Drew Thurman (7:55 am)
For the third straight week the Buckeyes came out sluggish and found themselves down 10-0 in the first quarter. One would have assumed that the coaching staff and players would have learned from the prior two weeks, especially considering the fact that they were playing rival Penn State on Senior Day. They didn't. Instead they seemed to sleepwalk through the opening 15 minutes, looking completely unprepared for what the Nittany Lions threw at them.
In the first half it was the defense that really hurt the Buckeyes chances. On the first play of the game Travis Howard would get a pass interference call that would help get Matt McGloin and company going. Five plays later Stephfon Green would run 39 yards up the middle, untouched for a touchdown. It would be one of three 30 plus yard runs in the first half for the Nittany Lion offense, who had only had one all season long. After a Buckeye drive that stalled out on the Penn State 35 yard line, the combination of Brandon Beachum, Stephfon Green and Silas Redd would help setup a field goal, and a 10-0 lead. In the second quarter, long runs from Silas Redd and Curtis Drake would lead to 10 more points, and the Buckeyes found themselves down 20-14 at halftime.
Interestingly enough, that would end up being the final score. After a first half shootout, the Silver Bullets clamped down in the second. It would be the offense, who had played relatively well in the first, who shot itself in the foot. The team just seemed unable to put it all together at the same time. A great example was in the middle of the third quarter. After a botched snap in the Wildcat formation between Jordan Hall and Boom Herron, Penn State would take over at the OSU 11 yard line. Three plays later the Nittany Lions had first and goal from the two yard line, and Ohio State held on for four consecutive runs. Boom Herron and Carlos Hyde utilized the momentum and were quickly moving the ball down the field, before another fumble, this time by Hyde.
So as you can see, this loss was a team effort. Each half was frustrating for its own reason, and there are a ton of things to take away from this game. So let's take a look at some things I noticed...
For the third straight week the Buckeyes came out sluggish and found themselves down 10-0 in the first quarter. One would have assumed that the coaching staff and players would have learned from the prior two weeks, especially considering the fact that they were playing rival Penn State on Senior Day. They didn't. Instead they seemed to sleepwalk through the opening 15 minutes, looking completely unprepared for what the Nittany Lions threw at them.
In the first half it was the defense that really hurt the Buckeyes chances. On the first play of the game Travis Howard would get a pass interference call that would help get Matt McGloin and company going. Five plays later Stephfon Green would run 39 yards up the middle, untouched for a touchdown. It would be one of three 30 plus yard runs in the first half for the Nittany Lion offense, who had only had one all season long. After a Buckeye drive that stalled out on the Penn State 35 yard line, the combination of Brandon Beachum, Stephfon Green and Silas Redd would help setup a field goal, and a 10-0 lead. In the second quarter, long runs from Silas Redd and Curtis Drake would lead to 10 more points, and the Buckeyes found themselves down 20-14 at halftime.
Interestingly enough, that would end up being the final score. After a first half shootout, the Silver Bullets clamped down in the second. It would be the offense, who had played relatively well in the first, who shot itself in the foot. The team just seemed unable to put it all together at the same time. A great example was in the middle of the third quarter. After a botched snap in the Wildcat formation between Jordan Hall and Boom Herron, Penn State would take over at the OSU 11 yard line. Three plays later the Nittany Lions had first and goal from the two yard line, and Ohio State held on for four consecutive runs. Boom Herron and Carlos Hyde utilized the momentum and were quickly moving the ball down the field, before another fumble, this time by Hyde.
So as you can see, this loss was a team effort. Each half was frustrating for its own reason, and there are a ton of things to take away from this game. So let's take a look at some things I noticed...
1) The coaching staff seemed to make the same mistakes. Obviously, the easy answer is to point the finger at Jim Bollman, who seems to be grasping at straws at this point. His big adjustment in this game was to install Carlos Hyde in the Wildcat, which was both ineffective and confusing to say the least. He puts Jordan Hall in at the goal line and Hyde in the Wildcat, which about sums up his talent evaluation all year. The even more perplexing questions is - why would you want to run that formation when you have a quarterback who is the best playmaker on your team? I could go on and on, especially about how Bollman doesn't set Braxton up for success, but I think we have all gotten the point 11 games in.
