Buckeye Monday: Northwestern Review

For the second time this year, the Buckeyes went on the road to play a ranked, conference opponent and game up with a big victory. The MSU win three weeks ago was aided by several defensive touchdowns to go along with solid play by the offense. This game was decidedly won by Beanie Wells and Terrelle Pryor. While I’m happy with the victory and the fact that the offense put up 45 points, I refuse to believe the offensive ups and downs are a thing of the past. First of all, the offensive line is still pretty shaky. Beanie rushed for 140+ yards but none of them were easy and he was consistently met in the backfield by the Wildcat defense. I lost count of how many 2nd down and 12 we had. Secondly, Pryor played another solid game but the majority of his passing yards were a result of long pass plays that could have easily been broken up. He consistently under threw his receivers on these plays and was lucky they went the Buckeye’s way. Thirdly, I counted 4 personal foul penalties (all from juniors and seniors) that demonstrated a huge lack of discipline. I wanted to jump through the TV at Alex Boone when he was flagged for unnecessary roughness. His play has been sloppy all year and this was another example of the stupid plays this unit is still making in week 10 of the season. Not to be overly negative but this team has burned me several times this year. It’s not going to happen again.

What worked?

Well….Beanie rushed for the aforementioned 140+ yards and 2 touchdowns. His second score came on a 55 yard run that looked like a sure loss of three yards. Poor tackling, hard running and the “stiff arm of death” combined to get him in the end zone. It was the type of run we saw often last year. This year….not so much.

Pryor is definitely playing with more confidence with every passing week. He showed me a lot of resolve bouncing back from the crushing loss to Penn State. He ran effectively when necessary and didn’t make any mistakes throwing the ball. Isn’t that all you should ask for from a freshman quarterback?

The defense played another solid game. Running quarterbacks stiff give us fits but I can live with the results if most of the running is done between the 30 yard lines. I’m hoping we come up creative ways to defend the “Juice” next week at Illinois.

What didn’t work?

Personal foul penalties drive me crazy. Seniors don’t head butt opposing safeties after the whistle has been blown. I think Boone is playing like he’s disappointed that he stuck around for his senior year to play in the …….. Citrus Bowl.

Where in the world is the mid range passing game? Andre Ware (the ESPN Color Man) stated several times that Pryor had showed enough growth during his time as the starter that the coaches had opened up the entire playbook. I do not agree with that statement. Yes, he completed 9 of his 14 passes but 5 of them were long passes and several of those were thrown up for grabs. Do we not have quick slants, screens, and crossing routes of varying depths in the playbook? Why not run more of those to make the defense play the entire field instead of just the sidelines.

I didn’t mind the fake punt late in the game. If for no other reason, it showed Zook and Rodriguez that we have it and are not afraid to call it. I do have a problem with throwing a long touchdown pass after the punt play. There was no need to do that. Running for the last score was OK but again, not necessary. Boekman should have been ‘taking a knee’ that late in the game. The expression on Tressel’s face told the audience how he felt about the last score. The game should have been over by then.

What’s next? OSU travels to Champaign-Urbana for a revenge game against Illinois. The Illini fell to Western Michigan on Saturday. Not good for them. However, I think they are a dangerous team with a lot of weapons and we need to be disciplined on both sides of the ball to win the game. Could it be a ‘trap game’ before Michigan comes to Columbus for the last game of the season? Maybe. I think the team played like they knew they were going to win against Northwestern. I hope the coaches do a better job of instilling a sense of urgency for the next two weeks. Pryor continues to mature, the defense bends but doesn’t break, and Beanie goes for 130+. I have it 24-10 Ohio State.

Go Bucks!!!

Buckeye John