It wasn't pretty, but Ohio State managed to outlast Central Florida, en route to a 31-16 win at Ohio Stadium.
Braxton Miller produced most of the offense on the day, rushing 27 times for 141 yards and 3 scores, while also going 18/24 for 155 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception through the air.
The Buckeyes' defense was suspect throughout the afternoon, giving up a few big plays, but redeemed themselves with timely interceptions, recorded by Travis Howard, Etienne Sabino and Orhian Johnson.
The offense kept UCF in the game as well, committing three turnovers in the form of two fumbles and an interception.
Good times, once again, in Columbus. Time to celebrate.
Comments
Secondary needs work. Lots of it.
Hope it's nothing serious for El Guapo.
That is all.
"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." Charlton Heston(1924-2008)
Agreed, secondary needs a ton of work.
Agree. The secondary and we really need Hall.
The D-line did almost nothing until the fourth quarter. At least the secondary made some interceptions. And does anybody even remember a linebacker making a tackle? Any linebacker?
I'll take 2-0. I wish we wouldn't run Braxton so much..will he last the season? Hyde and Hall being out isn't good. Down to pretty much Dunn and Boren. I think Rod Smtih is officially done!
Defense isn't top 10..didn't expect them to be though. Next week will be closer and soo will Sparty.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
UCF is better than Cal...just saying...I am not expecting a win in Sparty as of this moment though....
I was not impressed with Sparty, but their run game does scare me a little.
Wayne Woodrow Hayes
If they make mistakes like today...ditto to your comment...unfortunately. MSU defense is much better than UCF as well as their RB...not to mention he's from Ohio too.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
I've heard the "Rod Smith is done" line alot in the last hour. Shouldn't we wait to find out if that was even his fault before throwing him off campus? And even if it was his fault, will Urban permanently bench him for one mistake?
The problem is that he's not better than Hyde or Dunn..considering its his 3rd year in the program and Dunns 1st..yet Dunn looks better, which means the younger talented player will play.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Bro calm down with the hate on Smith. What is the problem you have with him? And what has Dunn proved that he is so great right now that you have proclaimed in several posts? I do think the kid has the potential to be a great back, but right now I honestly believe that the only reason he is getting the ball before Smith is the promises Urbz made to keep him committed to this program and not that shit house up north. Yes he is a great athlete but he only has one more touchdown than Smith in which it was only a 4 yard touchdown and other than that they look about even from what I have seen of the play they both have given this team so far this year. Yes a touchdown none the less, but you give Smith that carry he has that touchdown. Here are the seasons stats so far for the running backs.
SEASON STATS ATT YDS AVG LNG TD FUM
Carlos Hyde 24 109 4.54 16 2 0
Bri'onte Dunn 12 61 5.08 13 1 0
Rod Smith 6 27 4.5 12 0 0
Really not that big of a difference that you have been preaching about. Smith was not creditted a fumble with that botched exchange today, nor was B. Miller. I mean yes, we all would expect him for being a red shirt sophmore to have progressed much more. He should be more angry than he has shown the coaching staff. We as fans really do not have much to really judge him on this year and last year he fumbled twice and then got moved over to the D. He never had a chance to redeem himself after those fumbles. Urbz and crew must have seen something in him to have switched him back into the backfield. Another thing is the guys that Urban no longer wanted on this team are no longer here and if Urbz didn't want Rod on this team or in the backfield then he would not still be here.
Truly outside of B. Miller none of the backs have shown any type of exellence this year. From the sound bytes it does NOT sound like Urbz has ruled out Smith; only you and a handful of others feel that way.
GO BUCKEYES!
Bro, I will not calm down. Dunn IS better and IS the future at tailback. Smith wont be seen much once Hyde and Hall are back. Why do you get so offended anyway? I think you should chill with your 1000 word comment above.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
I can't see Cal being better than UCF...they lost to Nevada...at home (noticed they're playing Southern Utah today...and they scored 24 on Cal. Cal scored 50). I thought the score today would be more than it was, but it's still a win. Lots for them to work on that's for sure (both Offense and Defense). DBs looked much better and Howard is stepping up more than I expected. However run defense was weak and rushing the QB was as well. The offense seemed out of sorts at times with both Braxton and RB's. I think Hall was used more than we realized in Spring before getting injured back then and once again with his foot. Hyde getting hurt didn't help either. Excuses aside...Cal and UAB better be more like Miami 2nd-4th quarters or Sparty won't need to pull a Sparty...they'll run the ball right down our defenses throat.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
Need a second offensive option to Braxton, although Braxton missed more reads this week and took some yards away from his backs.
