A slightly rougher version of this image of OSU’s G2 has been going around the interwebs. Thus, we don’t claim originality, but we did tweak & refine it a bit.
Original image copyright Jim Davidson @ the O-Zone.
Archives for October 2006
Ginn & Gonzo… 24/7
October 10, 2006 by 1 Comment
The best QB in Big Ten history
October 9, 2006 by 4 Comments
No… this is not just an opinion. With his most recent effort, Troy Smith’s career QB rating is 158.1, making him the all-time Big Ten leader among quarterbacks.
Smith’s rating has been leading all along, but only in the past few weeks has he surpassed the career 300-completion benchmark recognized by the NCAA for record consideration.
Smith completed 85% of his passes against BGSU last Saturday, including three TDs and no INTs. All of that even though he only played for two quarters, and a single series in a third.
Here are a few relevant stats of his season so far:
| Against | Comp% | TD | INT | Rating |
| NIU | 72.0 | 3 | 0 | 211.39 |
| @ Texas | 65.4 | 2 | 0 | 177.68 |
| Cincinnati | 70.0 | 2 | 0 | 148.84 |
| Penn St. | 54.5 | 1 | 2 | 95.27 |
| @ Iowa | 64.0 | 4 | 0 | 179.3 |
| BGSU | 85.0 | 3 | 0 | 214.72 |
The PSU game is the only aberration in the above table. However, those who saw the OSU/PSU matchup remember the flooding rains that occurred during the game (and no, we’re not just talking the flood that came from Joe Pa’s pants). I’ll let your level of OSU love/hatred determine how much slack you should give Smith for that game — but you’d be lying if you said OSU’s opponents aren’t doing rain dances every Friday evening.
As someone who’s been watching Smith since he was a young’un, his most impressive stat to me isn’t available via ESPN or CFBstats.com. The most impressive thing about Smith is (1) that he doesn’t make bad decisions, and (2) he plays his best in big games.
To me, Smith is an amalgamation of the best parts of all the OSU quarterbacks from the past decade. He’s got Stanley Jackson’s feet, Joe Germaine’s arm, Craig Krenzel’s leadership, and his own unnatural football instinct and athleticism. Watching him is, well, just plain “satisfying.” I don’t worry about him making some stupid decision to throw the ball into triple coverage, or pounding into a linebacker headfirst, or taking a 20 yard sack instead of throwing the ball away. One gets the impression that the entire game moves in slow motion to him.
And it seems like #10 is just hitting his stride. In 2004, he flipped the switch at the end of the season. In 2005, he also peaked at the end of the season. And, as OSU prepares to head into the last half of this 2006 season, check out the numbers from his most recent games:
Number of TD passes in the last two games: 7
Total rushing yards in each of the past three games: 18, 20, 54
CMP %, past three games: 54.5, 64.0, 85.0
Rating (again, for emphasis), past three games: 95.27, 179.3, 214.72
Still half a season to go!
Team Chivas beats Team Galaxy 3-1….
October 7, 2006 by 2 Comments
You may be wondering why this is on this site because neither of these teams are from Ohio. Well actually they both are. Team Chivas is my 4 year old son Eli’s soccer team. His team won 3-1 and is now 3-1* on the season, even though they dont keep score or award victories or losses in any game. I, as a ridiculously advid sports fan, do keep track of said info.
P.S. My son Eli although I love him very much has about as much athleticism as his good old Dad. So look for him to be blogging about sports in the future instead of playing them.
P.P.S. The one loss his team has I feel needs an asterisk as I am sure a couple of the the other teams players were like 12 years old and not 4 or 5.
First ever high school football post.
October 7, 2006 by Leave a Comment
Myself and Zeke went to a high school football game between my Hometown team, the Upper Arlington Golden Bears, and el Kaiser’s home school, the Dublin Coffman Shamrocks. Just a few highlights will be given as to not depress el Kaiser too much.
First half was marred by a lot of turnovers, unfortunately for el Kaiser they were all by his team: 3 INTs and 1 blocked punt. That led the Golden Bears to a 17-0 halftime lead. The second half wasn’t much better for him, they threw 2 more INTs. Dublin did manage to make a couple of late drives to make it respectable final score of 24-14. The game was never really in doubt, though, as UA controlled both sides of the ball for the entire game. Upper Arlington is now 6-1 and Dublin Coffman is 5-2.
