Eleven Warriors

Miami

OSU 27 – Toledo 22.  OK, you saw it.  I saw it.  It is over. It was ugly, very ugly.  I was surprised but probably should not have been.  Don’t we do this pretty much on an annual basis?  Sort of like some dreaded family reunion.  You have to go, but you really don’t want to go there.  Still, you show up and make nice and are miserable.  You keep reminding yourself that if you make it through this stupidity without a nasty divorce you get to go to Florida next week.  So our young Buckeye team sleep-walked through a near MACatastrophe.  This was not unlike what we have done in years past against Ohio, Marshall, Bowling Green, Cincinnati and Navy.  It is not a good thing, but seems to be something of a rite of passage.   The difference this year is we are not sure we have enough playmakers on the field to flip the switch when the competition merits doing so.   First a word to those five to ten thousand “fans” who thought it was appropriate to boo when Joe Bauserman avoided a sack by throwing the ball away or missed a receiver.  We have been over this before; it is never, and I do mean never, appropriate to boo a player in scarlet and gray.  Second, if you are going to behave in such a manner please go to your family reunion or whatever lame activity you have in your sad little life and stay the hell out of our stadium.  OK, back to the matter at hand.  My observations were as follows.  On Defense.  The Bucks tackled very poorly, especially on the perimeter. We did a lousy job of shedding blocks, which were probably holds.  It seemed that we had players in position to make plays on the quick screens and hitch passes which gave us so much trouble, but they whiffed or got locked up with blockers too long.  This is very fixable, and I trust will be remedied.  Pass coverage.  Our DB’s cover very well.  I saw very few receivers open beyond five yards beyond the LOS.  No one was fooled by the attempted double pass (thus, it stayed a single pass).  We had some trouble with the Wildcat formation.  Beyond the first time, I do not know why.  Toledo’s offense was good, and they were fast.  It will be interesting to see if they move the ball this Friday when they host Boise State in the Glass Bowl.  That may tell us a lot more than my ramblings.  We really need John Simon on the field.  When he left on a cart in the third quarter, to be re-animated in the locker room, it was scary.  Fortunately he returned in time to lead a late defensive stand and save the day.  It would also help if Nathan Williams would be available this week, but I just learned he was scoped today and is out indefinitely.  Andrew Sweat and Dominic Clark are players.  Tyler Moeller, please come back to being what you used to be.
Offense:  Joe Bauserman started hot then cooled off.  His receivers need to do a better job of making plays for him, especially on the long balls.  Joe needs to know that if he puts the ball within your grasp, you will beat the defender and go get the ball.  I would have loved to have seen Braxton Miller play, but I don’t think there was any place to get him in.  The coaches see him every day in practice and they know what he can and cannot do and what he knows and what confuses him.  If they thought he would have helped the cause last Saturday he would have played.  Please trust our coaches.  Luke and company were doing all they could to win the game against Toledo. Sure Braxton may be the future, but with this team we had damn well better stay in the moment. And at this moment Bauserman gives us the best chance to win.  I hope that changes some in Florida.
The one coaching decision I will question is this.  When we were driving to salt the game away middle of the 4th quarter why did we give the ball to a freshman who fumbled last week?  That should have been Carlos Hyde’s ball all the way on that drive.  If we had scored, we would not be going through all this angst.  Field goals.  Someone needs to do a Jedi mind-meld for Drew Basil.  He looks so good on the PATs and is even OK on kickoffs, but what happens on the field goals.  I know he has a cast on his arm and hand, but cannot figure out how that screws up his kicking.  I guess we need to remember that it was toe injury which ended Dizzy Dean’s pitching career.   Maybe the cast throws off his weight shift as he kicks.  I think Drew may need to hire one of Tiger Woods’ former swing coaches and implement the stack and tilt.  My friend Roger Obenauf is available to explain and demonstrate the stack and tilt to the uninitiated.  Our special teams as a whole are a mess. Why?  Didn’t we used to win with special teams and defense?   Kickoff coverage has been spotty at best and we are coming up against a team who, if my memory is correct, took back both a punt and a kickoff for TD’s last year. We have had a punt blocked and to the naked eye Ben Buchanon seems slow in getting the punts off, not that the block was his fault.  Now that we have had a kick blocked there is blood in the water and every team we play will be trying for the block.    We have been below average in special teams for the last several seasons and I don’t get it.  One last gripe about the offense is that our RBs seem to lack  vision at times and make bad cuts.  That may very much be an experience thing.  Hyde in particular, has made some nice cuts, but has missed a few opportunities too.  I am not sure what to make of the offensive line just yet.  They appear to be coming off the ball quicker and harder than in years past.  They have done a good job for the most part in pass pro.  We do OK at the LOS, but do not seem to be able to get any helmets on guys in the next level, allowing the LBs and safeties to keep  blowing up our plays.
All in all, we need to keep several things in mind.  First this is a very, very young football team.  Secondly, missing the suspended parts is hurting a lot.  Whoever the playmakers are going to be this year, we have not seen them yet.  That could be because they are young and have not yet fully emerged, or they may not have played yet.  Another distinct possibility is that we are just not very good.  If we lose to Miami, brace yourself, 2011 is going to be a rocky ride.  If we beat Miami, remain with your seatbacks fully upright and your seatbelts fastened because I am not sure if Miami is any good either.  We do know for sure that there will be turbulence with the Spartans, Huskers and Badgers.
Other games last week:
Notre Dame at Michigan:  The first night game in the big house.  Wow!  Electricity comes to Ann Arbor.  Every week we get some team on national TV changing their unis.  Weasels, were your regular home jerseys not ugly enough?  The Weasel throw-back jerseys were more throw up than throw- back and on HD TVs no doubt caused projectile vomiting throughout the nation. By comparison Notre Dame’s throwback uniforms were just silly.  I thought their helmets looked a bit like a Lucky Charms cereal box.  It looks like Irish coach Kelly has cleaned up his potty mouth.  I did not see Irish coach Kelly swear once.  Sadly his defensive backs play did not improve as much as their coach’s vocabulary.  You gotta feel for Coach Kelly.  His defensive game plan was sound.  Stop the run, contain Denard Robinson and force him to pass.  They did just that.  Then when Robinson launched passes which had the parabolic arc of a miss-fired mortar, the Irish DBs wobbled around aimlessly while the Weasel receivers accepted the gifts floating down from heaven.  The Irish looked like early astronomers, staring skyward in silly outfits, not quite knowing what they were seeing.  It was the most amazing example of bad air defense since we attacked Iraq.  With a secondary of Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Jose Feliciano Notre Dame will get scored on more than Paris Hilton.  Just a suggestion but I’ll bet Michael Floyd could double as a DB at times much the way Chris Gamble did for the Bucks in the 2002-03 seasons.  All this allowed Weasel coach Brady Hoax to be off and running (probably  in pursuit of the Krispy Kreme truck) with a 2-0.  I am not sure whether Coach Hoax more closely resembles Fozzie Bear or Flounder of Animal House.             
South Caroline at Georgia:  The Bulldogs are now following up their stellar 6-7 2010 campaign with a 0-2 start.  The only thing anyone cares about in Athens now is who their next coach will be. 
Alabama at Penn State:  Nick Saban and the Tide looked like they were just trying to get out of Nittanyville without embarrassing the natives and their ancient chief.  I think Alabama is really good, especially on defense.
Iowa vs.  Iowa State:  The campaign to make Kirk Ferentz Coach of the Year permanently has been sidetracked.  Still the Hawkeye faithful will want to extend his contract because you never know when the NFL may need a guy who can’t win championships and looses to his rival (and a very mediocre one at that).  Just a tip to Coach Ferentz, John Cooper is still waiting for that same phone call.

