Matt Tamanini
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You’re Nuts: Who needs to have a great game for Ohio State to beat Oregon?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
When Ohio State takes the field at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, it’s going to take a collective effort from them to get the job done in their rematch against Oregon. The stakes are higher. Both teams have worked out all the kinks (hopefully). And there will be no redemption afterward. This game is The Redemption Story.
If every Buckeye player needs to be firing on all cylinders in Pasadena, one player needs redemption slightly more than the others: OSU quarterback Will Howard.
Think back to the game in October at Autzen Stadium: It was a battle between two high-powered offenses, both of whom left points on the board in a game decided by a single point. Howard played magnificently for the most part—statistically speaking, it was one of the best games of his career—but a few costly errors put an asterisk next to his stats.
When people talk about his performance in that game, they’re not going to remember that he went 28-for-35 or that he threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns.
They’re going to remember the ball he dropped on third-and-3, forcing Ohio State to punt. And they’re going to remember the play Howard says still gives him nightmares: The slide. With just six seconds remaining, Howard tried to set his team up for a game-winning kick, but he accidentally ran all the time off the clock.
Whether or not there was in fact a second left (there was) is not the point— you, I, and Howard all know that if he’d pulled up a yard earlier, the clock would be indisputable, and unfortunately, we can nitpick the slo-mo videos all we want but it doesn’t change the official outcome. The official record is that Howard’s slide ran the clock down and cost the Buckeyes the shot at a game-winning field goal.
And while defensive players like Denzel Burke didn’t play their best games that Saturday night either, likely, this is going to be a neck-and-neck game that comes down to who has possession last (which equals clock management and capitalizing offensively), so Howard can’t afford to goof.
The good news? The Howard who will take the field on Wednesday isn’t the same one who played Oregon in October. This game is about redemption, but it’s also, simply, about finishing what this team set out to accomplish: A National Championship. Motivation? Hunger? Those are good, but they don’t negate the need for preparation.
Howard says he’s prepared. He’ll need to stay calm and collected, to maintain his accuracy in the face of pressure. This preparation is mission-critical for the Buckeyes, especially with the return of Oregon’s star defensive back Jordan Burch, who was out of the game in October. Burch has logged 8.5 sacks in just 9 games, and Howard will need to be able to make decisions with Burch breathing down his neck.
The rest of the offense needs to do their job too, but the receivers, for example, will have a much harder time doing theirs if Howard doesn’t maintain his composure. If he gets rattled, the game could be over. But if he can turn the hours of game film, extra reps, and minutia into tangibles, he could make the Buckeyes champions.
The Buckeyes have talked a lot this season about their desire to “leave no doubt.” Fortunately for Howard, he gets a shot to erase any shred of it that remains. He must do just that on Wednesday if the Buckeyes want their Championship dreams to continue.
Yes, obviously the Ohio State starting quarterback will need to have a good day in order for the Buckeyes to win. But that’s obvious and easy. While I am not coming completely out of left field here, at least I am thinking a bit out of the obvious box.
In the first meeting between Oregon and Ohio State this season, the Buckeye defense did precious little to try and disrupt Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s process. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles opted to let the Buckeye down linemen to try and generate pressure on the quarterback on their own, doing little to help them in terms of bringing blitzes or calling more exotic rushes.
Instead, more often than not, this led to the four defensive linemen essentially trying to run straight ahead and beat Oregon’s five offensive linemen (not to mention any tight ends and running backs helping to block) straight up. That did not work and Gabriel torched the OSU secondary as Denzel Burke had his worst day as a Buckeye because he simply couldn’t keep up with the Duck wide receivers given how much time Gabriel had in the pocket.
Since then, the OSU defense has been “re-engineered” and the Silver Bullets have gotten more pressure (with and without blitzes) than they have in the past few seasons. Not coincidentally, this has coincided with Jack Sawyer’s second-straight, late-season emergence as an absolute menace to anyone lined up across from him.
In the last four games, the Pickerington native has 16 quarterback hurries, 10 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. He has been the type of game-wrecker that many envisioned when he signed with his hometown Buckeyes.
While J.T. Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams, and backups like Kenyatta Jackson have also stepped up late in the season, Captain Jack has led the way and will need to against the Ducks. A Heisman Trophy finalist, Gabriel is far too good to be given as much time as he was in Eugene on Oct. 12. If the Buckeyes want to prevent a repeat of the near-perfect passing performance that they saw last time these two teams took the field, Sawyer will need to continue to play like the wrecking ball that he has been recently.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Today’s Question: Who needs to have a great game for Ohio State to beat Oregon?
