2015 - Week 1 Recap - Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech

Well... the wait is finally over.  The question that has been plaguing the entire country - yes, the entire country, given the fact that tOSU is the reigning, defending National Champions and the unanimous #1 team in the country - who will be Ohio State's starting quarterback?  I thought Chris Fowler let it slip... I don't know if anyone else caught it, but as the Captains (including J.T. Barrett) were walking out for the coin toss, Fowler made some comment about, "Yes, Barrett is a captain even tho he won't start".  I thought this was a very odd comment to make, given that up until that point I still don't think a final comment had been made on the topic by/from Meyer.  I did find it interesting, however, that during the warm-ups, Ezekiel Elliott was receiving hand-offs from Jones, whereas it was a backup RB receiving the hand-offs from Barrett.  Also, the announces made the comment that Jones had been receiving the bulk of the 1st team reps all week, but yet wasn't it on Scarlet & Gray Days where we heard Barrett had been receiving the majority of the 1st team reps.

Regardless... I truly believe it as a win-win decision for Meyer.  I think this team would be just fine under the direction of both Jones and Barrett.

And now for my actual thoughts on the game...

The Hokie crowd was ELECTRIC.  Sitting at home watching the telecast on the TV, you could literally feel the electricity of the crowd oozing thru the TV.  That crowd was hyped, and they did an excellent job of trying to set the home-field advantage for their team.  Much respect.

I'm happy to finally have a kicker that can boot it deep into the endzone on kickoffs.  Idk if there was much wind last night, but I thought Willoughby's opening kick, and several subsequent kicks, were pretty strong.  This has been something that irritated me greatly last season, as I don't know if it was a conscious decision by Meyer to have the kicker NOT kick it deep into the endzone, or if our kicker simply didn't have the leg strength to do so.  IMO, given the depth of talent on this Buckeye team, I would much prefer our chances at forcing the opposing team to drive the ball down the field 75 yards than give the opposing team the opportunity to house a kickoff.  I think the risk/reward is simply too high on the risk side to not justify kicking the ball deep into the endzone.

I'm a big believe in the 1st play of the game sets the tone/pace for much (not all, but much) of the rest of the game [even the coin flip, I believe, is a big part of setting the tone/pace of the game/season; I was ecstatic when Barrett won the coin toss (#TailsNeverFails); 52% of teams to win the coin toss, win the game - I know it's only 2% points higher than 50/50, but heck... I want as many odds in my favor as I can have/take/get].  The 1st play of the game (Michael Brewer's pass attempt to Isaiah Ford) literally could have gone almost either way.  As Al Pacino famously stated in Any Given Sunday, it's a game of inches.  About 6 inches more tot he field, and Ford comes down with a big 1st down catch, perhaps setting the pace/tone for the game.  But instead, while Ford was able to get his toe down, he was NOT able to get his heel inbounds.  As explained via Pro Football Referee's College Football Officiating 101 - Catch/No Catch, "If the Toe touches inbounds, but the Heel touches out of bounds, RULE INCOMPLETE."  Thus, the CORRECT call was made.  Tone set, Ohio State.

Ohio State was able to clamp down then with 2nd and long, and eventually forced the Hokies to punt.

OSU's 1st drive of the game (again, big proponent of setting the tone/pace for the game...) OSU trots out Cardale Jones, and Jones opens with a nice 6 yard run up the middle, and then hits a BEAUTIFUL strike to Michael Thomas (Thomas had a PHENOMENAL game) for 20 yards.  The very next play should have been a touchdown, but unfortunately Ohio State suffered their first real impact from the suspensions/injuries of Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson, Corey Smith, Noah Brown, as Parris Campbell dropped a WIDE OPEN pass from Cardale.  Campbell has to catch that pass (in a bigger game, that could be the reason for an eventual 'L').  A couple plays later, Jocoby Boren was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.  I'm still scratching my head over this one.  When they cut to the reply, Boren was getting his feet pulled from underneath him by a Hokie player and falling to the crown.  Did Boren do something before or after this that was not caught on the replay?  IMO, if there should have been ANY foul, it should have either (a) been on the Hokie player or (b) been offsetting fouls.  I really thought this was going to kill OSU's drive, but a couple of plays later, Jones scrambles and finds Curtis Samuel for a 24 yard TD pass.  IMO, this was the first play of the night where I can honestly say, had Meyer picked Barrett over Cardale, Barrett would NOT have been able to make this throw.  This was a scramble throw and ALL upper body/arm.

Va Tech's 2nd drive was interesting.  It started off a little promising with J.C. Coleman running for 5, 4, and 3 yard (1st down run) gains.  But then Hubbard's sack (and really it was Josh Perry / Darron Lee - I forget which one's - pressure that allowed Hubbard to get the sack) set the Hokies back 5 yards and was able to force the Hokies into a 2nd and long that they wouldn't be able to surmount.  #Punt.

Ohio State's 2nd drive = Ezekiel Elliott.  What more needs to be said about this kid?  80 yards and to the house.  Love me some Eazy E.  Nice run up the middle, but then demonstrates the speed to outrun the rest of the coverage.  #LoveIt.

Va Tech's 3rd drive.  I was kinda honestly surprised when they lined up to kick a 50 yard FG attempt.  I didn't think Va Tech would have a kicker with that kind of leg.  While he ultimately missed it wide right, he did have plenty of leg.  Ohio State is now up 14-0 and has the ball.  I'm thinking #Gameover... Right?

