Archives for September 2009

It could turn out to be a little difficult to recap Saturday’s game because my brain is soggy. I’ve been to games when it’s rained. I’ve played games in the rain. Child’s play. Saturday’s rain was from an angry rain god. But watching the defense pitch another shut out makes it all worth it.

So let’s start there: The Defense. It will be capitalized from now on, as it is now a proper noun. We can get into specifics as we move forward, but a few generalities: This defense is scary good. What’s interesting is how low our expectations were for this unit going in to the season. After losing Jenkins, Freeman and Little Animal, most of us thought we’d see a drop-off in effectiveness. But the opposite happened. I think the difference now is that this defense has an identity, and it’s not tied to one or two players. It’s a complete unit, all eleven warriors flying to the ball. Sure, Thaddeus Maximus and Hurt Coleman have been stand-outs, but this defense is complete with someone doing something special on every down. Shutting down Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn is no small feat, and this unit mashed some heads.

Some numbers: We asked what kind of yardage the Buckeye D would give up. The weather certainly had an impact, but the second half was mostly clear allowing both teams opportunities to air it out. Reader DaveM was closest with his prediction of 250 yards, but that wasn’t in the ball park. The Buckeyes only gave up 170 yards: 88 passing and 82 rushing. That is out-and-out domination. 2.4 yards a carry is impressive.

We also talked about turnovers. With three interceptions, this was an impressive effort. If there was some sort of “hitting for the cycle” for interceptions the Buckeyes certainly accomplished it with a INT from the DBs, LBs and linemen. (We’ll get back to Lawrence Wilson’s INT.) Illinois also fumbled three times but the Buckeyes never got their paws on any of them.

Individually, it’s hard to single out a single top performer but I think Thaddues single-handedly deflated any hope the Illini might have had with his play during their first drive in the third quarter. Chasing Juice down twice and getting him twice (forcing a fumble as well) was an impressive feat. To him, we award him one million Buckeye Leaves. But that doesn’t take anything away from the rest of the unit. It was an excellent outing.

For a second, let’s relish Lawrence Wilson’s interception. It was almost as if that one single play, that singular personal effort atoned for two years of frustrating injuries and painful comebacks. It was surreal when the ball was tipped and the crowd instantly erupted as the ball fell into Wilson’s mitts. I’m honored to have been part of it. But now we have to call out that celebration. Its awkwardness was rivaled only by that memorable fist pumping from Tyler Hansbrough. Embarrassing.

Offensively speaking, this was my kind of game. A grind-em out, smashmouth game of running running running. We wondered out loud who would produce more, Boom Herron or Brandon Saine. While Saine outgained Boom with one less carry, both guys carried the ball effectively. This was the kind of performance we’ve been waiting on from both of them. Kudos to the line, as well, that was opening holes on both sides of the ball. I was a little frustrated that the only creativeness seemed to be “should we run to the right twice, or three times?” But for the most part, if Illinois couldn’t stop the run, why mix things up?

The passing game really didn’t have any reason to show up in the downpour, so it’s no surprise there were no yards gained in the first half. When the elements finally cooperated, Pryor’s passing looked sharp. It’s clear that Sanzenbacher is clearly going to be a huge part of Pryor’s game and it’s nice to see him looking elsewhere from Posey. As far as Pryor’s contribution to the running game, there were a couple times he took things out too wide, allowing the Illini take away his cutbacks and was bottled up a little too much for my liking. But he still looked comfortable and did gain over five yards a carry.

I don’t normally comment on Special Teams, because Ohio State is usually solid in that aspect, but I have to call attention to Donnie Evege’s peformance on the coverage teams. It seems like he was in on every tackle. Buckeye Leaves galore for Donnie and his willingness to sacrifice his body for the greater good.

All things considered, it’s tough to gauge just how good the Illini was on both sides of the ball. Juice Williams is always a wild card, and the Joker showed up in the ‘Shoe on Saturday. So that has to be taken into consideration but he is athletic and the Illini do have some excellent players. They just weren’t on their A-game while the Buckeyes Defense had their way with them. This was a great Big Ten opener and I think we have some really good games ahead of us.

