No time for posts, just Open Threads. Blogging should resume its regularly scheduled programming (ha!) soon.
Will the Buckeyes win?
Week #4: Troy University – Open Thread
September 19, 2008 by 6 Comments
Out to Lunch
September 17, 2008 by Leave a Comment
As you have probably guessed, there won’t be a MotSaG blogpoll ballot this week. The monkey and I are on business travel this week, so blogging will be light and dealing with the world’s slowest wireless network connections prevented us from getting our blogpoll ballot put together. Blogging should resume normally this weekend.
We also noticed that we have failed to submit our ballot the week after every Buckeye loss since we’ve been participating in the BlogPoll. Up until this week, this was not coincidental. This week it was.
Being outside of Central Ohio, we haven’t been around to witness the aftermath of the weather that went through earlier this week (although it did delay our flight by three hours) nor have we been able to witness the fallout of yet another crapping-of-the-bed against a powerhouse. We are thankful for our fellow Buckeye bloggers keeping us in the loop.
Just wanted to check in let everyone know we’re not dead. Except for the inside. We’re definitely dead on the inside after last Saturday.
OSU/USC Semi-live Update
September 13, 2008 by 13 Comments
Pregame
Just getting things ready. Not sure how many people will actually be checking the site, as I’m sure everyone will be glued to the TV, but if you do, feel free to vent in the comments.
First quarter
After two possessions, I think it’s clear that this is going to be a defensive slugfest. Malcolm Jenkins made an excellent open field tackle on McKnight. Now we just need to get some rhythm this offensive series.
Pryor is being used to great effect with this drive, but they’re being predictable in the red zone. We’ll take a field goal and chewing up clock. Of course we want a TD, but we’ll take what we can get.
USC – 0
OSU – 3
On what looked like a broken assignment, USC’s FB sneaks out for a little pass play up the sideline for a quick touchdown.
USC – 7
OSU – 3
Second quarter
USC’s offense is a well-oiled machine. Someone on defense is going to have to get pressure on Sanchez. He has entirely too much time. OSU needs another drive to take some time. The penalty on USC should help out.
USC – 14
OSU – 3
Stop with the PENALTIES BUCKEYES!!!
I don’t want to say it yet, but I have to. These PAC-10 officials are worse then high school refs. Does the phrase “ticky tack” mean anything to them?
Excellent to see the Buckeye defense get USC off the field. Laurinaitis is playing extremely well right now. Keep it up D!!
Boeckman throws the ball directly to Maualuga, who steps out at the 5 yard line. Someone please tell me what the officials in the booth were looking at!
USC – 21
OSU – 3
Chekwa just made an extremely athletic play to make a beautiful interception to end the half.
Half-time
Some half-time thoughts: I’ve been accused of being a Boeckman lover in the past, but I’m about done with that. Pryor comes in and absolutely gashes USC’s D, and then Boeckman airmails a pass to Maualuga. I want to see A LOT more Pryor in the second half. You might say that I have a fever, and more Pryor would make me feel better.
Even though the scoreboard doesn’t reflect it, we are in this game. Take away the INT and get that TD and/or 46 yard field goal and this is a different game. Be that as it may, we’re still in striking distance, but the defense has to throw a shut out in the second half.
Third Quarter
They’re only going to be able to lean on the defense for so long, Boeckman. It’s time to step up.
I will say that last sack on Boeckman ended with a late hit from Maualuga. That was a dirty spear.
Fourth Quarter
It’s all about pride now.
USC: 35
OSU: 3
I’m getting tired of USC’s players constantly looking for flags. We know this is your officiating crew, but just stop it.
Countdown to Kickoff!
September 12, 2008 by 5 Comments
2008-9-13 20:22:00 GMT-04:00
Update: Take this for what it is (a 3rd-handed rumor) but we’ve heard that if Beanie plays, look for a backfield of Beanie, Pryor and Boeckman. Could be scary. If Beanie doesn’t play, look for a dual-QB backfield.
Also, I updated the clock to reflect an 8:22 PM kickoff, which I believe is the scheduled kickoff time.
Beanie’s Not Playing
September 12, 2008 by 5 Comments
Cleveland.com has the details. (via 11 Warriors)
Update: I just watched Sports Center on the ESPN, and Erin Andrews said that coach Tressel told her that if Beanie came up to him tomorrow (Saturday) morning and said he wanted to play, that Coach Tressel would consider it. This was before Tressel said Beanie was out, so take that as you wish. Either way, I think people are over-estimating USC’s prowess and under-estimating OSU’s chances.
