Yeah. That sucked.
In a game closer than the final score indicated, the Buckeyes managed to eke out a win. But it wasn’t pretty.
Positives
Uhhh, the Buckeyes won.
The defense played phenomenally once they pulled their heads out of their asses.
The kick and punt coverage wasn’t terrible
Negatives (Might want to sit down, this could take a while…)
The offensive line was terrible on run plays. Terrible. They managed to pick up a few first downs in short yardage, but each time was a minor miracle. No push at all.
The defense started out shaky before finally waking up.
Pryor left the game for a few minutes with a quad injury. As someone who has strained a quad, sprained an ankle, jacked up a knee, and blown out a hammy, let me just say that I’d rather have a strained quad than any of the other options. Hopefully that’s all it is and this doesn’t hurt the offense moving forward.
It seemed to hurt the offense this afternoon, though. At one point Tressel called something like 18 runs in a row, and it wasn’t good. The few series Bauserman played, he was terrible. 1 for 2 with a horrible, horrible interception that he threw despite having all the time in the world.
The announcers in this game were horrendous. I’m hoping that we later find out that it was a joke and we all got punked by the Big Ten Network, that they actually hired two random guys off the street to do commentary.
Meeting Expectations
What I wanted to see and how they fared:
- Someone not named Terrelle Pryor rushing for over 100 yards for the Buckeyes – Nope
- Fewer than five penalties by Ohio State while the game is still contested – Yep- 4 for 24 yards
- A member of Ohio State’s defensive line gobbling up Scheelhaase and leaving him crying on the bench for a series or two – Nope, but they made him uncomfortable on several occasions.
- The continued reign of Evil Tressel who popped his head up last weekend – Are you kidding?
- Continued good play from the coverage units of the “special†teams – I’d say yes. They didn’t play terribly.
So there you have it. Here’s hoping Pryor’s injury is not serious. Discuss.
I don’t know where the BTN found Douchebag and Stupid to call our game, but they suck donkey balls.
This game had a bad feel from the first possession, when Tressel came out calling straight ahead running plays.
John Saunders just said on ABC’s 3:00 pregame show that OSU “couldn’t throw the ball”. Couldn’t??? How about, didn’t try? Pryor was 9 for 16.
The worst part of this game was the complete absence of Jordan Hall and Jamaal Berry, the best two runners on the team.
I agree with above. I would love to see more of Jordan Hall and Jamaal Berry. Saine has shown nothing unfortunitly since the first game. Boom when he gets some room looks good but throw in Hall and Berry and I think it would be very benefical. The o-line looked less than stellar. Not alot of time for Pryor to throw and no room for the backs. Hopefully this will be a wake up call that they have to show up each and every week or our season will be all for not. Hopefully Pryor’s injury was just a tweak, b/c it’s down right scary to think of him missing ANY time. Our season is done if Pryor can’t play, he is the X-Factor we need! That said, would it really be an Ohio State season without at least one of these types of games? They pulled out a win even when not firing all cylinders and that is something I do like to see we can do if needed. GO BUCKS!
I still need time to digest this game (I watched it on DVR) but that was one of the weirder games I have witnessed. Something felt “off”. And while that’s partially Big Ten Network’s turrible production values and commentary, it was much more.
Several points of view from me…..
1.)Tyler Moeller is out for the year according to several sources. Christioan Bryany played well in his absence but Tyler will be missed greatly.
2.)I tried to prep you all with my RB issue update this week that Tressel wouldnt let those young guys run the ball in Big Ten season. Look for a heavier load of Herron next week but dont be surprised if Hall and Berry get ZERO carries on road games in the Big Ten.
3.)If I have to say one more time Bauserman is horrible I am going to puke. He has never done anything to prove or warrant 2nd string QB and our offense is not geared towards a player like him.
4.) Pryor will play but his passing is going to be limited for a lack of being able to push off.
5.) This one game will get more criticism than the previous 4 got praise from every person including Buckeye fans (sadly including myself) and that goes to my point Buckeye fans are the sky is falling and half empty glass kind of people.
6.) This was Tressel Ball at its finest and no doubt in my mind when Pryor went down Tressel decided to turtle suit up and go to what he feels most comfortable.
7.) We have Indiana coming to town next weekend we better focus on pass rush and DB coverage. Cause the Hoosiers can flat out pass the ball with the best of teams.
