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Game Thread Minnesota @ Ohio State - 10/13/18, 12:00PM (FS1)

Well, we won. That is about all I can really say. There are so many issues that are glaring and are not improving at all. Really, there are new issues surfacing in addition to our previous issues (see Prince getting absolutely whipped today). Really hoping you can chalk it up to a sluggish day and these things happen, but the problem is they keep happening. I guess I am just going to say what I saw off the cuff and this post might come off as reactionary, but what the hell...I feel like we are in mid-October and I just need to rattle it off.

LB is just such a major issue and I feel like the talent is there, the coaching just is not. I've been holding my tongue in saying this but at this point, I would be in favor of a mid-season Davis firing. I say that and don't know who you put there, and I know everyone will bring that up. But we just need a change. Either that or maybe let someone effectively take over the reigns at the position for the rest of the year. There is so much damn talent in that room to not find a workable combination and it is fucking frustrating as hell at this point. The days of LB U seems like a real distant memory at this point.

Then we had poor pursuit angles and poor safety play...again, safety room should be full with talent and I have no idea wtf is going on there. Really hope it can change, but I am seriously losing faith it will.

But the poor LB play and safeties not named Jordan Fuller having issues is a constant I feel like we just have to deal with at this point and I hope I am wrong on that, there is still time...everything else was just baffling to me. Receivers dropping the ball, the OL suddenly can't block, spotty play from the DBs, and even the interior DL didn't look too great at first blush, need to go back and watch that though. I guess the only silver lining I see on those positions is that typically those positions play well for the most part and maybe it was just a bad day.

One thing I can say for sure though is that we miss Nick Bosa in a bad way. I know having him back wouldn't solve everything, but I just have the feeling it would be a hell of a lot better if he was playing.
 
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the OL suddenly can't block

Saw this today and was thinking...just give us 5.

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Well, we won. That is about all I can really say. There are so many issues that are glaring and are not improving at all. Really, there are new issues surfacing in addition to our previous issues (see Prince getting absolutely whipped today). Really hoping you can chalk it up to a sluggish day and these things happen, but the problem is they keep happening. I guess I am just going to say what I saw off the cuff and this post might come off as reactionary, but what the hell...I feel like we are in mid-October and I just need to rattle it off.

LB is just such a major issue and I feel like the talent is there, the coaching just is not. I've been holding my tongue in saying this but at this point, I would be in favor of a mid-season Davis firing. I say that and don't know who you put there, and I know everyone will bring that up. But we just need a change. Either that or maybe let someone effectively take over the reigns at the position for the rest of the year. There is so much damn talent in that room to not find a workable combination and it is fucking frustrating as hell at this point. The days of LB U seems like a real distant memory at this point.

Then we had poor pursuit angles and poor safety play...again, safety room should be full with talent and I have no idea wtf is going on there. Really hope it can change, but I am seriously losing faith it will.

But the poor LB play and safeties not named Jordan Fuller having issues is a constant I feel like we just have to deal with at this point and I hope I am wrong on that, there is still time...everything else was just baffling to me. Receivers dropping the ball, the OL suddenly can't block, spotty play from the DBs, and even the interior DL didn't look too great at first blush, need to go back and watch that though. I guess the only silver lining I see on those positions is that typically those positions play well for the most part and maybe it was just a bad day.

One thing I can say for sure though is that we miss Nick Bosa in a bad way. I know having him back wouldn't solve everything, but I just have the feeling it would be a hell of a lot better if he was playing.



Davis firing has been on my mind for weeks. Haven’t seen any improvement at all. I’m sure there’s a decent young coach out there who would make this unit better.
 
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No way we whiffed with every linebacker and secondary player, the issue lies with the coaching. The years go by and it seems like we can either field a prolific offense or defense, never both. (2014 was a Cardale wrapped gift).
I was off the Davis train when he made Jerome Baker look like a terrible LB when we all knew it wasn’t the case.
 
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OHIO STATE BATTLES THROUGH ANOTHER SLOW START TO DEFEAT MINNESOTA, 30-14



Ohio State had to overcome a slow start against an unranked opponent at its home stadium for the second week in a row to defeat Minnesota at Ohio Stadium.

The Buckeyes only led the Golden Gophers by three points at halftime, eliciting boos from their home crowd as they ran back into the locker room, but they ultimately battled through their continued struggles on defense and in the run game to earn a 30-14 victory and improve to 7-0.

