The unchill universe continues to ever expand Life continues to be horribly unfair, as we first touched on Saturday, conventional wisdom continues to dictate that Tyler Moeller's come back year will be cut short by injury. Moeller was widely expected to undergo an MRI Sunday though the results of the MRi are still pending. Obviously Moeller's story had turned into one of the best of the young season. A human being who's passion for the game he loved was enviable amongst teammates and an individual who'd persevered through injuries that some said would limit his ability to ever play football again having another course derailing obstacle is just cruel at best and heartwrenching at worst. While Ohio State will certainly feel Moeller's absence when it comes to the blitz, Christian Bryant should be a pleasant surprise to most in terms of his cover abilities out of the star position. If anyone's seen how the Saints have been utilizing Malcolm Jenkins this year, think a younger, rawer version. If anything, Moeller's inability to participate may most reverberate in non-football facets. Here's hoping the Silver Bullets are able to rally around their fallen emotional leader and make the remainder of the season a testiment to the grit and fortitude he's shown in the last year plus.
Foooooooorrrrreeee The Plain Dealer's Bill Livingston chalks a lot of the approach this past Saturday to blustering winds which changed the entire dynamic of the game, particualrly the special teams aspects:
The beleaguered OSU punter, Ben Buchanan, hit balls out of his dreams with the wind and coped well enough to survive when going into it.
"You could definitely miss the ball on your drop if you weren't careful," he said. "You try to sky it when you have the wind at your back. When you're going into it, you just try to hit what would be a knockdown 3-iron in golf."
Field position became so important that even the kickoff man, Drew Basil, had to have his game instep on. When Basil had the wind at his back, he pumped a kickoff into the end zone for a touchback and to the goal line, from which it was only returned to the Illini 13. When Basil faced the wind, he executed a squib kick to start the second half that almost perfected the ugly skill.
"Hit the ball in the middle and keep it in bounds," said Basi, reciting his intentions.
Livingston also touched on the way it was impacting the deep ball. In addition to Pryor's shortcomings physically, it likely factored into why Ohio State went into full blown Tresselball mentality midway through the third.
From the Quad Speaking of said injury, while Terrelle Pryor expects to be ready to go against Indiana, it's impossible not to wonder how this will impact Pryor going forward. Former Ohio State defensive back Dustin Fox had this to share from a player who's been through a similar physical shortcoming's perspective:
Just so u guys know. There's no such thing as a mild quad strain. As soon as u try to burst it's gonna lock up
It's reasonable to expect Pryor won't be at full strength for the next several weeks, but given his track record of playing through pain, it's not inconceivable he'll still be every bit the impact maker even if he's essentially operating on one-and-a-half legs. From a more medical perspective, here's absolute hoping it's nothing more than a Grade 1 Quadricep Strain:
Grade 1
- Some stretching with microtearing of muscle fibers.
- Recovery can be complete in 10-21 days.
Grade 2
- Partial tearing of muscle fibers.
- Recovery can take up to 1-2 months.
Grade 3
- Complete tearing (rupture) of muscle fibers.
- Recovery can take more than 3 months.
- Surgery may be needed to repair the torn muscle fibers.
I think the vast majority of us as fans can make peace with idea of Terrelle not being fully himself for in upwards of 10-21 days. 1-2 months or beyond? God help us.
Scarlet Card Buckeyes senior forward Konrad Warzycha got his goon on but Ohio State still managed to tie #1 Akron 2-2. The Zips hadn't even given up a goal in 6 games until they came to Jesse Owens. O-H, y'all.
