Kneejerk: The Rose Bowl
January 2, 2010
I haven’t been near my computer to make my usual kneejerk post. Too busy celebrating, know what I mean? I will share my thoughts later.
The below picture is how I feel about this win:
No, it’s not the BCS Championship, but this win kind of felt like it after the past few years as College Football’s whipping boy. It was simply huge for the Buckeyes!
TP’s message to his Twitter followers reads as follows:
Thanks for the support for the bucks we played a hell of a game. Go bucks god bless you all
Love it. Go Bucks!
Pregame Postage: The 2010 Rose Bowl
January 1, 2010
It’s finally here! I feel like we’ve all be talking about this game for much longer than a month and a half. Remember, we knew we were Rose Bowl bound on November 14th, so the anticipation has been at a fever pitch for quite some time!
I could do my usual pregame post breaking down what the Buckeyes need to do in order to come out victorious, but you’ve probably read just about every angle on the game. I, like many others have just one thought: Just win, baby!
The Buckeyes need performances like the final November stretch. Run, run, and more running is on the menu. Now, don’t fret, Xbox fans. Just because I have a preference for seeing us pound the much smaller Oregon Dline doesn’t mean I want to see the exact same running play for every down on every series. Over the course of the season, we’ve run from multiple formations and mixed it up. I want to see more of that.
Buckeyes Learn Their Rose Bowl Foe Tonight
December 3, 2009
This time last year, all of Buckeye Nation were Oregon Duck fans. We needed Oregon to beat Oregon State, on the road, in order to knock them out of the Rose Bowl and give the Big Ten (specifically Ohio State) a 2nd BCS bid. Had Oregon State won, they would have gone to the Rose Bowl for a rematch (and beating) by Penn State, and USC would have received the at-large bid we were hoping for. Things worked out for us and we went on to the Fiesta Bowl, where we were narrowly defeated by a Texas team that many thought would roll us and should have been in the National Title game.
So, we watch the 2009 version of the “Civil War” with a different type of interest as we already are locked into the Rose Bowl. The winner gets to meet us in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.
I don’t have a horse in this race. I really don’t care who wins. On one hand, I feel like I should root for Oregon since they helped us out last year. Also, we have much in common with them as the 2 schools then prep QB Tajh Boyd completely played (read: committed to privately) before announcing for Clemson. But, on the other hand, I don’t want to see a bunch of fugly unis in the Rose Bowl. And you know Phil Knight and co. would cook up something downright painful to watch for the Ducks to wear in their 1st Rose Bowl in 15 years.
So, may the best team win. I feel like it’ll be Oregon, but it doesn’t really matter. I am very confident in our constantly improving Buckeye squad. They’ll be ready to play and I’d put our defense up against anyone’s high-flying offense. Oregon’s style has been described as “basketball on turf” with very high scoring games. That isn’t going to happen if they meet us. Texas was averaging 52983750 points per game last season. We gave them 24. Ain’t gonna be no shoot-out in the Rose Bowl.
Also, there will be no home field advantage for this game. USC’s domination of the Pac-10 virtually gave them a home game for their bowl game. Same deal with a lot of OSU’s opponents in bowls. (e.g. 2008 National Championship in New Orleans vs. LSU). Either Oregon/Oregon State will be forced to make a little trek down to Pasadena, as will we. Oregon is tough, tough, tough to defeat at home, but they look beatable away from Autzen. Should they win, I expect a very competitive and entertaining Rose Bowl. Should Oregon State get the bid, I think it plays more into our advantage. I know they have a very talented RB, who is often the focal point of their offense, but you can’t run on this defense with much consistency. They’ll have to spread us out and switch things up.
I’m expecting a shootout tonight, like last year’s 65-38 finish that featured very little defense. I’m sure both defenses are better than that showing, but that was just a ridiculous display. Neither team will win if they bring that effort to Pasadena. But tonight should be fun. Rivalry games tend to be quite entertaining!
Kneejerk: Week 12, The Game
November 21, 2009
Another 10 win season. Another outright Big Ten Championship. A 6th straight win over TTUN. Ho Hum. A day in the life of Jim Tressel. I didn’t care how they did it, I just wanted a win. Thanks to the staff and team for giving that to me; beating Michigan 21-10 in their house.
