Game Two: #1 Ohio State 24, #2 Texas 7 (9/9/06)

[crazybuckfan40]

Just a little food for thought. A couple years ago we won the national championship.

Return most of our guys besides that one piece that was basically our whole offense. Then we thought we had guys that were good that could fill in. We had a line full of alll big ten performers and guys starting in the NFL now.

Look how much they struggled b/c they lost one guy and tried to plug young guys in where he was no longer there.

We struggled a whole lot.

I know you guys want to believe you guys are goign to be unstoppable on O and yadda yadda yadda, but hardly ever do you see a freshmen or RS freshmen step in and just become amazing. Even with amazing talent around them. Look no farther than Miami when they plugged all world Kyle Wright in and when FSU plugged all world Drew Weatherford in.

You have a good QB in college football and that takes you a long way. If you don't well then you are going to have problems.

[xrayrandy]

No way in hades does a completely different secondar devoid of the stars that left hold Smith to such absurdly low production.

I don't know what stars has to do with it, but I do know the starting four will be better than last year. Here is a comparison going into 2005 Vs 2006.

Tarell Brown 2005 >> Tarell Brown 2004
Michael Griffin 2005 > Michael Huff 2004 compare them if you don't beleive me.
Aaron Ross 2005 > Cedric Griffin 2004 Ross is >> in coverage and a little worse in run support.
Marcus Griffin 2005 < Michael Griffin 2004 Marcus is on a similar path to his twin brother but a year and a step behind.

On balance the starting four will be better than last year when Texas was one of the best passing defenses in the country 20 efficiency points better than tOSU. Believe me, they can hold a QB 25 points under their efficiency rating, 12% under the completetion percentage and 20% under their yards per completion. Oh and the rush defense will hold teams 60 yards below their rushing average like last year.

[jwinslow]

Originally Posted by xrayrandy

I don't know what stars has to do with it, but I do know the starting four will be better than last year. Here is a comparison going into 2005 Vs 2006.

I guess you have another michael huff on the way... in this draft, I would call Bush, Ferguson, Hawk & Huff the closest to sure things you can find. Players like those guys do not come along every year imo. As OSU fans, we're well aware that there is tons of talent waiting in the wings, we love a number of the new defenders... but we're not gonna claim that they will be better from day one (which is basically when OSU comes to visit).

On balance the starting four will be better than last year when Texas was one of the best passing defenses in the country 20 efficiency points better than tOSU. Believe me, they can hold a QB 25 points under their efficiency rating, 12% under the completetion percentage and 20% under their yards per completion. Oh and the rush defense will hold teams 60 yards below their rushing average like last year.

I'm sure they will, I would gladly trade our conference schedules. Your defense had a chance to prove how incredible it was against USC and it did not do so. Your defensive stars made just enough plays to assist Superman on his victory. Make no mistake, I think Texas had and will continue to have a very strong D... but you present statistics as tho they prove nobody will have a chance against UT's D, despite games like aTm and USC.

[bukIpower]

You thought our defense was fast last year and got to the ball??? The defensive line is no doubt faster and stronger than last years. We have Pitcock returning as well as a converted end to Defensive Tackle (Patterson). Plus guess what? Now our defensive ends can now rush the QB unlike we were able to do last year. I don't think you guys realize how much losing Vince Young changes how we approach this game. Instead of our DB's laying back and waiting to see if VY is going to run now our DB's can run up and smack your QB in the mouth. We can blitz more, we can take more chances, and we don't have to have our D-line in contain mode like we had to do last year (which was very effective). Our D-line plays best when we attack and get after the offense and we were simply not given that luxury last year in Columbus against Texas. You can throw out that you have better lineman/Running backs/Recievers because you can argue that point as well as we can, but the fact of the matter is we have more go to guys than you do.

With Troy Smith he provides leadership, his feet, his arm, his accuracy. The thing that you guys won't have that we do is that if this game is close in the 4th quarter who will we look to?? TROY SMITH. Who does Texas go to?

Antonio Pittman- Our workhorse 1,300+ yard back. Texas has fantastic Talent but they don't have that GO TO guy. They have a stable or running backs which will come in handy against teams that aren't solid against the run.

Ginn/Gonzo/Hall-We got most of our playmakers at Reciever back (minus Holmes) and once again yes texas has tremendous talent. Again however who's throwing these guys the ball??? TROY SMITH... who's throwing your passes to your recievers? You don't know still...

We have talent texas has talent but we return our leader to guide our team and you don't..... Considering this WILL be a close game I like our odds.. I think its too close to call because it can go either way but again I like our chances seeing as we have the best leadership.

