Eleven Warriors

Thoughts on Pryor All in all, it was obviously an impressive debut for Pryor though any objective fan can see there's still plenty to work on. I think the best news is that the kid realizes this and will undoubtedly do what it takes to get better. Plus, he's got that 'it' factor that special leaders bring to the table. You see him on the sidelines constantly pumping up his teammates? L-E-A-D-E-R.

Focusing on the good, TP certainly helps make one of the worst offensive lines OSU has ever had look a little bit better. Besides the fact we had seen Todd's ceiling and knew it wasn't good enough, this was the other main reason I wanted Pryor out there. At times he was a little quick to scramble but overall I was pleased with his desire to move in the pocket to buy time versus moving with the intent of always turning the play into a rushing attempt.

The best example of this was the 3rd and 17 play early in the 2nd quarter where Pryor took the snap, immediately spun to avoid an unblocked blitzer, rolled to his left, pump faked an oncoming defender and fired a strike to Robo that would've been good for the first down had Robo not drunkenly stepped out of bounds before finding space to make the catch (more on that later). What a big time play for the freshman QB to buy time while still scanning receivers downfield.

Pryor also did a nice job of spreading the ball around. Looking at the numbers, it's pretty amazing that with only 10 completions, he was able to hit six different receivers including at least one to a tailback, fullback, tight end and wide receivers.

On the "areas of opportunities" side (for all you corporate slaves), Pryor got caught trying to do too much at times, most notably that horrible decision in the waning seconds of the first half. From the OSU 28, instead of throwing the ball away to set up a 45 yard FG try, he zig-zagged his way to a 16 yard loss that erased any chance to score before intermission.

Examining his actual passing, I thought he threw a couple nice balls, especially the TD to Nicol in the back of the end zone, but he also displayed a tendency to float the ball and he stared down receivers on a couple occasions. That said, I have no doubt that as he gains confidence in his decisions to throw the ball, he'll be less tentative (at least two instances of unnecessary double pumps) which will automatically improve the zip on his throws. The future is certainly bright.

The Crowd vs. Todd Boeckman Let me preface my comments here by saying I agree the home crowd should not be booing its players. That said, I don't really think the majority of fans were booing Todd. Think about it, the fans can't exactly call Tress on his cell and communicate their thoughts so they do it from the stands. In my opinion, the first round of boo's were a message to Tressel that he was making a bad decision by putting Boeckman in the game. Then, after Boeckman's first-bounce-fly "pass" to Hartline, those boos were essentially a "We told you so!" directed at the Vest.

To his credit, I thought Boeckman handled like he should've as evidenced by his post game comments when asked about basically losing his job:

First of all, after getting a win like this against a great team, that's great, and I'm really excited about that. I'm happy for Terrelle, he had a great day. He did some great things out there. He's getting better every time he's out there and he made some great plays out there. I'm excited for this team and for him.

Pretty good stuff coming from a guy who's been here since just before fire was invented and now he's on the outside looking in after being an all-conference performer last year.

What's the Story with Robo? Through four games, I'm struggling to wonder why we were concerned about him possibly turning pro after last season. Sure, the terrible O-line and muddied QB situation hasn't helped the passing attack, but he has yet to have a receiving game better than 41 yards.

First, if he's hurt, he needs to sit and heal. If he's not hurt, then he needs to step it up. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but what the hell happened on that bomb that would've been a sure 89 yard TD? In the postgame, he would only say it was a drop. It wasn't even close to a drop. You can't "drop" a ball that you only extend one arm out to grab. The ball didn't appear to tail away on the replay so what gives? I almost hope he's hurt because anything short of that is not a valid excuse, especially from a freaking captain.

Injured or not, Robo also hurt the offense with appeared to be a big mental error on Pryor's aforementioned fabulous scramble on 3rd and 17 in the 2nd quarter. The replays weren't that great but I didn't see any reason other than lack of awareness for Robo to step on the sideline and negate a great play and key third down conversion. Dude needs to wake up or move over. With his obvious problems of gaining separation, I'd love to see what some of these other kids can do.

Boom vs. Saine vs. Tressel Hats off the Boom Herron for another solid performance behind an ineffective line that's already in patchwork mode four games in to the season. I've said it a thousand times but I just love how he commits to a hole and hits it quick. No Lydell pussy-footing out of this kid. Even better, when there is no hole, he's now exercising a little patience as he did on a little 11 yard burst in the 4th quarter. Yesterday's season highs of 20 carries and 94 yards proved he's the best back on this team not wearing #28.

Even with the high-school line, Boom has averaged over four yards per carry in each of the last three games (4.2, 4.6, 4.7) and though it's unscientific, he seems to settle into a groove helping the offense achieve a little flow every now and again.

Lost in Herron's emergence is the fact Saine is shaping up to be a bust. I know he missed 20+ fall practices but at this point I don't see much other than a track star attempting to wear shoulder pads. Sure, he might evolve into a specialist catching passes out of the backfield but I just don't see much else in his future and this is admittedly after I had him pegged as Tressel's first choice to fill in for Beanie immediately after the injury. He might be fast, but I just don't see any burst and I damn sure don't see much elusiveness. What do you all think? What's Saine's ceiling in a no-Beanie world?

One last thought on Boom..What's the deal on Tressel not letting him get 100 yards? On the last possession, he gave Boom a first down carry that was negated by a false start but then he gave Rasta back to back carries to run out the clock. I thought that was weak as hell. Boom earned the right to try for the century mark and I don't want to hear about avoidance of injury.

The Most Important Play in Football As Tressel has told us over and over since 2000, the punt is the most important play in football and the statement proved prophetic yesterday.

Everyone's got a quarter-chub over Trapasso's three punts pinning Troy inside the 7 paving the way for the 4th quarter surge created by short fields however the phrase also rang true as Troy was able to hang with OSU in the first thanks in part to some terrible punting from AJ.

His four first half punts were all crap including a touchback when punting from OSU's 45 yard line, a 36 yard shank out of bounds with OSU backed up to their own 11 yard line, a lucky bounce on a 43 yarder setting up Troy at their own 25 then another unnecessary touchback on a punt from the Troy 44 yard line.

So, while we're all glossing AJ for the big second half, just remember this aspect of OSU's game is just as inconsistent as other facets. Plenty of room for improvement. It certainly isn't a coincidence that Troy was able to stay with OSU when they had some room to operate versus when they were pinned deep.

I'm out of room for Five Things but just one more quick observation: Ben Person might be the worst offensive lineman in the history of the school. His man made at least three successful swim moves to blow up plays, none more obvious than the 3rd and 4 option play around the eight minute mark of the 3rd quarter resulting in a four yard loss. Seriously, if you have DVR go back and watch that play and tell me how dude belongs on the field. There, just had to get that off my chest.

