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Game Thread tOSU at NW'ern, Oct 5, 8 ET, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2

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Mike80 said:
THERE YOU GO DEFENSE!!! GREAT STAND!!
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I believe that fumble was caused by the great timing of the blitz from Shazier. The coaches did a good job on this fourth down stand. They must have seen of film that when the QB comes up for the direct snap, it will definitely be a quick keeper up the middle. The QB wanted the ball before Shazier got there.
 
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NFBuck said:
Coming into this season, I predicted 12-2 for tOSU, and I had @NW as one of the losses. To play as terribly as they did, and still get a W out of it says something. That first half and into the first 5-10 minutes of the 3rd quarter was just dreadful football. Yet, here we are...6-0.
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The good news on this game is that it gives tOSU a giant heap of things to work on during the bye. They won, which means Urb can coach them hard. They picked on Pitt Brown and Hyde in coverage. Excellent learning opportunities there. All the offensive skill players will work on ball security, given that it is real now. tOSU has a vast variety of things to work on now.
 
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jlb1705 said:
Cardale Jones was never going to be used in that situation. Meyer wouldn't trust him in that situation and I doubt they would have planned for that kind of move so it's kind of unfair to put on a freshman third-stringer too.

Speaking of Coach not trusting players with the ball, I think we saw in this game just who is trusted to tote the rock when the chips are down. We didn't see Dontre Wilson at all. We saw Rod Smith a couple times when Hyde was gassed, and even though you'd think that Smith's attributes would make him nearly as effective as Hyde they didn't give him many touches in those situations. These are players that us fans have high expectations for, but they are still a true freshman and a backup whose record of turning the ball over has outweighed his production, respectively.

For the record, I think going away from the RBs they way they did was an error. You can see Coach Meyer's thinking though.
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I'll tell you what, as a fan...every time Rod carried it in relief of Carlos, I was nervous. Hell, I was a bit nervous when Braxton would take off, because NW really, REALLY gets after the ball.

I hate to hold last season/2 seasons ago against Rod, but his fumbles are a much bigger risk than his upside was worth in this particular game.

Same goes for Dontre...I think he's dropped the ball twice, right? Both times on low contact plays...I can understand Meyer/Herman going with 70% Hyde/30% Braxton down the stretch.

Damn. What a great game. I don't completely understand all the negativity being lobbed by Buckeye fans all game, I remember that '02 season more than any other: close games, and a hell of a fun team to watch. This Buckeye team reminds me of them, in that they are a great tight knit group of winners.

Go Bucks! Beat Bye!
 
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cincibuck said:
I would not expect an OSU/NW CCG to be much different than last night.
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That won't happen. NW has a nice team, but they've got a really tough schedule this year -- they of course already have one Big Ten loss this season, and they still have @Wisconsin, @Iowa, @Nebraska, vs. Michigan, vs. Michigan St., and @illinois. I'd think there are at least two more losses in that slate, and I don't think 5-3 in the conference is going to win the Legends Division this year.
 
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It was certainly wet, does anyone know how much came down before kickoff? We were fortunate enough to find a big tent in Evanston to tailgate under, but man, did it pour.

I really don't understand our coverage schemes.. that 'soft' zone has been picked apart two weeks in a row.. and not by the likes of Oregon, Clemson, or Alabama either. Seams are being found on 3-step drops - this will need to be addressed. I would think if Northwestern's corners can get in our face and disrupt timing and patterns, then we sure as shit have the athletes to do this too. I miss the silver bullets & Fred Pagac. I am curious as to where the input on these schemes come from.. Withers is in the box & Luke is on the sidelines, but, this scheme predates the Urban era. I am not sure what is going on with that situation & the philosophy of our coverage.

This is not a national championship team.. not yet, anyways. Good time for a bye week.

At a certain point, there was no need to stop handing the ball off on the left side to big #34. They knew it was coming, and couldn't do anything to stop it. From the stands, our O-line looked much bigger and as athletic than their D-line.

I have got to think Fitzgerald had those guys stunting like a mo-fo on the line. I would think that accomplishes two things from the Wildcats perspective: 1. Helps equalize the size difference where Ohio State outweighs them significantly and 2. confused the shit outta Braxton. Braxton looked totally lost out there - poorest I've seen him and the defense play in long time (maybe *ever* for Braxton). How bad was it? Guiton was warming up right before Grant's interception. Braxton had 3 turnovers, and a would-be 4th turnover that was ruled an incompletion. From the stands, guys were open most of the night, Braxton just couldn't find them. He looked way outside of his comfort zone.. so, my best guess is, Fitzgerald and the NW Defense had all kinds of crazy looks/stunts going on.

Other notes from Ryan Field: wasn't even a challenge to get O-H-I-O around their stadium.. the visitors don't really have a "locker room" just a room with a sheet for a door.. and their stadium announcer calls their band "The Finest Band In The Land"
 
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buckeyesin07 said:
That won't happen. NW has a nice team, but they've got a really tough schedule this year -- they of course already have one Big Ten loss this season, and they still have @Wisconsin, @Iowa, @Nebraska, vs. Michigan, vs. Michigan St., and @illinois. I'd think there are at least two more losses in that slate, and I don't think 5-3 in the conference is going to win the Legends Division this year.
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5-2 might. The NW/scUM game could be huge.
 
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Turnovers---

Northwestern was amped and better than we expected-they are a quality team.

Ohio State did not play well early and perhaps not as good as we loyal fans expect....key word is expect.

Tackling early was not up to par. Needs to be a point of emphasis.

Pass coverage was soft early.

Hyde is a BEAST.

But it is a win and a week off to get better.

There times I couldn't even watch.
 
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My quick .02 on the Legends Division as we stand today;

I don't think NW is going to win strictly from the standpoint they are the only team from that division that has to play both OSU and @ Wisconsin. They are essentially going to have to run the Legends slate. Not impossible but they should have the worst odds.

-tsun has to play @ NW, @ MSU and of course has to play OSU

-UNL gets Sparty and NU at home, has to travel to tsun, doesn't play OSU or Wisky

-MSU has to play @ UNL and @ NW, gets tsun at home and no OSU/Wisky but they are, at the end of the day, Sparty. A bit will get spit somewhere.

What a freaking mess. NW is probably the best team but has the worst schedule. UNL has the best schedule but like the rest of that division who the hell knows what you are going to get from them one week to the next.

If I had to bet I'd take UNL but I wouldn't bet much.
 
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My thoughts/observations:
- Other teams are allowed to hire good coaches, recruit good players, develop them and have good teams.
- We basically have only one weakness right now. Pass defense. We have a bye week and six more games to get it addressed. Remember, about mid-way through the season last year we struggled in run D and the coaches made a change and the Defense gelled and became solid.
- We continue to have problems tackling and wrapping up. For the life of me I cannot understand why this continues to be a problem. It is unacceptable from a coaching standpoint and player stand point.
- The two bye weeks this year are going to pay BIG dividends. Rest. Regroup. Refocus.
- The run game with Hyde and our OL is ridiculous. Best in the B1G without question.
- Braxton had one of his worst games of his career, following one of the best games of his career. He is still missing read/option plays and missed a wide open Fields in the end zone. With that being said Braxton is demonstrating great patience and throwing a much better ball this year. He does seem a bit hesitant running the ball though.
- The fake punt was a brain fart on the part of the coaching staff. Seriously???
- Roby, who was a "sure thing" last year is playing very inconsistent this year.
- The DL is REALLY coming on. Bennett, Boza and Jamal Marcus have really performed well and are only going to get better.

GO BUCKS!!!
 
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