Eleven Warriors

First posted at Inside The Shoe

That certainly wasn't the game any of us were expecting, including Mark May. The offense struggled all game long, the special teams (at times) looked awful, and the defense was back on it's heels for the entire game what with the Spread formations and trickery by Toledo. Let's take a look at what went right and wrong for the Buckeyes on Saturday.

What Went Right

- Carlos Hyde rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries with 2 touchdowns, but he dominated for most of this game, pushing for extra yardage and giving that extra effort, which really payed off in the end. Hyde also scored the eventual game winner, running right up the gut from the 3 yard line and in for the score to give the Buckeyes the lead against the Rockets I'm sure due to his play in the past 2 games that when Jaamal Berry and Jordan Hall take the field again, Fickell will find room for this kid to get some yardage, most likely on short yardage situations.

- The secondary play for Ohio State was once again a big factor in on the defense. All middle to deep passes were covered very well, and Dominic Clarke and Bradley Roby did very well for themselves, and give some serious depth to this corner spot when Travis Howard returns to play. Some might argue that these 2 should be the starters, and Howard should earn his spot back, and I might end up agreeing with them. The final drive by Toledo was on complete lock-down as far as deep passing. They couldn't hit the men they wanted to, which lead to more pressure for a mistake to be made.

- John Simon as usual was a leader for this team. After playing decently in the first half, Simon had to leave the game for a while as he was cramping to an extreme. In that absence, the Rockets did well for themselves, although they did that all day anyway, and were able to have the ball on the last drive to give themselves a chance. Fortunately, Simon happened to return from the cramp to come in and play, and lead to his quarterback rush, which resulted in a bad ball from the QB on 4th down. Game over, Buckeyes win.

What Went Wrong

- Joe Bauserman went 16/30 for 189 yards and 1 TD. As I expected, against an actual pass-rush, Bauserman faltered under the pressure, and gave more questions than answers as to what the situation with the quarterbacks is. Fickell was impressed with him against Akron, and clearly made him the starter, as Braxton Miller didn't have one single snap the entire game. I did not see Bauserman complete more than 1 deep ball, and even the 1 deep ball he completed was only deep because the receiver ran up the field for more yardage. It's almost as if Fickell knows he can't pass, and so is fine with settling with consistent screen and bubble passes that don't work in an I-Formation. Things are going to go south very quickly in the W/L column, unless something changes here soon.

- The special teams for Ohio State has been a weak point the last 2 years now, and sans a Chris Fields touchdown, there were no bright spots. We had a blocked punt, a missed FG, and horrid kickoff coverage. Not to mention, Jaamal Berry didn't look anything close to the Jaamal Berry we saw returning last year, as he ran straight into his blockers, and just seemed overally slow. I'm not one to criticize Berry, and even I know that he didn't look too solid.

- Rod Smith has to hold onto the football if he wants to see time again this season. He had Ohio State's only turnover a week ago, and this time he gave Toledo one final crack at upsetting Ohio State. Even that might not be enough to get him on the field, though. The fact that we were trying to run the clock down so that Toledo could finally be put away and he fumbled (with one hand on the ball) shows he didn't truly know the situation. I'm not going to bash on the kid, it was a mistake and he's got a lot of talent. He's got to learn from this though, and can't let it happen in the future.

Re: The running game - While I'll agree the O-line certainly didn't play as fired up as we'll need them to, I don't think we can just write them off already as under-performers reminiscent of previous years. I think we have an objectively talented group that played a bad game collectively. I think the running game was a bit of a problem simply because Carlos Hyde is not made to run outside the tackles. Those stretch plays (that depend on him getting to the outside before a nickleback or outside linebacker can get to him) are going to fail. While he may have the best straight line speed of the running backs, it appears as though he doesn't have the same lateral quickness or agility as a guy like Hall or Berry. Here is where the suspensions really hurt. Much was written about Hyde and Smith's lack of vision - i.e. running straight into blockers on seemingly every play - but I'm optimistic that this will get better with experience. I remember Boom doing the same thing at the beginning of last season, and then he just became a yard-crunching machine during the latter half of the season. I'm hopeful that Berry will at least be available for Miami, because he could really blow up (I hear you, Ian_InsidetheShoe).