This week:
LSU at Mississippi State (Thurs): I don’t think all the cowbells in Starkville can stop the Tigers.  After rudely dispatching the Demons from Northwestern state, the Bayou Bengals are ready for anything.
MSU at Notre Dame:  Notre Dame is not as bad as their 0-2 record indicates, but they are bad enough to lose to the Spartans and become 0-3.  Somehow, the Irish are favorites; what does Vegas know that we don’t?
Boise State at Toledo (Fri):  Wouldn’t it be nice to see the Rockets hang with Boise?  Would that not give us a sense of optimism and reduce our reliance on antacids before kickoff Saturday.
OU at Florida State:  I think Alabama, LSU and OU are really good.  I think FSU is high up among the “pretty goods”.  Can pretty good beat really good? No
Ohio State at Miami:  Last year the Buckeye defense had very little problem with the Hurricane offense.  Cane coach Randy Edsall has banned earrings and caps indoors.   Does he mean caps as in “hats” or caps as in “if you say that about my momma again I’m gonna bust a cap in yo ass?”  I recall that in a similar step toward a more disciplined program previous coach Randy Shannon had banned guns from the team’s facilities.  Sounds like the place is going to be a monastery pretty soon. In 2010, the Canes hurt us with their return game and helped us with Jacory Harris penchant for throwing picks.  We look every bit as vulnerable to returns, but Harris has been suspended so we have no evidence if his generosity will continue.
We need to be able to run the ball this week.  Really.  We need some big plays on defense like fumbles and interceptions.  Special teams need to not screw up.  Sounds like a pretty simple (and obvious) formula for victory.  Control the LOS, win the turnover battle and be OK in special teams.  I really have no idea.  We saw Miami lose to Maryland, but they were without eight players who had been suspended for just one game.  Plus no one knows if Maryland is any good and everyone was distracted by their ugly uniforms.  Will we see some more of Jamaal Berry and possible Braxton Miller.  Too many questions for this simple mind to know anything for sure.  We just have learned that our three suspended players (not to be confused with our 4 other still suspended players) have been reinstated.  If the NCAA geniuses don’t change their minds again, this should be good news.  How much it will matter is anyone’s guess.  So, just for fun I will predict a Buckeye victory to the tune of 27-17.  Yes, you read that right; Drew Basil emerges from his funk and stack and tilts two field goals.  Here’s hoping! My real advice is to start drinking early for this one.
 