In the last five years, Ohio State has had the luxury of putting three former Army All-American Bowl MVPs on the field. One of them shattered the school return records and is in the NFL. Another broke Archie's sophomore rushing mark and is currently hobbled with a bum toe. The third earned his first career start today and lived up to his impressive billing.

Earning the nod over incumbent Todd Boeckman, who had started the previous 16 Buckeye games, Terrelle Pryor threw for four touchdowns on the day in leading the Buckeyes to a 28-10 win over Troy. Through the first three games, we'd seen glimpses of what he could do on his feet, but today he answered all critics that were wondering about his long game by throwing for a pair of touchdowns that went 38 and 39 yards. He still did damage on his feet and save for the late sack in the 2nd quarter that took the team out of field goal range, he had a near error-free day.

The Trojans were certainly game and entered the final stanza down only four points, but a stiffening Buckeye defense, the fine punting of AJ Trapasso and two fourth quarter Pryor touchdown tosses put the game out of reach.

Offense

Well, the Pryor era is officially upon us, which leads to the uncomfortable proposition of the team's senior quarterback, a captain, facing the prospect of becoming a backup for the last eight games of the season. He came into the game for a handful of plays on the Buckeyes' fourth series and watched a Hartline reverse get blown up before throwing a ball into Hartline's feet on 2nd down. The home crowd promptly voiced their displeasure and Pryor came back into the game to pick up a 3rd and 17 before having the play reversed because Robo decided to step out of bounds for a second on his route. I can't remember the last time a senior captain lost his job mid-season in Columbus, but Boeckman handled the affair like the consummate pro in postgame interviews:

"I'm happy for Terrelle, he had a great day. He did some great things out there. He's getting better every time he's out there and he made some great plays out there. I'm excited for this team and for him."

Boeckman is a better man than I am, that's for sure. I know we've all piled on him at various times this season, but you have to tip your hat to the guy for handling an uncomfortable situation with grace.

For his part, Pryor was also humble, paying respect to Todd in his comments and passing credit to the offensive line and receivers for the success of his debut performance. He even went so far as to say that he messed up a lot and will get yelled at during film sessions. Ah, don't kids say the cutest things?

The playcalling on the day was pretty nondescript, though a couple of reverses were tossed in (both with average to disastrous results). What Pryor did bring to the table was a certain pocket presence and calming leadership that had been missing under Boeckman. The first touchdown went to tight end Rory Nicol, which is a rarity in these parts and he also did a good job of getting the ball to Smith out of the fullback spot. You know it's just a matter of time until Tressel breaks out the Tebow special: the fake QB sneak into the goal line with the quarterback pulling up to shot-put the ball to a wide open tight end. Michigan, you've been warned.

Boom came in and ran hard on the afternoon, finishing with 94 yards on 20 carries. He just missed that first century game we had predicted for him, but he's clearly getting better each week and providing an option in the backfield while Saine (4 for 9) and Rasta Wells (2 for 9) remain ineffective. Pryor finished 2nd on the team in rushing yards with 66 on 14 carries (take away the sack and he's sitting at 82, good for 5.8/carry).

The play out of the receivers was a mixed bag on the day. Both Brians started slow, including a curious one-armed attempt at a nicely thrown bomb from Robiskie that was probably good for a 90 yard score early in the game. Robo and Hartline would each finish with a long touchdown catch, but Robiskie is clearly still bothered by the shoulder injury he suffered in fall camp. Talking to reporters after the game, he would only say that he dropped the ball on the bomb and avoided any injury talk.

The balls to Nicol and Smith were nice to see, but the team's leading receiver coming into the game, Ray Small, made only a cameo appearance on a 4th quarter reverse that went for minimal gain. You can't help but wonder if Ray got himself into some more trouble -- probably something minor like being late for a team meeting or something -- and Tressel would only say that "he's fighting for playing time" when addressing his status after the game. Frosh DeVier Posey and sophomore Taurian Washington got the majority of Small's vacated snaps as the 4th wide receiver.

Freshman Mike Brewster earned his first career start at center as Jim Cordle was bumped to left guard to fill in for the injured Rehring. Right guard Ben Person's play continues to be cause for concern, but the line looked much improved over their performance last week in Los Angeles. Then again, this was the Trojan Lite defense and not the unit featuring Maualuga, Cushing, Matthews, Ellison and Mays, so take that performance review with a grain of salt. We'll know more about how good this line wants to become in two weeks in Madison.

Defense

Troy came out and ran a lot of horizontal quick passes to move the ball and pick up some yards on Ohio State's defense, especially early on. They moved the ball to the Buckeye four yard line on their third drive of the game before a Laurinaitis sack moved them back to the 13. After picking up five yards on 2nd down, the Trojans were held to a three yard gain on 3rd and goal from the eight, ultimately settling for a field goal to cut Ohio State's lead to 7-3.

Trailing 14-3 with 3:34 remaining in the 2nd quarter, Troy scored on a five play drive capped by a 45-yard touchdown strike from Hampton to Jernigan to cut the lead to four points. The score came about on another short pass, that saw Freeman, Coleman, Washington and Hines miss tackles on the catch and run.

Despite being down 14-10, Troy took a lead in total yards into halftime and actually finished with one more yard on the day (310 to 309), but once Ohio State started to score points, the Trojans were forced to try to go a little more vertical and the Buckeye front four did a good job of getting into the backfield and causing disruptions down the stretch. With only two sacks on the afternoon (Laurinaitis and Gibson), the Buckeyes didn't do much to help their woeful national ranking in this category, but they did get a rare victory over an opponent in sacks on the stat sheet, so we'll take that.

The spread and fast-paced offense clearly gave the Buckeyes trouble at times, but each time Troy started to get something going, Heacock's crew stiffened. The defense, in conjunction with some excellent Trapasso punting, kept the Trojans on their side of the 40 yard line for their final four drives of the game. Their second half possessions consisted of an interception followed by five punts. This may not sound like much, but Troy has been able to score a lot of points the last few years, including 30+ on both Florida and Georgia last season and the school record 700+ yards they put up on Alcorn State last week.

Kurt Coleman was the star of the secondary on the day, coming away with the first two interceptions of his career. The first was a spectacular play where he pulled the ball out of a receiver's hands and the second came inside the OSU red zone when Hampton threw a ball up for grabs from the Buckeye 34 to kill a promising drive at the start of the 2nd half. Jermale Hines was everywhere again, getting the start in the Buckeye nickel package and finishing tied for second on the team with a career-high seven tackles. He did drop a guaranteed pick-six that his teammates will surely pile on him for during film study, but he's rising and fast.

Special Teams

In a rarity for 2008, the Buckeyes did not attempt a single field goal on the afternoon. Punter AJ Trapasso was clearly the special teams star for the second straight week, averaging 46.6 yards on his seven punts, including three he put inside the Troy 20 -- two of which came as the game was winding down and lead indirectly to quick Buckeye scores to put the game out of reach. He had a 60-yarder to put a cap on his performance.

