Raise Your Hand If…
Thank you, Mr. Rolle (11W Photo)… You thought it would take a Brian Rolle conversion return in the waning minutes to secure a win against Navy. Okay, please put your hand down Mr. McCain.
For whatever reason, Tressel’s Buckeyes once again played to the level of their competition in narrowly escaping with a 31-27 win over the Naval Academy. And for the second straight season, the team heads into a matchup with USC with more questions than answers.
I suppose I shouldn’t be so quick to sell the Middies short. Quarterback Ricky Dobbs looks like the real deal and if he can continue to throw as well as he did in the Horseshoe today, the combination of that and the triple option could be very well spell trouble for the rest of the teams on Navy’s schedule.
I’ve always been of the variety that believes a win is a win and we only have to look back to the 2002 season for proof that you can still capture crystal or have an otherwise successful season without blowing every one of your opponents out. Hell, if you play in the SEC, you can even lose a game and capture the MNC. But win or not, there are reasons to be concerned and if the Buckeyes come out and lay an egg against the Trojans next weekend, you can bet the change brigade to amplify their desires. And you know what — perhaps they’ll be on to something.
Offense
Pryor and the offense got off to a quick start, capitalizing on the field position Brandon Saine had provided with his return (via reverse) of the opening kickoff to the Navy 49. Facing a 3rd and 10 from the Middie 38, Pryor bought time against the Navy rush and found Dane Sanzenbacher on a strike over the middle to put the Buckeyes up 7-0. Dane showed good balance getting through a tackle and there was much joy in the stadium.
After Navy tied the score at seven, Pryor marched the Buckeyes down to the Navy five before settling for a 23 yard field goal to put the good guys back ahead 10-7. The drive was highlighted by a screen pass to Posey, a flare to Saine and a nice throw and catch with Ballard — basically three play types that the fanbase had been clamoring for in recent years. Again, all was well in Columbus.
The next time the Buckeyes had the ball, things got off to a rough start with a fumbled snap and that soon led to a three-and-out. After a Dobbs fumble, Ohio State took over on their own 44 and Pryor went 4/4 including Duron Carter’s first career reception and another catch out of Ballard (!!) before Pryor took a bootleg in from two yards out to put OSU ahead 17-7.
After forcing a Navy punt, the Buckeyes took over again, this time with Bauserman at quarterback. While I understand Tressel’s philosophy of getting his backup quarterbacks non-garbage playing time, you do have to wonder whether it’s the right move in terms of momentum. Though Bauserman did lead the team to a field goal putting the Buckeyes ahead 20-7, making it a three-score game at the half seems to be the play Urban or Petey would have made. And maybe that’s why they win so damn much.
The opening drive of the second half brought back memories of all of the drives prematurely killed by penalties during the past handful of seasons (including quite a bit of red zone opps). Taking over at the Navy 42, Sanzenbacher picked up four yards on an end around and then the creepshow hit: on successive plays, the Buckeyes were whistled for a false start (Boren), a delay of game, and then a holding penalty (Cordle). I’m still trying to figure out how you follow-up a penalty with a delay of game, but I know I’ve seen this team pull it off at least once in each of the last three seasons. What was once a promising drive with the ball on Navy’s side of the field quickly turned into a 2nd and 26 from the OSU 42. Needless to say, a punt soon ensued.
After Navy put together a 99 yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to six, the Buckeyes answered with a short drive of their own culminating in a 52 yard Pettrey field goal. Two plays later, Coleman forced a fumble and OSU quickly took advantage with Boom scoring on a tough six yard run up the middle. Pettrey followed up his booming field goal on the previous possession by missing the extra point, but whatever, the Buckeyes were now up 29-14 with just over eleven minutes remaining in the game.
Then things got really weird scary. After a Coleman interception, the Buckeyes took over at midfield and quickly moved the ball to the Navy 15 where they ran into fourth down. With just two yards to go to pick up the first down, Tressel gave in to his quarterback’s wishes and went for it, running Boom right behind Boren. He was stuffed and the Middies took over. Hey, we’re fans as well and we normally love going for it on 4th and short — especially that deep in enemy territory, but again, making it a three-score game especially with under seven to play was probably the right move. Besides, doesn’t it seem like it’s been a long, long time since this team has converted a meaningful fourth down conversion?
Gifted offspring. He has it.Navy, of course, would take advantage, scoring on an 85 yard touchdown pass on the very next play and the Buckeye offense took over again on their own 28, clinging to an eight point lead with six minutes remaining in the game. After picking up a first down, Pryor followed up a Taurian Washington drop with an interception that was returned 28 yards. Navy would score on three plays later, cutting the lead to two and setting the stage for Rolle’s heroics. After that, the offense would have one more, clock-milking possession before holding on to the narrow win.
Putting up thirty (give or take a couple) is about what we thought the team would do and there were many positives to take away from today’s game. Duron Carter is going to have an impact this season, Saine showed something that was missing on his end last season and Jake Ballard had a career day with three receptions for 51 yards. Further, tight end Jake Stoneburner notched his first career catch and this might just be the year the tight ends are utilized in the passing game in Columbus. I also liked seeing the swing passes to the backs and there were times, especially in the first half, that Pryor looked like a true passer.
But on to the things that didn’t exactly look great, most notably the effort of the offensive line. This is unit that felt their position coach had come under undeserving pressure and many of them went out of their ways to say they were going to bust their ass for Bollman. Unfortunately, they backed up their talk by turning in another lackluster effort.
But, you know what? For once, I don’t really have a beef with the playcalling (outside of perhaps the decision to go for it late on 4th down). Tressel called a lot of the stuff we’d been clamoring for him to call and the offense showed some versatility. Instead, a lot of the problems that we saw can be attributed to execution — or rather a lack thereof.
Defense
It’s really hard to gauge the unit’s performance considering the uniqueness of Navy’s offensive attack. I think it surprised the team that Dobbs was so effective passing the ball and you could probably make an argument that he outplayed Pryor on the day. Still, the 186 rushing yards surrendered to the triple option were well under what Navy teams of the last four years have put up on average. And I do think the Middies will average considerably more on the ground than they went for on Saturday, so call that a win if you will.
The defense also took two fumbles and an interception away from Navy, the first coming on a Thad Gibson hit on Dobbs and then followed up by a Coleman strip on a receiver and then an interception on back-to-back drives in the second half.
But the fact remains that Navy was able to put together several long touchdown drives. And by several long drives, I mean 80, 85 and 99. Pretty much as long of drives as you’re likely to see on any given Saturday. And three of them.
