Buckeye Breakdown 12

The 2009 Ohio State University versus University of Michigan has been bad mouthed this week, as a game that’s lost its luster. While the Buckeyes have strung together 5 consecutive wins over the Wolverines, U of M owns the series record by a decisive margin (57-42-6). Pride, desperation and maybe Rodriguez’ job being on the line makes this a “50\50, pick ‘em” game.  This is not as outlandish as it appears at first blush.

Anyone with a grain of sense in their head knows that this is greatest rivalry in all of college sport, bar none. Strange things happen in rivalry games. There are a lot of college football fans that just don’t get magnitude of the event, and this year’s contest is particularly challenging for them. Discounting the effects of the current swelling membership of the OSU Haters Fraternity (Rush Chairman – Mark May, ESPN), we have to ask why? It’s always a physical, high emotion affair.

Michigan has looked absolutely lost defensively, in the second half of the season.  They are better against the run than the pass, and if you’re a U of M fan, that has to be encouraging. Offensively, they’ve been OK and Forcier has proven to be both tough and effective. Unfortunately, their games have resembled track meets, a whole lot more than the smashmouth football the Wolverine fans have become accustomed to watching in the Big House.

Ohio State’s defence has consistently smothered their opposition during the same period. The kicking game will be one of the big discussion points for the Game Day crew, but in the end I don’t think it will be the deciding factor. An improved Buckeye ground attack has been the sweet science of the recent success. Although Terrelle has been relegated more to being more of a bus driver than playmaker, it’s working.

Now that the X’s and O’s have been addressed, let’s get to the heart of what gives Michigan a puncher’s chance of upsetting the Bucks… heart and emotion. Saturday’s game could end up being their “bowl game” and RichRod’s swan song. If they do not win, Michigan will not be bowl eligible for the second straight year, after a 30+ year streak of appearances. You can be sure the importance of this game is not lost on him and he will have the boys whipped up into a full frenzy by game time. 

There is no doubt, the young Buckeyes maturity will be tested, and it’s all about heart. OSU appears to clearly be the superior team, as they were last week against Iowa, but there is a serious possibility of a let down. We have secured a share of the Big 10 title already, as well as the BCS Rose Bowl. There’s not much extrinsic motivation to go out and dominate, since there is no real opportunity to improve our position. Coach JT must provide that motivation, which he does as well as outstanding preparation, but his preference for field position will be severely tested.

Distractions are tough for young teams to handle, and they have to be expected during this week. The Justin Boren saga will be played up and probably more of a positive than a negative for OSU. However, the tribute jerseys honoring the 1954 team has potential to be an emotional snake pit for the Buckeyes to contend with. It was curious to me that they (OSU, not Nike) opted not to unveil them on senior day, but in an opposing stadium.  The only thing I can think of rivaling this would be Earle’s farewell game at Michigan in his black fedora and the team in red spikes (we actually wore Pony, eek). He then went out in style with not only a win over Michigan, but a Cotton Bowl victory over Texas A&M in their back yard.

Michigan has proven all year that they can and will score. My feeling is that there will not be a shutout recorded this week (but we can certainly hope for one!). Tate Forcier is an accurate passer and a deceptively quick athlete. Earlier this year, I recall him running an option in for a TD from about 70 yards out. The zone read was the play and it has given the defense fits all year, which is a little surprising to me. You’ve got to love the onions on a true freshman talking about getting the win for his seniors, when none of them have said a word. I don’t want to see him be successful Saturday, but I like the kid.

The OSU kicking game is definitely a little more limited than normal and the Buckeye offense will have to shoulder more of the scoring responsibility as a consequence.  Because Michigan can score, this has the potential to create significant angst for Tressel, because the practical implication. He may need to loosen up his conservative play calling style to not put the game onto a walk on kicker’s foot needlessly. Scoring early and often is the best remedy for his kicker’s confidence.  

Risk taking and Jim Tressel do not frequently appear in the same sentence, but I can see three calculated opportunities to break the mold. The most obvious chance would be a fake punt. Lining up for a 47+ yard field goal attempt would be the time to expect it, largely because he would not have give up a ton of field position in exchange.  The second choice would be a situational substitution with Joe Bauserman in the red zone, and keeping Terrelle on the field. This creates a match up nightmare. Although not terribly likely, would be a Wildcat formation with Posey at tailback. This could be a little frightening for the home team, given the options available.

