What a Weekend
I proudly will admit that I was wrong. I honestly didn't think that Ohio State had much, if any, chance against Michigan. I mean seriously. Our offense has been bad, our defense not great, and the only thing we had going was good special teams play. Talk about picking your spots. The offense played like they did when Hoying and George were in the backfield and Galloway and Glenn were running post patterns. The defense shut down the Big 10's leading rusher. And I mean to the tune of 61 yards shut down. And our special teams were as good as they have ever been (but that should be a given with Jim Tressel as your coach).
37-21!!!
37 freaking points!!! Against a good veteran defense. The Buckeyes finally fulfilled the potential that had given them a top 10 preseason ranking. And it was pretty obvious that Dick Tressel (Jim's crazy and liberal brother) had a say in the offense. Each time we lined up Michigan looked confused. Running and pointing all over the field. It was great. This is the type of offense that Troy Smith was born to play in. Let him run and create, that's when he's at his best.
A few points that became glaringly obvious during this game. Troy Smith is the qb for this team. He leads on the field, he never looks shaken (even under heavy pressure which happened quite a bit Saturday), and he can make a play out of nothing. His long run in the 3rd quarter took the wind out of UM for good. On 3rd and 8 UM wrapped up every OSU receiver, but one problem, no spy for #10. 38 yards later it was 1st and 10 and we eventually scored a TD. I was a huge Justin Zwick fan in the preseason. And I think he can still be a good qb. But during his starts he just looked lost and frazzled. And it showed. He constantly threw behind receivers and doesn't have the same ability to run that Smith has.
Ted Ginn, Jr. has to be mentioned in the same breath as Peterson and Hart as one of the best freshman in the nation. He has great field awareness and did I mention that he runs like a gazelle. His punt return in the 3rd quarter was awesome. I was sitting in my office watching the game (thanks Jesus) with 2 of my co-workers. They were preoccupied looking at the Pacers-Detroit fan fight from the night before on my computer. After Ginn made the first guy miss I tapped one of them on the back and his reaction was the same as mine...GONE! Wait until he's playing both sides of the ball next year. He WILL be a Heisman Candidate. He'll make Chris Gamble look like a bum. Oh, and he's Smith's go to high school buddy. Anytime he needs to hit a big throw he looks for Ginn. Works for me.
Troy Smith was finally able to get the ball to Santonio Holmes. Smith's focus has been on Ginn since he took over as the starter. But Holmes is the best pure receiver on that team and he showed it Saturday. Now if we could just get Ryan Hamby (only the best TE in the Big 10) involved we'd be great.
The defense finally played like its capable of playing. And was it coincidence that three of our starting dbs were back from injury. Dustin Fox did get burnt twice by Braylon Edwards, but it was in the 4th quarter when the game was basically over, and it is Braylon Edwards. Nate Salley and Donte Whitner made big plays and big hits all day. You can't under estimate the impact that 2 experienced safties can have on a defense. It allows everyone else to cut it loose because they know that there are two guys back there that can cover any mistakes.
One tendency that I have noticed since Mike D'Andrea got hurt is that Anthony Schlegel has a lot of problems getting off blocks. Apparently Big 10 blockers are a little bigger and more physical than Mountain West blockers. I don't know why John Kerr hasn't gotten a chance to play (he could have gotten hurt in practice and I missed it) . Indiana maybe a cellar dweller, but it's still the Big 10.
With all of this said it looks like the Bucks will end up in El Paso on New Year's Eve playing in the Sun Bowl. Not great after playing in the Fiesta the last two years, but when you figure that we started 0-3 in conference play I'll take it. We will play the Pac 10 #3 team. Which as of now could be one of 3 teams. Arizona State, UCLA, or Oregon State. Of these 3 I would much rather play UCLA b/c of their lack of a veteran qb, but they have to beat USC to get in, not gonna happen. So its either going to be Andrew Walter (ASU) or Derek Anderson (OSU). 2 senior, successful qbs who will want to go out as winners. Walter hung 44 on the Iowa D in September. The same D that held Ohio St. to 7. Scary. But ASU has no running game, and if there's one thing the Buckeyes can do is handle the pass attack (bend but don't break). ASU finishes up with Arizona so you never know what could happen.