On defense, the lack of game planning and preparation for Penn State seemed very evident in the first half. Almost every play seemed to have success, and it wasn't until halftime that some major adjustments were made. Maybe the most frustrating thing was to watch the Wildcat formation, something this defense has to see in practice on a continual basis, look so effective (helping set up 188 rushing yards in 1st half). The inability to shed blocks and tackle properly also falls squarely on the defensive staff as well, who haven't seemed to improve this team in that area at all over the last few weeks.
2) The back seven was very shaky. Speaking of the defense, this game exposed once again how vulnerable this back seven are. A lot of this can be chalked up to youth, but as I mentioned before, there really doesn't seem to be much growth happening. The safeties are the cause of a lot of the breakdowns. They continually are out of position and take terrible angles to the ball. I love the future of Bryant and Barnett, especially because they lay people out, but they have a long way to go.
The coaching staff attempted to get Johnson more reps in this game. I'm not sure if that has to do with Senior Day or frustrations with Bryant, but he wasn't the answer. Johnson did have a pick, yes, but the guy refuses to lay out his body for a tackle and is out of position most of the time. As for Tyler Moeller, well, his mediocre season has continued. I think it kills all of us to watch it, but arm tackles and a lack of speed have been his M.O.
The linebacking core really did play a solid second half, which is part of the reason Penn State was held scoreless, but the first half was really rough. Shazier, who I will mention more later, had a great game but was out of position on Green's first touchdown. Sabino and Klein had very average games in my opinion. and don't look like Ohio State linebackers. They just don't shed blocks and play with the physicality we are used to seeing. Sweat is the second best linebacker on the team, and I sure hope he heals in time for Michigan.
3) The youngsters can play for sure. There is one thing we saw again Saturday: whoever takes over this team is going to inherit a lot of future stars like Braxton Miller and Ryan Shazier. Miller had a lot of glimpses of greatest in this game, and if a coach like Urban Meyer takes over next year, it is going to be a blast to watch him in the spread. The guy has some of the most spectacular moves I have ever seen, and his scramble in the fourth quarter was one of the best plays of the year hands down. While the passing game is still a work in progress for him, the return of Posey did show that the ineffectiveness all season long is as much on the young wideouts as him.
Shazier also played lights out. He led the team with 15 tackles and seemed to be in on almost every play. Maybe it's just the fact that I have had to watch Sweat-Sabino-Klein, but No. 10 just jumped out so much when watching this game. His best series hands down was the goal line stand in the third quarter. He played a part in all four plays, the best being his mid-air collision with Silas Redd. So bottom line, if your Troy Smith jersey is collecting dust, get it out of the closet.
4) Mistakes, turnovers and missed opportunities defined this game. I've mentioned a lot of weaknesses in the gameplan and the execution of it already, but simply capitalizing on opportunities and not making mistakes would have been the difference. Here's a few big ones that play a part in the outcome...
-Multiple bad and misguided snaps from Michael Brewster.
-Miscommunication between Jordan Hall and Boom Herron, the result being a fumble.
-Fumble by Carlos Hyde after the goal line stand on promising drive.
-Dropped pass from Corey Brown, that would've set up the offense in the redzone in the fourth quarter.
-False start by JB Shugarts, that killed the Buckeyes last promising drive.
And the list could go on, but you get the point. The Buckeyes seemed to make a lot of bone headed plays that we aren't used to seeing Tressel teams making in November.
5) I don't have lots of positive feelings about the Michigan game next week. It's been a long time since I have been this nervous heading into a Michigan week. After the Wisconsin game my hope was that we would be too physical and strong on the lines for the Wolverines, modeling a gameplan much like the Spartans had against them. The last three weeks have exposed a team that looks to be digressing and one that hasn't played with the same intensity as they did that night. If that team shows up in Ann Arbor, who knows, but if not, watching Denard running through arm tackles seems like a real possibility.