A few side notes from some discussions that Zeke and I had was that we were utterly surpised how big both teams were (espeacially #75 of Dublin — if he isn’t recruited by Div. 1 colleges I will be shocked). The home crowds (UA) student section was pretty amazing and loud and very school spirited all game long. Overall we thought it was a good environment for football fans and families alike. We will say that we probably talked more about OSU than we watched actual plays, though.
We are hoping this may turn into us (contributors to MotSaG) doing some more High School games if for no other reason than to see some of the Buckeye recruits in action. It was cheap and fun and gave us a good idea as to what to expect from a High School Football game since it has been more than 10 years since we were at one. LOL we are getting way old.
OSU/BGSU – Semi-live update
October 7, 2006 by 6 Comments
End of 1st quarter
Buckeyes were very proficient on offense, running the ball very easily on Bowling Green. A touchdown pass to Rory Nicol was good to see. Good to see him catch a pass and good to see Troy is still distributing the ball. The defense is still giving up big plays every once and a while but they’re holding strong. Ginn has already made a couple sick moves for nice yardage.
End of 2nd quarter
While the 2nd quarter was mostly ho-hum, it was big for the D. MotSaG favorite adopted son, Vernon Gholston picked off a pass and ended the quarter with a sack. We might have mentioned this before, but Gholston has big arms. They only thing I’ve noticed is that there have been too many people limping off the field — Troy came off limping, Patterson has left the field, and others. That makes me nervous. Otherwise, the game looks well in hand.
End of 3rd quarter
Wow, that quarter was pretty much all Bowling Green, almost nine minutes. I was hoping for a shutout, but BG put a nice drive together, capping it with a great one-handed catch for a touchdown. The Buckeyes came back with a steady dose Pittman, which is how I expect the rest of the game to go. Bowling Green has been able to stop the run on first downs, but not much after that.
Final
OSU: 35
BGSU: 7
Once OSU got their hands back on the ball, they struck and struck fast. Ray Small looks fast, coming off the bubble screen and scoring. The defense then held strong and Troy struck again, going to Ted Ginn Jr. flying down the sideline. Ted had a big game, over a hundred yards and a touchdown. The one punt he actually returned looked good, he seemed really loose this game.
Troy had another great game, 200+ yards passing and 50+ rushing with 3 TDs. The D had another pick, almost 2 (which should have been an interception). They held another team under 7 points. This defense might give up yards but they don’t give up points. That’s the best kind of D.
Week #6 – Bowling Green – Open Thread
October 6, 2006 by Leave a Comment
Here we sit, at the top of the hill, ready to put it in neutral and save some gas while we coast down through the Big Ten. Before we get there, though, we make a pit stop to meet up with the Falcons of Bowling Green. This will be the first week on the newly laid grass. As Keith points out, it still doesn’t look that great, but it’ll do for now. It doesn’t really matter, OSU should dispatch Bowling Green rather early. Field and weather conditions are moot at this point.
Previews, if you want to see what were up against, can be found at The O-Zone and BuckeyePlanet.
Vegas has the line at 35 points. The Buckeyes have covered the spread each week. Do you think they do it again?
How soon do we see Zwick come in? (o/u middle of the 3rd quarter)
It almost seems improbable, but does Laurinaitis continue his streak and pick off another pass?
Pittman will get his carries, but it’s possible the backups get more. Do Wells and Wells out-gain Pittman?
The offense could potentially rack up big numbers. How many? (o/u 550)
Predictions:
el Kaiser:
Final Score: OSU: 45 BGSU: 0
Zwick: comes in during the second offensive series of the 3rd quarter
Laurinaitis: As much as it pains me, I don’t see another INT in this game.
Pittman: I think Pittman is going average 10 yards/carry but only get about 15 touches. He still outgains the Wells/Wells tandem.
Offense: Over – 600 yards
sportsMonkey:
Final Score: OSU: 38 BGSU: 7
Zwick: Over – comes in at the first series of the fourth quarter
Laurinaitis: Little Animal keeps the streak alive! (One pick.)
Pittman: Pittman outgains his backups.