I agree with a lot of the above statements - secondary and linebackers need work, dline hasn't been as good as I expected. They use Braxton WAY too much. Rod Smith needs a pissed off mean streak, and then we can put hiim on defense or special teams. He's got his head firmly up his ass.
I really believe Rod "Jones" Smith as announced by ESPN has seen his last bit of playing time at tOSU.
It may have been ugly but at least we are not penn state
Penn State loses a heartbreaker lol
Class of 2010.
UCF was not out of defensive position much all day. Very good line play, and running game. Watching this game made me think that we were playing Michigan State. UCF could beat most teams in the B1G. Hate to say it but I think it is true. Our offense looked lost in several ways. Players in wrong spots, running wrong routes, penalties. Defense handcuffing themselves by not blitzing (coaches). 3rd and 21 three man rush with a very late fourth will not do it and we got burned again. DBs confused still. Urban is not a very happy man. We finally have a coach to match our perfectionist fan base.
Pretty spot on with this assessment. That 3-man rush on 3rd and 21 was an awful call by Fickell. Where is the aggresiveness from our D line that we all expected to see this year? I actually think the secondary did better than the D line today. At least the secondary got turnovers. The line didn't get turnovers or pressure the QB. At all.
I agree with much of what Lou said. There was a lot of 3 on the D-line last week and again today. How are you going to get any kind of pressure on the QB like that? Did we blitz at all today? If we did, I missed it. So much for the "aggressive" defense that we all expected. I realize the D can't blitz every play, but once per half would be nice.
"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." Charlton Heston(1924-2008)
It's about what I expected, maybe not quite as good. I'd give the offense a B and the defense a C-. Too many open receivers due to bad coverage is what concerned me the most. D line could've been better, and the offense is too much of a one-man show (though it did look good at one time).
Class of 2010.
I would never stay at a Holiday Inn, but I think I just won a t-shirt by predicting a lackluster, strangely-scored 27-16 Buckeye victory.
Hate to break it to you, but there was a 31-17 and 31-15. I wonder if Price is Right Rules apply...
Glad we won but man, we showed flashes of horribleness and greatness on both sides of the ball today. Braxton seemed a tad bit lost at times during the game. On defense there was no pass rush and the secondary seems to not be communicating effectively. Altough the secondary stepped up huge at key points during the game, they still need work. I still don't know any more than I did last week about this team.
“The minute we stop expecting greatness from our football program, we become Wisconsin.” Craig Krenzel
One area where offseason work has paid off is defensive backs not letting potential interceptions hit the ground.
That was a really big play by Johnson---that was not an easy grab
a win is a win, but this was a poor performance in my book. too many penalties, turnovers, and running backs were practically nonexistent. and where was our vaunted pass rush?
Considering how ugly it was I'm pretty happy with how comfortably we won. But I have the feeling the whole team is being verbally obliterated right now.
On a happier note, the Air Force is making Michigans defense look really bad. Too bad they only have 3 points out of it.
The defense has a lot of issues.
I think this game was a good thing.
UCF was legit and showed us our weaknesses vs. smashmouth / play action. That's what we're going to see vs. Sparty.
With a new coaching staff I'd much rather have this game than roll over 4 powder puffs.
"We get paid to score touchdowns, not kick field goals"
-- Urban Meyer
Good point. This game will make the coaching staff work that much harder.
Wayne Woodrow Hayes
Is OSU the 14th best team in the country? I guess I will have to see how the day goes for others before I can form an opinion. That game confused me... some good, some bad, some wtf. "Inconsistant", that is word I am looking for. The jury was split on whether UCF is the real deal or not, so that does not help. I'm sure the stats will make OSU look better than they actually played. I hear teams make their greatest improvement between games two and three. Two more practice games thank god.
Do you think that we will see Hall next weekend?
My replacement remote just arrived in the mail, 10 days later! I don't think I have been this happy over a piece of mail for years. Go Cuse! LOL
Dear Woody that was brutal to watch. I'll take the W though.
-The Aristocrats!
I think the most improvement between game 1 and 2 or game 2 and 3 really comes down to whom the team is playing.
Western Kentucky faring about as well as TSUN did against Bama, only down 21-0 late 2nd quarter. TSUN struggling bigtime with Air Force's offense and lucky to be up 14-3.
