Congratulations on the victory on Saturday. Obviously, it didn't go my way on Saturday and I'll be angry at some of the coaching decisions/play calls in the second half, but the better team won.
Some takeaways from my visit to Ohio Stadium:
-Even in enemy territory, the Shoe is something special all football fans should be a part of
-I was hardly heckled; in fact, pre game I was greeted by 3 or 4 Buckeye fans that talked football and welcomed me and wished me an enjoyable visit. I did get several strange looks at the Skull session and the team walk into St. John's; Zach Boren, Fickell, Vrabel, and many other Buckeyes gave me a stern stare of hatred (it was great, even though I bit my tongue).
-Ohio Stadium is extremely loud. Anyone that says differently is a moron. Sure there were some hush moments, but when the team needed them, they were intimidating
-It was pretty damn cold
-I was a little disappointed with TBDBITL and the Fantasia themed half-time show after seeing the video-game themed show; I mean, they're still better than Michigan's band, but it didn't woo me
-Carlos Hyde could not be stopped and should've seen 10-15 more touches in the second-half, alone
-It was nice only having an hour drive after a game, for once
-I wish the back and forth from the first half would've spilled over to the second half, but it was a pretty good game, despite the result
OSU should be ranked #2 in the AP, at least for now, even though that is about the worst case scenario #1 and #2 combo in the history of existence for a Michigan fan.
OSU could easily stroll into the Big House at 11-0 next season and will be heavy favorites vs a young Michigan team...I hope to be there and hope many of you will make the trip to Ann Arbor, especially if you've never been.
I was reading mgoblog's take on the Columbus experience, and I was happy to see an overwhelmingly positive response about fanbase class, and how they were generally greeted well.
Props to everyone at the game. Remember, hate them on the field, respect them on the street.
Hail - You're a good dude man.
I need to hear it straight from a UM fan, what in the heck was with the UM playcalling in the 2nd half. The playcalling in general was predictable. If Denard was in @ QB, he was running the ball. If he was in the backfield, he was getting the ball. If he wasn't in, Gardner was gonna pass. But the 2nd half playcalling surprised me. I get the fact that OSU was stopping the run, but to not even put Denard in the game for the 4th quarter seemed completely stupid. And what is Hoke doing with the headset? He doesn't wear one the whole game cause he "trusts his staff" and then with what 3 minutes left he decides he needs to know what's going on?
I haven't watched the game on TV yet, so I wasn't aware of the him wearing the headset at all...first time, I believe.
I wish I had an answer to the playcalling. Looking at the decisions and stats you'd think that the 2nd half was actually the first half. It's like the made adjustments from what was working pretty well to not working at all. OSU's defense did step up, but like you said, if you know what's coming you should be able to stop it. Just didn't put our guys in a position to succeed in the 2nd half. So frustrating...
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
He has done it every time ttun lost this year, always late in the game as if that will make a difference. Even if he doesn't turn it on, at least he could use it to keep his ears warm, right?
Buckeye fan here. First, I think Denard was dinged up more than has been let on. He was obviously absent during the later portions of the game, but they showed him on the sideline and it appeared that he was clinging his right arm to his side and was unable to move it very well.. It could have been nothing since they only showed him briefly, but it was noticeable.
The only real situation where I noticed the TTUN playcalling was when they lined up in a strong goal-line type formation and ran up the gut. There was a big 4th down with Denard and a big 3rd down with the little HB. The way TTUN was racking up yardage on runs to the outside it was shocking to see them line up strong. They only play-faked out of that formation one time if I recall and it ended in an incompletion.
Finally, Hail you seem like a very good sport. A fan that I respect.
Thanks, Hail. Glad you had a good experience.
I was confused by the whole QB-switching thing. I thought using both at the same time was what made them dangerous, particularly since Gardner would be a valid threat if he headed out to the WR position and Robinson would be a huge threat on bubble screens and, well all screens and misdirections really. I was very surprised that you took away your greatest threat- versatlity- and replaced it with alternating between two different but both conventional offensive styles.