Ohio State's 3rd drive.  Man that 'Bear defense' is really loading the box and making it tough to run.  I want to keep handing the ball off to Zeke, but there's just so many guys in the box.  The 1st pass and catch to Braxton Miller of the season... what a thing of beauty.  Yeah Cardale could have thrown a slightly more accurate pass, but that layout/dive by Miller... and the hands... wow.  That should quiet all the haters about 'does he have the hands to play the position / can he catch?' talk.   Well, I think this catch answered that question, as that was a wide receive catch. (The 2nd question was 'can he avoid getting hit', and I think we saw the answer to that question later on...)  Flash-forward a couple plays... the offensive holding (Billy Price) was a killer.  Without that call (and before anyone gets too defensive - yes, it was the right call), OSU is in the endzone and up 21-0.  For sure game over.  But instead, OSU is backed up, and forced to settle for a FG.  Willoughby misses a 43 yd attempt.  Gahhh.  Gotta have those.  Maybe not against Va Tech, but against someone like Alabama, that could be a killer.

Va Tech's 4th drive.  Not much to talk about here other than Sam Rogers 51 yd pass from Brewer.  What a scrapper that Sam Rogers was.  Gotta give the Hokie staff a lot of credit here... this was a fantastically drawn up play.  I forget who the OSU DB was that Rogers made the move on at the end of the play to ultimately get into the endzone, but man that was a nice shake.  I hope the 'boys' get on that DB and dog him about that.  Can't be having that stuff.  Again, I forget who the DB was, but I'll use this time to comment that... I thought Vonn Bell had a horrific game.  Idk what it was, but he just looked like he did not have his head in the game.  There were a couple of previous plays where I thought Bell was out of position and gave poor attempts.

Ohio State's 4th drive.  Someone has to explain to me how Ezekiel Elliott gets flagged for a holding call, when he gets absolutely cream-tackled by the Va Tech LB on the read option.  How can you hold when you're too busy getting tackled by the defense?!??!  The drive ends when Cardale throws a pass and it was deflected and intercepted by Va Tech's Desmond Frye.  I'm not going to pin this one on Jones.  Maybe you can argue he has to throw a better/smarter pass, but the pass deflection looked to be a pretty lucky pass-breakup, and the interception catch was a helluva dive by Frye.  So recapping OSU's drives so far, 2 TDs, 1 missed FG, and 1 fluke interception.  Seems to me like Ohio State is pretty much having their way on offense.

Va Tech's 5th drive.  After 1 st down, the Hokies have to settle for a 46 yd FG attempt (thanks to a short field).  Props to their kicker, he nails a 46 yd.  Score is still OSU 14 Va Tech 10.

Ohio State's 5th drive.  Not sure if it was this drive, or perhaps a combination of this one and some of the earlier ones, but at this point in the game, there had been a few plays now where Cardale has ran/scrambled for a couple of yards, and I've thought to myself, 'Man... I wish we had Barrett in there... cuz with Barrett's speed over Cardale, that would have been a much bigger gain'.  But to be fair, there were also a couple other plays where Jones' height/size came into advantage, where had Barrett been in there, he probably would have been tackled where Cardale was not.  So at this point in the game, I'm saying it's about Jones 2, Barrett 1 on my grading scale.  The drive ends with a punt.  Wasn't impressed with Johnston here.  Punt was only for 37 yards.  We need better than that, IMO.

Va Tech's 6th drive.  Once again, Va Tech is only able to muster up 1st Down, and then forced to punt.  Unfortunately, here's where the 2nd evidence of not having Marshall/Wilson/Smith/Brown comes into factor - Eze muffs the point, and Va Tech recovers.  That's now twice Marshall/Wilson/Smith's selfish suspension is costing us.  I'm starting to think... if we lose this came because of whatever boneheaded decision these guys made, I'm going to be PISSED.

Va Tech's 7th drive.  With a short field, and a nice 36 yard gain to Ford (I think this was another Vonn Bell mishap - feel free to correct if wrong), Va Tech is finally able to punch another one in.  The "blessing in disguise" here, however, might have been the opportunity to see our goalline defense performed.  We stuffed them not once, but twice from the 0 yard line, and it took a sneaky fake-block-but-then-rollout-to-catch-a-pass-play for the Hokies to score 6.  I was  VERY pleased to see our defensive front 7 were up to the task of stifling the Hokies goalline, even without Bosa.

Ohio State's 6th drive ends with the half.

HALFTIME - If I'm Meyer, I gotta be pissed.  My team has played/performed well, but a couple of key costly turnovers is what's currently preventing me from winning.  Va Tech 17, Ohio State 14.  How is this the score.  Sure doesn't feel like it...

Ohio State's 7th drive.  Ohio State opens right up where they left off... Jones hits Miller for a 54 yd pass.  So happy for Braxton Miller on this play.  This had to feel so good for Miller.  Reaffirmation that he made the right/ok decision, by deciding to switch positions and sacrifice for this team, in order for the team to benefit.  The 1st TD of this season was going to be BIG for Miller mentally I think, and I'm so happy it came in this 1st game, because I think this will serve as the driving motivation for Miller that he CAN do this (i.e., play WR).

Va Tech's 8th drive. Adolphus Washington absolutely destroys Brewer.  Va Tech is forced to punt.  We eventually learn that Washington broke Brewer's collarbone, and that Bewer will likely miss 4-8 weeks.  Feel bad for the kid, but... it is a big boy sport, and when you play the Buckeyes and Washington, you best wear your big boy pants and watch out for devastating hits like this one from Diesel.  It was a perfectly legal hit.

Ohio State's 8th drive.  I didn't like the play-calling here.  We were pinned inside our 10, so naturally the play-calling was going to be limited to begin with, but when you have one botched snap/read-option (what was up with the snaps all night... there were at least 3 'high' snaps, and a couple other questionable ones).  Again, we're forced to punt, and this time, it only goes for 34 yards.  #CmonAussie

Va Tech's 9th drive.  So the 1st play of the drive is Motley throwing an incomplete pass.  While it's only a 4 pt lead at the moment, you're feeling pretty good cuz you have the lead and now you have a backup non-passing QB leading the Hokies.  Drive is a quick 3-and-out.

Ohio State's 9th drive ends in another punt.  This one was a little better (45 yads), but still a little concerning now that this is essentially 3 punts now in the Buckeyes last 4 drives (not including the 1 play end of half drive).