The return game still needs a lot of work, especially with Small out of the punt return scene for the time being. Robo and Hartline each handled two punts and checked in with a long of 9 and 8, respectively.

Notes

Pryor became the first freshman to start at quarterback for Ohio State since Art Schlichter did so in 1978... He also broke Schichter's freshman record of three touchdown passes in a game with his four strikes (also good enough for a new Buckeye freshman touchdown mark for a season)... Hartline's 39-yard touchdown grab was the is the team's second-longest pass play of the season... The listed attendance of 102,989 was the smallest Ohio Stadium crowd in 6 years (Kent State, 2002)... This was OSU's first game against a team from the Sun Belt conference... The 1968 and 1973 teams were honored at halftime... OSU's honorary captain for the game was 1970 Lombardi and Outland Award winner Jim Stillwagon... Tressel is now 23-1 at Ohio Stadium in non-conference games.

After a hellish two weeks that consisted of moving, an ass-kicking project at work, an ass-kicking of my favorite team last weekend and my pets heads falling off, I'm ready to settle back in and hopefully watch the beginning of a new era of Buckeye football.

If Pryor does get the start and manages to play a majority of the game (or at least a majority of the game while it still matters), I have every reason to believe that his natural talent will make a lot of the other problems disappear. The line will start to groove, receivers will break open because of the pressure he exerts on defenses and the time he can buy in the pocket or on the run and the running game will positively blow up. Especially if the pistol/read option is run on a regular basis.

There is still so much football to be played and there's something to be said about the contagiousness a truly dynamic player brings to the table.

Outside of Pryor, are there any youngsters you've been dying to see more of on the field? What about the over/under on the number of Trojans in the flyweight category that have to be helped off of the field?

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There's not much in the way of marquee Big Ten out of conference games this weekend, though Michigan State welcomes Notre Dame to East Lansing (3:30PM, ABC). Not exactly two Goliaths, but Sparty has a great chance to turn that "little brother" rubbish around by beating the team that waxed the Wolverines last weekend.

We'll also find out if Iowa is (somewhat) for real this weekend as they travel to Pitt. The Hawkeyes have taken care of business out of the gate, despite the turbulent offseason. It's a reflection of how far they've fallen since that Orange Bowl appearance that Pitt, sorry Pittsburgh, is a barometer game -- especially when you consider the egg the Panthers laid against Bowling Green in their opener. A noon start on ESPN2, this is the game you'll most likely be peeping during commercial breaks in the Buckeye game.

National games of note:

• #6 LSU travels to #15 Auburn in this week's marquee game. Even with the question at quarterback heading into this season, the Tigers have pretty much smacked-down everyone they've played (albeit all warm-up games) and finally get their first true test of the season. If this game even comes close to living up to the drama of Matt Flynn's last second heroics last year, it'll be worth taking in. (7:45PM, ESPN)
• Georgia fans will finally experience the thrill of boarding an airplane to go see their team play when they make the trip to Tempe to see their #4 Dawgs take on Arizona State. It's the first game outside of SEC territory that the Dawgs will have played in Richt's seven years at the school and was a topic of much discussion by fans of each school all summer, but the game has a lost a little bit of its luster thanks to UNLV's win over the Sun Devils last weekend. (8PM, ABC)
• Daggummit's Seminoles host #17 Wake Forest and at least in the Coaches Poll, the Noles are ranked for the first time since they ran into Wake last year and took one on the chin 24-21. Florida State has feasted on two FCS teams (Western Carolina and Chattanooga) to get that 2-0 mark, but enter the game as underdogs. If your football coming of age years were the 90s, like mine, this is mind-boggling. But it's also a testament to the fine job former Ohio coach Jim Grobe has done at the school. (7PM, ESPN2)

#18 Ohio State 2-1, 0-0 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

September 20, 2008 12:00 PM ET - BTN —— Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH

Troy 2-0, 1-0 Sun Belt Roster | Schedule

It's funny how in the span of a couple of weeks, the Troy game has gone from potential trap to oh-shit-we-better-buckle-up. Blowouts on the West Coast will do that.

Despite all of the gloom in these parts as of late, there's reason for optimism. The Troy game, the fourth of Terrelle Pryor's freshman season in Columbus, could very well mark the date of his first start as a Buckeye.

At his Tuesday news conference, Tressel didn't exactly give Boeckman the most ringing endorsement when he said that Pryor would garner about 65% of the first team reps in practice this week and the two quarterbacks were slated to split snaps 50/50 on Saturday. When he talked to the media again on Thursday, a close study of his body language and parsing what he said seemed to give more credit to the notion of starting Pryor.

Considering how badly both Boeckman and the line played in LA -- and the fact the Beanie will miss his third-straight game, we're just going to go ahead and assume that Pryor will get that first start. Troy certainly isn't the cupcake they might have once been and the defense will get a test (and hopefully some swag back), but I'm not ready to get in line with the crowd thinking that if Pryor does take over the job soon, he may suffer a couple of lumps along the way. It won't be easy, but freshman quarterbacks that stand out as much as Pryor does have established precedence for quick success (see: Vick, Michael).

Opponent

Troy is going about the football program development process the same way that Miami and Florida State did years ago -- by going anywhere, to play anyone. Of the 16 ranked teams they've traveled to play in their eight seasons of FBS football, they've given a good scare to a few of them. In 2004, they beat a ranked Missouri team and came within five points of knocking off LSU. Last year, they scored 34 points on Georgia in Athens running their spread and making heavy use of screen passes. Troy coach Larry Blakeney made a few enemies by using all three of his timeouts on the team's final drive to score a touchdown with six seconds left to cut the final margin to ten, earning boos from the Dawg faithful.

So far in 2008, the Trojans have beaten a Middle Tennessee State team that knocked off Maryland and last week absolutely blitzed Alcorn State 65-0. Sure it's Alcorn State, but if the Buckeyes lined up to play the Braves, we'd probably get a 23-10 final. I jest. Troy was supposed to have played LSU in week two, but the wrath of God a hurricane forced the reschedule. I was kind of counting on the Tigers to beat Troy up a little, but the Buckeyes will get a fresh and confident team.

The Trojans are led by soph Jamie Hampton (#7) at quarterback. Getting the first significant playing time of his career, he's off to a pretty nice start (43/65 for 459 and 5 TDs), though he is a little prone to Boeckman-itis or what most call interceptions (3 -- though to be fair, 2 of those came in the 65-0 Alcorn State stomping where he tossed four TDs and 323 yards, helping Troy set a school record for total offense with a staggering 736 yards). He's a threat on the ground as well, averaging 40+ rushing yards per game with two scores on the year.

DuJuan Harris (#32) will see most of the totes when Troy does rush the ball. He's tiny, listed at 5-7/190, and doesn't appear to be as much of a receiving threat out of the backfield as you would think, given his size and the Trojans' fondness for spreading the ball around. Junior running back Maurice Greer (#27) will see carries as well and he's coming off a 9 carry, 113 yard performance.