[xrayrandy]

I don't think it will be a closee game at all if turnovers are even. If we take last year, Texas won by three, was -2 in turnovers worth 12 and being at home is a six point swing. If last years teams played in Austin, Texas should have been favored by 21. Texas returns more experienced and more productive players than tOSU, but, the QB situation creates a lot of uncertainty. I'll say Texas by 24, 38-14.

I do have a precedent on Smith, since the only comparable defense he started against last year was Penn State where he went 13-25-1, 0 TDs and 15 yards rushing. Also, after completing 50% in the jersey scrimmage, I am interested to see if he does better in the spring game.

[scarletngrey11]

Originally Posted by xrayrandy

I don't think it will be a closee game at all if turnovers are even. If we take last year, Texas won by three, was -2 in turnovers worth 12 and being at home is a six point swing. If last years teams played in Austin, Texas should have been favored by 21. Texas returns more experienced and more productive players than tOSU, but, the QB situation creates a lot of uncertainty. I'll say Texas by 24, 38-14.

I do have a precedent on Smith, since the only comparable defense he started against last year was Penn State where he went 13-25-1, 0 TDs and 15 yards rushing. Also, after completing 50% in the jersey scrimmage, I am interested to see if he does better in the spring game.

Your predicting a 24 point win when neither of your quarterbacks have ever thrown a single collegiant pass?



EDIT: Youve also admitted that you dont know much about the players that are going to be starters this year, so how the hell do you predict a 24 point win when you have no clue who OSU is even going to have on defense?

Stats arent everything. The games arent played on paper and stats can be misleading.

[Buckeye513]

Originally Posted by scarletngrey77

Stats arent everything. The games arent played on paper and stats can be misleading.

Blasphemy!

[NFBuck]

Originally Posted by xrayrandy

I don't think it will be a closee game at all if turnovers are even. If we take last year, Texas won by three, was -2 in turnovers worth 12 and being at home is a six point swing. If last years teams played in Austin, Texas should have been favored by 21. Texas returns more experienced and more productive players than tOSU, but, the QB situation creates a lot of uncertainty. I'll say Texas by 24, 38-14.

I do have a precedent on Smith, since the only comparable defense he started against last year was Penn State where he went 13-25-1, 0 TDs and 15 yards rushing. Also, after completing 50% in the jersey scrimmage, I am interested to see if he does better in the spring game.

OH. MY. GOD.
I have never seen anybody with such a heavy reliance on statistics to try to prove a point. Here is another stat, well not really a stat...a fact, Vince Young is gone. Without VY, you guys lose BIG last year. Who's going to be taking the snaps this year? A FRESHMAN. I've thought that you have made some decent points in the past, but with this last post you lost every shred of credibility. 38-14, Jesus. The hitch in your constant use of statistics to make a point is that they do not take into account improvement from one year to another. You mean to tell me you are so narrow minded that you think since Troy went 13-25-1, O TD's and 15 Rush Yards last year vs. PSU, that he is going to do the same this year vs. UT? Honestly, you have OCD don't you? I picture you being just like Jack Nicholson's character in "As Good as it Gets". I will now be utilizing the ignore function because I am really getting the feeling you are here just to flame at this point, and will echo CleveBucks request from the previous page asking for people to refrain from quoting xrayrandy.

[Cornerback6]

Originally Posted by xrayrandy

I don't think it will be a closee game at all if turnovers are even. If we take last year, Texas won by three, was -2 in turnovers worth 12 and being at home is a six point swing. If last years teams played in Austin, Texas should have been favored by 21. Texas returns more experienced and more productive players than tOSU, but, the QB situation creates a lot of uncertainty. I'll say Texas by 24, 38-14.

I do have a precedent on Smith, since the only comparable defense he started against last year was Penn State where he went 13-25-1, 0 TDs and 15 yards rushing. Also, after completing 50% in the jersey scrimmage, I am interested to see if he does better in the spring game.

IF IF IF...if Hamby would have caught that touchdown, we would have won. IF Huston would have made that 52 yarder, we would have won. IF we would have went for TDs instead of FGs we would have won. If our D wouldn't have been in a ridiculous prevent when Vince threw that last TD pass we might have won. Blah blah blah...I respect 99% of the Texas posts on this board but your bias is out of control. It all means nothing now. All I'll say is don't expect Smith to make too many Freshman QB mistakes and don't expect to shut our running game down either whether it be Pittman, Smith or one of the Wells'. Your D will be solid, but the way you talk about your secondary, it'd be like us saying...no worries, Freeman is the next Hawk period. Lauranaitis is the next Carpenter period and Kerr will be just as good as Schlegel...trust me. You just can't do that.

[jwinslow]

Originally Posted by scarletngrey77

Stats arent everything. The games arent played on paper and stats can be misleading.

personally, I wonder if xray explains the statistics of their compatibility after being turned down for a date on friday nights.

