Five Things: Michigan State
Newest Columbus dance craze: The Beanie Wells Red Zone Shuffle
Buckeyes Come Up Large in Red Zone
Ohio State’s struggles in the red zone have been well documented but hopefully yesterday put an end to said struggles. In five trips to the red zone, OSU registered 4 touchdowns settling for just one field goal and that one probably shouldn’t count considering it came in the 4th quarter with the Buckeyes up 35-7. Further, once inside the 20, the field goal drive started with two Brandon Saine rushes so to expect a TD was probably unrealistic.
Pryor definitely looked more comfortable in the red zone especially on the second TD when he found Robo in the back of the end zone as the trailing receiver on a roll out to the right sideline. Poised and upright, Pryor zipped a perfectly thrown ball against the backside of the coverage to put OSU up 14-0. This particular trip was especially rewarding in that OSU capitalized after an interesting chop block penalty (Rehring/Brewster) forced the Bucks into 1st and Goal at the 21 yard line.
With Penn State on deck, an offense with some red zone confidence is huge.
Offensive Line Makes A Guest Appearance
As with the red zone offense, it’s no secret the offensive line has smelled like hot garbage for much of the season and here’s to hoping yesterday’s performance will serve as a springboard to facing the Lions versus being an anomaly in a season of inconsistent performances.
The run blocking was simply dominating, especially in the first half, as OSU racked up 158 yards rushing (5.4 ypc) with 3 touchdowns with Beanie blowing up for 105 yards (18 rushes) and two touchdowns. The pass blocking wasn’t quite as effective but Pryor was still able to hit 7 of 9 for 116 yards.
For the game, OSU totaled 216 yards on the ground, a week after they managed just 222 total yards and zero touchdowns against Purdue.
As with red zone offense, the challenge now is whether or not the Buckeyes can achieve some consistency rushing the football with Penn State coming to town for a night game throw down in the ‘Shoe.
Beanie Freaking Wells
Looks like the big fella is as healthy as he’s gonna get and Tressel appears poised to ride the Beanie Express the rest of the way. Yesterday, Beanie racked up a season high 31 carries, good for 140 yards (2 TD) giving him 402 yards in his last 3 games (5.36 ypc).
In fact, the 31 carries are tied for second most in the last year behind his record breaking 39/222 performance in the Big House last November and the 31/221 steamrolling he put on the Spartans last October.
He’s averaging 25 carries per game during the last three and if he gets at least that many against PSU, you gotta like the Buckeyes’ chances considering what the D is doing lately. Speaking of which…
Defense Continues Emergence
The Silver Bullets just might be back…Of course, it’s no coincidence that the D is stepping up thanks to an improved game plan (props to Heacock) employing more man to man coverage coupled with an improved effort from the front four.
Gibson (Fumble Ret TD), Heyward (2 tkl, 1 TFL), Larimore, Worthington and Abdallah helped hold Javon Ringer to a season low 67 yards (worst since 48 against PSU last Nov) and pressured MSU starting QB Brian Hoyer into a dismal 5/13 day with just 27 passing yards.
Even more important was how the line was able to get pressure without the aid of a blitz allowing the linebackers to roam unblocked.
Laurinaitis was the main benefactor and took full advantage keying on Ringer all day long. Little Animal played his best game of the season registering 11 stops (1.5 sacks) and he knocked Hoyer out the game with a big shot on a roll out.
Ross Homan also took advantage of open space recording nine stops including two behind the line of scrimmage.
Of course, the biggest hat tip the defense is the five forced turnovers with two of those brought back to the house in the form of a Gibson fumble return for 69 yards and a 48 yard fumble return out of Hines.
Lastly, how dominant was this group in the decisive first half? In eight first half possessions, the D forced four 3-and-outs, two turnovers and two five-play drives that totaled just 23 yards. Oh, and first half time of possession: OSU 19:22, MSU 10:28. Dizzamn!
Throwing the Coaches A Bone
While I think the staff has earned every bit of criticism tossed their way this season, you gotta give some love to Heacock for finally, apparently, getting the D back on course.
It took far too long but the decisions to get Gibson on the field and later to finally employ a little more man blitz coverage, especially in third and medium situations, have both helped the defense step up the aggression and create turnovers (9 in last 3 games).
Offensively, I still think Bollman is a dinosaur but the o-line definitely put forth an effective effort yesterday and I liked Tressel’s first half play calling. The 56 yard pass to Hartline on FIRST DOWN (?!) was a great call signaling Tress was going for the throat leading 14-0 with great field position (own 43). That call was certainly more palatable than the two Mo Wells runs Tress dialed up last week against Purdue when a Jenkins pick gave OSU the ball at the Boiler 30 with the Bucks up 10-0 in the second quarter. Is someone learning from past wussy-play-calling? I’m hoping so.