Soph Jerrel Jernigan (#3) is the team's leading receiver, coming into Saturday's matchup averaging seven catches and 69 yards per game. As small as Harris is at running back, Jernigan is even smaller, weighing in at 176. Senior Mykeal Terry (#81) fills out Troy's all-sub-180 team and is the deep option in the offense.

Linebacker Borris Lee (#2) may be the best Trojan defender and is on the Lombardi watch list. He led the team in tackles last season and is off to a nice start this year. Troy's safeties Sherrod Martin (#6) and Tavares Williams have size and experience. Martin notched three picks against Alcorn State last weekend.

If you'll allow me to slip into coach-speak, this is a dangerous team. They would have been more dangerous had the Buckeyes not been spanked so badly last weekend. Unfortunately for Troy fans, they're probably catching the Buckeyes on the wrong weekend as there will be some anger taken out on the field Saturday.

NOTES: Troy counts a son of a former pro wrestler as well in Mike Rotunda's son Windham...Troy is 0-1 all-time vs. the Big Ten, dropping a 2003 game in Minnesota 48-7... Useless stat of the day: Troy is 5-2-1 all-time on September 20th.

Buckeye Breakdown

As I mentioned above, I think Pryor starts this game and plays well. He has the ability to cover for the line, which will be missing the services of Rehring (thus probably getting better) and he showed what he's capable of with his play at USC. When he picked up the early snap and completed the ball for a first down -- against USC, no less -- you got just a glimmer of what the future holds. Not so much the muffed snap part, but more of the play extension and creation part. It will be interesting to see if Tressel pulls the trigger on getting some of the younger receivers (cough.. Posey) into more action as well. A large early lead will force that, regardless.

There are a couple of options being floated for the realignment of the line in Rehring's absence: Browning may be sliding over to guard with Shugarts assuming the right tackle spot or Brewster may get the nod at center with Cordle moving over to guard. Of those two, I like the second one a little better probably, but changing centers mid-stream is never an easy proposition.

With Beanie shelved, I figure we'll see the continued growth of Boom and wouldn't be surprised to see him get that first 100-yard game. Maybe even a buck-fifty as the line should be hungry and has a nice size advantage on the Trojan defensive line. We're all still in the dark about what to do with Saine, but as well as Boom has run and as tentatively a Saine has run when he's had his chances, I don't imagine too many of us are losing sleep over it. Still, with as much hype as the kid pulls, it would be nice to see him utilized in some fashion.

The offense is near the bottom of national rankings and as hard as it is to believe, we're heading into the fourth game of the season and not one Buckeye has scored more than one touchdown on the season. Though you can classify the QB swapping without telling the players ahead of time as curiouis, I happened to like some of the playcalling last weekend. The bubble screen to Small and be sure to pay attention to that ball when thrown from Pryor as opposed to Boeckman. Pryor leads small so he's running at a good speed when he catches the ball, while Boeckman has a tendency to force him to wait out there for it.

Perhaps feeling some of the fan pressure, Heacock was very frank about some of the problems the defense faced in California. Because of that stinker of a perrformance, I have a feeling some frustration will be taken out on Troy, though the Trojans' spread will make it difficult to improve much on the abysmal sack numbers (105th in the nation).

Will we see more of Thad Gibson this week? He seemed to get plenty of snaps the first two weeks, but I don't recall seeing too much of him last weekend. He's the type of player that brings the raw athleticism to the table this unit needs, but his playing time has been limited because of his perceived weakness at run-stopping. I say take a good look at those sack numbers, get Gibson in, and let the other cats worry about stopping the run.

Ultimately, though, the Bucks should have no problem with this one and get another confidence-booster against the Gophers next week before the huge trip to Madison.

NOTES: Ohio State under Tressel is 14-2 following a loss... Bizzaro world: Pryor is the team's leading rusher and Small is the team's leader in receptions after three games... Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis and Charissa Thompson will be working the game for the BTN... Tressel mentioned he received an email from a retired Army colonel after the USC loss with battle plan advice.

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PREDICTION: OSU 37, Troy 6

In case you missed it, Tressel said today Beanie still isn't ready to go and he won't play until he is 100%.

It sounds as if he made some progress, but not enough to suit up this week.

Rehring also won't play and might be out for awhile. Shugarts and/or Brewster will pick up the slack depending on who gets shuffled where to 'compensate' for Rehring's absence.

Now that everyone has had some time to digest the spanking in LA, I'm assuming the same folks calling for Pryor to take over Sunday are still on board today. I've heard a few folks caution against throwing TP into the fray so early because there's still a Big Ten title and BCS trip at stake and there's no real concrete reason to assume Pryor is ready.

To that, I say this program needs a shot in the arm and I can't think of a better remedy than to inject some new life into a position dying for an identity. So with that, is Pryor ready? And does it matter to you even if he isn't?

From my vantage point, I've seen Boeckman's ceiling both as a QB and a leader and it's simply not good enough to win it all. Is it good enough with the parts around him to win the conference? Probably so, but I think Pryor deserves a shot to prove he's at least good enough to be plugged into the current lineup and help this team to a conference title considering that wasn't the ultimate goal to begin with. Plus, the Todd is 3-3 in his last six games with 4 TD and 8 INT. That in and of itself should be enough to find him watching from the sidelines.

Further, one of Tressel's supposed key coaching skills is that he will adjust his coaching style to fit the talent currently on the roster. If that's the case, based on what I've seen from the offensive line, there's no better solution than a mobile QB behind a line that would make a New Orleans levy jealous.

In the end, I'm even willing to sacrifice a few games if that's what it takes to get Pryor ready for 2009. What about you?

To that point, I think my biggest concern is that Tress will continue to call plays geared to what Pryor can do today versus what he needs to work on in order for OSU to be successful tomorrow. We need to see a gameplan that forces TP to decide amongst multiple receivers and most importantly, throw the ball downfield.

Figuring out how to truly develop Pryor's weaknesses while still winning games is why the Vest makes the big bucks. If you're Tressel, how would you ensure TP's development while being cognizant of the need to win every game left on the schedule? And what role, if any, would Boeckman play in all of this?

If you're a sadist, you'll love this one. A whole lot of fail in the charts to follow, but maybe if we study it enough, we just might learn something. If we have enough time, we'll get to the defense, but thought the "offense" would make a better case study to start with. Enjoy!

14:56 - 12:46 1st Quarter, Punt
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-12	1/10	Single Back Bunch	Run	Herron	2
Rehring (+1) pulls to the right side and delivers a stiff block, but Cordle (-1) is unable to get across to cover Rehring's man who ends up making the tackle.
OSU-14	2/8	Shotgun Two Back	Pass	Small	1
Small lines up as the second back and peels out to the right. Decent protection by the line, but Boeckman (-1) does not lead Small at all and he has to wait for the ball before picking up a short gain.
OSU-15	3/7	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Herron	2
USC blitzes two linebackers and a draw is called for Boom. There's plenty of daylight, but Ellison makes an excellent tackle, stopping the play for a short gain.
Drive Notes: The draw was a curious call on 3rd and 7, but if Boom beats Ellison he's off to big yardage on the play. Alas, it's the first of many three-and-outs on the evening for the Buckeyes. Trapasso, standing at his own five, does a decent job of pinning McKnight on the sideline on the punt.

