2012 Heisman Hopeful?

One game does not cure what ails this football team, nor does it answer every question we had going into this week’s game. Minnesota’s defense was one of the more terrible defenses (on paper and on the field) in the Big Ten.

That qualifier being said, this was a pretty solid win. Miscues in the first half had most Buckeye fans still feeling like we were stuck in neutral, but the second half put those thoughts to rest. The offense looked fluid, we were moving the ball on the ground and through the air and Jermil Martin was a revelation. So yeah, the positives outweighed the negatives. 509 yards of offense and only giving up 286 yards on defense will do that for you.

We’ll have a more thorough look back at the game shortly (brought to you by the newest member of the MotSaG team) but for now, we’ll hope whatever ails Brandon Saine is short-lived and we’ll enjoy the victory.

Once.

Only once in Jim Tressel’s career has he lost two games in a row (during the 2004 season, if you’re wondering). Unless you’re the type to have spent the week poking your Pryor doll in the shoulder with pins, you’re probably not expecting that stat to be duplicated.

The fact is that Pryor is not as terrible as we scapegoat-hunters would have you believe. Don’t mis-quote me on that – Pryor obviously has issues – but it’s much too early to assume that he’s a lost cause. One has only to look at Vince Young to see what rewards patience might bring.

Their stats are eerily similar:

For those wondering whether Pryor could turn the corner and achieve greatness someday, look at the huge jump that Young made in his third season.

Of course, similarity in one year does not guarantee similarity in later years. And there are some apples-to-oranges comparisons of the Texas and OSU coaching staffs, offensive lines, etc. I’m not predicting that Pryor will be another college football legend like Vince Young, I’m only pointing out that he very well could be someday. And OSU fans should note that they probably won’t find a Texas fan that isn’t glad Mack Brown stuck with Young, even when the Texas offense was crumbling and inconsistent.

Still don’t believe me? Read this recap of a Texas loss, also humiliating, also halfway through VY’s second season, and compare the similarities with the last weekend’s Ohio State game.

If you’re still looking for a scapegoat for Pryor’s slow development, then it should start with Tressel and flow down to OSU quarterbacks coach Nick Siciliano. When QB coach Joe Daniels moved on last year, Tressel gave the job to Siciliano, a loyal assistant from his Youngstown State days. At the time of his promotion, Siciliano’s position with OSU was listed as “Offensive Quality Control,” which is nothing more than a glorified film room assistant.

In case you missed that, they essentially put the team’s A/V club president in complete charge of developing the #1 recruit in the country. Are we shocked that Pryor’s struggling? Grab your torch & pitchforks, boys.

But what does all this have to do with Minnesota? Nothing.

This week’s questions:

• How many turnovers does Pryor account for this week?
• What is the fewest number of points the offense will have to score for you to be encouraged that solid progress is being made? (Consider that Minny’s giving up 23 points per game)
• How many officials will the SEC suspend next week for continuing to ensure Tebow victories?
• Penn State vs. Michigan?

sportsMonkey’s predictions:
Pryor’s TOs: One (thinking positive)
# of offensive points: 63
SEC officials suspended: The remainder, as the SEC will soon announce that Tebow himself will be making all the calls for the remainder of the 2009 season
PSU vs UM: Going with the upset – UM.

el Kaiser’s predictions:
Pryor’s TOs: One (thinking really positive)
# of offensive points: I’m torn here. Less than four touchdowns will mean to me that the offense isn’t progressing. But I think anything less than 40 points and I won’t feel sated. But I know we’ll win this game 17-7 and everything will not be honky-dory.
SEC officials suspended: The SEC is going to install “Tebow Sessions” with the refs. Just five minutes with the guy will make them all better (at their jobs) men.
PSU vs UM: Michigan shocks the world and Penn State fans melt the internet down. Their tears are going to be so delicious.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Again, I present Ohio State versus Purdue by the numbers. I’m just presenting the data.

But yeah