Hitting Rewind: Offense vs. Illinois
After watching tape of the game, what really stands out is the play of the offensive line. We’ve piled on these guys all season long, but on Saturday, they did a great job of keeping the Big Ten’s top team in terms of sacks and TFLs out of the backfield. Pryor and Wells each had monster days on the ground and Pryor also had plenty of time to throw when the Buckeyes did line up to pass.
I know there were some complaints about not throwing the ball enough, but why throw the ball when your running game is approaching 1995 Nebraska levels?
Speaking of throwing the ball, it’s evident that the bye week footwork that Pryor received has done wonders. He’s looked like a much different passer these last two weeks and I’m excited to see what he’ll look like by the time bowl season rolls around.
In regards to the officiating, I really hope the conference takes a long look at implementing some sort of head-to-head hit penalty before next season. Buckeye players have taken at least five of those hits this season and I cringe every time I see one.
Pryor’s Bootleg Scamper
In a scoreless game with 9:07 remaining in the first quarter, the Buckeyes find themselves in a 3rd and goal from the Illini one. The play before, Pryor had attempted to reach the corner, but was turned back by Vontae Davis. This time, a fake does the trick.
The Buckeyes come out in a power I with Ballard and Nicol to the right, Smith at fullback and Andrew Miller lined up to the left. Ballard and Nicol block down and Smith plugs the hole on the fake inside handoff to Beanie. Offensive line win.
Brit Miller bites on the fake as Pryor starts to sprint out with Rehring pulling. Ballard leaves his man to go after Hardeman.
Rehring eats up end Derek Walker and Miller is left with no angle on the play.
Hardeman finally frees himself of Ballard, but by then, it’s too late.Beanie Extends the Lead
What good is a safety if you can’t follow it up to make it a nine point swing, right? Following Jenkins’ punt block, the Illini were forced to kick into the wind and the Buckeyes started their fourth drive on the opponent’s 43 yard line. A pass and a run to Hartline put the ball inside the 10 and then two plays leader, Beanie hit pay dirt.
On 2nd and goal from the three, Nicol lines up as the H back with Smith and Wells on either side of Pryor. Nicol goes into motion to the center of the line before reversing back to the left.
The line gets a good push and numbers are looking good with Nicol and Smith leading the way on the left side.
Nicol seals inside, Smith takes Davis and linebacker Martez Wilson has a good angle on Beanie.
Martez Wilson FAIL.
Zook decided not to challenge the call, perhaps knowing that two downs to get an inch was a given for the Buckeye rushing attack at that point.Dane’s First Touchdown of 2008
Coming off Coleman’s interception of Juice deep in Buckeye territory, the offense marched down the field pretty quickly thanks to plays like Pryor’s 35 yard jaunt. The end result was the perfect showcase of Pryor’s mobility and touch.
On 3rd and 5 from the Illini 20, the Buckeyes come out in a shotgun with Hartline and Robo to the right and Posey and Sanzenbacher left.
Tackle Josh Brent gets good push on the play, but Cordle stays with him.
This allows Pryor to step up into the pocket (meanwhile, Boone is having his way with Pilcher).
Terrelle puts the ball in a perfect spot for Dane to break on it with a chance to score.
Sanzenbacher’s touchdown put the Buckeyes up 23-7 with a little over six minutes remaining in the first half.Hurdle, the Sequel
After watching Illinois march down and get field goals on their last two drives of the 1st half, cutting the Buckeye lead to 10, Ohio State opened the 2nd half with the ball and found themselves with a 1st and 10 from their own 30.
With Beanie lined up as a single back, Nicol goes in motion to the right side.
The run is to the left, despite heavy presence on the right side of the line. Rehring closes down on his man, creating a nice cutback lane to that side of the field.
Which Beanie is more than happy to take.
Hartline does a really nice job of getting his hat in front of the defender, springing Beanie to the 2nd level.
Illinois safety Hardeman finds himself in the least desirable position in Champaign at that moment.
