Buckeye Monday: Illinois Post Game

Buckeyes “Running in the Rain” to victory over Illinois

I guess that when you can grind out yards on the ground the way Ohio State did on Saturday, you don’t have to ask Terrelle Pryor to make any unnecessary throws to win a game. In what had to be some of the wettest conditions I’ve seen at Ohio Stadium in quite a few years, the Buckeyes used a combination of a solid running game and a suddenly dominant defense to blank Juice Williams and the Illini 30-0. That’s eight straight quarters of shutout defense against two of the more respected offenses in the country. That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the conference.

I hadn’t had a chance to watch a full game since the opener against Navy. I was really eager to see what units were starting to show improvement. I can honestly say that every part of the team played better in week four than they did in week one. Every part of the team that is….accept the quarterback. I keep reading the Pryor is a work in progress, that Buckeye fans need to be patient and that the offense is still trying to find its identity. All that may be true but I watched our “work in progress” making the same mistakes in the fundamentals of the position that he’s made since taking over as the starter fourteen games ago. I’m tired of putting the blame on Tressell, Bollman, the O-line and Pryor. This week I’m going to call out Pryor’s new position coach……Nick Siciliano. Who is this guy? What are his credentials? The answers are easy enough to find. Long story short….I think putting the future of Terrelle Pryor in his hands may be a mistake. I hadn’t really thought of this angle before sitting down to write this article. I’ll have to do some additional analysis before future pieces.

Now….what worked on Saturday?

Obviously the entire defense stands out. Having lived through the brilliant performance of Juice Williams the last time he came to Columbus and the recent success that Illinois has enjoyed against Ohio State in the Shoe I was honestly nervous about this game. In retrospect, there was nothing to be nervous about at all. #1 Juice Williams isn’t half the quarterback he was a few years ago. I think he’s actually regressing as a player. He reminds me of Drew Tate at Iowa a few years ago. As a sophomore, Tate lit up the Buckeyes and the rest of the Big-10. His last two years were terribly disappointing. Juice’s career seems to be on the same trajectory. #2 The defense is playing with lots of confidence, attitude and speed. I like that combination. Thad Gibson, Lawrence Wilson, Brian Rolle and Kurt Coleman all had big games.

The ability to run was the difference in the game. We ran almost at will. Illinois could not. Boom Herron ran for 75 yards and two scores. Brandon Saine ran for about the same but didn’t get into the end zone. Jordon Hall saw action in the fourth quarter and showed quick feet and pretty good vision. Pryor even made some nice runs for the second week in a row. One of the major questions heading into the season was who would step up to replace Beanie Wells. I think the answer is that a “committee” of runners will step into the void. For what it’s worth…..I’ve been most impressed with how hard Saine has been running. Keep it up young man.

Aaron Pettrey can really kick the ball. The conditions were terrible on Saturday but Pettrey nailed his second 50+ yard field goal of the year. He also made two other field goals and three extra points. He appears to be next in the long line of solid place kickers at Ohio State.

What still needs work?

The O-line has shown improvement week to week. Both Mike Adams and JB Shuggarts are now starting. I think they are incredible talents but both need more seasoning before the big games at the end of the season. Additionally, it appears that the running game struggles between the tackles. Perhaps if we threw the ball down the field more often we could prevent the safeties from playing the run so hard.

As mentioned before….Terrelle Pryor still needs a lot of work. Granted the weather and the success of the running game dictated the play calling on Saturday. He threw two passes in the first half for god’s sake so it would have been hard for him to get into any sort of rhythm. He still tries to make more out of busted plays than he needs to do. Run north-south instead of east-west. His penchant for doing that caused him to turn several six yard gains into two yard losses. Also, please move the ball to your outside hand when running around the corners. See any other post on this blog for a detailed list of what’s wrong with his throwing….weather on the run or in the pocket. Again, I need to do more research on his progress vis-à-vis his new position coach. I may be on to something there.

What’s next? We go on the road to play Indiana. This game gives Ohio State an early chance to see how they can perform on the road. The Hoosiers played Michigan tough in the Big House on Saturday so we’ll also get a chance to compare our results to that game. As pointed out by Big House Bob, the Michigan defense is still finding its direction under Robinson. Ohio State already has their direction. The shut out streak ends in the second quarter. Ohio State continues to dominate on the ground and on defense. I have it 31-14.

Go Bucks!!!!

Buckeye John