Most pathetic performance in Buckeye football history

What else is there to say?

The gameplan was wrong. The players didn’t execute. The coaches made every single mistake possible, from non-innovative and non-aggressive playcalling to the the benching of Beanie. (Why, at least he might be healthy for Troy next week – let’s keep our priorities straight.) OSU has 20 returning starters, but you’d never know by watching this loss.

Yes, it’s just a game; and it’s not about winning and losing. But for the university to be humiliated again and again and again on the national stage can’t continue to happen. Ohio State – with the best football tradition of any school, cannot afford to keep being a pathetic punchline to the rest of college football.

What do you think happened to every single high school football player tonight? Think they’re considering OSU now?

Time to make some radical changes. I suggest you start with the assistant coaches. Clean out the old, unimaginative coaches (starting with the underachieving Jim Bollman), and give some new ones a shot. Give them a season or two, and if OSU continues to embarrass and disgust fans and recruits, then it might be time to find someone else to wear the sweatervest.

OK – so we have to find a silver lining – could you imagine a better trial-by-fire for a freshman Terrell Pryor than this one? And he played admirably, to boot (though he did miss a sure TD in the late 3rd quarter with a wide-open Hartline down the field).

Oh, well. Now we start rooting for a Big 10 championship.

Comments

  1. ugh???? Embarrising AGAIN!!!!! Somethings gotta change….we are worse than last season!!! Time to release Heacock and crew of their duties…Winning just in the Big Ten is a joke…it will take several years to rebuild the damage to our reputation that these humiliating losses have created.

  2. Monkey, I know you’re mad. I agree that this was a failure of the highest order on the offensive side of the ball, but don’t short change the defense. They were placed in horrible situations and played pretty darn good.

    But changes to need to be made, in a hurry.

  3. It’s time to start looking for a coach that can win the big game. It’s obvious to me that Tressel can not do it. Please get rid of him, his play calling was the worst I’ve ever seen. Hell, I gonna compare him to John Cooper. Embarrassing!!!

  4. SC beatdown OSU even worse in ’89. Somehow, the program survived.

  5. Well, I am from a shitty country down south. We play football, 9 man unluckily, due to the total number of players. My team has won 2 championships in three years. We’re in the playoffs for this years championship.
    We’ve won games, we’ve lost games. There’s no money here. No NCAA, no NFL. No one will ever know who we are, or ever even glance at who we were or what we did.

    Yet, I am proud to say, that every single player in this shitty league, in this shitty country has the only thing that is needed to play football: HEART.

    Now, I did not see the game, or any others in my four seasons following the bucks. But a team that is getting whipped like this… That team is in a desperate need of heart.

  6. This can be attributed to the homer refs. Seriously, no called holding on USC when it matters, but take away our TD twice? No chop block penalty on that final USC TD? Are you serious?

  7. Todd Boeckman looked like someone stole his lunch money. That guy flinched when an official raised his hand near him. I cannot see why Tressel would continue with Todd under center after showing the world that he adjust to anything coming at him.

    Also ………..just saw a peek of tressel’s post-game presser………He looks stoned. And when asked about the QB situation looking ahead…….he said he doesn’t have an answer for that .

    I can tell him who shouldn’t be the QB.

  8. Truly heartbreaking. How does a team of this caliber screw up so badly? There were a few mistakes but nothing out of the normal. USC didn’t seem like they played out of the league of the Buckeyes, but were consistent on every single level. This is the first time in over 100 games that Buckeyes didn’t score a touchdown. Just ridiculous.

    Regroup, focus on the rest of the season, learn from mistakes, get better and lets have a successful season. Maybe a big ten championship and Rose Bowl.

  9. El Caballo de Sangre says

    Re: the title of this post…

    To quote the sublime Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club, “not even close, bud!” That’s still gotta be the Holiday Bowl loss to Air Force. If you put “(QB)” between “pathetic” and “performance”, well, I’d go along with that.