On defense, the lack of game planning and preparation for Penn State seemed very evident in the first half. Almost every play seemed to have success, and it wasn't until halftime that some major adjustments were made. Maybe the most frustrating thing was to watch the Wildcat formation, something this defense has to see in practice on a continual basis, look so effective (helping set up 188 rushing yards in 1st half). The inability to shed blocks and tackle properly also falls squarely on the defensive staff as well, who haven't seemed to improve this team in that area at all over the last few weeks.
2) The back seven was very shaky. Speaking of the defense, this game exposed once again how vulnerable this back seven are. A lot of this can be chalked up to youth, but as I mentioned before, there really doesn't seem to be much growth happening. The safeties are the cause of a lot of the breakdowns. They continually are out of position and take terrible angles to the ball. I love the future of Bryant and Barnett, especially because they lay people out, but they have a long way to go.
The coaching staff attempted to get Johnson more reps in this game. I'm not sure if that has to do with Senior Day or frustrations with Bryant, but he wasn't the answer. Johnson did have a pick, yes, but the guy refuses to lay out his body for a tackle and is out of position most of the time. As for Tyler Moeller, well, his mediocre season has continued. I think it kills all of us to watch it, but arm tackles and a lack of speed have been his M.O.
The linebacking core really did play a solid second half, which is part of the reason Penn State was held scoreless, but the first half was really rough. Shazier, who I will mention more later, had a great game but was out of position on Green's first touchdown. Sabino and Klein had very average games in my opinion. and don't look like Ohio State linebackers. They just don't shed blocks and play with the physicality we are used to seeing. Sweat is the second best linebacker on the team, and I sure hope he heals in time for Michigan.
3) The youngsters can play for sure. There is one thing we saw again Saturday: whoever takes over this team is going to inherit a lot of future stars like Braxton Miller and Ryan Shazier. Miller had a lot of glimpses of greatest in this game, and if a coach like Urban Meyer takes over next year, it is going to be a blast to watch him in the spread. The guy has some of the most spectacular moves I have ever seen, and his scramble in the fourth quarter was one of the best plays of the year hands down. While the passing game is still a work in progress for him, the return of Posey did show that the ineffectiveness all season long is as much on the young wideouts as him.
Shazier also played lights out. He led the team with 15 tackles and seemed to be in on almost every play. Maybe it's just the fact that I have had to watch Sweat-Sabino-Klein, but No. 10 just jumped out so much when watching this game. His best series hands down was the goal line stand in the third quarter. He played a part in all four plays, the best being his mid-air collision with Silas Redd. So bottom line, if your Troy Smith jersey is collecting dust, get it out of the closet.
4) Mistakes, turnovers and missed opportunities defined this game. I've mentioned a lot of weaknesses in the gameplan and the execution of it already, but simply capitalizing on opportunities and not making mistakes would have been the difference. Here's a few big ones that play a part in the outcome...
-Multiple bad and misguided snaps from Michael Brewster.
-Miscommunication between Jordan Hall and Boom Herron, the result being a fumble.
-Fumble by Carlos Hyde after the goal line stand on promising drive.
-Dropped pass from Corey Brown, that would've set up the offense in the redzone in the fourth quarter.
-False start by JB Shugarts, that killed the Buckeyes last promising drive.
And the list could go on, but you get the point. The Buckeyes seemed to make a lot of bone headed plays that we aren't used to seeing Tressel teams making in November.
5) I don't have lots of positive feelings about the Michigan game next week. It's been a long time since I have been this nervous heading into a Michigan week. After the Wisconsin game my hope was that we would be too physical and strong on the lines for the Wolverines, modeling a gameplan much like the Spartans had against them. The last three weeks have exposed a team that looks to be digressing and one that hasn't played with the same intensity as they did that night. If that team shows up in Ann Arbor, who knows, but if not, watching Denard running through arm tackles seems like a real possibility.
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