Ohio State Buckeyes v Miami Hurricanes 2011
Watching the game on Saturday was difficult as Buckeye fans are used to seeing Ohio State compete with the exception those two horrible NC games when they didn’t show up in 2006 and 2007. With NCAA violations removing 6 important elements of their program before the game began, the Ohio State AD office ignoring years of poor performance, and the OSU quarterbacks unable to complete a pass, I lost any enthusiasm for the season quickly.
The NCAA and the Press
Odd how the Miami Hurricanes committed a major NCAA violation but only had two players missing for the game on Saturday. Ohio State commits a minor NCAA violation and because of the onslaught of bad press across the country from most of the major sports news organizations, loses its coach, its quarterback, and has four players suspended for the same game. Seemed strange watching the game unfold that the Buckeyes were at a major disadvantage compared to last year for such a small incident.
Jim Bollman/Gene Smith
The offense at Ohio State has been mediocre for most of the Jim Tressel era with a few exceptions including the 2006 season that ended with a horrible performance against Florida in the National Championship game. When Jim Tressel resigned, why was the athletic director’s office so comfortable with the offensive coaching staff? If they were 100% behind Luke Fickell, wouldn’t they immediately upgrade the offensive coaching staff so the team performed at the same level on both sides of the ball? And if they are just mailing in 2011, why are the ticket prices still $75.00?
Defensive to Blame?
I heard some talk after the game that the defensive had issues during the game. With the offense doing next to nothing during the game, seems wrong to look at the defense in a critical way. The OSU running game was decent at times during the first half and the Buckeye linebackers missed a number of tackles during the first half chasing after Lamar Miller. But the quarterbacks should get 100% of the criticism in my opinion for their complete lack of play. Fix that position before pointing fingers at a squad that was on the field for what seemed like the entire game. (Officially 34:30 minutes)