The first of those drives, coming immediately after the Buckeyes had scored to go up 7-0 on their opening possession, ate up 6:54 of clock before Dobbs went up the middle nearly untouched to cap an 80 yard march. The 99 yard drive was even more impressive, coming on Navy’s second possession of the third quarter after Anderson Russell downed a Thoma punt inside the Middie’s one. Amazingly, they only faced (and converted) two third downs the entire drive, the second of which was a beautifully thrown 16 yard strike to Marcus Curry to cut the lead to six. The final mega-drive was quick and all Curry as he caught a ball over Anderson Russell and held him off crossing the goal line to score on an 85 yard pitch and catch — good enough for the third longest passing play in school history.
Give Navy credit. Dobbs (18/95 and 2 TDs on the ground; 9/13 and 2 TDs and an INT passing) and the offense did a good job of mixing things up, coming out passing to start more than a few possessions and all four of their touchdowns seemed to come way too easy. Indeed, the 27 points allowed by the Buckeyes were the most they’ve given up in an opener since 1950. As in nearly 60 years ago.
Aside from leading the team in tackles with nine (six in the first quarter alone), Rolle’s play on the conversion is what you want to see from the guys that step up when the game is on the line. No matter that Dobbs didn’t see him and put the ball right into his chest, taking it to the house was impressive. The play effectively killed any thoughts of a Middie onside kick + field goal combo to win the game.
Outside of a couple of plays, Coleman also turned in a solid ballgame. As mentioned above, the turnovers he created on back-to-back possessions late in the game might very well have been the difference between a win and a loss. Gibson had his moments (forced fumble, two TFLs), but disappeared at times. In all fairness, a triple option is not exactly the type of offense that plays into his skillset.
Hot in here?Larimore had a solid game (7 tackles) and Homan showed up, but I thought Spitler looked slow out there at times and with Joe McKnight coming to town in a week, this makes my tummy hurt. Hines finished with just three tackles, though he did have a big second half sack. I just thought he’d be a little more involved in the action given the opponent’s offensive style.
And finally we get to Anderson Russell. His defense on Curry’s 85 yard touchdown was curious at best: get beat and then peel off five yards in the opposite direction before desperately trying to close, and he was also burned on Curry’s first touchdown reception earlier in the game. For a guy that was getting pressed by Hines for his starting spot, this is not exactly the game he probably wanted to turn in. When you consider his final play against Texas in January, you have to believe that he may soon be playing as a reserve — Tressel’s love of seniors be damned.
Special Teams
We’ll keep this short and sweet, because quite honestly special teams didn’t play a huge part in the game. Of course, Rolle’s return could count, but we’re keeping that in the defensive slot because of the situation and personnel. Thoma had a nice day, averaging 44.5 on two punts and Pettrey did bang in that 52-yarder which is nice to see, but he followed it up with what could have been a costly miss on an extra point. With Ray-Ray sick, Dane handled punt returns and fared well, averaging 8.5 on two returns even if he does make me a little nervous back there. Loved the trickery on the opening kickoff and Flash averaged 23.5 on his two returns which is golden when you consider the team averaged less than 20 per kick return last season (the worst performance by the Buckeyes in kick returns in over a decade).
Etc
- Pryor honored Mike Vick with “VICK” on his eye black. Interesting.
- Posey twisted an ankle and didn’t see any time in the second half of the game.
- Navy stopped by to salute/sing with the Buckeyes after the game. Classy.
- The announced attendance of 105,092 was an opening game record for Ohio Stadium.
- Navy dropped to 6-2 in season openers during the triple option era at the school.
- The Buckeyes will return the game with Navy in 2014 in the DC/Annapolis area.
- Dane also scored the first touchdown of the 2007 season as a true freshman.
Something tells me that I should avoid all buckeye football sites this week…….
Whelp, I guess it’s in the books, can’t change it, gotta move forward. I’m not happy, I think it’s garbage the way Tressel handled this game and the preparation therein. They knew they were going to have difficulties defending the triple-option…the OSU scout team busted a huge TD in practice last month in preparation. Can’t believe the defensive line couldn’t be more disruptive. Navy’s quick, but they’re not USC quick, and we’re in deep shit if they go in there with that type of defense.
I’m also concerned with messing with Pryor’s momentum. Great first drive and passing strike for a TD to Sanz…great 3rd drive score – looked Heisman-like to me. Then they take him out??? This is a guy who is going to need all the real-game practice he can get before next weekend. And Tressel sits him on the sideline to watch his team stall in the red zone??? I nominate this as the WORST DECISION IN BUCKEYE HISTORY – akin to not playing Troy Smith the whole time vs. Texas in 2005 when it was abundantly clear that he was the better option.
Next week is going to be academic. USC is going to trounce us by 28 points. I’m thinking 38-10. They’ll scoff at the -7 line, they’ll lick their chops when they see the game footage of Russell getting burned by Navy’s passing attack, and they’re going to jizz themselves when they watch those 3 long scoring drives. USC gets to come into the game KNOWING they can abuse us. We have to go into the game UNSURE of anything.
This game is going to be 28-7 at half-time. Watch for Pryor and the Buckeyes to get at Navy hard. There’s a lot of grit, and a lot of attitude with the young’ns…it’s not going to be close like everyone thinks. You don’t come into Ohio Stadium expecting to run the football, and that’s all Navy does…the joke will be on them.
Ohio State in a walk. Maybe that’s a little homerism in my prediction, but there are too many weapons.
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2009/09/navy-preview.html
We have ourselves a bandwagon fan, gentlemen.
Yeah, and I was fairly right on in my prediction…they had a chance to be 24-7 before halftime, and Tressel put in Bauserman in a cluster-fuck of a move that NO ONE could have predicted at that point in the football game. Pryor was 4 for 4 on the previous drive, they had all the momentum and Tressel fucked it up epically.
Fuck you for calling me a bandwagoner. I’m an alumnus and an avid follower of this football team. If you go back a little further…say, last year after the Ohio game, I predicted a USC blowout over our Buckeyes ON THIS SITE…on the order of 38-10 like I’m saying now…pretty accurate if you ask me.
I know what I’m talking about. So you can piss off.
any relation to mark may?
Language, ladies, language!
Calm down. I’m only pointing out that just yesterday, you were the homer of all homers about this game while many of us were voicing the necessary amounts of concern about the triple option. What we thought would happen did, and it turned you into Chicken Little.
Don’t break your leg bailing on the bandwagon man. Young team, young QB, and most of all, young defense. We’re going to shock some people later this year, and you know it. You just want to get your handwringing in before Tressel turns this team around, like he always does, and beats Michigan.
But that’s not what almost lost us the game. What almost lost us the game was lack of discipline on the offensive side of the ball, and Tressel almost making the biggest bonehead move of all time. It could have been 24-7 at halftime. Instead, we got a stalled drive in the redzone. We got those penalties in the 3rd quarter that stopped a drive. Things got conservative.
The reason I’m p*ssed is because my prediction is right. My criticism of why it didn’t pan out is also correct. The wishbone by Navy isn’t what almost beat us. It was ourselves…and needlessly so!
