USC proves they're #1 by
crushing the Buckeyes 35-3.
Well,
there's always the Rose Bowl. This game was a replay of the
disasters against Florida and LSU. The Buckeyes just are not good
enough to compete with the top teams in college football. The
Buckeyes are lucky we play in the Big 10 because we could not compete
in the Southeast Conference and maybe not in the PAC 10.
By Bill
Smith
Offense:
The
only good news is that Beanie Wells would have made no difference at
all. Ohio State was out played, out coached, out game planed, out
hustled, out toughed (if that is not a word it should be), out worked
and completely out of any chance for redemption of two straight
Championship losses. I feel sorry for those seniors that gave up
millions of dollars by not entering the 2008 draft. None of them
will be drafted nearly as high as they would have been last April.
They will not see that opportunity now because of the way the team
has played. Let's just hope that none of them get hurt because that
would add injury to the insult of the drubbing the Bucks received.
This
game looked like a professional team playing a group from a local
high school.
We
couldn't pass because the QB didn't have time to let the receivers
get open. All we could complete were dump off passes to well covered
safety valve receivers. The offensive line that was supposed to be a
strength of this team has regressed since the beating it took against
LSU. The line was horrible. There will be no high draft choices of
OSU O-linemen any time soon. A couple of the Bucks cost themselves
millions of dollars because they proved to all that saw the game that
they can not block pro quality defenders.
Even
when the QB could throw the ball, way too often, it was dropped.
One of
the key plays of the game was the fumble by Todd Boeckman when he was
blindsided by an unblocked linebacker coming off the edge. Again,
just like in so many games before, the tackle and guard blocked down
ignoring the outside rusher. The running back passed the blitzer not
even trying to chip him. Fumble lost and game over.
Even
when the D tried to give the team a lift by preventing a touchdown at
the end of the 2nd
quarter, it did not help. As usual, the OSU coaching staff failed to
make the adjustments that were necessary to stop the bleeding.
Instead, the stream of blood from the first half became a flood as
the Trojans drove their sword deep into the hearts of the OSU fans.
In the second half, the Trojans ran all over the Bucks and turned a
nice win into a slaughter.
Todd
running an option? That worked well, didn't it. Todd is a great
kid. But, he can not continue to make the mistakes and win games
against top teams. He is a drop back passer. He can not drop back
with this line against a good defense. There is not time. The only
hope is that Coach Tressell puts Terrelle Pryor in. Pryor can run
and the way that line pass protects, he will be doing a lot of that.
The line can not block well enough to protect any pocket passer.
Otto Graham would have failed given that lack of protection.
The
defensive game plan of USC was the same that LSU and Florida used.
Stop the run and force the Buckeyes to beat you passing. Once the
score got to 21 to 3, the running game was nearly useless. They
forced us to pass and we threw it to them.
Then
there were the penalties. Boy were there penalties. They stopped
several good drives. Is it just lack of focus? The offensive team
was not ready to play.
In the
second half, we generated 28 net yards of offense. Enough said.
Defense:
The D
gave it all they had. They held up fairly well in the first half
only to be put in impossible situations again and again by the
totally inept offense. It got tired. It missed tackles. By the
middle of the second quarter there were Trojan wide receivers running
unmolested through the OSU backfield. We blew a couple of critical
plays defensively. But as was the case in the two Championship
games, that was not the reason we lost. The Defense gave up 28
points. In addition to the pick that resulted in a USC touchdown,
the OSU offense gave the Trojans the ball inside the 50 several
times. We knew that USC would score but it didn't need our help.
We did
not get any pressure on the QB. That also helped their running game
and screen game. The D also committed critical penalties that
extended USC drives.
The
USC runners and receivers looked faster than our D. They may be, but
not that much faster. The D seemed unable to adjust to different
sets. The FB running free in the endzone is just one example.
Overall:
This team is not the 5th
best team in the country. Come Monday, the Buckeyes will be lucky if
we don't fall out of the top 20. The only good news about the game
is that it was not at the Shoe. USC will have to call the EPA
Superfund to clean up the mess that we left in the Coliseum.
We hear the same excuses
every time that the Bucks drop a stink bomb in a big game. It is
time that we at least hear some real comments from Coach Tressell
about the problems of the team but we never get that. All we get is
'well we didn't get it done.' Coach, the fans all know that. All we
have to do is look at the scoreboard to see that we didn't get it
done.
If we really want to be
back as one of the top teams in the country, we need to make changes
in the coaching staff. Either the linemen we have are just not good
or they are not getting the coaching and the blocking schemes that
would help them preform better. The line has not improved. We have
the same problems we have had against top teams for several years.
If we do nothing, then we
will continue to win 9 or 10 games a year and win some lower level
bowl games. That may be fine for some schools. Only time will tell
if it will be good enough for OSU.
If you keep doing the same
thing over and over again...Well, you get the point.
That is what I think. Let
us know what you think.
Bill
Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted
talent. He is a senior writer for http://BrutusReport.com.
He has also published several novels on
http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm
and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com