While the defense had issues with both stopping the run and slant routes from Minnesota's offense, the Buckeyes managed to keep the Golden Gophers off the scoreboard for the entire second half, allowing them to earn a 16-point victory despite scoring only one touchdown in the final two quarters.

Ohio State’s defense got off to a strong start, as Kendall Sheffield intercepted a deep ball on Minnesota’s opening possession. The Buckeyes drove the ball inside Minnesota’s 10-yard line on their opening possession, highlighted by a 42-yard deep connection from Dwayne Haskins to K.J. Hill, but was forced to settle for a 21-yard field goal after an incomplete pass from Haskins intended for Austin Mack on 3rd-and-goal from the 6-yard line.

That left the door open for the Gophers to take the lead on their next possession, and they took advantage, driving 75 yards in 11 plays, highlighted by a 25-yard run by Mohamed Ibrahim on 3rd-and-3 and capped by a 1-yard Ibrahim run, to take a 7-3 advantage.

The Buckeyes took the lead back before the end of the first quarter, as Terry McLaurin caught a 41-yard touchdown pass on a deep ball from Haskins to put Ohio State back ahead, 10-7.

Minnesota marched right down the field for another 75-yard touchdown drive on its next series, though, once again capped off by an Ibrahim touchdown run, this time from three yards out.

After J.K. Dobbins was stuffed on 4th-and-1 on the Buckeyes’ next possession, Minnesota threatened to take a two-score lead, immediately moving past midfield on the first play of its next series on a 34-yard run by Ibrahim. The Buckeyes got off the field, however, when Shaun Wade forced a fumble after a catch by Tyler Johnson that was recovered by Jeffrey Okudah.

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...-another-slow-start-to-defeat-minnesota-30-14
 
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Football: Ohio State offensive line tries to find physicality in a pass-first offense

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Urban Meyer now knows he is in charge of a pass-first offense.

After a week of deliberating on how to get the running game involved in the offense, trying to place the blockers — the offensive linemen and the tight ends — in the best position to get sophomore J.K. Dobbins and redshirt junior Mike Weber into open space against a loaded box, the head coach has now embraced his new offensive identity.

“Somebody told me at one time we’ve rushed for more yards than any school in the country for the last six, seven years,” Meyer said. “It’s discouraging a little bit, but once again, 7-0, and looking down we’re throwing for 412. It is what it is. I just know the game of football, I’ve been around. At some point, you’ve got to line up and do what you do.”

The Ohio State running game recorded 92 yards on 32 carries, only the third time in the Meyer era that one of his teams has recorded less than 100 yards in a game on the ground. The last time it happened was against Clemson in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.

In Saturday’s 30-14 win over Minnesota, Weber led the team with 51 yards on 13 carries while Dobbins averaged less than four yards per carry for the third straight game, recording 35 yards on 10 carries.

Even if the passing game has become the main point of attack for the Ohio State offense, Meyer said that inconsistency is still not an option in the ground game. It’s been a security blanket the head coach has not had in multiple situations.

“Short yardage is not a strength. Red zone is not a strength, and running the ball is not a strength,” Meyer said. “That’s something we’ve got to get figured out.”

No matter what type of offensive team Ohio State ends up being in the long run, whether it’s a pro-style, pass-first offense or a balanced one Meyer has had in the past, it revolves around one thing: the offensive line.

In protection, the Ohio State offensive line allowed nine tackles for loss on Saturday, along with three sacks of Haskins, two of which were by junior defensive end Carter Coughlin, who faced senior right tackle Isaiah Prince for most of the day.

In run blocking, backs averaged 2.9 yards per carry, with Haskins recording six yards on nine rushes, the most carries he has ever recorded in a single game.

According to offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, the argument of opponents loading the box against the Ohio State running game, limiting their success in terms of yards per carry, is an excuse.

“At the end of the day, I think that’s a cop out,” Wilson said. “I don’t care if there is an extra guy out there, we have to play behind our pads as an offensive line, tight end group, running back group and run the ball well.”

For any offensive line, Wilson thinks that one thing separates a team from being average to being a national championship contender: physicality.

WIlson said he saw it a lot facing the Texas Tech teams under Mike Leach when he was an offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. Wilson said Leach’s offenses were “very, very physical” for a Big 12 team known for its prominent passing game.

Physicality gives the Ohio State an ability to escape the notion of being one-dimensional. Wilson called this defense’s abilities to force an offense to “play with your left hand.”

