Buckeye Monday: Big Ten Championship Edition

OSU - Penn State Review

Ahhh….this team is killing me!!! Saturday night brought another chance for both the team and the coaches to redeem themselves on a national level. Their performance was greatly improved from the last several games in the spotlight but the end result was frustratingly the same. In the defacto Big 10 Championship game Penn State took advantage (as a good team should) of a killer fumble by Terrelle Pryor to score the game’s only touchdown and held on for a 13-6 victory.

After the blowout loss at USC, the list of negatives associated with the team was a lot longer than the list of positives. At different points in the year, fingers have been pointed at virtually every aspect of the team. You name it and Buckeye fans have critiqued it in the most emotional of ways. After nine games, most of the negatives have been addressed and the team has been playing better. In my opinion, the biggest remaining problems with the team were on full display Saturday night. This will not be the first time these two problems have been called out in this column. #1 The conservative nature of the play calling. I’m at a loss (again) on this one. When everyone in the stadium knows you’re going to run Beanie Wells into the middle of the line on first down there is only one team that benefits. On Saturday, that team was definitely not Ohio State. If I had a nickel for every time Herbstreit counted the number of defenders Penn State was stacking at the line of scrimmage to stop the run……I know Michigan fans had been asking the same questions about their play calling over the past several years. Why is it so difficult for coaches (Carr and Tressel) to make the changes that seem so obvious to everyone else? In Ohio State’s case it’s (#2) the lackluster play of the offensive line. I can only surmise that Ohio State’s play calling has not gotten any more creative because the line cannot support the types of plays fans are calling for. It would be different if Ohio State was breaking in 3 or 4 new lineman. Sadly, that is not the case. With the abundance of experience returning on the line this year we should not have to ask these questions. For the rest of the year, my finger will be directly pointed at Coach Bollman. I want changes, and I want them…um...after we loose to an SEC team in the Citrus Bowl.

What Worked?

The defense played great for the entire game. Penn State’s dynamic offense was largely shut down. My guess is that Pryor’s fumble knocked the wind out of the entire team and the defense played a little tentative in giving up the late scores. Here’s hoping that Coach Heacock can continue to get stellar play out of this unit. It’s got to be tough knowing that giving up 10-14 points may be too much for this offense to overcome.
It may sound a little contrived but I think Pryor played a good game. He seems to be getting more comfortable in the pocket with each game. Many of his passes are still grossly under thrown or are thrown behind his receivers. I would have hoped for a little more progress in this area after 6 games. Oh well…If the coaches were able to calm Troy Smith down I’m sure they’ll be able to do the same with Pryor. Obviously his fumble was the key play in the game. With his size and strength he should have plowed into the line behind Brewster and made the first down. Like Michigan, we’ll just have to live with the ups and downs of life with an inexperienced quarterback.

What didn’t work?

Bryant Browning is terrible. It seemed like every key play made by the Penn State defense started with somebody running past him to make a play. I know Mike Adams and JB Shugarts are both done for the year but I have a hard time believing that Browning is the best option we have at that position. I wish the coaches would consider giving Connor Smith a shot to get some game experience before the end of the year. It couldn’t get any worse.
Our kick return game is laughable. Mo Wells fumble (out of bounds) on the last drive was just terrible and really doomed any potential for a tying score. It amazes me that we can’t find a player with the right combination of speed and vision to put back there to return kicks.
And last but not least…..the offensive play calling is ridiculous. I’m tired of hashing this point out. Changes must be made.

What’s Next?

Well, this week “Bye” comes to town to take on the Buckeyes. I think the defense will pitch a shut out. That’s the good news. The bad news is the offense still has to go on the field.
I have it OSU 3 - “Bye” 0

Go Bucks!!!

Buckeye John