Eleven Warriors

It’s funny to me that PSU fans always look back to the 2005 OSU game to cite their great home advantage. No doubt the stadium had something to do with that win, but (though it’s hard to believe) that was SEVEN years ago. In the OSU games @ Happy Valley since then, Tod Boeckman had a career day and Terrelle Pryor got revenge for the loss in Columbus. Also to put those 7 years in perspective, in 2005 Braxton Miller was in 7th grade.

I’m not feeling overly confident about a win this weekend, but it will have more to do with the teams on the field than the fans in the stands.

Since PSU fans always go back to the atmosphere of a game 7 years ago, I began to wonder how they've done at home in big games since then. Here's a slice:

Looking back at recent years, here’s the results of big home games for PSU:

2011
Alabama wins 27-11
Nebraska wins 17-14

2010
MSU wins 28-22

2009
Iowa wins 27-10
OSU wins 24-7

2008

PSU beats Illinois 38-24
PSU beats MSU 49-18

2007
OSU wins 37-17

Ater going through these, PSU’s home field advantage seems to be one of the most overrated environments in college football.

(I'll save you the Google search. You can see their past schedules here.)

With Urban Meyer at the helm, the Dave-centric offense has become a thing of the past. It's time for OSU fans to bone up on what the new offense will look like. If, like me, you enjoy the sense of superiority you get from explaining to your friends why they're idiots for making mindless comments based on knowledge gleaned from Craig James's gems of football information, you really need to check out Chris Brown's (no, not that Chris Brown) blog, Smart Football.

Here's a few posts that will help OSU fans transition from understanding an offense based on I-formation power plays, to Urban Meyer's offense...

• Florida Gator Urban Meyer Offense: If you read one thing on this list, make this it. Chris Brown lays out the origin, fundamental concepts and evolution of Urban's offense. He then explains a few of  the basic run plays that Meyer uses. (Spoiler: One is very similar to a favorite play used by a certain sweater-vest-wearing OSU coach, albeit with the QB taking the snap from a few yards further back.)
• Urban Meyer's "Crazy" or Shovel Triple Option: This an addendum of sorts on the first blog post in this list. Brown explains the reads involved in this play and then reminds the reader that it isn't really a recent idea.
• The Shotgun, The 'Gun, and the Shotgun Spread Offense: You hear the talking heads on TV make sweeping generalities about the "spread offense." If you are interested in learning what "the spread" actually is (and isn't), you need to read this. To sum it up in one phrase: There's nothing (or at least not as much as you thought) new under the sun.
• Did the spread really evolve from the single wing?: One of those sweeping generalities you hear from commentators about various spread offenses is that they evolved from the single wing. Although the single wing and spread look similar, Chris Brown explains how they are built on fundamentally different concepts. Also, what they do share in common isn't necessarily the result of an evolution, but just intelligent coaches coming to the same conclusion at different times.