Did you watch LSU-Washington? When push came to shove, and when UW needed a first down…who did they turn to? Their RB in a power-I? No, they put it in the hands of Jake Locker. If you’re going to go for it on 4th, the high percentage play is to have your 4.33 QB take it.
Being an “alumnus and and avid follower of this football team” doesn’t give you license to be a touchy, “Fuck you”-saying prick. If you think that predicting a USC blowout last year gives you some kind of cred, dude – just take it easy. I think lots and lots of us knew that game was gonna be a blowout the second Beanie dropped the ball and started writhing in pain vs. the Penguins, given what we’d seen from Boeckmann vs. LSU.
So far, it seems to be lost in the chatter that we held the Middies to 100+ yards fewer on the ground than they’re used to getting…now, you may point out that they PASSED for a bunch more than they’re used to as well, but if we take away Russell’s FAIL then they’re at 71 passing yards. Who knows how much those #s would have changed if Navy had been forced to DRIVE on that possession, but that’s not the point – aside from Russell (and Spitler a couple times), the D performed well for the most part.
Also, it’s worth noting that we’ve known for at least three days now that Bauserman was guaranteed to get a 2nd Q series w/ the starters, but we’re not hearing any griping about it until just now, and – significantly – after the 2nd-half events made that decision questionable. I guess hindsight really IS 20/20. Further, I kind of LIKE the idea that our 2nd-stringer led a SCORING drive against a solid opponent in his 1st meaningful minutes ever.
But never mind that; everything sucks. In any case, you’ve put down your marker: USC by four touchdowns. I guess if it’s important to you that you “know what (you’re) talking about”, you’d better hope that prediction comes true.
If you call me a bandwagon fan, then it gives me every right to say whatever I want.
I guess nothing else I said was worth responding to then? And: I’m not the one who called you a bandwagoner, buddy. I’m the one who called you a “touchy, ‘Fuck you’-saying prick”.
What is there to respond to except you calling me a prick in defense of someone who called me a bandwagon fan? I think there was a lot of griping when Tressel announced that Bauserman would be going in, so I disagree with you there. I hated the idea when it actually happened, not just in 20/20 hindsight.
What I want to happen and what I think will happen are completely independent of each other. I would love nothing more than to be wrong in my prediction and apologize to all of you fine individuals. But USC and Ohio State both showed you today, if you watched, why they’re going to crush us.
And that’s what I wanted to hear: that you WANT to be wrong. So: peace, brother. FWIW, I’m not exactly sanguine about next week either, but the competition WE faced compared with what THEY faced, combined with Navy’s weird offense and Russell’s FAIL, give us very little to go on when it comes to thinking about next week – IN MY OPINION.
We’ll see.
Tressel said Bauserman would play the 3rd or 4th series. Not that shocking.
He did… but just because the move was pre meditated, doesn’t make me like it.
Don’t get me wrong, JB moved the ball and we got 3 points out of his drive, but it sent the wrong message to the team and we played soft on both sides of the ball from that point on.
I think some people need to calm down… This is nothing new to Ohio State – We’ve been down this road before!
In 2002 we had a lot of teams play us for 60 minutes that shouldn’t have been in the game, we had to come back to beat Marshall in ‘04(?), when we had a GREAT offense in 2006 – we only put up 28 points against Northern Illinois (21 of those came in the 1st quarter), we only put up 20 points against Akron in ‘07 and last year we had to come back to win against Ohio…. THIS IS NOTHING NEW
I would rather get a 4 point win against a unique team like Navy in the opener before we host USC, then relive any of the games above… maybe by glass are tinted darker with Scarlet and Gray than I thought, but I really think the score and the “Upset alert” is going a too far based on our history and the way Tress plays the game. We shouldn’t be shocked that a good service academy played has tough for 60 minutes.
Nothing will ever change will Ohio State until someone kicks Tressel in the teeth. His mindset is still in Youngstown where, hell, I think some high school teams could compete. Our respect level will never change and we will have to settle for beating Michigan before getting run over by the elite in college football. O-line: sucked, play calling: sucked, D:sucked, typical Ohio State football. I agree that USC will kill us next week, mostly because we have a panty-waste for a coach surrounded by a bunch of idiots on his staff. I am going to say a repeat of next year, we will only have a pissy 3 points on the board.
You really think Tressel is the problem? Man OSU fans have a short memory. Oh and to say that high school teams could compete at 1-AA umm did you see Northern Iowa yesterday, or how about Appy State in 07 in the big house. Or how about the times when Tressel led Y-town state teams had to beat Steve McNair, Byron Leftwich and Dante Culpepper…yea all those guys were playing at the Y-town state level.
You sound like an idiot. Tress is 84-19 in his years here and you want to get rid of him, for who? John Cooper again? Sound like a bunch of asses
Kill yourself.
thats tressel 4 u. the only good that came from this was usc will think we suck even more then they did b4.
You obviously didn’t watch the USC game. Don’t let the score fool you and San Jose State is no Navy.
Sorry, that was intended for Bucksfan’s original post.
I’ve been thinking about the game all day today and here are the conclusions I’ve made relative today and next week….
Positives:
-TP looked really solid; at least from my perspective he’s made the strides we’ve all been looking for. He looked confident, was much quicker in making a decision and throwing. It was plainly obvious, that he’s made much more of a commitment to using his feet for avoidance and deliberate running plays, and not as an excuse to run around till someone gets open or until he can find an opening to run. Last year he would have been safetied or thrown a pick during that 3 and out in our own territory, the game was largely taken out of his hands in the second half with our heavy commitment to running the ball. The pick would have been a catch if it had been posey and not the much shorter sanzenbacher crossing the middle, not an excuse, but it wasn’t exactly a head scratcher, its something that will be worked out with practice… I dont know about what everyone else thinks, but I’d be willing to bet when TP petitioned to go for it on 4th he was doing it intending for the ball to be in his hands, and not Boom’s; I think we would have converted had that been the case (running or throwing).
-Playcalling, especially in the first half was very solid, although im not a huge fan of 5 wides within the 15 yard line. It was really an exciting thing to see, and I think we all know (at least hope) that there are plenty of plays/formations (such as the pistol) that wont be unvieled until next week.
-WR’s/TE’s, looked really solid all around, with the exception of T.Washington, who I’m hoping shakes his case of the dropsies before next week, because both of those drops really hurt our offensive flow. I think everyone liked what they saw out of Lil’ Carter…
-Saine’s (re)emergence, He still looked a little tentative at times, but when he chose to be decisive he did some really nice things.
