Overrated, Indeed
Why is an image like this the defining picture of marquee Buckeye games as of late?The plot is starting to become painfully familiar to Buckeye fans: start hot, perhaps a kick return or a long run for a score or a three-and-out on defense followed-up by a methodical drive and then all hell breaks loose. It’s always the same — mistakes in the form of penalties, missed blocks, turnovers and poor special teams play.
Saturday night it was no different as the top-ranked Trojans took the Buckeyes out behind the woodshed in administering a 35-3 beat-down in front of a national television audience and 92,000+ in the Coliseum. The decisive victory left little doubt that one, USC is the best team in the nation and two, the Buckeyes and the Big Ten by extension, are definitely down.
After the debacle against Florida two years ago and even the loss to a stacked LSU team in January, most Buckeye fans were ready with a handful of excuses. The supposed brawl in the locker room prior to taking on the Gators and Ginn’s early injury, the fact that it was a rebuilding team squaring off against LSU — both of those losses could be explained away. After last night, not so much.
Yes, the Buckeyes were without their emotional leader and team MVP for the tilt, but Beanie alone cannot account for the 32 point gap and overall level of embarrassing play put forth. Ohio State was dominated on both sides of the line and endured their worst defeat since 1994 — and this on a team that was loaded with 5th-year seniors and future NFL talent. Twenty returning starters from a 10-2 team, for goodness sake. How does this happen?
Offense
After receiving the opening kickoff and going three-and-out, the Buckeyes got the ball back after the defense forced a three-and-out out of the Trojans and promptly drove the ball down the field via creative playcalling and a mix of Boeckman and Pryor at quarterback. After obtaining a first and goal at the five, Pryor and Boeckman were each brought down for four yard losses on back-to-back plays to setup a third and goal from the USC 13. After a false start penalty (the first of many costly calls on the night) backed OSU up to the USC 18, Boom Herron ran for a six yard pickup, centering the spot for a Pretorius 29-yard field goal. It was 3-0 Buckeyes, and despite the absence of Wells, things were looking good early — Boeckman was even 4/4 on the drive and the line was holding up.
That was to be one of only two times Ohio State made any kind of noise deep in Trojan territory. The other came late in the second period with USC holding on to a 14-3 lead. On 2nd and 12 from Southern Cal’s 21 yard line, Boeckman hit Robo on the left sideline for a touchdown, but it was negated on a costly holding penalty.
Still down 14-3 in the first half, the team mounted another promising drive, but Boeckman locked onto Hartline and Rey Maualuga stepped in front of his throw and took it 48 yards to the house to put the Trojans up 21-3 with a little over two minutes remaining before halftime. And that was effectively all she wrote as the Buckeyes would only muster 30 yards of offense in the second half.
USC has an incredible defense — easily the best unit the Buckeyes will face all season, but for an “experienced” signal caller and veteran line, the output was completely unacceptable. I can’t decide who is more to blame between Bollman, Boeckman and the “talented” and “veteran” offensive line that was carved up to the tune of 5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
The only time the offense seemed to be in any type of rhythm was when Pryor was in the game at quarterback and unfortunately, those times were too few and too far between. Trying to search for any type of good to come out of this from an offensive standpoint, the team may have itself a legitimate quarterback controversy. This blog has gone to lengths to defend Boeckman at times, even going after the wide receivers for their failure to get open, but there needs to be a change at quarterback and that change must happen Monday.
While we’re on the subject of change, the entire offensive line should be worried about their jobs. The talent is there behind them, though green, but if Tressel can take anything away from this pounding, it’s that green lines can step up as displayed by the young Trojan line. I know he has a fondness for seniors and is incredibly loyal to them, but for a supposed all-American candidate, Alex Boone sure was abused. Ditto for the two guards, Person and Rehring. Sure glad all that summer running seemed to pay off, fellas.
The running game looked good at times and Boom somewhat emerged, averaging nearly five yards per carry on that defense (11 for 51), but because of the quick-strike nature of the USC offense, the rushing attack was effectively bagged early.