As is always the case in Buckeye Nation, many are grumbling about the offense. They do this whether we win or lose. Doesn’t matter. They can never be happy. They want a “sexy” offense here at Ohio State and are the exact “miserable fans” Tress referenced earlier this season. FWIW, he shouldn’t have apologized for that comment. He was absolutely right and it’s sad. This team just won an outright Big Ten Championship with a road win over their hated rivals and people are bitching. It’s embarrassing. These are the fans that give OSU fans a bad name. No one’s saying everything is perfect (it is not), but damn. Calm down and enjoy the win already! Read the rest of this entry »
Pregame Postage: Week 12, The Game
November 20, 2009
It’s finally here! THE GAME! I know some have been saying that this rivalry has lost its punch since Michigan is “down”, but don’t listen to that chatter. This game matters and always will! It’s cliche, but you really can throw out records, stats, and trends when it comes to The Game. Those don’t matter. What matters is what teams comes out and outplays the other on that given Saturday.
For those expecting a repeat of last year’s game, don’t hold your breath. Don’t get me wrong; I think the end result will be the same, but I really just don’t see a huge blowout. Last year was the exception to the rule that these games are hotly contested. Think the big 2006 match-up that was #1 vs. #2.
Michigan is improved over last year’s squad. And the real reason for that is Tate Forcier. He is a real QB. He knows how to play the position and that’s so important to the offense Michigan runs. Let’s be real. The guys they trotted out there last year were not QBs. And that’s why Michigan was killed on the field in Ohio Stadium. Read the rest of this entry »
Kneejerk: Week 11, Iowa
November 15, 2009
Ok, I think I’m sufficiently calmed down from today’s game enough to write the weekly kneejerk post. I’m not even remotely ashamed to admit that I had the previous post written before the game even started. For the first time in a long time, I just felt like OSU would win. After countless games where none of the chips fell our way, I just had a feeling that no matter what, we’d end up with the W. And even though it though it took an overtime session, the Buckeyes came out on top 27-24.
And I told everyone this wasn’t going to a blowout or shutout. Vegas may have been blowing smoke up most of the fanbase’s rears, but I wasn’t ever buying that we’d win by 17. I was thinking it’d be 10 max.
Iowa plays to the level of their competition. So, if they’re playing someone terrible, they won’t play as well either. But if they’re playing a good team (e.g. Penn State and Ohio State), they show up! And that’s exactly what happened today. If I were wearing one, I’d tip my hat to the Hawkeyes because they’re a helluva team!
TP finished 14/17 for 93 yards passing. No TD’s or INTs. He rushed just 8 times for 29 yards.
But let’s get down to business…
IN A NUTSHELL:
- TP managed another solid game for the team. But I’m tired of him just managing. He’s a game-breaking talent. I want to see more of that!
- Begs the question of exactly how injured is TP?
- All season, the team has been leaning on the defense to win games. Today, it was mostly the offense. Ironic?
- Man, could our receivers not get open deep or what?
- I can’t believe our TE, Jake Ballard, was our leading receiver
- I also can’t believe we pretty much had two 100 yd rushers today. Would have liked to see some J. Hall, but when you’re moving the ball as well as we were, you can’t really complain that much.
- Yes, some of the play calls had me pulling out my weave, but I said that all I wanted was a win. Tress delivered that.
- Having said all that, it is nice to fantasize about having an offense that isn’t from the stone ages. Someone said that TP is running Craig Krenzel’s offense. What a waste…
- That kickoff return for an Iowa TD was heartbreaking. You could have heard a pin drop in the ‘Shoe. I still can’t believe that happened. It never happens to Tressel’s teams. Ever.
- Nathan Williams’ offsides penalty hurt too. Like someone punched me in the face when I wasn’t looking.
- Jon Thoma was pretty terrible today. In order for Tresselball to work effectively, the kicking game must be tops; especially on punts. Today might have been his worst performance of the season.
- James Vandenberg is a solid QB. He will do good things for the Hawkeyes in the future.
- Loved all the Iowa fans in the house except when they started their “Let’s Go Hawks” cheer during Carmen Ohio pregame. You don’t start crowd cheers when a team is playing their alma mater. That is very tacky.
- Not gonna lie, got some man tears in the eyes when Kurt Coleman ran out of the tunnel for the last time. Gonna miss him and the rest of the senior class.
- The weather was perfect! I mean, it’s November in Ohio and you couldn’t have asked Mother Nature for much more than what we got today.