-Forcing turnovers: Other than rolle’s pick the takeaways were largely forced which I think is a welcomed change
Negatives:
I think a lot of these things could be attributed to the uniqueness of the opponent, unfortunately we wont really know until next week…
-Offensive Line, I know its easy to pile on them, and it should be noted generally in the trenches the low-man wins, but it really doesnt excuse being stalemated on most running plays. Navy brought lots of bodies, with lots of stunts, and often, but USC is going to bring the same, I can only hope that the change in size will allow us to square up a bit better.
-Run Defense: This is really deceptive to read into, on one hand Navy’s ability to run the ball is no joke, we notoriously struggle against fast QB’s, and the splits on the offensive line were ridiculous. On the other hand, it was pretty sad to watch spielman call the plays that seemed to completely baffle our D at times, the high percentage of arm tackling going on was disgusting.. USC obviously is going to be a lot more deliberate in how they run the ball (not optioning), Their splits will be more conventional, and Barkley isn’t going to be a threat running the ball… But if we cant put USC in 3rd and 5+ situations we are going to be in for a long night, the D-line is going to need to step it up next week, no gimmicks, no excuses..
Overall
I think it was a solid test of a young team, we had to show some grit, and did when it mattered. We need a big game from the O and D-Line next week, we HAVE-TO force Barkley to pass and cant let him ride his run game until the passing game gets opened up
Sorry for the super long post but hopefully theres some nuggets of info you can all gain some perspective from… and if nothing else, as sick as a lot of you may feel about this one, at least our team isn’t oklahoma
peace..
Honestly the o-line for me was more of a discipline thing rather than a performance thing. They did not get good push, but it seemed almost as if they were thinking about what they had to do too much rather than trusting their ability. You don’t have time to think against USC.
As for the rest of the game—if that ball does not go off dane’s hands and into Navy’s lap, we probably score and win 32 or 36 to 14 and people are relaxed going into Navy. I really look at this game more like that rather than ESPN’s “escaping an upset”, but reality is that the score at the end of the game really tainted this one. The big problem I have is that Pryor even admitted post-game that the team “chilled out a little” when they were up. High level of effort needs to be there all 60 minutes and I put that on JT. This team has a chance to wipe the slates clean next weel with a win and a 60 minute effort of 110% is needed.
As for USC- their D was VERY fast and their RBs looked very good. Barkley’s stat line was solid, but if you watched the game he was not very impressive at all. His high completion % is attributed to all screen and short outs on play actions where he throw off balance on one leg. Don’t get me wrong-the kid will be good-just don’t be so quick to pencil him in for a victory in HIS first meaningful game, his first ROAD game, his first NIGHT game, and his first time in a HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT. We must bring the pressure at this kid next week-if Thad does what he’s capable of we’ll have him pulling a Joe Pa at halftime.
FIRE HEACOCK! OUR LINEBACKERS SUCK! ANDERSON RUSSELL IS THE SHITTIEST SAFETY EVER! TRESSEL SHOWS TOO MUCH RESPECT FOR SENIORS HE NEVER PLAYS FRESHMAN!!!!!1!!!1111! MORE FOUR VERTS!!!!!1111!!1!!!11!
LMAO WIN.
As I wake up this morning, I know LSU survived a scare from a team much worse than Navy and I would rather be where we are than where Georgia, VaTech or Oklahoma sit this morning.
I wish we kicked that field goal. An 18-point game at that point would have done it. But when you show disrespect for a gritty team that is playing far better than the score indicates, this is what you get.
And lest we forget … 2002 showed that sometimes the best team in the country at the end of the season can’t put away Cincinnati in Game 2.
Enjoy the ride.
I’m reading a lot of stuff I agree with (sans the name-calling). The defense doesn’t worry me, aside from Russell’s continued struggles. They’ll be fine versus a more conventional running attack. They actually adjusted well to the triple-option when Dobbs would take it around the end and pitch. However, they never really stopped that fullback lead play, but I doubt they’ll see that next week. You can be sure that USC will run with a frosh under center, but I really worry about the Trojans throwing over Russell. Maybe a little more Hines wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Rolle, thankfully, was all over the place. I look for a big, game-changing play from him next week.
I thought the first-half play-calling was great. Throwing to the TE’s and RB’s is a welcome change. TP looked really sharp throwing the ball. His only bad throw was the INT, but it was still a catchable ball. The backs looked good. For a half the offense looked to be in mid-season form.
That said, the O-line play worries me. I expected Boren to dominate and that didn’t happen (especially on 4th and 2). TP had to run around a lot. I don’t think they’ll give up 5 sacks to USC as Mark Mays predicts, but they’ll struggle to do anything if they play this poorly next week.
While I agree that sitting Pryor before the half was a bad decision, I don’t think it was “the WORST DECISION IN BUCKEYE HISTORY”. It would have been nice to see TP run some 2-minute drill and offensive momentum was lost, but they did still score.
I grow really tired of the other part of Tressel ball folks fail to mention. Let’s get a lead and just hang on for dear life. I associate this with Tressel teams more than the punting game or solid defense. Granted, it works more than it doesn’t, but it doesn’t work very often versus elite competition. It especially won’t work next week.
What’s also lost is that Navy is a good team. They typically win 8-9 games a year and go to bowl games annually. They’ve led the country in rushing for four straight years now. Dobbs is an excellent QB. The Midshipmen are a good team. I’d rather have the drama this week while USC has a laugher.
This will be an excruciatingly long week, but I still think this OSU’s best chance to beat an elite team.
“What’s also lost is that Navy is a good team. They typically win 8-9 games a year and go to bowl games annually. They’ve led the country in rushing for four straight years now. Dobbs is an excellent QB. The Midshipmen are a good team. I’d rather have the drama this week while USC has a laugher.”
QFT. I hate how everyone is comparing Navy to OU. Navy is a much better team than OU. Now if we had played the San Jose State’s or the Charleston Southerns of the world and had struggled this badly, then by all means pile on the criticism all you want.
Looks like the same team as the past couple years, just different names. Good but not great. We should all be used to it by now.
exactly. pryor is a gamebreaker, but the rest of the team is good, but not great. the lineup is not stocked with nfl type players, and i don’t see a lot of overachievement. this looks like the what is now become a typical osu team. uninspired offensively, and not quite talented enough defensively to compete at an elite level. outside of troy’s senior year, has tressel & staff ever produced a good offensive team? i would be very surprised if they win next week. usc 27-10. hope i’m wrong.
Ohio State 24 – USC 17
Pryor will play the whole game. #7 Hines will play the whole game.105,000 pissed off fans will scream the whole game.
Get over yourselves – you fair weather fans – navy was tough – it was an exciting game – we are young – we got punched in the mouth liked we needed to and will better for it.
Quit writing such long winded stuff – keep it short and sweet.
agreed…. we played a Top-50 team and not a Div 1-AA team… (Florida).
