Ohio State 34, Minnesota 21 (Sep. 27)

[Steve19]

Originally Posted by Telekinesis

The only thing I don't like about JT is this don't run up the score crap. I disagree with any type of holding back methods. It's football, not a teen beauty competition where we have to protect the feelings of little girls.

There's a difference between having class and hindering your team. I believe you can still be classy and stomp a team in the dirt. If it ends up being 74-0, so be it. Teaching football players to hold back will do nothing but hurt their careers.

How many times do we have to get the score ran up on us before we can go out and unleash an assault on the competition? When it comes to letting our ranking take a shot in the mouth, you've got to put your manners aside and let us put the clamp down. You'll also notice the way we tend to score first (even on top teams) and then start to slack.

7-0 lead on Florida, 10-0 lead on LSU, 3-0 lead on USC...

I think after we break that opening score, our players mentalities are so conditioned not to kill the opposing team that we end up losing. It's so common for us to strike and then lose our swagger that it makes me wonder if they've been brainwashed by the notion of backing off once the game is in hand. I'd like for our team to be allowed to destroy an opponent a few times just to see if it makes a difference in their overall performance throughout the year.

Is this really about ethics and morality or is it also enlightened self-interest? We have to play the same teams yearly in our conference. I know, I know, "Every team is going to get up and play its best against Ohio State." But, we also know that every team is going to get up and play its best against USC, right? Uh, wait...

College kids play with lots of emotion. Running up a score can provide a coach with a rallying cry for the following year. It can also hurt you when that coach votes in the future polls that may determine if you go to the NC game.

It isn't that we let up on offense against Minnesota that may have hurt us in the polls. It's that we let up on defense, made silly mistakes, gave up big penalties that kept their drive alive, and put ourselves in a space where they disrespected us.

Hopefully, our guys learned a lesson. A win isn't enough this year.

[osugrad21]

Lantern

Notebook: OSU Football: Defense contains Weber, Gophers

Matt Gottfried

Issue date: 9/29/08 Section: Sports



Media Credit: Kenny Greer/The Lantern
Donald Washington returns an interception for 34 yards during the second quarter of Saturday's game against Minnesota.

Minnesota entered Saturday's game with the nation's fourth-best turnover ratio. Following two fumbles and an interception, that ranking will likely plummet faster than Southern California after an upsetting loss to Oregon State.

Ohio State's defensive front was relentless in applying pressure on quarterback Adam Weber and the Gophers' offensive line, resulting in three turnovers and a number of hurried plays. Minnesota entered the game with just one turnover, while forcing 13 of its own.

"We tried to get after it all day," senior linebacker Curtis Terry said. "If you can get into the backfield and apply pressure and make the quarterback throw it before he's ready, you're going to create opportunities. We always try to push every play because you never know what's going to open up."

Weber entered the contest as one of the Big Ten's most efficient passers, completing nearly 72 percent of his passes for an efficiency rating of 164.8. But the Buckeye's defense held the sophomore to just 187 yards on 23 completions for an average of 5.2 yards per catch.
Cont...

[cincibuck]

Originally Posted by BrutusBobcat

You guys longing for the days of John Cooper hanging 72 point on Rice are welcome to your view,

I don't know who is "longing for the days of John Cooper" on this site. I'm probaby one of his biggest boosters, but the furthest I will go is to say that Coop re-opened recruiting in Southwest Ohio at a time when Michigan and Notre Dame dominated the area. He restored good will with the Cincinnati media, he brought in talent OSU hadn't seen in quite some time.

Is there anyone who thinks we would have accomplished more with another ten years of Earl Bruce at the helm?

I'm glad that Tressel came along. He's restored on field behavior, something that probably cost Cooper his job, but John Cooper did a lot of good for the school and the program.

[BUCKYLE]

Originally Posted by cincibuck

I'm glad that Tressel came along. He's restored on field behavior, something that probably cost Cooper his job, but John Cooper did a lot of good for the school and the program.

2-10-1!

It was an excuse to get rid of 2-10-1.

