All day. (AP Photo/Jay LaPorta)Haters will be haters: Terrelle Pryor took 3 steps back in the first quarter, but certainly seemed to begin to right the expectations ship before going down with a hamstring injury. If you expected 78-0, kindly get real and/or return to the bomb shelter you've been for the better part of the last decade. The defense is every bit as a filthy as we knew it was, and yes, the offense still needs to work on their basic sentence writing before they can start trying to write in cursive.
A team that's been notorious for their slow starts all season, Ohio State came out every bit as enthused to be taking New Mexico State to the dance as we were to watch them do it. Palpable boos would've undoubtedly resonated throughout the Shoe had the ticket holders, a reported 104,000 strong, actually managed to be there in attendance. After opening the game with a jaw dropping 43 yard bomb from TP2 to DeVier Posey, the Ohio State offense promptly went back into their cocoon, stalling and punting just 3 plays later. The next possession would offer little solace, with just 2 quick first downs, followed by some over-locking in on Duron Carter by the Bucks' QB-in-progress. The Bucks' third and final offensive series of a style point devoid first quarter would set the stage for Ohio State's first points. Jordan Hall carried the ball 6 times totaling 27 yards, getting himself and a previously struggling offensive line into a groove, all the while opening up passing possibilities for the young man under center.
Pryor would start the 2nd quarter teleporting effortlessly into the end zone for the first of 4 2nd quarter scores. TP finally began to find his passing groove in the second, connecting with long time favorite target Dane Sanzenbacher on a 19 yard TD, and a choice 12 yard strike to DeVier Posey setting up a B-Saine rushing TD. The play of the quarter game came on the Bucks' third offensive possession when on end around wide receiver DeVier Posey threw a perfect (left handed!) 39 yard touchdown on an end around, also finding Sanzenbacher to stretch the lead to 21. Posey looked like a savvy southpaw on the toss, putting dreams of a 'Wild Posey' package in the heads of many around these parts. Whether or not #8 would have the speed to make such a formation effective remains to be seen, but any wrinkles on the part of Tress and co. are always welcome.
The story of the afternoon for the Aggies would be the resolve they showed in the early going. Their defense held the Buckeyes scoreless (though did yield very near 100 yards) but couldn't claim the same kind of success again until Ohio State's walk-ons were operating the offense for the Bucks. The Aggies offense was near non-existent for the entire afternoon. NMSU accumulated just 40 yards on 30 carries on the ground, and weren't any better off through the air, netting just 22 yards on 6-15 passing (including an INT on a pinball wizard snag by Ross Homan). Quarterback Jeff Fleming was the closest thing resembling competency for the Ags racking up 44 yards running for his life on 7 carries (which given his 6/13 22 0/1 laugher of a line throwing the ball tells you how paltry this offense really was).
It's not worth any of our time to spend much time on Pryor. If you were an outspoken critic of the still very much 20 year old, you're still likely to be. If you're willing to give the kid time to get from point A to point B, right on. If you're on the fence atoll, I kindly give you the alternative: Joe Bauserman was 2/9 for 75 yards (35 on one completion and 40 on another impressive effort by freshman Duron Carter). The impatient NCAA10-mentality types who saw a 23-year old 2-star recruit as a "better passing option" essentially had Tressel and Bollman's justification for sticking with Pryor rebutted back in their faces. It's easy to forget that Bauserman's being brought along by the very same individuals who've been second (and third) guessed for their development of Pryor.
The question now becomes how healthy is Terrelle Pryor? The Big Ten Network parroted the Tressel Corp. spin machine that the coaching staff simply wanted to see what Boeckman Bauserman (Ed. note: preserved for posterity's sake, due both the comedic nature of the Freudian slip, but also how ridiculous calling for unproven, unqualified backups can be regardless of the year) brought to the table (spoiler alert: not much), as opposed to the reality that Pryor had tweaked his hammy. Pryor himself in the post game acknowledged that he'd gotten banged up on one of the final plays of the last offensive drive. If Pryor's good to go, given his relative struggles to this point, you have to think he sees at least another quarter of action, no? Given Tressel's history, it's virtually impossible to tell whether The Vest was simply being prudent, or if the "minor bang up" was truly medically serious enough to mandate his being sidelined. The Penn State margin of error will non-existent; Pryor absolutely has to be his sharpest and healthiest for the Bucks to escape State College one win closer to Pasadena, and with the sudden clarity at the lack of a legitimate Plan B, our fingers are most assuredly crossed.