Offense: Under – 450 yards
Comments: The Falcons actually have a pretty good rushing offense. They were able to put up 219 yards against Wisconsin (that’s twice as much as Michigan managed against the Badgers!). I don’t think BG will threaten OSU’s defense much beyond the first quarter, but the rushing offense of both teams should keep the game clock moving, and that might have an impact on the final score and yardage totals.
Zeke:
Final Score: OSU: 41 BGSU: 3
Zwick: I will take the Over. We will see Zwick toward the end of the 3rd quarter.
Laurinaitis: I agree with Kaiser, the streaks ends Saturday:Under.
Pittman: I am going with Wells’ duo to outgain Pittman 135 to 115.
Offense: Under – 512 yards, I expect the Buckeyes to be playing with a short field most of the game which will keep the total yards under 600.
Sylvester Yon-Rambo
Final score: OSU 412 BGSU -2
Zwick: Troy will do the first 2 drives of the 3rd Qtr and then Zwick will take over
Laurinaitis: 2 interceptions over
Pittman: 143 yrds and Wells Duo 121 under
Offense: well if they score 412 points like I predict then they will have about 6000 yards of offense easily…..so way over 550
BlogPoll Roundtable #4
October 6, 2006 by 1 Comment
We took a crack at Cross Cyed’s BlogPoll questions:
1. We’re about halfway through the season at this point. Have you gotten a gauge on your team’s chances this year to make noise in conference play, or is the team still a total freaking mystery?
We are an Ohio State blog, nothing more to say. (Zeke and company)
2. Many of the bigger conferences such as the Big 12 and the Big 10 use a rotating schedule to determine conference games each year. What are your feelings on the current system used in your conference? Does a rotating schedule work? Has your team always caught a break?
I don’t mind the rotating schedule to determine the winner of the conference. If you have a conference championship it is one more huge game to play and obviously one more chance to lose at the end of the season. Since the Buckeyes never have Michigan or Penn State rotate off their schedule, I would argue they never “catch a break”. Michigan will be one of the two most difficult games for Big Ten teams (the other is no doubt OSU) and Penn State is arguable the third toughest test in the Big Ten (especially in Happy Valley). (Zeke)
3. In an effort to get to know more about college football, both nationally and regionally, what have you done to expand your college football horizons? Have you caught yourself watching games from other conferences, or taking an interest in games that show up on ESPNU or Fox Sports?
I watch as much college football as I can. Simple as that. (Zeke)
I’m with Zeke here, I have always watched as much football as I can (and the wife will let me). I have started being more critical of other teams, though, seeing as we’re part of the BlogPoll, where as before I just watched without much interest in performance. (el Kaiser)
4. What would you change about the current exposure your team gets, either on the radio, television, print, or on the internet?
This is hard question to answer if you actually live in the town when your team is located. Here in Columbus the Buckeyes are given ultimate positive exposure. I understand there is a negative perception that accompanies the Buckeyes nationally, but when you win as much as the Buckeyes do, who cares? HWSNBN left a bad taste in many people’s mouths including Buckeye fans in Columbus. The bad taste lingered for a while. It was 4 years ago and Columbus has moved on. People around the nation, including the media, need to move on as well. The 2006 version of the Buckeyes is a special team. If people don’t wake up and enjoy what they are seeing this year, they are gong to miss one of the greatest college football teams in recent memory. (Zeke)
5. During last Saturday’s game against I-AA Northern Iowa, Iowa State trailed 21-7 at the half. The Cyclone Marching Band played a variety of songs from animated shows, including selections from South Park titled “Blame Canada” and “What Would Brian Boitano Do?” Needless to say, the Cyclones outscored the Panthers 21-6 in the second half. If you had to pick one song for your favorite team to rally to, what would it be? Because we all know what they did for the 2005 White Sox, Journey and “Don’t Stop Believing” are not to be considered.
Hmmm, tough question. I think I’ll have to go with “Going the Distance” by Cake. Because right now, the Buckeyes are going the distance. (el Kaiser)
Jackets’ roster finalized
October 5, 2006 by 1 Comment
The season starts tomorrow (finally!), and your CBJ roster has been set. I won’t go into much analysis, here; if you’d like some, check out Drew’s take on the roster over over at EOB.