Defense
The performance of the defense is a mixed bag. Boeckman’s three turnovers didn’t help the cause much (though one of them lead directly to a pick-six, thus not directly involving the defense) and the failure to move the ball on offense gave the Trojans nice starting positions for their drives, but how does a unit with three (or more) potential NFL first round selections give up 28 points like that? They looked completely lost on Sanchez’s first three touchdown passes (I’m willing to forgive the pick play as that should have been a penalty) and the 2nd touchdown toss, to tight end Blake Ayles, was nearly identical to the play LSU ran on the Buckeyes in the MNC back in January.
It did appear as if the defense attempted to blitz more and mixed in some man-to-man coverage, but the play up the middle was atrocious. Starting with the interior of the defensive line to the middle linebacker that gets more pub than he deserves and through to the safeties. Anderson Russell, in particular, played about as poorly as he has played at Ohio State.
The green Trojan offensive line dominated on the evening, giving Sanchez time to throw and McKnight and Gable nice holes to run through. The Buckeyes only registered one sack (in the 4th quarter when the game was well out of hand) and a mere three TFLs on the night. The key was to get pressure on Sanchez and that simply didn’t happen.
Chimdi Chekwa was chosen as the team’s MVP by the broadcrast crew. His numbers on the night: one tackle and one interception. That pretty much says it all.
What’s most discouraging is that this is the fourth straight game against what you could consider marquee or elite competition (I’m throwing Illinois, 2007 in there, though it can be disputed as to whether they were indeed elite) that saw a veteran Buckeye defense completely eviscerated by the opposing offense. At what point in time do you start to think beyond Jim Heacock? I’m sure he’s a hell of a nice guy, but these coaches aren’t paid based on how nice they are. They’re paid handsomely (and with state money, no less) for getting their men into position to execute and perform on the field. He is not getting it done and expect the chorus to grow loud for a change this week.
Special Teams
Special teams, Tressel’s bread and butter, did nothing to set themselves apart on the evening. There were several muffed kickoffs (though thankfully none lead to turnovers) and Pretorius missed a 46-yard field goal that would have been huge at the time, closing the Trojan lead to 14-6. That’s pretty far out and is no gimme, but don’t hit a meaningless 50-yarder against YSU only to miss one on the road from closer in two weeks later. His miss evoked memories of the blocked field goal against LSU months earlier when the team had what it thought to be a touchdown (also to Robo) snatched away and left the field with zero points for their efforts.
Small had one punt return for zero yards, while Trapasso did average almost 42 yards on his 7 punts, so if you’re looking for a special teams MVP, you’d have to consider that. The kick return game was pretty anemic, averaging just 15.3 yards a return on the night — and the tone was set early when Boom was stuffed at the 12 on the opening kickoff.
Special teams didn’t quite lay the egg that the offense and defense did, but it didn’t exactly light the California night up either. So, basically, that’s all three areas of the game the Buckeyes will need to focus on before taking on a very dangerous Troy team this weekend.
Notes
Jim Tressel is now 4-4 in road openers at Ohio State… The Buckeyes had a streak of 141-consecutive games scoring at least one touchdown snapped (Michigan, 1996)… On six second-half possessions, the Buckeyes punted five times and were intercepted once… I’m still sick to my stomach.
Hahahaha. You suck. The big ten sucks. The entire state of ohio sucks. “Hey it’s third and long let’s run up the middle.” Good idea dipshits. Is it finally fair to say that no matter how many cupcakes the Suckeyes beat they will never be able to hang with any elite programs?
Can anyone elaborate on this pre-Florida brawl that was mentioned? I have never heard this.
I have heard rumor it was started because Troy Smith was banging Gonzales’ girlfriend the night before the NC game against the Gators.
I may get blasted for this, but right now, Michigan’s future is brighter. Unless we change our staff, we still haven’t learned any lessons from our last three losses! How can we have this much talent and let it go to waste? At least up in Michigan they have a direction and goals they’re striving towards. Us? Seems like we’ve been the same anemic defense and offense that struggles against any good team.
I’ll still be rooting for this team, but consider my expectations to be lowered dramatically.
OSU football showed us once again it dosen’t belong in major college football.This team looked beyond pathetic.Fire Jim Tressel he is clueless.