Moving onto Sunday. The Browns are an awful team. We just can't put it all together on the same Sunday. The defense was great the entire game. When you only surrender 10 points in an NFL game you're doing something right. And that something was blitzing on Sunday. Dave Campo finally figured out that our front four isn't very good and we finally got pressure on a qb. But as good as the defense was the offense was equally bad. 7 points. That's ridiculous. And Phil Dawson missed 2, yes 2 field goals. He hadn't missed 1 all season. And he missed from 42 and 37, very makeable and in his range. That team kills me.
Congratulions to the Gators and Ron Zook. They won for the first time at FSU since 1986 and Zook will leave Gainsville as a favorite among his players and most fans. In my mind when Spurrier quit the UF hiring crew knew that the coach that follows a legend never does well. With that in mind they went with a guy that was relatively unknown but had UF ties. A sacrificial lamb if you will. With the talent he has there is no reason this UF team shouldn't be in the BCS hunt. In my opinion, he's too much of a players coach and not enough of a disciplinarian. And you can see it on the field with all of the stupid penalties. Its the same reason that Mike Tice will never win a title in Minnesota. Lack of DISCIPLINE!
I don't mind end zone cameras, but please don't show me live play from that vantage point. I think Joe McGrail summed it up best Saturday when he said "There's a reason why 50 yard line tickets are the most expensive." I have no problem with seeing a replay from the end zone. But I want to see the entire game from the sideline cam.
And finally. My alma mater takes on the hated Toledo Rockets Tuesday night on ESPN2. I don't think that I could be more excited for this game. We NEED to win to keep our slim bowl hopes alive. And as an added bonus it would keep UT from winning the West. But the Glass Bowl has not been kind to us the last couple of trips. 2002 42-24 and 2000 51-17. Of course the 2000 game was BU (before Urban). This team has the fire power to beat any mid level opponent and give any big school a game (ask Oklahoma). If we win tomorrow night it will put my 3 biggest rivalries at the amateur level at a 3-0 record. New Philadelphia H.S. over Dover High 21-20 in their 100th meeting, OSU over UM 37-21, and my BG over UT prediction...BG 48-UT 27. Omar Jacobs throws 4 tds and PJ Pope runs wild through the UT secondary for 150 yards and a couple of scores. Our special teams WILL make a big play. Either a turnover or a big return. They've been doing it all year and it won't stop tomorrow. This is one of the best rivalries for my money. You can fit a lot of hatred into 20 miles and Tuesday night it will all spill onto the turf at the Glass Bowl.
GO FALCONS!!!
37-21!!!
37 freaking points!!! Against a good veteran defense. The Buckeyes finally fulfilled the potential that had given them a top 10 preseason ranking. And it was pretty obvious that Dick Tressel (Jim's crazy and liberal brother) had a say in the offense. Each time we lined up Michigan looked confused. Running and pointing all over the field. It was great. This is the type of offense that Troy Smith was born to play in. Let him run and create, that's when he's at his best.
A few points that became glaringly obvious during this game. Troy Smith is the qb for this team. He leads on the field, he never looks shaken (even under heavy pressure which happened quite a bit Saturday), and he can make a play out of nothing. His long run in the 3rd quarter took the wind out of UM for good. On 3rd and 8 UM wrapped up every OSU receiver, but one problem, no spy for #10. 38 yards later it was 1st and 10 and we eventually scored a TD. I was a huge Justin Zwick fan in the preseason. And I think he can still be a good qb. But during his starts he just looked lost and frazzled. And it showed. He constantly threw behind receivers and doesn't have the same ability to run that Smith has.
Ted Ginn, Jr. has to be mentioned in the same breath as Peterson and Hart as one of the best freshman in the nation. He has great field awareness and did I mention that he runs like a gazelle. His punt return in the 3rd quarter was awesome. I was sitting in my office watching the game (thanks Jesus) with 2 of my co-workers. They were preoccupied looking at the Pacers-Detroit fan fight from the night before on my computer. After Ginn made the first guy miss I tapped one of them on the back and his reaction was the same as mine...GONE! Wait until he's playing both sides of the ball next year. He WILL be a Heisman Candidate. He'll make Chris Gamble look like a bum. Oh, and he's Smith's go to high school buddy. Anytime he needs to hit a big throw he looks for Ginn. Works for me.
Troy Smith was finally able to get the ball to Santonio Holmes. Smith's focus has been on Ginn since he took over as the starter. But Holmes is the best pure receiver on that team and he showed it Saturday. Now if we could just get Ryan Hamby (only the best TE in the Big 10) involved we'd be great.