Comments
So I am watching Oregon and their 2 and 3 star offensive athletes rolling on U$C. Can't help but wonder what our 4 and 5 star athletes could/should have done to these guys in September. What a shame... O-ver - rated!
Pryor's struggles are magnified by the shotty play of the truly offensive line.
Any QB would struggle with these breakdowns in protection, much less a young QB who made his name capitalizing on broken plays in high school.
Many highly touted line recruits have come through in the last few years(Smith, Boone, Cordle) only to never develop into the player they could or should be. Even proven players (Boren) seem to have regressed. The frequency of this happening can not be a coincidence. If Bollman is not either let go or demoted this off-season, I'll have to scratch my head.
Also, anyone thinking Bauserman is a better option is kidding themselves. There are few players in CFB who can bring to the table what Pryor does.
This game, and Oregon State's game against USC last year, are testaments to why Jim Bollman should have been fired yesterday. If they can do it, there's no reason we shouldn't be able to as well.
Oregon is outstanding on their home field. Also, USC seems to struggle with small backs.
note of help here: Its Bauserman, not Boeckman. :)
Fixed, thanks. Both were suboptimal, both were older decent measurable possessing white dudes. Easy mistake to make.
=P
Agreed.
I agree... the one constant since JT came here is that the O-line has totally sucked. Why get excited about "huge O-line recruit...." reports. We'll just make him wish he went to Indiana/Northwestern/Illinois/UC/Ohio U., etc.... where he could have been developed. Yes, I am frustrated watching this year in and year out.
How bout them Buckeyes?! Nick Swisher solo HR!!! Go Yanks!
Well it hasnt sucked the whole time, the '02 line was solid. Im not saying we recruit busts, we're just not getting all we can from them.
Cooper recruited those guys. Every line JT has recruited and handed over to Bollman has sucked. Unless.... I am wrong.
Call me overly optimistic, but for the most part I was extremely happy with pryors mechanics today.
However, now I'm nervous about pryors condition. Hamstring "tweaks" can easily turn into hamstring pulls. I hope we hear some word soon. Preferably without spin.
Hmmm.... let's think about this. Sure, we'd get killed if we sit Pryor at PSU, but would you rather be without him at PSU or in Ann Arbor!? Losing to PSU!?!? Okay... Outback Bowl. Losing to PSU, Iowa AND in AA?! = Self-loathing and hoping we can take Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl.
Don't overreact :) it's not bad news..yet.
So, the question is...
Why shouldn't we be outstanding, on our own field? With our "4 & 5 star recruits". Come on boys, it gets old. We also have a few "small backs", most importantly that Jordan Hall fella.
We have to be realistic and tip our hats to those kids that are out there working their backsides off for the team. It's too bad our staff doesn't step up and reward their dedication with actually coaching them and putting our "Buckeye Nation" into a position to do something with the talent we seem to waste each year. Come on JT, let's just do it next year. Suck it up and hire someone who has the cajones to call an f'ing game.
Go Bucks!!!!!!!
Yes, you are.
Chris, you're right. I'd have to lean those claims against Bollman as well. Likely a good guy, but he maybe should be doing his thing running YSU's O-line.....
Um, did I drink the broadcast Kook-Aide or did I miss something else about TP tweaking his hammy? Is that based on reports, or speculation? Was something announced? I'm hoping I'm lame and I missed something.......
The reports have been vague. "Bumped up" leg injury was how TP described it, but Jason and myself both thought it looked like a pretty textbook pulled hammy based on the way he reacted after it happened and how he was being treated.
Damn, I didn't see it. Any play in particular? Set's us up great for an easy 3 game streak.....
Remember, USC was super-banged up.
MUST READ: http://mgoblog.com/content/ill...