Jason this is a dead-on analysis. I planned to wake up this morning and issue a profane-laced, HONEST, analysis of my own but after reading this article, you hit every point. There needs to be some serious changes. Last night I experienced nearly every emotion imaginable…but in the 2nd quarter with the continued ignorance of leaving Boeckman in the game and all of the penalties, I finally reached the point of laughter and hoping that that somehow USC scored 70 points so that maybe Tressel would be forced to make some changes, i.e. QB, coaches and both lines. Anyone with two eyeballs could see that the best possible move was to yank Boeckman. I am tired of defending OSU and there continued big game implosions and I can only agree with those that criticize our team. Its sad, I feel like I have given up on the team, but the damage from last nights game will take years to repair. Losing is not the end of the world, but continually getting destroy & embarrassed by the marquee teams
has to at some point be questioned.
me too!
At what point does it become apparent that Boeckman is not a championship quarterback. Its one thing to look good against Vassar, The Ohio School for the Blind, and Columbus Linden-McKinley. But every time the chips are on the table against a quality opponent, he fails miserably.
So this begs the question, what is Jim Tressel’s goal for the year; A National Championship (now gone), a BCS Bowl bid (perilously damaged), winning a share of the B10(1) (no longer a lock), or building the next National Championship team? Of the answer is the last one, then Boeckman should’ve started his last game for our team.
Is anyone else now terrified of Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State? And doesn’t that question enrage you as much as it enrages me?
Fellas, I’m not going to pile on. It was the first time I actually felt sympathy for Ohio State fans since prior to the Dec. 2006 timeframe. That was a really ugly game. Kirk Herbstreit described losing in this manner “Ohio State’s worst nightmare” given the pair of BCS title game losses, and I think that’s understating it.
There are obviously a lot of hard questions this morning, self-analysis, that sort of thing. It’s clearly time for major changes in this program. For the sake of OSU fans, I hope Tressel states this to the fanbase with no preamble, equivocation, or conditions. He should acknowledge that this program is not competitive with elite teams, that it’s not a matter of a play here or there or bad execution on a given night, but that what he’s done to put Ohio State in a position to measure up against top-drawer competition has been wholly inadequate, possibly at every level, including recruiting, conditioning, coaching, and player development. This program simply needs fundamental change, and that is quite obvious to someone as far removed from the interior of Ohio State football as one can possibly be.
The other negative is the perception of Big 10 football will continue to suffer. How can Ohio State look so terrible against Southern Cal, yet dominate Big 10 play? In truth, we have yet to see if that will happen this season or not; perhaps this is Pen State’s year. We’ve all be assuming that, as usual Ohio State is the class of the conference.
This season, if that turns out to be the case again, I posit that will actually be a negative for the Big 10. This conference definitely need to beat some great OOC opponents.
Like most others, I figured USC would win, and that they’d beat the spread while they were at it. I never dreamed that they’d beat Ohio State so badly that one would be hard-pressed to say that the Bucks were somewhat competitive for a single quarter. I figured a score along the line of 28-17 or 31-17 would be about right given the defenses.
Ohio State didn’t really come all that close to breaking into double-digit scoring. And USC could have continued scoring at will in the 4th quarter; I suspect Carroll left at least two TDs out there on the field.
A bad, bad loss.
Now, consolation time: USC fields one of the most impressive teams I have ever seen. Seriously. Watching the Trojans, I feel as though I’m watching an NFL team. I don’t think anyone can beat them when they’re on their game… even my beloved Gators. Certainly not the Georgia Bulldogs, who do not measure up in any way to that team, and I’d be doubtful about Oklahoma given Stoops’ implosion-minded coaching style in big games. I think you lost to this year’s national champion.
I just wish, for your sake, you had lost a little “better”. :)
Chin up, Bucks. Here’s to retooling this program, here’s to Tressel making some needed staff changes, all the difficult and ugly things that disrupt a “football family” but have to be done to achieve success. Great coaches do those things and the unpleasant task now falls on a man who has enjoyed great success in college football. Time to earn your keep, Tressel.
As far as I’m concerned, Boeckman’s weakness(cement shoes) is exposed by the Ohio State offensive line’s weakness(no toughness, no passion, no emotion).
I think Alex Boone and the rest of the O-line are overrated. They have no toughness, and cannot protect a fast QB like Pryor, let alone a slow one that can’t scramble.
It all starts on O-line. And that has been exposed by faster, tougher and meaner defenses.