My prediction is that Ohio State will win by a score of 31-17, and the defense probably scores once. There are 3 keys for OSU to be successful, in my mind. We need better and consistent play by our defensive backfield. Chekwa looked uncharacteristically shaky last week, while Torrence was poor at best. We need more productivity out of our quarterback and passing game, plain and simple. Michigan’s front 7 is every bit as physical as Penn State or Wisconsin, and if we are reduced to being one dimensional we’re in trouble. Inserting a little deception into our play calling, will help the offense keep the troubled Wolverines off balance. Remember, when an animal is wounded and cornered is when they are most dangerous.  The Wolverines are both.

Buckeye Breakdown 11

Funny thing happened in Happy Valley last Saturday… nobody from Penn State was smiling! Ohio State took control of the Big 10 conference with a 24 -7 win over the Nittany Lions.  They weren’t the only team to be upset, they were just one of several top 20 to stumble. Too bad.

Early Saturday morning, I woke up and caught part of a Big 10 Network (B10N) broadcast of the Penn State pep rally from the night before. Joe Pa had been stoking the fans and had them fully fired up when he asked, “If anyone knows what a Buckeye is?”  Understandably, it drew a polite smattering of applause and chuckles from the home crowd, as he waved and finished up.  Jo Pa was clever, witty and respectful, in his quip but it was probably the last thing Lions fans smiled about until Sunday.

For a full 60 minutes, the OSU defense absolutely restricted the PSU offense’s ability to stay out in front of the sticks and play their brand of offense.  Bruising, basic, and take a shot or two down the field. There’s a part of me that has a fondness for that brand of offense. The key to this strategy is that you’ve got to have the horses and it gets overlooked that PSU rolled up gaudy stats against marginal competition. They’ve played 2 good teams in 2009 and been whooped each time. OSU held PSU to less than half of its average offensive (201yds\game vs. OSU and 429yds\game against the others).

There was a lot of growling last week about the Penn State passing attacking. We got a reminder that the best pass defense is a fierce pass rush. Cameron Heyward put on the stud jersey and made his personal presence felt. Everyone else lined up behind him. When using formations from under center, the 3 step drop scheme got stuffed with pressure from the middle of the formation. The mix of personnel, blitzes, fires and line stunts never let Penn State get any sort of offensive rhythm. 1-2-3-kick was the Beaver Stadium dance step for the day. With the exception of Devon Torrence’s poor effort on Clark’s short swing pass that became an explosive play in the 1^st quarter, the coverage was first rate (125 yards surrendered). Final analysis: the bite of this air attack was not a serious threat all day.

Terrelle Pryor played a pretty complete game and committed only had 1 turnover. The offensive line was not dominant in the run game, but more than adequate in pass protection. This was a subtle difference, because the total yardage doesn’t tell the story. I caught a few minutes of the Penn State weekly show on the B10N and caught a factoid that the total yards of OSU TD drives were 118 yards.  Terrelle should be thankful that it is was Brandon Saine’s catching the 4^th quarter TD, because I’m pretty sure none of the other backs catch that rocket he threw. Just goes to prove, it’s sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and I like any passing touchdowns!

Senior punter Jon Thoma led the special teams with a solid performance. No touchbacks, 4 kicks inside the 20 and our best field position weapon. Ray Small continues to test the opposing team’s discipline in punt coverage, because if you’re not he will hit it with a quickness. I almost never shout out the opposing team very often, but the PSU punter Jeremy Boone put a missile tackle on Ray to save another return from going the distance. Glad to see he didn’t get a concussion from the hit and hope he didn’t give Ray a hip pointer\flexor. Kicker Devin Barclay was steady in both PAT and FGA appearances.

Iowa limps into Columbus on Saturday beat up from season and a painful loss to Northwestern at Kinnick Satdium last week. They lost both starting quarterback Stanzi and the back up QB to injury, in that game. Dashed are hopes of a Big 10 title that looked so bright 2 weeks ago, but now it is back to their familiar role of spoiler. This makes them dangerous, because Kirk Ferentz knows how to maximize that emotion and will have the Hawkeyes ready to play. However, Coach Tressel has way too much at stake to have another Purdue sort of outing.

