Minnesota Open Thread Sponsored By Carl Spackler
The ReturnShould be a fun Saturday and a good test for the Buckeyes. The Gophers (and their fans) are riding high and are a step up from the Penguins, Bobcats and Trojans (lesser type). The defense, in particular, has a good chance to answer some critics today. I’m excited to see what Gibson can do getting a majority of the snaps at one of the end spots and it’s also nice to watch the continued evolution of Hines — the next great Buckeye safety (though judging from last week, Coleman has taken notice and would like to join him).
The first time you see Beanie and Pryor line up in the same backfield, you’re excused for crapping yourself in excitement because you won’t be alone. We know Posey, Thomas and Washington will get more snaps and all it would take right now would be one big game out of one of those burners to put possibly thrust them into a starting role. The message from the Boeckman situation is that no job is safe, regardless of how long you’ve been in the program and that’s a refreshing change to see.
Say what you will about Tressel being stubborn and conservative, but he’s making the changes the fans are demanding. Some, like the Pryor switch, were inevitable. But I like how he’s tinkered with the offensive and defensive lines as well as at receiver. I have a feeling that this team is getting ready to go off.
Later in the day, there are some interesting matchups as conference play begins:
#10 Wisconsin @ Michigan, 3:30 – ABC
The big story heading into this one is that the Badgers have a really, really good shot to get their first win in Ann Arbor in 14 years. I think they’ll get it done, but I have this creeping suspicion that Rodriguez will get one upset this year — and the sooner the better. If he’s upset-less by the time 11/22 rolls around, I’ll be slightly more worried than I probably should be.
#8 Alabama @ #4 Georgia, 7:45 – ESPN
Georgia is busting out the black as they welcome Bear Saban and the Crimson Tide to Athens. The Dawgs are stacked and have played well this year, despite losing a little bit of ground in the rankings. Alabama has looked like an elite team and say what you will about Saban — the guy can coach the college game. If nothing else, tune in for the Southern honies dotting the stands.
#24 Illinois @ #9 Penn State, 8:00 – ABC
On Thursday afternoon, Penn State looked like a great team. They had dominated everyone they played and put up mad points in the process. Then late Thursday night, Pacific time, they began to look even better, considering the pasting they administered to Oregon State way back in week two. If they do to Illinois what they’ve done to every other team they’ve played this season, they’ll jump into the top five and deserve to be there.
honestly i’ve had worries for some time now about Tressel being just way too wedded to seniors in starting positions, but after the USC game he’s made all the right moves and hopefully by the end of the season this will be a BCS caliber team.
pryor is going to have some growing pains i think, but Beanie in the backfield makes his development about a billion times easier
also i’m a huge fan of mark richt, he’s one of the few people associated with the SEC who don’t make me want to punch myself in the face
Can anyone find this game on sopcast or any live stream?
I think I’ll be rooting for William Tecumseh Sherman in the Bama-Georgia matchup, especially after seeing the third “(Insert rival SEC player here) wears (insert more favorable SEC player here) pajamas” sign on Gameday. That seems to be a popular expression down here.
let me know if you guys find a broadcast for this game..work sucks
Somebody get me my helmet!
GO BUCKS!!!!
Big Ten opener time for the gophers to have a reaility check. OSU 27 Minn10
I want to see the silver bullets again. My prediction is for a 40 yard + run from Beanie in the first half and Thaddieus Gibson to have 2 or more sacks to day.
I have the Buckeyes putting up 42.
Nice General Sherman reference (a southern Ohio son). Gotta love a man who ravaged and set the South on fire.
GO BUCKS!
I expect a slightly lower output but OSU’s definitely covering the spread today.
OSU 34
Minn 13
Good for Beanie!
PRYOR, BABY!!!!
Welcome back Chris Wells and big ten welcome to Pryor sweet opening. Lets get silver bullets flying around want to see a big hit on decker from Jenkins
Anyone else think that the BIG TEN’s Charissa Thompson is a sluttier version of Erin Andrews? But still Nice.
Wow. all of a sudden there are holes to run through…oline great on that possession, it wasn’t just beanie being able to run through guys, huge holes.
Beannie is a freakin monster, great to have him back.
Beanie’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW, on Gameday they mentioned that Tress had “Named himself the assistant O-Line coach and since then was happier with the production of that unit.”
