Scarlet: 31

Gray: 14

This thing called a spring football game is simply just a faint shadow of what we typically call football. Most spring games are nothing more than passing scrimmages with QB’s wearing caution, did murder me jerseys, with running backs used for eye candy rather than carrying the ball. Braxton Miller threw for 217 yards and two first half touchdowns while running for a third TD in the 2nd half before being sat down before the fourth quarter. Miller displayed something he has struggled with over his first two season. Touch. Miller started off the game with a 49 yard completion to Even Spencer and capped the drive with a masterful scoring strike to Devin Smith, using a beautiful touch on a lofted ball, while scrambling and rolling to his right.

Kenny Guiton looked solid, throwing for 150 yards and a touchdown while playing for both teams. It’s safe to say Braxton Millers starting job is locked down pretty tightly. After last years spring game there were people clamoring for Guiton to start over Miller. Guiton may still be the nations best backup QB and with an injury prone Braxton Miller could be called upon to win a game or two. Cardale Jones saw some action and looked good and terrible. He showed  a strong arm and good running skill but lost two fumbles and threw an interception forcing a ball to Michael Thomas. Thomas had another good spring game catching 7 balls for 79 yards and a TD. He showed good wiggle after the catch and proved to be difficult to take down.

We did not get to see any of the diamond formation today as I’m sure that will be held under wraps until the fall come the Buffalo game. Plus OSU didn’t really run the ball all that much today. There were 44 combined rushes today and that includes QB’s getting sacked. If QB sacks were included it would have been 62 pass plays to 33 running plays. All in all there were 11 sacks…4 by Adolphus Washington and 3 by Noah Spence. The right tackle position is going to be an interesting one for OSU moving forward. Chase Farris struggled today blocking both Spence and Washington and really did look bad at times. Hopefully that speaks to how good the Buckeys starting DE’s are.

Defensively Curtis Grant had 10 tackles a sack and two really big hits on Philly Brown over the middle, probably the two hit’s of the day. But defensively the day belonged to Spence and Washington who put constant pressure on Scarlet QB’s all day.

What I liked about this years game is the fact that it matched up OSU’s #1 offense vs. OSU’s #1 defense. The #1 offense and the #2 defense were on Scarlet while the #2 offense and the #1 defense was on Gray. Miller, unlike last year was matched up with players that he actually will be playing with.

I really didn’t think there was a spring game popcorn fart superstar this year…maybe Chris Fields as he scored 2 TD’s…one for each team. I doubt he will be as impactful next year.

Bring on the fall…

But before fall settles upon central Ohio, the foundation of autumns champions are crafted in March and April. The sharp squeak of vigorous writing on a grease board,  A violent crunch echoes as linebacker meets tailback. Tightly spiralling footballs thrown with precision find their targets once again. whistles blowing, coaches yelling…especially coach Coombs, Braxton Miller juking someone out of his shorts. Noah Spence attempting to murder Braxton Miller for said juking. These are the sights and sounds of Spring practice. Ohio State started spring practice in March this year, spreading out their practices over nearly a month.

A year ago Urban Meyer took over a Ohio State’s Commander In Chief and lead them to a 12-0 season, the Buckeyes first undefeated season since they won the National Title ten years ago. During last years spring practice, Urban Meyer installed his famous spread option offense. He called it a clown show. While it may have been a clown show in the spring it was certainly anything but that come fall. OSU’s offense improved it’s national scoring rank from 79th in 2011 to 21st in 2012. Total yardage rank also drastically changed as OSU went from 107th in 2011 to 46th in 2012. One area the Buckeyes didn’t drastically improve in was the passing game. In 2011 Ohio State was ranked 115th nationally. Last year they improved, but only slightly to 105th…adding an additional 51 yards per game through the air.

Urban Meyer would certainly like to improve upon that mark as Ohio State will certainly be favorites to push for a National Title this year. In an effort to improve his mechanics Braxton Miller has worked this offseason with QB guru’s, sherpa’s, Ted Danson, Kelly Lebrock, Dr. Jack Ramsey and  a Dire Wolf…Grey Wind I believe. Thus far the reports have all been stellar. Miller is drawing rave reviews from people that have watched him play. The word Heisman has been brought up half a hundred times.

Spring practice has been injury free for the most part with only a few bumps and bruises along the way. The OSU offense has added the diamond formation to it’s repertoire along with a base defense of 4-2-5. Former 5 star linebacker recruit Curtis Grant has been named the starter at middle linebacker by Urban Meyer, though with a base 4-2-5 defense he won’t see the field as often as he would like. Young pups Brionte Dunn and Warren Ball have made a name for themselves this spring ripping off big runs consistently. Tyvis Powell has made a name for himself playing in the secondary. Could be OSU’s next “star.” Reports on Noah Spence has been that he is unblock-able coming off the end.