Class of 2010.
Im not impressed. Pretty pissed they ran Braxton so much. Offense not really aggressive enough. At least it's sunny in Columbus.
I like football
Man that was a ugly win! Defense really needs alot of work! I saw that "deer in headlights" look on Fickells face a few times today and that scares me a bit. Good guy but I honestly dont think hes the best at managing and play calling. I havent seen anything from our dline that was supposed to be much improved. I hope this was just a down week and nothing that repeats itself all year. We MUST find another playmaker on offense!! Braxton is a one man show and at this rate im not sure he will make it through a full B1G season. But I trust Urb will get em together....
Michigan looking like crap against an average Air Force...at home. I think UCF would kill AF.
Wayne Woodrow Hayes
Was hoping that Air Force would pull off the upset, not only because, DUH, they were playing TSUN, but also that their QB, Connor Dietz, is a local greater Columbus boy. He played for Hilliard Davidson. So close...
Liked a couple of the nice runs from Philly Brown, but agree, we were inconsistent on offense. Looked mentally slow.
UCF should be a 9 win team by year's end, so a good test. But Fick didn't call an "angry" game.
What's the report on Hyde?
I don't know what to think about Ficklle's coaching ability. I know we all love him etc... but man. Withers? Vrabel? Don't know who to blame for that D performance.
How bout the players? Despite the lack of agressive play calling the players still have to execute.
Wayne Woodrow Hayes
I hear ya. Did Simon even have a tackle? Hankins looked good. Roby looked good outside of a coverage confusion and he tried to smack down the Storm guy and just bounced off of him like a toy. Shazier worked hard but be got handled a couple time as well. Grant might be improving. Washington is great for a Freshman, all talent. I'll have to watch it again, but yes execution was bad overhall, arm tacking etc. I don't know if that is Fick's fault or not.
Whisky is getting physically pounded by Oregan state. I sure hope Nebraska looks better tonight.
It just sucks overall because our DLine was supposed to be a strength and so far I haven't seen it. I do place some of the blame on Fick and Vrab. scUM looks terrible against an AF team I wouldn't pick over UCF. Let's not forget UCF gets some of the Fla talent that doesn't go to Fla, FLSt., Mia, or a lower class SEC team. Solid athletes. Better that AF I would say.
Wayne Woodrow Hayes
Fickell and Vrabel in over their heads? Clearly they got some athletes at their disposal, but LB and DBs can't seem to play assignment football consistently.
I dont think Vrabel is in over is head, but Fick?? Maybe! I saw that same "lost" look in Ficks eyes that he showed all last season. We need a more aggressive style defense! Vrabel has tons of big stage experience playing in the NFL so im sure he can handle college ball, but Fick just doesnt seem like a very good play caller. Good thing is Urban addressed the lack of pressure and aggressiveness on D so hopefully he can put the heat on Fick to dial up the pressure.
He did? When? I didn't see the after game presser.
"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." Charlton Heston(1924-2008)
We found out wht our weaknesses are this year, while still pulling out a win. I was very frustrated with the D, but we still won. On the other hand, anyone watching the Wisky game? 3-0, and they look horrible.
Some serious issues with the team in general. Offensive woes don't bother me nearly as much as the defense. I'll take the win and hope the needed adjustments are made. Shame Hyde has a sprain.
B1G in general looks horrific this year. Yikes.
gotta agree..the big 10 looks unbelievebly bad..like big east bad (almost)
Well i like college and i like football...and im gunna keep doin em both cause they make me feel good!!!
and The Game should be a ton of fun this year..ttuns offense is just hoping denard can rip off a 70 yard td scramble..and if air force can have this many sustained drives against their D im pretty sure well manage a few ourselves
Well i like college and i like football...and im gunna keep doin em both cause they make me feel good!!!
WISC better wake the _____ up.
^ wont matter..theyre just that bad this year..really glad to see beilema not exchanging game tape with oregon state gave them the competitive advantage they needed..douche
Well i like college and i like football...and im gunna keep doin em both cause they make me feel good!!!
Re: Defense: 2nd week in a row where we don't blitz and give up 15 yards plus anyway.
Send the house against the QB and at least hit him. @s%&!@a
Offense: No Hall, no Hyde. Not as worried.