Va Tech's 10th drive.  Ends with a fumble.  Forget who the LB was that ripped the ball out (either Lee, McMillan, or Perry), but I had noticed earlier that we had been ripping at the ball all night, so I was not surprised to see one finally pop.  The recovery was made by Eli Apple, so like seeing his name there.

I'll use this point to drop a couple side thoughts about some of the defensive Buckeye players...

• I thought McMillan had a fantastic night.  Raekingball is only a true Sophomore, but I have all the confidence in the world in saying that this kid is/will-be the next great LB in a long lineage of Buckeye greats.  He has noise for the ball.  He brings the wood every hit.  He plays physical.  He hits hard.  He demonstrates an understanding for the game.  I think this kid is really something special, and I'm excited to see what he can be/do next year (cuz I think he might be under-shadowed this year by the play of Darron Lee and Josh Perry - but I still expect for him to have a very solid year).
• Eli Apple.  IMO, there's no question Eli Apple is our best CB.  I thought Gareon Conley had an ok/decent night (considering it was his debut night), but he has a ways to go still.  But I thought Apple had a quietly superb night.
• Washington.  Washington did himself well by having a huge night vs. the Hokies.  With talk about him being a borderline 1st Rd guy, it was nice to see him support those talks by laying a huge hit on the QB and being a disruptive force all night.
• Josh Perry.  I don't know what it is about this guy, but he continues to lead the team in tackles.  He's not the flashy guy.  He's not the name you're going to hear, see, or remember, but every.single.time. this guy's name either tops or is near the top of the leading tackler list.
• Darron Lee had a quiet night (and not in a good way).  I'm not concerned/worried (he'll be fine), but I was hoping/expecting to see a bigger night from him.
• Tyquan Lewis was kind of a ghost, IMO.  This is a bit disappointing, as seeing how I was hoping to see how Lewis and Holmes would hold up in the absence of Bosa.  I think the one saving grace, however, might have been the fact that Va Tech simply didn't have the ball that much to be able to evaluate these guys long enough.  The return of Bosa will be a HUGE shot to the arm.
• I thought Tyvis Powell had a solid night.  The interception was huge (see next drive).  As great as Powell was tho, I thought Vonn Bell was very uncharacteristically awful.

Back to the drives...

Ohio State's 10th drive.  O.M.G.  Braxton hits the "O" button on 'em.

#XBrax360 #XbraxOne is back.  In 2 plays in 1 night, Miller answered 'can he catch' and 'can he avoid getting hit' (as evident by this beautiful spin play).  As much talent as Ohio State has... and considering Braxton "lost" the starting QB job... it's unbelievable to think that Braxton just might still possibly be this team's best option/weapon.  The speed... the moves... the talent.  All demonstrated on this play.  This season could be very special...

At this point, the game is OSU 28, VT 17.  Ohio State has a 2 score lead, and VT's starting QB is out of the game.  Starting to feel pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty confident now (in best Larry David impersonation voice).

Va Tech's 11th drive.  Motley heaves one up and it's intercepted by Tyvis Powell.  I really love Powell.  It goes back to this kid's recruitment.  He was one of the guys that stuck with the program and committed during the turmoil we went thru with the whole Tat 5.  The kid just gets it.  He puts Ohio State above everything else.  He hustles.  He's just such an awesome guy.  Love this kid.  Can't say enough great things about him.

Ohio State's 11th drive.  We see a Johnnie Dixon sighting.  Again, this is a play that Cardale Jones and only Cardale Jones makes.  If JT Barrett was in there, there's no 29 yard connection to Dixon.  Only Jones had the upperbody-arm strength to pull up and heeve one downfield like that to Dixon.  Score: Cardale 3, JT 2 (I say 2, because I think by now in the game, there had been another scramble or 2 where it would have benefits to have JT in there over Cardale).  But at this point, I'm starting to really feel/believe that Cardale IS the better choice over Barrett.  he's just able to make more passing plays that Barrett (and to be fair, practically anyone else in the country) just can't simply make.  On 3rd and 3, Fuller is flagged for PI against Thomas.  On 3rd and 10, Va Tech Edmunds is flagged for a 2nd PI against Thomas.  Michael Thomas is just having his way with the Va Tech secondary, which is a pretty nice secondary - Fuller might be one of the best CB's in the country, but not tonight... not guarding Michael Thomas.

Va Tech's 12th drive.  3 and out.  ends in a punt.  Score is OSU 35, VT 17.  Time is dwindling.  At this point, the game is pretty much in the bag.

Ohio State's 12th drive.  JT Barrett is in now.  Happy to see Barrett get some time, and not total garbage time either at that.  JT hits Michael Thomas on a 26 yard pass, where Thomas OWNED Fuller and served official notice to the country that Thomas is here as arguably one of the top receivers in the country.  Thomas gave Fuller fits all night, and for good reason.  To be fair, however, I think CBS Radio's Kevin Kiley made a very good point... To be fair, Fuller was asked to do A LOT last night.  Not only did he have to guard Thomas (arguably one of the best receivers in the country), but he had to protect against guys like Eze, XBraxOne, Jones, Samuel, etc.  There's just soooooo much talent on this team this year, it's kinda pick your poison.  And unfortunately, Fuller is just one man and can't do it all.  But that move that Thomas put on Fuller was an NFL type receiver move.  That was crazy.  I literally rewound it 5x to watch the pure beauty of that move.

#CornerbackLivesMatter #Zone6

The game is now OSU 42, VT 17.  Game is over for all intents and purposes.

Va Tech's 13th drive results in more-or-less the par for the night - a punt.