As for the second half, I had no problem with Tress pounding the ball and running clock considering how the D was playing. It wasn’t exciting to watch the nine play, 15 yard drive early in the 3rd quarter with OSU up 28-7 but Tress took 6:14 off the clock with the nine straight rushing calls. Totally the right thing to do.
I was then glad to see once there was no doubt MSU could come back, Tress allowed Pryor to get a couple pass attempts off during the 4th quarter FG drive. And how bout those passes to Brandon Smith? Kudos to Tress for yesterday’s in game strategy.
I have to admit, I sorta didn’t want this. A one-loss season and another top ten defense means Bollman will be around next year when USC rolls into the Shoe. And then the soft zone will come back, and all the land will be covered in darkness and despair.
Lighten up Pogue, Carpe Diem, Seize the Diem. Worry about USC next year. Let’s enjoy the amazing performance for what it was, and look forward to a huge Big 10 battle (that finally doesn’t involve just OSU and Michigan). I honestly believe that we’ll go into next Saturday night and play our hearts out; maybe we don’t win, but we’ll finally loosen up, and give it our best shot, which is something we haven’t done in a long time. Congrats to the Buckeyes, players and staff, for a masterful performance.
Poguemahone-
While I still would like a new D and O coordinator, if Heacock lets em play man and our LB’s can roam we can shut down any team in the nation. Plus, if we get by State Penn next week, it’s shaping up like a rematch with SC in the Rose Bowl….three games in less than 2 years will be sick. Kinda hoping for it actually. Still can’t believe we held arguably the Heisman front-runner to 67 yds all day.
Silver.Bullets.Dominate.PSU
And the Bucks check in at #9 in the initial BCS standings.
Against a talented team, Heacock will never play man consistently. Mark it down.
Oh, and I mixed up Bollman and Heacock in the first post. My bad.
Why is one-loss Oklahoma ahead of undefeated Oklahoma State? Rank them by record and when they play each other head to head, then you can rearrange if OK crushes them. And I know public opinion is down on us right now but why so high on USC then? Slide them down closer to us and put atleast Georgia ahead of them.
The computers like us A LOT
Anybody else here heard the rumor on Penn State boards that DickRod screamed at Sheridan that he was a “dumb motherfucker” after the safety?
Aside from that rumor, of course, and whether or not it’s true, there’s his recent post-game pressers, in which he couldn’t throw Lloyd and his players under the bus any more explicitly unless he stood up and said “I hereby throw Lloyd Carr and my current players under the bus.”
Ann Arbor now has their very own John Cooper, my friends – an amoral dick who just doesn’t “get it”, “it” being whatever those things are that are special about a given college football program. Long may he reign, and let us never stop giving thanks to Bill Martin for failing to hire The Hat.
the computers like us more than a lot….so much that i am sure chirping about not letting ohio state anywhere near the title game will begin shortly. especially from espn given they have tied their wagon to the SEC. i read an espn article this morning by schlabach…who said we don’t really know anything about texas bc they don’t play defense in the big 12, then lists 4 sec schools that would give texas instant credibility. i wish herbie would get out of that festering piece of shit company.
A few thoughts:
- you dont know what “hot garbage” smells like unless you have attended tOSU or CSCC. haha, loved that.
- Heacock needs a serious break. IMHO it has been the offense that has lead to the last couple of disasters(LSU, USC). Frankly, I think Todd Boeckman played a HUGE role in this, but I’m still not giving Bohlman a total break.
- I would rather see Rasta than Saine.
- Saturday’s game is going to define Beanie’s career. If Beanie is lights out on Saturday, we earn the comment of “Well, they didnt have Beanie vs. USC” which could be huge down the line.
Heacock will be back to his old self next week, count on it.
Pat Forde is a bigger idiot than Bob Griese.
Beanie & Terrelle are a handful for any team and will no doubt give PSU plenty of grief. Let’s hope they can sustain some long drives and keep the PSU offense off the field. Da Bucks should be highly motivated and ready to get after it. I expect it to be a very entertaining game. 24-21 OSU.
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
C. Wells 20 146 7.3 1 65
That should define Beanie…just watch Red Kryptonite highlights on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOaA6vQ8DZA and I am still mad…
27-17 tOSU
“Long may he reign, and let us never stop giving thanks to Bill Martin for failing to hire The Hat.”
Actually, I think Bill Martin had every intention of hiring The Hat, but it was none other than our very own Kirk Herbstreit that scooped the story and broke it before they could do the back room dealing. Herbie forced Les Miles’s hand, and Miles was stuck in a situation where he had to stay with LSU. The Hat scared me. RRod just makes me scared for Michigan fans.
And that is probably Herbie’s most significant contribution to the Ohio State Buckeye football program, and I mean that in a good way.