That’s why they play the game.
Week #3: University of Southern California – Open Thread
September 12, 2008 by 2 Comments
Amazing how quickly fortunes change. Earlier this afternoon, the monkey and a bunch of fellow co-workers were gathered in my cubicle staring slack jawed at the headline. A post went up shortly thereafter and all of a sudden the wind was sucked out of our sails and we drifted listlessly for the rest of the afternoon. Eventually, the monkey and I were able to see silver linings, find positive ways to look at things and, in the end, remember that IT’S JUST A GAME.
So we’re still being positive. Now it’s time for your mandatory reading list for this week’s open thread.
With this being probably the biggest game of the year, there’s a lot of writing going on, both in the media and the blogosphere. Without over-loading you with links, let’s take a look at what people are saying. Here’s a smattering:
- Around the Oval looks at Ohio State Defense vs. USC Offense.
- 11W take a look at some of the USC standouts with “Eyes on the Enemy” for Mark Sanchez, Rey Maualuga, and Joe McKnight (he’s made of pure nightmare).
- They also have the depth chart up. Did anyone else notice Cameron Heyward starting as a DT last Saturday? I thought that was interesting. Washington is listed as a starter, but so is Chekwa. Pfef looks at how this situation should be handled.
- No open thread is complete without Buckeye Planet’s data orgy.
- I mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: Matt Hinton has been following the Trobuckalypse all week and it’s been great as usual.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t give the USC side of the ‘sphere its say:
- Bulletin Board Material: USC has little to worry about from O-S-Who.
- Conquest Chronicles looks at Why Ohio State will Dominate USC. They also look at a topic of great interest to us: the OSU D-line versus the USC O-line.
- A lot of people on the OSU side of things are clinging to the hope that the Beanie announcement yesterday is part of an elaborate mind game that Tressel is playing. The guys at Trojan Wire “aren’t buying it.”
And so on. Now it’s time for your predictions. As always, school us in the comments. (my predictions are the italic words that are going to impress you beyond belief)
If Beanie can’t go, who has the biggest impact on the game? – I’m going with Pryor here. I know it’s a stretch, but I want to see it happen so bad that I’m hoping I can will it so with my mind powers.
Who records more tackles, Little Animal or Maualuga? – I say it’s a tie, but Marcus Freeman beats them both.
How many carries does Beanie actually get? – Is he really fine and just part of an elaborate mind game by Tressel? Since it’s the only thing keeping me sane, I say yes. Beanie carries the pigskin a dozen times with considerable success.
Final Score? – Again, because I am on the verge of insanity and I’m a huge homer:
OSU: 34
USC: 31
Hit us with your best shot.
sportsMonkey’s answers:
Who impacts if Beanie doesn’t?: It’s got to be (shudder) Boeckman.
Tackles – Little Animal or Maualuga?: Maualuga, he’s in for more 2x the snaps than LA typically is.
Beanie’s carries?: I see Beanie playing sparingly, around 10 carries.
Final Score: I have two. If Beanie plays, and he’s healthy: OSU wins 24-13. If Beanie plays sparingly, and he plays hurt: USC wins 27-16.
“I’m listing him as doubtful.”
September 11, 2008 by 7 Comments
More updates to follow, but this is not good.
Nine Reasons Why the Buckeyes Will Win
September 11, 2008 by 1 Comment
This is more like it.
Time for a gut check. We talked about all the reasons why the Buckeyes will lose to USC. Not a fun thing to do, but let’s not ignore reality. USC is a great team. They’re favored by ten points. It’s going to be a dog fight. But Ohio State is a great team, too. Here are a few reasons why the Buckeyes will win this Saturday.
Reasons why OSU will beat USC
PSU Boeckman shows up – There’s no shortage of criticism right now being leveled at 6th year senior Todd Boeckman. Most of it is fairly deserved criticism, some of it maybe not. Either way, Boeckman’s recent performances, going back to last year, have been less then stellar. Against lesser competition, Boeckman has shone. But his best moments were last year in hostile Beaver Stadium where he went 19 for 26 with 253 yards and 3 TDs. Up to that point, there were still a lot of questions about the offense and Boeckman. He was lights out. Now he has let those doubts bubble back up. After lackluster passing the past two games, we’re worried about USC. We need PSU Boeckman to make an appearance. If the game comes down to Boeckman’s arm and it’s PSU Boeckman, we have a very good chance.