11:51 - 3:06 1st Quarter, Field Goal
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-18	1/10	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Boeckman	4
Boeckman keeps the all on an option right with Boom traling. Ballard (+1) does a nice job of sealing off the end.
OSU-22	2/6	Single Back Twins	Run	Pryor	4
Pryor, in for his first play of the game, fakes a handoff to Boom and keeps the ball around the left side. Ballard occupies Cushing just long enough for Pryor to get the corner and minimal yardage.
OSU-26	3/2	Shotgun Four Wide	Pass	Robiskie	8
Boeckman is back in the shotgun with Small lined up deep in the backfield, but split out. Everson Griffin is offsides for the Trojans and Boeckman completes a short pass to Robo on the left side for the first down. Nice pickup, but would have loved to have seen Todd take a shot down the field on the freebie.
OSU-34	1/10	Single Back Bunch	Run	Herron	6
Pryor back into the game running without a huddle, and hands the ball off to Boom (+1) for a tough inside run. Rehring (-1) is smoked by his guy, but he runs past the play and is sealed off.
OSU-40	2/4	Pistol	Pass	Hartline	4
Boeckman is back in the modified pistol (with Saine to his left and Rasta behind him). He fakes a handoff to Wells and then rolls right before completing a nice ball (+1) to Hartline on the right sideline for a first down. Saine was open running underneath as well.
OSU-45	1/10	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Sanzenbacher	15
Mo Wells is lined up in the backfield but split to the left and Pryor rolls left and fires a nice pass (+1) to Sanzenbacher on the left sideline for another first down. Person (+1) provides good protection on Pryor's blindside while Browning picks up nobody (-1).
OPP-40	1/10	Single Back Bunch	Run	Herron	5
Boeckman hands off to Boom, who makes Maualuga miss (+1) before picking up tough yards up the middle.
OPP-35	2/5	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	--	5
Encroachment out of Maiava is good for the first down. The play looked to be a draw to Boom, but the penalty prevented it from getting off.
OPP-30	1/10	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Pryor	4
Quarterback draw out of Pryor, who makes a couple guys miss before being brought down. The line is still actually looking good to this point.
OPP-26	2/6	Single Back Bunch	Run	Herron	5
Boom (+1) with some more tough running up the middle. Browning (+1) does a great job picking Cushing up off the edge and Boone (+1) was five yards down the field blocking on the play.
OPP-21	3/1	Single Back Three Wide	Run	Boeckman	2
Sneak out of Boeckman to move the chains.
OPP-19	1/10	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Browning	-5
Browning (-2) flinched, drawing the offsides penalty.
OPP-24	1/15	Pistol	Pass	Robiskie	5
Saine lined up to the left of Boeckman, with Boom behind. Both stay into block and Boeckman completes a nice pass (+1) to Robiskie on the left sideline. Great protection on the play, but USC only brought the four down linemen.
OPP-19	2/10	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Herron	2
Boeckman stays in on 2nd down and hands off to Boom on a draw for short yardage to the right side. Boom actually has a decent hole, but it closes fast and Cushing makes the stop.
OPP-17	3/8	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Herron	12
Boeckman throws a nicely executed middle screen to Boom who picks up good yardage (+1) before Maualuga makes the stop. A flag is thrown on the play, but later picked up.
OPP-5	1/G	Shotgun Four Wide	Run	Pryor	-4
Pryor on a quarterback draw, but it's snuffed out for a loss after Person (-1) decides that he'd rather not block anyone on the play.
OPP-9	2/G	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Boeckman	-4
Boeckman is going to run an option with Boom to the left (short side), but Rehring (-2) is driven back 5 yards by his guy, blowing the play up in the backfield.
OPP-13	3/G	Shotgun Two Back	Run	Boone	-5
Boone (-2) is called for rocking back out of his stance. Senior. Leadership.
OPP-18	3/G	Single Back Bunch	Run	Herron	5
Tressel plays it conservative and runs Boom up the middle to center the kick.
Drive Notes: The best drive of the night is undone by penalties and other mistakes out of the veteran line. Boone and Browning are each whistled for penalties while Person and Rehring make blocking mistakes of their own. What was once a promising 1st and goal from the five became a third and goal from the 18. It's interesting to note that not once did the team attempt to pass once they got it down to the five. The Buckeyes settle for a Pretorius field goal and take an early 3-0 lead on a drive that eats up over eight minutes.

0:33 1st Quarter - 14:15 2nd Quarter, Punt
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-20	1/10	Single Back Bunch	Run	Herron	2
Boeckman in at quarterback and once again, Person (-1) decides that he'd rather not really block anyone and Boom is held to a short gain on the last play of the 1st quarter.
OSU-22	2/8	Shotgun Two Back	Run	Boone	-5
Boeckman in the shotgun with Ballard as the 2nd "back" opposite Boom. Boone (-2) comes up out of his stance, drawing a penalty. Boone extends arms in disbelief. Please.
OSU-17	2/13	Shotgun Two Back	Pass	Herron	7
Looks like the same play that was to be run before Boone picked up his penalty with Ballard joining Boom in the backfield. Ballard does a nice job (+1) picking up the blitzing Matthews and the pass is completed underneath to Boom.
OSU-24	3/6	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Hartline	0
Good pressure out of the Trojans as Cushing forces Boeckman to throw earlier than he probably wanted to (Cushing also delivered the same type of hit that was called on the Buckeyes later on for roughing). Actually a nice pass, but Hartline can't come down with it because Pinkard makes a heck of a defensive play on the ball.
Drive Notes: Another three-and-out. Boom is again the only real offense on the drive, but Boone's rocking put the offense in a quick hole. Trapasso gets off a good punt that goes out of bounds, denying McKnight a return.

