Ohio State Football Forum

Ohio State Football Forum

Ohio State football fan talk.

Celebrating Our Returning Champions this Saturday in Ohio Stadium - OSU vs. Hawaii

0 HS
Large Father's picture
September 10, 2015 at 11:05pm
14 Comments

Tressels, Fickells and Urbans,

I wasn't sure this is possible, but I think I may like these guys even more than the National Championship teams in 2002 and 2014.  

There is just something about this group of players...and I think it's genuine.  They seem to really enjoy being teammates...and I get the sense they just like playing college football together. 

That's not necessarily a given for a team filled with early NFL draft picks, viable Heisman candidates, social media celebrities, fierce playing time competition...and national championship rings sitting at home.  It wasn't that long ago that Ohio State teammates seemed divided when a freshman QB, Terrelle Pryor, stepped in for a senior QB, Todd Boeckman, who had led the team to the national championship game just 9 months prior.  The core of that team was embarrassed by USC two years in a row, looked joyless in some victories, suffered an ugly defeat to Penn State and even inexplicably lost to a terrible Purdue squad.  Player interviews were typically either uninteresting, self-absorbed and/or completely bizarre -- see Terrelle's "everybody kills" stance for Michael Vick's dog fighting conviction.     

This team is full of life and optimism even when things inevitably become complicated and messy.  

For instance, I'm sure JT would rather start, but you sure wouldn't be able to see that based on his actions at Virginia Tech.  JT was celebrating his teammate's successes, coaching players as they came off the field, interacting with the assistants...on and on.  Personally, I would rather see JT start; and in my opinion, OSU scores over 60 with JT on Monday night at QB.  BUT, I'm not sure I really care if OSU scores 60 or  if they score 42 because I just really like Cardale...it's fun to watch him play.  He's magnetic.  With Cardale, every play is big and dramatic.  For some reason, watching him on the field reminds me of rushing to the playground at recess to play football as a kid.  

Things were complicated and messy when Noah Brown, a young rising star for OSU at WR, was injured a few weeks ago and will miss the season.  But the outpouring of support from players and their parents for Noah was pretty incredible.  The players' parents quickly responded and figured out how to secure financial support so Noah's mom could fly to Columbus from New Jersey to be with her son.  They also sat at the hospital with Noah for hours while his mom was still in transit.  

Now, we have the first home game of the year this weekend.  Let's play "If I were coach for a day against Hawaii:"

- I would start JT and give him nearly all of the snaps.  Cardale just took a beating on Monday night and the team only had two practices this week to prepare for Hawaii.  
- I would start Parris Campbell and try my best to get him a touchdown.  After dropping a sure touchdown and being robbed of a catch early in the Virginia Tech game, he did not get down.  Parris had a key block on both Zeke's and Braxton's touchdown runs and made a great play on kick coverage in the second half.  Keep playing him. :)
- I would run a continuous video loop in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center of Zeke's block during Braxton's spin-move TD run against the Hokies.  I was actually more mesmerized by Zeke's block than Braxton's amazing run.  Incredible all the way around!

The team will be at full strength this weekend in Ohio Stadium.  You may have noticed four Ohio State players did not make the trip to Virginia Tech.  I have a hunch some were aware that Bosa and Jalin were not on the field...it's just a hunch. :)   How did the players react to these key players not making the trip to Blacksburg?  A reporter asked Zeke what he thought Bosa was doing while OSU beat Virginia Tech.  Zeke said Bosa was watching his three-month old puppy, Ace.    

During the game this Saturday, I'll be in Ohio Stadium rooting on these players who are sons, grandsons, teammates, brothers...and dog owners. :)

When the players run out of the tunnel on Saturday, the stadium will erupt as fans welcome them home as 2014 National Champions...but, I think this year's team, and who they appear to be, is already worth celebrating, too.
  
Touchdowns:  Zeke, Zeke, Braxton, Braxton, Curtis Samuel, Nick Vannett, Raekwon, Mike Thomas, Parris Campbell
 
OSU 63 Hawaii 7

Go Bucks!  Beat Hawaii!  Josh Perry for Heisman! 

Puffy Padre
 

This is a forum post from a site member. It does not represent the views of Eleven Warriors unless otherwise noted.

View 14 Comments