And why the hell did not Bauserman even get ONE SNAP? He couldn’t have done worse than Boeckman.
As I’ve mentioned before on other websites, Tressel is too businesslike. These kids are too tight. They are not playing loose, and every time there is a little bit of adversity, they fold. You can see it in there eyes. You could see last week vs. Ohio they were not ready.
I think some heads should roll before it gets worse. No excuse for this crap.
To be quite honest…Ohio State needed this blowout. Like the blog says, OSU could make all the excuses in the world for the last two national championship games…but not now. There should be ZERO excuses from any Buckeye fan. Every fan should say “OSU got abused and they are not an elite team.” Any other explanation will be laughed at…and rightfully so. I think now that OSU has been exposed and the excuses for this humiliation are gone, people will begin to forget about OSU. I believe this will be a blessing. The team can forget about all the talk and focus on getting back to basics and winning games. OSU DOES NOT NEED TO BE IN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR! If they are even in the discussion I will puke. They need to go to a lesser bowl and attempt to get some credibility back. Baby steps.
I’m sorry to say this but SEC fans have been right all along. OSU can’t run with the big boys at this point in time. I’m sick of making excuses. I’m agreeing with them from now until they beat a quality opponent outside the Big Ten.
My recommendation:
- Bench the seniors against Troy. Poor performances should have consequences. Everyone from Jenkins to Laurinitis to Boeckman…ON THE BENCH!
- Let the Pryor Era Begin. The announcers even said that when Pryor was in, the OSU benches were empty. HELLO!!!!!! They don’t believe that Todd can get it done. I mean c’mon…he is a true freshman. That means he has two more years left until he bolts to the NFL. If Tressel keeps him on the bench behind Boeckman then he just lost a year with the most talented player on his football team.
The future of OSU football should start next saturday.
That was pretty discouraging last night. Boeckman is in no way, shape or form a big-time QB. Slow afoot, piss-poor decision-making, and most troublesome, no leadership skills at all. At this point, I’d like to see TP and JB at QB; at least play someone who can help your team, or at worst, not hurt it. I get horrific images of Tressel “doing a Cooper” by sticking with Boeckman like Cooper stuck with Bellasari (sp?). I can appreciate loyalty to seniors, but goddammit, you’ve got a loyalty to the hundred some players under your charge as well.
IMO there were a couple ‘homer’ calls last night, particularly USC’s fumble recover and the pick play touchdown, but those only would have made it somewhat less painful. On the offensive line play, we need lighter, more athletic type linemen. I didn’t think they played all that bad in 1st half; but 2nd half was a fiasco. Of course, when you have a very talented (and well coached) team like USC that knows you need to pass, and yu have a statue for a QB, the D-line will pin its ears back and come after you.
Finally, for now, I agree with post of ToddNotBoeckman; OSU better get its head out of its ass or Wisconsin will roll over us, and PennState will kick our asses, we’d wish we were playing USC. Well, I don’t feel better, but it’s off my chest.
Can you say OMG. Another game plagued with poor coaching and conservative boring plays, one after the other. Our kids are not having any fun at all…….they looked like they were playing in tuxedos. When will the staff wake up and figure out what we need to do to win the big games. Michigan is no longer the big game folks. We have talent & speed but for some reason we cannot get it all going in the right direction. You have the best facilities, all the money in the world, great recruits, etc. and still cannot execute. Can someone analyze what is fundamentally worng with this program? I am so confused as to why we give a coach a raise before the season begins. I like Tressel but let’s get realistic and give the guy a raise when he wins the big ones.
The embarassment & shame the Buckeye fans are harboring is almost too much. We need some redemption and fast.
Last night was an embarrassment beyond anything I could imagine. But to say we cannot compete with top programs is overstating things a bit. In 2006 we played three No. 2 teams and beat two of them. I agree with Buckeyedude, the o-line is embarrassing. Add in the run defense (or lack thereof) and you basically have our problems. Boeckman should be benched for Pryor from here out, because Pryor played better, but Boeckman deserved the PT he got in this game.
So now we can merely play our season for a rose bowl berth (and I would not be surprised if we see usc there). Let’s not jump ship yet.
Did anyone else’s jaw drop when they had Boeckman run the option?
Absolute worst play calling………………………………….ever.
