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Game Thread tOSU @ Sparty, Nov 8th @ 8pm ET, ABC

I'm going to do my review right away this week:

1) From the gate, this offense was ready to play. We started very quick in terms of moving the ball...by doing so, it gave us confidence against their vaunted D right off the bat even though the first drive resulted only in a missed field goal.

2) I knew the PSU game would pay off...coming back from adversity on the road in a hostile environment benefited this young team.

3) For all the talk of the Apple/Conley battle, unless Conley just had a bad night, we better hope Apple stays healthy. Not physical at all and didn't make up for it in coverage. Got completely lost looking inside on the run and cost us big perimeter runs. Hopefully Reeves gets healthy and maybe we can start bringing along Webb to compete for some time there.

4) Decker kicked a potential 1st rounders ass in Calhoun, even when he was offsides half the time.

5) Lots of big blocks in this game. Thomas making a big block downfield to spring EzE on that first big run. Curtis Samuel had a HUGE block to get JT in on that TD. Heureman had too many great blocks to even count. Devin Smith blocking downfield on a bubble screen to Jalin. EzE was a monster block on the long run near the end for JT that helped ice the game. I can never remember so many outstanding blocks in space made by the skilled position players. They were the difference in so many crucial plays.

6) I have never seen so many holds by an opposing OL in my life...jfc it was basically every play we got tackled basically. I didn't even notice on the Langford TD after the punt fumble that Schutt got tackled right where the hole sprang. Then throw on the multiple offsides on the MSU DL and the refs missed a boatload of calls. On one drive alone, it is 1st and 10...DT clearly is across the neutral zone and we get a 5 yard loss. 2nd and 15...Calhoun clearly jumps the very next play and finally, a flag...against Decker for hands to the face. Ridiculous.

7) Even more impressive on our offenses performance is the fact they weren't given the ball a ton with the two big turnovers and defense failing to get off the field frequently on 3rd downs. That was almost flawless efficiency.

8) The QB counter with JT...we must practice it a million times a week because everyone in the stadium knows it is coming, yet we get it every time. Part of it is blocking but JT really does a great job of reading quickly where the hole is.

9) Elliott had a great game running, but he was flat out looking for blood when he got to block...when Jalin was in the wildcat and he was the lead blocker, he was pummeling people into the ground with bad intentions. Gotta love it.

10) JT is so damn strong...not only does he take the hits, but the leg drive on the goal line to get in. So much determination. Plus Boren really gutted that one out with a final push on the NG to get the TD.

11) Great job by Washington and Bennett by stepping up with MSU scheming around Bosa. However, there were opportunities for Joey to make plays and he didn't when he had the opportunity...off night for him. Even though the defense did not play bad, it was not a great performance...way too many missed tackles on routine plays which offset the great plays we made. But maybe the biggest moment of the night is when we held them after Dontre's fumble, we just gave up a long, sustained TD drive and had to go right back out on the field...still stopped them right away.

12) I went so crazy during the 79 yard TD catch by Thomas that I failed to see how insanely fast Thomas is...Drummond had an angle from hell on him calculated from about 50 yards back in the play and he absolutely blazed by it. I knew he was fast, but not that fast.

13) Obvious but Herman kept Narduzzi off balance all night. So many different formations, misdirection, motions to take catch their attention with Dontre/Jalin, lots of pull blocks to negate them getting a quick first step...don't get me wrong, the players executed the gameplan to a tee, but Herman got them in the position to execute. One particularly impressive call is 3rd and goal on the 1 when we are ip 28-24...just ran two unsuccessful QB draws and we go trips stack formation to the left, get a jet motion with Jalin, and he crosses center right after the snap for a dive with EzE. The motion stretched them enough to open up the middle for an easy TD. Little details like that make a big difference.

14) Devin played an inspired game...not just the big plays, but focusing on catching routine passes and getting crucial blocks downfield. He vowed to beat MSU and was instrumental in doing so.

15) Everyone wants the next Percy Harvin in our offense and even though Jalin is not quite as fast and dynamic, he is improving to a level where he is awfully close. His quick burst, balance, and ability to run through tackles is becoming more apparent every game and against good defenders last game. The way I see it is at this point we have a poor man's Harvin in Jalin and a poor man's DeAnthony Thomas in Dontre (he had one bad game, which he came back from later on). And trust me, I will take it any day.

