Archives for January 2009

We’re better than Duke!!

OSU LogoI have simple proof that Ohio State is better than the best team in the country: Duke was only able to beat Michigan once. Ohio State has spanked them on their bare bottoms twice this year. (Pay no mind to the fact that Duke just lost, mkay?)

Ohio State’s defense stymied Michigan for the entire twenty minutes of the first half, forcing them into bad shots and holding them scoreless behind the three-point line, something Michigan lives by. They clawed back into the game at points of the second half, but every run Michigan made, Ohio state had an answer. The frustration was visibly noticeable.

Michigan Ohio St Basketball

On the Ohio State side, everyone played a solid game, with Evan Turner and his 22 leading the way. Mullens and Simmons poured in a dozen a piece as well, and Lauderdale was a defensive manimal, absolutely stuffing Harris on a wide open dunk. That was a text-book “Not in Mr. Lauderdale’s Neighborhood” rejection. And of course there’s P.J. Hill. Oh how we love your energy, P.J. Your shot makes us cringe, your dribbling in traffic forces us to cover our eyes with our hands, but we still love you and your dreds.

Michigan Ohio St BasketballOf course, there was the unfortunate delay of the game at the end of the game, after Michigan’s round mound of hustle, Zack Novak, elbowed Ohio State’s energy source, P.J. Hill. I’m willing to give Novak a pass on this one. It was because of his obvious frustration with how bad of a basketball player he is. When people talk about your “hustle” and your willingness to “dive after loose balls,” that’s polite-speak for “you stink.”

So another solid Big Ten win for Ohio State, with Purdue coming to town next week, should be building a solid resume for an invite to the tourney.

Tajh Boyd chooses a school (semi-live-, semi-creepy-blog)

OSU FootballI feel a little weird doing this, but I figured I’d throw up a quick post as we all prepare to see a teenager make the most important decision of his athletic life. Does he choose suicide or happiness? Stay tuned!

We don’t do a lot of recruiting posts here at MotSaG, but it’s something I follow somewhat regularly. Is this something readers are interested in? Would you be interested in reading more than just the high profile recruiting news (like Boyd’s announcement)?

While we wait for the announcement, I’d like to point everyone to this article on The Cleveland Fan (h/t podux) on Terrelle’s performance in the Fiesta Bowl. It should shed some light on some of those times he pulled up and went out of bounds on a few of his runs when he had clear running room ahead of him. I think most people (us included) noticed something seemed “off” about the way he was playing. This makes more sense.

In fact, this gives me even more encouragement about what kind of player Pryor is and is going to be.

Update: 10 TV is reporting that Boyd has decided on Clemson. Dom Tiberi is “shocked.” Of course, this is like his 23rd commitment, so he could always change his mind on signing day next week.

Life goes on (covered in snow)…

Michigan State at OSU Open Thread

OSU LogoHere’s an open thread for the Michigan State game this afternoon (3:45 on CBS). Should be a doozie at the Schott. I’m on kid duty this afternoon, so I won’t be able to semi-live blog it, but I will check in periodically to have my say.

Enjoy the game!

OSU: 31 MSU: 26 Halftime

Nice first 12 minutes of the game, with OSU doubling up Michigan State. I’ll take it!

Michigan State came back with tough defense and finally finding their shot to close the gap to 5 at the half. Ohio State is going to have to continue to hit their shots and continue the tough match up zone they’ve been playing on defense. It’s frustrated the Spartans to a degree, but they pressure has to stay on for the Buckeyes to have a chance. Oh, and it sure would be nice if someone could look for Diebler’s missing shooting touch, because he sure can’t find it.

On a slightly related note, I just read that Michael Redd is done for the season with a torn ACL and MCL. That stinks.

OSU: 67 MSU: 78 Final

Well, that stunk. A few observations:

  • This team has a shallow bench. Apologies to Kyle Madsen, but we’ve got Mullens and Hill off the bench and that’s it. You can’t go far on a seven-man rotation. I think that’s what has been dooming them late in the game. This team is just running out of gas at the end of close games.
  • For having two relatively big men, we rebound poorly. The 15-3 offensive rebound differential is a killer. A lot of Michigan State’s rebounds were just out-hustling Ohio State. Refer back to #1 as to why that may be.
  • This is a young team, and if Mullens and Buford stick around, they could be very good in the next few years. There’s no reason to be down on them, they played a good Michigan State team tough and they are just one more key player from being a very good basketball team. There’s a lot to still be excited about.

