Did we win?
Luke Fickell's words from 2011 always seem to creep back into my mind after watching a game like the one we saw Saturday night, particularly when reflecting upon the 1st quarter offense and 4th quarter defense. Someone on social media over the weekend likened our offensive performance to Austin Power's driving skills - I thought it was appropriate:
But that only describes the offensive side of the ball. I need something that can encapsulate the entire game, in much the same way Luke Fickell hit us with that timeless quote referenced above. The one image that kept coming to mind was that of winning an ugly dog competition, i.e., you won the competition you set out to win, but you looked like this:
That seems about right. Congratulations on the win .... I guess.
In all seriousness, as bad as the Buckeyes looked at times, I never felt like we were in any danger of losing that game ....and I suspect our team felt the same way, which probably explains the "meh" portions of the game as much as anything.
This offense is built to have a guy like JT run the read option - he was Urban's and Tom Herman's hand-picked guy after all. Because no deep threat has emerged, and because our o-line hasn't reached excellence in pass-blocking yet, Cardale's ability to step in and make things run smoothly just isn't there. While I realize making a statement about drinking and driving is important, I fully expect JT to start at Illinois. Perhaps I'm an optimist when it comes to the 2015 version of the Ohio State Buckeyes, but I think JT will get the offense clicking against Illinois as the final preparation for the street fight portion of the season. Michigan State comes to town in 2 weeks folks.
Speaking of Michigan State, how bout those B1G refs?
Nebraska kept its bowl hopes alive with a (questionable) last-minute touchdown to beat MSU. https://t.co/IOJk7DmL4B pic.twitter.com/cdUxRucJAI
— SBNation CFB (@SBNationCFB) November 8, 2015
I'll say it again: Every call should be reviewable. Mistakes should be corrected if they can be. What happened to #MichiganState is a joke.
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) November 8, 2015
I'm not sure it's safe for children, but you should take a look at Plaxio Burress' Twitter meltdown - it was pretty good.
I don't even know what to say about the end of that game. Laughing at their misery comes to mind, but that's not all that satisfying for some reason. They got hosed, plain and simple.
I was sort of hoping Michigan State would come to Columbus undefeated just because I enjoy games that are hyped up as larger than life, especially when the Buckeyes come out on top....as I fully expect us to do against a Michigan State team that is (perhaps due to injury) a shell of its former self. I mean this guy is its best player for Pete's sake:
Finally, I need to address something very disturbing that I witnessed on this site over the weekend. I'm not providing the links because these threads should die forever. Members of this site were ....hang on, let me compose myself ... saying kind things about Bert after his accidental win over Ole Miss. I couldn't believe my eyes. I sort of understand why a Bama fan would be happy about an Ole Miss loss and therefore happy about Bert's win, but there's no excuse for Buckeye fans. We must mock Bert and diminish his accomplishments whenever possible. We must be steadfast in our resolve. If we're going to start being kind to Bert, well ...
Parting notes:
The Browns still suck. Alabama might be good. LOL @ TCU.
TL;DR: our game was ugly; we'll beat MSU; Bert is terrible.