OSU's 13th drive ends with a Bri'onte Dunn fumble.  #Goodbye.  I'm officially done with Dunn, and I think Meyer might be too.  THIS IS YOUR CHANCE... you FINALLY break into the game.  Granted it's mop op duty/minutes, but you mean to tell me your 1st carry is going to be a cough-up fumble on a SOFT hit.  No, I'm done with you.  There's simply too much talent and too many other guys/weapons to spend time on, then spend time on this guy.  This is a mental thing.  HANG.ON.TO THE FOOTBALL.  I was happy to see Meyer not give the ball to Dunn again, but instead roll with Ball.  I don't have a preference one way or the other with Dunn/Ball, but it grinds my gears (and I bet ya it grinded Meyer's too) when you FINALLY get your chance, and your first attempt ends up in a "fumble".

Va Tech basically gets luck and scores a late TD.  Score is now OSU 42, VT 24.  I'm thinking 'Oh god... I wonder if that was the one to beat the line' and thinking of all those poor souls in Vegas who might have lost $$$ on Bri'onte's fumble.  Buckeyes win by 18 and the line was like 13 or so I believe, so didn't end up affecting the line that much.

Thoughts on the offensive side:

• It only took 1 game, but I'm convinced Urban made the right choice.  While I think both guys would have success leading this team, I think last night's game proved there's just more things Cardale can do that JT can't, and not enough things that JT can do that Cardale can't.
• XBraxOne is the real deal at WR.  He might not be an NFL receiver, but he's a talent and he's a college threat.  The possibilities are titillating this season with Miller in the mix.  Braxton became the 1st Ohio State player with a 50+-yard TD run & 50+-yard TD catch in a single game since Ted Ginn Jr vs. Notre Dame in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.  It's nice to see XBraxOne has already been blessed with the Big Ten's 'Offensive Player of the Week' award.  Also... Braxton's 2 scores give him the school-record of 86 career TDs.
• Samuel had a quietly nice night.  He filled in very nicely for Marshall and Wilson.  But I think there's no question, Marshall is the best guy for the H-back position when Miller is out.
• We really missed Marshall at punt return.  Zeke did a nice fill-in job, but I hate the idea of having our starting RB back there, and I just feel more comfortable/confident with having Marshall back there.
• Disappointed in Paris Campbell (and Terry McLaurin to an extent - mostly cuz he didn't play, or at least not that I saw).  Paris can't be dropping those wide open looks.  Unacceptable.  The loss of Brown and Smith really hurt tonight and was felt.  Given a better team (Alabama), I'm not sure we come out unscathed with that type of performance at our #2 WR spot.
• Michael Thomas.  Wow.  What a talent.  What.A.Talent.  This kid is special, and will be a fine NFL wide receiver some day.  Thomas abused Fuller all night, and Fuller is no slough.

OHIO STATE'S EXPLOSIVE PLAYS VERSUS VIRGINIA TECH

HALF	POSS	PLAY DESCRIPTION	DRIVE OUTCOME
1ST	1	JONES 20 YD PASS TO M. THOMAS	TD (OSU 7, VA TECH 0)
1ST	1	JONES 16 YD RUN	TD (OSU 7, VA TECH 0)
1ST	1	JONES 24 YD TOUCHDOWN PASS TO C. SAMUEL	TD (OSU 7, VA TECH 0)
1ST	2	ELLIOTT 80 YD TOUCHDOWN RUN	TD (OSU 14, VA TECH 0)
1ST	3	JONES 24 YD PASS TO B. MILLER	MISSED FG
1ST	4	JONES 14 YD RUN	INTERCEPTION
1ST	5	JONES 19 YD RUN	PUNT
2ND	1	JONES 20 YD RUN	TD (OSU 21, VA TECH 17)
2ND	1	JONES 54 YD PASS TO B. MILLER	TD (OSU 21, VA TECH 17)
2ND	4	MILLER 53 YD TOUCHDOWN RUN	TD (OSU 28, VA TECH 17)
2ND	5	JONES 29 YD PASS TO J. DIXON	TD (OSU 35, VA TECH 17)
2ND	6	BARRETT 40 YD RUN	TD (OSU 42, VA TECH 24)
2ND	6	BARRETT 26 YD TOUCHDOWN PASS TO M. THOMAS	TD (OSU 42, VA TECH 24)

Thoughts on OSU vs. Penn State | Week 9 (2014)

Ohio State vs. Penn State

1st Quarter

Buckeyes come out wearing their alternative "all-white uniforms".  No doubt this is in response to PSU's infamous "White Out" where the entire fans (except for the few Buckeye fans present) were wearing all-white.

What a play Vonn Bell made on the opening drive.  While I disagreed with the ruling-on-the-field (and the subsequent video-review), I still thought Bell made a nice effort breaking on the ball (which is what you want to see from your secondary).  (Sidenote: It just kills me how the guys in the booth still get calls wrong. I understand how officials on the field aren't going to catch everything and they are going to make mistakes once & awhile, but there should be zero excuses for getting calls wrong in the booth when they can slow the play down, review it, and look at different angles/views).

So far the PSU crowd has been amazing.  THIS is what a college gameday crowd is supposed to look/sound like.  I do think the PSU crowds are more "intimidating" than Buckeye home game crowds.

Wow... Elliott runs so hard.  Again, really impressed with his style/game.  I feel for PSU (especially knowing the end of the game score) and knowing that OSU gained 7 pts off of an interception that should not have been.

Why Jalin Marshall fields that punt at the 4 yard line, I'll never know.  Heck, I wasn't a punt-returner and even I knew since grade school 'You put your heels on the edge of the 10 yard line, and don't back up'.  If it goes over your head, then you let it go.  Gotta let that one bounce into the endzone.

Wow... Nick Vannett with a VERY nice seal block to stop the defender and allow J.T. Barrett to pickup the 3rd down conversion.

2nd Quarter:

Elliott with another strong/hard run.

Unbelievable.  The false starts are killing this drive.  Again... the PSU crowd is ruckus and causing some big problems with the snap count.

Barrett... you can't take a sack there on 3rd and 16 from the 23.  Know where you're at on the field.  You have an easy 3 pts.  DON'T TAKE A SACK!  Luckily, Sean Nuerenberger drilled a 49 yard field goal to add the 3 on, irregardless.  Speaking of the FG, it looks like the officiating crew and the PSU coaching staff missed another one.