  10. Few thoughts:

    This isn’t about coaching so much as it is about building your team for the environment.

    Tressel has built a great team for winning the Big (we can’t count higher than) 10 as his record proves. Problem is that winning in Nov in the Big (we can’t count higher than) 10 takes a different game plan than winning BCS games played either in domes or in warm weather. Plus the teams in the Pac-10 and SEC are already playing in those conditions at the end of their seasons.

    So here you go with last year’s mess as an example:
    OSU wins in the Nov cold of the Shoe.

    LSU is playing in the Death Valley in Nov. Then LSU plays the SEC title game in Dec in the same dome that will host the title game in Jan.

    So who’s style of play is going to work better given the conditions when LSU and OSU hit it?

    Tressel is about 3 things on the field 1.Beating Mich
    2. Winning the Big (we can’t count higher than) 10 and
    3. Getting to the BCS.

    Question is, now that TP is in the system, do you build around his style of play or do you make TP fit the system?

    Worse stat for OSU: One sack. That means that OSU’s D could not beat what is in fact a new USC O-Line in only their 2nd game as a unit.

    Best Stat: OSU 21/30 passing USC 18/30. You’ve got to look for some sunshine somewhere.

    Fellow commentors:

    BED – This had nothing to do with the zebras. On the touchdown, you can’t have the Center open field tackle the D Lineman in the tackle box on a pass play.

    If you want to play the Zebras changed the complexion of the game card, then please give OU their win last week for that clip on the punt return that was missed along with the blown fumble call. Next ship via FedEx the Chrystal Football to U of Miami and then burn all your National Champ stuff due to the crap holding call in overtime and the ball spot that took away two down from U of M in the 2nd overtime.

    El Caballo de Sangre – Amen to that but let me correct you. It was the Liberty Bowl. Family in the Memphis area told me that the Liberty Bowl officials were bent at how rude the OSU players were at events leading up to the game. Namely, the Liberty Bowl steak dinner. Going to a steak dinner in Memphis in Dec is not what a college football player who had been a game away from the Rose Bowl wants to find himself. But steak in Memphis (heck any food in Memphis as those people know how to cook) is better than training table in Ohio in Dec.

  11. This entire game I couldn’t think of anything but Justin Zwick/Troy Smith 3 years ago. The QB by committee system does not work. We need to establish a flow with the offense. Yes, The play calling was bad, but what was equally as bad was Tressel’s insistence to stay with a rotation that obviously does not work!

    On the bright side, my Dad called me today after the loss and told me, “Fuck! Okay we lost, but… Michigan lost to Notre Dame.”

  12. Here-fucking-here!

    I’ve been calling for Heacock’s head for well over 2 years now, and Bollman isn’t far behind. At least Tressel and whatever QB is in has a hand in offensive playcalling, but I’ll be damned if I don’t throw up a little every time I see us playing ZONE. I saw a ZONE BLITZ in this game and as soon as I saw it, I screamed. And saw it a lot more. Guess what happened? Hit the TE for a big gain. We have PLAYERS and PLAYMAKERS and we need to let them play! They can play man-for-man. We don’t get aggressive enough at all, and then we sit back in this zone and allow USC to get the ball to their playmakers, instead of playing hard and physical and not letting them.

    We will never beat elite teams with these coaches in charge. The Vest is brilliant; his underlings are not.

  13. Take heart OSU fans the Buckeyes will come storming back to whip up another (little sisters of the poor team) Troy next week.

  14. At what point does it become apparent that Boeckman is not a championship quarterback. Its one thing to look good against Vassar, The Ohio School for the Blind, and Columbus Linden-McKinley. But every time the chips are on the table against a quality opponent, he fails miserably.

    So this begs the question, what is Jim Tressel’s goal for the year; A National Championship (now gone), a BCS Bowl bid (perilously damaged), winning a share of the B10(1) (no longer a lock), or building the next National Championship team? If the answer is the last one, then Boeckman should’ve started his last game for our team.

