Buckeye Monday Report: Ohio U (almost did it)

A win…is a WIN…….I think


Win number 800 in the storied history of the Buckeye program may not have been pretty but a win is a win. I know everyone is going to concentrate on the negatives….especially with USC looming on Saturday. I didn’t get to watch the entire game so I missed most of the sloppy play. However, in the last 20 minutes of game action that I was able to catch I saw two interceptions and one punt return so let’s not focus too much on all the negatives.

What worked well?

Hello Ray Small - Nice of you to join us. After two disappointing years as the 3rd or 4th receiver in most offensive sets and part time return man Ray made his presence known on Saturday. Catching 5 passes for 29 yards may not seem like much but they established him as the Buckeyes’ leading receiver. His 69 yard punt return for a touchdown demonstrated good speed and improved vision as he ran all over the field on his way to the end zone. It may not have been Teddy Ginn running the ball but his performance on Saturday should give USC something to think about. Now that we got the back slapping out of the way……Dude, what the hell were you thinking calling out USC after the game? Not a good move and one I hope the coaching staff takes great care not to let happen again over the next 4 days.

Running back by committee - So, of course we missed Beanie running the ball but our three-headed replacement proved to be solid in his absence. I like the fact that Boom Herron stepped up and made the most of his opportunity. Saine and Wells also did their part contributing positively to the offense. I think all three could enter a game at any point and have the confidence to run hard for a play or two.

Two in a row for Boekman - While his numbers were not as solid as the first game, Todd didn’t make any major mistakes (to my knowledge.) For the second game in a row he completed passes to multiple receivers and didn’t make any major mistakes. I only saw one series that Pryor played and he looked good running the ball. I’m not sure how much action he saw before that series but I read that he didn’t see any playing time when the game was still in doubt. I’m thinking that it would have served him well to get a few snaps with the added pressure of being behind in the game. I’m not sure if that is a sign that he should expect limited time against USC. We’ll see.

We created turnovers!!! I counted at least 3 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. I’m hoping that gives the defense the confidence to turn it loose next weekend.

What didn’t work so well?

Offensive line play – Geez!!!! Boys, you’re going to have to get your act together in a hurry or next Saturday is going to look an awful lot like the Florida and LSU games from years past. I hope they can turn things around in the next few days.

Kicking game - Missed extra points. Totally unacceptable!!!! I have nothing else to add here.

In Summary

I came across some interesting facts about the Buckeyes’ performance in the second game of each season. In short…..we struggle against inferior (mostly in-state) opponents. Two losses and lots of games closer than expected. The OU game was very similar to the Akron game last year and the Marshall and San Diego State games in years past. I don’t have the time to do game-by-game analysis to see if there are any micro-trends that could be identified but I wish someone would. The good news is that Ohio State has not lost the 3rd game of any season this century. Since I didn’t get to see the whole game I’ll take the easy way out and summarize by saying that most of the issues were caused by a team looking past a weaker opponent towards a huge game the following weekend. The coaching staff has to take some of the blame for seemingly taking the same approach. Shame on both parties!!!!

Go Bucks

Buckeye John!!!!