(Also, congrats go to reader DaveM, winner of a copy of Busted: The Rise and Fall of Art Schlichter with his prediction of 27-7 which was the closest to the final score (sportsMonkey had 31-6 but he’s ineligible for the prize). )

Illinois comes in to the Horseshoe tomorrow, hoping for déjà vu . Personally, and with the rest of Buckeye Nation, I’d rather not relive that nightmare. It’s a sore spot and I’d rather not talk about that.

So yeah: I’d really like to see the Buckeyes put a whupping on the Fighting Illini this Saturday. Beating them last year was cathartic, but it’s not enough. I need a big win at home. I want blood.

So let’s talk about the game. For some pregame gristle to chew on, Buckeye Planet is the place to start. We’ll look what others have to say in this preview.

First up, a little offensive chatter. For as good as Terrelle Pryor looked against Toledo, things get tougher as we moved into Big Ten play. One of the biggest factors of this game is the fact that Illinois’ defense is going to feel the loss of their starting LB Martez Wilson. Filling in his shoes will be deer-in-headlights RS Freshman Evan Frierson. This is good news for the Buckeyes. Illinois has a decent front seven (minus Frierson, who is an unknown at the moment) and a suspect secondary. The passing game is gaining momentum but Pryor still has work to do. With the Illini trying to contain him from running wild, the lanes for passing should be there.

The line is slowly coming together, with a lot of linemen getting playing time this week. But as well as they’ve been protecting Pryor, they need to get a push in the running game. But I’d like to see some calls that play to our backs strengths (outside stretch plays, option reads) and a little less reliance on the power game. The passing game looks to continue its success. Sanz and Posey are looking stud-like, with the growth of Carter and the re-reemergence of Ray Small. Unfortunately, we have to ask: Where’s Taurian Washington? Not on the two-deep, that’s for sure.

Speaking of the two-deep, you can see the depth chart here. We Will Always Have Tempe has a good review of the lineup.

As you peruse the depth chart, let’s switch gears and discuss a few defensive items. I think it’s interesting to see Robert Rose listed at DT. Remember how excited we were when he decided to come to Ohio State, how highly touted he was? Man, it’s been a long time for him to finally contribute, but I, for one, am happy to see it. Huge potential, finally being realized. Speaking of potential, freshman John Simon is also coming on. The defense is coming together, and with Illinois’ offensive firepower, they’ll be tested. That firepower is giving some Illini fans hope. I think the D will be up to the task. As I mentioned earlier, I like the different defensive formations Heacock has been throwing out there. Look for lots of flying to the ball and Rolle and Hines delivering the pain.

I could go on and lavish on the Defense, but you already know what to expect there. So a few factors that will impact the game in various ways:

Right now, Vegas has Ohio State as a 14 point favorite. There is a 60% chance of rain. This is the first week that students are back on campus. Yours truly (and Sylvester-Yon Rambo) will be at the game and we can whoop it up with the best. I haven’t been present in the ‘Shoe for a loss since 2005. That’s got to count for something.

So finally, the fun part: Predictions. This week, we’re giving away a copy of Busted: The Rise and Fall of Art Schlichter to the closest prediction of the final score of the OSU Illinois game.

• Illinois’ offense has the potential to be explosive. OSU’s D has been playing possessed. How many yards does the defense allow?
• Who gains more rushing yards, Boom Herron or Zoom Saine?
• Rain could be a factor. How many turnovers in the game?
• And of course: Final Score?

el Kaiser’s predictions:
Illinois yardage: The D does the unimaginable and holds them to 299 yards
Boom or Zoom: Saine explodes on the scene with 112 yards, wins starting job
Turnovers: 4 (OSU 1, Illinois 3)
Final Score: OSU 37 – Illinois 19

sportsMonkey’s predictions:
Illinois yardage: 260 yards
Boom or Zoom: Rain + Big 10 opener = Tresselball = Boom (Lydell Ross Jr) with 75, Saine with 50, Pryor with 50
Turnovers: 3 (OSU 2, Illinois 1)
Final Score: OSU 31 – Illinois 6

It can’t be easy to be an OSU opponent after a tough loss (see: Iowa in 1998). More often than not, the previous week’s loss was not the fault of the defense. Hence, the defense is out for blood, seeing as how it can’t take its frustrations out on its own team. So you get a poor team like Toledo and a poor QB like Aaron Opelt.