    Is anyone else now terrified of Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State? And doesn’t that question enrage you as much as it enrages me?

  15. And what about that fake interference call against Miami! Geez, you guys should have lost that game, too!

    Fire Tressel today!

  16. I have to say: I can’t believe winning the Big Ten is much better than winning the MAC anymore.

    What has happened to this once proud conference?

    I’m going to give the blame where I believe it belongs: Jim Tressel.

    He’s too buttoned down. His players are too tight and not playing loose. The players have no toughness, especially the offensive line. They give up too easily(first sign of adversity).

    I agree completely with the article. It’s time for big changes.

  17. BTW, Reaper has hit the nail on the head.

    No passion, no toughness, no HEART on this team.

    I say let all of the 5-star freshman play and bench the seniors, Laurinaitis included.

  18. buckeyebrowny919 says

    heacock..gone
    i can hear the sec dogs barks right now at the gates. we have one of the top recruiting programs in the nation..please tell me two things…you know that commercial where there are professional football players lined up against little kids as the o-line? no? need a replay? just watch last nights game. Our o-line got manhandled and in turn Todd got his rear end handed to him. We had no speed and it looked like we were running with weights in our shoes comparitively. How was there such a wide gap in talent? kicking game sucked…punting was awful..

    two bright spots and only two..
    The Animal really never fails to impress me. he had guys running full speed and he set his legs and he would actually hit them and drive them back.
    secondly, pryor is not our future…he is the now and we need to load his gun and just let him fire away. we have no choice. We’ll be fine the rest of the year b/c in all honesty..back to playing the big ten. but it has to change now.

    heacock…blow me

  19. I have to agree with most of what has already been said.

    The responsibility for this humiliation (and the 2 NC games) lays completely with Tressel. This was his game plan. His decision to stop what was working and stay with what wasn’t(Boeckman). These were his same old plays. USC said we did everything they saw on film. Nothing new.

    Tressel should start expecting recruits to be calling to tell him to stop bothering them. They want to play for a serious team. For a coach who wants to win more than the Big 10.

    Damn I am so pissed. A loss I could get past. Another humiliation I can’t. Heads need to roll!
    Heacock, Tressel? Someone needs to be gone come December.

  20. just plain shit!!!

  21. Heacock Can’t make good adjustments. I saw it In Arizona and he still is off. He can’t light a fire inder the players. I think he should go. Also, a solid offense cord.

  22. Tressel being a good man, gentleman, classy or a person of character does not equate to his being a genius or brilliant. His coaching crediblity took a major hit last night. Don’t expect a mea culpa of any kind from him either, it isn’t in his makeup to take blame. Not his fault, just doesn’t have it in him. IMHO

  23. Not a Buckeye Fan says

    I’m not an OSU fan, but was looking for some comic relief this evening, and I have to tell you, this blog commentary came through big-time. People are literally calling for Tressel’s head???

    OSU reminds me of Nebraska, circa late 80’s early 90’s … getting beat in the Orange Bowl every year by FSU, Miami, etc. Eeryone busting on Osborne about not being innovative, the Big 8 sucks, etc. Here’s the good news for all you Buckstaches, Nebraska ended up winning the NC in ’94 and ’95 by sticking with the game plan and not going all gimmicky like Michigan is doing with RichRod. Hang tough you nut lovers.

  24. For those of you saying it is time to find a new coach.. STOP THAT S* right now. Tressel not only has taken us to 3 national championships which not to many coaches can do, but he has beaten m*ch*g*n, and has brought class and tradition back to OSU.

    For those saying this is the worst team, loss, over-rated, ect.. Give me a break, we have been a spoiled team for a while. How quickly we forget the Steve Bellasari days.

  25. Oh and one more thing. From the great Woody Hayes:

    “There’s nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you.”