10:51 - 6:34 2nd Quarter, Missed Field Goal
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-24	1/10	Shotgun Four Wide	Pass	Small	0
Small starts up lined up in the backfield, but goes in motion to the right side. Boeckman rolls out to the right and throws to Small with room to run, but he takes is eye off of the ball (-1) and it falls incomplete. Beanie is right behind Small on the sideline and is none too pleased.
OSU-24	2/10	Shotgun Four Wide	Pass	Robiskie	9
Boeckman gets decent protection and actually has a couple of options before firing to Robo underneath where he cuts up for a few more yards on the play (+1).
OSU-33	3/1	I-Form	Run	Herron	0
USC responds to the Buckeyes' formation by jamming nine guys into the box and Boom is easily stopped for no gain. Person actually holds his block for a while, but I have a feeling USC would not have called this play on 3rd and 1. The Buckeyes are bailed out by a facemask penalty, however.
OSU-48	1/10	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Robiskie	0
Boeckman rolls right and makes a terrible throw (-1) off of his back feet to Robiskie 13 yards downfield. A near interception and for good measure, Rehring makes the wrong read (-1) and could have been called for holding as his guy got pressure on Boeckman, forcing the early throw.
OSU-48	2/10	Shotgun Two Back	Pass	Small	8
Pryor is back in and throws a beautiful bubble screen (+1) to Small, leading him on the play for a nice pickup. Sanzenbacher delivered a key block (+1) on the outside.
OPP-44	3/2	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Sanzenbacher	10
Boeckman gets good time to throw as Boone (+1) forces Matthews completely outside. Nice completion (+1) to Dane, but he is lit up immediately after making the catch.
OPP-34	1/10	Shotgun Four Wide	Run	Pryor	15
Pryor back in at quarterback and USC loads the box. The play is supposed to be a throw to the left, but Pryor (+1) cuts back to the right for a first down pickup. Even against this Trojan defense, it hardly looks like he's running, but he's flying.
OPP-19	1/10	Shotgun Two Back	Pass	Small	-7
Boeckman completes another nice bubble screen to Small, this time leading him well and he cuts back for good yardage, taking the ball down to the USC three. But Sanzenbacher (-2) is whistled for holding downfield and the play is null. Good call.
OPP-26	1/17	Pistol	Pass	Saine	5
Immediate pressure on Boeckman and he does a good job of getting the ball out to Saine quickly (+1). For as fast as Saine is supposed to be, the lumbering Cushing stays with him in coverage and tracks him down after a short gain.
OPP-21	2/12	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Robiskie	-10
The touchdown that wasn't. Immediate pressure on Boeckman again because Person (-3) is not only beat off of the snap, but felt the need to tackle his guy to make up for his sin. Robo (+1) had beaten his guy by seven yards, but Boeckman throwing off of his back foot almost enabling Wright to close on the ball.
OPP-31	2/22	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Boeckman	2
Boeckman keeps the ball on an option right for a short gain. If he would have hit Boom on the pitch, room was there for damage. Rehring (+1) actually does a decent job picking up the blitzing Maualuga.
OPP-29	3/20	I-Form	Pass	Robiskie	0
USC rushes only four, but Matthews beats Boone (-1) around the left edge to hurry the throw. A mixup between Boeckman and Robo means the ball comes nowhere close to being complete. I'm still not sure what Robo (-1) was doing cutting his route off well short of the first down, but I'm not paid $3.5m a year to figure those things out.
Drive Notes: Yet another promising drive ruined by penalties. Small got the ball to the three only to be called back on the Sanzenbacher holding penalty. Two play later, the Robo touchdown catch was reversed thanks to Person and the Buckeyes would go on to see Pretorius miss a 47-yard field goal. Pryor was in on only two plays on this drive.

3:36 - 2:49 2nd Quarter, Interception (Pick-Six)
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-31	1/10	I-Form	Pass	Boeckman	0
Both Rehring (-1) and Boone (-1) are torched on the play and Boeckman has to throw the ball away before getting pulverized.
OSU-31	2/10	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Pryor	10
Pryor fakes a handoff to Boom and keeps it up the middle for a first down. Browning (+1) occupies Maualuga long enough for Pryor to slip through and despite Ellison trying to destroy the freshman, he pops back up.
OSU-41	1/10	Shotgun Four Wide	Pass	Boeckman	0
Boeckman (-3) gift-wraps a pick-six for Maualuga and then proceeds to get steamrolled inside the five while attempting to stop the score. Hartline had a chance at making a stop on the return but Rey ran right through it. Yes, he may have stepped out of bounds at the five, but who's going to harp on that when the final spread was 32?
Drive Notes: Immediately after Pryor picks up a nifty first down run, Boeckman makes a play that no senior quarterback should ever make, locking in on Hartline and telegraphing the throw all of the way.

2:22 - 1:00 2nd Quarter, Fumble
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-20	1/10	Shotgun Four Wide	Run	Pryor	11
Pryor is back in the game immediately after the Boeckman pick. A pass is called, but Person (-1) is once again smoked by his guy and Pryor tucks the ball before picking up a nice chunk of yardage (+1) and his first collision and jawing with Taylor Mays (who doesn't look all of that big next to TP).
OSU-31	1/10	Shotgun Four Wide	Pass	Hartline	0
Pryor is still in at quarterback and gets good protection as he rolls right before slightly misfiring to Hartline 45 yards downfield.
OSU-31	2/10	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Hartline	-2
With Boeckman back in, Cordle (-1) gets burned by his guy, flushing Todd out of the pocket and to the left where he hits Hartine on an underneath route for minimal gain.
OSU-29	3/12	Shotgun Four Wide	Pass	Hartline	17
Browning (+1) does a good job of picking up Matthews off of the edge and Boeckman has ample time to throw, connecting with Hartline for a slant and some YAC (+1) to get the first down.
OSU-46	1/10	Shotgun Two Back	Pass	Robiskie	2
USC brings five and the pocket stands giving Boeckman time to find Robo for a short gain.
OSU-48	2/8	Shotgun Two Back	Pass	Boeckman	0
Boone (-2) makes the wrong read and doubles down on Rehring's man, leaving the blitzing Matthews with a clear shot at Boeckman's blindside, which causes a fumble. Cordle (-1) has a perfect chance to fall on the ball and keep the drive alive, but lineman hands and all...
Drive Notes: Two straight drives have been killed by turnovers now and Buckeye fans are probably thinking about heading into the garage to turn the car on for a nice nap.

0:08 - 0:00 2nd Quarter, End of Half
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-20	1/10	I-Form	Run	Boeckman	-2
Boeckman takes a knee to put a merciful end to the first half.
Drive Notes: Not much time to do anything after the Chekwa interception and chances are something bad would have happened anyway, so the taking a knee was actually a positive in this instance.

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5:44 - 3:45 3rd Quarter, Punt
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-19	1/10	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Small	4
Bubble screen to Small on the right for a short gain. Browning peeled out to block, but completely missed Cushing (-1) allowing him to make the stop.
OSU-23	2/6	Pistol	Run	Saine	10
Pryor is in and hands off inside to Saine, who makes Maualuga and Matthews miss (+1) on his way to a first down. Just having Pryor on the field meant Cushing couldn't crash down on the run and had to respect the fake handoff/keeper.
OSU-33	1/10	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Saine	0
Pryor still in at quarterback and runs the same exact play to Saine who is met for no gain. Cushing and Ellison both crash the run hard, but the pass was there should it have been called.
OSU-32	2/10	Shotgun Two Back	Pass	Boeckman	-15
With Rehring out, Kyle Moore blows right by Andrew Miller (-1), flushing Boeckman from the pocket and forcing the left-handed throw that was called intentional grounding (-1).
OSU-17	3/25	I-Form	Pass	Boeckman	-2
USC brings the heat, but Boeckman actually has a little bit of time to get rid of the ball. He doesn't find anyone open and is brought down behind the line of scrimmage (-1).
Drive Notes: A nice inside handoff to Saine is good for a first down early in the "drive", so the Buckeyes call the exact same play again, only USC is waiting on it this time. Then the intentional grounding call on great pressure, followed by a sack on 3rd and 25 dooms this series. Trapasso gets off his only bad punt of the night really and the Buckeyes turn the ball back over to the Trojans down 28-3.