I am sure I will have more to say later I am not upset or angry about the game. This is a rivalry trophy game and it played out as such. A win is a win this type of game play has won us 5 straight Big Ten titles and if the team steps up we will enjoy a 6th this year with it as well.
i think your a whiner,,,how ugly was 2002 win against a horrible Illinois team. Problem is you guys thought the Illini would roll over….I told anyone who would listen that this was a dangerous team with their coaches backed against the wall and we would get their best shot. IMO last years team loses this game
Wow… so much negativity. What did everyone expect?
Illinois is a decent team that will likely finish in the middle of the B10 and go to a bowl game. They also have the best defense that OSU has seen since Iowa of last year. 24 points is a solid, fine score.
Aside from Illinois’ very first drive, the defense held the Illini completely in check for the rest of the game. Their RB (Lashoure) hadn’t gone below 100 yards all season, and the OSU defense held him to 80.
Yes, there were disappointing aspects of the game, but at no point was the outcome ever in question. Both quarterbacks had all day to throw the ball… at one point I thought I saw Pryor working on a crossword puzzle back there.
The disappointing aspects of the game were entirely coaching-related. 1st and 25 and the Vest runs three iso plays in a row? Even Pryor was visibly upset at the playcalling.
Nonetheless, I again ask – what does everyone expect? It is very unreasonable to expect OSU to blow out every single opponent… one might even state that it is unreasonable to expect a victory every single week.
Here’s the reality of OSU’s situation: the Bucks do not have the bruising running back they’ve had in years past. They don’t have as good of a defense as they’ve had in the past few years, either (and it’s going to be worse with the loss of yet another 1st string DB). The B10 competition has gotten better overall. And Bollman is still calling the shots on offense. These are all weaknesses. A solid road victory against a decent opponent should be good enough.
One final thing that really bothered me… the announcing crew completely ignoring the strong wind factor. That wind was so strong it freakin’ completely STOPPED the ball in mid-flight on Illinois’ FG. During the pregame interviews, crews were in the background cleaning up the debris that was blowing onto the field. Not mentioned once, even when all kickoffs against the wind were touchbacks, and all punts/kickoffs into the wind were abysmally short.
Oh man, the announcers were awful. Well, I’ll take that back halfway: the play-by-play dude I could stomach. What I couldn’t handle was Chris cliche-wearing-a-tie Martin’s color commentary. Oh god, it was like listening to every bad announcer I’ve ever heard do a game at one time. I half expected to hear a “Boom goes the dynamite.” Good lord, if they’re just gonna hand the mics over to anyone, give me half their pay and just let me do it; I can’t be any worse.
The thing I kept thinking during this weird, weird game was that Ohio State’s #2 in the nation and has basically made the Big Ten Championship at home in Columbus, so there’s a big ol’ target on their backs every week, regardless of the opponent. Illinois, especially with a rivalry trophy involved, was gunning for the Buckeyes, and I had the distinct feeling that our guys were thinking “Aw, come on, do we REALLY have to play Illinois this week? Man, we’re gonna win anyways. FINE. Let’s just get this over with.” And then they sleepwalked through the game and won a relatively close victory that never felt in question after about the 5:00 mark in the 2nd quarter. Yeah, it was Tresselball in full effect, but we should all know what to expect by now.
Since there’s been so much debate about the running backs, I figured I would break down their carries since simply looking at the YPC doesn’t really tell the whole story.