  26. Eric Gelbaugh says

    It is getting very fucking hard to try and defend the Buckeyes when they play this shitty on the national stage. There was ZERO positive to come out of this game. Terrelle Pryor? He was the main QB for the second half and we still only got 30 yards. Defense? No fucking way am I going to try and defend that pathetic performance. Offense? Offensive.

  27. I agree with Zach. Tressel has taken the Buckeyes a long way to a program that we are so used to winning and it sucks to get beat. I think he needs to start getting creative with our offense, that should have been figured out after the last BCS Championship games.

    I am tired of how the Buckeyes and it’s fans get down so quickly when something goes wrong. I was watching the movie “300” and wish the players and fans had the warrior spirit like the Spartans. Boeckman really needs some balls!

  28. I don’t think Tressel walks on water.

    If something isn’t working, don’t keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

    That is the sign of mental illness. Tressel needs to make changes, or this will keep happening.

    I remember the Cooper years. Tressel made positive changes, but it won’t take long for the 5-star recruits that we’ve recently got to start looking elsewhere if we keep CHOKING like we did vs. USC.

    This should have at least been a good game. USC fans were leaving in the 3rd qtr. How embarrassing.

    I’m not calling for Tressel’s head. Yet. But there needs to be BIG changes, in my opinion.

    Why the hell didn’t BAUSERMAN AT LEAST GET ONE FRIGGIN SNAP?! I read how well Tressel said he was doing this summer in the Dispatch. Not one snap for Bauserman.

    At the very least, Tressel needs to bench some of the poor playing seniors on the O-line, starting with Boone(missed a block on Boeckmans sack and fumble loss), before the teach the 5-star freshman how to choke.

  29. BTW zach, I love the Woody quote, but, it wasn’t very long ago that we got “cleansed” by the LSU Tigers, was it?

    Has Tressel and the other coaches not learned a damn thing?

  30. Choked against USC??? how did we CHOKE, the line had us loosing to USC. We ALMOST CHOKED against Ohio U. We did not play well, but we did not choke.

    Ohio State will continue to get 5-star recruits, we are a proud traditonal school, where kids want to play in the greatest rivalry in college football. We have been getting recruits for numerous years, through the good years and in the bad years.

    Guys are calling for change? there has to be change… What are you going to change? the playbook, that is smart lets change the playbook during the season… Change a coach, great, new/different; offense/defense philosphy during the season. Change the qb? Put in the true freshman, lol.. this is why we sit and watch, and not coach.

    Stop hitting the panic button. USC is a great team, it was their home opener, you can’t win when there are touchdowns scored off turnovers.

  31. I’m guessing they were looking ahead with Troy coming into town.

    I’ve heard Pryor may start sooner rather than later.

    He moved the ball down the field…Boeckman did not.

    Boeckman is a head case and is basically ruinned for the rest of the season.

  32. OSU’s recruiting will only be hurt by continueing to lose to top notch talent. Players are learning that it’s not the players, but the coaching.

    That’s a huge problem for the future of OSU incoming talent.

  33. While in general I agree that the gameplan failed, the staff failed to make adjustments and read conditions on the field properly, and so on and so forth, but I think they made the right call on Beanie.

    If you recall, they had him play through pain and wear and tear last year with the understanding that it wouldn’t get any worse. That’s a part of playing football. My guess is that the injury to his foot could worsen if he played on it, and they weren’t willing to risk that.

    Those calling for Tressel’s head are pretty foolish, I think. While these three losses were Cooper-esque, they were to clearly better teams (something Coop certainly couldn’t always claim).

    What is really inexcusable about the loss (a loss, incidentally, that no one should be surprised about) was the fashion in which we lost. What was awesome about 2002 was how calm everyone was on the sidelines and in the huddle; more than once I wished for Craig’s steadying presence during the game. Even though the rest of us had heart palpitations, the team and staff never lost their composure, and this has certainly not been a feature in the past few years.

    I think we need to take a collective breath and let it go. A bad loss, but certainly one we can recover (and learn) from. And while a slip into mediocrity is unacceptable, we have enjoyed a pretty significant run in the past seven years under Tressel.

