Western Michigan Re-Cap

Rainy Day Saturdays always get me down.  I wasn't at the Big House on Saturday and I was sort of glad I wasn't.  What a mess.   My feed on TV was on ESPN2 and they did a terrible job keeping up to date on the delay and when the game would be on.  I switched to ABC to watch Minnesota vs USC and they said they were going back to the Michigan game at 53 minutes after the hour.  I turned back to ESPN 2 at that time and I had missed about a minute of game time.   After the second delay, ESPN 2 went to Nascar and we had no idea if the rest of the game would have been shown or if it was which channel.   I wasn't expecting that they were going to cancel the rest of the game.

(Photo from Detnews)

Now on to the game.  How did that first WMU drive taste to you?  It felt very familiar and very disturbing to me.  I am a big fan of Carvin Johnson and even got to meet him quickly at the Gator Bowl last year, he is a nice young man.  Unfortunately,  he was confused and out of position that entire drive.   I also don't understand why you cover the Slot WR 15 yards off the line of scrimmage with no LB help.   At least move up and look like you are covering someone. 

After that first drive my first thought was, we should have taken the ball after winning the coin flip.  I did like how the new offense moved the ball mixing the spread and pro sets.   The combo between Toussaint and Shaw look to be very good when the line gives them a couple of "motor home" holes to run through.  Denard looked pretty sharp throwing the ball most of the day.  It seemed like he wasn't on the field at all, with the two defensive touchdowns and two delays it seemed like Denard only had a couple of drives. 

The defense rebounded after the Ryan QB hit and the Herron pick 6.   Which was nice to see.  It was clear that Western wanted to throw on every down and spread the Michigan defense out.  That worked for the first couple of  drives, until Mattison figured out to blitz up the middle with Demens and off the edge with Kovacs. 

A win is a win but I wish Michigan had got more work in before ND next week. 

Now to the BHB famous Cheers and Jeers Section:

Cheers:

• Production out of the RB position
• Denard Robinson playing like Denard
• Defensive touchdowns from Brandon Herron
• Jordan Kovas, 2 sacks and breaking up passes
• Greg Mattison making adjustments and finding the right blitz package
• The Michigan offensive line

Jeers:

• Mother Nature
• EPSN/ABC lost the signal a number of times during the good weather
• To quote, Bruce Feldman from the network that still employes "Craig James"
• Kick off coverage
• Missed extra point
• Woolfolk's ankles (not expected to be serious and could have played if they needed him)
• Michigan DL, I didn't see the pressure I expected to see from the D-line.  Most of the pressure came from blitzers. 

I like the balance on offense and would have liked to have seen the wide receivers get into the action more.   I also understand why you have your best players on kick off coverage but Woolfolk is maybe the most important player on defense and doesn't need to risk injury being on special teams.

What to expect next week?  The Weather Channel Bowl

I thought South Florida would play ND tough in South Bend, which had longer delays then the Michigan game.  ND probably won't turn the ball over 5 times at the Big House and they will be very hungry not wanting to go 0-2.   The Fighting Irish will be very dangerous next weekend. (they have MSU at home the week after).  The good thing is Kelly didn't get a ton of tape of Michigan's offense from Saturday.

A win is a win but Michigan sill has plenty to work with two ND and SDS coming to Ann Arbor.

Side Notes:

• It had been rumored for weeks that Hopkins would be suspended for game 1.  He was.
• Ricky Barnum was reported suspended but it came out today it was an injury. 
• Cam Gordon didn't play due to a back injury that flared up before the game.
• Freshman Brendan Beyer played and I think Clark and Countess were on special teams.  Wile kicked off and punted. 
• Michigan only punted twice
• Evans who was transferred back to Michigan this year was also suspended for a team matter. 
• Brent Musburger must be color blind.  He wore his Easter suit on Saturday night.
• Les Miles really has a hard time finishing a thought during an interview.  It's almost painful to watch.
• College football place kicking is just terrible right now, across the board.
• 5 star basketball recruit Mitch McGary watched the game with friend Zack Novak and seemed to have a good time (reported by fans sitting near them).
• Danny O was also at the game.

