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A Fiesta of Positive Pre-game Thoughts

+3 HS
buckeye phi's picture
December 30, 2016 at 7:04pm
22 Comments

There seems to be a considerable amount of doubt among the Buckeye faithful in regard to tomorrow night's game.  In fact, in Eleven Warriors' own Fiesta Bowl Round Table, all three staffers picked Clemson to win.  Naturally, most of the pundits on the television networks are picking Clemson, too.  But that was more expected. 

This brings us to the first topic:

An Urban Legend Narrative

All this doom and gloom may have at least some of it's roots in the tone of of some of the comments made by Ohio State's own head coach.  Early in the process of the build-up to the game, Urban Meyer and his staff were practically gushing over the talent throughout the Tigers' line-up. 

Perhaps Buckeye fans have bought in to that narrative - along with everyone else.  Remember - Urban Meyer excels at this kind of tactic. 

And along those lines:

Hold that Tiger

Or - at least hold on to the memory of the Tigers' performances in their last two losses.  The self-professed "best player in the country", Clemson quarterback, Deshaun Watson, is admittedly very good.  But he has his flaws besides an apparent lack of humility.  He will turn the ball over.  He's done it all season - and the Tigers have not faced a defense approaching Ohio State's level.  More on that later.

Also - while Brent Venables has a reputation as a great defensive coordinator, the 2016 Broyles Award winner's defenses have had their issues with good, athletic tight ends.  By the way, how would you describe Marcus Baugh? 

Clemson was absolutely torched by Alabama's tight end in last year's national championship game (and if it's a problem with scheme/coaching - it doesn't really matter if that was "last year's team")  Pitt had a lot of success with their tight end as well - albeit with a different approach (particularly, shovel passes, etc.). 

The point is, the Tigers are far from unbeatable - or anything close to it.  They lost to an only somewhat above average Pitt team - and had several narrow escapes verses lesser opponents. 

Defense, Defense

The above remarks aside, it seems nearly everybody has been squawking about how great Clemson's defense is - and there's no doubt they are very good - especially, that front four.  But amazingly, you don't hear nearly as much about how much better the Buckeye's defense actually is. 

Ohio State's defense has performed better in most significant statistical categories.  Pick whatever style of numbers you want - ncaa, F+, S&P, A&P, Piggly-Wiggly - you name it.  In most categories, the Buckeyes are generally at least a little closer to the top. 

The best part is, the Silver Bullets can often get the job done without resorting to too many exotic blitzes, etc.  With a QB like Watson, the most important thing will be  maintaining lane integrity while still applying as much pressure as possible.  He'll give the back seven some opportunities for picks.  Sacks may not be the most important stat in this one. 

Isn't that Special

Another thing that seems to have been overlooked for the most part is Ohio State's clear advantage on special teams.  Sure - there have been some issues fielding punts from time to time - and the Penn State loss was at least partially due to some miscues on special teams.  But by and large, the Buckeyes are better than the Tigers in this all-important aspect of the game. 

For instance, Ohio State is ranked 4th nationally in net punting with 42.54 net yards per punt.  Clemson is ranked 104th with 35.34 yards per point.  Those are some significant "hidden yards", in my opinion.  In a game of inches, things like that can really start to add up if you're not careful. 

Weather they want to admit it or not

Good conditions may give the Buckeyes an advantage.   Ohio State's offense has notoriously sputtered from time to time - to say the least.  But in most of those instances the conditions were anything but ideal. 

The stats the "experts" refer to when they note how awful the Buckeyes; passing game is all include numbers from games played in poor weather. 

The Buckeyes pretty much lit it up in most of the games they played in fair weather.  The conditions for the Fiesta Bowl will be ideal. 

A Prince Will Accept the Crown

OK.  Maybe it's a trophy and ring for winning the Fiesta Bowl - but you get the point.  There has been endless talk about Ohio State's struggles in pass protection.  At least, it probably seems like it's been endless to the Buckeyes starting right tackle, Isaiah Prince. 

Prince was a highly rated recruit coming out of high school a couple of years ago.  Urban Meyer named him as a starter during the off-season - and he has some of the best offensive line coaches in the business guiding him.  He should be pretty good.

Meyer said Prince has been working extremely hard on his game since the regular season ended - putting in extra hours, etc.  If one has any kind of faith in Meyer, Warinner, Studrawa and of course, Prince himself - there is a reasonable expectation of improvement.  Possibly, considerable improvement. 

 

So there you have it.  A positive voice emerging from the cacophony of negative takes.  At least, that's what I was shooting for. 

And I'll save the naysayers some trouble:  I wonder if they included full UV protection when they put the scarlet tint on these glasses. 

Happy?

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