Lets think about this for a second. You have a 6′6 QB that runs a 4.4 40 and you use a slower, less atheletic player to run the option?
pathetic.
Mr. Green…….USC is playing in the national championship. No Rose Bowl for those guys. Who is going to stop them? OSU better hope they don’t see them again.
And as for playing 2 #2 teams in 2006. Texas went on to lose I think 4 games that year and Michigan was destroyed by USC in the Rose Bowl. Those 2 victories of #2 teams mean nothing.
I’m a big OSU fan….but i’m also a realist. And the reality right now is…OSU needs to step out of the spotlight and try to rebuild the program.
Tressel should have not slept last night. I can live with a loss, I can stomach a bad game. However, I cannot accept an apparent breakdown in every phase of the game. In a season which showed so much promise, which saw so many retuning seniors to have such a horrible outting is not acceptable at this level. The coaching staff, Jim Tressel or both need to be taken to taks on their inabilty to prepare these young men or gameplan for true competition. Until Tressel and his staff show me that he can beat a quality team, other than MI, I will not consider my Buckeyes an “elite” team. They get the recuits, they have the facilities, where then is the problem? If Boeckman takes another snap as a starter that will show Tressels inability to do what is best for the program. I feel for those who put their NFL careers off only to be let down by the staff around them. And on a side note, if I were Beanie.. you would have had to lock me in my room to keep me off that field. Goodbye Mr. Heisman. There is hope for the future, but until then we as buckeyes will have to endure those slings and arrows yet again. We will also have to admit, first to ourselves then to others that we are not currently an elite team. And yes, after what I saw last night, I am scared of the rest of the schedual. Penn State, Wisconsin, Illnois all are good teams. Heacock and Fickel, your planning was unimaginative. Bollman, your line should get an oscar while in L.A. for acting like a sieve. I could go on for hours and honestly I’m getting tired of dwelling on another miserable outing. So, suck it up, prepare for the laughs, jeers and slams.
I don’t think OSU needs to rebuild anything. While it sucks bad to lose these types of games, the fact of the matters is, they are in these types of games.
OSU has a lot of improvement to do over the course of the season. But a Big Ten championship is not out of the question, which should lead to a Rose Bowl invite, something they haven’t done since 1997.
Let’s not jump ship quite yet, still a shit-ton of football to play this year.
Looks like Carson was right
COREY use both hands, extend them upwards pushing as hard as your able and you just might pull your head out of whoevers ass your stuck up in.
We do we play robotic? Carroll lets the boys play. USC has better athletes, but we also have a few. Why not let them loose?
Great analysis of last nights game Jason….
Of all your points I agree with, the most significant has to be that a change at the QB position needs to come MONDAY. Boeckman is not as bad as Bellasari(who was our QB for my Sophmore and Junior years) but he should not be the starting QB. I can’t remember how many times Herbstriet mentioned last night that when Boeckman came in, the USC defense “pinned their ears back” and basically knew exactly what was coming, attacked, and destroyed. I mean its not like they had to worry about being blocked or anything.
I think maybe you came down on the defense a little hard. They were playing what is possibly the best offsensive team in college football, and they held them to 14 points in th first half. Is it unrealistic to think that our offense should score one or two touchdowns to keep the game close and keep some pressure on their offense?? Its tough to continue to stop a team like USC when their offense knows there is no threat of us scoring and they fear no consequences of taking chances on offense.
Ohio State is overrated. Ouch, that hurt.
Great analysis of last nights game Jason….
Of all your points I agree with, the most significant has to be that a change at the QB position needs to come MONDAY. Boeckman is not as bad as Bellasari(who was our QB for my Sophmore and Junior years) but he should not be the starting QB. I can’t remember how many times Herbstriet mentioned last night that when Boeckman came in, the USC defense “pinned their ears back” and basically knew exactly what was coming, attacked, and destroyed. I mean its not like they had to worry about being blocked or anything.
I think maybe you came down on the defense a little hard. They were playing what is possibly the best offsensive team in college football, and they held them to 14 points in th first half. Is it unrealistic to think that our offense should score one or two touchdowns to keep the game close and keep some pressure on their offense?? Its tough to continue to stop a team like USC when their offense knows there is no threat of us scoring and they fear no consequences of taking chances on offense.