We’ll get back to that in a moment. First, let’s take a look at last week’s prognostications. Each week we ask readers to predict the final score and this time I think I get to claim the best prediction (34-3) as Ohio State cruised to an easy victory over Toledo, 38-0. It seems like everyone needs to caveat the fact that Toledo is a MAC team. Eventually, we’ll all agree that MAC is a decent mid-major conference that produces quite a few NFL players every year. Until then, we must invoke the MACaveat.

The next question we poised was what kind of numbers Terrelle Pryor would put up after a lackluster outing against USC. I said 275 yards, and I am happy to report that I wasn’t even close (even though I was the closest). Pryor’s output was the best of his career, 262 yards through the air and a cool 110 on the ground (MACaveat). This should be the offense we can expect from here going forward.

Not all was perfect with Pryor. He needs a week of practice where Posey doesn’t line up with the first team. Maybe Posey has a really nice derriere that Terrelle can’t take his eyes off of, but Holy Moses in Suspenders he stares Posey down. A simple glance to someone else, anyone, will work wonders with his progressions. I’m happy to see Posey blossoming into a player, but everyone on opposing D’s can key on Pryor’s eyes and know exactly where he’s going.

He also needs to realize his freakish abilities can’t save him everytime. A pass out-of-bounds is an okay result of a play (just ask Opelt). Taking a sack instead of trying to force something into triple coverage is also something we can live with. I know this will come with experience, but it also takes humility. I’m not sure if Pryor is at that point in his growth.

I’m going to skip the last question, where we asked about surprise performances from back-ups in garbage time. It turns out that there wasn’t a whole lot of that this game. Jordan Hall impressed but I think part of that has to be due to an exhausted Toledo defense that had been pushed around all day. Saine also looked good and is starting to look more and more like he should be starting.

So the offense has shown some improvement. Offensive line blocking looks better and the push is starting to show up on a consistent basis. We should be pushing everyone around. There’s still room to grow, but we can’t be too mad about how things are progressing.

OH! And we had a quarterback sneak. AND IT WORKED! I sure hope that play was inserted into the playbook after the USC game when the coaches discovered it was previously missing.

On to the Defense.

I’m not sure what more I can say that I haven’t already said. If Aaron Opelt holds on to the ball a moment longer throughout the game, the Buckeyes notch eight or ten sacks. At the mere appearance of pressure, he was winging that ball out of bounds like it was his job. On more than one pass he hurled downfield, I thought “oh no, he’s got someone deep” only to have the ball harmlessly hit the turf, with no Toledo receiver in sight. I’m not ready to say this D-line is on par with the 2002 line, but it’s getting close.

And even though I haven’t designated this year’s man crush (front runner: Brian Rolle), Kurt Coleman is slowly winning over hearts around the MotSaG HQ. That strip, preserving the defensive shut-out, was one of those moments that galvanize a defense. Don’t think for a moment they didn’t want a goose egg on the scoreboard.

Also, I am loving the defensive front looks we’re throwing out there. Some 3-4 thrown in to counter the spread, dropping Gibson into coverage, moving Heyward down the line, all of it. I’m digging it. I don’t understand how we can be creative on defense and not see it on the other side of the ball.

Overall, Toledo was just what the doctor ordered for a USC hang over. Now it’s time to gear up for Illinois!

The week of impending doom has passed us by and clubbed us like a baby seal. A tough loss to USC and an apparently media-unfriendly and unimpressive win against Toledo (Man..How bad is Colorado…really?) equates to a steady drop in the polls. Illinois is just around the corner to start conference play. Which Juice Williams will we see? 2007 Juice or Juice from any other year?

Dont you just love College Football?

Locked…Loaded….Here we go!

