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Game Thread Ohio State 24, Michigan State 17 (final)

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jlb1705;966043; said:
When this one wrapped up, it didn't feel like a win. Two big negative plays kinda wiped away a lot of good that happened today. Then I thought about it some more, and realized that not only is this outcome OK for today, but also that I would've killed for this to have been the outcome in 1998. People can say what they want about the strength of this team, and perhaps they'll be right. A lot of other teams have lost games like this one this year, and the Buckeyes made it through, and I'm just fine with that.

It seems to me like they abandoned the medium pass for a good portion of the game. I don't know if that was playcalling or Boeckman's decision-making - but that's what I saw. It seems like every pass for a while was a deep ball or into the flat.

I was also disconcerted by the lack of carries for Saine. I understand why M. Wells gets into the game ahead of him and what they're trying to do, but it also seems pretty clear to me that Saine is the better alternative for maintaining a credible rushing attack when Chris Wells is out of the game.
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I think the first sentence hit it on the head. The conclusion of this brought relief. No more. No less. I didn't feel more optimistic about the season than I did before this game. I didn't feel that this was a blessing. We got to keep in mind that we have a lot of close games in every season, but we only remember those that slip away from us. And that really should be the way it is. I guess my very critical view of this game is, let's not start patting ourselves in the back for a game that we almost surrendered a 24 point lead.
 
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Just skimmed this thread since the game ended. Kind of suprised at the negativity.

The first and foremost thing I was looking for coming in was how we handled a legit running team, not just stats wise but closely watching the LOS and see who controlled it. We did and it wasn't even close.

No one we face the rest of the way is as good as MSU on offense save for maybe tsun and their injury situation is a big wait and see.

The blocked FG and two TO's were just screw ups that are good coaching points, nothing more to me. I see no reason to get down about them, its not like they are the norm or a pattern.

Maybe its just me but I came away from today excited. Two big road games that we could very easily lose but we are better than I thought we were based on what I saw today.
 
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Just caught the recap on ScoreCenter ... John Buccigross and Scott Van Pelt were making up player names for MSU during their one minute of glory.

"Saint-Dic? SirDarean? Oh no! Beanie coughs it up now, just fall on it Sir Galahad!!!"

:lol:
 
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The best thing about our schedule has been getting a new test each week but nothing tough enough to knock us off.

Washington- Cross-country road game. Mobile QB. Hostile environment. Deficit at the half.

NU- Spread offense. Kickoff return for a td.

Purdue- Big-10 road night game. Good QB. Great group of receivers/tight ends.

Kent St.- Running game.

And now MSU showed us multiple blitz packages and a physical run game.

We've faced pretty much anything you can possibly throw at us, but not all at once.
 
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Dryden;966408; said:
Just caught the recap on ScoreCenter ... John Buccigross and Scott Van Pelt were making up player names for MSU during their one minute of glory.

"Saint-Dic? SirDarean? Oh no! Beanie coughs it up now, just fall on it Sir Galahad!!!"

:lol:
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Saint-Dic?

Sounds like a defenseman for the Candiens or something :slappy:
 
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Jaxbuck;966416; said:
Just a quick FYI on some key stats:

OSU 3rd down conversions for the year: 46%
Opponents: 28%

OSU Red Zone scoring
score: 90%
Score TD: 67%

Opponents
score: 56%
TD: 33%
Click to expand...

Win the big downs, win the game. If I'm not mistaken, MSU was 3 of 13 on third down today, while the Bucks were 7 of 16. There are certain situations that you absolutely have to win.
 
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I would like to offer a very different perspective on this. I was out watching the game and had to leave just after the last Buckeye TD, at which point the score was a comfy 24-0. Thus I missed the "one minute meltdown" and the flow and feel of the fourth quarter. In a way, that kept the game from being ruined for me as it did for some of you. I can neglect that portion, since I didn't see it.

So, here's what I saw. First, stifling defense. MSU moved the ball a little on the ground, but the tacking was sure, the lanes were blocked, and yards were hard to come by. I feel a lot better about the last game of the year. Mike Hart is going to get knocked around.

Going downfield against OSU is still useless. I don't think I saw Hoyer complete a pass over 10 yards.

Pretorious is coming along well as a kicker. His field goal was a solid piece of work.

Offensively, it looked like Beanie can do whatever Beanie wants to do. If Beanie wants a touchdown on fourth down, Beanie gets it. If Beanie wants to run over you, you are getting run over. If Beanie wants to make you fall down on the ground like your trying to find your jock, then on the ground you'll be. His vision was outstanding, and he ran as well as any Buckeye running back I've ever seen not named Eddie George. Good stuff.

Boeckman came out on fire, had time to throw and made nearly every throw in the first half. I am sure that we're going to talk about the INT and fumble that I didn't see live, but he had MSU reeling early. He figured out fast that Ballard was finding all kinds of open space in the Spartan D and he took full advantage. Again, just like with Beanie, I thought that this was his best game to date.

All in all, when I left the sports bar, I was thinking "Penn State is in trouble". What I'd seen was the most complete effort to date from this team, and a pretty well-prepared Michigan State team being made to look like a mid-pack MAC team. When I heard the final and saw the highlights on Sportscenter, I was surprised and disappointed, but not really overwrought by it. When I realized that they were fluke turnover returns, I blew it off as MSU getting a couple of quick breaks.

In a way it's a big deal, and in a way it's not. This team is getting better every week and playing the best football of the season. I don't think those plays are indicative of a serious fundamental problem, and I don't think we'll see that repeated again. The upside is that the team has experienced the frustration of a "loss" without actually losing, and will be once again at their full focus this week. I would expect practice to be intense.

There's four more major games left, and this was a warning shot that it won't be easy.
 
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