1:33 3rd Quarter - 14:52 4th Quarter, Punt
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-20	1/10	Single Back Two Tight	Run	Mo Wells	-2
Rasta gets the pitch left and is eaten up in the backfield by Cushing. Boone (-1) is somewhat abused looking for a guy to put a hat on.
OSU-18	2/12	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Mo Wells	7
Pryor is back in and pitches to Wells after getting immediate pressure in the backfield. Nice gain of seven on the play as Rasta gets the ball to do what he does best -- work the corners.
OSU-25	3/5	Shotgun Three Wide	Run	Pryor	0
Pryor has time to throw, but can't find anyone open and tucks the ball before barely getting back to the line of scrimmage. USC splits their defensive tackles and ends wide with a spy on Pryor.
Drive Notes: Not exactly the way you want to answer USC's last touchdown, but by now the Buckeyes are pretty much out of it. Trapasso gets off another fine punt, pinning the Trojan return guy (Carswell) near the sideline of his own 31 where he signaled for a fair catch.

13:13 - 13:07 4th Quarter, Interception
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-25	1/10	Pistol	Pass	Boeckman	0
Cushing comes on a blitz and Boeckman (-3) just kind of throws the ball up in the hope that Cushing will stop hitting him. Ellison is right there for the easy interception and right about now, Buckeye fans would be fine with never seeing Boeckman take another snap again.
Drive Notes: Boeckman looked like a freshman on this play. Just terrible. To his credit, he did pound his fist on the turf after the pick, so he does appear to have a pulse.

10:08 - 8:29 4th Quarter, Punt
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-21	1/10	Shotgun Four Wide	Pass	Sanzenbacher	2
Good protection for Pryor as the Trojans only rush four. He rolls out to his right, not seeing anyone open and then shuffles the ball to Sanzenbacher for a short gain. Props for creativity, though it didn't amount to much.
OSU-23	2/8	Pistol	Pass	Pryor	-5
The Buckeyes were hit up for a delay of game call.
OSU-18	2/13	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Herron	4
Good protection out of the line and Pryor dumps the ball off to Boom in the middle. He's promptly popped.
OSU-22	3/9	Shotgun Four Wide	Run	Pryor	7
Called keeper as Pryor takes off for the left sideline, but is tackled short of the first down. Looked quick, again, though.
Drive Notes: Pryor got every snap on this series, but by this time, USC had caught on to what he could bring to the table and were jamming the box to stop him. Take away the delay of game call and maybe there's a chance they could have got something going.

4:35 - 1:20 4th Quarter, Punt
LoS	Down/Dist	Formation	Type	Player	Yards
OSU-21	1/10	Shotgun Four Wide	Run	Herron	9
Nice looking option to the right with Pryor hitting Boom on the pitch at the last minute. Boom (+1) put his head down and picked up a few more yards at the end because of that. Note to staff -- this play will be a nightmare for mortal (non-Trojan) defenses to stop. The Bloomin' Onion One agrees.
OSU-30	2/1	Shotgun Four Wide	Run	Pryor	-3
Designed quarterback draw is blown up by about three Trojans that just happen to be loitering in the Buckeye backfield. Boone (+1) drives his man out of the way, however.
OSU-27	3/4	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Small	9
Cordle (-1) snaps the ball when Pryor isn't looking, but has the poise to quickly pick it up (+1) and fire a pass out to Small, who picks up the first down. Person's man went right by him with the faintest of blocking attempts put on him (-1).
OSU-36	1/10	Shotgun Four Wide	Pass	Small	7
Pryor hits Small on another bubble screen, leading him perfectly with the throw (+1).
OSU-43	2/3	Shotgun Two Back	Pass	Robiskie	0
Mo Wells misses the blitz pickup (-1) forcing Pryor to get rid of the ball early. Robo can't quite come up with it due to good coverage.
OSU-43	3/3	Shotgun Three Wide	Pass	Pryor	-6
USC comes with a linebacker blitz and it goes right past Browning (-1). Pryor has minimal time to look downfield and is sacked.
Drive Notes: I liked seeing Pryor get the last two series of the game. They came right after Boeckman threw a ball up for grabs and it was intercepted, so consider the message sent. Based on what we now know about snap-sharing for Troy, it was nice to get him these extra snaps. USC did have a lot of backups in at the time, but USC's backups could start just about anywhere else in the nation.

If you're keeping score, the final results look somewhat like (with the caveat that it's hard to grade receivers on plays as they're often out of camera view -- especially on runs):

• Boeckman -7
• Person -6
• Boone -6
• Cordle -5
• Rehring -3
• Browning -2
• Small -1
• Sanzenbacher -1
• Miller -1
• Wells -1
• Robiskie +1
• Hartline +1
• Ballard +2
• Saine +2
• Herron +5
• Pryor +6

What really stands out is the terrible play out of Boeckman and the line -- especially the interior of the line. Rehring's numbers would have been worse if he had not been hurt, in fact. And as many would have guessed just by watching the game the first time, Boom and Pryor were just about the only two that graded out well.

As expected, there weren't any fireworks or "I'm a man, I'm forty" diatribes from Coach Tressel in yesterday's presser. Also as expected, the Vest didn't offer up much useful information as he reflected back on the, as Corey called it, the Crapper in the Coliseum.

Showing he hasn't lost his sense of humor, Tressel jokingly referenced the city's electricity problems with regard to reviewing game tape:

Everyone have their power back? I asked that question in the team meeting yesterday thinking four or five of them would say we don't. I'd say 75% of them had their hand up that they don't have power. Oh, well, that's why we're here, I guess. I was hoping on Sunday when we got back to watch the film the power would be out, but it wasn't, but, no.

Rightfully, Tress gave USC the props they deserved and discussed the fact that players, coaches and fans should expect that OSU be the best and therefore be unhappy when results are less than the best. With that, he cited penalties and turnovers as key killers to any hopes of escaping victorious last Saturday:

Obviously penalties. There's no way that you can back yourself up when you're playing against Southern Cal's defense. Southern Cal's defense is excellent, and when you throw a touchdown, you can't have a penalty. A couple plays before that, when you throw a route that gets us down to the 2 yard line, you can't have a penalty. Earlier in the game at the end of the 15-play drive, which I'm not sure how many 15-play games there will be against Southern Cal this year, but at the end of the 15-play drive, you can't have a couple 5-yard penalties. So first and foremost, you have to be penalty-free. Obviously if you're going to stay in the battle and the fray and the toe-to-toe and go the full round with Southern Cal, you can't have turnovers, especially turnovers for touchdowns.

