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

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio

Here are some nice SI photos of the game:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mul...content.1.html

Note: if the above link has already been posted go ahead and delete this post.

If anyone had any doubts whether Laurinaitis knocked the ball loose from Pittman before Pittman was down:

[BB73]

Originally Posted by MililaniBuckeye

If anyone had any doubts whether Laurinaitis knocked the ball loose from Pittman before Pittman was down:

After seeing the TV replay, I think Brent's comments helped give Mack Brown more criticism for his decision to challenge than was deserved.

Brent said 'they review everything'. The officials in the booth look at every play, but they only are doing an official 'review' if they notify the officials on the field and stop play. There are times that the booth doesn't get a good enough look soon enough and a team will lose out on a play that should be overturned. In the stadium, you don't get the TV replays on the scoreboard if the play is controversial. A coach has to rely on what he sees live, what his players and coaches tell him, and what somebody upstairs that is looking at TV replays tells him. That play was so crucial that I thought Mack was correct in calling timeout and using his only challenge. But perhaps he doesn't have a good system in place of having someone see the TV replays and communicate with him. Mack did correctly wait until tOSU started to line up before calling the timeout and requesting the challenge. A coach never wants to call the timeout until it looks like the booth isn't going to do it on their own and the next play is about to start, ending the ability to change the previous play.

They made a big deal about him using his only challenge and losing a timeout. But Texas ended up not needing more first half timeouts, after it was 14-7 they got the ball back on their own 20 with less than 20 seconds left, and weren't going to try moving it.

And he never really needed the challenge later. He could have challenged Pittman's TD, but it would have been upheld.

I think that what should have occurred is that the booth should have done an official review on both of those plays. The first one was obviously critical to the game, so make sure it's correct. By doing a review and taking 30 seconds to see it twice and then say, OK keep playing, no harm would have been done. And with Pittman's TD, delaying the extra point a little bit to get a better look at the replays wouldn't have affected the flow of the game at all. Neither of those plays would have been overturned, but they both should have been reviewed without the coach asking for the process.

I think this is a problem of giving the coaches the power to issue a challenge. The guys in the booth will sometimes hesitate to institute an 'official review' because the coach has the ability to request one.

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by BB73

After seeing the TV replay, I think Brent's comments helped give Mack Brown more criticism for his decision to challenge than was deserved.

True. My post was more directed towards those here who may have to deal with Texas fans who say they got jobbed...

[osugrad21]

DDN

Smith makes right read for key TD

By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

Monday, September 11, 2006
COLUMBUS ? If Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman ever wished he could master the art of mental telepathy, it would have been late in the first half against Texas when he saw receiver Ted Ginn Jr. in single coverage.
But quarterback Troy Smith, who's becoming increasingly adept at reading defenses, didn't need any prodding.
"Teddy was manned up, and the safety was playing over to the (other) side," Bollman said. "We were sitting upstairs (in the coaches box) hoping Troy would take a shot. And he did."
Ginn streaked past his defender, and Smith hit him in stride to give the Buckeyes a 14-7 lead with 16 seconds to go.
Of his 29-yard touchdown, Ginn said: "It was huge. It changed the whole momentum of the game."
Defense shines
OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock wasn't thrilled with the 326 yards his unit surrendered, including 164 to the tailback duo of Selvin Young and Jamaal Charles.
But the Longhorns scored just one TD ? and they wouldn't even have accomplished that if it weren't for a debatable roughing-the-passer penalty on third down.
"Confidence and experience are the two things we've been lacking, and hopefully, this will help," Heacock said.
Kicker shakes nerves
Aaron Pettrey knew his grace period as the new OSU kicker expired after missing a 28-yard field goal in the first quarter, making him 0-for-2 for the season. After shaking initial jitters, the redshirt freshman drilled a 31-yarder in the third quarter to solidify his hold on the job.
"I was real happy to see that go through," he said. "There were going to be a lot of hateful fans if it didn't. Everything became a lot easier after that. Hopefully, it stays that way."
Trapasso delivers
The Longhorns' reputation for blocking punts ? senior Michael Griffin has already batted down a school-record six ? didn't faze OSU's A.J. Trapasso.
The sophomore from Pickerington had a six-punt average of 50.8 yards.
"I just try to focus on what I need to do," he said. "I try not to look at those guys (like Griffin). That's when you start hitting bad punts ? when you take your eye off the ball.
"But I've got to kick it toward the sidelines more. I'm kicking it down the middle, and those guys are dangerous returners."