The Hawkeyes will have limited ability to threaten the Ohio State defense, particularly vertically. To that end, I expect to see Iowa run 2 or 3 gadget plays to try and make some luck. Onside kicks, a fumble-rooski, tackle eligible, nothing will surprise me from them. Here are the three things I expect to see from the Bucks this weekend. First, I think we’ll see a little option to give Rich Rod something else to plan for, probably out of the spread formation. A tight end, probably Jake Ballard catches his first touchdown of the season on senior day.  Barclay will get to try, and will hit, a long distance field goal attempt. Just so he has his confidence in case we need a long one at Michigan next week.

My predictive hot streak continues. We saw in the 1^st quarter that from the distance I predicted, 47 yards out, Coach Tressel opted to punt instead of trying an excessively long FG attempt. You will also recall that last week, I disclosed my highly scientific and weekly XBox360 simulation to get a feel for how the game will turn out using  EA Sports NCAA 2010. This methodology led me to correctly predict an Ohio State win over the Nittany Lions with a nearly prophetic score of 23-6! This weeks score will be tough to predict, but I’m feeling a 31-10 romp as the Buckeyes build momentum for the team up north.

 

 

Buckeye Breakdown 9

Halloween was last Saturday night and happened under a full moon, but not even that could fully explain the strange happenings in Columbus during the OSU game. New Mexico State (NMS) proved to be valiant in their effort and worthy of their $850,000 appearance fee. Worthy enough for Coach Tressel’s staff to break open our bag of tricks for the first time all season!!!

While NMS only had 2 first downs and 63 total yards of offense, they somehow managed to hold the ball for 26.5 minutes! OSU went for 559 in total offense and the equipment manager had to order additional Buckeye leaves for all of this week’s participants.

As expected, this contest was over early, although the offensive productivity in the first quarter was uneven.  The defense was dominant and easily managed the shutout. Terrelle actually got a chance to watch the game, Bausermann showed me a glimpse of something I’d like to see down the stretch run (ability to throw the fade route with precision) and a little creativity with the offensive play calling. My brother-in-law was incredulous his assessment of using the gadget plays against this team, “Why do we show this now and not save it for next week?”.  Elementary, my dear Ramon.

Clearly my blog is read regularly in the Woody Hayes complex and used in game planning. As you know from last week’s post, I successfully predicted that we would see a few exotic pages out of the playbook. With all due respect, the onside kick had nothing to do with New Mexico State’s tendencies as it did with trying to leverage our return game in the coming weeks. It was a thing of beauty, Coach JT on the edge. Devier Posey’s touchdown pass to Sanzenbacher was the prettiest passing touchdown we’ve had all year. If Sanzenbacher doesn’t make the catch, nobody does. Don’t you have to think about the Wildcat formation, a little bit ????

While I will restrain myself to point out that this new found friskiness with the offensive playbook  ”>could’ve served us quite nicely in West Lafayette, I am encouraged for a number of reasons. With Pettrey being hurt and almost certainly a scratch for Happy Valley, Tressel Ball is DEAD ON ARRIVAL this weekend. No way on Woody’s green turf does Tressel give a 26 year old 3rd teamer or 2nd string kicker get the ball at crunch time. JT is cool, but not crazy.

He may actually have to channel his inner Steve Spurrier and try to score early and often, because of the limited field goal kicking capabilities. Should we be able to stake ourselves to 14 point lead in the second half, the defense can be a little more aggressive and then we lean on the regular punter Thoma. There is absolutely no scoring decision on attempts from 47 yards out, unless it is the potential game winner. In this case, the “field position” strategy has to be a directional punt or go for it on 4th and 2 from the 32 yard line.

In this hypothetical situation, there are 3 formations that I would like to see to the Buckeyes attack Penn State with and break our conservative tendencies. The speed option out of the I, is my first choice.  If you have an XBox 360 and NCAA 2010 you know how lethal that play can be with Terrelle. For something completely different … (and keep in mind, my theorhetical situation is a long 2 yards) , Joe Bauserman out of the shotgun and empty set. He will not take a sack, make a good throw  and I’m not sure the Nittany Lions have enough DBs to match up effectively (I like Small vs their nickel\dime back in man to man coverage). Finally, a backside play to Ballard is a basic play off of a rollout that we have not tried to run all year. My sense is that we will see it this week or next against Iowa.