"We get paid to score touchdowns, not kick field goals"
-- Urban Meyer
im happy w/ the offense at this point other than braxtn never giving up the rock on the read or speed options and lack of deep balls. this d line is very underacheiving. hankins has to be plummeting on draft boards, spe after miami, he had a few nice plays on runs toay but they werent for loss. simon was getting doubled alot so he gets a semi pass. steve miller looked like they guy who should be starting at de until bennet returns and even after. passing downs id like a line of miller,washington,simon,spence. i think simon is more effective inside in the college game.
O'Deez330
stark county football
Lmaoo Hankins hasnt done anything wrong to make his draft stock drop..go re watch film and see his impact. The guy will be a top 10 pick just based off his athletism for his 6'3" 325 pound body. He's not going to go out and have huge stats.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Agreed. He does what he's supposed to do, eat up blocks and disrupt the run game. He's done that both weeks. He's not going to have a lot of sack or TFLs, that's not his job.
Wow Fichigan really does suck, huh.
Yeah man they are really back aren't they?
Detard is truly scUMs entire offense.... I cant stand these bums!
This would be funny (or wishful thinking): Air Force about to go on 6 minute TD drive to go up by 1 leaving Denard to run the 2 minute offense.
whats even better is that they scheduled app state again in a few years so they can get their revenge..awesome
Well i like college and i like football...and im gunna keep doin em both cause they make me feel good!!!
Come on Air Force! Yes!!! This is awesome!
I'm loving this right now!
Air force lookin tough!
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Buckeyes were sloppy today - lots of penalties, mixed-up plays.
UCF was a hard-nosed team with pretty good OL and DL. When the Buckeyes got out of their flow, it partly turned the game into an alley fight, which suited UCF. But I wouldn't read too far into it.
I am concerned about the youth on defense, that the veteran DLmen still seem to be much better against the run, and the defensive coaching/coordination. But you know Urbz will be on their asses this week.
Michigan still sucks regardless.
^ couldnt agree more..western kentucky=ttun
Well i like college and i like football...and im gunna keep doin em both cause they make me feel good!!!
Texas A&M's players must have been stoked when they woke up this morning and, all of sudden, their same players which played in the B12 last year, now automatically have SEC speeeeeed!
hahahaha
Doh! Gardner dropped it!
yes he did..im pretty sure that little running back from air force is the coolest player in college football
Well i like college and i like football...and im gunna keep doin em both cause they make me feel good!!!
Paul Chryst was probably really bummed after going 0-2 to start the season. But now he's watching Wisconsin's offense and LHAO!
I don't blame the secondary. We have a new coaching staff for secondary and they are switching from man-to-man coverage to mostly zone coverage. So occasional break down/confusion in the secondary is not surprising this early in the season. What I am worried about is the DL and its all on Vrabel. Vrabel has no coaching credentials, and it has been long time he dealt with DL in any capacity.
Vrabel played in the NFL for one of the best coaches in the league (Belichick). When he played Vrabel was one of the quarterbacks on defense so I dont put as much blame on him as I do Fick. Besides Fick is the one calling the plays, Vrabel is just coaching them throughout the week. You cant tell me Vrab doesnt know what he's doing in terms of teaching kids the ins and outs of playing dline. Were not blitzing and harrassing the QB enough and that falls on Fick for not dialing up the blitz! Hell if were gonna get beat deep atleast put some heat on the qb and let him know your coming!
I thought he played linebacker and tight end at New England. Tell me if I am wrong. It is not about blitzing; anyone can get to the quarterback by blitzing. The problem is that our front four is not winning the one-on-one battles.
Vrabel may "know" his stuff but he has not coached before 2011, so I have my doubts. By the way, he coached linebackers in 2011 and that group was horrible.
Technically yes he played LB but he lined up on the dline alot of the time not to mention he played DE @ OSU. I can see you having doubts but Vrab doesnt run the D he just coaches the line. Fick is running the show so I put it on him. You say anyone can get to the qb by blitzing so why isnt Fick blitzing??? Its obvious our front 4 isnt winnig the battle so sending a LB or two might help.
Well, I thought I will be preaching to the choir by explaining the perils of blitzing with 5 or more players. I am sure, Fick knows how to blitz, but that was not my point. Blitzing with 6, 7 players is not the solution even if it results in an occasional sack. If we want to be a great D, we have to generate pressure with the front four, and that's on Vrabel.
Oh I understand that the front four has to get there and generate pressure but if the dline isnt geting it done then we need to adjust and that just didnt happen. I never put much blame on position coaches when it comes to the big picture. The D as a whole needs work both coaches and players but it ultimately falls on Fick IMO.