  34. Oh and one more thing. From the great Woody Hayes: “There’s nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you.”

    Zach, I’m pretty sure when Woody said that, was talking about getting the “…hell kicked out of you…” once. I’d certainly hope that after 4 times (I’m counting Illinois) of getting the hell kicked out of them on National TV that everyone’s souls involved with the program are thoroughly cleansed by now.

    Here’s to hoping they’ve had enough soul cleansing for a long time to come.

    And…here’s to hoping they sharpen the recruiting focus on OLs and DTs; and they better start recruiting a new QB to prepare for the day when Pryor forgoes his education for the NFL draft. (I’m also putting a new OC and DC on my Christmas list.)

  35. 1. While I don’t think very highly of Heacock and Bollman, Tressel can’t continue to duck the criticism; he’s just as culpable as either of the coordinators.

    2. Every question I still had about Todd Boeckman was answered by halftime. He’s the worst OSU QB I can remember. If he starts against Troy (which he will), I’ll never look at Tressel the same again.

    3. We’re only gonna have Pryor for 3 seasons, he might as well start now.

    4. I still can’t believe what transpired Saturday night. I’m a Bucks fan through thick and thin but I don’t think I’ve ever felt so embarrassed to be one.

    5. Where in the hell are Kenny Peterson, Darrion Scott, Tim Anderson and Will Smith? And find Wilhelm while you’re at it.

  36. Would you guys relax already? It’s not as if we lost to Stanford (as the mighty USC did last year). An away game against the #1 team without our best player. Surprise, we lost. Big deal. Yes, by a lot but turnovers and bad calls* will do that. Losing the big game? Take the wayback machine to 1976. Unbeaten OSU loses to UCLA (whom they already beat once that season 40-20) in the Rose Bowl. 1969 – “best team Woody ever had” loses to Michigan.

    *The interception return stepped out of bounds and our defender got clearly blocked on a “pick” on a touchdown. Ask last year’s Okalahoma team about Pac 10 officials.

    Bottom line: I don’t care – win or lose, we’ll still support them.

  37. @ MEM – i couldn’t agree with you more, the way OSU sideline handled the loss, is unexcusable, in my opinion it is a lack of leadership on the offense. Beanie is a great RB but lacks the leadership that Krenzel commanded.

    @ ATLBuckeye remark “He’s the worst OSU QB I can remember” there is no qb worst than Steve Bellasari.

  38. One more thing and I will leave this discussion alone. I did a bit of research and found the following since tressel has been in office:

    So under Tressel excluding this year the buckeys have the following results.

    1 loss against M*ch*g*n
    5 wins, and 2 losses against Penn St, game is usually on National TV
    4 wins, 1 loss against Purdue, another game that is usually on National TV
    3 wins, 2 losses against Illinois, another game that is usually on National TV
    3 losses, and 2 wins against Wisconsin <- this is what people should be bitching about
    4 bowl wins including national championship and 3 losses including two national championships.

    To have an understanding of the difficulty of making it to a national championship, and winning, since 1990 the only coach with a winning record that has appeared in more than 2 national championships is Tom Osborne 3 wins 2 losses (5 total). Bobby Bowden 3 losses, 2 wins, Lloyd Carr two losses one win, of course since the BCS there are no teams with a winning record when they have appeared in more than 2 national championships. LSU is a perfect 2-0.

  39. There should be about 50 trillion asterisks next to any references of LSU’s BCS titles. Both of them were in the Superdome (I know that they dont pick the location, but it sure is convenient). It would be nice to see the BCS title game in Cleveland Browns Stadium. I mean come on..that is a neutral site..right?