[JCOSU86]

That last Minny TD cost me 30k vBucks

[BUCKYLE]

Originally Posted by JCOSU86

That last Minny TD cost me 30k vBucks

1.4 mill here.

[jimotis4heisman]

Originally Posted by Worm02

Based on what? 1st 5 games...

Beanie
39 carries for 176 & 1 TD, 4.5 ypc

Boom
58 carries for 262 & 1 TD, 4.5 ypc


No, I'm not suggesting that Boom is better than Beanie, but production wise he is right up there. He'll get better just like Beanie did, so only time will tell how things develop.

FWIW, people seem to forget how good Clarett really was. In Beanie's freshman season, he totaled 576 yards & 11 TDs on 104 carries (including another 2 TD receptions) in 13 games. In his first 5 games, Clarett totaled 715 yards & 11 TDs (plus another TD receiving) on 113 carries. For the year, he had 1,237 yards & 16 TDs on 222 carries in 11 games. All this, plus he helped Ohio State win a national title in his first and (unfortunately) only opportunity. Beanie is a great player no doubt, but he is no Clarett IMO.

i noted the stats earlier. those are nice numbers. is he beanie, no. but hes done a very nice job. hes got 3.5 more years to improve. phsyically boom is not there yet. he needs some more strength and i think that should come. boom has improved in nearly every game. hes shown some very nice runs and shown some tendencies of a young back.

beanie has size/speed combo that is lethal. if i had a dollar for every "string of pearls" run id seen id be a happy man.

Originally Posted by alpo

Some good points, except that Beanie has not played one full game healthy since he began his Sophomore season, and given that as a Freshman he played behind Pittman and was so amped when inserted he had fumble issues, I don't think we've seen the full measure of his talent yet, to this day, and may not ever as a Buckeye if he heads to the NFL. Not to take anything away from MoClare, just defendin' the Bean.

a fumble is a fumble. many forget how beanies frosh year and even last year he took a lot of crticism for not being patient and just ramming the hole. newsflash, this is major college football, no one is healthy after the first game.... do you really think it was he was so amped up? why wouldnt that excuse be valid for dan herron?


im glad we have more than one back that i have some level of comfort in. it was not long ago when we had no backs (ross/hall) that i had confidence in...

im a big fan of the bruce theory of a pair and a spare. (two running backs of the same style and a change of pace, that can contribute)

[JCOSU86]

Originally Posted by BUCKYLE

1.4 mill here.

You have 5.8 million left

[BUCKYLE]

Originally Posted by JCOSU86

You have 5.8 million left

You're damn right I do.

[Ttown]

Originally Posted by BUCKYLE

You're damn right I do.

Money hungry Elitist.

[BUCKYLE]

Originally Posted by BucyrusBuckeye

Money hungry Elitist.

You're just lucky there's no longer a vbplaza.

[MililaniBuckeye]

Boom's draw play burst down to the 1-yard line showed that he's a lot quicker and faster than many here give him credit for...

[BrutusBobcat]

Originally Posted by cincibuck

I don't know who is "longing for the days of John Cooper" on this site.

You have to read the rest of the sentence (and the post, for context).

"...hanging 72 points on Rice."

There are definitely people here who miss seeing Ohio State blow teams out the way Cooper's teams did in the Rice and Pitt games. Cooper just happened to be the coach who did it. I certainly wasn't implying that anyone would rather have Cooper than Tressel at the helm as a result of that. They'd just like to see Tressel do it also.

[TheStoicPaisano]

MINNESOTA (SEPT. 27)
Special Units POW ........................Etienne Sabino
Offensive POW ..............................Brian Robiskie
Defensive POW ...........................Anderon Russell
Offensive Lineman POW ...............................None
Defensive Attack Force POW .......James Laurinaitis
Hit of the Week ...........................................TBA
Scout Team
Special Units POW .........................K.C. Christian
Offensive POW ............................Joe Bauserman
Defensive POW .............................Garrett Goebel

[3074326]

Ironic that there's no OL POW when we run for almost 300 yards.