Which leads to this awesomeness.It was a shame Beanie put the ball on the turf later on that drive, giving the Illini the ball inside their own 20. This game could have effectively been over after the opening drive of the 2nd half.
I love when you do this, but honestly, I couldnt care less about last week now. Its Michigan Week!!!
It is Michigan week, meaning BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD TRESSEL FHTAGN
We sure had a lot of Hartlines on the field during Sanzenbacher’s TD! (you have him lined up on both sides of the ball) :)
It was later noted by sources unknown that Illinois end Derek Walker was literally eaten by Steve Rehring, who later admitted to mistaking him for a hot pocket.
I have a question; Has a true freshman quarterback ever lead his team to victory in The Game. I thought during the 2004 game, they flashed the stat because Chad Henne was a true freshman.
If it is true, just another reason to be nervous.
Robb:
Don’t worry about trivia. Let’s look at the matchups. I’m not nervous at all.
Rule 9-1
Article 3
a. No player shall initiate contact and target an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet. When in question, it is a foul.
b. No player shal initiate contact and target a defenseless opponent above the shoulders. When in question, it is a foul.
Should have been 4 penalties for this rule this past weekend but only one was called……and that was called incorrectly.
For the safety of all players in the Big 10, I hope someone sends a video to the conference offices. Lets hope it doesn’t take a serious injury for on-field officials to make the call, especially against the home team.
Pryor makes Dickrod wish that he hadn’t lost the recruiting battle even more this weekend.
Michigan girls’ tears taste sweet like candy. But do not cure cancer like the tears of one Chuck Norris.
robb…don’t you put that hate on us!!! i dont’ want to read shit like that during this week please..loooooove you
So helmet-to-helmet is in fact a rule, it’s just that no one ever calls it. Super.
Michigan women’s tears cause cancer.
I also want to mention that the subtitles are for the most part hilarious.
Jason,
Nice job with the HTR feature; always a good read, thanks. I guess an early indicator that offensive line play was going to be pretty good was on TP’s bootleg touchdown. Rehring actually got his big ass out on a pull block and sealed/buried a defender to get TP the easy corner. Who’da thunk?
first and goal from the illinois run is out of hound.
if there was ever a run with a beanie hurdle followed by a SAoJ and a run ending beanie hop…now that would be an apocolyptic out of HOUND run
Maize as a color causes cancer. Haven’t they heard of ‘yellow’? faggots…..
Pryor is not gonna do anything but make the rodent defenders slackjawed. He is so fast that my 1080p cant keep up…just a flash and blur
I love this week man. FUCK MICHIGAN!
btw..is there a better picture of that martez wilson stiff arm anywhere?
Three things can happen when you throw, and 2 of them are bad. Keep running, Buckeyes!
A great revenge game. Buckeyes punched Illinois back down to where they belong. We all know what’s next.
It sounds like Threet won’t even play this Saturday (not that it’s going to matter regardless). The Buckeyes will not lose to M*ch*g*n. It just doesn’t happen in this universe. If the Rivalry were compared to an addiction to heroine, Michigan would be hitting rock bottom. They’re terrible, and Dick Rod is a miserable excuse for a “genius” coach.
Steve - four things can happen when you run, two of them bad and one of them pointless.
This is just a rumor but….. I heard……….Chuck Norris fears THE Beanie Well’s stiff arm.
Ditka couldn’t tackle Beanie Wells.
waiting for pogue to come tell us again how great rich rod and the SEC really is….
Good eye, Wil. That’s fixed now.
I wasn’t aware I made the argument the SEC was ‘great’ this year, rather than merely very good. Better than the Big 10, certainly.
Pog- What if it was a mini Beanie Wells? Could Ditka tackle him then?
no..a mini beanie wells is a downgraded hurricane to a tropical storm and could still pick up and toss ditka a mile
OSU showing all those great running plays ….. wow!!!!!!!! Dickrod has alot of film work to do to look for tendancies in the running game!!! Waste of time–Senior Sweater Vest comes out throwing from those same running formations and the Wolvereeenniiiiiies don’t know what hit them. When they finally start backing off the line of scrimage to cover the aerial show, we run it down their throats and eat up the clock…….