USC struggling with Cuse lol.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Yes, they are. And as ugly as things were today, at the least the Buckeyes aren't Wisc, Michigan, Penn State . . .
Cuse playing well brings up the old transitive property game. NW beats Cuse, which looks good against USC. Vandy plays South Carolina tough and then the Gamecocks destroy a decent ECU team. The NW v. Vandy might be better than people would expect.
Yeah, I'm trying to make a killing on NW tonight. Just praying time now.
Dont bother..I don't think God cares about people making money off of football games.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
figure of speech kiddo.
Wats dat? lol
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Good luck. I'm rooting for NW, ILL, and Nebraska tonight. Big Ten woeful this year. I don't believe it matters, though. If Ohio State is near the top next year, Urbz will get benefit of doubt regardless of the BT's reputation.
You gotta hand it to Wisconsin. They doing a brilliant piece of performance art today. With Oregon State playing the role of Sparty, Wisconsin did an exact reenactment of Ohio State's performance against MSU last year. They did a little improv pretending to recover the onside kick, only to do it illegally - what a brilliant reinterpretation!
Soooo..Wisky sucks, Penn state sucks, Scum sucks, we are good..but not great, Sparty seems to be at the top I guess. We could steal that title on sep 29th.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
MSU will probably spank us. The rest of the Big Ten though... We will squeak past. Yikes.
I don't know about spank..but I could see us losing. If they can't stop Braxton's runs they will lose.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
If Braxton runs the ball anymore than 15-18 times against MSU he will get killed.
I think he gets 15 easily..I mean at this point it's probably second nature for him to take it and run on every other play.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
I saw several bltzes today, but unfortunately they came almost every time when UCF was running and it always seemed to be away from the blitz. We didn't play well as a whole and we aren't putting enough pressure on the other teams so far, but in all fairness seeing it live Fick did call some blitzes, but it was like they knew it was coming 95% of the time and it worked against us.
Damn that Robert Woods is fast
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
And I guess I should mention that my view was from around midfield. in A section. I know watching it on TV doesn't always give you the look you get when you're there live so you can see some things others can't. I'm not an expert, but that's what I was seeing.
Lee and Woods > Jarrett and Smith
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
If you compare Woods and Lee to our two best wideouts Brown and Smith..its like night and day.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
I don't know who to root for Georgia..because that dummy for Mizzou was talking crap about the big ten, or Mizzou..well because it's Georgia?
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Georgia, Mark Richt is a good guy, and Gary Pinkel is an asshat, or at least appears to be one.
It's funny how Mizzou thinks they're special now..how many BCS bowl games have they won?
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
0. Aaron Murray plays terrible on the road and UGA is without 4 starters, so this game could be very close.
Franklin is pretty talented..this should go 4 quarters, definitely.
Oh sheet I forgot about that Beckham kid.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Yeah I forgot about Beckham, but he's super raw. Can't run a route but is ~6'6" with track speed.
Yeah I just forgot that he commited to Mizzou lol. Definitely raw.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
I usually go for the underdog in those situations, just want to see the ranking jump all around.
I always do that as well.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
SPreston2001,
Since coaches work as a team it is very hard to tell which coach is responsible for bad performance. But your point about Vrabel just being a position coach is well taken. I hope we are saving some creative blitz packages for big games.
Yeah I hope so too lol. I just expected so much more from the defense. Lets hope all the wrinkles get ironed out. At any rate GO BUCKS!!!
Taylor Martinez for like 92 yards!!
Martinez is havig a great year so far.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Which is crazy, because he throws like he's got a skirt on.
True..but dude can skoot.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Oh he definitely has wheels, he's probably got better straight line speed than Braxton.
When I saw him break some runs him freshman year I believe..I was in Awe. Just sick speed!
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
I love NW night games, the forty foot high stands, real grass, shadows from the old school lights. Hahaha Many OH HS have better facilities. Just kidding I really do like NW.
The grass is about half there.
That Franklin for UCLA is a lil beast!
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Well, if Nebraska goes the way of Wisconsin I'm gonna be ill. I thought NW was a bit of long shot and Wisk about even but Nebraska was supposed to be a sure thing. UGHGHG
Nebraska's D should change their name/color from the Black Shirts to the Lilac shirts.
Holy crap Oregons RB's are going H.A.M.!!
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
They're the fastest team in college football.
The heisman might be coming to Ugene this year...
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
What is H.A.M.? Pardon my ignorance.
Hard as a Mothereffer