A toughness and gut check test for a young team….. this will help and they will be ready…. OSU 30 USC 24
I think GoBucks is completly right about this one…
First game of the season with a young team and anyone can second-guess Tressel’s decision of getting JB a series in (again, we did score) since TP is a running QB and we need a backup with some gametime experience without tired starters or 3rd teamers across the line. Mop-up duty isn’t the same. I would attribute the slow-down to lazyness or complacence and not the fact the JB was in. That is up to Tressel and the upperclassmen to keep that going. JB went down the field, as he was supposed to.
Russell does keep letting big plays go by him, though I think that was also due to blown coverage (no help in the middle).
Big week this week, and the sage of OSU football shall continue!
Things that scare the piss out of me:
- If our O-line can’t get a push on guys 40 pounds lighter, it’s not going to happen against gigantic Samoans at USC.
- Spitler looks like he’s running with his feet in concrete blocks. As you said, McKnight is going to do mean things to him.
- Even though it’s never his MO, it seems like Tress trying to have a bit of killer instinct hardly ever works out well (going for 4th and 2 when he’d ALWAYS takes the FG).
Things that don’t scare the piss out of me:
- Running the option with Pryor and Saine. This got me excited.
- The D line seemed to adjust fairly well after the first half.
- Unless SC learns to chop block in the next 6 days, I think the D-line will be OK.
Either way, I surely don’t feel better about the SC game today than I did on Friday.
Anderson Russell made me reach for the Pepto yesterday.
Why? Because his performance was Pepto-Abysmal? HAHA
I am sorry, that gets a BOOOOOOOOOO!
(but, I did the old “lol”)
For the record, my prediction was 20-16 Navy 199 rushing yards.
You can all go bleep yourselves, my point spread and yardage were almost spot on.
I try to make predictions from my head, not my penis.
Whether we play up or down to an opponent is irrelevant, we have a problem with:
A) The o-line
2) Leadership
III) Attitude
We need to address these problems regardless of any out come. Pryor and the boys “chillaxed” against what I think is a 9 win bowl team, and one Notre lame better be ready for.
I thought of one quick scenario for this week.
Freshman QB thinking he’ll waltz into the Shoe for an easy W vs. battle tested, dis-respected, pissed off home team
Sounds good.
Now listhten here guysth! Sthoo what if they punthed us in the mouth.. No need to talk with hate toward your beloved buckeye fansth… We’re all ticked off–but… Itsth week one and this could be a positive… They don’t justht hand out wins.. And hey, hopefully Trethell learns that in time for nextht week!! You guysth should justht be grateful u weren’t playin my fighting Iristh.. Or (choke) the Wolverineth… I athure you… I will be sthtopping by for a sthpeetsth that will motivate the guysth… En route to a national championship matchup with my Fighting Iristh… I like the buckeyesth to pull it off next week 38-35…
Woody always said he was not comfortable putting in backups until he had at least a 35 point lead. With today’s offenses that score more quickly I would say it is more like 42 points. I can’t ever remember Woody replacing a clear #1 starting QB who was not hurt with a 10 point lead in the first half. GET SOME KILLER INSTINCT TRESSEL!!!
I understand the frustration with people. This is too many times where our beloved bucks have such an enormous talent edge and are barely able to pull off the win. No matter what anyone says – and no matter what your feelings on Trees are – this is/has been a problem. That is indisputable.
I am not calling for Tress to be fired, but I do think that it is apparent that Tress is a good, not great coach, relative to the other high-end coaches out there today. Is this a knock on Tress? Well, only if you believe he is a great coach.
Tress wins consistently, beats our rival and overall leads the program well. But, his staff is not great gameday planners or managers, and that is why we struggle to beat inferior teams and struggle to stay on the field with great opponents.
I really am struggling with our place right now. It seems as though we are good, but not great.
Part of me says it would be crazy to mess with this right now, but the other part of me thinks without some sort of change (with assistants/philosophy) we have topped out with Tress – at good, not great.
Well, I’m not making any predictions, conclusions, or whatever about this team until I see their performance next weekend. I do know if they can’t stop the run USC will roll once again. They scored 56 points with the QB being a game manager! Next time there is a 4th and short and Tressel needs to go five wide and let Pryor do what he does. Don’t bottle him up!!!!!!
I don’t want to make a prediction for next week at this point. I have concerns, like everyone, with O-line and our ability to cover their WR’s.
I say let TP run the ball all night long
The disappointment for me is that two major problems from last year haven’t improved this year; O line and D tackle. Cam Heyward played some end at first, but moved inside later in the game. I think this move needs to be permanent, simply b/c we need him a lot more at DT then at end. As for the O line, no attitude, no push, nothing, sigh.
On the other hand, Brandon Saine looked much better than last year, obvious good news. I really liked the various formations on offense, it wasn’t endless Ace/3 WR. Also good to see the TE used as a receiver.
As for Pryor, he still puts to much air under his passes, but his reads were improved, and his elusiveness/athleticism allow him to make plays when things break down, obviously he can break a game open on any snap.
I agree with the positives. Ballard needs to be used, Carter looked good, and the O under TP overall performed well, except for the O-line.
There were certainly positives. However, not enough to provide a lot of confidence when we face USC, Penn St and whoever else steps up this year in the big ten as a decent team.
Fat, unathletic O-line + Arrogant, over-rated buckeye team + curious coaching decisions = loss to navy……. However if you subtract an idiotic two-pt coversion playcall by navy ( qb draw up the middle is an easy untouched score) you have a narrow home victory!! Time to go back to the drawing board… Barely passed the pre- test.. The real test is next week…. And hopefully the Buckeyes show up! Cuz the Luckeyes will have no shot!! Good luck… practice , practice, practice!
Ya maybe we will just put in extra practice time this week. Douche
It’s funny what finally winning your home opener and beating a MAC school can do to your confidence…
LOL……one win over directional school and the mouths are running again.
We’ve already got a Kicker that made a 54 yard-er with the game in question, at least four receivers and one tight end that made first down grabs in traffic, a quarter back that lead a perfect touchdown drive to open the game, a running back that kept on his feat to make a key first down to ice the game, a defensive line that successfully adjusted in mid game to stop a deceptive offense, and a Safety that not only made a key INT, but had the presence of mind to rip the ball away from a team that was challenging…
Each of these efforts, it can be said, won the game for us. Without any one of them we would have lost. We failed to put Navy away when we should, but that’s what happened. They Punched us in the mouth, but we responded and got the win.
Can USC say they’ve faced this pressure yet?… Not this year. And we’ve seen what happens when a team punches them in the mouth in first half, it usually happens once a year.