  40. for those of you calling for heads to roll … right on. It’s liberating to stop drinking the koolaid, isn’t it? It’s only when people realize that this will continue to happen unless something changes will there finally be pressure to make changes. These same idiots defending JT will be back here before the bowl game remarking something like this, “give JT 6 weeks to prepare for the opponent and they will not know what hit them”, or “JT has got something up his sleeve”

    They refuse to believe what they see and it is out of cognitive dissonance … what they see rationally does not comport with what they have made themselves believe. Namely, that JT is a better than decent coach. He is nothing more than that. He is a decent coach who has been in the right place at the right time. The facade is now crashing down.

    some of the JT apologists will never “get it”. I keep reading crap where people claim this is a great time to be a buckeye and Tressel has done so much, and so what if we lost, we lost in 2 NC games and to USC etc. this is all garbage.

    the only reason we were in the NC the last 2 years was because we weren’t able to be knocked off in our own weak conference. Getting rolled by the only good teams we play is not in anyway a golden era.

    We do not owe JT anything, folks. He has been paid very handsomely out of the taxpayer coffers and do not forget that. It’s not like he has been volunteering his time now has he? The gall he has to keep asking for a raise when the team he is in charge of falls further and further from competing for a NC is amazing.

  41. I can’t believe my eyes. No way am I calling for Tressel’s head, and I can’t believe you are either.

    Yeah, these losses suck, but what do you want instead? Citrus Bowl Wins? What makes you think that a new coach would be able to win these NC games, or even get the Bucks there? What about off the field issues?

    Yes I agree it sucks defending the Bucks to everyone, it’s what I do living outside of Ohio every day. I don’t think everyone would enjoy letting us have it if they hadn’t met that one jerk Buckeye fan in ’85. Try not to be that guy.

    Chuck, Tressel’s latest contract is entirely athletic dept $ = no public money – I don’t know about previous deals. And is he asking for raises? Regardless, look at what he’s given back to the University through the Library renovation with his book – 100% of proceeds.

  42. I used to think Tressel was a great coach, but it isn’t good enough to beat Michigan and win the Big Ten title when OSU has won a game of importance in the last three years.

    JT’s loyalty to TB is admirable, but is misplaced. TB is not capable of winnning a big game, he screwed up against Illinois, he screwed up against LSU and he screwed up against USC. Why in the H*&()) is the offensive coordinator running TB on QB sweeps? He looks like a school girl running to the restroom!! Bench TB and play pryor the rest of the year, at least we have something to look forward to.

  43. Now you can see why the ret of the country has been doubting your talent level for the past 3 years. You finally step out of the Big 10 against a top 10 opponent & look what happens. You guys stole a shot at the championship from USC last year, & did that ever come back to bite you good. This is why your BIG 10 commisioner doesn’t want a playoff system. he is trying to protect you from reality. Screw the Big 10 they are a freaking joke!

  44. echo Dan’s comments. i’m all about getting rid of the o and d coordinators, bring dantonio back or someone of equal worth. we have shown that we can win with good coaches under tress.

    i live in the state up north, before that i lived in new mexico and i’ve done nothing but defend the buckeyes and the big ten. if tress starts to slip, i’ll let you know. however, from my many years of watching buckeye football i can tell you that we are far from that point. we are competing with the best, beating that school up north and that is all i ask for.

    another note, for those of you who are asking if it is enough to beat michigan, i would be ashamed. of course it is enough, of course it is everything. how many overall wins does michigan have? how dominate have they been over the years? how much history have they as a premier football institution? every win over that school matters. every win over that school is a war won. every win over that school places one more brick in the proud history of tOSU. those of you new to this party are the ones asking if it is enough. please show your commitment for more than a couple of seasons before asking this question.

  45. J-Ho…

    Be careful for what you non-Big Ten Conference folks really want. You get a playoff and teams like Georgia, Florida, USC, and LSU would have to travel to some pretty undesirable places in December and January for an NC. Unlike the current system, that allows them to play home games in the bowls. We (most OSU fans) welcome the playoff idea..as it will make teams cater to weather and travel, which is a joke in the SEC. At least the PAC-10 will travel…regardless of the perceived conference strength.

    Get out of here with that weak sauce, son…

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