An Ohio State Sports Blog
This week in statistical match-ups. Maybe I should call this “On Paper.” As in, On Paper, there should be no way Ohio State loses.
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Again, I present this with minimal commentary. The only thing I will mention today is that 75% scoring in the Red Zone is borderline inexcusable.
Taking a break from the football season for a minute, let’s talk a little baloncesto. (That’s basketball if you didn’t already know). The NBA season is just around the corner. While I’m wondering how the Cavs are going to do this season, I’ve also been wondering what’s going on with all the former Buckeyes in the NBA. Luckily, the Buckeye Ballers Blog has us covered. A snippet:
It is Greg Oden’s world, and we are all just living in it. Well, maybe not yet. But if summer reports from Columbus & Las Vegas, as well as the recent reports from the Blazers training camp are any indication..Oden is going to quiet a lot of doubters this upcoming season. The big man is slimmer, more agile, light on his feet, and overall more comfortable on the floor.
Buckeye Ballers is also faithfully following ex-Buckeyes that are playing overseas, mostly in Europe. Another snippet:
29 Year old Brent Darby will play for Limoges CSP Elite of the France Pro B league this season. Like Penn & Johnson, Darby has also enjoyed a very solid european career. He played for Eldo Castera in Italy last season.
Sweetheart, you’ll find
Mediocre people do exceptional things all the time
– OK Go
Law Buckeye over at the Rivalry, Esq. asks “What to Do With Terrelle the Terrible“? It’s worth the time to read.
At this point, many of us are wondering that exact same thing. What to do? I think it was clear to everyone except Jim Tressel that Bauserman should have been given at least a chance to come in and see what he could do against Purdue. He couldn’t have done much worse, right? Instead, Pryor comes back in and subsequently drops back to pass. Again. The Terrelle Pryor Project has, thus far, been stymied. It’s not time to give up, but it’s time to try something new.
This goes beyond his mechanical issues, his mental weaknesses and his overall psyche. No one is doubting his athletic abilities. It is clear the boy (and please, people, let us remember that he is a young man. Show the kid some respect) has been blessed physically. But they aren’t being used to the fullest. He needs to be put in situations where his athleticism is what matters, not his decision making. His maturity and growth has been nonexistent as a passing quarterback. For now, let it go. If it really loves you, it will find its way back to you.
Let him become a run first QB. Run only, even. It’s the wildcat with a back that is still a threat to throw the ball. When Pryor commits to the run, he does amazing things. The shimmy-shake with the hips. The long strides. He appears to be avoiding contact because I think he’s been told to do so. His golden shoulder isn’t so shiny now, so let him put his shoulder into someone’s chest and make them think twice of taking him on.
Split him out wide and let his speed and size abuse opposing corner backs. How quickly people forget how effortless his catch against Texas in last year’s Fiesta Bowl was. He could be doing this on a regular basis. As an excellent basketball player, we know Pryor should be able to jump out of The Horseshoe. Let’s see what happens there.
Heck, do what Law Buckeye suggests with the simplified version Vince Young’s primitive responsibilities. He’s already staring down Posey, so it can’t be that hard to tell him “Pick a man. If he isn’t open, RUN.” And make sure he sticks to it. There is no room for running east and west. Head up field, young man.
These are not new, original ideas. I doubt anything will ever come of this line of thinking. Who knows what the coaches are thinking at this point. I certainly don’t know what’s going to happen (actually, I do, but the optimist in me still hopes something will change). Something has to change.
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | |
| 2 | Florida | |
| 3 | Texas | |
| 4 | Iowa |  1 |
| 5 | Boise State | 1 |
| 6 | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 7 | Cincinnati | 2 |
| 8 | TCU | 2 |
| 9 | Penn State | 2 |
| 10 | Oregon | 2 |
| 11 | LSU | 2 |
| 12 | Georgia Tech | 6 |
| 13 | Miami (Florida) | 1 |
| 14 | Oklahoma State | 6 |
| 15 | Brigham Young | |
| 16 | Pittsburgh | |
| 17 | Houston | |
| 18 | Virginia Tech |  14 |
| 19 | Ohio State | 11 |
| 20 | Idaho | |
| 21 | Oregon State | |
| 22 | Texas Tech | |
| 23 | West Virginia | 1 |
| 24 | Utah | 1 |
| 25 | Navy | |
| Last week’s ballot | ||
No time for love, Doctor Jones. This was done in a sleep-deprived haze. Please leave comments and I’ll respond when I finally come to.
I’m not really sure what I can say to make sense of that absolute implosion of a performance by the Ohio State offense. It just doesn’t make sense to me that we can score on a drive of four plays, where Brandon Saine runs and catches and goes wild and we never go back to it.
It is a breakdown of epic proportions. There is plenty of blame to go around on this one. The majority of that blame will be placed on Terrelle Pryor’s shoulders but he’s not alone. The offensive line played like they were over matched by an undersized Purdue defensive line.
The coaches deserve their fair share of the blame because they clearly did not prepare the team for the Boilermakers.
The refs are not blameless, but here again the coaches need to be aware that they need to pressure the officials when the occasion calls for it. If the correct call on the forced fumble is made, the tone and momentum of the game completely changes. Who knows what happens after that.
And I am in NO WAY blaming Doug Worthington for this loss, but that face mask was just painful. It was a shame the game ended that way. Other Buckeyes were in position to stop that play well short of a first down and we get the ball back with a minute plus. But who knows what happens. We should never have been in a position like that.
A complete institutional breakdown. How a team with as much talent as the Buckeyes have is in a situation like this is simply mind boggling.
I don’t know what else to add. Congrats to Purdue for game planning and playing out of their minds.
The Buckeyes (and their fans) have a lot of soul-searching to do this week.