Beanie is 100% – This is a no-brainer. If Beanie is wielding the Stiff Arm of Justice to great effect, running over so many Trojans, we all breathe a sigh of over-burdened relief. If he is able to cut and plant on his gimpy toe, the future will be bright. Blue blockers may even be necessary. We’ll know in the first few snaps (I don’t think we go to Beanie on our first offensive play) if Beanie really is up for the “45 carries”. If he is and he’s chewing up yardage, keeping USC capable offense of the field, things will be looking UP. WAY UP.
Jenkins and Chekwa/Washington shut down USC’s WRs – Turner and Hazelton are fast and are improving over last year’s performance. With Sanchez’s accurate arm, these guys are dangerous. We know Jenkins can shut down anyone in the country, but he also is prone to taking chances and occasionally biting on fakes. Whoever starts at the other side is going to be tested early. Both Washington and Chekwa are capable, but they need to be ready. USC is going to try to run the ball early and I think the Buckeyes will need 8-9 guys focused on stopping the run, leaving the CBs on islands. If Jenkins and Chekwa lock down the USC WRs, the rest of the D is more than capable of stopping the running game, putting USC between a rock and a hard place. (That hard place being Cameron Heywards biceps)
The OL actually blocks someone – This is definitely my biggest question mark. Do we have elite linemen or not? Besides Alex Boone, is anyone going to step up and push some people around? The D-line for USC is not small. Head’s and shoulders above the OU cats. If the OL is opening holes (for Beanie or Boom or anyone) then OSU can win. An elite RB like Beanie is able to hide certain defeciencies of an offensive line but the younger backs cannot. That front push is tantamount. We need fire-cracker fights, not pillow fights. Oh, and protect Boeckman. That’d help too.
The Brynamic Duo get separation – Robo and Hartline, WRU? Seeing a wide open Brian (take your pick) frequently will go a long way in making PSU Boeckman’s day a lot easier.
Special Teams or defense scores – Long field goals with time expiring, punt returns, interception returns. Take your pick. If one of more happens, then we will win this game. Almost certainly. Ray Small, show that you not only are a better man, but that you are also learning how to play football. Your time is now.
Imaginitive playcalling (both sides) – I mentioned this previously, but it bares repeating. Imgainative playcalling is so important. Mostly on the offensive side, but the defense could use an attitude adjustment. Heacock has said he’s going to unleash the defense. Let’s see it. Blitz blitz blitz and stop playing so much soft friggen zone. PLS.
USC inexperience at OL – This has been one weakness if the ES(EC)PN wonks have been quick to point out — USC has a relatively inexperienced offensive line. They’ve only played one game together, against a cream-puff defensive line. Our D-linemen should be licking their chops. If the USC O-linemen show their inexperience, we win. And so does Mark Sanchez’s orthopedic surgeon.
The Terrell Pryor X-factor – You knew it was coming. Finally, the Terrell Pryor factor. I’m still a huge proponent of giving him a significant role in the game. Situations where he can only help (early 2nd quarter snaps, first-and-goal). I’m also a firm believer that Tressel has something up his sweatervest. Something
So I’m stopping there. But don’t let me stop you. Fill up the comments with many more reasons why the Buckeyes will be USC.
Six Reasons Why the Buckeyes Will Lose
September 11, 2008 by 4 Comments
I don’t want to do this, but I must.
Contrary to
what the rest of the country would have you believe, the Buckeyes have a chance against USC on Saturday. But as delusional as we Buckeye fans can be, we can’t ignore the 295 pound Samoan in the room. There’s a good chance Ohio State will lose to USC. AS much as it pains me to do this, here’s a list of reasons why the Buckeyes will lose on Saturday.
Blech, this is making me sick to my stomach, so let’s get this one over with and move on.
Reasons why OSU will lose to USC
The two headed hydra of Cushing and Maualuga go off – The entire USC defense is good, but Maualuga is a manimal and Cushing is no slouch. If Maualuga is having his way with Beanie & Co., blowing up everything in sight, that most certainly spells certain doom for the Buckeyes. No running game means game-over for the Buckeyes.
Then again, there is this:
So maybe there’s no cause for concern? Right…
LSU Boeckman shows up – The monkey and I are firm believers that there are two Todd Boeckmans — the one who looked every bit the part of an OSU QB against Penn State last year. Crisp passes, great decisions, and leadership. Then there’s the Todd that crapped the bed against LSU. If that Boeckman shows up, we’re done for. If the game is in his hands and his head isn’t where it needs to be, cry in despair. He’ll be winging it downfield with abandon, but this time USC has the type of athletes that will make him pay.