Ohio State is overrated. Ouch, that hurt.
Like GatorPilot, I won’t add any salt here…there are a few gracious Gators in the world. I’ve always admired OSU for one thing and that has been their ability to look inwardly on improvement and not lose sight of the goal…it’s been an integrity thing for a long time at OSU (save the flames for us Gators not having it…I’m trying here!) . But, that said, jeesh you can’t take three attempts at non con games in the biggest stages in the world and just MELTING DOWN as anything but it’s time to hold Tressel accountable. I KNOW his record…the NFL signings, the bowls, yada, yada, yada. But guess what? Outside of the Buckeye Nation, no one, and I mean NO ONE, remembers anything except two drubbings by the SEC and now one by the PAC 10.
It’s encouraging to see the fan base now admit what most of the nation has known for three years. But that’s not a dig…it’s the start of (or has the makings of such) a true rebuilding program. And I’m not so sure I’d be pointing at the line coaches and staff…in the end, Mr. Tressel is responsible for this.
Period.
Let’s see Mr. Tressel:
a) Immediately pull Boeckman Monday.
b) Admit to the fan base the truth. And the truth is, OSU isn’t elite.
c) Apologize to the seniors, and publicly.
d) Consider this a blessing. Let the fans know the next two to three years OSU is focusing on basics, fundamentals. Winning. Not winning conferences, not winning National Championships. Winning games, one Saturday at a time. That’s what differs between the Big 10 and the SEC. Listen to any post-game review and all the coaches (both sides) say is, ‘We’re focusing on next Saturday’s game’. That seems to have been forgotten at OSU in particular and the Big 10 in general.
I feel for OSU on this one…something I thought I’d never in my lifetime feel. But I hate it for the returning seniors that a staff, and a head coach, let the kids down on this one.
Hold the Sweater accountable Bucks….it’s just prolonging the misery if you don’t and we Gators remember Zook all too well. Either belly to the bar or get out of the game.
“the Buckeyes and the Big Ten by extension, are definitely down”
Don’t drag the Big Ten down with the Buckeyes. Oregon was a field goal from upsetting ranked Oregon a team they supposedly had no shot at. And I bet even Oregon would give USC a competitive game.
Wisconsin went across the country to upset a decent Fresno State team in an environment that would rival a hornets nest.
This year the Big Ten is slowly improving with the exception of Michigan. And Ohio State always seems to drag any image of improvement from the rest of the league into the dust. Its like USC dominating and playing their best in the Pac 10 and then ramming their heads into the ground when they go into their out of conference or bowl games.
For the love of god, please don’t win the Big Ten. Ohio State only makes me puke. Rooting for them as a fellow Big Ten team fan is just sadistic. People berate the rest of the conference for not going out there to schedule top notch teams. After yesterday’s disaster, I’m glad no one else does.
Thank you NC Gator…as well as Wearesc and Gatorpilot. One of the many things I like about this particular blog is that OSU fans gets good, honest, INTELLIGENT, critique from outside folks looking in, not just the immature, snarky, trollesque comments you run across on the other college football-related blogs (cough…edsbs.com…cough).
It’s needed and OSU fans are listening (finally).
OK, some time to kill before the Bills-Jags game..
First, where are my manners? A big Tip-o-the-Hat to the USC Trojans; hellish talent and very well coached. Truly an elite program.
Second, to GatorPilot and NC Gator; thanks for the kind words, and yes, I believe the scales are falling from Buckeyes fans eyes. Best of luck to UF this season.
Third, last rant about scouting/recruiting. I’m still on my soapbox with our O-linemen too ‘large’ and slow. In big games we’ve gotten drilled by speed rushers coming off the ends (or anywhere, for that matter); I don’t believe that USC’s O-line had anyone that weighed over 300 pounds, and they’ve looked OK the season. Maybe there is something to being explosive and quick.
