Dave Thurman (9:03 am)

Many Buckeye fans are searching for answers as to why the ’08 team has struggled at times and not been nearly as successful as anticipated. After all there was a boatload of returning starters including lots of seniors from a team that was in the National Championship Game two seasons in a row.

Obviously this is a complex issue, but if you want a simple answer I’ve got one for you.  Take a look at some recent near misses in recruiting, particularly from the class of ’07. If you remember (and I wish I could forget) the early days of January, 2007, proved to be a black period that followed a whole lot of sunshine. The ’06 season featured a wire to wire #1 ranking, a Heisman trophy for Troy Smith, and the front cover of every sports journal and magazine published. Then came January, featuring an embarrassing loss to Florida on the national stage, followed by a couple of weeks when all the recruiting news was bad. Looking back on those near misses it appears that if OSU signed the players they thought were in the bag, then the weaknesses on this year’s team might be erased.

Let me show you what I mean.

Defensive Line:  Without doubt this has been the area in which the Buckeyes have fielded the least talent this year. But look at the prospects from the ’07 class:

-  Joseph Barksdale (pictured above) – Supposedly a silent verbal out of Detroit, he was coveted as a defensive tackle, but pulled a stunner on the Bucks by choosing LSU. He has since been converted to the offensive line and starts for the Tigers, but I have no doubt he would be plugging the middle for the Bucks. A five star recruit according to Scout he goes 6’5” 315, and would look great in Scarlet and Gray.

- Josh Brent – Ranked just slightly below Barksdale, OSU thought they had a decent shot at this big guy who signed with Illinois. Brent now starts at defensive tackle for the Illini, and has done a pretty good job of stopping the run and getting into the backfield.

- Antonio Jeremiah – A big and highly rated d-lineman from Columbus (now at 318 lbs.), he signed with the Spartans of Michigan State due to qualifying issues, and is playing some but not starting.

-  Devon Still – An end coming out of high school, he has since bulked up to 300 lbs. and moved inside, but is not getting any game action at Penn State. 

- Ben Martin – Considered a sure thing to don the Scarlet and Gray this five star end from Cincinnati shocked the recruiting world by signing with Tennessee. Currently he is listed as second team and though he logs a lot of minutes, Martin is yet to have the impact most predicted.

Note: The Bucks did sign Cameron Heyward who has been a fine player, as well as undersized Solomon Thomas who is trying to bulk up in order to play.  Overall, though, OSU has suffered from a lack of “big-uglies” in the middle.  Check out those excellent SEC teams and you’ll see huge, powerful tackles stuffing the run and freeing up the linebackers to make plays. I wish the Bucks had a few guys with nicknames like Hoss, Bubba, and Butterbean!

Offensive Line: Talent may not be the problem here but consistency and production has been. So who did OSU miss out on?

- Anthony Davis – This five star stud was another dreaded “silent verbal,” but at the last minute decided on staying close to home and signing with Rutgers. He has been a starter pretty much from day one, and was a Freshman All-American last year.

- Kristopher O’Dowd and Nick Claytor – I throw these two together because I don’t how much chance the Bucks had but they did recruit both heavily.  O’Dowd signed with USC and starts at center for the powerful Trojan line, while Claytor opted for Georgia Tech, and now starts at tackle.

Note: The one lineman OSU did sign in this class was Evan Blankenship who may never see any game action!

Receiver: One more position at which the Buckeyes have underachieved this year. So who did they miss out on?

- Deonte Thompson – From the same school that produced Santonio Holmes and Albert Dukes, OSU had high hopes of grabbing this 5-star recruit. So far he has been okay, but not exactly lit up the scoreboard for the home state Gators with whom he signed.

- Ronald Johnson – This stud out of Michigan chose USC and is a big time player for the Trojans with 6 touchdowns thus far in ’08.

- J.R. Hemingway – A big, physical receiver, he opted for Michigan, where he is seeing limited playing time.

-  Leonard Hankerson – Another talented receiver from Florida he stayed in state at Miami, and is having marginal success thus far.

