UNLV +35.5 at Wiscy (ov/un 55.5) Thur 8 ET, ESPN

[Buckeye doc]

The over was never in doubt - pretty amazing how close vegas was on the spread, though.

 

[Bucky32]

Went to the game tonight. A couple thoughts:
1. Running backs looked great, as always. Ball lost 24 (I believe?) pounds in the offseason and it showed. Although, I'm a little concerned that we'll be lacking the physicality of Clay from last year.
2. Russell Wilson. Basically what I expected from him. A couple of nice throws/runs with a couple that remind you he played in the ACC. I still see him being a game manager and not much more.
3. The D looked bad at times and downright atrocious at others. Ash is going to have to shore that up or they'll get gashed in conference. Tackling was suspect as well.

 

[BlufftonBuckeye]

I realize it's the first gamer if the year...

But keep in mind, UNLV was 2-11 last year, not dynamic on offense, yet there were multiple times they got gashed.

If I was a Bucky fan, I'd be more concerned about the awful d than excited about the excellent rb.

All in all, I was glad to see UNLV have as much success as they did, being a bottom feeding MWC school. If the Buckeyes give up 17 to Akron, I'd be pissed. I imagine Bucky fans feel the same way.

 

[NateG]

I realize it's the first gamer if the year...

But keep in mind, UNLV was 2-11 last year, not dynamic on offense, yet there were multiple times they got gashed.

If I was a Bucky fan, I'd be more concerned about the awful d than excited about the excellent rb.

All in all, I was glad to see UNLV have as much success as they did, being a bottom feeding MWC school. If the Buckeyes give up 17 to Akron, I'd be pissed. I imagine Bucky fans feel the same way.

plus I realize they had a monster lead by then, but no points at all in the fourth (really no points in the last 24 minutes of gametime). Bulemia loves to run the score up. How did they not even get a FG in the final quarter? And only 3 sacks all game? Gerry DiNardo told me on the BTN that Wisky's line was going to be dominant. By the time they come to the Shoe in October tOSU will have everyone back and in full swing. Wilson won't run around and throw as good against Big Ten D's. And after coming off a possible rough game at Sparty, this could be a disaster for them.

 

[buckeyesin07]

Went to the game tonight. A couple thoughts:
1. Running backs looked great, as always. Ball lost 24 (I believe?) pounds in the offseason and it showed. Although, I'm a little concerned that we'll be lacking the physicality of Clay from last year.
2. Russell Wilson. Basically what I expected from him. A couple of nice throws/runs with a couple that remind you he played in the ACC. I still see him being a game manager and not much more.
3. The D looked bad at times and downright atrocious at others. Ash is going to have to shore that up or they'll get gashed in conference. Tackling was suspect as well.

I think this is a pretty fair assessment. UW pushed around UNLV, as they should. Anyone getting really excited about last night's win (not saying you are--I think if anything, your analysis is a bit on the negative side) needs to be reminded of how bad the opponent was.

 

[DubCoffman62]

UNLV is a bad team. Oregon State comes next week and although they're not that good either they're much better than UNLV or should be at least. Let's see what happens next Saturday.

 

[NateG]

UNLV is a bad team. Oregon State comes next week and although they're not that good either they're much better than UNLV or should be at least. Let's see what happens next Saturday.

Right. I expect to see more of a true style of their offense next week against a less talent disparaged team.

 

[Bucky32]

plus I realize they had a monster lead by then, but no points at all in the fourth (really no points in the last 24 minutes of gametime). Bulemia loves to run the score up. How did they not even get a FG in the final quarter? And only 3 sacks all game? Gerry DiNardo told me on the BTN that Wisky's line was going to be dominant. By the time they come to the Shoe in October tOSU will have everyone back and in full swing. Wilson won't run around and throw as good against Big Ten D's. And after coming off a possible rough game at Sparty, this could be a disaster for them.

After Wilson came out, they put Brennan in, who previously was our 3rd-stringer but was bumped up after Jon Budmayr needed surgery. Simply, he didn't look good. That's something that scares me about this season. If Wilson gets nicked up, that completely changes the dynamic of this team.

 

[NateG]

After Wilson came out, they put Brennan in, who previously was our 3rd-stringer but was bumped up after Jon Budmayr needed surgery. Simply, he didn't look good. That's something that scares me about this season. If Wilson gets nicked up, that completely changes the dynamic of this team.

Here's the big issue with this. You guys play Nebraska(great D line expected) and @ MSU at night (who's D line is not shabby at all, especially the JR DT Worthy) Not just if Wilson gets banged up, but if he starts to get issues with happy feet or fleeing the pocket too early before he comes to the Shoe (where the fans are going to likely be the worst to deal with all year) then that makes Wisky extremely one dimensional and easier to beat.

 

[Bucky32]

Here's the big issue with this. You guys play Nebraska(great D line expected) and @ MSU at night (who's D line is not shabby at all, especially the JR DT Worthy) Not just if Wilson gets banged up, but if he starts to get issues with happy feet or fleeing the pocket too early before he comes to the Shoe (where the fans are going to likely be the worst to deal with all year) then that makes Wisky extremely one dimensional and easier to beat.

I think Wilson is a guy who senses pressure well (at least he did last night) and tucks and runs at the right time. Now, granted, it's a whole different ballgame come October 1st and beyond and he did look fleet-footed against a near-FCS defense, but I'll be very interested to see how he holds up against the lines you mentioned.

 

[Bestbuck36]

I think most people are sounding encouraged by this game because, face it, Wisconsin is a really good team and they will be one of if not the biggest obstacle to the Bucks winning another conference championship.

Thanks Bucky32 for being a positive contribution about your team to this board.

My thoughts pretty much follow everyone elses about last nights game but I'm not too excited either way.

I think Ball and White are only going to get better and the timing of their running game will improve as the season goes on. Thats going to be very tough to deal with.

Wilson will get better as well but I dont think he'll be more explosive than he was last night. I think some of his accuracy problems will always be there but the more he's in this offense the more he'll look like a typical Badger QB with a lot more mobility. He wont run wild on BiG defenses and most people know that but he'll pass better as the season goes on unless the Dlines get pressure on him in base coverages.

The Wiscy defense is a couple of notches below their usual. I didnt see one guy on that defense last night that I thought would be someone to really reckon with as this season unfolds. One may develop but right now they dont have one. The Dline got pushed back a bit by a smaller Oline by Vegas I think and if the Rebs would have been more consistent and put a couple of points up early, it could have been a closer game.

In the end, things went as expected. We were all hoping they wouldnt win 70-0 and get some huge momentum going again but we pretty much figured UNLV was getting their asses handed to them. Its Big10/BiG football. Thats how we do.

Fucking awesome to be watching football again though! :)

 

[Bucky32]

The Wiscy defense is a couple of notches below their usual. I didnt see one guy on that defense last night that I thought would be someone to really reckon with as this season unfolds. One may develop but right now they dont have one. The Dline got pushed back a bit by a smaller Oline by Vegas I think and if the Rebs would have been more consistent and put a couple of points up early, it could have been a closer game.

UNLV left a bunch of points on the field. It's almost as if they'd drive the entire length of the field and then forget what got them there once they hit the red zone. Our D has some work to do before Oregon State, particularly the outside contain, or I can see that being a relatively tight game.