Troy Smith looked awful against SDSU as well... you don't see a pattern? Iowa was an exception to the rule, man defenses are simple for Troy. Perhaps you were too busy entering data into your spreadsheets, but the maturation of Troy's QB skills were obvious. Who knows if he will be a heisman candidate, but I guarantee you won't see the pressing tunnel-vision Troy this year.

I guess VY never came into his own and became a lot more comfortable as a QB and leader throughout his career. Troy has two partial seasons under his belt, with this offseason being his first time as the starter. But I guess Troy isn't going to keep getting better, unlike every new star on the texas team (save the LBs).

[Bucky Katt]

Being that we have analyzed virtually every aspect of the game, I would like to add a few angles that I don't believe have been addressed:

Texas defense plus the Mongol horde vs OSU offense backed by the Army of Northern Virgina.

Texas running backs running behind the 3rd Armored division vs OSU defense employing uranium depleted high-explosive rounds.

Texas and OSU combined vs the Prussian army armed with the Needle breech-loading rifle.

Mack Brown having the game moved to primetime on the planet Mercury to "take advantage of the heat."

Vince Young sneaking into the game at halftime wearing Selvin Young's uniform.

The Texas lacrosse team paying strippers to "wear out Troy Smith" the night before the game.

Any other angles I've missed?

Um....yeah. You missed a BIG one.

OSU + Woody + God
vs.
UT + DKR + Ditka
Who wins? Please explain.

[campies]

21 pt favorite if at home last year? I dont think so Randy, nor do I think many other Horns would. However, this is all a little sidetracked.

This game should come down to basically 1 plausibility test as far as predictions are concerned: Is it more plausible that A) Jevan Snead or Colt McCoy play minimally-sufficent, mistake-free football to overcome the talented OSU D and let the rest of the Texas stars do their thing, or B) do Ohio State's new defensive starters come together and find enough cohesion at this point in the season to overcome an above-average, low mistake game by the young Texas QB's?

I tend to think the former is more plausible, but I am a Horn, yet nonetheless, they will all get their chance on the field, and I think it comes down to this aspect of the game above what anyone else wants to talk about.

[bukIpower]

Remind me to have you come to me with Vegas I'd take all your money the way you think...I say its a 3-7 point game going either way.

At this point randy I also feel you're trying to flame for no damn reason. Yes you won the national championship but you played TWO count them TWO tough games last year, and guess what you should've lost both if not for your all everything QB. Guess what your whole offensive production is gone and if you think you guys can run your way 38 points against (If you have to pass to win the game you're in a world of hurt) in all our opinions, players, and coaches opinions a faster defense than last year then I'll personally put money down on Texas to win it all again.. You couldnt' put up 38 last year with VY and you won't put up 38 this year. If any team is putting 38 points look to the team who returns their Qb who completes 63 percent of his passes with a crazy turnover ratio. Look to the team who has 3 recievers running around a 4.3 or lower, look to the team who has a 1,300 yard back.

But instead hell nahh you think with your inexperienced QB and injury prone backs that you'll march up and down the field. Not to mention you lost 2 starters on your O-line (we know we know one was better than your all american but for some reason didn't start). If your O-line couldn't really block our d-line last year what makes you think you'll be able to stop a more disruptive and faster d-line next year? Just some things to think about

I enjoy all texas fans on here cuz your opinions are great and you guys know your football but XRandy get a clue man.

[Buckinghorse]

Originally Posted by xrayrandy

I don't think it will be a closee game at all if turnovers are even. If we take last year, Texas won by three, was -2 in turnovers worth 12 and being at home is a six point swing. If last years teams played in Austin, Texas should have been favored by 21. Texas returns more experienced and more productive players than tOSU, but, the QB situation creates a lot of uncertainty. I'll say Texas by 24, 38-14.

I do have a precedent on Smith, since the only comparable defense he started against last year was Penn State where he went 13-25-1, 0 TDs and 15 yards rushing. Also, after completing 50% in the jersey scrimmage, I am interested to see if he does better in the spring game.

Oh my god. I couldn't even post for a while I was laughing my ass off so much.

38 points and win by 24.

I know you did that just for the reaction and it worked, it was funny and caught me off guard.

[BuckeyeKid789]

Originally Posted by High Lonesome

There is nothing I that bothers me more than, " Welll we shoulda won but the ref...bla bla bla." "Well if we woulda just made that catch that we usually make" and so on...

It really gets under my skin. The only thing that bothers me more than our oponents saying it is when I hear my friends say it.....damn i getting [censored]ed just typing this


anyway, heres to a good game, Hook'em Horns

I know what you mean. It takes something away from a win. I think what he meant was we had more oppurtunities to win so it felt like we should've. Most of us know Texas deserved to win last year.