• Orson Swindle decided to visit the grand metropolis of C-Bus to take in the USC game..and writes an elegant and true-to-life piece on sites, scenes, and peeps for a typical game day in Columbus. It is a great post and I encourage everyone to read it at least 3 times. See…we arent dicks to everyone…just most people that happen to wear Maize and Blue.

• Penn State has basically played Temple three times. They are undefeated…and that means they are the class of the Big Ten…or Philadelphia, which also gets you a #4 ranking in the polls.

• I have this disturbing but entertaining vision of when UM fans think of Tate Forcier. It involves various parts of the oldie but goodie from SNL. I believe that Mark May falls into this category as well.

• I believe that fans and defensive players from State College, Iowa City, and Columbus have an entirely different view of Tate Forcier. In Iowa City (10/10), they’ll see a QB dinged up from the hands of a MAC team. For Penn State (10/24), they wont see him thanks to the Hawkeyes. For Ohio State (11/21), he’ll most likely be a worn-down freshman QB. Dont get me wrong Michigan fans, he will be a fine quarterback, but will probably have to take the Colt McCoy route to get there. He needs Barwis to get together some of those involuntarily voluntary weight room sessions, during the offseason.

• I dont know if the Toledo D-Line was completely worn out by the time that Jordan Hall was getting carries, but between him and Boom Herron it looks like Hall has a bit more “shake and bake” out there. On the other hand, Herron is starting to scare me. He looks like he is starting to run the ball more and more like the Junior/Senior Editions of one Lydell Ross (If this is true, God help us all…).

• In the “getting the last word in” category, the human quote machine that is Lane Kiffin left us with this beauty after Urban Meyer floated some ideas out there that the Swine Flu had some effects on the Florida performance against Tennessee last Saturday. Kiffin’s response when asked about the flu bug hitting in Knoxville…“I don’t know. I guess we’ll wait and after we’re not excited about a performance, we’ll tell you everybody was sick.” I love this guy…I really do. He is like that crazy uncle that you only see at family reunions (because a majority of your family is afraid of him..remember…he’s KA-RAZY) that wants to find stuff in the garage to blow up or set on fire.

• Media types would like you to know that Oklahoma gets a pass because Stoops is awesome-tastical-tabulous or some other reason, but doesnt understand why OSU gets the ‘donkey punch’ every time it comes short on a national stage.

• This site would like you to know that it is really ok to like OSU and it’s football team. Srsly…for realz.

• This site would also like to remind you that the U-Dub upset over USC was called here the week of the OSU-USC game. I’m just sayin’

• In the on-going link-gate saga, we asked if Brian had apologized for his totally…completely…accidental “HTML-ified” link to the Jeff at the BBC on a hackjob article that he wrote (not on his blog, which is where it should have been posted in the first place) for TSN condemning OSU fan behavior in regards to dude that almost took away Tyler Moeller’s life let alone a college football season. Here is his apology.. “Jeff got his apology from the editor who made the error of leaving out the link to Our Honor Defend, and if he’s not satisfied with that that is his problem.” My response is here. Here is the deal folks. In the blogoshpere, we have to police ourselves to keep it somewhat on the respectable side. Otherwise, that Buzz Bussinger guy is vindicated for all of his efforts to smear blog writers. I appreciate that Brian feels he did nothing wrong (which says a lot about Brian). However, to hide behind an apparent editor’s mistake for HTML linking just doesnt fly, but hey…everything is all lolcats…and dont forget about kittens…and other witty totally cool stuff.

• Mr Doyel chimes in on Tressel versus Carroll. Shakes the Magic 8-Ball…and it comes up Tressel? EDSBS Responds with MS Paint and Jason Statham.

In proper football, the Barclay’s English Premier world has started to normalize after (omfg) Tottenham was at the top of the table for way too long. Three of big four (Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool) are sitting in the top 3 spots after this weekend’s action with Arsenal resting in 6th place. I know that none of you care, but I am telling you anyways…so suck it.

Hopefully we are reconvening next week after a big OSU victory next week over Illinois.

~YNBA~

Everyone that participates in the Blogpoll has a team affiliation. This serves many purposes, most of all to point at the homers and laugh when they overrate their teams and to weed out other such biases.

