1st half:
Tressel is not playing football – he’s experimenting with his offense. Almost everyone on the team has played (hence the four FGs, five RBs, and three QBs in one half). The Vest is not trying to make a statement. Scanning the other games going on from the nation’s elite, it seems like everyone else is keeping their starters in, padding stats and scores. Tressel pulled his starters in the second series.
BIG surprise giving Pryor an entire series in the first quarter, even though it was with an entirely freshman offensive line. Still, great first drive for the new QB.
Beanie is being Beanie. Again, he’s largely being kept under wraps, which is scary, because he has a 9.1 YPC average. (!)
Defensively, what can you say? 27 total yards so far for YSU. Nothing fancy, just the same domination that they had last year. Good on Gibson for the year’s first sack. Little Animal and Wilson are having great games, too.
End of Game, 43-0
Way to start the season, with a shutout. BAD injury for Beanie, although it was good to see him limping around on the sideline late in the game.
If pressed for a superficial generality, I’d say the defense deserved more kudos than the offense. They only allowed 70 yards, including negative 10 rushing.
That isn’t to say the offense didn’t perform awesomely – but clearly, there were too many “settle for FG” drives (silver lining: the FG kickers were superb, going five for five, with two of them longer than 50 yards). Pryor had a good first outing, including a fantastic 19 yard scamper for TD on an option out of the Pistol. Speaking of the Pistol, all three quarterbacks ran it consistently, and it was clear that it was confusing to the YSU defense.
All in all, an excellent way to start the season. Defense earns the shutout, lots of success on both sides of the ball, tons of players got plenty of time, and the weaknesses & bugs common to early season nerves & rust were clearly defined.
Todd to me looked slow to react, he got another ball batted at the line of scrimmage ( which happens I think 1 out of every 3 or 4 balls he throws ), and I think he should buy Dane Sanzenbacher and his family dinner for a year………..he about got the kid decapatated ( good grief ). Todd is still lofting balls off his back foot….(shaking my head )
Does anyone think Todd is looking over his shoulder?? I mean Pryor looks like he wants the top spot ( headset on, right on Tressel’s hip pocket )Pryor showed he was composed, and incontrol, but still raw……..only a matter of time.