The biggest reason to worry about Penn State is not as much about Darryl Clark, as it is about the PSU offensive line. They look like slightly more athletic clones of a team we faced a few weeks ago, Wisconsin. The biggest difference is they protect for a potent passing scheme. Although Penn State’s offense has been high octane (429 yds \game), they could come out with a ball control game plan and challenge our interior defense. Blending the power run, with short passes to the outside and 1 or 2 shots down the field to control the clock could prove to be a toxic mixture for our offensive poise. OSU has not had any experience in successfully playing from behind late in the game.

PREDICTION: Ohio State 24, Penn State 20

Buckeye Breakdown 8

Ohio State easily cruised past Minnesota with little effort last week, and that was enough to calm the nerves of some of the Scarlet and Gray faithful. Terrelle looked confident and reasonably competent running the offense.  The defense put in strong effort, but fell just short of securing another shutout. Kicking game was sound. Everything pretty much went as planned.

In reality, New Mexico State will offer about as much resistance as the Gophers did and this week’s contest should be more of the same. That being said, there are 3 good reasons to watch this out of conference match up and cheer the Buckeyes to victory.

The tailback position has been won by attrition lately, and if there is any concern the team has healthwise, it’s here. The O-line has had its share of injuries to be sure, but as we head into the stretch run of the Big 10 it’s vital we get good play at the tailback position. No matter who it is, we have to be able to run the entire offense to keep the Aggies from keying on Terrelle.

It is rumored that freshman Jamal Berry may get some playing time, if in fact Brandon Saine and Boom Herron can not go on Saturday. The ideal scenario would probably be to redshirt him, but you never know. OSU would go into the game very thin on experience without either of these 2 veterans, on a day when you have to figure the Bucks will be implementing  a smashmouth game plan. Keep your eye focused on this position.

Second, this would have been our bye week, and there would not have been a game at all. So the fact that we are welcoming a team with the 120^th rated offense in the BCS division lets you know that Heiny Gate will be crowded and rocking by 2pm, long before this one is officially decided. The upside is we get to see some of the second and third team guys that normally wouldn’t get much time at this point in the season.  Maybe even Joe Bauserman, though “there is no script for him to play like the early pre-season games” according to JT.

Momentum is tricky thing to harness, but we have a chance at redemption by winning out. This has to be the launching point. The Buckeyes would share in the conference title and get a shot at a high profile bowl game. This week won’t tell us much, but you do not want anything other than an absolute beat down to establish a dominant attitude before traveling out to Happy Valley.  I look for OSU to get a little redemption for last year’s loss and knock JoPa out of the conference race with their second loss. We then get the chance to play spoiler against Iowa, which is a rare role for the Buckeyes to assume. Michigan… of course we beat them, but Forcier is much better than Barkley from USC and the wild card we must be ready for.

Since Saturday is Halloween, how about a little trick or treat for the fans? The game looks like it could get out of hand early, so how about something a little sweet? A gadget play, an exotic, trickeration if you like. Give Rich Rod and Kurt Ferenz something to think about that we’ll never run on them. We always seem to be able to scheme for at least 1 big offense play, but why not something a little less conservative? Fake a field goal attempt or throw a hook and lateral, anything other than 3 yards and a cloud of FieldTurf for 3 hours. Go Bucks.

Buckeye Breakdown 6 and 7, the debacle

I started to title this post “Buckeye Brokedown, an offensive tragedy”, but thought that it might be a little too over the top. Football and opera, now that’s interesting. Wisconsin turned out to be our scary prelude and the fat lady singing was Purdue with the support of 5 turnovers. That, my friends, is a true tragedy.

