Ohio State vs. UAB recap

As I sat around this weekend thinking about how I was going to write this recap post I thought about mostly all the things that bothered me the most. So I was writing down all the negative aspects to the game and my watching experience I was right around 3000 words when I erased the whole diatribe and decided I needed to change my entire thought process. So I will stay positive in this post even if it kills me. I asked myself one simple two part question.

Did Ohio State win the game and why can we as fans not just enjoy the victory?

First, the important part of the question. Yes Ohio State won the game 29-15. Here is how that played out.

The Offense

Braxton Miller continued to show why he was such a highly ranked High School recruit. Can the fans (myself included) just take a few minutes to enjoy how incredibly awesome he is? This young man is a true Sophomore leading this offense in nearly every category. In this game alone he completed 60% of his passes for 143 yards and no INTs he also ran 11 times for 64 yards and 2 TDs including this beauty.

Enjoy that short video OSU fans as we will have many more like that to enjoy for the next 2.5 years so smile and savor.

Jordan Hall in just his second game back from a bad foot injury rushed for over 100 yards in the win. Jordan had 17 rushes for 105 yards and had 2 catches for 21 yards. He is becoming that guy who everyone thought he would be in the Urban Meyer offensive system. With time and more reps I am sure we will see even more improvement in his game.

Honestly Corey Brown and Devin Smith have enjoyed having Urban Meyer become the HC at OSU more then anyone. They are finally having the ball thrown their way and making plays. Sure they both have had some bad drops but at least this year they will have more catches then games they played in.

The Defense

Doran Grant is a star in the making. With star CB Bradley Roby out with a shoulder injury Doran took full advantage of his first career start. Mr. Grant forced and recovered a fumble he also had an interception and for good measure he added a sack to the great day he had.

I wish there was more I could say about the defense but in staying with my keeping it positive my review of the defense will have to end here.

Last thoughts

I just wanted to take a few moments here to remind my fellow fans how lucky we are. Ohio State is coming off a year of hell in the program and a 6-7 season with mostly the same players returning and very few new guys. We have a new coaching staff and new offensive and defensive schemes. Yet these guys are sitting here 4-0 and ranked in the top 15. They are learning and changing. Are they perfect? No of course not they aren’t even close yet. Are they improved? Heck yes they are. The offense is light years ahead of where they were last year. Sure they still have the occasional miscues or droughts in effectiveness. They are however exciting and developing. The defense has some serious issues most of which won’t and can’t be fixed with the personnel we currently have. Even saying that though the defense is giving up around 15 points a game and for the most part have been productive for nearly any other school in CFB just not up to par with what OSU is use to having. Can they get better? I sure hope so for their own sake.

Lastly, I have thought about this a lot Ohio State fans need to show a little patience. Given everything they have been through and all the changes that have been made a lot of fans need to maybe temper their expectations. Yes I am one of those guys who said OSU could go 12-0 this year and we would see a complete turn around in year one from last years dismal season. The good news is they still can go 12-0 but it will surely be more difficult of a season then many of us expected it to be.

One thing I hear a lot is the crowd at the ‘Shoe feeds off the emotions of the players in their crowd noise. Isn’t the exact opposite also true though? So next time you go to a game stand and cheer and be loud and maybe the team will feed off of it and play much better or maybe not but at least you tried right.

In conclusion Ohio State won the game and that’s all that matters right TTUN fans?

Comments

  1. More on this later, but I applaud your willingness to accentuate the positive.

    We’re FOUR AND OH, baby. Let’s show a little emotion around here! (and in the ‘Shoe next week!)

  2. Here’s a positive: We are averaging 0.25 FGs per game right now.

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