I think I'd be pretty upset with the offensive playcalling if I was you.
Hopefully this is all just another step in your gradual change to being a Buckeye....
Residing in the state of Ohio will be the closest I'll ever come to being a Buckeye.
Sorry.Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
You can always move...
Good stuff Hail. I will say the students weren't so friendly to some UM fans as several of them were peppered with trash throughout the game. Actually had to get a cop to remove a guy because he was throwing beer cans at people.
A tsun fan at the Shoe worth a couple bucks, but a tsun fan at the Skull Session getting the stare down.....PRICELESS
It was a good game and Im glad to hear that you made it out of the Shoe alive but I thought you should have been roughed up a little tho....lol
O H I O is the Buckeye State
Well, let's just say it's probably a good thing I was in the Michigan section. I pretty much yelled my head off...first for success, then at Brady and Borges (and Gardner a few times).
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
HAIL: I would be curious to hear your perspective on the play calling of Borges in the 2nd half. Am I right in thinking many scUM fans were as perplexed as all of us Buckeyes were with trying to run small backs into the heart of our D-line? You are always pretty dead on with your assesments.
Yes there are two Buckeyes in Ann arbor on this site!
I haven't had a chance to watch the broadcast yet, but I hated that Hoke burned a timeout to go for 4th and 2 on Michigan's 48 to start the half. On that play and several others that were 2nd/3rd and short and we ran denard or one of the backs into a 7 or 8-man box straight up the gut, most of the Denard runs he was lined up at QB and clearly wasn't going to pass, which allowed the defense to dial up on the run. Even if Denard found a hole, he only has one good arm and when he got blown up on the hit where he fumbled, I'm thinking "It was just a matter of time."
I don't recall Devin and Denard being on the field together in the second half. All of the decoy and trickery-type of plays they could run with Denard in the game (which they talked about all week to the point Garnder was giddy in press conferences because the defense just doesn't know what's coming) and chose not to; I just don't get it.
Not all on the coaches, though. Devin threw uber late to a streaking Roundtree who was open for 5 seconds and once he finally threw the ball (Bryant, I think) jumped it and almost had an easy pick 6. He made a horrible decision to throw a low percentage pass (incomplete) on the 1st and 20 play on Michigan's last drive when he could've ran for at least 10 along the left sideline. Then, of course trying to squeeze a ball between 4 Buckeye defenders to Dileo that was intercepted.
Coaching staff has to do a MUCH better job of clock management and calling plays that are approriate to the situation. The O-line has to improve to allow for a power run game to emerge because our hands were tied so many times, this year.
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
glad your trip went well, and I hope you werent the guy in front of me in 6A in the Michigan hockey jersey I had to "remove" from standing on top of the row in front of me lol.
nope, right above you in 6C, though...safe and sound around fellow Michigan fans with a few Buckeyes sprinkled in.
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
I wish all TSUN fans were like you, Hail. And I wish all fans on both sides would always show class like the OSU fans you encountered throughout the day, as well as the class most TSUN fans show up there.
Class of 2010.
The stories that some Michigan fans tell about being abused in Columbus are legend. My rough guess is that about 1% of them are true.
The battle of the bands: Ah, yes. Well TBDBITL is a truly great one. I can't think of a better marching band. Because it is all brass and percussion, OSU is more of a military band, and it is gloriously loud. The Michigan band has historically been orchestrated more as a concert band. With woodwinds and other persussion. Quite honestly, I might be forced to agree that the OSU band sounds better in the Stadium, but I'd also insist that Michigan's band sounds better in a concert hall and on recordings. (The greatest college marching band recording in history being the Revelli-led MMB on a Vanguard recording from the fifties.)
You can have the concert hall. We'll take the football stadium.
Oh, wait, we already did.
I'm going to have to agree with Hail, though: the halftime show was very underwhelming. After the videogame and aliens shows, I was expecting something absolutely ridiculous. Instead, it was just so so. At this point, TBDBITL is a victim of its own success. We know they can mimic animals/people/spaceships moving (something other bands could only dream of choreographing). In essence, what else ya got?