Has anybody heard of that? Was the first I had heard of it…
I agree Thompson is a slutter verison of Andrews. Chris i remeber when clarrett talk about pace when he ran i think its a pace of wells it really makes a difference. shit fumble
Yeah he’s been all up in the O Line’s faces all week to play harder and play faster. Bunch of articles on it in Buckeye blogs. Isn’t that supposed to be Bollman’s job? I don’t think (I hope) Bollman won’t be around much longer. I mean how would you feel if your supervisor at work came over and started doing your work for you because you weren’t doing it?
Dirty, everybody’s been talking about Tressel working w/ the O-line since like Wednesday.
That sideline chick said right before kickoff that the shoe and insert were to protect “torn ligaments” in Beanie’s foot. Has anybody from Ohio State ever confirmed that that is in fact the nature of Beanie’s injury? I’ve not heard anything official other than “foot injury”.
I agree flip i hope Bollman is gone soon, nice def stand on the turnover. I am starting to think Freeman might be our best LB he has been burnt couple of times in coverage but LB always will be. Also im the only one who think Thomas or Posey should return kicks
Yeah I had heard that Tress was working with the OLine, but ‘naming himself the assistant’ is another level of change. In fact, to me, making it official by ‘naming himself’ an assistant oline coach is more of a message to BOLLMAN than it is to the line, FWIW.
El Cab – Yeah, we have heard many a time that Beanie had a jammed forefoot. Lots of little bones and ligaments in the tip of your foot-where the big toe is married to the foot. You know when you play basketball and you get your finger jammed going up for a rebound? I think it was a similar injury, it was a matter of getting those ligaments and the little foot bones all jammed together in a way that makes it a little sore.
Of course, you might say, ‘what the hell, I’m weak and out of shape but when I jam my finger playing against the 7th grade kids next door I still suck it up and play ball.’ And yes, you do, but your’e not putting 240 lbs and cutting on that finger. Imagine if you jammed your finger playing bball and THEN had to walk on your hands, I think that is the kind of injury beanie had(has?).
Right on, Dirty – but what I was wondering about is why she SPECIFICALLY said “torn ligaments”. I don’t think anybody from OSU has ever said anything that specific.
If they said torn ligaments I think they erred, it was ligament strain from the jam but not a tear.
Is it just me it looks like wells foot is still a big problem. He seems to be favoring his foot
Would have been nice to have Beanie on that goal line. If he’s tweaked that foot he aint’ gonna be back, not before wiscy. Get good beanie, we need you next week!
i think wells’ shoe is the problem..i dont think he tweaked anything
WASHINGTON THERE YOU ARE SO NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN!!!!
Come on everyone and their mothers knows we’re gonna run on 1st down… jeez change it up.
Small’s gotta hang on to the ball! its killing our mojo
I agree need beanie for Wisc it just seems to me he is walking funny. Also we run a wr screen that looks like its set up with no blockers its looks weird. l am tired of letting shit teams hang in there our defense is playing alright we need to let offensive go
Beanie’s got hops! Take that Moreno.
Wow what a pass by TP for the TD…and he totally sold it with the pump fake…TP actually got his receiver open on that one, very nice.
That loudmouth player for Minnesota was right – Pryor isn’t half as good as they say he is. 20-3, second quarter.
Jackass. He’s scorching y’all.
GO BUCKS!!!!
what’s the deal with the 30 yards worth of penalties on that drive? we almost gave them more yards than they got on their own!
those penalties were both questionable in my eyes.
Winning the line-o-scrimmage, nice!
Does anyone have a link to a radio feed?
My God, a Ben Person highlight. Did the Big T(elev)en Network just praise Ben Person?
What’s going on out there? Who are these guys? :)
LOVE IT.
http://ohiostatesportsradio.blogspot.com/
Person block was nice. Though it was no more than simple execution. Still, step in the right direction for him…WHY is beanie in the game?
Go Back(up)man!
I like the Mistress Mandy commercial. Best part if the wife “good”.
GJ Boeckman, redemption TD.
I think TD may play better when he has no pressure, either actual or figurative.
Was a very nice ball by Boekman, made up for the near INT he threw into double coverage on the previous possession. He is pretty good when not pressured. That’s a pretty big ‘if’ though.