What to expect from the spring game:

• Passing, passing and more passing. Much like last years Scarlet and Gray game, OSU will throw the ball…an awful lot. Again, this is the weakness of the offense and something it desperately needs to work on.
• Quick whistles on both Braxton Miller and Kenny Guiton. They will both be in black jerseys and not allowed to be hit, much to the chagrin of Noah Spence.
• Consistent pass rush by Spence and Washington along with some others.
• Will we see a lot of the diamond formation? Urban Meyer loved what the 49ers and Redskins did with it last year and will look to unveil it with Miller running it.
• Will Urban Meyer have a pre game drill like he did last year to pump up the crowd and his players?
• Who will be the spring game hero? Every year there is a player that emerges after having a HUGE spring game. Upon said players rise in popularity, there is a tidal wave of forums gossip, twitter talk and unending hope that OSU has somehow, some way found the next diamond in the rough superstar. Last year it was Michael Thomas who had a huge 12 catch game for the Scarlet team and everyone thought he would make noise come the fall, including me. He finished last year with 3 catches for 22 yards…another spring game popcorn fart superstar. Hell, I remember Joe Bauserman having a good spring game and people actually saying he should start over Terrelle Pryor because of it.

One of my complaints last year was that Braxton Miller didn’t get to play with many of his skill position players as they draft teams a few days before the game. I’d love to see Miller grouped with some if not most of the WR’s he will be throwing to come fall.

What say you Buckeye nation? What are you looking forward to? Who will be this years spring game superstar? And more importantly…

Will Ohio State win?

Ohio State 17

Michigan State 16

Urban Meyer hugged his players and assistant coaches as they left the field in victory after a hotly contested Big Ten game Saturday afternoon. While at times it didn’t look pretty, the Buckeyes prevailed vs. a quality opponent on the road. Once again Ohio State needed Braxton Miller to be the focal point of the offense and he came through despite 3 turnovers in MSU territory.

Miller ran wild vs. the best defense in the Big Ten and the 6th best defense in the entire country. He had 134 yards rushing and 179 yards passing and the deciding touchdown to Devin Smith. Miller was battered and bruised all day vs. an aggressive MSU defense that typically doesn’t like to play nice. Miller had his head rocked into a metal case on the sideline in the 1st quarter than lead to Kenny Guiton coming in to finish the drive for a TD thanks to a Jordan Hall dive across the goal line to make it 7-0.

Miller also looked like he hyper-extended his knee in the 4th quarter as he surrendered the ball for his 3rd turnover in the game. While I absolutely love Miller, he cannot simply drop the ball due to pain. The ball wasn’t forced out by a defender or touched by any other player…Miller simply dropped the ball on his own and it could have been disaster for OSU.

Positives:

• The Ohio State offensive line was for much of the game dominant vs. an elite defensive front. Last year OSU gave up 9 sacks and had 178 total yards and 35 yards rushing. This year OSU amassed. 383 total yards and 204 yards rushing.
• Braxton Miller…once again was the best player on the field. He out rushed Le’veon Bell by over 80 yards and threw the game winner. Another gutsy performance. Urban Meyer called Miller a family member after the game.
• Carlos Hyde. Hyde had multiple 1st down runs on the final drive to run out the clock. He ran with power AND vision. Glad to have him back.
• The defense stepped up big time vs Bell. The defensive front was outstanding, lead by Jonathan Hankins who is proving he could be an early NFL pick come April.
• Linebackers stepped up finally. Sabino had his best game of the year and Shazier had some key stops as well. This was the best we have seen the OSU defense play thus far.
• Seeing Danonio’s smug face after his team lost.

What To Work On:

• File the under “no kidding” but Miller cannot turn the ball over 3 times. He potentially wiped away points on three separate drives. Luckily OSU won. He had issues with fumbling to start the season last year, let’s hope this doesn’t become an issue.
• Tackling is still an issue. The lone MSU TD was a sloppy slap fest at the ball as the MSU tailback took it in from 29 out. OSU has caused very, very few fumbles and missed about a million tackles. Just tackle the guy and play team defense. That play was embarrassing.
• What is going on with Jake Stoneburner? He was a player that was overly hyped coming into this season. We all heard he would be the next Aaron Hernandez. So far he hasn’t done all that much. Through 5 games he has 7 catches for 92 yards. Last year at the same time he had 10 catches for over 100 yards and last year he missed a game as well. What is going on with the tightened production?

All in all it was an outstanding win that put the Buckeyes in the drivers seat in their division. It will be difficult for OSU to get up for every game like they did vs. MSU and must keep the train rolling vs. Nebraska at the Shoe this Saturday.