The most exciting news came with the already posted revelation that Pryor will see the majority of snaps with the ones in practice and he'll likely see 50% of the game snaps against Troy assuming he doesn't stink it up in practice as the week progresses:

We said if we had a game last night with what we were planning to do, that we envisioned that it would be 50/50, but it will be affected by what we do in practice, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and obviously what occurs during the course of the game.

It doesn't appear that Tressel expects Pryor to do anything but enhance his chances of seeing more game action due to his innate ability to improve with limited practice snaps - ie. he seems to truly learn from watching:

I think what's been impressive to me about Terrelle is if you take the 20 some preseason practices, Todd probably had 50% of the snaps, Terrelle had 25%, and so did Joe Bauserman. And then you move into the games, Todd probably had 75% of the snaps in the first game and the other two guys shared 25%, and then in the OU game, Todd probably had what, 95% of the snaps, yet Terrelle has progressed with the lack of snaps in practice and the game more than you think he would. I've seen a freshman get kind of thrown into the fire and grow every practice and grow every game because he got so much experience. I've seen him grow with a little bit less experience, which means he's done a good job of learning by observing, which is the hardest thing for a player to do. Most guys when they're standing outside the lineup, I have two right in the front row that, they're not thinking solely about what they can learn. Now, these guys probably did. But that's been impressive to me about Terrelle is he's had limited snaps, yet considerable improvement.

Tressel went on to talk about how well Pryor handled the atmosphere and that even though Camp Randall will pose a greater challenge, he's not worried about TP from a hostile environment perspective. I'm not sure I'm convinced of that simply because the Coliseum is not a loud, intimidating stadium but I'm convinced Tressel will give TP plenty of opportunities in road venues.

On the injury front, Tressel offered updates on Beanie as well as Rehring and Denlinger, if you're interested:

I think Steve will be out. I think we'd get Andrew Miller back in. Todd Denlinger will give us more time, I think he only got in a snap or two Saturday. Who else was out? Well, Beanie right now is listed as questionable by the medical staff. He did all of the cardio and straight line and all that stuff yesterday. Today will be the day where he has to go back and do all the cutting and all those kinds of things and that's where we got our setback last week, so we'll have to see how that goes, but we'll update that day-to-day.

To further clarify Beanie's status when asked if he would heal without needing surgery, Tressel made it clear surgery wasn't in the forecast:

That's what I've been told, yeah. Have I studied the MRI like Coach Bruce when he used to do the x-rays? No. That's out of my league. But from what I've been told, absolutely.

Expounding on what will happen with Rehring out, Tressel indicated some of the kids will indeed see more time:

We went two different ways at the end of the game went Bryant Browning into guard and Jamie Shugarts at tackle and went Andrew Miller into guard. We did both those things yesterday. Michael Brewster had some time at guard. We only ran about a dozen plays as a team yesterday, but I think that might have been the combinations that were in.

Sticking with the offensive line, he did offer some curious comments about the play of Boone and Person, among others. Not sure if I agree with this stuff, but I'm just some doofus with high speed internet:

I thought that Ben Person played better Saturday than he did his first two games, was my opinion. I thought Alex Boone played fairly well, I don't know that he was extraordinary. But I thought he played fairly well. Of course Bryant Browning had to play a couple different positions. Jimmy Cordle had tough duty. They lined up in that defense, double legal, the guy on the nose the entire game, and that's tough duty, but he fought and he made some errors and got thrown around a play or two where he wasn't able to stay on and sustain, but I haven't heard any discussions of -- but it's a little bit uplifting to hear someone say that there's something that we ought to be talking about other than who the quarterback should be because it isn't that simple in this world.

Tressel did spend some time talking about the playcalling and the fact USC players went out of there way to say OSU did nothing that wasn't expected based on film study. A snippet:

That's kind of a typical response when you win, is that, man, things went just the way we planned them and we knew they were going to do that blitz and this and that and we knew that Southern Cal was going to do what they were doing, we didn't execute against it. So is that concerning? I don't think you can blow it off and say, are we tipping someone off or this and that, or do we have a tendency to zone blitz at this time or whatever, but you're really a good team when they know what you're in and they can't do anything about it. That's when you become the best.

I think I hit the key highlights. Again, if you want to read the full transcript click here.

As Mitch G noted, Tressel has announced Terrelle Pryor will split snaps 50/50 with Todd Boeckman in Saturday's matchup with Troy.

Pryor will also receive the majority of snaps with the one's in practice so his progress can be better determined.

Hallelujah. Hopefully, the plan is to call plays where he needs to look downfield and survey who's open versus the short, safe routes called for him thus far. We already know he can run. It's time for him to begin training on being a true QB.

Well, it was bound to happen.

In his eighth season in Columbus, after yet another embarrassment on a national stage, St. James Patrick Tressel is starting to feel a little heat.

Things have been so good in town for so long -- despite the two MNC collapses (hey, we made it to the game, right) -- that the head football coach has been praised for his ability to walk on water, cure the blind and eliminate traffic on 270. Sure, there was a bit of a bad spell in 2004, including a drubbing in Iowa City, but that was only two years removed from a championship season. The team rebounded with great seasons in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and all was soon forgotten.

But this latest episode in which his team came out flat, once again made costly mistakes and once again were outclassed by an elite team has the fans and the punditry coming down hard on Tressel for the first time:

So apparently that’s it now for Ohio State. They fought hard. Let’s just focus on the moral victory – the lament of every blown-out, schedule-padding cupcake in college football. We were overmatched and outcoached, sure, but we fought hard.

Only this is Ohio State. The Buckeyes keep getting their asses kicked when they dare to venture out of Big Ten/MAC land and Tressel doesn’t look or sound the least bit concerned.

The critics see an opening and they're jumping on it. There are even some that think he kept Beanie out of the USC matchup to game the BCS system, as absurd as that sounds (though it's not exactly reassuring when Terry Bowden has your back).

Even the local press, in all of it's Pravda-esque glory, is starting to rumble. It's clear that changes are needed in some fashion or another, whether it's more diversification of the playbook, inserting fresh blood (most notably handing the ball to Pryor and letting some of the young receivers and linemen take over) or outright staff changes. Hey, if fans can eventually turn on Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, they can certainly turn on Tressel and the next five or six games will determine just how much heat he heads into the offseason with.

Though you'd have to be a fool of the finest magnitude to advocate a change at the top, what exactly do you want to see? Are fans being too zealous in asking for new coordinators or position changes? Is his noted loyalty to seniors actually a handicap? Is beating Michigan year-in and year-out enough in this era of heightened expectations?