- Kyle Jefferson – Considered a little too thin, this Glenville grad has started for Wisconsin from the get-go but put up better numbers as a true freshman than he has this year as a sophomore.

Note: The Bucks signed Dane Sanzenbacher who has been a solid possession receiver and Taurian Washington, a spring hero, who has yet to catch a pass in a game this year. Also, worth noting, is the fact that OSU was in on a great pass-catching tight-end from Pennsylvania by the name of Rob Gronkowski, who chose Arizona at the last minute, where he has been a stud (13 TD’s in less than two years). Of course, he probably wouldn’t have had 13 catches at OSU since we rarely throw to the tight end.

I could go on and mention defensive backs like Eric Berry (Tennessee), Dionte Allen (FSU) and Major Wright (Florida), but OSU got good players at corner and safety, although Eugene Clifford and James Scott have since been kicked off the team.

The Bottom Line:  Obviously there were lots of near misses in the class of ’07 and Ohio State had to settle too often for second tier replacements, which has hurt the quality and depth of this year’s team. But when you boil it all down there were three players that the coaching staff felt sure were in the bag, and I ask you to imagine this year’s team with (drum roll please): Anthony Davis at right tackle instead of Bryant Browning; Joseph Barksdale plugging up the middle of the d-line; and, Ben Martin helping Thad Gibson put pressure on the quarterback.  Indeed, a few key misses have had an incredibly negative effect.

Drew Thurman (5:45 pm)

If you just looked at the score from the Northwestern game, it would appear as if the offense has found its legs again. 45-10, that validates Tressel's play calling right? Wrong. I don't care if the offense put up 45 points and gained 441 total yards, the play calling is still inept!

The Buckeyes came out with the usual game plan of trying to run up the middle with Beanie. I'm shocked that Northwestern actually thought to game plan for this stellar attack, but they did. So after Beanie had rushed four times for negative four yards, Tressel decided to go to his typical "Plan B" of throwing the bomb.

I know what followed was a 44 yard reception to Brian Hartline, but this would be the start of what was a game of "homeruns" for the Buckeyes. Not counting the last scoring drive (to bail out Northwestern's defense), four out of the five touchdown scoring drives were set up by long yardage plays. Here they are:

- Brian Hartline 44 yard reception (1st scoring drive)

- Chris Wells 55 yard touchdown run (2nd scoring drive)

- Brian Hartline 46 yard reception (4th scoring drive)

- Brian Robiskie 34 yard touchdown reception (5th scoring drive)

This to me shows a real problem in the Buckeye offense. Tressel's play calling requires the big play to happen in order to score. Sometimes watching us is like watching someone play NCAA Football on a game system! The Buckeyes run and throw bombs, there never seems to be an in between. It seems as if Tressel refuses to have an intermediate passing game or a real variety of running plays. This is fine playing teams like Northwestern, but if the Buckeyes are going to get over the hump the offense needs consistency.

On the totally opposite end of the spectrum, watching the Florida Gators the past several weeks just makes me plain jealous. They have such a great variety of quarterback reads, screen passes, slants, draws, and deep passes that I can barely watch them anymore. When the Gators have the ball things seem to be fluid, even with a variety of players getting involved.

I am not saying the Buckeyes have to copy the Gators exactly, but emulating their rhythm is important. Instead of just running to run or throwing to throw, Tressel needs to have a real game plan. Run to set up a certain pass play, or throw a few balls to set up a creative running play. This is real offensive play calling that does not just count on "homeruns" to win the game. Beanie's absense at times this season has shown that we are sporadic at best without a homerun hitter at running back. With the real possibility of his departure at the end of the season, better play calling is even more a must! It will be the difference in a two to three loss season and a National Championship!

Drew Thurman (10:02 pm)

The Silver Bullet and Eleven Warriors were both featured by ABC 6 in Columbus. I would like to thank 11W for posting the video, and bringing it to my attention. Anyways, here is the clip:  

Dave and Drew Thurman (3:45 pm)

Big win 45-10 for the Buckeyes, that had a lot of offense for a change. Here are some of the things we saw in this game...