Through 5 games…
Saine’s Carries
5 yards, 40, 4, 1, 3, 3, 2, 45, 0, 3, -1, -2, -2, 7, -3, 0, -2, 3, 1, 2, 1, 1, 3, 6, 3, 2, 5, -1, 0, 3, 0, 21, 5, 3, 3, 5, 1, 1, 7, 2, 1, 0, 2, 0
Negative plays – 6
0 yard – 6
1 yard – 7
2 yard – 5
3 yard – 9
4 yard – 1
5+ yard – 10
% of plays with no gain = 27%
% of plays 3 yards or less = 75%
% of plays 5 or more yards = 22%
Herron’s Carries
3 yards, 5, 2, 11, 15, 3, 5, 9, 2, 11, 3, 4, 4, 4, 2, -2, 1, 12, 1, -2, 17, 4, 2, 9, 7, 3, 6, -1, 2, 1, -1, 8, 9, 3, 0, 2, 7, 0, 3, 1, 13, 10, 2, 2, 3, -1, 9, 3, 0, 3, 4, 5, 5, 9, 5, 3, 1, 1, 2, -2, 6, 3, 2, 13, 11, 6
Negative plays – 6
0 yard – 3
1 yard – 6
2 yard – 10
3 yard – 10
4 yard – 5
5+ yard – 25
% of plays with no gain = 14%
% of plays 3 yards or less = 54%
% of plays 5 or more yards = 38%
Hall’s Carries
2 yards, 7, 8, 3, 12, 6, 0, 7, 1, 9, 6, 3, 8
Negative plays – 0
0 yard – 1
1 yard – 1
2 yard – 1
3 yard – 2
4 yard – 0
5+ yard – 8
% of plays with no gain = 7%
% of plays 3 yards or less = 38%
% of plays 5 or more yards = 62%
Berry’s Carries
5, 2, 21, 13, 30, 6, 3, 3, 5, 12, 3, 1, 3, 3, 67
Negative plays – 0
0 yard – 0
1 yard – 1
2 yard – 0
3 yard – 5
4 yard – 0
5+ yard – 8
% of plays with no gain = 6%
% of plays 3 yards or less = 40%
% of plays 5 or more yards = 53%
A couple of notes about each…
Brandon Saine – EXTREMELY telling that he has more plays with no gain than plays that he’s gained 5 yards. He’s struggling and the stats are just plain UGLY. Outside of the 2 big runs against Marshall, he’s averaging a mere 2 yards per carry. Since Marshall, he’s had a mere 6 carries of 5 yards or more.
Boom Herron -He’s basically good for 5 yards or more on 40% of his plays, but the fact that he has no plays over 17 yards speaks volumes about his big play potential. Regardless, I think he’s been much better than he’s given credit for.
Jordan Hall – 62% of his plays go for at least 5 yards? Thats crazy, but he’s yet to really break a run of note. Longest carry to date is a mere 12 yards. In many respects, he’s a shiftier Boom Herron. Speaks volumes that he’s averaging 5.5 ypc without a big play to distort his stats.
Jaamal Berry – CRAZY STATS. He’s averaging nearly 12 ypc, has as many plays over 20 yards in 15 carries as Saine, Herron and Hall combined, and most importantly, only has 1 play under 3 yards.
(this is not my work, I ripped this off another site.)
Johnny, that lends evidence to what I’ve been thinking regarding Boom and Zoom. While Boom hasn’t really exploded one yet, we know he’s capable of doing so from past seasons. I doubt Zoom is as bad as he’s been so far, although I maintain that he’d be better used ala Percy Harvin.
I like Hall and Berry, but I also don’t think that we should look too far into their stats just yet. For one thing they only have a dozen or so carries apiece and for another neither – especially Berry – has really played tailback while a game was still close. It would be informative to see what they could do in a more tense situation. Remember Beanie’s freshman year?
I do remember Wells freshman year…and in the most important game that year he did this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9SIoMJINro&feature=related
While he did struggle at times with fumbles, he also helped OSU out by rushing for 576 yards, averaged 5.7 yards per carry and had 7 touchdowns.
It’s not like Herron has been setting fire to college football. Antonio Pittman was far better than Herron and Wells still played a ton as a freshman.
Hall is now a sophmore and Berry has also been with the program for 2 years.
It’s time to get these guys more carries and see what they can do with the one’s.
I guess we’ll see.
If the running game (tailbacks) wasn’t an issue, no one would be talking about it.
Interesting numbers, Johnny Utah. I don’t think there’s a question that, at this point in the season, Herron is outperforming Saine.
I’m still not convinced, however, that there is a problem in the running game. I think that perception is largely defined by the situation of the last two/three years (Beanie).
At this point, five games into the season, OSU is 14th in the country in rushing offense @ 235 yards per game. The fact that the load is being shared by at least three players is irrelevant.
Think of it this way: OSU is leading the conference in TD passes. Yet our best receiver (Sanz) isn’t even one of the top 3 receivers in the league. Why? Because those TDs are spread across 6 different receivers.
Does OSU have a “passing problem” because one of its WRs isn’t getting all the yards and TDs? Then why would they have a rushing problem if more than one back was being used successfully?
We know now (after today’s press conference) that Tressel ordered Pryor not to run after he came back from the injury. At that point, OSU did nothing but rush Herron again and again. He averaged 4.1 ypc, the line kept pounding away, the offense kept converting 1st downs, milking the clock, and quite easily got the backbreaking score.
I don’t think there’s a running problem. 🙂
What did Saine average?
@Johnny – 1.8 ypc. Terrible.
He did receive out of the slot for one TD, though (that’s 3 TD receptions on the year for him).
I felt like turning my above comment into a post, in case anyone wants to move the discussion there.