Entire article: https://www.thelantern.com/2018/10/...-to-find-physicality-in-a-pass-first-offense/

Football: Ohio State’s defense shows more vulnerability against Minnesota


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Week after week, Ohio State’s defense has struggled with issues down the field, giving up a handful of big plays that allowed the opposing teams to gain momentum.

On Saturday, the No. 3 Buckeyes came out with a 30-14 victory, a score that makes Ohio State’s defensive performance look improved.

But the defense looked anything but improved.

Facing a Minnesota team Ohio State was expected to beat handily, the Buckeyes’ defense struggled in every facet against an offense that ranked in the bottom 50 of the NCAA in every major statistical category, except giving up points.

The Golden Gophers’ stats don’t jump off the page — Minnesota had 396 total yards, 218 passing and 178 rushing — but the way they earned those numbers does.

Minnesota ran 20 fewer plays than Ohio State, but strung together long drives with plays that consistently found the Buckeye defense out of sorts, including various straight-forward runs and slant routes that attacked the middle of the field.

Minnesota averaged 7.1 yards per play to Ohio State’s 6.6, including 5.4 yards per rush to the Buckeyes’ 2.9.

“I was disappointed in the run,” head coach Urban Meyer said. “We’re a team that challenges every throw, and when you get beat, that’s a problem. So that’s something that’s not a strength right now.”

Minnesota redshirt freshman running back Mohamed Ibrahim was the bulk of the problems for Ohio State, rushing for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.

Through the air, freshman quarterback Zack Annexstad completed 13-of-23 passes for 218 yards and two interceptions, one in the first and one in the fourth quarter, both on ill-advised throws that worked for Indiana against the Buckeyes a week ago.

In that sense, Ohio State adapted. In another, Ohio State regressed, failing to cover simple slant routes up the middle for the majority of the game, most of which went to junior wide receiver Tyler Johnson, who finished the game with 119 yards on eight catches.

“Their back had 160 yards rushing against us, and that’s not acceptable. And, like you said, he was only 13 of 23, but I see the same thing, those slants,” Meyer said. “The strength is that they came out and shut them out in the second half … and the best thing is we created some turnovers, and that was the difference in the game.”

Entire article: https://www.thelantern.com/2018/10/...e-shows-more-vulnerability-against-minnesota/

Football: Ohio State defensive line adapts to depleted depth

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The Ohio State defense is one unit. Despite the different jobs defensive lineman and defensive backs may have on the field, each position’s success defines the success of the positions around them.

The way redshirt junior defensive lineman Robert Landers puts it, getting to the quarterback as a lineman makes a defensive back’s job much easier. But also, if a defensive back shuts down an opposing wide receiver, not giving the quarterback a target to hit, the defensive linemen have more time to get to the quarterback in pass rush.

However, the Ohio State defensive line may have another man down as the team prepares for Minnesota on Saturday.

Junior defensive end Jonathon Cooper was taken off the field on a cart during the game against Indiana. Head coach Urban Meyer said that both Cooper and junior linebacker Malik Harrison were in concussion protocol and did not have any updates on their status ahead of Saturday.

For an already depleted defensive line, with junior defensive end Nick Bosa out with a core muscle injury since Sept. 15, Landers reiterated a message the line has held since the beginning of the season: next man up.

“Getting a little banged up here and there is a part of the game, so that’s why we all prepare the exact same way, we take the amount of reps and we take what we do seriously,” Landers said. “When it’s time to work on your craft on a day-to-day basis in practice, we try and enhance it as much as we can so if someone does go down or gets hurt or that situation, we have guys ready to play.”

Entire article: https://www.thelantern.com/2018/10/football-ohio-state-defensive-line-adapts-to-depleted-depth/
 
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The ONLY positives I can see from yesterday are that:
1. We got the W
2. At least we weren't one of the 5 teams in the top 15 to lose

But the games against the 2 teams up north just got a whole lot more interesting with both of them winning in big games, and one(TTUN) starting to look competent on both sides of the ball for once.
 
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The problems this team has relate to our inability to control the line of scrimmage.

We are so fucking lucky to have Dwayne Haskins.
I don’t think anyone questions that. In fact, the Bucks had problems on 4 th and short with JT, Cardale, and Braxton. Every play in the shotgun, no T until victory formation, seems to me to be the issue that brings the questions.
 
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