Tressels, Fickells and Urbans,
Sports heroes have a big, visible presence. Last Saturday, there were plenty of visible highlight moments in the Ohio State vs Penn State game. Chase Young's stop on fourth-and-five late in the game...Binjimin Victor‘s catch and run for an improbable touchdown that sparked the come back...Dwayne Haskins' passing in the second half of the game with precision....KJ Hill's final touchdown to win the game.
What makes this team great is the effort from the unsung hero. Players that did something in the background to make those big plays happen. The unsung heroes were the difference with the 2014 national championship team. My third grader and I talk about Evan Spencer‘s block on Zeke's 85-yard touchdown run against Alabama as much as we do the run itself. Steve Miller stepping in front of a pass after dropping off in coverage against Alabama in the CFP and returning it to the house. These guys are not on the same revered level as Zeke Elliot, Cardale Jones, Michael Thomas or Joey Bosa...but just as important.
Last week, the win against Penn State had unsung heroes, also. They were the difference in the game. When you have a winning culture and do the little, less visible things right, you win games even when down by 12 with eight minutes left.
My family re-watched KJ‘s final touchdown last weekend...the big play was made by Terry McLaurin on that snap. McLaurin single-handedly took out three Penn State defenders with one downfield block clearing a path to the end zone for KJ to go in untouched. He was the Evan Spencer equivalent in this game and for this victory.
On Chase Young‘s final tackle for a loss on fourth down to effectively end the game, Jashon Cornell made that play happen as much as Chase Young. Cornell forced the offensive line to react to a stunt closing off half the field himself and opened up a huge alley for Chase Young to come right through and make the play. With Nick Bosa (the best player in college football) on the shelf, players like Jashon need to step up if this team is going to go far...and on Saturday he did. He was the Steve Miller equivalent in the Penn State game.
The last unsung hero was the last player Ohio State fans even want to see on the field. Drue Chrisman continually punted and flipped the field letting Ohio State stay in the game until they could gain traction and really steamroll in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Drue doesn’t get a chance to punt often, but he also is an example of what a winning culture looks like. Every player on the field knew their role, stayed calm even when things looks tough and believed they would win.
The next part of a winning culture is not letting down. Ohio State will be favored heavily for a stretch of games now. Hopefully, they learned from the debacle against Iowa last season following the Penn State emotional victory and don’t let that happen again.
This team has star players that are highly motivated and unsung heroes that are putting on gritty performances and doing their part to win. I’m excited to see where this thing goes from here starting this Saturday against Indiana!
Touchdowns: Dobbins, Bin Victor, Weber, Campbell, Austin Mack
OSU 35 Indiana 3
Go Bucks! Beat Indiana! BB Landers for Heisman!
Stout Pops