Didn't it used to be a penalty if the kick returner signaled a fair catch and then tried to advance the football?!  Whatever happened to that rule?  I'm pretty sure it was a rule at one point.  I can't stand when returners signal fair catch and then try to catch the ball and advance it up field.  That fair catch is in place knucklehead so you don't get BLASTED on 9 out of 10 punt returns.  To Jalin Marshall's credit, he didn't signal fair catch tho, I suppose; rather, it was more of a 'get away from the football' signal to his own teammates.

Another delay of game penalty.  Yes the crowd noise is a big factor, but the coaching staff has to get the play in sooner.  They're taking way too long and not giving the players enough time to audible the call(s).

Barrett takes a lick on the option (to Elliott), but man am I impressed with Barrett's decision making.  Once again he's making all the right decisions (i.e., pitching and keeping it).

Holy schnikes! Armani Reeves just DESTROYED Penn State's WR Geno Lewis.  Oh lawrdy.

Ohio State now with a 17-0 lead heading into halftime.  ZERO excuses for OSU to lose this game.  ZERO.

3rd Quarter

Wow... Barrett's INT on the opening drive (Pick 6) of the 2nd Half was pretty bad.  The PSU defense lulled Barrett into making a freshman mistake.  You gotta see those interior DT's dropping back into coverage.  The sad part is, there really wasn't that much pressure off the sides.  Barrett could have stayed in the pocket & simply hung in there.  The Pick 6 is a longstanding tradition in the Ohio State-Penn State series, and unfortunately the Buckeyes were on the wrong side of this one.

Darron Lee with a nice blitz/sack.  I really think we need to use him more in blitzes; he seems to be very effective when he does.

If Michael Thomas is going to be that big, bad WR that we keep saying OSU is so desperately missing, then he's going to have to make a play there on that long pass-play and find some way to come down with the completion there.

3rd & 1 here and J.T. Barrett is out of the game.  The announcers are speculating he hit his arm on someone's helmet the previous play.  Cardale Jones comes into the game (which I kinda actually like since it's 3rd & short and he's so big), and he doesn't pickup the 1st down.  You're 6'5 250 lbs.  You gotta make a play there, Cardale.  Fall forward, big man.  Did you come to play school?

Frustrating.  Devin Smith has his man beat, and Barrett underthrows the pass, so Smith has to stop and turn back.  After watching the replays, the ball appears to go thru the defenders hands and then right thru Smith's hands!  Devin... you gotta make the catch!  I understand it's a hard catch because the defender is in the way, but buddy... step up and make a play!  We throw down-field to you once a a game, and I was just thinking to myself Where's our deep ball play to Smith?! and here it is... and you let the pass go right thru your hands.  That's not going to help with your case of getting back onto the field.

SMH.  Neuernberger has a chance to put the Buckeyes up 20-7, but instead he misses to the right and now the Buckeyes have just wasted a nice drive.  The defense has played lights out, really, to this point.  Penn State's only points of the game have come from a Pick 6.  The defense has been stout and doing their job (tho, to be fair, Penn State's offensive line is a joke, and I would have hoped/expected going into this game that our defense would handle them easily).

You gotta love defensive back coach Kerry Coombs emotion.  The dude is ALWAYS the first one jumping up & down on the sideline anytime the Buckeyes make a play; doesn't matter if it's his personnel group or someone else's.  Offense or Defense.  Coombs is guaranteed to be the 1st one jumping up & down.

Wow... my boy Tyvis Powell with a GREAT INT to stop a driving PSU offense.  That play was MUCH needed, as the Nittany Lions were driving and looking to score.  Now the Buckeyes need to switch the field position game again.  Let's move the ball, Boys!

4th Quarter

Buckeyes are up 17-7.  Again... no excuse for a loss here.  Have to finish the game strong.  Game announcer Todd Blackledge acknowledging the dominance by Ohio State's defenses.  Amen.  They truly have played awesome tonight.

Oh Barrett... just threw his 2nd INT of the game.  Smh.  I see how he doesn't see PSU's middle LB there.  Not so much Barrett's fault, rather, just goes to show that you HAVE. TO. BE. AWARE. of your SURROUNDINGS.  Hopefully this INT won't come back to haunt the Buckeyes.

Eli Apple has to turnaround and locate the football there.  JT's INT has now put the Buckeyes in a 17-14 pt game (2 turnovers, 14 points off turnovers for PSU).  Smh...  What a catch by PSU's Blacknall.

Holly Rowe (side line announcer) just reported Barrett mentioned some pain in his left knee to the coaching staff.  Ut-oh.

Devin Smith with a nice down of a punt at the 1 yard line.

Very first play, OSU comes out in an all-out blitz, and PSU was ready for it as they ran the perfect play (a quick screen) to pickup a 1st down and get out of their own shadows.

Terrible Pass Intereference call here on PSU's drive. Armani Reeves makes a nice play on the ball, and the officials throw a flag and call it on Vonn Bell.  Bell wasn't even anywhere near the play/action.  The only Buckeye that looked near the play was Reeves, and it looked like a clean pass-breakup to me.  I think the officials gifted one to PSU there on 3rd down to give them an automatic 1st down.

Penn State is forced to punt.  The Buckeyes have the ball now at mid-field with just over 5 minutes left to go in the game.  Have to move the chains here and run this clock out.

Hate the decision to run the read-option (even tho it has been successful almost all game/season).  If Barrett's knee truly is dinged up, then just turn around and hand the ball off to Elliott.  Stop messing around with the read-option.  Now you just put yourself in 2nd & 11.  Smh...

Here we go... PSU's ball at the 9 yard line... less than 3 minutes to go.  The Silver Bullet defense needs to come up big here one more time...

Impressive stat... Avg Drive Start = Buckeyes own 37; PSU own 22.  That's a pretty nice difference.