Saturday’s loss at Purdue was the only time I can remember Coach Tressel resembling John Cooper during game time. Unable to adjust defensively (short, quick pass routes), reluctant to change what wasn’t working offensively (Terrelle) and getting  flat out coached. Ohio State looked like they got off the plane and expected the Boilermakers to roll over and hand us the win, because of our reputation resume. The young team learned a tough lesson at Ross-Ade Stadium, and we’ll be lucky to share in the Big 10 conference title. Here’s why:

The biggest reason why we are ranked 91^st in total offense is not entirely our QB play, but our “blue chip” O-Linemen. That’s the bottom third of division IA teams! The line is  getting whipped weekly, liked potatoes on Thanksgiving.  While Mr. Boren has been lauded for making the group a tougher bunch, that simply has not translated into effectiveness. Getting someone, anybody, able to man up at the left tackle position would have gone a long way to help. While we may not have a stud on the roster, the coaches should have an idea by now who gives us the best chance to win. For this of us that are less informed, it looks a lot like chaos.

There is no question that sitting for a series or two on Saturday would have been a very positive learning experience for the young Mr. Pryor. We shouldn’t rule out the possibility, but that looks less likely than Steve Spurrier not talking smack. Sitting would have given Terelle a chance to calm down and gain his composure, which was clearly shaken. There is an interesting analogy that I haven’t heard mentioned regarding Justin Zwick and Troy Smith. Didn’t Troy unseat the heir apparent and high school phenom, Zwick? Why is this any different?

There is absolutely no question that Mr. Bauserman is not the QB of the future, but this is a team sport. Your offense has been downright pitiful to date. When you fail to meet the basic requirements of your position, and ball control has to be near the top of Tressel Commandments, there has to be accountability. Terelle has enjoyed an unprecedented “pass” on this, if you’ll pardon the pun.

This pass is where Coach Tressel has put himself on thin ice with the Buckeye Nation, because he seems afraid to bench Terelle. It’s probably a little bit of a sore point in the locker room as well, but no one would ever break ranks and admit it. Whether the coaching staff is worried about blasting his psyche, TP seems immune to the expectations that are placed on other positions. Kickers, O-Linemen, and everyone else toils under the “step up and perform or move over” mantra. Left tackle has been a revolving door trying to find someone who can consistently get the job done. My question is, when will this discipline be applied to the quarterback position?

What has also become equally clear is that the OSU D-Line is overrated. They’ve feasted on weaklings and been frustrated by the more evenly matched opponents we’ve faced. I like our chances against the rest of our schedule, but last week’s loss exposed our Achilles Heel. We have a difficult time applying pressure with the D-Line exclusively. We will guarantee ourselves a slow and miserable death against a good spread offense.

Assuming OSU can run the table and finish with a share of the Big 10 title, they would earn themselves a desirable bowl game. My concern is getting a high profile someone we have a chance of beating at a potentially less than neutral site (eg- LSU in New Orleans, USC in Rose Bowl, Florida in Florida). So here is my wish list of bowl teams: 1) Oklahoma – ideally we get them in the desert; they’re vulnerable because they’ve got the same issues we do. 2) CAL – way over rated, hated PAC 10 rival and the easiest win on my list and finally 3) Ole Miss – I’d love an SEC bowl win in Orlando.

In closing, I have 3 wishes. My first is that our blue chip QB of the 91^st rated offense should be restricted from the mid week press conference. There are probably a few other things he could be doing and leave that chore to the seniors. You can lead by example, and not running your mouth.  Second, we absolutely need QB accountability and competition for playing time.  Otherwise the team fabric will start to fray. Finally, we need consistent and quality line play on both sides of the ball. No excuses, no exceptions. (and pray for another Korey Stringer,  Orlando Pace  or Mike Vrabel to emerge from our recruiting efforts).

Buckeye Breakdown 4 and 5

Well, the “I”s have it… losses to the 2009 Ohio State Buckeyes. Lots of Buckeye leaves handed out in the last 2 weeks. Sorry I missed you last week, but I was still drying out from the power washing I endured during the Illinois game. Neither team offered much resistance, so there is not a lot to glean from these outings other than precious game experience for a few new guys.

First, the running game is starting to look a little more consistent, and I think that Brandon Saine’s emergence as a versatile tailback has a lot to do with it. He had a bit of  breakout  game at indiana last week and I’m sure that probably has Boom a little worried, but there will be plenty  of work down the stretch. The most exciting aspect of last Saturday’s game was that we seem to opening up a little bit on offensive side of the ball. We’ll be tested for sure when Bucky and the boys invade Ohio Stadium.