Buckeye Monday: Wisconsin Post Game

Tresselball strikes again……..

Saturday’s game against Wisconsin showcased the very essence of Tresselball. I missed large parts of the game again, but what I did see reminded me very much of how the Buckeyes played the game back in 2002. The defense continues to dominate, special teams shine and the offense manages to stay out of its own way. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins but it was enough to put Ohio State on top of the conference standings. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that this is how each game is going to play out for the remainder of the season. It could be worse…..

What worked?

As stated above, the defense is nasty. They passed the first true test of the year with flying colors. Matt Millen stated at the beginning of the game that the Wisconsin O-line was the best in the conference. I was a little worried about their ability to control the game with their running attack. My thought was that grinding away the clock would put more pressure on Pryor to make things happen in the short amount of time the Buckeyes would have the ball. All this played out as anticipated as Wisconsin held the ball for a ridiculous 41 + minutes to Ohio State’s 18+. Pryor could not get it done (save for the scoring drive before the end of the first half). The way the game played out after that was a definite departure from the usual script. Or was it……

Welcome back Ray Small. The kid has had his issues but it sure was nice seeing him slice through the coverage team on his kick return. For the briefest of moments I thought I was watching Ted Ginn Jr. Ahhh….those were the days. Here’s to solid play from Small for the rest of the year.

Special recognition goes to Ross Homan. He had two sacks, forced a fumble and was in on 15 tackles. As the lone returning linebacker this year he has had to deal with higher expectations that to date he has been unable to meet. The vision of him whiffing on a tackle of Joe McKnight during the last drive of the USC game is still pretty vivid. I’m hoping this game will give him the confidence that he can play at a higher level for the rest of the year. Kurt Coleman also gets special recognition. His pick 6 in the first quarter changed the momentum in the game. It was nice to have him back after serving a one game suspension.

What STILL doesn’t work?

I should just cut and paste past critiques of Terelle Pryor into my review each week. He still isn’t comfortable as a passer and I’m not sure he’s interested or capable of leading the offense a la Tim Tebow or Sam Bradford. To be fair, comparing Pryor to those two may be a bit unreasonable. However, as sophomores one won the Heisman trophy and the other lead the nation in passing efficiency. More importantly, both had established themselves as the unquestioned leader of not only the offense but of the team in general.

On the plus side I like putting him in the shotgun instead of under center. This approach seems to give him more time to make decisions….not that that always happens. Rushed throws were followed by bad decisions running the ball. He still has a lot of growing up to do. He did show nice skills on the lone score by the offense before the half. You’d think he could watch the tape of that drive and do a better job of capturing his decision making to speed up his maturation process. It seems so obvious. What are Buckeye fans missing? He has three more games until the real season starts. My goal is that he shows incremental improvement in each of these games before ending the season with Iowa, Penn State and Michigan.

The running game also lacked the consistency found in previous games. We’ll definitely need a healthy Boom Herron to compliment Brandon Saine in November.

What’s next?

The Buckeyes go on the road to West Lafayette next week to play Purdue. Tressel always gets the team ready for away games. I think Ohio State can tie the conference record for consecutive road wins this weekend. Consider it done. The defense will continue to dominate and the offense will find a sliver of rhythm against a bad Purdue defense. I have it Ohio State 38 Purdue 10.

Go Bucks!!!

Buckeye John

OSU Monday (Holiday Edition): Youngstown State Re-cap

Ohio State – Youngstown State Game Review:

After almost eight months of waiting, the 2008 season kicked-off on Saturday and boy….was there a lot to be happy about if you are a Buckeye fan. Electric freshman Terrelle Pryor performed as advertised completing 4 of 6 passes for 35 yards and running 9 times for 52 yards and a touchdown in limited action. Todd Boekman was solid completing 14 of 19 passes for 189 yards and two scores. The defense was stifling. The kicking game was perfect. Oh, and after running for 111 yards on 13 carries Beanie Wells was carted off the field after suffering a foot injury. I guess you have to take the “bad” with all of the “good.”