Buckeye defense continuing the 'bend, but don't break' defensive mentality.  Giving up the short underneath passes, but not letting anything over the top.  I'm fine with this, but why aren't we covering/protecting the sidelines?!?!  Seems like PSU is getting whatever they want on the sides.

OH MAN!!!  COME ON ELI!  Apple has to come up with an INT there on Hackenberg's duck pass there.

Vonn Bell has to make the tackle there on 2nd & 10.  He makes the tackle on that flare pass, it's then PSU 3rd & 10/11.  But by missing the tackle, it's now 1st & 10 for PSU at the 45.  (Also would have kept the clock running.)  Smh.

Like clockwork... Joey Bosa comes up with a sack with less than 50 seconds left in the game, forcing PSU to burn their 2nd TO, and putting the Nittany Lions in 2nd & 17.  HUGE!  The Buckeyes have to come up with the stop here now.

Unreal.  The Officials flag Curtis Grant with a 15 yard personal foul penalty.  Are you freaking kidding me?!?!  Also... why is Grant in there and not McMillan?!?!  McMillan is the better pass defender.  You know PSU is going to air it out here.

Wow.  Unreal.  Franklin blows a costly timeout here.  I have no idea what happened, but somehow PSU had to use their 3rd and final timeout.  That is VERY costly.

OMG!  REEVES!  CATCH THE BALL!  You have a gifted INT and the game is OVER!  CATCH.THE.BALL!  

LOL.  PSU spikes the ball when the previous play was ruled out of bounds. [PSU does not deserve to win this game; to many bonehead decisions/calls/plays.]

Wow.  Vonn Bell with perhaps the play of the game.  No one talked about it, but Bell came form his safety position and underneath to jump and break up the pass attempt PSU threw in the endzone there right before they settled for their FG on 4th down.  Without Bell making that play, I think the PSU receiver might have had some separation to make the catch.  HUGE play by Bell that went quietly unnoticed.

17-17.  End of regulation.

Overtime

Buckeyes win the coin toss.  Elect to defend 1st.  I'm feeling pretty confident with the decision.  What a cluster f--- tho that coin toss was, lol.  So much confusion.

Holding on PSU.  OSU has Penn State in 1st & 20.  No excuse here now to give up a TD.  Hold them to a FG!  (Note: I do agree... that looked like an acting job by Washington more than it was an actual 'Hold', but I'll take it nonetheless.  Steve Miller can't get beat there on the outside and give up that many yards).  YOU CAN'T GIVE UP a 19 yard pass on the very next play!!!!

Wow did Lee and Apple bite hard on the WR screen fake.  Great call/execution by the PSU coaches there.

OSU's turn now with the ball.  1st play = read-option w/ Elliott up the middle for 3 yards.  2nd play = read-option, and Barrett makes a PHENOMENAL read (so good he faked out the camera guy) and rushes around the end to the 5 yard line.  #LoveIt.  3rd play = read-option, Barrett again shows great decision and keeps it to run up the middle for the TD.  (Wow... the Personal Foul on Penn State there at the end of the play is HUGE.  Enforced on the 2nd OT; puts OSU to start out at the 12.5 yard line, instead of the 25 yard line)

OSU starts off again with the read-option (why not... PSU hasn't been able to stop it all night).  Play #2 = Pass play with Barrett having all-day to throw, and AGAIN Barrett exercises good judgment by tucking the ball and running for more yards.  3rd & 2 now and Barrett on a QB draw for a TD.  Wow.  Let's Go!

Penn State ball now... 1st play = sweep to the left for nothing. 2nd play = pass to the left for 4 yards. 3rd down = deep pass to the endzone, incomplete.  4th down... here we go... likely the play of the game... 4th & 6... time to STEP UP...

And what do you know.  Who comes up with the biggest play of the Buckeye season so far? (One more time from a different view.)  Joey. freaking. Bosa.  Ironically, "That wasn't what [Bosa] was supposed to do - [he] was supposed to hit the guard and wrap out, but [the guard] blocked down so the hole opened".  It literally can't be said enough... Bosa is an NFL-ready guy out there playing against amateurs.  Bosa just steam-rolled PSU's RB right into Hackenberg.  The game literally couldn't have ended in a more perfect way.  Urban Meyer said it best, "For how good of a player Joey Bosa is, you expect him to make a play to go win the game, and that's what he did."

Interesting Notes:

• Urban Meyer is now 7-0 in his career in overtime games, 3-0 at Ohio State.
• Total (Net) Yards Passing / Rushing
• Passing:
• Ohio State: 74 yds
• Penn State: 224 yds
• Rushing:
• Ohio State: 219 yds
• Penn State: 16 yds
• J.T. Barrett only threw for 74 passing yards (this is very alarming to me; granted the PSU defense was staunch all night, but this is unacceptable)
• Tackle Leaders:
• Josh Perry: 18 tackles (2 tackles for loss)
• Tyvis Powell: 7 tackles (1 INT)
• Joey Bosa: 6 tackles (2.5 sacks)
• Darron Lee: 5 tackles (1.5 sacks)
• Curtis Grant: 4 tackles
• The Buckeyes were penalized 8 times for 70 yards.  Gotta cut that down in half.  No way you're going to beat championship caliber teams by giving up 70 yards of free-yardage.
• Wide receiver Michael Thomas ( 1 rec 3 yds) and H-back Dontre Wilson (6 touches, 34 all-purpose yards) were largely non-factors.
• For the 1st time since the Va Tech loss, Ohio State's offensive line played against a team with talent on the defensive side of the ball.  Penn State pressured Barrett all night.  The O-Line gave up 3 sacks, but there was constant pressure all night.
• OSU Punter Cameron Johnston averaged 45.0 yards per punt and pinned Penn State inside their own 15 yard line on 4 different occasions (including 3 inside the 10).
• The Buckeyes had an AWFUL 4th Quarter (giving up 119 yards and only mustering 26 yards themselves).  While the Offense wasn't that great in the 2nd and 3rd Quarters, the Defense was (giving up only 12 yds in the 2nd Quarter and 11 yds in the 3rd Quarter)
• It's sad to know the Buckeyes blew a 17 pts lead, but it's worthy to note the Buckeyes faced their toughest environment so far (traveling to Happy Valley at night) and handled a hostile environment & weathered the storm the Nittany Lions presented.
• The Nittany Lions presented a much-needed reality check for the Buckeyes before the impending bout with the mighty Michigan State Spartans.
• Something to think about... without question, OSU's biggest challenges this season have been Va Teck (the lone loss) and now Penn State.  Interesting of note is, Va Tech played William & Mary before us (essentially a bye) and Penn State was coming off a bye.  Looking forward, MSU is on bye this week, and then face us in their first game back.  Hmmm....