My belief is that the Bucks will jump out to an early lead on Wisconsin and try to get them out of the downhill running game. The Buckeyes could probably help themselves a little, by mixing in a little more I and split back sets. Attacking the defense at it’s core, instead of being relegated to running the zone read across the formations would also be useful. Let the O-Line get a little rhythm by adding some variation. I know fullback is not a strength, but come on! We’ve got more than a few reserve tight ends and linebackers (like Zack Boren) that should be able to run a lead play.

Wisconsin has been flying under the radar, but they will have no such luxury on Saturday. You know what you get when the Badgers line up. A big thumping tailback (248 pounds) with thick legged road graders that love to zone block.  The passing game is not imposing, but effective. The defensive line looks to be improved, but their D will also be without 2 senior safeties that have been suspended. That should present some opportunities for our tight ends to get into the flow, for a change.

To me, this week’s key match up looks to be the Wisconsin O-Line against our front 7. The Buckeye linebackers and ends have played well, but the DT play has been a work in progress. Remember what Navy did to us? Pitt easily handled them without the “blue chips” we tout. There’s nothing clever of difficult about what the Badgers do. They line up and attempt to steamroll you. With our DTs being nicked up and us reaching down into the 2 deep, you have to be a little concerned. Not too concerned though, Ohio State should roll by 10 or more.

Special teams have been anything but special to date. Pettrey’s case of the yips is probably the only thing that keeps coach JT up at night. He’s come out and supported him in the press, but you know it messes with his preference for game management. The return game has been pedestrian, but you get the sense we’re on the verge of breaking off a big one. Instead of a single back on the punt return team, I’d love to see both Sanzenbacher and Small back to challenge the coverage schemes. It’s unlikely we go all out for the block, because of our preference for field position.

Finally, we are seeing all of the teams that played weak out of conference schedules, choke up a bit. This bug has already caught Penn State and a number of early top 10 teams. The exception here is to make your entire schedule weak and cry foul. When you look at the pastry cart schedule that Boise State plays, and their undefeated record, it’s hard to imagine that they don’t go undefeated and to the championship game. My only hope is that if they make it there, they get spanked by Florida or Texas (assuming the Bucks aren’t there). Only time will tell, but this how I see it.

Buckeye Breakdown #3

The 2009 Buckeyes punctuated their final out of conference schedule with a decisive win against Toledo in Cleveland Stadium. By posting a shutout at a neutral site (and another weak loss by USC to an unranked team) even t he least resilient of the Scarlet and Gray faithful have reason to be encouraged. The shut out was a little lucky, but you need that every now and again.

Terrelle had a huge day, the defense served noticed that they don’t suffer from the same mental malady of focus that some un-named PAC 10 team seems to be afflicted with, and that the 2009 Buckeyes are still a young team, but maturing very quickly. The offensive line played a little better and certainly seemed to look a little more nasty, to me, when Mike Adams was on the field. He needs to get with Ray Small, figure out what he did to get out of the Tressel doghouse and do the same. Hope to see him get it together.

I can’t help but think that my BLOG is being read within the inner circle of the Woody Hayes center. Maybe the fact that we ran a screen for the first time in 8 years was a coincidence. Baby Buck Jordan Hall bounced for more than 6 yards\carry at tailback and Dane Sanzenbacher does his second impression of Doug Donnely with a penchant for striking from a distance. Sanzenbacher had such a big week, I am officially giving him the nickname “White Ligthning 2″. My offensive player of the week is Sanzenbacher, with the defensive nod going to Chimdi Chekwa. No crying about Terelle, he’ll have plenty of chances.

Turning our attention to this week, Big 10 competition begins this week and little else matters in college football. Yes I said it and I’m not taking it back. I am calling out the SEC divas, PAC 10 posers and Big 12 wannabes to let them know that this is the best league in all of college football from top to bottom. Can you tell I’m a little excited?

Michelle and I will be in Ohio Stadium perched high a top section 22c to watch the quest for OSU’s 6th consequetive conference championship. Illinois (ILL) has always been a favorite (non-MICH) conference win from the time I spent in Columbus. The games were always highly entertaining and physical. Keith Byars had an amazing day with 5 touchdowns in 84 or 85; passing, catching, kick return and passing). Dave Wilson posted what I still believe is a D1 record for 1 game, with 620 yards! Finally, and unrelated, Illinois vs Ohio State is also our best basketball rival and that adds extra intrigue, for me.