People with knowledge (second hand or otherwise) of Beanie’s situation are using the term “turf toe” in reference to the injury. Upon reading this news I found myself quickly scanning the internet for what it means. The most useful definition I found was this:

Turf toe is a condition of pain at the base of the big toe, located at the ball of the foot. The condition is usually caused from either jamming the toe, or pushing off repeatedly when running or jumping. The most common complaint is pain at the base of the toe, but there may also be symptoms of stiffness and swelling. When a player sustains a turf toe injury they are actually tearing the capsule that surrounds the joint at the base of the toe. Tearing this joint capsule can be extremely painful. Furthermore, tear of the joint capsule can lead to instability and even dislocation of the joint at the base of the toe. This may lead to accelerated cartilage wear and arthritis of the big toe.

Hmmmmm. I guess it could be worse. We’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.

Here are some specifics of the game. I included my pre-game predictions as reference here as the Buckeyes nailed almost every one of them.

· Prediction #1 “Beanie will go for 135 yards on 20 carries. He’ll score two touchdowns, one on a run of 30+ yards.”
Actual Numbers: 111 yards on 13 carries including a 43 yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Given that he was averaging 8.5 yards per attempt that given 7 more carries he could have gone over 135 yards for the day.
· Prediction #2 “Boekman will throw the ball all over the field (in a controlled manner) to six different receivers. He’ll throw 2 touchdowns, one on a long pass to Robiskie. I’m saying he will avoid throwing any interceptions.”
Actual Numbers: 14-19 passing for 187 yards, no interceptions and one long touchdown pass to Robiskie. Amazingly, his 14 completions went to 11 different receivers. I wasn’t aware we even dressed that many receivers. Special mention goes to freshman receiver DeVier Posey who caught 4 balls for 47 yards and his first career touchdown. He appeared smooth in and out of his breaks and showed great balance running down the sideline in scoring his touchdown.
· Prediction #3 “The defense will pitch the first of several shutouts this year.”
Actual Numbers: The defense was ridiculous. They limited YSU to 74 yards in total offense including -11 yards rushing and no points. “Nobody runs on the Buckeyes!!!!” Additionally, the defensive line played well and there appeared to be increased physical presence by the DBs. These last two points were areas of concern heading into the year. Special praise goes to Tyler Moeller, Thad Gibson, Jermale Hines and Lawrence Wilson. Gibson and Lawrence had sacks and Moeller and Hines were all over the field seemingly in on every play.
Prediction #4 – Final score 45 – 0
Actual Numbers: 43 – 0. That has to be within the “margin or error.”
· Misc Predictions: Pryor would enter the game in the 3rd or 4th series and that we would see him less than hoped for in the game and throughout the year.
Actual: Terrelle came in for the 3rd series of the game and marched the team down the field with a mix of short passes, option pitches and several designed QB runs. He also played several series in the second half (not sure he needed to be in there late in the game given Beanie’s injury and all……) scoring his first touchdown on a nice 21 yard run. I think it’s safe to say that my prediction about not seeing him very often this year will be proven wrong as the season progresses. Given his performance on Saturday, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to live with missing that one.
My list of things to improve on included only “red zone” offense. Field goals are nice against teams like YSU and OU but we will have to get into the end zone when the opportunities are there against USC and in conference games.
So…..Buckeye Nation is now on Beanie watch. I believe he is scheduled for further medical treatment later today. We’ll just have to wait to hear about his status. I’m keeping a positive outlook on the situation until I here something that changes my perspective.
Next up: The Ohio University Bobcats under Head Coach Frank Solich. Should be another fun game…….

Go Bucks!!!!!

Buckeye John