- Seeing all the stands empty onto the field after Barclay’s field goal was a thing of beauty. I thought about joining the fray, but I’d probably still be there now if that had happened.
- Definitely lost my voice at the game. And I’m ok with that.
- The knock on Ohio State recently, has been that they get beat and outplayed in the “big” games. Last week they beat the #11 ranked team in the country and this week they defeated the #10 team. In both games, OSU was the lower ranked team. I think they’ve officially gotten over the “big game win drought”.
- You’ve got to look at the big picture. A 5th straight Big Ten Championship and the conference’s automatic BCS berth…again. No matter what happens, Ohio State stays at the top.
- So, who’s going to Pasadena?
- It’s 11:23 PM, and Michigan still sucks. Go Bucks!
What a Rosy Day!
November 14, 2009
Smells so good!
The ‘Shoe is rockin’ and our Buckeyes are headed back to the Rose Bowl for the 1st time since 1997. It will mark the 1st trip for Jim Tressel as head coach of Ohio State. Go Bucks!
Pregame Postage: Week 11, Iowa
November 14, 2009
So, here it is! The next game in Ohio State’s brutal November gauntlet is upon us: the Iowa Hawkeyes come to town to battle the Buckeyes for the Big Ten’s coveted Rose Bowl bid. I am biased as a TP stan, but I truly do feel the Buckeyes win this one.
Taking a look around the blogosphere, I’ve seen many calling for a blowout or even a shutout of the Hawkeyes. That’s not the way I see this game going down. Don’t get me wrong! I’d love nothing more than one or both of those options. I just don’t think that’s how Saturday afternoon is going to play out. Iowa is a very good and well coached team with a solid defense.
Much like last week, I think this game comes down to how the Oline produces. Last week, they got to listen to the ESPN talking heads talk about how terrible they were and how they were going to lose the game for their team. It fired them up as Jimmy Cordle informed the media after the game.
“You have to thank Kirk Herbstreit and Todd McShay for getting the line all fired up. When you have a 3:30 game you can watch GameDay, and those guys were talking about how the O-line was going to be the reason we were going to lose today. That got us fired up and we contributed to the win, big time.”
Those boys did tha damn thing last week! TP wasn’t sacked a single time! Think about that. When’s the last time a Buckeye QB went a full game without being sacked? That is impressive, not just because of the statline, but against the defense they accomplished said feat. PSU always has a great defense, so way to go Oline! Herbie has already changed his tune re: the way OSU’s offense is playing, so there’ll be no more of that type of criticism come tomorrow morning’s Gameday show. Just go back and re-read it. College Football is “what have you done for me lately?” and lately y’all have been great. Don’t give that tool Mark May & co. any reason to talk bad about you. Not that you have to give him a reason. He’ll do that all on his own.
Anyway, the Oline may be at its healthiest tomorrow. Big Mike Adams is back and JB Shugarts (seriously, how huge is he?) is fine after leaving the PSU game with a leg injury. Andy Miller continues to find his form after the flu and Jimmy Cordle is versatile. He can pretty much play anywhere on the line. Iowa has some good DEs, so the tackles need to bring their A game to keep them away from TP and blowing up plays.
TP has continued to improve week after week and I don’t think tomorrow will be any different versus Iowa. He’s made better decisions and taken what the defense has given him. That’s all he needs to do. Iowa has also got a pretty solid secondary, so his passing will be tested. This is where the receivers need to make those catches. If it goes off their hands, it could land in the hands of a Iowa defender. We don’t want that, now do we?
I’m not even remotely worried about the defense’s performance. I was confident before Iowa QB Stanzi was injured, and even moreso now. They will control Iowa’s defense provided an offensive slip-up doesn’t put them in a bad position.
In all, one never knows what to expect from Iowa. They seem to play to the level of their competition. Teams that they were head and shoulder better than, they allowed to stay in the game. The close calls in their OOC games is what really threw me. Needing miracle punt blocks and 4th quarter runs in order to win left me scratching my head. They should have killed half of the teams on their schedule. That’s how good I think they are.
So which Iowa team shows up tomorrow? A freshman QB making his 1st start? Who knows! I’m not sure it matters. But if he is the type that runs a “dink-dunk and move down the field” type offense, things could get interesting. That is especially if Heacock calls for that terrible soft zone defense. That’s what happened during the Purdue loss when they moved the ball at ease. Please also see the Fiesta Bowl vs. Texas for how Colt McCoy moved the ball on us. Teams can’t run on this defense, so they need quick passes to move the chains. I hope we defend that better this time around.