This is a real rivalry, with ILL having won 7 of the last 10 dating back to 1988. No, Juice will not repeat his 2007 upset performance. In large part this will be because Rashard Mendenhall now plays for the Steelers and took a lot of the burden off of him as a sophomore. What would be concerning is if he were somehow able to have this same effect for another offensive teammate. They run the zone read to death and will have some success, but my expectation is that the Bucks’ defense will keep the Illini to less than 17 points.

OSU needs another offensive gem to begin the Big 10 season to get a little rhythm and identity. Illinois’ strength thus far on D has been stopping the run. But they are very thin at LB due to injury and just a lack of quality depth. They’ve not been very good against the pass, so we will get opportunities in the passing game to be dynamic. Maybe I’ll get my wish for a big return play this week. All in all it should be a romp, but you never know. That’s why the game is played.

Buckeye Breakdown Week#2

Last week’s effort against USC was encouraging in some respects, but a flat out disappointment on 3 dimensions. The final score, the Bucks’ inability to run the ball to establish any offensive rhythm and Terrelle Pryor’s inability to generate any passing yardage outside of the hash marks. Since the local press has been caning Coach Tressel like Hong Kong law enforcement over his playcalling I will resist. While I’m irritated, I’m not jumping on that bandwagon (although we really should’ve tried to score a touchdown on 4th down in the 2nd quarter).

Fast forward to this week’s contest in Cleveland against the Toledo Rockets. I got a chance to catch their game last week in Colorado on TV. I was stunned by the beatdown they issued Buffaloes. Make no mistake, Toledo is no fluke in the passing game. While Colorado may not be the stalwart that they once were, they are a quality Big 12 team and unaccustomed to receiving a spanking from a MAC team. OSU better be ready to score at least 30 points to handle their business, or it could get ugly.

There are a handful of things I want see from this week’s game. First, I want to see some rotation at tailback to try and jumpstart the production. I like Boom, but since the O-Line is struggling as bad as it is, my preference is to use some variety at the position and go a little bigger (read Brandon Saine). My vision would get the backfield’s baby Bucks a few touches before the start if the Big 10 season. Clearly, this is mandate week for the OL!

Second, Terelle needs to show me a little more steadiness and less “swagga” in the passing game. I will admit he has shown some signs of improvement, but he simply needs to be more productive within the context of the offense. Maybe that means a few more called runs, since he has appearred reluctant to take off on his own. This speaks to the directly to playcalling  and trying to be a little more creative. That’s one is on the coaching staff. Have we run a screen since Tressel has been coach? Someone tell me the last gadget or exotic we’ve run, because I can’t think of one.

Third, can our linebackers cover the field all day against a serious passing attack? Their run offense was primarily window dressing. LB pass coverage ended up being our Achilles heel against USC, and I can’t help but think we would’ve been in a little better shape against this type of matchup with Tyler Moeller available in the rotation.  The D-Line could help them along with consistent pressure from their group. The D-Line played pretty well against USC, so my expectation is absolute dominance against Toledo. We’ll see.

Finally, how about a big play in the kicking game? A 52 yard field goal would be a good thing, but I’m thinking more offensively (surprise, huh?).  How about a Carlos Snow-esque 100 yard opening kickoff return, or a Teddy Ginn punt return from about 65 yards out? It will be a quasi-home game, so we will have to do a little something extra to get the crowd going. It probably wouldn’t hurt recruitng efforts either. Let’s Go Bucks! Everybody else sucks!

Buckeye Breakdown Week 1

There was a lot of discussion about the Buckeyes’ wobbly start against Navy, and rightly so. While the outcome was what we expected, it certainly didn’t come in the fashion anyone expected. Interestingly, I got a text message from an empassioned reader of this blog shortly after the game crowing about the flexbone’s versatility and his prediction that OSU would struggle. He was partially right. In the end, they choked themselves trying to throw, when they should’ve just stuffed it down our throats again on the option.