As for the Baus - I also think it is too early to abandon him completely. I think we simply have to have tempered optimism that Captain Checkdown will re-find his deep ball. I expect that to be addressed heavily in practice. I mean, during the game, just imagine if even one of his at least 6 or 7 Bauserbombs wasn't over/under thrown? We would have had a much more comfortable lead. There was simply no fear of a downfield passing game. I'm a little confused as to why Braxton didn't get a least a series in the third quarter. I understand the Tressellball-ian argument of experience and game management, even if I don't necessarily agree with it. However, I think if he's going to be listed on the depth chart as a co-starter, than he should be treated as such. I hope the coaching staff is sensitive to the fact that Brax is probably feeling a distinct lack of trust. I am hoping that Brax is given more reps during the week in preparation for Miami.

Finally, as far as the defense, it's clear that this is a young and inexperienced group. I'm encouraged by the fact that Clarke seemed to always make plays - he's a verifiable swat machine out there - and also that Roby just doesn't seem to be targeted much. Hopefully that is a result of Roby's coverage skills. I'm a little worried about that screen game. We've played many spread, screen-based offenses over the past 3-4 years and have retooled our entire defense to match this challenge, yet we seemed to always allow these short completions for 5-6 yards. I'm not sure what needs to change there - is about the linebackers not being in position to make plays? I was encouraged by Sabino and think Shazier is coming along nicely, but as a whole I was a little underwhelmed. I also thought OJ could be a bit more aggressive out there - he seems to hit like a cover corner rather than a ball-hawking safety. I miss Kurt Coleman back there.

All in all though, I think this was a needed test for our Buckeyes. They needed to see and feel what losing could be like so that they take nothing for granted. Additionally, it allows the coaching staff to realistically evaluate problems and weaknesses and to make adjustments. Blowout wins often do little to provide coaching points. We are simply lucky that we have seen our weaknesses exposed this early in the season and still came out with a W. I'm not sure if I'm exactly optimistic against Miami, MSU, or Wisconsin, but I do expect the team to grow a lot over the next few games. 

Finally, I hope Basil doesn't get discouraged about his kicks. A lot of being a kicker is mental, and so it'll take a lot for the kid to get comfortable again. We'll need him down the stretch, to be sure. 

Completely ripped off from MGoBrian.  He explains his terms here http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/hennechart-legend.html

Throwing
Bauserman

Bauserman with just 1 inaccurate pass all day, a fastball in the dirt short and behind Fragel on first and ten in the second quarter.  Two balls were batted down by blitzers coming from the outside.  One catchable ball went uncaught, a deep throw to Fields, due to an excellent play by an Akron db. 

Miller

Miller had trouble with receivers dropping passes (1 by Fragel and 2 by Rod Smith), but also saw receivers making outstanding plays (one handed grab 33 yards down field by Spencer and Devin Smith taking a ball away from an Akron db in the endzone).

Running
Bauserman

Bauserman’s two designed runs were missed handoffs that Joe just tucked it and ran.  The scrambles were all straight rushes of the 4 defensive linemen when Bauserman couldn't find a target downfield. 

Miller

Miller’s scrambles were mostly run pass options. The read option didn’t work out very well.

Receivers

Stoneburner made an excellent effort to turn a 6 yard pass on third and ten into a touchdown.  Devin Smith (who caught all his passes from Miller) had an excellent play turning a potential interception into a touchdown.  Fragel and Rod Smith had some trouble with drops.

This next table is similar to what I think mgobrian is doing with his receiving chart but I am unable to find a link to his explanations so mine will have to do.  The first digit in the grade is from the receiver’s point of view, 4 easy to 1 impossible.  The second digit indicates the presence of the defender (1 there, 0 not there) at the time the ball hits the receiver’s hands.  When I say there, I mean close contact.
Therefore:
11  Bad pass, tight coverage. 
10  Bad pass, no defender to stop it
21  Really tough ball to catch and in tight coverage.  A catch on this means the receiver is saving his qb.
20  Really tough ball to catch, no coverage.
31  Ball outside the strike zone, tight coverage
30  Ball outside the strike zone, no coverage
41  Ball on the money, tight coverage
40  Ball on the money, no coverage

Bauserman

Miller

For the receivers this is catches/opportunities

Find it and keep it. Bauserman did work against Akron. Stanley Jackson, Steve Bellisari, Justin Zwick, Todd Boeckman all could have done the same. Bauserman is not good. I repeat he is not good. I would hope a 47 year old qb could find the tight end. Those 'scrambles' were against Akron. Boeckman had the team as well but that didn't keep him from getting his ass planted on the bench. Short term Bauserman can look as good as he wants vs scrubs but long term it is going to hurt the team. And stop comparing Miller to Pryor, the proper comparison is Miller and T.Smith. Nonsensical shenanigans.