Buckeye Seniors Impress

OSU FootballWhile it’s clear that a few Buckeyes entering the draft are going to be first-rounders, a few of the seniors need to work to increase their draft status. Recent reports out of the Senior bowl are coming out and some Senior Buckeyes are starting to impress. Both Marcus Freeman and Brian Robiskie are looking good according to Dayton Daily News:

Former Wayne High School and Ohio State linebacker Marcus Freeman received rave reviews from NFL coaches and scouts for his technique, athletic ability and motor. Freeman is fully recovered from a foot injury that plagued him all season and it showed. He looked totally rejuvenated. He demonstrated great sideline-to-sideline pursuit while running down backs during drills.

and

Ohio State wide receiver Brian Robiskie was absolutely impressive. He caught every pass thrown his way no matter where the ball was placed. He ran nice, crisp routes and made every catch look easy.

NFL.com’s Charles Davis is also impressed with Marcus Freeman. I’m wondering if his injury was worth than anyone ever let on. He always seemed a step off, missing that extra oomph he had last season.

We need your help

We’re reaching out to our great Buckeye readership with a simple bleg. We’ve been contacted by someone looking for a copy of a 2007 Ohio State Gameday Program. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know which game it was from. The only things she knows about it is that it has “Ohio State Football 2007” in the bottom left hand corner and that it contains this article:

(click to make it big [and we do mean BIG]):

echoes_letter_495

The article is quoted below:

ECHOES from the men of the Scarlet and Gray

Dear Football Buckeyes,

In my football career at Ohio State (’38-’40, Captain in 1940), I have adopted a few words (there are many more) that I believe should be part of your everyday vocabulary and will help you in your challenge to be the best as well as in your marriage and whatever profession you choose as you progress through life.

They are as follows:

  1. Dedication – This means work! Work! Work! Give it 110 percent
  2. Respect – ‘Do unto others as you would have them do to you.’ Show honor or esteem to your coach, teammates, teachers, school, community, parents, spouse, profession, and our American flag.
  3. Actions, Words, Mannerisms, Dress – I believe these are self explanatory.
  4. Common Sense – Sound, practical judgment.
  5. Self Control – Over one’s emotions, desires and actions.
  6. Attitude – A manner of acting, feeling, and thinking that shows ones’ own disposition. Former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz said, “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
  7. Smile, Humor, Laughter – These are proven by scientific research to improve your physical condition. What’s good about this, it doesn’t cost you a thing.
  8. Be Good to People – I believe in accountability.

Go Bucks! Best of Luck.

Jim Langhurst

What we’re trying to do is (1) determine which issue of the 2007 gameday program contains this article, and (2) see if we can locate a copy of this program. The person looking for it works in the Agency of the late Jim Langhurst and thought it would be nice if she could find this and give it to the family as a keepsake in his memory.

If you recognize this article or if you have access to a copy of this program, we’d really like to help out and get it in the hands of the right people. If you can help out, comment here or hit us up from the contact page. Your help is much appreciated.

I am getting used to this

OSU LogoI don’t care if it’s football or field hockey, I love it when Ohio State beats Michigan.

If it wasn’t so late, I’d like to figure out why I can’t get a read on this team. There are flashes of brilliance and stretches of frustration. They really came together in the last ten minutes of and finished impressively. I hope this continues.

Hartline Gone; Coleman, Small Staying

OSU FootballBrian Hartline has announced he’s going pro and Ray Small and Kurt Coleman are not.

My initial thoughts are that if the rumors of Hartline discontent with Pryor are true, then that’s the only choice he had. Being best friends with Todd Boeckman and seeing him lose his starting QB job to an upstart freshman certianly could strain a relationship with said freshman. As to Coleman staying, I’m happy. He was definitely coming into his own at the end of the season and played a whale of a game in the Fiesta Bowl. With Small, I’m guess I’m ambivalent at this point. We’ve seen the flashes but not the consitency. I guess we get to have one more year to see what he’s got.

What are your thoughts?

Update: As ahoops pointed out in the comments, Donald Washington has also declared for the draft. I was gone all day yesterday and didn’t get a chance to post anything. I’m not sure Washington made the right choice, an extra year of playing would have benefitted him. I think someone gave him some bad advice. Good luck to him, he’s going to need it.

And in a somewhat OSU related tidbit, Mark Sanchez declared for the draft as well, setting up an interesting story if Mustain wins the starting QB job come next September. He’s not exactly the biggest OSU fan.