Yea y’all I can’t help but agree with all those “positives” from the game! I mean shit.. navy is a true juggernaut! Obviously if they rolled into the Colliseum they woulda ran it down the throat of the Trojans too… I mean cmon they’ve led the FBS in rushing the past 20 years…. And they have all the blue chips on their team too.. And ya know they have nothing to focus on but football… Anyone who knows football, knows how great that Triple Option is.. ( pretty sure every other high school team runs the triple option)…. But I mean yea thank god we got our balls wet… At least they’ll be shrivelled up before we get tossed into the deep end!! The ONLY positive to take away from that game is the flame…. That the middies lit under our lazy ass team… Cuz anything less then an inspired week of practice, and an inspired game is gonna result in another year of hearing the nation shit all over our chests!! Time to shut everyone and earn something!! Hopefully this time next week were all rejoicing! Good day mates!
I was never really worried about the outcome of yesterday’s game, but there were some disappointing things that worry me about what they might become next week or down the line.
– The only bad throw that Pryor really threw was the interception that was high and late over the middle. I’m afraid that Tressel will remember that one more than the TD pass to Dane and be hesitant when it comes to letting TP throw to the middle of the field. Don’t want to become too predictable when it comes to the routes they’ll run.
– With a FR QB coming in next week I think a lot of people are clamoring the Defense to blitz a lot and put pressure on him. But when you blitz you’re usually playing man-to-man and there is no way anyone can feel confident about the buck’s ability to play man after yesterday’s game. They say three makes a trend and the last three TD passes the Buckeye’s have given up have all been at the expense of Mr Russell. What’s worse is that two of them seem to have been mostly mental errors. Not something you like to see from a 5th year senior.
– The most disturbing thing is the continued lack of anything resembling a killer instinct. I was hoping that the “it’s not whether you win or lose” attitude left Columbus with guys like Laurinaitis and Freeman and Robiskie, but it’s starting to seem like it’s something the coaching staff is cultivating. From the line’s discipline problems, inserting Bauserman for no reason to the decision to effectively take a knee up 2 TD’s on 4th and 2, the Buckeyes’ attitude seems not to have changed much from last year.
These things worry me even thought there was an awful lot to like from yesterday’s game. Thanks for listening.
Well I put my $.02, maybe $.04, more like $.08 worth on the last post, but here I go again.
Sure there are positive things to take away from yesterday, but we all know it was simply not good enough–particularly not good enough for a team with so much to prove that is now the defacto measuring stick for all things B10. We needed to make a statement yesterday, and what was stated was not what we needed.
As I stated before, there is a part of me that is still guardedly optimistic that yesterday was a perfect storm of lacadasical attitude, jitters, and some disguise put out there for Petey and Co, but like someone said earlier in this post–we have been down this road before, I just hope there is a fork somewhere along the way that leads us to a different destination.
And if it doesnt? I stand by my earlier comments that coaches have to be dismisssed. Does that mean Tressel? I dont know, depends on whether or not he recognizes the issues that most of Buckeye Nation is able to clearly see:
the O-line is the key. We need a new direction and we need it NOW. So either he does his job–and look out for the team’s best interest–or we find someone who will. I love Tressel, but I love the Buckeyes infinately more.
Soft all around with a couple super athletes.
The Offensive line was dominated by undersized defensive lineman, though they were probably as ferocious a competitors we’ll see this year. The triple option was what caused this game to be close, that and A Russell playing like he was a 12 year old still learning the game. The triple option is tough to defend especially if, when you figure out to follow the guard, the offense stops pulling the guard. Georgia Tech wrecked shop on Georgia last year, so let’s give that scheme the credit for us having a close game.
Nice game story, Jason. It was good to meet you Saturday.
I can’t raise my hand because I didn’t think it would be that close either. I mean, I thought they’d be up by more than two TD’s late in the 4th quarter, and maybe even threatening to score again…oh, wait. They were.
The four-minute lapse that let Navy back in is somehow being looked at as if that’s the way the team played all day. It’s not.
And a lot of posters here seem awfully reluctant to give the kids from Navy the credit they deserve for a great game. Were they watching the same game I was?
I am concerned with Spitler’s speed to play OLB. The fear of McKnight above is well justified. I’d expect to see Hines most of the way this week.
I wasnt very happy with the outcome of the game but, its still a win. No one got to messed up. Posey with the twist but thats it. He should be able to go and I’m sure he will. Navy is going to piss a lot of teams off this year. They are very good and with a quarterback that can throw the ball teams will have to respect his arm and thus their running offense will be that much better. I was impressed with the speed of Rolle. The guy can flat out run and we will need that next week. Oh and if Gibson wasnt called for that face mask that was legit they may not have even made that 99 yard scoring drive. But, who knows.
Other then the Washingtons two drops and the tipped pass for an int, which by the way Pryor was on the move and the extra momentum i beleive caused him to sail that pass. Otherwise, its first down and we’re all raving about that play. We didnt look sharp at all and thats typical for us in first games. Next week will be different and i am not about to put us 28 points under. We’ll see a different team and a different defense. Russel does worry me a bit. But, damn does Duron have his daddies hands or what?!?
“Urban or Petey would have made. And maybe that’s why they win so damn much”
But they don’t – USC and Petey always drop a game they should win every season – Stanford, anyone? Two years ago, Florida (with Tebow) lost to Michigan in a bowl game after going 8 and 3 on the season (this was the same Michigan team that lost to App. State, Oregon, and was thrashed by the Buckeyes).
When was the last time the Bucks lost to a clearly inferior team? Maybe Illinois a few years back but Illinois did win the conference that year.
If (when?) Pryor gets injured we’ll be wishing JB had played a full quarter. USC lost to Stanford in part because Booty kept playing with a broken finger.
The 4th down/field goal was un-Tressel-like – but maybe the team learned something. It’s a young team. Half are kids out of high school. Did you really expect the offensive line to dominate? Dobbs made some good throws (and so did Pryor). Rolle and Coleman were great. Russel wasn’t.
Yeah, I know and that’s a good point. But do you really believe that if JT did develop somewhat more of a killer instinct, that he’d all of a sudden start dropping games to Indiana?
I think the most underrated thing we showed yesterday, that no one is talking about today… no huddle offense. (as soon as the shit hit the fan we just showed a flash of it, and gained some nice yards as well) I bet we see a lot more next week
Excellent point. Loved both the no huddle and the option we saw yesterday.
I share most of the feelings as the rest of you regarding the play of the O line and secondary. That being said, Im not ready to chalk up USC into the loss column just yet. Most of Barkley’s passes were short/screen passes. (with SC’s talent at RB, thats not necessarily a bad thing) But what Im trying to say is if we can somehow force Barkley into throwing the ball downfield, advantage us. The defense maintaining gap discipline will be crucial to our success. The SC backs are very good at reversing field and if we get caught out of posistion, they can easily turn a simple toss into a big gain. We also need to recognize the screen plays early. I know Tress is going to want to put lots of pressure on a young QB making his first road start in the Shoe of all places, but by being too agressive, we may shoot ourselves in the foot.