16) Another obvious point but that is JT's best game here by FAR. He threw his receivers open on two of the TD's and enabled Thomas to catch it in stride for the other TD. So many crucial, high pressure throws that could not have been more perfect. And he also made play after play with his feet. He is just such a treat to watch. The other thing I've noticed is that although he obviously does not have the speed and overall athleticism of Braxton, his balance is much better and compensates quite a bit...he is just fast enough to often make defenders swipe at his legs/ankles and he does not go down easily. If the defender does not wrap him up he's getting 10 more yards minimum usually.

17) Really we had pretty tight coverage on that last drive...I recalled playing very soft but they just made a few plays mostly. They really fought like hell and you have to give them credit there.

18) One thing I have noticed is that our OL gets stronger as the game goes along and wears down a defense. I thought it was mostly Hyde last year (and he does deserve a lot of credit there) but EzE has nearly replicated that tendency and the OL starts to just take over particularly in the 2nd half. Part of that is mindset and coaching, the other is that Mick is doing a great job in the training program.

19) We are not stopping here. You could tell how pumped he was after the game not just because we paid them back, but because I think he knew it was re-defining moment for this young team. We showed our talent, we showed our resilience, and we showed our toughness. It is a monkey off his back and I think he is ready to resume our complete dominance of the B1G.

- Overall: Simply put, it warms the deepest cockles of my heart to beat the ever-living shit out of MSU. I have a lot of respect for Dantonio and their program, but revenge sure is sweet. Now win out Sparty and don't freaking go VT on us.
 
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6) I have never seen so many holds by an opposing OL in my life...jfc it was basically every play we got tackled basically. I didn't even notice on the Langford TD after the punt fumble that Schutt got tackled right where the hole sprang. Then throw on the multiple offsides on the MSU DL and the refs missed a boatload of calls. On one drive alone, it is 1st and 10...DT clearly is across the neutral zone and we get a 5 yard loss. 2nd and 15...Calhoun clearly jumps the very next play and finally, a flag...against Decker for hands to the face. Ridiculous.

Great post, but this a million times. Hated seeing our D-line on the ground due to this.
 
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Great post, but this a million times. Hated seeing our D-line on the ground due to this.
I talked about this with my brother in law. It's the same philosophy that made the Seattle DBs the most fearsome in the NFL and won them a Super Bowl last year.

The refs aren't going to call a penalty on every single play because that will ruin the game, so we are going to hold (MSU)/interfere (Seatle) on literally every single play and have a huge advantage on the vast majority of plays where it's not called.

The NFL refs did start calling penalties on every single play this preseason and now Seattle is magically a mediocre team. I don't think the Big Ten refs are competent enough to put their foot down in a similar manner.

And for the record, I think Wisconsin's dominant OL and running game are largely built on the same "blatantly hold on every play because they're not going to call it" philosophy.
 
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And for the record, I think Wisconsin's dominant OL and running game are largely built on the same "blatantly hold on every play because they're not going to call it" philosophy.

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2003 comes to mind as one of the worst in my brief history as a buckeye.
 
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I talked about this with my brother in law. It's the same philosophy that made the Seattle DBs the most fearsome in the NFL and won them a Super Bowl last year.

The refs aren't going to call a penalty on every single play because that will ruin the game, so we are going to hold (MSU)/interfere (Seatle) on literally every single play and have a huge advantage on the vast majority of plays where it's not called.

Honestly, a pretty good point. The holding was so blatant you almost had to look away to not call it. The sad part is they called 5-6 holding calls if memory serves correct, and it was not even close to half of the clear holds. There is a holding to be called almost every play in the technical sense...but they were holding in the obvious sense almost every play. I guess that is the best way to scheme against Bosa and our DL.

And I know everyone would call homerism...except I looked back through the game and routinely we have square blocks without letting our hands drift. It was like a do's (OSU) versus dont's (MSU) on how to block properly without holding. And I would be shocked if their entire OL learned that on their own in unison...
 
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