Play Calling: The play calling was terrible early in this game. The team looked asleep, and it is hard to believe that Tressel and company didn't have anything better up their sleeves after two weeks to plan. The game plan has to be better next week against Illinois. We cannot just throw long and run up the middle against a much more athletic Illini team!

I-Formation: For whatever reason Tressel decided to come out in a single back formation. Beanie is an I-formation runner, and looked much better once Smith was brought in at fullback. We can't make Beanie something that he is not!

Protection:  The pass protection was better for most of this game. Given it was Northwestern and Pryor made some big plays scrambling, but he was given the time to throw long most of the day. 

Mr. Third and Long: Speaking of Pryor, it was awesome to see him have a big day. He has special gifts, and a few of those broken plays showed his true athleticism. Have you ever seen anyone so good on third and long? The only third down he didn't convert was on third and three, figure it out! Anyways, the fact that he had a solid game both through the air and on the ground could be huge for the rest of the year.

4 TD's: It was also good to see Beanie and Robiskie get back on track. These men had four touchdowns between them, and had the Buckeyes had that kind of production all year it would have been a different season!

Referees: What was up with the referees in this game? We have never seen such weak penalties in a game. The Boone head butt obviously deserved the flag, but these guys had no clue outside of that call. They called some pansy late hits on the sideline, and then chose to "just talk" to Peterman when he decided to throw a punch at the Buckeyes. The bad refereeing is getting old, and the Big Ten needs to take a serious look! 

Defensive Stars:  We would like to send a shout out to Nadar Abdallah, Jermale Hines, and Malcolm Jenkins for a solid game. These guys were on it all day, and had some huge hits. There are a few guys on the defense that really don't have a mean streak, but Hines and Jenkins both are out for blood every play. Also it was nice to see Abdallah's motor running all game. The defensive tackle position has been one where the Buckeyes have struggled the most, and Abdallah has been solid several weeks in a row. 

Andre Ware: We would like to say this as nicely as possible, SHUT UP ANDRE WARE! He ran Tressel into the ground, and acted like he was a classless coach because of the fake punt. There are Big 12 and SEC teams running up the score every week, and he chooses to chastise the Buckeyes for still playing offense when they were up 31-10 with lots of time on the clock. What a joke! This is coming from Andre Ware, whose Houston team ran up the score every chance they got with the run and shoot offense. Not only was he a terrible announcer all day, but this whole beat down Tressel thing got really old. Seriously did you see his face on that touchdown run from Boom Herron, Andre?  

The Boom: Speaking of Boom Herron; it was really nice to see him back in this game. He is a great change of pace from Beanie, and the Buckeyes really could use him next week against Illinois. He hits the hole faster than any back we have, and his future looks bright. 

Gibson?: Finally, we really hope Gibson didn't get hurt in this game. He disappeared, and Nathan Williams replaced him for the remainder of the game. The crack squad at ESPN2 obviously didn't give us any news about it, so let's hope Gibson is alright. With that said, Williams played great in Gibson's absense with two sacks. It sure shows how bad the defensive line is when an undersized freshman defensive end looks better than about anyone else the Buckeyes have.

Dave & Drew Thurman (12:07 pm)

Mascot: Wildcats

Stadium: Ryan Field Stadium (47,130)

Coach: Pat Fitzgerald (Third year, 17-16)

2007 Record: 6-6

2008 Record: 7-2

Base Offense: Spread

Base Defense: 4-3

Letterman: Returning - 47; Lost - 19

Returning Starters: Offense - 7; Defense - 8; Speacialists - 2

Returning Stars: RB Tyrell Sutton, SS Brendan Smith

Notable Alumni:

-Charlton Heston - Actor
-George McGovern - US Senator & Presidential nomine
-Warren Beatty - Actor
-Michael Wilbon - ESPN analyst and host of PTI (pictured below)
-Julia Louise-Dreyfus - Actress
-Jerry Springer - TV personality
-Hugh Heffner - Playboy fame
-Brent Musburger - Sports commentator
-Otto Graham - Football hall of famer who also played basketball