Urban Meyer and Chris Spielman just could not say enough about Braxton not having a set of headphones on while he was on the sidelines during the Akron game.  It became obnoxiously repetitive as the game went on.  I found it interesting that neither one of them could understand how that could happen.  I'm not saying that either way (head phones on, head phone off) is correct, but casual observation of what was going on (from my seat in front of the TV) did not reveal any cause for alarm. 

It was quite obvious that the other 3 QB's were on headphones.  And, there was only one offensive coach on the sidelines.  The rest were in the press box, most likely contributing to the play calling, and communicating with those 3 QB's on the sidelines who were signaling in the plays.  Each of the headphoned QB's generally communicate with a separate coach in the press box.  The system used often varies.  Sometimes the three get specific signals for separate positions (one does the line, one the receivers, and one the backs).  Or, it could be that 2 of them are signaling dummy plays and one is hot (signaling the real play.)  This may sound simple, but it actually can get quite involved.  Now, some coaching staffs may opt to use it as a learning experience for those not in the game, and others view the job of play calling a primary duty that needs as few distractions as possible.  My guess is the OSU views it as the latter. 

What was also interesting to note (as has been pointed out by various bloggers on this site) was that Braxton and his offensive unit seemed to be running a completely different set of plays than what Bauserman and his unit were running.  So there is the possibility that having Braxton on the phones learning Bauserman's plays could have been counter productive to the task at hand.  So often with a young Q the best philosophy is KISS.  Whatever it was, it seemed to work.  Braxton's first series was a 3 and out only because of a dropped pass and a bad snap - Braxton did not F up.  When he came back into the game in the second half, he looked quite crisp, and performed well.  Yet, I did not notice Urban or Chris backtracking on their earlier comments. 

This really is a case of the commentators falling in love with their own commentating.  They really liked what they were saying.  They just could not open themselves up to the possibility of a different system than what they were accustom to.  It is my best guess that Fickell and his staff opts to teach more through video review rather than trying to add more thought process during games.  And, for what it is worth, it was very effective for play calling.  Did any of you notice "Delay of Game" penalties on the Buckeyes?  The plays seemed to get in quite promptly, and there was plenty of time for the Q's to check down to audibles.  That, to me, was a refreshing change from what we have grown accustom to. 

There are many different approaches to using headphones during the game.  Just watching the games this last Saturday proved that.  Brady Hoke at MI apparently doesn't want to talk to anybody because he has no headset on during a game.  Jo Paterno was in the press box with no headset on during Penn State's game.  And, some coaches (not mentioning any names here, Kelly) seem to just want to have them on so they can rip them off and throw them to the turf. 

My real point here is that there are different approaches to how you use the headphones.  None of them are wrong, and they probably all have some sound reasoning behind them.  For two commentators to make such a big deal out of how there are used is ridiculous and detracts from the real game.  Please, Urban and Chris, focus more on the action taking place on the field. 

I've been curious as to how volatile (or not) the Poll Voters actually are as a group.  So I decided I was going to make a spreadsheet to track it and show the progress of the Buckeyes.  Right now I just wanted a quick resource to track changes so, I'm just showing who won or lost and their change in votes from week to week. I'm not planning on putting too much analysis into it, but if anyone has ideas or information they're curious about I'll try and include it.  I'll give a few thoughts on what's happened in the past week.

AP Rankings Week 2

The first item that jumped out at me were that quite a few pollsters decided to switch their allegiance from Bama to LSU.  Kind of refreshing development to see especially at the top.  However, I do expect more corrections at the beginning of the season than the end.

The other big takeaway was the annual emptying of the Notre Dame Preseason Bandwagon into the Notre Dame Lover Hath Scorned Pollster Brigade.

Let me know what you think and I'll give another update next week.

So OU's President essentially "turned on the red light" regarding the future conference affiliation of the Sooners this past week.  Should the B1G get into the fray with Oklahoma? 

I say yes, and for that matter I think Kansas and Missouri should be strongly considered as well.

For what it's worth this is what I would like to see out of the inevitable march to 16 teams.

Add Pitt, a natural rival for Penn State that shores up the Pennsylvania market.

Add Kansas and Missouri.  These two are a package deal in my opinion that would solidify the addition of Nebraska by being long time Big 8 rivals.  A great rivalry that adds the St Louis and Kansas City markets to the conference fold.

Add Oklahoma.  Why let the Pac or the SEC take this huge fish without putting out some feelers to guage interest?

Wisconsin 51 – UNLV 17
Prediction: Wis 54 – UNLV 12.  Pretty much nailed this one as Wilson looks to be an added demension to the otherwise poundy pound Wisconsin offense.