Fourth, this season is extremely disappointing, so far. I’ve had high hopes that our senior/upperclassman-laden team would build on last year’s performance. IMO, they have regressed. All I’ve seen this year is a team that, when Beanie is healthy, can whomp YSU at home, be competitive in the MAC without Beanie, and fuggitaboutit when playing top-tier teams. Which leads me to;
It does begin at the top. I agree with other commentors about JT’s businesslike approach. Since he’s CEO of this enterprise, he has ultimate responsibility for its performance. He’s got an obligation to the shareholders (players and students) and to the stakeholders (fans) to prepare the enterprise to perform well. He’s got a lot of talent; start underclassmen against Troy, give them a few plays and tell them to act like it’s sandlot football again; go out, play your asses off and have some fun.
Thank you all for your forebearance. Having said that; Go Buckeyes! Kick some arse!
Guys, we are elite in everything but coaching and the actual field of play. Top-of-the-line facilities, great recruiting classes, a stadium that is the envy of 90% of college football, and revenue galore. We are woefully not-elite in the areas the rest of the nation gets to see, and for that, we deserve to be called something short of an elite program. I’ll admit it: we aren’t elite now, and we won’t be until we start running 21st century offensive and defensive schemes. End the shameless nepotism and Old Boys Club-feel of the Ohio State coaching staff, and we’ll start winning these games. Fire Heacock and Bollman, and do it yesterday. I want a defense that dictates the flow of the game and an offense that adjusts to any defensive scheme, sort of like LSU’s. With these two dipshits in charge of gameplanning, we aren’t a shadow of an elite program. Once they’re gone, we’ll be much better off.
If they don’t “retire” at the end of the season, I have no confidence whatsoever in this team going forward. We may win out, and destroy everyone in our path in doing so, but I’ll know that when the chips are down, the staff will shit the bed, and let the fans, the players and the program down.
We need new ‘play calling’ coordinators Bollman Heacock need replaced
If this keeps up for Tressel, people we start to think of him as another Cooper…great recruiting classes but can’t quite go all the way.
Cooper – couldn’t beat Michigan
Tressel – can’t win big games (except Miami)
A year or two more of this and people will begin to talk about a new head coach.
Watch and see if or how many of the early verbals for next year decommit. That will be a telling sign as to how this game hurt us.
I don’t think we’ll see any more than one decommit. We’ve only had a few under Tressel – see how few bailed out after the 2004 Iowa game, or both of the last national title games. Actually, Tress has done his best recruiting jobs after these humiliating blowouts.
I can’t even comment…my parents always taught me if I don’t have anything positive/good to say don’t say anything at all…enough said.
Can’t really say it any better than the analysis. I’ve never been a “Fire the coach guy,” but with that being said, I think Tress needs to honestly evaluate the staff from top to bottom, and I hope come to the conclusion that the rest of us have come to. We need an injection of inventive/aggressive playcalling, and coaches that will fire the kids up. Its not JT’s style to yell and scream, but he needs somebody on staff to fill that role.
The only good thing I took from that game last night was Pryor’s play and the excitement and leadership he brings as a true freshman. And Erin Andrews is soooo fine.
But seriously, I won’t be defending OSU’s performance any longer. Its a sad day when fans lose confidence in their team’s ability to win, much less compete. Now is the time for the seniors to step up and not let the rest of the season be a disappointment.
This quote from Boone pretty much sums it up, “I am extremely pissed off. I don’t know what else to say. All you can do is play as hard as you can. I feel like this was the national championship game all over again with stupid penalties and stupid mistakes. We were roughing the passer, holding, offsides – Jesus, what the hell is the matter with us?â€
Yes Alex, what the hell is the matter? Shouldn’t the seniors, with all of their experience on the big stage, show some poise? The bad play-calling on both sides of the ball notwithstanding, shouldn’t our O-line at least be able to block people somewhat consistently?
I’m definitely in the “bench the seniors,” camp, particularly Boeckman and the O-line–since there is obviously talent behind them (Pryor is green, but will learn as the season progresses and already gives us a better chance to win than Boeckman).
Senior leadership? That’s a good one. Boone’s probably at the Chipotle on High as we speak coming up with new pranks he can play on teammates.
Tressel needs to stop writing books and sitting on library committees and worry about the debacle that is his coaching staff. The man spread himself too thin and we are seeing the result. Finally, when you are the head coach you have to make the “hard” decisions and these include firing dead weight coordinators and line coaches. That’s why, Tressel, you make the big bucks. This game was an nauseating.