Northwestern Overview:

Offense:

The Wildcat offense this year has been on a roller coaster ride, filled with its ups and downs. Especially of late as they have battled the injury bug with some of their star players. This means the Buckeyes first have to prepare to see two different quarterbacks on Saturday. The starter if healthy is senior C.J. Bacher, who has accumulated 1700 yards passing to go along with 10 touchdowns. He has struggled with consistency though, completing just 59 percent of his passes with 11 interceptions. Bacher has also bailed the Wildcats out with his legs having 244 yards and three touchdowns on the season.

The other possibility at quarterback on Saturday is Mike Kafka, who played very well in Bacher's absense last week against Minnesota. Kafka was 12 of 16 for 143 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He really burned the Golden Gophers on the ground with 217 yards rushing.

On top of quarteback, the Wildcats have been plagued with injuries at the running back position. First, the Akron native Tyrell Sutton went down with a wrist injury after being hurt for a big part of last season. Sutton had 776 yards with six touchdowns on the season. His replacement then became Omar Conteh who has 235 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Conteh was injured this week in practice, so the Wildcats throw sophomore Stephen Simmons out as the starter against the Buckeyes. Simmons has a whopping 4 rushing attempts for 19 yards on the season, so there is not much to know about him.

The other position of major importance for the Wildcats is at wideout. Northwestern throws the ball a lot, and actually have 8 players with ten or more catches. The three main guys to look for are Ross Lane (397 yards, 0 TD), Rasheed Ward (329 yards, 2 TD), and Eric Peterman (386 yards, 3 TD). All three of these young men have 30 plus receptions, and will get a lot of short throws coming at them. With that said, all three have the ability to bust one long if they are given the space.

Defense:

Northwestern's defense has been better than many predicted. Their statistics are not mind blowing, but they are holding opponents to 18.1 points a game. This has been key because even though they are giving up 341 yards a game, they are holing opponents under 50 percent on red zone touchdowns. They have clamped down under pressure, and have forced field goals.

A lot of this is due to the fact that the strength of the defense is the back seven. Actually catch this, the top seven tacklers for the Wildcats come from the linebacking core or secondary. On top of tackles, these seven guys account for 26 tackles for loss, seven interceptions, and six forced fumbles. They truely are the heart of the defense. Especially at safety with Brad Phillips (75 tackles) and Brendan Smith (57 tackles). Phillips and Smith are tough all the way around, and will make quarterbacks pay for misguided throws.

The only other player to really keep your eye on is Corey Wootton. The junior defensive end has had a stellar year, accumulating 27 tackles with 12 tackles for loss and six and half sacks.

How It Will Go:

When Ohio State has the ball expect to see a power attack unleashed. The Wildcats interior defense is not incredibly strong, so look for the Buckeyes to try to pound the ball with Chris Wells. The Buckeyes could very well open things up for Pryor as well. If the running game is working, allowing Pryor to throw the ball down field would be great for his confidence. If Pryor has a successful game on the road against a ranked team, he really could get back on track. The slot wideouts and tight ends will need to play an important part of this game as well. The Wildcats have good safties, so it will be important for Pryor to get the ball to guys with one on one coverage. Brandon Smith, Dane Sazenbacher, and Brain Hartline will all have big games if the line can protect Pryor.

When Northwestern has the ball, expect to see a very hungry Buckeye defense. The Wildcats are down to their third string running back, so expect a lot of short passes to replace a consistent running game. Also, like last week against Minnesota, expect which ever Northwestern quarterback that starts to run much more than any of their backs. Kafka ran the ball 15 more times than anyone else on the team last week! Finally, get ready to see some forced turnovers by the Buckeyes. Northwestern has been very turnover prone all season, especially in their losses. In their two losses the Wildcats lost the turnover battle 0-8. 