The defense finally played like its capable of playing. And was it coincidence that three of our starting dbs were back from injury. Dustin Fox did get burnt twice by Braylon Edwards, but it was in the 4th quarter when the game was basically over, and it is Braylon Edwards. Nate Salley and Donte Whitner made big plays and big hits all day. You can't under estimate the impact that 2 experienced safties can have on a defense. It allows everyone else to cut it loose because they know that there are two guys back there that can cover any mistakes.
One tendency that I have noticed since Mike D'Andrea got hurt is that Anthony Schlegel has a lot of problems getting off blocks. Apparently Big 10 blockers are a little bigger and more physical than Mountain West blockers. I don't know why John Kerr hasn't gotten a chance to play (he could have gotten hurt in practice and I missed it) . Indiana maybe a cellar dweller, but it's still the Big 10.
With all of this said it looks like the Bucks will end up in El Paso on New Year's Eve playing in the Sun Bowl. Not great after playing in the Fiesta the last two years, but when you figure that we started 0-3 in conference play I'll take it. We will play the Pac 10 #3 team. Which as of now could be one of 3 teams. Arizona State, UCLA, or Oregon State. Of these 3 I would much rather play UCLA b/c of their lack of a veteran qb, but they have to beat USC to get in, not gonna happen. So its either going to be Andrew Walter (ASU) or Derek Anderson (OSU). 2 senior, successful qbs who will want to go out as winners. Walter hung 44 on the Iowa D in September. The same D that held Ohio St. to 7. Scary. But ASU has no running game, and if there's one thing the Buckeyes can do is handle the pass attack (bend but don't break). ASU finishes up with Arizona so you never know what could happen.
Moving onto Sunday. The Browns are an awful team. We just can't put it all together on the same Sunday. The defense was great the entire game. When you only surrender 10 points in an NFL game you're doing something right. And that something was blitzing on Sunday. Dave Campo finally figured out that our front four isn't very good and we finally got pressure on a qb. But as good as the defense was the offense was equally bad. 7 points. That's ridiculous. And Phil Dawson missed 2, yes 2 field goals. He hadn't missed 1 all season. And he missed from 42 and 37, very makeable and in his range. That team kills me.
Congratulions to the Gators and Ron Zook. They won for the first time at FSU since 1986 and Zook will leave Gainsville as a favorite among his players and most fans. In my mind when Spurrier quit the UF hiring crew knew that the coach that follows a legend never does well. With that in mind they went with a guy that was relatively unknown but had UF ties. A sacrificial lamb if you will. With the talent he has there is no reason this UF team shouldn't be in the BCS hunt. In my opinion, he's too much of a players coach and not enough of a disciplinarian. And you can see it on the field with all of the stupid penalties. Its the same reason that Mike Tice will never win a title in Minnesota. Lack of DISCIPLINE!
I don't mind end zone cameras, but please don't show me live play from that vantage point. I think Joe McGrail summed it up best Saturday when he said "There's a reason why 50 yard line tickets are the most expensive." I have no problem with seeing a replay from the end zone. But I want to see the entire game from the sideline cam.
And finally. My alma mater takes on the hated Toledo Rockets Tuesday night on ESPN2. I don't think that I could be more excited for this game. We NEED to win to keep our slim bowl hopes alive. And as an added bonus it would keep UT from winning the West. But the Glass Bowl has not been kind to us the last couple of trips. 2002 42-24 and 2000 51-17. Of course the 2000 game was BU (before Urban). This team has the fire power to beat any mid level opponent and give any big school a game (ask Oklahoma). If we win tomorrow night it will put my 3 biggest rivalries at the amateur level at a 3-0 record. New Philadelphia H.S. over Dover High 21-20 in their 100th meeting, OSU over UM 37-21, and my BG over UT prediction...BG 48-UT 27. Omar Jacobs throws 4 tds and PJ Pope runs wild through the UT secondary for 150 yards and a couple of scores. Our special teams WILL make a big play. Either a turnover or a big return. They've been doing it all year and it won't stop tomorrow. This is one of the best rivalries for my money. You can fit a lot of hatred into 20 miles and Tuesday night it will all spill onto the turf at the Glass Bowl.
GO FALCONS!!!
posted by CFunk28 at 10:43 AM
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