Bonus Material:

Penn State taking it a little too far..

Evidently, PSU fans thought it would be a good idea to awake the sleeping giant... literally.  Several Buckeye players tweeted "Air horns outside our rooms at 4am" and "They disturbed my slumber last night".

Also... what are you doing there #26 sophomore LB for Penn State, Brandon Bell.  Is that an eye gouge you're going for there on our QB, J.T. Barrett?

Muck Fichigan...

Michigan is AWFUL.  We cannot lose to those bums.  I watched the Michigan State vs. Michigan game, and here's Devin Gardner's stat line... He attempted 24 passes (I did not count shovel-passes or screens, because let's face it, those aren't passes; rather they're extended hand-offs).  Of the 24 legitimate passes he attempted (i.e., passes greater than 3 or more yards past the line of scrimmage), 10 of them were to his boy Devin Funchess and 14 of them were to someone other than Funchess.  So that right there tells you Funchess is accounting for almost half of Gardner's down-field targets (i.e., guard/stop Devin Funchess, and you're likely to stop/beat Michigan).  Of the 10 targets to Funchess, only 4 of them were completed passes (granted, one of the incompletions was a defensive P.I. call); and of the 14 targets to someone not named Funchess, only 4 of those passes were completed.  That means your boy Gardner's passing percentage was a measly 33.3%.  #Atrocious.

Michigan has exactly 3 NFL players on their team. WR Devin Funchess, DE Frank Clark, and LB Jake Ryan (maybe, OT true-freshman Mason Cole, but the jury is still out on him as it's too early to say one way or the other).  Other than that, Michigan is a bunch of scrubs playing together trying to play something called "football".  Funchess (Jr), Flark (Sr), and Ryan (Sr) will not be back on the team next year.  Michigan is in some serious trouble next season, as who will be their playmakers when they already don't have any on this horrendous team.

Also, I think it was Chris Spielman who said it (maybe it was the other announcer), but the fact that the Michigan coaching staff keeps sticking with Devin Gardner says that they honestly believe Gardner gives them the best chance to win.  If that is the case, man... how awful must Shane Morris be?  Gardner has literally stunk up this entire season, and the fact that a coaching staff that is literally on their last leg hasn't looked to 'switch it up' tells you all you need to know about Morris... That kid is simply not ready.  Michigan is a complete, utter mess right now (And this guy is loving EVERY second of it.).

Thoughts on OSU vs. Rutgers | Week 8 (2014)

After the 2nd & final bye week of the season, we're back with another exciting issue of 'Scarlet Buckeye's Thoughts'.  This week, Ohio State ushered in the 2nd of the Big Ten newbies, Rutgers.  Rutgers brought in a 5-1 record, and was riding the tidal wave of momentum from their 26-24 victory over That Team Up North (Michigan).

The Buckeyes got out to another blazing start, forcing a three-and-out right off the bat after electing to give Rutgers the ball after the coin toss.  Then, on our very 1st drive, the Buckeyes marched down the field, capping the drive with a nice strike from J.T. Barrett to Nick Vannett (the Buckeyes have now scored a touchdown on its opening drive in 4 straight games).  This was pleasantly surprising, as it appears our offense is FINALLY deciding to get our Tight Ends involved in the passing game.  I've been screaming it for weeks, and it LOOKS like we're finally getting it.

Before you knew it, the Buckeyes were up 14-0, and 35-7 by halftime.  The key to the early half success - like the key to most well-oiled machines - was the running game and turnovers.  The Buckeyes outgained Rutgers by almost 100 yards and had forced 3 turnovers.

As each week passes and we step further-and-further away from the Virginia Tech game, it is becoming pointedly obvious that this team is NOT the same team that fell victim to the Hokies.  Each passing week, this team appears to be executing better & better; and as a program, this is wonderfully exciting -- as any program's aspirations should be to be the best well-oiled machine at the end of the season, not necessarily the best at the beginning.  [Sure it would be nice to piece it all together and be one great team from beginning to end, but if I can't have that choice, then my next best choice is to be a team that improves from week-to-week and is competing (or at least looks able to compete) with the best of the teams at the end of the season.  And that's exactly what this Ohio State team looks to be on pace of doing.]

The 2nd Half was more of the same - Ohio State domination.  The Buckeyes amassed 203 yarsd in the 3rd Quarter and 135 in the 4th (holding the Scarlet Knights to 122 amd 67 yds).