Was one HELL of a catch by Robo.
Found the game streaming on http://www.channelsurfing.net/
Scroll down a bit. Kinda late but oh well. Gotta use IE for the viewer to work.
You guys see Sweat out there on kickoff coverage? There’s another guy who won’t redshirt.
Sabino straight knocked a blocker out on kickoff return, too.
“You guys see Sweat out there on kickoff coverage? There’s another guy who won’t redshirt.”
Isn’t the rule 30% of the snaps? That may not yet be an issue.
What about Etienne Sabino knocking that guy into next week? He’s going to be a major-league stud.
Sucks to lose the shut-out, but it’s funny to watch the harmless little Gopher fans act like they’re competing for a title. Cute.
Sorry, Chris. I got excited and didn’t see your Sabino reference.
All good. It’s just awesome to be excited about this team again.
How bout TP knocking that bitch down near the sideline!
Minnesota, quit trying.
I’ll tell you what: If Brewster goes for an onside kick, we ought to run up the score like no one’s business next year. We’ve got our third-stringers in there, and that guy goes for two? What?!
Jackass.
The substitution errors are ridiculous. Someone needs to get some control of that sideline. C’mon, Jim.
My God, he did onside it.
Well, at least we don’t have to hear from pesky Gopher fan for another 12 months.
Good win d gave up too many 4th down plays there at the end but most of the 1st teamers were out. Pryor looked good. So did beanie Id say he’s 85% but could be 100% by next sat. I said all week this team should avg. 40 from here on out and that was pretty much what we did. If we need beanie and pryor the whole game vs wisconsin I think we will hit 35-40. Kicking is inconsistant and needs to be corrected. Over all im happy with the win it wasn’t really a 13 point ball game. Pryor puts the ball on the money almost everytime. I love how he can keep plays alive and keep his head up. Im wondering if he broke 100 yards rushing. I know beanie did on 12 carries or so. The d seemed to feed off the early td’s and that will be what we’ll need next week. GO BUCKS!
Tebow of Nazareth just stuffed on a 4th and 1 and Ol’ Miss walks out of Gainesville with a win.
Chomp chomp!
GATOR POWER, BABY!!!
Darn ESPN360 kept freezing up on me, and I missed the 4th down stuff. Too bad.
(I really like Tebow as a person, but I love your nickname, Jason.)
Houston Nutt can flat-out coach. He’s crazy and a bit dirty, but he can coach up sacks of flour to play football. He’s Les Miles, sans the whimsy.
I don’t know why that last comment said “Anonymous”. Oh well, chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp *BOOM*…..blown away by the rebel musket.
I LOVE THIS WEEK OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL…!!!! shitballs usc loses..florida eats a bowl of dicks…and Ohio State has life again….tasty
anonymous is me…yes i’m drunk..so what…i looooove the weekend
everything is coming in anonymous…wtf mate? last 3 were buckeyebrowny919 :)
Never in my life have I been so happy to see Florida lose. I am “up to here” with Tebow’s campaign to be the next Mother Teresa. I don’t believe the Heisman is a humanitarian award. And as for Urban Meyer? Well my mother raised me to be a lady.
How about the turnover bowl in Ann Arbor!
They may want to spend less time dogging on “Benedict” Boren and more time working on drills to hold on to the football.
I’m liking our chances next week.
Michigan game is another classic its great to watch them. I honestly think they might be the worst team in the Big Ten. Nice ref chris early about Sabino can’t wait for him to be a big hitter next year. Solid performance today by the offense its nice to see Beanie back. How about the Rebels tired of hearing about how tough every conference outside the Big Ten teams are. The lower tier teams in every major conf suck. Also can’t wait to play the Badgers gain some respect back i love how we match up with them.
coo coo brutha
Its truly getting harder to watch the Wisc vs Michigan game wow Michigan is very bad. Memo to Gainesville only two time Hesiman winner is from and still resides in Columbus, OH
No doubt. I’m almost, almost starting to feel sorry for them.
If ever there was a year to hang another 50 on the Wolverines, this is probably it. Tressel won’t do it, but I would.