Can’t stop the run – This goes without saying. USC has a stable of running backs that would make most breeders in Kentucky jealous. Carroll can throw out the horses without much drop-off in performance. If OSU can’t stop the run, there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth in the Kaiser household.
Beanie can’t perform – I almost hesitate to even insinuate that Beanie won’t be able to perform at an acceptable level. This is another no-brainer. If he can’t plant on his gimpy toe, no amount of the Stiff Arm of Justice is going to help.
Players are still hungover (shellshocked?) from the OU game – I think it’s foolish to think that the OSU players are unaffected by their performance last week against OU. If they come out flat again and dig themselves an early hole, it will take a miracle to climb out of it. Someone needs to come out early and absolutely annihilate someone. I’m looking right at you, Mr. Wilson.
A vanilla game plan – I-formations and Maurice Wells off-tackle aren’t going to cut it. We’re not asking for double-reverses and Annexations of Puerto Rico. But mix things up. Pass on first down. Stop trying to hit the fly routes 257 yards downfield. Bootleg with a TE dragging across the middle. Screens with Beanie. Use Terrell Pryor. Anything to make the game exciting.
There are plenty more reasons, but let’s not dwell on the negatives. Remember, Buckeye fans, it’s us against the world. We need all the positive energy and karma we can muster. Let’s move on and think about actually winning the game!
USC Week Bits and Pieces
September 11, 2008 by 6 Comments
As USC Week is now in full swing, here are a few items of interest.
First, let’s get this out of the way. Bill Plaschke from the LA Times and west coast wank aimed the fecal cannon that is his keyboard and barfed out “To a man, Trojans should be motivated for this one” in response to Ray Small’s comment that USC teaches its players how to play football while OSU teaches its players how to be better men. (Thanks to MotSaG reader Steve A. for the tip). You can read it if you want to, it’s just going to make you angry.
Anyway, here’s a little tip for ol’ Billy-boy. We know you don’t right a lot about OSU, so we’ll give you a head’s up. Want to know the fastest way to lose credibility with anyone outside of Dade County? Say things like this:
And, yeah, at the end of that 2002 national championship game against Miami? Bad call. That was not pass interference. Period.
Scoreboard and scoreboard.
Things have been getting testy between USC’s finest and Buckeye Nation. This happened a couple weeks ago, but after the Carson Palmer gaffe, a lesser-known, lesser-respected, lesser-not-skinny LenDale White thought he’d join the fray and throw his two-sense in to the OSU Hatefest by saying, “Hey, listen, Ohio State sucks!” on the Jim Rome show. Romeo called it a “non-sequitur but I’m not buying it. If you’ll step in the way-back machine with me, we’ll head back to the fall of 2006 when one (probably skinnier) LenDale White got his pretty little SoCal mouth smacked by one Donny Nickey after he spat on him. Wittle WenDale’s feewings got huwrt and now he wants to stick it to OSU. This is coming from a guy who didn’t even start on his own team.
On a little more pleasant note, on the sidebar of this Ivan Maisel article is Pete Carroll’s Rose To Remember. One thing that Plashcke and his ilk can’t stand is that Ohio is the fountain that feeds the college football coaching landscape. They just can’t stand it.
Worried about the way USC dismantled Virginia a couple weeks ago? Don’t be. The young Virginia D-line couldn’t get any pressure on Sanchez. Heck, he was grilling steaks back there, he had so much time. I’ll take mine medium rare, Mark. If there was any bright spots in last weeks OU sleep-walk, it was that the Buckeye D-line was getting penetration play after play. Now they just need to work on keeping containment, something that shouldn’t be a problem against Sanchez. Constant penetration and pressure on Sanchez = happy Buckeye fans.
Hopefully you’re following Dr. Saturday’s Trobuckalypse. Hinton has been the most even-handed voice in this whole thing. You can check out Day One, Day Two, Day Three and Day Four. (Check back for link updates).
I could go on, but you’ve probably already given up reading by now. We’ll save some links for the open thread. Will just finish up with this: Buckeye Commentary summing up everything going on in the college football fanosphere to great effect with a simple graphic.
Finally, as a reward for making it this far, a little Michigan bloggery is in order. There’s an interesting story about how Michigan is handling a touchy situation with an ineligible recruit. And by handling, I mean not touching it with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole. I haven’t seen any blogs pick up yet. (h/t Bill @ The Nut and the Feisty Weasel). I read that article and simply go “Huh? That’s just not right.”