Father vs. Son Prediction Battle:

Dave has it: Ohio State 24 Northwestern 14

Drew has it: Ohio State 31 Northwestern 10

Drew Thurman (8:47 am)

Ray Small has been suspended indefinitely, and his career at Ohio State looks to be over. Small's father says that the Buckeyes are blowing his career, and that Small will either transfer to FCS school or turn pro. Here are a few links:

The Plain Dealer

Dotting the "I"

Drew Thurman (12:43 pm)

The Big Ten conference has been very confusing and hard to predict this season. I am not sure anyone thought Wisconsin and Michigan would find themselves at the bottom of the conference at this point in the season. Here is what the standing look like right now:

1) Penn State:  9-0 (5-0)
2) Michigan State:  8-2 (5-1)
3) Ohio State:  7-2 (4-1)
4) Northwestern:  7-2 (3-2)
5) Minnesota:  7-2 (3-2)
6) Illinois:  5-4 (3-3)
7) Iowa:  5-4 (2-3)
8) Indiana:  3-6 (1-4)
9) Purdue:  3-6 (1-4)
10) Michigan:  2-7 (1-4)
11) Wisconsin:  4-5 (1-5)

Here at The Silver Bullet, we were not much better than anyone else at predicting the standings. I checked out our Big Ten Predictions from July, and this is what they looked like (my predictions for Minnesota and Iowa are pretty hilarious!):

 Dave:
1) Ohio State
2) Wisconsin
3) Illinois
4) Penn State
5) Michigan State
6) Michigan
7) Iowa
8) Purdue
9) Minnesota
10) Northwestern
11) Indiana

Drew:
1) Ohio State
2) Wisconsin
3) Penn State
4) Illinois
5) Michigan State
6) Michigan
7) Purdue
8) Northwestern
9) Indiana
10) Iowa
11) Minnesota

So, what do the next few weeks hold for the Big Ten? No one knows! The Big Ten is down for sure though, and the standing show that the conference has some work to do to get back on top!

Drew Thurman (12:57 pm)

Ohio State being off this weekend was probably good for my blood pressure, but it did leave me feeling a little empty. There was quite a bit going on in the Big Ten and around the college football world though, and here were a few things I noticed...

- Florida is a very scary team. They are super explosive, and they actually made Georgia look slow. I cannot stand him, but Urban Meyer is an offensive genius. You can mark my words, Florida looks to be the team to beat for the SEC Championship. If Alabama survives Death Valley, I do not see them trumping Florida. Actually, I am not sure anyone wants to play the Gators right now.

- What in the world is up with Northwestern? Last week they lost to Indiana, who is not even a good MAC team this year, and now they beat the one loss Minnesota Gophers with a backup quarterback. I just cannot figure out the Big Ten this year. Who would have thought that Northwestern, Minnesota, and Iowa would be fighting in the middle of the pack while Michigan and Wisconsin sit at the bottom of the conference!

- The Texas vs. Texas Tech game lived up to the hype! That was one of the best games I have seen in a long time, and I give Leach and company credit for having the guts to throw for the endzone with about eight seconds left. Harrell and the Red Raider wideouts made me drool and really realize how bad our offense has been. There were two things that made laugh in this game though. First, Texas tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill has to be exchanging pants with Charlie Weis; they only make pants that big on special order. Second, this makes me laugh every Texas Tech game...(Click Link!)

- Speaking of Weis and Notre Dame, they stink. Sorry Lou Holtz, but you were terribly wrong. The next good team the Irish beat will be their first this season. Pittsburgh and the Big East are awful, and Dave Wannstedt cannot coach his way out of a paper bag. NBC got the joy of showing a game that highlights two coaches who cannot turn their talented recruiting classes into real contenders!

- After another terrible loss, Phil Fulmer is stepping down at the end of the season. I have to say I have never been a Fulmer fan, but I am sad to see him go. Not only will the Volunteers get better now, but the SEC fans will not know who to make fun of anymore. He has provided many laughs, and this video shows a few of those. So here you are Fulmer, this video is in your memory!