34-13 OSU
OSU 38
scUM 10
As with every third saturday in November, I want the rodents to leave demoralized….absolutely beaten and bloddy. FUCK THEM! Maize & Blue together make me insane like when a bull see’s red. Decapitations anyone?
I dont think dumb-ass rod understands how big this game is. I dont think he realizes that if he happens to lose 3-4 games straight against the bucks his job will be in jeapordy. i know for a fact that michigan will come out firing and give us one hell of a game, I just dont think their offense will be able to move much. To much inconsistancies with their QB play and without a decent running back in the backfield where does their offense come from. I’m stopping there, I just want to wait and see this weekend. Its michigan, I’ll be nervous
I never understood the appeal of tossing three sentences together that tell you nothing new about the game, throwing out a stat or two then making a score prediction. Does it feel badass or something? What’s the point?
To Dane Sanzenbacher,
Watch out… Dude, this year and last year, you have taken some wicked shots. One thing, you kinda run upright, so you’re susceptible to take shots. However, for some reason, you do not need to be in the play and somebody is cheap-shoting you. I would tell you to slide and I would be afraid of a defender hitting you on the ground. You got some bad karma or something… you kick a puppy???
Poguemahone –
P
P
P
P
P
Cheerios
Any guesses what this is??
Jason, “Hitting Rewind” makes the internet a better place, Thank you.
pogue - if there are 4 things that can happen when you run, and only 2 are bad, then your odds are better than if you have 3 things happen when you pass, and 2 of the 3 are bad.
Of course, when Beanie runs 6 things can happen, and 4 of them are fine with me. He can go plus, go negative, go for nothing, fumble, jump over people, or smash faces into the turf. Beanie has a 66% chance of doing something good, and a 33% chance of doing something amazing. RUN IT!
One of the Illinois tackles got pancaked on the Beanie Wells touchdown. In one shot you can see him starting to buckle under then in the next he’s flat on his back.
The Riddler - I imagine it has something to do with urine and cheerios.
I agree with Aesculus, ‘HR’ rocks.
I think Dane scored on a pass from TB early in the season (YSU maybe?).
The screencap of Beanie’s still arm is classic.
Would love to have that framed on the wall.
Dane caught the first touchdown of the ‘07 season against Y-town.
I heard that RR modified Bo’s mantra:
“THOSE WHO STAY WILL BE 3-9″
I lol’d.
“Those who stay will lose in the big game”…o, wait. That’s OSU
da bills.
“Those who stay will be let down by their coordinators”
“Those who stay will be replaced by my guys next year.”-RR
“Those who get stay, will most likely get injured anyway and probably should have left.”
I don’t know even know if this UM team will enter the game with much rivalry spirit. RR hasn’t appeared to grasp the intensity and importance of it yet. I think some of the fans were miffed with him feeling it was ‘just another game against a tough team’.
Nick Sheridan.
HAHAHAHAHA.
Thanks all. These really are a labor of love. Just wish I wouldn’t have forgotten to record the NU game.
Ken, you’re right. Rehring and the entire line, really had it going Saturday.
I cannot say how much I love this column. It is freakin awesome and makes me feel like I am more a part of the game. Thanks guys
Game has been cancelled due to Michigan’s inability to get past Toledo.
Rita that joke was funny…when i posted it on Saturday. FACE.
“Those who stay will eventually get their files shredded in my office.” RR
Those who stay must face the Stiff Arm of Justice.
“Those who stay will be get paid” tO$U
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
“Those who stay will get paid” tO$U
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
[i]“Those who stay will be replaced by my guys next year.”-RR[/i]-iball
We have a winner!
HTML FAIL
SINGLE JOKE FAIL
out of hound failure