Random rants:
I am still proposing the removal of the helmet stickers, I thought it should have been done after the egg layed during last weeks OU game for motivation. I’d start giving out stickers once the Big 10 season starts, but I guess now is too late to get the team’s attention. Only guy who deserved a sticker for us last night was #5-Chekwa, great pick in the end zone.
I’m tired of the weak nonconference schedule, going on the road cross country to #1 USC after playing who we played (YSU and OU) at home was a recipe for disaster. I hope it snows next year when USC comes to the horseshoe, maybe that would level out their speed and we could play some real Big Ten smashmouth football instead of having to chase quicker players all over the field.
Just because we have 20 of 22 starters returning doesn’t mean we should expect any different results from the previous season. Last year we lost at home to Illinois, which if you are an elite program, you win all your home games and protect your house like USC (and we obviously lost in the BCS game with those same players).
This particular team seems to have taken the coach’s personality, likeable, fairly well spoken (except for Small’s bulletin board material), but no killer instinct. We’ve lost our swagger now and 3 of our last 6 games (Ill., LSU and USC), and unless drastic changes happen it could be more of the same in conference play.
I’d like to see more of a sense of urgency for a change from our program as a fan. Complacency breeds mediocrity, did Woody say that? If not, he should of, sounds like something he’d say. In the end it is just a game, but I still bleed scarlett and gray. Go Bucks.
Im a deticated Buckeye fan to the heart and im heartbroke form the performance of our supposed many first round draft pick’s put on for us saturday.How can even dream that people around this league would ever give us respect ever again for this debacle of a football game our coaching staff put together and the lack of passion or even strive for a competitive game.
First off let me say that i do believe Ohio State is an elite team but the gameplay and the structure of a gameplan from tressell is to fucking conservative by far. There is a problem when you have speedster’s at the wide reciever position’s but yet cant get the ball to them and you keep todd boekman in for what reason i dont know. At the begining of the game what was said is that running or may i say mobile quaterback’s give USC problem’s but we stayed with Todd fucking boekmann……
I am appauled from this performance from my beloved team and im from Washington d.c been a Buckeye fan since i was 5 years of age the Chris carter and Chris Spielman days. There is alot to do and alot replanning fuck rebuilding we are talking about a top division 1 A school that draws player’s to join the team. Coach tressel has endured early success and now feeling the woe’s every college coach go’s through. ( do you remember Miami’s 50 sum blowout at the end of the season in a bowl all program’s go through the bullshit and once or three time’s a blowout(hahaha) but my team will bounce back and because of this game it will happen soon mark my word’s……..
Completely unacceptable from the top down. Get it fixed….NOW
Hello from the home of the tigers. Let me say that as an LSU Tiger fan I take no pleasure in seeing you guys get a beating like that… I think that there are two things that need to be addressed up there.
1) Ego. Both coach “T” and fans talk about National Championships a lot. Let that be a media thing and stop worrying about who is 1…2….3….and so on. You guys have a program with a loyal fan base, and a rich and storied history. Unfortunately, for 60 minutes between the stripes…it means less than nothing to the 18 to 22 year olds that are in the fight. They have no idea who Woody Hayes is…Robert Smith is just a guy that talks about them on ESPN….and know nothing about college footballs only two time Heisman winner. No one is given respect in this game. Like any coach in america would say…”you have to earn it day in and day out”. I dont care if you have 50 Seniors returning. From an outsider looking in…….I think the coaches, players, and fans….have lost the edge that I saw during that Miami beat down in 2003.
2) Speed. I know that every program thinks that they have speed. But weather conditions alone dictate that you guys arent “flat out running” year around like the reigons that have the “elites” that some of you guys mentioned above (FLA, LA, CA, TX). Stop defending it…and accept it. Yes, speed is everywhere, and Joey Galloway is from Bellaire (an amazingly fast…STILL). But when you are facing “40 Joey Galloways” (especially the difference between “southern big man speed” and your O-Line speed and agility) when you play a USC…LSU…Florida…..you can see an obvious difference. You guys have the ability to recruit ANY athlete from ANY region. Lock in the Ted Ginn’s (even though his speed is from his Louisiana fathers genes :-) in to Ohio….just do a better job with the Santonio Holmes’ (Florida).
Keep fighting guys. Hopefully we will meet up again for another crystal football in the near future.