An early score will do wonders for our confidence. Im sure well see plays with Pryor, Boom and Saine all on the field at the same time. We have to have success running the ball with them on the field in order to have a chance of winning. Needless to say, a good PA pass or two may be the difference in the game.
Im not one to make predictions, but I’m looking forward to a close game. Hopefully the 106k+ is too much for the frosh to overcome and the Bucks can walk away with a win, but maybe more importantly, a little respect.
BEAT USC!
I say let the season play out before we jump to any conclususions about JT. I mean who really expects an MNC this year? Even if we do lose to SC, running the table and winning the Rose would be a great season.
I too have the feeling the game will be close – I don’t know exactly why, really, other than it is at home and I think they will have a harder time scoring this year. However, I also think we have too many issues to feel good about the likelihood of a win. But, I am much more optimistic than I was last year at this time coming off the Ohio game. For whatever reason I think we will be in the game, and that is all we need to do – then anyone can win it late. Maybe it is a Va Tech type of performance last night where we get some big plays here and there to just hang in there, and if we hang in there long enough we could win.
What we cannot do is go down early by 14 pts… the second quarter is critical. get to haftime in the game and see what happens.
just hoping we were too busy preparing for USC, that USC’s more conventional blocking scheme won’t bother our D, that we’ve faced some fire now and are more ready for a pressure situation, that …
WE DON’T SCREW UP ON NATIONAL TV AGAIN!
a win next Saturday night and all will be right in Buckeye Land.
if we get torched again things are going to come unwound around here…
and last year you probably felt the same way after watching OSU struggle against Youngstown state
Tressel clearly has a weakness and it is his offensive line and Bollman. Here are the offensive linemen chosen in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft since 2004 (his recruits):
2004: None
2005: None
2006: Nick Mangold 29th pick, 1st Round
2007: None
2008: None
2009: None
I find this shocking with all the top linemen we have recruited in the Tressel era. I love JT but he has stuck with Bollman way too long and for this reason alone we could not beat Florida, LSU, Texas and USC. We suck upfront.
Urban Meyer coached linemen chosen in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft since 2004 (his recruits, at both Utah AND Florida)
2004: None
2005: None
2006: None
2007: None
2008: None
2009: None
I guess Meyer really dodged a bullet that Dan Mullen left for Mississippi State. I hope the Starskville faithful know a rogue agent is coming in to implode their run and pass protection.
say what you want but Urban still has more MNC than Jim…
the line is fine but when you take your star qb out in a ten point game and run up the gut on 4th and 2 with boom you get what you get.
I’m not really concerned about the score of this game because the talent level of players for us is obviously there. The thing that concerns me is the youth of this team and how they were lacking intensity and effort on defense and in some ways offense and coaching. It was clear as day when we went up 29-14 that the defense put it on the shelf and started thinking about USC or what party they were going to go to last night. And when we have our typical first game vanilla play calling that keeps those games really closer than they should be you find your self right back in a game when you lose focus and a few things don’t go your way. No way that would’ve happened with any of the great defenses of the past. Take last year for ex. we were up 42-7 on scUM and the D was playing like it was 0-0. I believe that we stuck to the game plan well, do enough to win and get by and get ready for this week. However the intensity and focus has to be there the whole game. It was clear when we found our self back in a game that they started running to the ball a little bit harder and hitting just a little bit harder. That has to be there all game or we will blow a game we shouldn’t (look out for Toledo if we win this week). The line I believe will get better with time and the offense showed flashes of greatness and they did their job I think it was more of the bland play calling yesterday that kept them from scoring 40. I do believe Bauserman in the 2nd quarter was a bad move simply bc it sent the message that we have this game in hand and lets just relax now. The only reason he should have seen the field in the first half was if we had a qb controversy and clearly we do not. All in all i don’t look much into the score just the effort and intensity need to be there for all 60 minutes. Spielman said it best that Navy came to play for 60 minutes and OSU did not. I think if we can mix that intensity and focus with our level of talent we can be very dangerous. GO BUCKS
Longtime reader, first post. Have enjoyed reading the site. You thoughts on the following would be appreciated
While I am appreciative of the mindset and general approach that Tressel has brought to the Buckeyes (especially for the Micheapgun games compared to the Cooper years) I am now convinced that Camp Tressel’s offensive strategies match up poorly against teams with more aggressive outlooks (i.e. Florida, LSU). He is content to play Tresselball and rarely opens up the playbook. If you look carefully at the season’s under Tressel’s helm, the ONLY seasons we were successful offensively were the ones where we had playmakers on the team (i.e. Krenzel, Gample, Clarett and the epitome of them all – Troy Smith) who made adjustments to cover the completely inept offensive playcalling. Most of the significant wins with Troy under quarterback came I feel only because Troy had to improvise. This is especially evident in several games but especially against Penn State and the Come from Behind Michigan win. Only when we had the talent and weapons did the playcalling open a little (Troy’s Heisman year) – even then against a aggressive team like Florida – we were exposed. I agree that to a large extent this appears to be the fault of the offensive line, but it seems tied to the offensive playcalling. Like it or not, during our championship year we had an excellent if not flashy QB and aggressive players like Clarett and a lots of love from Lady Luck (which is a prerequisite for any team to win the championship).
In addition, Tressel always goes into a shell when playing “legends of the game” like Paterno. We look like a completely different team in terms of caution level and conservatism when we play them – which I totally attribute to Tressel’s respect level for PAterno. It almost seems like he is in awe of him and considers it disrespectful to play imaginative football. I disagree with the notion that Penn State is a better team than us.
Anyway enough of my rant. Our performance against Navy puts things in stark perspective. Pryor’s talents will be wasted unless he improvises as well and our predictive brand of football will bite us in the ass when the Trojans come in next week. Carrol must already be salivating…
Your thoughts?
I’m really curious to see how much of out play book offensively was used. I saw a lot of the same plays. The problem I see is at times our o line was really hitting people and at others just kinda went at it. I am looking forward to this game against USC. I dont see the same manilla play calling this week for the game. If the coaches call the same style d they called for the texas game I like our chances. We blitzed and hit McCoy a ton. If we do the same against a freshman in OUR house I like our chances
Let me answer your initial question …. We showed nearly all of our playbook and nothing should suggest otherwise. what in the world would lead anyone to believe that we have a different playbook…. I heard the same things last year: “We are saving plays, we didn’t want to show anything”, etc. We are a bottom-half of the nation offensive program, PERIOD!! Every year, without fail.
The numbers are starkingly similar every year, save one (2006).