Minor concerns:

• J.T. Barrett was our rushing leader, running for 107 yards on 7 carries.  I say "concern" because I'd rather Ezekiel Elliott lead the team in carries and rushes, but "minor" because J.T. only had 7 carries (which is what I want).  This is certainly a good problem to have.  I would be MORE concerned if Barrett was leading the way on 18+ attempts.
• Elliott.  He only (and I say "only") amassed 69 yards on 12 carriers (still good enough for a 5.75 yrd average).  In a perfect world, I'd love to see that average up there around 9 yards per carry, but who are we trying to kid... 5+ is still pretty damn impressive.  I would say I'm concerned about the "12 carries", but I'm going to chalk the lack of carries up to the simple fact that this game was never in question, and had the game been closer, Herman & Meyer would have called more carries for Elliott (or at least so I hope).
• Doran Grant (along with Darron Lee) led the way in tackles (each netting 7).  This "concerns" me a little, because I don't like the idea of our corner leading the way in tackles (especially not our 'top' corner).  I'm chalking this one up to the fact that Rutgers fell behind so early & so big, so they were forced to throw more passing attempts than what would normally be considered a 'normal amount'.  Another concern (and this one, IMO, is a much *bigger* concern) is, after looking 'bad/rough' the past couple weeks, Grant once again was beat pretty badly by Rutgers' Carroo, as he let Carro slip behind him for a 39-yard gain.  This was terribly frustrating, as the Buckeye Defense has kinda been notorious this season for giving up the 'big play', and I felt like this was another step in that direction.  HOWEVER, the GOOD news is... after this play, Grant didn't sulk & mope about the play, but he immediately bounced back, and on the very next play (1st and 10), Grant hit the truck-stick button and laid the wood to Rutgers' Justin Goodwin for a modest 4 yard gain on the play.  Then, on the very next play, Grant came off the corner on a blitz and stuck Goodwin again, this time for a 1 yard gain (setting up 3rd & 5).  Grant wasn't done however, as again on the very next play, he forced an incompletion thanks to some tight coverage.  Essentially, after that one bad play, I caught Grant several times after laying the smackdown on his opponents and playing with raw passion.  THIS was the Grant I was accustomed to seeing last season, and the Grant that has been missing from this season.  Here's to hoping this might have been a 'turn of the corner' type moment, as we're certainly going to need Grant's defensive prowess later this season (note: Michigan's Devin Funchess comes to mind).

Some positives:

• Darron Lee and Raeckwon McMillan look to be the real deal.  Lee I felt like was getting targeted early on in the game, but the guy plays on a whole nother gear-level that I feel like most offenses can't handle.  And McMillan... WOW!  This kid gets it.  In fact, he's the exact opposite of Curtis Grant (a guy who just simply *doesn't* get it).  It felt like McMillan was making every single tackle, and if he wasn't, he was there right in the midst of the play.  I was surprised to see that McMillan wasn't the leader in tackles this week.  The future definitely looks bright with these young two talents.
• Joey Bosa was once again Joey Bosa.  I've said it before and I'll say it again... this kid is already ready for the NFL.  We haven't had an animal on defense like this since James Laurinaitis (no pun intended).
• The Weapons.  Man o' man does this team have the weapons.  Look at the breakdown... our top 4 leading receivers accounted for 22%, 21%, 16%, and 15% of the receiving yards (not even 75% of the receiving yards combined).  This just goes to show that Herman & co. are getting lots of players involved, and there's lots of balance.  The same can practically be said for the rushing game as well.
• Back to 'minor concern' again... As I've stated previously, while the plethora of talent is exciting & proves that the future is bright, I would like to focus, however, on getting the ball to handful of playmakers.  I'm concerned that Dontre Wilson only had 21 yards rushing, and did not have a single receiving yard.  It's nice knowing that we have the depth of Curtis Samuel, Corey Smith, and Evan Spencer... but I would rather see those touches go to Dontre Wilson, Michael Thomas, Devin Smith, and Jalin Marshall.  Same can be said for Tight End.  While it's nice we have two stud TE's (Heuerman & Vannett), I would prefer to see the their touches go to one instead of split among the two (unless we're running a double tight formation)
• J.T. Barrett.  Wow.  What can I say.  Another outstanding performance. 585 total yards and 5 touchdowns (which makes it 4 straight games that Barrett has had a hand in at least 4 TDs) in only his sixth career start.  Watching this young talent grow has been such a pleasure.  It's laughable to think how much he's grown in just 8 simple short weeks, and then to stop and think about the lack of development (heck... the reverse development) Brady Hoke & co. have done with Devin Gardner and Shane Morris.  I don't want to get too carried away, because I'm honestly not sure how much of it is Barrett and how much of it is Herman/Meyer and/or 'the schedule' (but the maturity he's demonstrated appears beyond his years, as he's consistently running thru his progressions & finding the open man and making all the right reads in the read-option run), but boy has Barrett made Ohio State fans quickly forget about Braxton Miller (side-note: It really irks me beyond my irk-levels when the camera cuts to Braxton Miller on the sideline, and never once have I seen him 'plugged into the game' or 'mentoring/tuitoring' J.T. Barrett.  I know, I know... he's not the social-type, whatever... But it's like he's completely checked-out/not-present in these games.  How many times does ESPN and these other media outlets cut to other guys standing on the sideline (Winston when he was out/suspended) and they're plugged in.  I'm just not seeing it with Miller, and I'm not trying to dog/downplay him, but it's just frustrating to me that we have this great, talented asset and he seems to be unplugged from the game!)
• J.T.'s case for the Heisman...

• The Defense appears to improving with each week.  In the 1st half (which is really the only half that actually mattered, since the game was out of reach by halftime), the defense surrendered just seven (7) points, while repeatedly handing the offense solid field position (tho, the Rutgers punter helped a good amount as well)
• After looking like a high school offensive line against Virginia Tech (giving up 7 sacks), the O-Line looks to be clicking again and showing shades of last season's great O-Line.  A statistic that perhaps maybe most people might not have realized... Rutgers entered this game leading the nation with 24 sacks; and our O-Line gave up exactly zero sacks, while managing to open wide holes for the Buckeyes to run thru.

This Rutgers team was a team that Michigan struggled against profusely and ultimately lost to.  OSU chopped them up & spit them out like they were chop liver.  Ohio State and Michigan appear to be such opposite franchises at the moment, it's not even funny (or is it?).

Bonus material:

The Ohio State University Marching Band Rocks Out, Smashing Guitar in Halftime Show

Oh... and Ohio State landed their 3rd commitment for the Class of 2016... Kierre Hawkins.