Seriously. Start at the 4:40-5:18 part, or - if you already know what happened after "4th and 1" - at 5:18-5:48. It is, for lack of a better word, delicious.
Also: I move that any and all references to Cook a/o his blog be henceforth rendered as: MGo(RunAndHideRatherThan)Blog.
Look at the rushing stats without Clarett. He made that line look better than they were like Beanie did in 2007.
An injured pryor may be the best thing for this team...He is god awful
It was nice to see JT feverishly using the offense to score 4 TD's so he could clear his bench in the 2nd half...... see Tress, an offense can be used to SCORE POINT and not as a way to give the defense good field position. Remember that next week in State College.
I hereby motion if there is a so-called "Wild Posey Package" we instead refer to it as "Pocket Full Of Posey"
Yeah, putting Joe Bauserman and his 2-for-9 throwing in the lead position would be AWESOME!
Sit down and shut the fuck up.
+100, sir. That MGoLiveBlog was like a Dashboard Confessional concert.
haha, yes!
"...and the Buckeyes take the field with a pocket full of posey..."
You must be a UM troll- there's no way we are going to rehash this argument again.
HAHA wow
They should bring in someone to work on pryors footwork. When its right he is a star.
I agree we should dominate but to cover 44 points is showing Vegas still thinks this is a top 5 team. If Pryor gets it together and plays a complete game Ohio State won't be stopped.
Pryor was without question limping around at the end of the half. He stayed in but you have to be careful with hamstring injuries because they can get worse if you push it. Go call taking him out even if he wasn't hurt. If we have to play a back-up we are in trouble. That said get Posey ready to run the wild cat with saine.
Yeah but I remember early in the season, everyone was complimenting this O-Line for how much better they looked. Seems to me this line was better at the beginning of the year before the flu and injuries set in. I think they were making a lot of progress from the same old lines we've seen over the last couple of years.
I didn't see most of the first quarter, but in the 2nd quarter I thought Pryor looked really good! Even passes he missed, weren't missed by much and they were missed away from the defender. I think his passing yesterday in the 2nd quarter was some of the best passing I've seen out of him and it had nothing to do with the team they were playing. His accuracy was really good in the 2nd quarter, I thought.
OT, but when will they release the time for the Iowa game? I know Penn State is 3:30.
I bet NMSU doesn't think we are over-rated today, huh?
Brilliant!
i wonder if brian is going to liberally and smugly quote from his own readers in his this week in schadenfreude or whatever it is called.
"I am with you. I grew up a U of I fan (family- grew up downstate); ex went there; all my fam did; live in chicago. I couldn't shake it- being upset. Went downtown to what should have been an awesome halloween party- couldn't shake being in a funk over this game (probably had something to do with watching it at Duffys and drinking the whole way through). This is fucking awful. Where do we go? What do we do? As a team? I am just so bummed, man. Was so angry; now just abject sadness.
I mean, losing is one thing. But like that? I have friends who I classify as "RR haters," and just think they are stupid. But what was this? I am searching for answers. Yes, it's 2 am. Which actually isn't early tonight- bars open until 5; actually 6 b/c of daylight savings. I literally couldn't shake being upset and just wasn't having fun at a party that was actually awesome. God. This is the pain of fandom.
Are we the new Nebraska? Oh god. Oh. God. Time for The Smiths? Andrew Bird? Andrew Bird. He's not nearly as sad. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? We can't go back- we can only go forward. But where is that taking us?
The only thing that made me feel better re: U of M today was when a friend of mine who is a HUGE hater (always) on the program admitted, "you were right about Lloyd- 8 wins is way harder than I ever thought. I was wrong." Yeah. That's what made me feel better. What is rock bottom? Is this it? Where is it? Please tell me this is it. The HORROR didn't hurt like this. Not to me, at least, and I was there.
/sorry for the emo rant."
"The HORROR didn't hurt like this." - this should be the 11w motto for michigan week.
The play was when TP got pulled down from behind by the jersey or pads during a good run.
When was the last time we had a November this tough? Jeez! This is what separates the men from the boys. 3 games will be the difference between the Rose Bowl and the Outback bowl (or worse).
