Tressels, Fickells, Urbans, Days, Johnsons and Days,

My scarlet colored glasses are fogging up a little bit.  

I was in Evanston last weekend and I'm not sure why anyone even attempted a pass.  The wind and occasionally the sideways rain was crazy, television did not do it justice.  

Northwestern had the right idea; they only attempted to pass about 20% of their offensive snaps - oftentimes not even playing with a quarterback on the field.

Ohio State tried to press two issues last weekend against Northwestern which became an issue.  One, they tried to pass almost half of their offensive snaps, which was essentially a waste of a down.  Two, they are still trying to run the ball and play physical offensive football...and they just can't execute it well.

I think I've resigned myself to the fact that this year's team may just have trouble running the ball in short yardage situations.  And, it's very possible that is absolutely OK.  As long as there are not 50 mph winds, OSU is an explosive juggernaut passing the ball which opens up the run game.  The Buckeyes may want to just embrace that identity and be who they are.  Sure, there are a lot of headwinds for the OSU running game...teams are loading the box, play calling for the ground game is very obvious, etc.  But, Ohio State should still be able to knock defenders off the ball and gain some yards, regardless.  But, we aren't seeing that happen for enough consecutive games to sense this is a trend.    

Something else is fogging my vision. 

For some reason, Ohio State is also allowing teams to hang around.  The game at Northwestern was really tough to watch.  Ohio State is playing with one hand tied behind their back, in my opinion.  In key situations, where the defense can put the game away and turn the game into a lopsided affair, the Buckeyes are playing lower-tier players on the defensive line and letting opponents off the hook.  OSU is allowing the other team to drive the ball when the opponent is on the ropes and control time of possession.  (This also keeps the OSU offense off the field, out of sync and pressing when they finally have the ball...it's a double-edge sword.)  

I still think the best player on the defense is interior lineman, Mike Hall #51.  You may not know who he is because he only plays about 25% of the available snaps and oftentimes those snaps are not on critical downs.  He essentially doesn't play and I'm not sure why.  When Mike Hall is in the game, he shuts down the opposing offense and makes life very difficult for them. If he played more snaps, I think these games would look very different. 

This was the week to vent because I think this Buckeye team is too good to have close games against many of these opponents.  There is no reason Ohio State can't get on a roll.  I'll hold every game to 66-0, 77-21, 52-21, 49-10, 49-20, 54-10 and 44-31 context and I still know that's dumb. But, I think it's there this season.  I'm still in.  

Touchdowns: TreVeyon, TreVeyon, Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr., Marvin, Julian Fleming, Cade Stover

OSU 49 Indiana 10

Go Bucks! Beat Indiana! Josh Proctor for Heisman!

Flabby Pappy