Well, after two weeks away, it was nice to come back to that. The Buckeyes team we saw in that game against the Spartans was barely recognizable...thank goodness.
The Good
Offense
The offense was tremendous. I mean, the Buckeyes scored 21 points in the first quarter. Woooo! Beanie and Terrelle were both awesome running the ball. Frankly, there just aren't enough O's in smooth to describe TP. When he runs the ball, it looks effortless. I thought Beanie's best run was his second TD. It was a giant hole, but the way he exploded into and through it was great. I'd say his foot has healed. And of course, a good running game starts with solid offensive line play. more importantly, the wide receivers showed up. Granted, Pryor only completed 7 passes, but those passes were completed to 4 different receivers. And the receiver with the most completions was the fullback, Brandon Smith. You read that right. Hartline's one reception was awesome. He stayed with the ball all the way and fought off 2 defenders to catch it.
Defense
Wow! Now, that is what I have expected from the defense. The defensive line was able to get some pressure on the QB. That is the first time all year I have seen Robert Rose make a play. Laurinaitis, Freeman, and Jenkins finally showed themselves to be leaders on the field this season. Seeing Laurinaitis and Freeman meet at the QB was incredible. Ross Homan had a solid game. Jenkins, Kurt Coleman, and even Chimdi Chekwa were really good in the secondary. OK, so maybe the Spartans don't have much besides Javon Ringer, but when the defense can hold the opponent to 7 points AND score 2 TDs, it has done its job.
The Bad
Aside from the defense giving up an easy TD at the beginning of the second half, I can't think of anything else that belongs here. Normally, you can count on seeing penalties here, but 5 penalties for 45 yards is not horrible.
The Ugly
Hard to believe, but I have nothing to put here either...except maybe for Bob Griese's golf sweater.
Under the Radar Player of the Game
By now, you know my philosophy on this. If I have been particularly hard on a player or a group of players, I am willing to make that up here. I have been tough on the defensive line this year because it has seemed nonexistent. That being said, the guys showed up in this game. In fact, the entire defense did. This week the UtR players of the game are the Ohio State defensive players, with a special mention to Ross Homan, who caused the fumble in the first quarter that got the Buckeyes rolling.
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4 comments:
From Nelson Slagle:
I just don't know if the Buckeyes are any good. No question that the defense was fantastic but Penn State will test them next week. The offense was great in the 1st quarter but pedestrian after that as Tressel buttoned down the hatch after the 21-0 lead. In the first quarter Pryor was 5-5 for 86 yds and a TD and ran 6 tmes for 62 yards and was absolutely awesome. But his TD pass was only great because he made a move to avoid a tackle and had Robinski as open as I have ever seen anyone from 7 yards out when the play started. I could have made the throw (just couldn't make the move to give me more time). But after the first qtr Pryor was 2-6 for 30 yards and ran 6 times for 10 yards. The only offense was Wells running for 80 yards or so. I hope Tressel lets Pryor play longer next week or it could be a long day. Pryor has been great when he has to be but the rest of the time he looks like a Freshman. Like I said I am not sold yet on the offense.
Their signature win was a 4 point win over Wisconsin. And Wisc was smoked by Penn State and Iowa since. Then they beat Purdue by 13 and NW beats 48-26 or similar score today. Guess we will see next week if OSU is for real.
True, Tressel did kind of wrap up the offense after the Buckeyes took a 21-point lead. That should surprise no one. I have to respectfully disagree though. Beanie ran for 140 yards, TP ran for another 72, and the team won with only 11 passes thrown in the entire game. I look at that offensive performance and I don't find a lot to complain about. Also, I'd have to say that a 38-point beatdown of #20 has to count as a signature win. If USC gets credit for beating Virginia, we should give the Buckeyes credit for thumping MSU, whether the Spartans deserved that ranking or not.
By far the most impressive OSU game since probably Penn St last year - All phases - It's amazing how opening up the offense a bit makes the 2 headed monster of Terrelle and Beanie that much more scary. And lost in all the shuffle/complaining of the mediocre offense, is the defense has been playing like their hair is on fire the last few weeks. I can't wait to be in the 'Shoe next weekend. GO BUCKS!
The defense has stepped it up a lot in the last couple weeks. Guys that i thought were only appearing on milk cartons have shown up big. I like Thad Gibson a lot. That dude is bad! As for complaining about the pedestrian offense, all I can say is, "Are we asking too much?" The offense put up 3 TDs in the 1st quarter.
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