1. GRANDPARENTING
You want observations? To make observations don't you have to actually SEE the game?
I have gone to
OSU games with my son since he was about 7. However, he is now in fire school and all of his Saturday's are taken. So this season I am rotating my seat mate and the Cincinnati game seemed like the ideal contest to try out my (almost) four year old grand son.
First of all, this kid is a hoot. Full of energy. Loves any kind of ball. Loves
OSU and loves his "PaPa". And taking him to an
OSU game was the perfect thing to do - for almost 20 minutes.
He wore his Ted Ginn jersey, clapped for the band, chanted O-H-E-O, did the whole nine yards. Then got bored.
To make it worse we were in the front row of C-Deck. Nothing more relaxing than having a bored, energetic, and creative 4 year old on the edge of a 30 foot drop. We ended up staying til
OSU scored the go ahead TD and that entire time I had one eye and one hand on him.
Add to that a strained Achilles tendon whose best treatment is probably not carrying two 50 pound loads (my grandson and my belly) up the stairs to C-Deck, and it was one hell of a day.
So- My observations consist of a little less than one half the game in the stadium (only folks on the stairs leaving C-Deck were two more adults and their youngsters), a walk back to the car without a radio (he is far more entertaining than even
OSU football and I didn't want to risk any distraction walking near traffic), 30 minutes on the radio in the car, 45 minutes looking over someone's shoulder at a 2" TV when I dropped him off at the youth league game his Dad was coaching, and finally some of the fourth quarter which I watched from my trusty Barcalounger.
That said -
2. LACK OF FOCUS
I think we can make a pretty good case that the Buckeyes started a bit flat. I can't imagine NOT starting flat after focusing all summer on Texas. They are freaking entitled to start flat. I sing praises to their flatness.
The good news is they suffered for it. Worst case is a team pulling away while not giving an effort and coming away believing that will work. I give Cincy and Dantonio credit for making them work at least a bit.
3. THE O
Troy was not sharp, nor (at least on occasion) were his receivers. Neither Wells played like they wanted Pittman?s job. I also believe the OL was troubled by the quickness of Cincy's DL (being 50 pounds heavier per man ain't all positive)
But overall they got the job done. No problems that can?t be fixed by putting a heaping plate of Nittany Lion in front of them.
4. THE D
Overall playing solid and certainly some shining moments from the DL.
However, I continue to be concerned with the way we are attacking the ball carrier. It may be partly over pursuit and partly taking bad angles, but there are too many times where the ball carrier is slipping past the defender before we can engage. At least that is what my uneducated eyes are telling me. Perhaps Grad or one of the other gurus can better explain. We just HAVE to do better than -4 yards net rushing next week.
I am bit concerned that JoePa and Co. now have three weeks of game film in front of them to pick apart our weaknesses. They also have the offensive speed to exploit them. Plus, they had a virtual week off to get ready. Still there is no game on the schedule in which I am more confident than next Saturday's.
5. SOUR PATCH KIDS REPORT
No way could I eat Nachos while watching my Grandson.
Instead we got popcorn, two hotdogs and a bag of Sour Patch Kids. Unfortunately MY hot dog fell out of my pocket on our way back to our seats. That was because some clown was blocking the aisle. Had to wait 5 minutes for him and the two cameras following him around to get out of the way. Not sure who he was because some folks were calling him George but others kept calling him Eddie. (No clue what he was doing in C-Deck.)
6. I'LL BE JUMPING OFF AT THE CORNER IF YOU DON'T MIND....
Off of the Beanie bandwagon that is.
OK, not really. I am still a strong believer and I will be climbing back on in due time. But I have been very vocal regarding my belief that Beanie would battle Pittman for the job before the season was over. Cincy was the game I had circled, highlighted and underlined for him to make a statement.
Well he did. I recall in particular a 2nd and 11 pass play that he ran for 10 yards before stepping out of bounds. Didn?t lower the shoulder and hammer for one more - just stepped out. That was underscored on 3rd and one when he was stood up at the line. No serious problem here - not for a true frosh. But not the breakout game I had in mind.
On the other hand, Pittman was a bit of alright. I recall a particular carry where he met two defenders at the LOS, broke the tackle, met three more at the first down marker, put one on his butt and broke that tackle, and was finally taken down four yards later by a gang of four. He is the man and right now nobody is close to him.
One surprising stat on Antonio: While averaging 9.7 YPC on 16 carries, he was held to only one yard on SIX of those 16 carries.
7. U$C
I dreamt this week that there were more revelations regarding Reggie Bush. Must have been a dream, because when it happened to
OSU they had a virtual Maurice Clarett telethon during the next
OSU game. All I saw were some vague allusions to Petey being annoyed with agents. (To be fair, I may have missed it while surfing among three great football games. But when it was
OSU you could not miss it.)
If I didn't know better I would think the media had favorites.
8. QUARTERBACK CONTROVERSEY
Zwick looked good. As good as I can recall in limited play. Makes one ask if he has really had a chance to show his stuff since JT handed the job to Troy? Perhaps he has improved as well. Will he get one more chance or will JT continue to play favorites?
9. TRIVIA QUESTION
As per the usual I have no idea of the answer, but here is the question.
When is the last time FOUR quarterbacks played for
OSU in a single game?
Follow on question - When is the last time 7
OSU players carried the ball and none of them were fullbacks?
10. ROLL BIG TEN!
Combined 27-6 in non-conf play. Best of any major conference.
11. SEPARATION SATURDAY
For a moment Saturday I almost broke into a chorus of ?Hail to the Conquering Heroes?.
We are arrogant fans. I am an arrogant fan. But Notre Dame defines arrogance. And the media feeds the frenzy. All for a coach whose only major victory remains a loss to USC. At 8-4 Navy had the third best record on Notre Dame?s schedule last season. The two teams with better records beat them. Yet that was enough for a top 5 ranking this pre-season.
Now go Sparties!
And let's not forget Miami. Perhaps they should abandon their search for the 2002 NC in the desert of Arizona and start looking for a new coach.
"Ain't - it quaint - to be a Miami Hurricane"
12. ANOTHER TRIVIA QUESTION
Saturday was the first time in almost 50 years an opponent had scored 47 or more against the Irish at home.
When was the last time an opponent put 47 or more points on the board in Ohio Stadium?
Trick question - it has never happened. Only once has anyone put more than 46 up against the Bucks anywhere. We all know who that is and they will be coming to town next Saturday.
13. STAT OF THE DAY
Three Cincy players threw a total of 25 passes. Twenty were completed and 3 intercepted. Only two fell to the turf.
14, A TIP OF THE HAT TO MR SMITH
No, not Troy - the OTHER Mr. Smith. The other Antonio for that matter.
When is the last time
OSU had a former walk on starting on D? I can recall some OL and some receivers, but can?t come up with the name of a defensive player.
Four or more tackles in each game so far and solid coverage from what I can see. Gotta love these kids who work their butts off, pay their own way, and can't even eat at the training table with the scholarship players.
Kudos Antonio.