I promise you that JT wasn’t hiding anything. Every year for 8 years I have heard fellow buckeye fans (and me for a long time) talk about “not showing anything”, but after several years I learned, we are not saving anything, we simply are a bad offensive football team. Simple as that. This program quite simply doesn’t produce points and 8 years is enough of a sample size to understand that. if others want to somehow believe that JT is waiting 9 years to break out the playbook, I envy your optimistic ignorance
The thing is USC has the top O-line in the country, putting pressure on Barkley is going to be hard without allowing USC’s receivers to get open
I think the Big Ten is suffering from an identity crisis. The game has changed somewhat where everyone wants to run the spread and recruit the guys with speed etc. But, we have forgotten how to play Big Ten Football. That goes for the entire conference. Wisconsin still plays it although their talent the past few years has been down. If we could just go back to running the football and mixing in the pass when needed we could still wear out opposing defenses like Florida, LSU and USC. You need to attack speed head on and wear them out. When it gets deep in the second half they aren’t nearly as fast. It is time to go back to Big Ten Football (Like 2002) and knock these sissy schools in the mouth. We are trying to play Florida’s game and we aren’t nearly as good at it. Slow the game down and play Ohio State football!!
You can’t match speed with power, it just doesn’t work. You might have some success offensively trying to wear down the opponent, but they defensively you will have trouble against teams that spread the field with speed. Thats why USC and various SEC teams have dominated Big-10 defenses. The Big-10 has decent teams in OSU and Penn State but the game has evolved and the Big-10 hasn’t. Big-10 defenses are big and physical which leads to great games within the conference, but the Power game, can no longer compete with speed.
Dude, appreciate the comments, but Craig Krenzel beat a FAST Miami team with the QB draw all night long. Run at them, control the football, eventually they get tired of getting smashed in the mouth and you break a big one or throw over the top.
Ain’t that perty?
conservative football will not get it done this saturday. usc likes to spread the field and share the ball (it doesn’t necessarily fall on one guy’s shoulders), which makes them versatile and unpredictable. now if tressel and co. put points on the board and take time during those scoring possessions…and play without those crushing mistakes that will kill the buckeyes if they let it happen (qb getting sacked and fumbling, throwing ints. that get returned for tds., etc….that stuff happened last year…granted usc had different players on defense). keep usc off balance and out of rhythm…or just flat out dominate.
Line it up in the I formation and shove it down their throats.
i’m all for seeing that as well…is the o-line all for doing that though?
Sure. They will be forced to do it. Right now they dont know what they are supposed to do. Too much fartin’ around.
How many DT’s has Tressel put in the NFL? All this talk about your o-line, I ran the ball up the middle of your defense all day.
Not long enough D-Bag.
That’s cause your big uglies were chop blocking our tackles to their knees. Also, give iball back his avatar picture.
but threw an interception to brian rolle….good job captain comeback.
Im just sayin’ Im not thrilled with the DT play either.
I just wonder why Tress prefers 265lb DT’s and not the 290-300lb run stuffers.
too many people are not giving Navy enough credit in this game.. we as fans and maybe our team took the boys too lightly.
Navy has beaten Wake, Rutgers twice Pitt Notre Dame and U Conn in the last 5 years and have lost games to ND, Utah, BC and Maryland each by 6 points or less in that same time frame….they have the 21st best winning pct over the past 5 years,,,in other words, they are a pretty good football team.
we had them on the ropes, and then let them off of the mat by blowing a 4th and 2, blowing a pass coverage and blowing a pass for an INT,,,luckily our mlb made a play when we needed it to seal the win,,,several other teams failed to do that this past weekend…
I am saying we should be comparing ourselves to Pitt and maryland? of course not, but these guys were much better than most fans on here want to give them credit for.
this team had gone 43-20 in the last 5 years,,, thats better than Missouri, Oregon, Michigan, Alabama, Cincinnati, FSU, Tenn, Iowa, Rutgers, Ga Tech, Kansas, Miami, S. Florida, Wake, Pitt, etc,, heck their winning pct was only 1.5 games behind Penn State over that period
did we play well, at times yes at times no, but Navy did some things well also,,,and they have been for the past 4-5 years…
Here’s to the midshipmen!!!
I disagree, and you intimated it yourself: we are not Pitt, UConn, etc …. this was a military academy and Tosu is a football factory. This game should not have been this close and Navy is not even close to being a competitive team to those that make BCS games
I understand the appreciation for how decent Navy is, and that is fine when you are a Cincinnati football fan, but when you are the Ohio State Buckeyes, this sort of game is not supposed to happen.
You heard it here first…. The Buckeyes upset USC in the shoe’. Keep the faith GO BUCKS!!!!
Yup. Pryor will run for 100. Herron/Saine for 60. We pass for 160 and win. We control the football. 160-160
Buckeyes 28- SC -27… The Thrilla that is Vanilla.
im calling for 12-6 Ohio State.
The only thing I got out of this game besides LT Miller can’t play, is that
Thad Gibson is a f-ing Beast!
If Posey’s ankle is ok and he plays Saturday, that will help a lot, as Washington won’t have as many chances to drop balls and Sanzenbacher won’t be a primary target. Also, Duron Carter was running a lot of out patterns, and Pryor was looking his way a lot on them, which would set up perfectly for an out-and-up this week against USC. Run the out a few times early on, then break out the out-and-up and watch the DB bite on the out. A big play like that, coupled with some long, sustained TOUCHDOWN, not FG, drives could get OSU a win.
Am I a little worried about today’s effort? Yes, I am! However, I was in the Navy so I know how tough they can be. You have to remember that these Navy men are the future Naval and Marine Corps officers of tomorrow. I have met many Marines who could kick the S**t out of any of Ohio State’s players. We need to toughen up! I think I was the most excited about Ballard today. The man is a great tight end. I even came up with a nickname for Jake Ballard. His new nick name will be:
ODB-(O’le Dirty Ballard)
Start Jermale Hines at Safety and move Russell to the Nickel. Get Nathan Williams on the field more. Start Etienne Sabino instead of Spitler. Those things need to be done in order for us to get more speed on the field!
Woahhh, Russell to Nickel??? I’d rather him not be in any situation that requires him to man up on a receiver. He is better as a safety. Hines will get his minutes, his blitzing will be needed.
marines are —-. they are —- too.
please ban this guy
a true freshman qb will not come to the horseshoe and win, not with TP as are QB
The same TP that almost blew the game with a pick against navy, USC’s D is much better than navy’s
spitler is a slow linebacker, shouldnt even be a starter
Little off subject….
Anyone see TP’s statement about the Vick thing?
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4451405
…scratching my head….and a teensy, insy nervous.
In scanning through here I see references to the performance of the D in holding Navy well below last season’s average as well as the “novelty” of their offense. I have seen this on many sites. Some other ways to look at this.
- An LSU team having a mediocre season faced a much more talented Georgia Tech option attack in the 2008 bowl games and snuffed it.
- Nearly 200 yards rushing against a good team is a good day. USC had 164 yards against us last year.
- Yes, the rushing total was well below last year’s average. But go look at their 2008 schedule and see the teams it was amassed against.