Completely ripped off from MGoBrian. 

He explains his terms here http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/hennechart-legend.html

Throwing
Bauserman

With so much to talk about we will just give each drive its own paragraph.

Bauserman with an excellent start, seeing a 4 man rush on every passing down in the opening drive Bauserman delivered the ball to his receivers on time and on the money. 

On the second possession Bauserman throws a wildly inaccurate pass on 2nd and 8, then panics against a 3 man Toledo rush on the next play scrambling before any route has a chance to develop.  The tackles handle the outside rushers, the center has some trouble with the nose tackle, but Boren steps up for a solid double team. 

After Toledo takes the lead, Ohio State has the ball 1st and 10 when Toledo shows 5 at the line of scrimmage with the wide side linebacker outside the defensive end.  The left tackle responds by double teaming the defensive tackle?  The tailback carries out the play fake instead of picking up the defensive end that is running freely towards the quarterback.  The outside linebacker and tight end both stand at the line of scrimmage for the duration of the play.  Bauserman (under pressure) heaves the ball towards two Toledo defensive backs, but overthrows them (Reed is trailing the defensive backs by a couple of yards).  On the next play Toledo brings the short side linebacker outside the defensive end.  The right tackle stands at the line of scrimmage for the duration of the play as the defensive end and outside linebacker have free runs at the quarterback.  Bauserman delivers a strike to Reed on a three step drop before either free rusher can get there.  On 3rd and 10 Toledo shows 5 (3 defensive linemen and two blitzers) at the line of scrimmage, the nose tackle engages the left guard while the defensive end takes the left tackle up field.  This leaves the outside blitzer with a free run at the quarterback as Hyde goes to the flat while three men block the opposite defensive end.  Bauserman never sees the blitzer and is sacked for an 11 yard loss that is wiped out by a facemask that never happened.  On 3rd and 4 the line picks up a delayed blitz perfectly, Buaserman throws into double coverage in the endzone as one of the Toledo defensive backs bats it away.  This was put into the bad read category because of the presence of the safety.  It is possible that Fields ran the wrong route as he was about 5 yards away from Reed when having him towards the middle of the field would seem to make more sense.

On 2nd and 7 Bauserman checks down to Stoneburner for 2 yards.  On 3rd and 5 Bauserman drops the ball on what is ruled an incomplete forward pass.  Both passing plays in this series are four man rushes by Toledo.

