better decision maker, and somehow give this team a downfield passing game - but he is undoubtedly one of the greatest pure talents in Buckeye history. If Urban and his offensive staff can find a way to maximize Miller's natural ability, then he could lead this team to a national championship. If not, then get used to a lot of games like today's, with a number of the decisions going against Ohio State.

Definitely an ugly game, but I think that Urban Meyer will use that to his advantage. I'd bet that this team finds out this week what Meyer means by "playing angry".

I disagree with your assessment on Braxton. I thought he played well all game and did what he could. He had a very good completion percent and made a lot out of nothing. The offense will be fine once Hall comes back and of course Hyde getting healthy. He did what he could and then some with the play calls that were given. They didn't call many plays where they took shots down the field which IMO would've helped them all around. I for one thought Braxton was consistent with his approach all day. However, the rest of the offense was not consistent.

Hyde with early struggles (botching 2 plays), Smith Fumbling, Boren Fumbling, False Starts, Holdings, Dropped passes,and ZERO running threat other than our QB.

The defense though? they need to get better all the way around. Where has Simon been? Or Hankins? I'm seeing too many times where #2 or #4 is on the tackle and that can't be a good thing.

Offensively I think we'll be fine once Hall gets back but Defensively we have to figure it out or MSU will not be a fun game for them.