The Hat will end up in the Big Ten somewhere, count on it.
I don’t think The Hat would go anywhere but Michigan, in the Big Ten. And he ain’t going to UM any time soon.
I hope Ohio State plays PSU loose, and not play them “not to lose.”
Yeah the Hat won’t leave LSU for anywhere but Michigan. Although, given the climate of the SEC for coaches, he might get run out if he has a couple bad seasons at LSU. They have short memories in the South.
Can you imagine how conflicted Miles must feel? On the one hand, happy to see that Michigan knows it screwed up by hiring Dick Rod and not working harder for Les Miles; on the other, it must crush him to see the Wolverines get so thoroughly stomped. To think of him coaching in Michigan, with the recruiting abilities he now has in Big 12 and SEC country, plus the Big 10? That was a scary, doomsday scenario. Thank you, Kirk Herbstreit.
I hate to say it, but I think Michigan will suffer for a couple of years without the players to run Rodriguez’s spread. Then, with a few good recruiting classes, I think he’ll turn things around up there. 2011 will be a big year for determining whether it was ultimately a good move to bring him to Michigan.
The bottom line is that RichRod is married to his system. It’s the only way he can win; if he doesn’t have the players to fit into the system, he’s sunk. Once he gets the players, though, Michigan will look a lot like last year’s WVU team.
RichRod will definitely have success at UM. It takes a while to install a brand new offense, just give it a couple years and he’ll have Michigan contending once again. We’ve seen flashes of brilliance, just imagine what it would look like with some consistency, the right athletes, and experience.
Trust that no coach would have fared much better with that group of untested players. Sure, a traditional offense MIGHT have earned Michigan a couple more wins this year but in the long run, drastic change is what that program needed. RichRod scares me, Les Miles got by last year on chance and player skill alone IMO.
Had not RichRod been hired at UM, it is likely that Ryan Mallett and Justin Boren might still be there. Now would those two make that big of a difference? Maybe, maybe not. I think they would better than they are now.
Did anyone watch the NY Giants/49ers game on Sunday?
Nate Clements ran back a blocked Giants FG, and, as he crossed the goal line HE DID THE F-ING BEANIE HOP.
http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80bc74be
You can see it at the 1:52 mark and then again in sl-mo at 2:08. I needed a diaper change after that.
BTW, Clements was ALL over the field on Sunday. I dunno what his final stats where, but he was very involved. He had a tough assignment covering Plaxico, and was beaten a few times, but he also made some nice plays (incl. the TD). I wasn’t aware that he returned punts either, but he does.
Wow, I would take the HAT every day over RR. RR is twice the coach as the HAT. LSU won last year despite their retarded coach.
Just because Michigan looks bad now doesn’t mean RR is the worst coach ever. When he gets his players it will be adjustment time for Tressel and the coaching staff.
RR is dangerous, very very dangerous. We should enjoy it now and get a couple more Ws against the bastards now, because the tide could turn
I don’t see why everyone is scared of RichRod. He had three straight decent years at West Virginia, but he only won 1 outright Big East championship, the year when he caught everyone by surprise with freshmen in Pat White and Steve Slaton. I could be wrong, but the offense he is married to (on the field, not off) is similar to what LiC is very good at running. Therefore, by the time RR has his players, OSU will have been going against that style for two years in practice.
I have never bought the RichRod hype, WV always seemed to choke at the crucial times of the year and you can’t tell me LLoyd Carr left the cupboard that bare, they are freaking Michigan. RR knows how to coach one way and for me, defenses have caught up to his offense, just ask South Florida. There is nothing to be scared of IMO.
West Virginia was a very good team in a very bad conference. RR had Big Ten talent in a league lacking in talent and that translated to success. When he gets Michigan talent back up to par he will compete in the league, but will not dominate it like many fear. His road to attracting talent is getting much tougher with the poor performances this year.
I don’t think he will dominate the Big ten, but I think he will produce a very good team year in and year out. Doing what he did at WV is still impressive. He built a team that blew the doors off GA at home basically (wow he can beat the SEC champ) and blew the doors off Oklahoma last year in a BCS game.
Not to mention he was very successful as a coordinator – so basically, he has a track record of being a very good coach – of if not great coach.
Now, imagine him building a team with Michigan talent.
No one is “afraid” of RR, I and others merely post to correct misguided fans that would rather have RR to face going forward than the most over rated coach ever = Miles. At least RR built a program, Miles has done absolutely nothing anywhere to his credit, yet people were afraid of this guy????
Ok St is better after Miles and Miles managed to lose to 2 completely inferior opponents last year and we all remember the dumbest coaching job in history when somehow he forgot to kick a field goal
Again, no one fears RR – bring it on – but please remember he is a hell of a coach and has the records to prove it