We’ll have the live game chat after the jump when the game starts, but feel free to use drop us your thoughts on this wonderful day of college football.
Last week was like an appetizer prior to the main course (PSU, Iowa, UM) of the schedule. Unfortunately with the way Purdue is playing this season, this game will most likely be the “dry side salad,” which you need because of the tailgating food you have been shoveling into your “snackhole” for the previous 6 weeks. You know you need to finish that salad quickly, like OSU needs to finish off Purdue quickly and I need to finish this preview quickly, so you guys dont fall asleep….quickly.
To sum things up…Ohio State is playing the best 1-win team in the country (that is what I have heard recently). If and when OSU beats Purdue, they will be the worst 1-win team in the country, according to everyone afterwards.
So let’s talk about things that matter…expeditiously…
If I could take a pass on this one right now, I would definitely do so. However, we still have to talk about that abomination that was known as the OSU offense from last week. Yeah, I have heard all of the arguments on getting into a rhythm and stuff for TP, but dammit I just feel like the guy is regressing in “1-step forward 2-steps back” kind of way right now. I am not quarterback coach, but when you throw off-balance (when there is no one around you) or off of your back foot (ditto) the pass will look like a punt. This game against a Purdue defense should be the elixir to solve some of TP’s confidence issues and maybe even a mechanics issue or two. Pryor will need to keep a close eye on the second coming of Wisconsin’s O’Brien Schofield in the form of Purdue freshman Ryan Kerrigan (6’4″ 246). He is the typical undersized defensive end that Purdue possesses who always seem to give the OSU O-line fits.
The running game seems to be in good shape even with the Herron ankle sprain. Saine has been running down hill and is just producing out of the backfield right now. It would be nice to have a little more depth back there with experience, but I dont believe that Purdue poses enough of a challenge up front to make that depth necessary this Saturday.
Bottom Line…OSU’s offense isnt nearly as bad as Purdue’s defense, which is last in the Big 10 in points allowed (30.5/game)
This is kind of interesting. Purdue has the top-rated passer and the second leading rusher in the conference entering this week of play. Sounds a lot like Wisconsin last week. Boiler Up indeed.
It will be interesting to see if Purdue can handle the defensive pressure that will be served up by OSU’s best D-Line since 2002. It is scary how much pressure they can get with four linemen and even sometimes with three. Look for a lot of quick passes from Purdue to counter-act the pressure and a lot of mis-direction from the ground game. Remains to be seen if Purdue can execute, because Toledo tried to do the same thing with minimal success.
If the OSU defense decides that OSU’s offense should win this game. Worry..immensely…
If Purdue is able to “dink and dunk” it’s way down the field, this could cause some problems for the OSU defense, but expect them to tighten up when the goal line comes into play for the defense.
Again, worry if the offensive line struggles. The OSU offense will need to give it’s defense some rest on the sidelines. The amount of “Three-and-Outs” against Wisconsin was re-donk-u-lous.
If TP can complete his first couple of passes, the floodgates should open. Hopefully, the Vest will let him actually run and get himself into the game, instead of trying to be the Matt Hasselbeck of the Big10.
If there no semblance of a running game for Purdue, Joey Elliott = DEAD…and there will be much rejoicing.
Some intangibles: Weather looks to be chilly, probably a little damp after the expected morning rain .. Vegas has the line at 14 points. Sounds about right…even for a home-dog when they are giving those kinds of points on a weekly basis.
Prediction time:
Pryor: Does he throw for 200 yards?
Defense: Over/Under on Sacks at 4?
Purdue Offensive Turnovers: Over/Under for 3?
Boiler Up Cheer w/Stupid Horn: Over/Under of 25?
YNBA’s predictions
Pryor: Absolutely throws for 200…maybe 250. The guy has something to prove. Homer call of the week.
Defense: I am going with the Over. Just feels right and that OSU D-Line is top notch this year.
Purdue Offensive Turnovers: Under. Probably a pick and a fumble.
Boiler Up Cheer w/Stupid Horn: UNDER…and God help us all, if the over is hit.
OSU: 34 Purdue: 14
Am I full of crap? Give us some opinions. These blog comments arent going to write themselves!
el Kaiser’s predictions
Pryor: For my (and the rest of Buckeye Nation’s) sanity, Pryor lights up the “decent-ish” Purdue secondary to the tune of 280.
Defense: Is that over/under for Nathan Williams by himself? Either way, I’m taking Over with 5 sacks.
Purdue: As previously shown in table form, Purdue is vunerbale to the turnover, but I’m saying under with 2.
Horn: I’ve heard comments that many Buckeyes at practice wanted to choke the guy blasting the horn this week at practice. I say under because after the first blast some redshirt freshman chokes the operator.
Final Score: OSU 38 Purdue 16
Again, I present Ohio State versus Purdue by the numbers. I’m just presenting the data.
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But yeah
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | |
| 2 | Florida | 1 |
| 3 | Texas | 1 |
| 4 | Virginia Tech | 6 |
| 5 | Iowa | |
| 6 | Boise State | |
| 7 | Southern Cal | |
| 8 | Ohio State | |
| 9 | Cincinnati | |
| 10 | TCU | 1 |
| 11 | Penn State | 1 |
| 12 | Oregon | 1 |
| 13 | LSU | 9 |
| 14 | Miami (Florida) | |
| 15 | Brigham Young | 1 |
| 16 | Auburn | 4 |
| 17 | Nebraska | 2 |
| 18 | Georgia Tech | 5 |
| 19 | Kansas | 2 |
| 20 | Oklahoma State | 5 |
| 21 | South Carolina | |
| 22 | Oklahoma | |
| 23 | South Florida | 1 |
| 24 | West Virginia | |
| 25 | Utah | |
| Last week’s ballot | ||