The good doctor is associated with Southern Miss, a team that is as middle-of-the-road as they come. There’s something to be said for fans who root for teams that loss more than a few times a year on a regular basis. It can’t be easy. Maybe they glom on to oether teams in a “I’ll root for them as long as they’re not playing my team” sort of way. Deep down, I think Dr. Saturday is a closet Ohio State fan. And trust me, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Luckily, with this lack of apparent “bias,” he can say things like this, and look impartial. And get away with it:

Four straight years and counting. Again, I’ll repeat myself from last September’s loss in Corvallis: If Ohio State deserves to be ridiculed and scorned and run out the mythical championship picture on a rail for its primetime, big game failures, when are we going to hold USC accountable for repeatedly losing the little one?

Another writer, perhaps with a little more of a bias but, as far as I can tell, not an OSU fan, Adam Rittenberg, also makes a case for easing up on the best team in the Big Ten:

Despite the parallels, Ohio State continues to be the nation’s piñata, while Big Game Bob Stoops and the Sooners get a pass. The latest example arrived Sunday, as Ohio State moved down two spots to No. 13 in the AP Poll, while Oklahoma moved up two spots to No. 10.

Maybe it’s just me, but the tide is slowly turning against this Buckeye Hate™ (most recently invented by the dynamic duo of Mark May and Trev Alberts, now honed to a razor’s edge by Mark May). Ohio State will always be a target due to its huge, rabid and, at times, emotionally stunted fanbase. But most of the hate thrown their way is logically unsound and motivated by irrational emotions. But people are opening their eyes. The Buckeyes are a good football team, and people are slowly coming to grips with that.

The first Ohio State game I attended was the ’91 OSU/Northwestern game at Municipal Stadium. The Buckeyes won 34-3. I don’t remember very much from that game, other than the fact that I was finally seeing the Buckeyes in real life, for the first time, with my Dad. It was a pretty great day. I do seem to remember Carlos Snow running people over, but it’s mostly fuzzy past that.

Tomorrow’s game should see a healthy dose of OSU fans mingle with the faithful Toledo fans in Browns Stadium. It’s got to be fun for our Cleveland boys to play in front of their home town.

For some previews, a trip around the Buckeye Web will give you an idea of what to look for. Head on over to Block O Nation or We Will Always Have Tempe for some reading. Buckeye Planet has your data covered. ESPN has a preview for your consumption as well.. The game will be on ESPN+, broadcast locally on WSYX-6. Not local? You can check broadcast information here to see if you’ll be getting the game.

I don’t think I have a whole heck of a lot to say about this game. I’m pretty sure we should win going away. I don’t think we’re looking at a blow-out, but it shouldn’t be in doubt at any point. Hopefully it will be a chance for the team to lick their wounds, regain confidence on offense and take out some frustrations. Remember what happened to Iowa after MSU upset the ’98 Buckeyes? It wasn’t pretty.

Don’t look for a big scoring outburst this week. Toledo isn’t going to roll over and play dead, and Jim Tressel isn’t going to start calling exotic plays because the outcry against his conservative game plan has become deafening. He’s going to do what Jim Tressel does: play fundamental football with a flash or two here. It’s going to be up to the players to take vanilla play calling and turn them in to big gains.

I’m just looking forward to a well played, hard fought effort. Let’s see Pryor get some work into throwing the ball to someone other than Posey and look to run. Some zone option reads and some 5 WR sets. I’m not worried about the defense, but Toledo has been putting up some points, so it will be nice to see them shut down the Rockets on multiple occasions.

Other than that, let’s get tuned up for a good football game. What are you looking to see?

So predictions (nothing but bragging rights is up for grabs this weekend):
Final Score?
Surprise back-up? (Assuming we’re comfortably in the lead in the third quarter)
Total yards from Terrelle Pryor?

el Kaiser’s predictions
Final Score: 34-3 (in honor of the last game in Cleveland)
Surprise back-up: Lamaar Thomas.
Totaly yards from TP: 275 (110 rushing, 165 passing)