Monday Skull Session

By D.J. Byrnes on October 27, 2014 at 6:00 am
Mike Thomas DA GAWD
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There was never a doubt, to me anyway, that Ohio State was walking out of Happy Valley with a W.

But, I will give Penn State kudos for their second half performance. Some of Ohio State's problems were self-inflicted (more on that later), but I am thankful Penn State didn't lay down and gave the Buckeyes all they could handle. It's crucial experience for a ridiculously young team that will pay dividends in two weeks in East Lansing (and beyond).

Oh, and WAR DAMN 4-3 BROWNS.

ABOUT VONN BELL'S "INTERCEPTION." Ohio State was the beneficiary of some horrible refereeing early against Penn State when Vonn Bell's clearly-not-an-interception was ruled an interception and then upheld upon review.

But, if you watched the game via a television, you literally had a better look at the play than the refs. 

From CBS' Jon Solomon:

After the game, referee John O'Neill told a pool reporter that the play was not thoroughly reviewed by replay official Tom Fiedler due to technical difficulties with the available feed. On Sunday, the Big Ten said "the video feed to the replay booth was tested and confirmed on Friday and prior to the game on Saturday, but at the start of the game, the booth was no longer receiving all available feeds. The technician in the booth followed procedure by contacting the production truck, which immediately began working on the issue. Due to these technical difficulties, only one isolated shot from the overhead camera was available and the view did not provide sufficient information to reverse the call. As a result, the play stood as called. The production truck rectified the technical issues shortly thereafter, and the replay booth had access to multiple feeds for the remainder of the game.”

That is... hilariously B1G, and also an insane stroke of Buckeye luck.

And what about Sean Nuernberger's 49-yard stroke that was put into motion about five seconds after the play clock expired? Well, that was a much more old-fashioned refereeing goof: 

In another play, Ohio State kicked a 49-yard field to increase its lead to 17-0 in the second quarter despite the snap coming after the play clock expired. The Big Ten said in a statement "a breakdown in officiating mechanics occurred and the crew failed to properly monitor the play clock. There is flexibility for a slight delay between the play clock and the snap of the ball, but in this case, the timing far exceeded the tolerance for normal play clock procedures. The proper ruling should have been a five-yard penalty for delay of game."

If I were a Penn State fan, I'd be more furious about the botched delay of game penalty than Bell's interception. That kick was monstrous, and it quelled the stadium for the rest of the half.

Those are the breaks of the game, though. *Bosa shrug*

TRESSELBALL AIN'T DEAD. The second half was tight on Saturday night, and some of the offensive playcalling seemed to be out of an era when Jim Tressel strolled Ohio State's sidelines. But it wasn't without reason.

From Doug Lesmerises of cleveland.com:

In the second half and overtime, the Buckeyes completed 5 of 10 passes for 22 yards, while running the ball 29 times for 100 yards.

"There were some throws in there," Meyer said when asked if the plan was too conservative. "We were trying to take some shots. We just couldn't get it done."

The pass protection was a problem. And the outcome was an offense that stagnated and didn't score in the final 33 minutes of regulation.

Pass protection was a problem, and it's been an issue that's plagued Ohio State's line for the last two years. I'm not sure that's an issue that can be fixed this late in the season, but I am not feeling any better about Pat Narduzzi having two weeks to prepare for the clash in East Lansing against a team a lot more talented than Penn State.

J.T. BARRETT THROUGH THE WIRE. There are two trains of thought: 1) J.T. Barrett under-performed against the two legit defenses he's faced or 2) J.T. Barrett salvaged Ohio State's season with gritty play when the game was on the line.

I'm an optimist when it comes to Ohio State, so I prefer the latter. 

From Bill Rabinowitz of The Columbus Dispatch:

When Penn State scored on the first possession of extra time, the Buckeyes looked to be in deep trouble. That’s when Barrett reassured Herman, Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, about his ability to run if needed.

“He said, ‘I’m good, Coach. I’m good. I’m good,’ ” Herman said, emphasizing good stronger each time. “He made sure that everybody knew that he was going back out there and he was going to win the game for us.”

And Barrett did. He scored both touchdowns and ran for 32 of Ohio State’s 37 yards on consecutive overtime possessions. When Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa sacked Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg on fourth-and-5 on the Nittany Lions’ ensuing possession, the Buckeyes escaped with a 31-24 double-overtime victory.

J.T. Barrett isn't as shifty as Braxton Miller, but the dude is a tough runner. Although, I do cringe every time a quarterback draw is called because Ohio State is one truck stick away from the drawing board. 

Beaver Stadium, though, was electric Saturday — hampering Ohio State's rhythm more than I expected — but the true mark of a great quarterback comes from in the clutch, and J.T. Barrett did the damn thing in overtime. I do, however, think that game is entirely different without Penn State's pick-6 to open the second half.

GREG ODEN: CREW SUPPORTER? I would never have expected to see Greg Oden at a Crew game. I also wouldn't have wanted to sit behind him.

From @RichRansom21:

Greg Oden supports the Crew, who knew?

The Crew, by the way, is headed to the playoffs. If they're indeed playing on Saturday, it'd be possible to catch the game and still be in the Horseshoe for kickoff against Illinois. (That'd pro Columbusing.)

MICHIGAN ALUMNUS PUTS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH IS. At this point, it would take a taser or thousands of dollars to get me to stop laughing at Michigan and their failures.

Could you imagine somebody like Les Wexner purchasing 2,000 #FireSmith shirts? Surreal to think about.

Anyway, here's Tom Orr hitting an atomic elbow off the top rope, because it's 2:13 AM on Monday morning and Michigan still sucks:

THOSE WMDs. Looks like this dog knows what he wants... When Star Trek came to Mayberry... Video of WW2 strafing runs against Nazi targets... 70% of people aged 17-24 don't meet standards necessary for military recruitment... Hubble Views the Whirling Disk of NGC 4526.

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