What I Want to see:
- No 3-and-out on the first offensive possession. Pretty please.
- A 1st quarter score or two.
- MORE JORDAN HALL! Come on, staff!
- Solid games from all the seniors
- A defensive and special teams score
- No injuries on either side of the ball
- A boobird-free ‘Shoe
- Roses in the mouths of the team around 6:45 PM
What Will Happen?
The end result is a Buckeye win. Not expecting a shutout or blowout, but a win. I don’t care how it’s done, to be honest. I’d rather not be stressed out for 3.5 hours, but I’m not picky. Ideally, I’d like to see it play out like the Toledo game, but the odds of that are extremely low.
Go Bucks!
Offensive Player of the Week…Again
November 10, 2009
For quite possibly his most balanced and definitely clutch performance in a Buckeye uniform, Terrelle Pryor has been named Ohio State’s “Offensive Player of the Week”. It’s the second time he’s received this team honor this season. The 1st being after he lit up the Minnesota Golden Gophers a few weeks ago.
Just thinking out loud here, but if TP was that good with a gimpy ankle, then the rest of the Big Ten is in for a world of hurt the next couple of years. Just sayin’.
To no one’s surprise, Cam Heyward (AKA The Terror) was the Defensive Player of the Week. He pretty much lived in the Nittany Lion backfield.
Kneejerk: Week 10, Penn State
November 7, 2009
Now THAT’S what I’m talking about, Bucks!
I’m not sure if anyone noticed, but I never really gave a prediction as to how the game would end today. I simply gave a list of what I wanted to see. I thought the teams were so evenly matched that, even with a loss, if some progress was made, I’d still kind of sort of be ok. (Maybe?) I just needed to see the team continue to improve. We saw them beat up on Minnesota and New Mexico State, but wanted to see them put in a solid effort against a good defense.
Well, we certainly saw that today with a dominating 24-7 win in Happy Valley. It’s pretty. It’s so, so pretty!
I said the trenches (lines) would decide this game, and that’s what happened. Ohio State’s offensive and defensive line owned Penn State. That was the difference. I expected pwnage from the Dline, but the Oline manned up and shut everyone up!
IN A NUTSHELL…
- My fave stat of the game? 0 turnovers.
- Sacking Daryll Clark on PSU’s first offensive play of the game was awesome. I’m sure that pumped the entire team up!
- I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Ohio State’s defense is amazing! It’s easy to see why they lead the country in forced 3-and-outs.
- Loved all the decisions TP made today. He played smart and made quick decisions. That was key to the team’s victory.
- Hearing TP say, postgame, that he was hurting yet still played very well should make everyone excited; not just for the remainder of the season, but for his 2 remaining seasons. I think the light has gone on for him.
- I’m not going to lie. I was beyond frustrated with the playcalling in the 1st half. Running on 1st and 2nd down was not putting the offense in a position to succeed. While the running game was indeed effective, the specific run plays called needed more variety.
- It was nice to see an OSU kicker make a clutch field goal. It’s a shame Tressel didn’t let him try that kick early in the 1st quarter. Couldn’t have ended up worse than the penalty/punt/touchback.
- Ray Small was great today. He and special teams really got the team going.
- Daryll Clark did not score a TD. I don’t care what anyone says. This was a shutout.
- Cam Heyward was beastly today. I hope he comes back next year…
- Chimdi Checkwa was great today. Did his receiver ever catch a pass?
- Still a little disappointed that Jordan Hall didn’t play much today. Thought he earned more carries than in garbage time.
- I’m glad the staff finally decided to let TP throw because we had receivers running free all day.
- Once Tress opened it up, we saw the future of this offense and I loved it!
- It was almost bizarro world in College Football this week. Bring on Iowa. I was confident in that game even before they lost and Stanzi was hurt. Our Dline was going to smother whomever was back there taking snaps.
- I’m not even mad at Mike Brewster for his throat slash towards the crowd penalty. Heard the fans were nasty and cussing at the team all game.
- The PSU fan the cameras kept zooming in on was classic. Nice shirt, ass.
- I smell roses. That is all.
TP’s final stats:
Passing: 8/17 for 125 yards and 2 TDs, No INTs
Rushing: 5 carries for 50 yds
PARTING SHOT:
