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Photo: ESPN.com
Michigan Sucks!
Despite a rainy day in Columbus, the Buckeye defense pitched their second straight shutout as Ohio State improved their record to 3-1 on the year with a win in the Big Ten opener against Illinois. Leaving the Navy game aside, the Ohio State defense is living up to their pre-season billing as one of the best in the nation. After the win on Saturday and the losses by Ole Miss, Penn State, Cal, and Miami, the Buckeyes have moved up to #9 in both polls. Here are my thoughts on the victory Saturday in the Horseshoe:
Michigan Sucks!
D-D-D-Defense
Or should it be 'Pick-Pick-Pick-Defense'? The Buckeyes intercepted senior Illini quarterback Isaiah 'Juice' Williams 2 times and sacked him 4 times on the day as they held one of the premier Big Ten quarterbacks to 13 of 25 passing for 77 yards. Illinois backup quarterback Eddie McGee also tossed an interception on the day. Brian Rolle once again proved to the fans why he is quickly becoming the leader of this defense as he picked off Juice on the first (and most promising) Illini drive of the day. Rolle finished with 8 tackles and a shared (with Anderson Russell) sack on the day. Other standouts on defense included Kurt Coleman (9 tackles, 1 forced fumble), Thad Gibson (7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 forced fumble), and Andrew Sweat (5 tackles, 1 sack).
Michigan Sucks!
Ground Attack
For the first time all season, the Buckeyes showed some real promise with the running game. I cannot remember seeing such an evenly distributed ground attack in the Tressel Era. Including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the Buckeyes have 4 legitimate running threats on this team right now. Pryor finished the game with 59 yards on 11 carries, including a 23-yard run where he turned what looked to be a sure sack into the largest gain of the day. Boom Herron ran for 75 yards on 14 carries while taking two carries into the endzone, as he has now scored a rushing touchdown in each of the first four Buckeye games this season. Brandon Saine led the team with 81 yards on 13 carries on the day. On the third Buckeye drive of the game, Brandon ran the ball on 7 consecutive plays, gaining 64 yards. For the second straight game, true freshman running back Jordan Hall saw some action. Hall carried the ball 7 times for 22 yards. With the weather limiting the passing game, the Buckeyes were forced to resort to grinding the game out on the ground. Despite Illinois expecting the run and frequently loading 8 defenders in the box, the Buckeyes managed to gain 236 yards on the day with a 5.1 yard per attempt average.
Michigan Sucks!
Hefty Dose of Hazell
For the second straight week, Ohio State Assistant Head Coach (and Wide Receivers Coach), Darrell Hazell, has assisted Head Coach Jim Tressel in the offensive play-calling. At times during the Toledo game last week, Tressel could be seen on the sidelines with his play sheet in the back pocket of his pants as Hazell had complete control of the plays being run on offense. Following the loss to USC, the coaches have realized changes have to be made, and I believe this is a step in the right direction. Hazell called the QB sneak and the play-action pass to Sanzenbacher last week, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he was the one who called the final touchdown pass to Dane at the end of this week's game. My hope is that with Darrell Hazell calling the plays on offense, we will see a number of games this season in which we win by a margin of 4+ touchdowns.
Michigan Sucks!
Offensive Line Improving
Yesterday, the offensive line looked better than I can remember in the past several seasons. I was fearful that yardage would be hard to come by in a game that was clearly going to be played out on the ground, but the 'big uglies' up front for the Buckeyes managed to create holes for Boom and Zoom all afternoon. If they can continue to hold their blocks (without 'holding') as they did yesterday, I feel confident that our running game will continue to flourish.
Michigan Sucks!
Pettrey UnaPPreciated
Kickers don't receive the respect they deserve these days. I will be the first to admit I frequently get frustrated when a promising Buckeye drive results in a field goal rather than a touchdown. But yesterday I realized that when Pettrey trots out onto the field, I feel confident that the ensuing kick will fly right through the uprights. Aaron is averaging just under 10 points per game, and I have a feeling those 10 points will prove to be pivotal late in the season as we take on Penn State, Iowa, and Michigan. One thing is for sure and not just a feeling: we have one helluva kicker in senior Aaron Pettrey!
Michigan Sucks!
Offensive Player of the Game: The Offensive Line
On a wet, rainy day in the 'Shoe, everyone knew there wouldn't be much passing and that the game would be won in the trenches. The linemen in the trenches for the Buckeyes dominated their opposition all afternoon while leading the way to 236 rushing yards. I considered giving the nod to Pryor, who finished the game with 59 yards rushing on 11 carries and 82 yards and a touchdown on 8 of 13 passing. I also considered awarding the OPG award to Brandon Saine for his in-Saine efforts on the third drive of the game where we fed him the ball on 7 consecutive plays. The fact of the matter is, Pryor and Saine would not have had the games they had yesterday had it not been for the efforts of the offensive linemen. (I can't believe I'm praising the offensive line. They have been the weak link of the football team for several seasons. I'm hoping something finally clicked and they will continue to dominate up front for the remainder of the season.)
Michigan Sucks!
Defensive Player of the Game: The Defense
Shutting out an opponent, especially one with a high-powered offense the likes of Illinois (or Toledo), is not an easy task these days. Our defense has managed it two weeks in a row. With an interception by a member of each tier of the defense (Jermale Hines-secondary, Brian Rolle-linebackers, Lawrence Wilson-defensive line), yesterday's 'Goose Egg' was truly a team effort. (Honorable mention for the DPG award goes to Andrew Sweat. Filling in for an injured Ross Homan, he came away with 6 tackles and 1 sack on the day. With Homan questionable (concussion) for next week's game against Indiana at Memorial Stadium, I am confident that Sweat will be able to step right in and perform.)
Michigan Sucks!
Team Grade: A
The Buckeyes exceeded my expectations yesterday with their play on both sides of the ball. It is a statement to our offense for them to be able to run the ball on 46 of 59 plays (78%) and still rack up 318 yards on offense. It is a statement of the defense for them to be able to hold Illinois to 170 total yards of offense on 63 total plays and, more importantly, 0 points. After yesterday's game, the Buckeyes clearly look like the team to beat in the Big Ten and I think they have a great chance to run the tables en route to a bid to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Michigan Sucks!
The Buckeyes take on the Hoosiers of Indiana University next Saturday at 7pm in Bloomington.
Michigan Sucks!
Until then, Go Buckeyes!
ThunderBuck
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I also heard more than one person share their belief that Brandon Saine either needs to a) be our starting running back or b) get more touches at the very least. I tend to agree with the 2nd statement, not the 1st. It seems like Saine is the better guy from 25-to-25 as an open field player and Boom is the touchdown back who operates better in the red zone. They both have a big role in the offense, and from the sounds of Tressel's post game press conference, they're going to get more carries as the running game starts to show promise.
The defense has been absolutely amazing, and if the running game was this solid two games ago, we'd be in the Top 4 in the country right now.
I really underestimated the D-line, and Chris can vouch for the fact that I had serious doubts about these upperclassmen who had underperformed their whole career. They're making up for it now.
I like our chances for the Rose Bowl, but..... no, wait, I'm not going to say it. All I know is, this has been a CRAAAZY college football season four weeks in and there's lots of time for people to fall back (or move up).