Teddy Ginn is putting on a show two 101 yard kickoff returns back to back.
ginn is putting on a show. 2 kickoff returns for a touchdown. Back to Back.
New Mex Mexican says:
10/30/2009 at 3:46pm
Hola? Como estan? Now that the official greeting is over I just wanted to come on here and let you all in on a little secret. We are about to shock the world. Biggest upset in college football history this saturday at noon. I’ll be at the game ready to laugh at all you crying losers once it happens.
They really did "shock the world", didn't they, by making our offense look competent for two quarters?
I thought it was interesting that the Hippie went into full Stasi-mode on his blog today, limiting who could post threads/diaries in his MgoBlog forum, and limiting who could post comments, based on how many points the person had earned (and therefore how much that person was in favor with the MGo mods). The mods also apparently censored the posts, removing what they deemed to be "overly emotional" posts that otherwise failed to comport with MgoBlog standards of what constitutes constructive dialogue about the Michigan program.
I know it's just one blog among many, but that mentality is precisely the mindset which captures the Michigan Man unfounded sense of superiority. In effect, they look to silence what they deem to be outlying opinion. And when someone finally acknowledges RichRod as the Emperor wearing no clothes, MGo has to go on lockdown and censor everyone. One Mgo poster said it better than I could, in dissenting from the Hippie's ego-driven Orwellian tact:
"I was thinking about what diary I would draft for this game and then learned that I don't have enough points to start a diary. That's right. The response of the leading Michigan blog -- a concept entirely dependent on the exchange of information -- is to stop the exchange of information. And the denizens of the blog uniformly applaud the idea. At a time when there should be a fervent exchange of ideas over the next 48 hours, there is a shut-down in the fervent exchange of ideas. RichRod may or may not have jumped the shark today. Notwithstanding my extreme frustration, I am not sure that much has changed about where we are at, and I'm not sure there is much reason to doubt that he will make us better if we stick with him. But I am absolutely convinced that today MGoBlog officially got sufficiently full of itself to bid it adieu. And so I do. If you can't go to a Michigan blog to share views with your fellow faithful on a day like today, then what the fuck is the point of the blog in the first instance."
My point in all of this is to say that I'm glad 11W doesn't subscribe to the same sort of bullshit censoring. I think that decision reflects the more down-to-earth OSU fan base. In the past and as one of the old-timers here, I've been critical of the n00bs who drop in after a bad loss and spit often nonsensical stuff. The resulting flamewars are enough to get us noticed on national blogs. But I'll take Brian and Hinton mocking our open comment discourse on Schadenfreude, rather than the sanctimonious censoring of ideas that the Hippie favors.
Well said.
Looks like Ginn is going to win the Houndie, granted he was benched as a WR but 299 return yards and two TD's is pretty solid.
His 2nd TD was a thing of beauty.
Pride, fall, etc.
I think Michigan's fanbase in intrinsically more meltdown-prone than most others, for a variety of reasons, the most important of which are all their own damn fault. They constantly cast themselves as superior to almost every other fanbase in terms of intellect, loyalty, and they constantly cast their team as superior to all others by shouting "MOST WINS OF ALL TIME!" and whatnot. When you're always that arrogant, and that entitled, it's a tough comedown.
Our own fanbase is not entirely innocent of a similar arrogant mindset, but I don't think it pervades to the degree that it does up north. It's an entire culture up there.
I'd say both of them were, but he needs to learn to look into the camera in the post game interview.
Whats funny is before the 2nd one they had on "Black Betty" in the stadium. I think there is a Highlight on youtube with that sound track.
Good to see him shut up some of the haters. Now they just need to get him the ball on offense.
Haha You're right, he had no eye contact during the post game interview. Just saw his first one, very similar runs, but the second one had a couple more jukes in it.
Random thought - wouldn't it be cool if Illinois knocked off Cincy? They catch Cincy after West Virginia and before the big game at Pitt. And Zook is nothing if not unpredictable.
It's a 3:30 kick as well
I could see it happening. Illy has some talent on that team, they are just head cases, from the HC on down....
agreed...
This is diff trap game.
Ill has momentum coming off a big win over Michigan.