Missing from the lineup are the injured Fedorov, Svitov, and Berard; and the reserved Picard and Zherdev. Klesla is also off the roster for the first two games due to his suspension. All should be back by late October or early November… except maybe Berard – his status (back injury) is “out indefinitely.” Also, Carter is listed on the second line, but has been battling a foot inflammation.
Lines (LW/C/RW)
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First Line: Rick Nash / Mark Hartigan / David Vyborny
A great first line. Hartigan fills in for Fedorov here. Let’s see what he does with the opportunity.
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Second Line: Fredrik Modin / Geoff Platt / Anson Carter
Some new faces here. Brule could step into this line, too.
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Third Line: Jason Chimera / Manny Malhotra / Dan Fritsche
Sol-id. Great veteran chemistry here.
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Fourth Line: Jody Shelly / Gilbert Brule / Jaroslav Balastik
This line will hurt people.
Defense Pairs
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First Pair: Ron Hainsey / Adam Foote
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Second Pair: Aaron Johnson / Duvie Westcott
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Third Pair: Anders Eriksson / Ole-Kristian Tollefson
Goaltending
- Starter: Pascal Leclaire
- Backup: Fredrik Norrena
Overall, it’s a pretty exciting lineup, but the Jackets lack some experience at center. Federov and Svitov can’t return too quickly. The biggest “surprise” for many was Brule being assigned to the fourth line. With the injuries, everyone assumed he’d be the guy to beat. I’m thinking the coaches were just more impressed with Platt’s performance during the preseason (4 goals, 3 assists).
Let’s get it on!
Contact Us
October 5, 2006 by Leave a Comment
Even though we’ve been up for a few months now, we’ve never had a way for the readers to contact us. There’s comments on the end of each post, of course, but those aren’t good for everything. So if you’ve got a tip, a comment, you want to tell us how much we suck and we should stop blogging and die, there are now two ways you can contact us. I’ve set up a simple “Contact Us” Page which has a form that allows you to send us your message. You can also email us directly at motsag [at] gmail [dot] com (just take out the NOSPAM, obviously).
Feel free to drop us a line any time.
Blogpoll Ballot, Week #6
October 3, 2006 by 8 Comments
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | — |
| 2 | Auburn | — |
| 3 | Southern Cal |  1 |
| 4 | Michigan | 2 |
| 5 | West Virginia |  2 |
| 6 | Florida | 1 |
| 7 | Louisville | — |
| 8 | Louisiana State | 3 |
| 9 | Texas | 1 |
| 10 | Oregon | 2 |
| 11 | Georgia | 2 |
| 12 | Notre Dame | 2 |
| 13 | Oklahoma | 3 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 1 |
| 15 | Clemson | 4 |
| 16 | Cal | 2 |
| 17 | Georgia Tech | 7 |
| 18 | Iowa | 9 |
| 19 | Boise State | 1 |
| 20 | Rutgers | 1 |
| 21 | Missouri | 2 |
| 22 | Virginia Tech | 12 |
| 23 | Nebraska | 1 |
| 24 | Texas Tech | 2 |
| 25 | Wake Forest | 1 |
Dropped Out: TCU (#17), Purdue (#25).
Games we watched:
OSU/Iowa
Florida/Alabama
TCU/BYU
Rutgers/South Florida
Illinois/MSU
Auburn/South Carolina
A few thoughts:
Teams #3-6 are pretty much interchangeable, only separated by a point or two in our 4-man poll. Michigan has steadily climbed to #3. I know I’m in the minority of Buckeye fans with this kind of thinking, but I’m glad the Wolverines are doing well. I’d love to be able to say we beat three top five teams this year. That being said, I’m still counting on Lloyd remembering who he is and choking in Happy Valley. That will be a sad day indeed.
Virginia Tech fell the furthest after their loss to Georgia Tech, which looks like it could be a good team. Which makes figuring out Notre Dame frustrating. They lost to a great Michigan team, but what about GT? They played ND tough. Illinois beat Michigan State, who had Notre Dame down for the count. So Notre Dame is still an enigma to me.
Good luck to Florida for the next three weeks. That’s gonna be a tough stretch. Ouch.