Jami’s Take: Will Howard
When Ohio State takes the field at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, it’s going to take a collective effort from them to get the job done in their rematch against Oregon. The stakes are higher. Both teams have worked out all the kinks (hopefully). And there will be no redemption afterward. This game is The Redemption Story.
If every Buckeye player needs to be firing on all cylinders in Pasadena, one player needs redemption slightly more than the others: OSU quarterback Will Howard.
Think back to the game in October at Autzen Stadium: It was a battle between two high-powered offenses, both of whom left points on the board in a game decided by a single point. Howard played magnificently for the most part—statistically speaking, it was one of the best games of his career—but a few costly errors put an asterisk next to his stats.
When people talk about his performance in that game, they’re not going to remember that he went 28-for-35 or that he threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns.
They’re going to remember the ball he dropped on third-and-3, forcing Ohio State to punt. And they’re going to remember the play Howard says still gives him nightmares: The slide. With just six seconds remaining, Howard tried to set his team up for a game-winning kick, but he accidentally ran all the time off the clock.
Whether or not there was in fact a second left (there was) is not the point— you, I, and Howard all know that if he’d pulled up a yard earlier, the clock would be indisputable, and unfortunately, we can nitpick the slo-mo videos all we want but it doesn’t change the official outcome. The official record is that Howard’s slide ran the clock down and cost the Buckeyes the shot at a game-winning field goal.
And while defensive players like Denzel Burke didn’t play their best games that Saturday night either, likely, this is going to be a neck-and-neck game that comes down to who has possession last (which equals clock management and capitalizing offensively), so Howard can’t afford to goof.
The good news? The Howard who will take the field on Wednesday isn’t the same one who played Oregon in October. This game is about redemption, but it’s also, simply, about finishing what this team set out to accomplish: A National Championship. Motivation? Hunger? Those are good, but they don’t negate the need for preparation.
Howard says he’s prepared. He’ll need to stay calm and collected, to maintain his accuracy in the face of pressure. This preparation is mission-critical for the Buckeyes, especially with the return of Oregon’s star defensive back Jordan Burch, who was out of the game in October. Burch has logged 8.5 sacks in just 9 games, and Howard will need to be able to make decisions with Burch breathing down his neck.
The rest of the offense needs to do their job too, but the receivers, for example, will have a much harder time doing theirs if Howard doesn’t maintain his composure. If he gets rattled, the game could be over. But if he can turn the hours of game film, extra reps, and minutia into tangibles, he could make the Buckeyes champions.
The Buckeyes have talked a lot this season about their desire to “leave no doubt.” Fortunately for Howard, he gets a shot to erase any shred of it that remains. He must do just that on Wednesday if the Buckeyes want their Championship dreams to continue.
Matt’s Take: Jack Sawyer
Yes, obviously the Ohio State starting quarterback will need to have a good day in order for the Buckeyes to win. But that’s obvious and easy. While I am not coming completely out of left field here, at least I am thinking a bit out of the obvious box.
In the first meeting between Oregon and Ohio State this season, the Buckeye defense did precious little to try and disrupt Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s process. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles opted to let the Buckeye down linemen to try and generate pressure on the quarterback on their own, doing little to help them in terms of bringing blitzes or calling more exotic rushes.
Instead, more often than not, this led to the four defensive linemen essentially trying to run straight ahead and beat Oregon’s five offensive linemen (not to mention any tight ends and running backs helping to block) straight up. That did not work and Gabriel torched the OSU secondary as Denzel Burke had his worst day as a Buckeye because he simply couldn’t keep up with the Duck wide receivers given how much time Gabriel had in the pocket.
Since then, the OSU defense has been “re-engineered” and the Silver Bullets have gotten more pressure (with and without blitzes) than they have in the past few seasons. Not coincidentally, this has coincided with Jack Sawyer’s second-straight, late-season emergence as an absolute menace to anyone lined up across from him.
In the last four games, the Pickerington native has 16 quarterback hurries, 10 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. He has been the type of game-wrecker that many envisioned when he signed with his hometown Buckeyes.
While J.T. Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams, and backups like Kenyatta Jackson have also stepped up late in the season, Captain Jack has led the way and will need to against the Ducks. A Heisman Trophy finalist, Gabriel is far too good to be given as much time as he was in Eugene on Oct. 12. If the Buckeyes want to prevent a repeat of the near-perfect passing performance that they saw last time these two teams took the field, Sawyer will need to continue to play like the wrecking ball that he has been recently.
Let us know who you are agreeing with:
Continue reading...