Buckeye Monday

OSU – Minnesota game review

Beanie’s back...........

For the first time in 4 games, Ohio State was with the services of their top running back as Beanie Wells returned to the lineup. Boy did he ever give the Buckeye offense a much needed boost of energy and confidence. Wells told reporters after the game that he was playing “at about 75%” and that he was hoping to “get to 90% by the end of the season.” It’s a good thing that I’m not a doctor because I thought he looked a lot better than 75%. He ran with speed, vision and he appears to have traded in his famous stiff-arm for the ability to jump over would be tacklers. The return of the running game and improvements on the defensive side of the ball lead the Buckeyes to a relatively easy 34-21 win over a much improved Minnesota team.

What worked?

The OSU running game – The combination of a confident Terrelle Pryor and a healthy Beanie Wells was a welcome sight for Buckeye fans. I bet it was a pretty scary sight for the rest of the Big-10 to watch. Pryor seems to get more comfortable with every snap and if Wells is healthy enough to jump over tacklers then I’d like to see what he’ll do once he gets back to 100%. For the game, OSU rushed 37 times for 291 yards. Wells chipped in with 108 yards on 14 carries, Pryor added 105 yards on only 8 carries and Boom Herron looked good for the second consecutive game. Traditionally, teams needed to be able to consistently run the ball to be competitive in the Big-10. I’ll admit that times are changing and that is no longer the case. Heck….in today’s game a team can average less than a yard per play for an entire half and still find a way to win. Anyway, we’ll need Pryor to continue to gain more confidence and Wells to stay reasonably healthy as we enter the toughest portion of the conference schedule.

The new defense – Coach Heacock made several changes along the defensive line that seemed to make a difference in our ability to put pressure on the quarterback. The Minnesota game was the second consecutive week that I totally underestimated the potency of the offense we were playing against. They Weber could really play. I like the idea of putting Gibson and Williams at the ends and turning them loose on every play. They are both fast and play with a mean streak that will serve us well in for the rest of the season. For the game, we limited the Gopher offense to just 99 yards on the ground and 187 yards in the air. Both numbers were significantly lower than their season averages for the year. The two late scores were against the 2nd and 3rd string units. I love the idea of playing the backups in garbage time as much as the next guy. However………..see below.

What didn’t work?

4th Quarter substitutions on defense – While I don’t mind getting the backups some much needed game experience I think giving up the two late scores took away some of momentum gained in the first 3+ quarters. As any fan could see by looking at the scoreboard on Saturday, games are never over….until they’re over Anything can happen on the field as witnessed by the final scores at Florida, Georgia, USC and even Michigan. I think the Buckeyes should have left the 1st team in to complete the game, regardless of the score. I think it would have been great for their confidence to complete the domination from the field instead of watching it crumble (so to speak) from the bench.

Offensive line substitutions throughout the game – Again, I’m all for getting playing time for the young guys but not if it’s going to cost us 5-yard delay penalties and wasted timeouts. There is definitely room for improvement in this area. You have to point the finger at the coaches on this one. I couldn’t find the number of penalties we were flagged with but I’m betting that the per game average is higher than it’s ever been under Tressel. Given the fact that there are so many seniors playing on this team I find that concept to be unacceptable.

What’s next?

Well…..who knows? I watched the first half of the Wisconsin – Michigan game and decided that raking leaves would be a much better use of my time. Obviously, neither team looked good during the first 30 minutes. It’s easy to say this (after the fact) but without the 5 turnovers Wisconsin probably would not have scored any first half points either. I have no idea what happened to PJ Hill in the second half and where was Travis Beckum? Are they hurt? Going on the road to Camp Randall Stadium is never easy, especially at night. I’m sure the Badgers will be looking to their fans to help them rebound after the loss to Michigan. I think the Buckeyes are playing much better on offense and the defense is playing better than the scores indicate. I also think Wisconsin will have to spend time this week addressing what went wrong in Ann Arbor. I have it 27-20 Buckeyes.

Go Bucks!!!

Buckeye John