Back to my summary. To me the biggest concern is that neither unit dominated the line scrimmage. I checked the Navy 2 deep roster, and there was not a 300 pounder listed.  Our inability to get a push limited our ability to sustain offensive drives and get consistent QB pressure on their short routes. The Boys from Troy will line up a few behemoths this week that are as atheletic as Navy and where OSU’s will have an immense challenge .

Because I was perched high in section 37B, it was tough to evaluate line play, so I spent a lot of time watching our DBs. Although the quirky Navy offense may not be the best barometer of how this unit will perform against the rest of our schedule, I am concerned about the cornerback position. USC loves to go vertical in their passing attack after pounding the ball to test the discipline of your defense. While Anderson Russell’s poor play was pretty well documented, I don’t think that Devon Torrence is quite ready for prime time. Amos appeared to be more confident and cognizant of what was going on around and in front of him. My prediction is that USC will pick on this corner from the first series.

Another significant observation from week one is that Terelle Pryor did not look particularly sharp, to me,  throwing the ball to the outside third of the field. While his ball has good velocity, it looks to be a function of an incredibly long throwing motion. Think Byron Leftwich. For the most part, the offense didn’t run many passing plays that required any real degree of touch or quick reads off of a 3 step drop. Maybe that’s by design, but the ability to challenge an aggressive and fast defense in as many ways possible will be a big key to beating USC. Smashmouth may not be our calling card this year.

The final comment on week one is that the special teams play was a uneven, with the kicking team leading the way. OSU hits a 52 yard field goal, into a slight breeze, and then misses an extra point that nearly put us into overtime. EEK! You know Coach JT will be tightening that up. The bright spot was punt returner Dane Sanzenbacher. Maybe not a flat out explosive as Ray Small, but he fields the ball cleanly, is on the field ready to go every week and is sneaky quick. Is it me, or is he channeling Doug Donnelly from back in the day?

In breaking down the USC team there are 3 keys that I can see the Buckeyes will need to handle to get the win. If our front 7s do not play 25% better than last week, the game’s over before it starts. Terelle’s got to convince the USC DB’s that he’s got the goods to challenge them anywhere on the field. If not, we’ll be getting a steady diet of “8 in the box” with stunts, dogs, and more pressure than healthcare reform. Finally, OSU will need to slap Barkley around from the moment they take the field. You know, give a real freshman welcome to big time Division IA football (I don’t acknowledge the BCS political correctness for divisons).

My prediction for the USC versus Ohio State game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday Sept 12th: USC 26 – OSU 31.

Buckeye 2009 Season Preview

Sorry it has been so long since my last update, there’s a recession going on and even time is in short supply! My goal today is to take a quick scan of the Bucks’ out of conference schedule.

As every knowledgeable fan knows, the college football national championship runs through Columbus, OH on the second week of the season with the ‘Boys o Troy prancing into town. My only regret for this game will be that it won’t be a 3:30 kickoff in  the 85 degree heat.  I expect that the crowd will be as loud or louder than it was for Vince Young and the Longhorns. I can’t imagine that Pete Carroll will let the freshman that will be starting the season open against us. It’s too much to dream for.

Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves though. The Midshipmen come to town with a potent triple option offensive game plan. Keep in mind that the Middies did beat Notre Dame last year, but I am not sure that’s relevant today. This offense was in a steep decline when I played high school football in the late 70′s! Let’s see…there is virtually no passing component to the scheme and virtually no way to threaten the defense. EEK! Maybe they should’ve veered out of this match up and scheduled someone like Rutgers, Fordham or Maryland.

Week 3 has the Buckeyes making a recruiting barnstorming trip into Northeast Ohio and playing Toledo. The Rockets have been a very consistent program in the MAC. Although they may enjoy a little more success than Navy, truth is they probably took it for a larger share of the gate. Sorry sports fans, can’t get past the money angle here and it should provide a nice opportunity to season some of the backups as we head into the conference season.

Halloween weekend brings us to the last out of conference opponent, New Mexico State. This reminds me of back in the early 80′s when Oregon State and Wyoming would have big scores rolled up on them, in front of a sellout crowd. Those were the good ole days, when you had a 1:30pm start and the perfect amount of pre and post game tailgating time. Coach JT has filled his dreaded bye week quite nicely with the Lobos and this probably doesn’t portend well for the Happy Valley-ites.