2008 Blogpoll Ballot, Final

Rank Team Delta
1 Utah 25
2 Florida 24
3 Southern Cal 23
4 Texas 22
5 Oklahoma 21
6 Penn State 20
7 Ohio State 19
8 TCU 18
9 Alabama 17
10 Oregon 16
11 Texas Tech 15
12 Georgia 14
13 Mississippi 13
14 Boise State 12
15 Virginia Tech 11
16 Iowa 10
17 Missouri 9
18 Oklahoma State 8
19 Cincinnati 7
20 Oregon State 6
21 Brigham Young 5
22 Michigan State 4
23 California 3
24 Florida State 2
25 Georgia Tech 1

Dropped Out:

Yes, we went there. Say what you will about Utah’s strength of schedule, but that’s not their fault. They scheduled a perennial powerhouse (albeit one in decline) and handled their business. They took out Oregon State, something USC was unable to do, beat a good BYU team, and beat an Alabama team ranked #1 for a good portion of the season. That was a convincing victory over Alabama, by the way, something that Florida can’t claim.

Other than that, I can’t in good faith rank TCU higher than Ohio State. Call it homerism, call it whatever you want. I’m ranking them up there.

The rest of the poll is the result of the chips falling where they may.

Beanie going pro

ESPN is reporting that Beanie Wells has declared his intention to join the NFL draft.

More details and commentary later.

Link

Whaddya know? The sun came up today after all

OSU FootballHats off to the Texas Longhorns, 2009 Fiesta Bowl winners.

A few brief bullets about the game:

  • Why was Ryan Hamby wearing Anderson Russell’s uniform? (Okay. Just kidding. Had to get it out of the way.)
  • For the first time in three years, we saw a “classic” Tressel performance. This is the type of scheme, effort, theme, and pace that we got used to seeing for the bulk of his tenure here at OSU. When he hit the jackpot with the 2006 squad, he took a step away, and got used to letting his players’ talent win games. Perhaps that caused the coaching staff to get a bit spoiled and lazy. Last night was the first time in a while that the coaches were collectively impressive. Which begs the question, why couldn’t we have seen something similar earlier in the season?
  • Speaking about coaching, I’m shocked in scanning the boards that some are questioning the playcalling – are you kidding me? The best coaching performance of the season, perhaps the past two or three seasons. We saw creativity, misdirection, smashmouth physicality, and finesse. The offensive and defensive schemes were perfect; they worked perfectly to place OSU in position to win. All it came down to was execution – the game was literally in the hands of the players. With this roster, I cannot imagine anything Tressel or his staff could have done better. Fantastic job.
  • For those trolls mocking the Buckeyes/Big 10 for being overrated: You can’t have it both ways. Last night’s game was not open to interpretation – Ohio State dominated Texas for all but the last 1m 49s. So either (1) the Buckeyes are a very good team, better than most give them credit for; or (2) Texas, which needed the Bucks’ defense to miss two INTs and one open field tackle on the last drive to win in miracle fashion, is not.
  • This was the 1997 Rose Bowl in reverse. So this is how ASU fans felt when Germaine hit Boston for the TD with a few seconds left, eh?
  • All of OSU’s stars had a great game, and collectively, it might have been the best performance of their career here at OSU: Beanie’s first-half depantsing of the nation’s #2 rush defense, which probably earned The Stiff Arm Of JusticeTM another few million dollars in signing bonus. Jenkins, who, if memory serves, did not allow the receivers he was covering a single catch last night – even though they collectively gained 414 yards. Robiskie’s 116 yards receiving, all of it seemingly coming on clutch catches. Pryor’s first down scrambles. Laurinaitis’ bazillion tackles. And last but not least…
  • …Todd Boeckman. What a way for him to end his Buckeye career. No doubt he’s disappointed in the loss, but how awesome it was that he was still there when the team needed him, and he came through. If you haven’t noticed, this type of quiet, classy leadership and maturity has become a running theme for Tressel’s QBs by the end of their careers. And would you want it any other way?

Congrats to a great senior class. Your legacy will end on a positive note: as a competitive, selfless group of players that won 43 games (84%), four Big Ten titles in a row, competed for two national titles, outplayed what many consider to be one of the best teams in the country, stocked the NFL with tons of talent, and most importantly, beat Michigan four straight times. We’re proud of you. Best wishes.