I think it’s a legitimate question. No doubt we are experiencing the growing pains that come from a true freshman at QB, but the play-calling goes beyond being a little suspect. It borders the level of predictability, and so I’ve gotta ask again….are we holding back?
Playing against a weaker opponent like Purdue, you would expect them to sneak up on the line to stop the run…and they did. But if my memory bank serves me right, we didn’t try a long pass until late in the third quarter. If we’re not willing to keep defenses honest with an occasional deep ball, then they’re going to do to us what Purdue did, and that’s stuff the run and force a lot of 3-and-outs.
From what I’ve seen in the past out of Jim Tressel, the man has tendencies to hold back opening up the playbook just before rivalry games or bigger opponents. The next two weeks, we face just that type of opponent. Michigan State has bite, and Penn State has the potential to devour. I sure hope we’re playing close to the chest, because if not, we might be in for a second or third rude awakening before October ends.
I’ll break down the game in greater detail tomorrow and Monday, but for now that’s the only optimistic solution I have to the vanilla play I watched today (that and the superstitious belief that Purdue always gives us a hard battle).
Whatever it is, thanks to the defense and special teams for winning this one.
What are your thoughts?
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