There’s a funny sign at the Florida State/Wake game:
500:
a. Bowden’s age
b. FSU turnovers last week
c. (can’t make this one out)
Purdue sucks, too. They’re 7-5.
m*ch*g*n looks just awful. I keep hoping to see m*ch*g*n Boy in the stands. My favorite part of the game is the shots of the crowd. I liked the ginger-colored kid in the retro “M” shirt with his hands over his head. Love it.
Betcha an 8-4 year under L-L-L-L-L-Lloyd is looking awfully nice right about now. Wow. I get their struggles on offense – well, a little, anyway – but what’s with their defense? Gawd.
Gator fans can now quit running their mouths and take a big Gator chomp out of some humble pie.
michigan’s defense really isn’t all that bad, but when your offense goes 3 and out virtually every time, it has to be pretty hard staying tough
Michigan may just score a FG on this drive!
Anyone watching Tennessee/Auburn? If you think Rehring or Person looks fat or slow, watch Foster, #78, for Tennessee. That’s the worst-looking lineman I’ve seen since Aaron Gibson for Bucky.
ben person actually had a really good game today
Yeah, he did, Bup. I didn’t see much in the way of the line getting blown up. Brewster got roasted once on the early sack on Pryor, but overall, good play today.
Pryor (and Beanie) is like Jordan/LeBron — he’s making everybody on that team better than they really are.
Changing subjects – is anyone else starting to feel a lot more confident about the trip up to Madison next weekend?
Holy God! I get in the car for 15 min’s and Michigan scores 20 unanswered.
Whoa, fellas. Don’t get cocky at all about Wisc. A road game against a bad team is not the same as a home game at night against us. They’ll be much, MUCH, better next week. We’ll be lucky to get out of there with a win.
That Michigan team is terrible. A good team would have been up 30-0 at halftime.
I know it’s going to be a tough environment, but with the play of Beanie and Pryor combined with the fact that Evridge doesn’t exactly inspire fear, I like our chances a lot more than I did a week ago.
I can’t believe Michigan came back and won that game vs. Wisky. That Wisconsin defense is the ONLY defense that could actually make Steve Threet look FAST.
One thing I do know: Wisconsin is going to be pissed off and not want to lose two games in a row. Tressel better have the Buckeyes ready to play because I have a feeling it’s going to be loud in Madison.
I hope we start clicking on all cylinders next week! I also wish the OSU D wouldn’t have allowed the late Gopher TDs. Oh well…a victory is a victory.
Took every word out of my mouth Buckeyedude.
On Wisconsin’s D: Remember, that was the same defense that made Juice Williams look superhuman in last year’s Wisky-Illinois matchup. If you remember, that was the same defense where every person, to a man, overran Juice (who had the ball) to commit to the pitchman. They didn’t even look at Juice when he had the ball; they just made a b-line to the pitchman instead. Part of me wonders if those defensive coaches just don’t know what to do about option football. From the looks of it, they’ve had to rely on Michigan’s fumbleitis affliction just to get ahead.
And I’ve been flipping back and forth between PSU-Illinois and Alabama-Georgia. I knew Alabama would win this one comfortably, but I wasn’t expecting this. I know no one on this blog cares (nor do I, for that matter), but Alabama is legit. They don’t seem to have a weakness where it matters most: the line of scrimmage.
Alabama is legit, AND Georgia is overrated. And so is Florida.
This PSU-Illinois game is a shootout.
I agree Alabama is legit and Georgia is overrated it does not matter how you ended a season its a new year and Georgia was overhyped. I am worried about ILL and Penn State they have offense’s that we will have to make adjustmentson . Penn State is lucky so far i think Illinois offense is best in our conf
Vico, You knew Alabama would win this one comfortaby? I sure didn’t.
ditto jason good night to alll cant wait to see pryor with another week under his belt and big 28 carrying the ball
Well, you know where I live, so I get some good looks at the Crimson Tide and I just knew they were going to pound Georgia in the trenches. All year, Georgia had relied on bullying teams on simple pitch plays to Moreno to set up the downfield strikes to the receivers. This worked because their opponents (Georgia Southern, Arizona State and Central Michigan) couldn’t stop them. It didn’t work too well against South Carolina and I knew it wouldn’t work at all against Alabama. Alabama’s linemen (offensive and defensive) are much better than anything Georgia was prepared for.
I make very few predictions on games and stuff like that, but every now and then a premonition comes to me and I’m usually right when it comes. This was one of those.