On 1st and 10 Bauserman rolls right on play action and decides to throw the ball away.  On 2nd and 10 a delayed inside blitz from Toledo gets there late as Bauserman hits Stoneburner crossing short for 11 yards.  Later in the possession Toledo shows 3, brings 4 as the line picks it up perfectly, Bauserman checks down early to a completion at the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 10.

On 2nd and 12 Toledo rushes the front 4 and Bauserman gets it to Hyde in the flat who turns the pass into an 8 yard gain.

On 1st and 10 with a four man rush the defensive end eventually gets pressure on Bauserman by rushing inside towards the center, after being forced from the pocket Bauserman is unable to beat the defensive tackle to the outside and has to throw the ball away.  On 3rd and 9 the defensive end and tackle twist with the end eventually getting to Bauserman after being released by Hyde.  Bauserman throws wide of Homan at the line of scrimmage.

On 1st and 10 Bauserman chucks one over the head of an open Devin Smith at the goal line.  On 2nd and 15 Hyde takes a screen pass for a 6 yard gain.  Bauserman checks down to Hyde behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 9.  On 4th and 3 the line picks up the Toledo blitz and Bauserman delivers a first down pass to Stoneburner that is promptly dropped. 

First possession of the second half and no passing plays called as Ohio State fails to get two yards on two running plays after a first down carry of 8 yards.

On 1st and 10 Bauserman rolls right after the play action fake, pumps once and I’ll guess that he throws it away (instead of giving him an inaccurate).  A catchable ball thrown to either receiver in front of him would have been a tight squeeze for the completion.  On 2nd and 10 Bauserman throws a perfect strike to Smith cutting across the field behind the linebackers.  The offensive line gives ample time for this play to develop.  2nd and goal from the 5 the offensive line and Hyde do an excellent job picking up 7 Toledo pass rushers.  Neither Reed nor Smith can create separation from man coverage in the end zone as Bauserman’s pass is batted away.  On 3rd and goal Stoneburner is held in the end zone and Bauserman throws the ball away.  On the two point conversion attempt Toledo shows 3, brings 4, the line provides excellent protection again, Stoneburner posts up with a man on his hip at the goal line, Boren stands double covered at the goal line, Reed has a man to his outside and a man to his inside 5 yards deep where he stops, Devin Smith is running across the back line of the end zone and Hyde is off to the right side at the five with a defender at the goal line eyeing him.  None of these options seems ideal, though one of the three single covered receivers seems better than the two double covered.  Bauserman throws a ball wide left to a double covered Reed hoping that he will break back towards the goal line, and I breathe a sigh of relief when the ball hits the turf as only the Toledo defensive back made the break.

The third quarter ended with Bauserman completing a couple of 6 yard passes against straight four man rushes, including a nice out to Fields on 3rd and 3.  The fourth quarter begins with Bauserman taking a shot downfield into single coverage, but the Toledo defensive back is able to knock it away from Devin Smith.  Toledo shows 5 rushes 3, Bauserman hits Stoneburner early for 4 yards on 3rd and 7.

2nd and 12 Bauserman misses a wide open Devin Smith 15 yards downfield.  On 3rd and 12 the offensive line picks up an 8 man blitz as well as can be expected considering the two man numerical disadvantage (though Bauserman ends up throwing this ball with three Rockets in his face).  Ohio State now has 4 receivers being defended by 3 defensive backs.  Unfortunately 2 of the receivers run to the same spot which Bauserman overthrows by 15 yards.  Carlos Hyde was the man all alone on the play. 

On 2nd and 10 Devin Smith jumps to make of the few downfield catches in the game, good for 31 yards.

Running
Bauserman

As mentioned above the 5 yard scramble on 3rd and 8 against a 3 man rush was disappointing.

Receivers

Stoneburner had the only touchdown catch, but also had a heartbreaking drop on 4th down. 

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

The four 21’s are defensive backs knocking passes away from receivers, but 7 out of 28 passes (this does not include the three passes intentionally thrown away) find their way into the completely uncatchable category.  For comparison Pryor put 13% of his passes against the Big Ten and Arkansas last season in those two categories, a little over half of Joe’s percentage against Toledo.

For the receivers this is catches/opportunities

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)