Michigan State 28 – Youngstown State 6
Prediction: MSU 49 – YSU 10.  Well I certainly expected more out of the Spartan offense that a weak 28 points against an FCS squad.  That’s not going to earn them back-to-back B1G champioships.

Northwestern 24 – Boston College 17
Prediction: Northwestern 32 – BC 24.  Well, in one regards I was compeletly and totally off base on this game as I predicated my call on Persa.  Oh well, the Wildscats still won and the game was still a dud.

Penn State 41 – Indiana State 7
Prediction: Penn State 42 – Indiana State 6.   Yeah!  I am thinking Nits fans will be hoping I am not this close in my prediction of this week’s game.

Purdue 27 – Middle Tennessee State 24
Prediction: MTS 28 – Purdue 24.  So close on this one, but the quarterbackless Boilermakers escaped with a last second victory over a very afwul team, at home. This is going to be an ugly year in West Lafayette.

Iowa 34 – Tennessee Tech 7
Prediction: Iowa 45 – TT 9.  Again, another underwhelming win over a FCS opponent. 

Ohio State 42 – Akron 0
Prediction: OSU 56 – Akron 17.  It was so damn hot.  A great start to the Fickell era.  The team played with good intesity in a game that may give the doomsayers pause. Also, a shutout is a Good Thing®, regardless of the opponent.

Illinois 33 – Arkansas State 15
Prediction: ILL 38 – Ark St 17.  Freeze had no super powers and Zook is still on the hot seat.

Michigan 34 – Western Michigan 10
Prediction: Mich 27 – W. Mich 24.  Hmmm.  Broncos play tough before letting a bad team look good and how many UM fans are pricing out airfare to Pasadena.  Michigan is BACK!  For this week anyway.

USC 19 – Minnesota 17
Prediction: USC 36 – Minney 28.  Less offensive production than I thought but, at the same time, the agonizing closeness was more than I foresaw.  Kill and his boys tried, they really did.

Nebraska 40 – Chattanooga 7
Prediction: Neb 54 – Chatta 9.  Well now, looks like someone in the B1G knows how to properly defeat a FCS team, although the score is still a little too close for my liking.  Based on week one, Big Red doesn’t look up to the task in Camp Randell.

Ball State 27 – Indiana 20
Prediction: Ball State 28 – Indy 27.  It’s an amazing record of ineptitude.

Results:
Week One 11-1 (.917)

Seems like there were a few of you this week. Did a quick scan and there is a replay listed on Tuesday (6th) @ 2pm. Big Ten Network (Ch. 58 for TW customers). If that helps anyone, great!

The body of my post is too short so I'm typing this sentence to get past it. I feel like a 11W rebel. Bad me, but meant in the best way!

The body is still too short so I'm adding this one as well. I think this is b/c of those pesky damn spammers who I'd love to smack upside the head. On that note, you have been pre-approved & have won a trip to Hawaii.

This afternoon ESPN conducted a conference call on the upcoming season with Lou Holtz and Mark May. It was moderated by Mike Humes of ESPN.

Highlights:

• Holtz is forced to choose between South Florida - coached by his son Skip - and Notre Dame when they face off this weekend. When asked about which team he'll be pulling for, he said he would be 100% behind the Bulls because he's been happily married for 50 years and isn't interested in getting divorced.
• Angelique Chenglis of the Detroit News asked about Michigan's chances this year.  May said that Greg Mattison had to be an improvement over Greg Robinson from a defensive standpoint, while Holtz was a lot more bullish on the Wolverines' chances suggesting that they could win up to ten games with the staff Brady Hoke as assembled.
• Several questions about Miami were asked. Both men feel the worst for Al Golden, whom they believe was blindsided by the multi-year scandal at Miami centered around booster Nevin Shapiro providing improper benefits to dozens of players. Holtz believes Miami should lock him up to a long-term deal and establish him as the leader of the program. May believes that the school has to be held accountable due to the relationship Shapiro had with school officials including university President Donna Shalala
• Interesting suggestion by Holtz to create a deterrent to taking money by players: Impose a penalty that would involve having to pay three times the amount taken back, if caught.  He didn't get into specifics.
• May's insistence that the school be held accountable was predicated on players coming from poor backgrounds being thrust into situations where it would be very difficult to turn away handouts, while schools are run by grown adults who need to be proactively guarding against this behavior. In regard to the latter, based on what has surfaced thus far Miami failed from the very top on down.
• May believes Miami deserves the death penalty, but won't get it on account of money (he didn't get specific, but I assume he means from a television, local, ACC and merchandising standpoint). He asked "anyone" to tell him what it takes to get the death penalty if Miami does not get it.
• My question, verbatim: