Big game this week, right? Who are we playing again, I forget….oh, well, whoever it is, here’s what we need to do, as written by your favorite bloggers in the world.
Jeff at The BBC
A minimum of 275 total yards for Pryor – I dont care if he gets 175 passing/100 rushing, 200 passing/75 rushing. Hell, I’ll even take 1 passing/274 rushing. Just get those yards, TP and you’ll be fine.
Wise decisions – I’m looking your way again, Pryor. This is a solid defense, and they’ll force errors if you’re not playing well between your ears. When the pressure is coming, either throw it out of bounds, or tuck it and RUN baby, run. Last year, you did a GREAT job of playing smart. One play killed us, and it wasn’t even your fault. A bad bounce cost us, so you see how crucial it is to keep the errors to a minimum. Your defense will help you out, just do what you need to do to win.
Be calm – When a player gets into an atmosphere like Happy Valley for the first time, it’s easy to be intimidated. Make sure nobody on the Buckeye squad sees the huge crowd and poops their pants. Sometimes that happens when you visit a stadium with 100,000 screaming fans. Honestly, it happens…..
MaliBuckeye
Focus by the offensive line – Yup, no false starts, no stupid penalties.This is the first of two really good defensive fronts the Buckeyes will see, if you’re going to bring your A game, now’s the time.
(edit by Jeff at The BBC – seriously, offensive line, can you do this one just once….I’m really tired of hearing about it from Mali)
Revenge of TP – Given the crap he’s taken from State Penn “fans”, I’m confident that he’s in for a big game.
Curse of the 39 Yard Line – Some of the biggest defensive moments in the Ohio State/Penn State rivalry seem to have occurred right about the same spot.
What about another pick six (or two)?
Empty Zombie Seats – There’s been frustration with the “great State Penn student section” this year; they just can’t seem to make it to the games on time. It is hunting season, so this is a bit understandable. On Saturday, I want them to have a reason to leave early after showing up late.
Darryl Clark, Sad Panda –
After the year-long joy from PSU fans about Pryor burying his head in his hands after a tough loss at home, we don’t think they understood the irony of seeing Clark with the sad face on after the Iowa game. Let’s make sure they see it perfectly clear this year.
And, to be certain they get it, let’s split-screen that sad panda with a nice shot of Pryor being congratulated heartily by his Ohio State teammates.
Jim
No turnovers – For the Bucks to get the W this week I feel it is absolutely vital to protect the ball, limit the turnovers and let the defense take care of the rest.
Establish the run – If the offensive line isn’t motivated to smash defenders this week I don’t know if they ever will be. Also, all four backs should be healthy this week, so between the four of them I am expecting some yards on the ground.
No missed opportunities – When the Buckeyes get the ball in the red zone we absolutely must put points up on the board.
Dominating defensive line – Penn State’s offensive line was a big question mark at the beginning of the year. They seem to have sorted themselves out a bit at this point, but they haven’t played against a defensive line like they will see on Saturday. If our defensive line can dominate in the trenches, we will be in good shape.
Eric
Pryor throwing off his back foot fewer than three times – I feel like this is a pipe-dream against a team that has a defense with a pulse, but I’ll take heart after the last two weeks of games and hope.
A positive turnover margin for the Bucks – It would be silly to think that Pryor is going to play a perfect, mistake-free football game. I will be happy if our defense forces more mistakes than their defense forces us to make.
At least three sacks on Daryll Clark – If we can get into the backfield and get make Clark suffer, it will go a long way towards helping us win this game. If he evades us and makes plays, we’re going to have a long day.
A very small minimum of zone defense calls – I would love for Heacock to be bad (read: evil-bad) and call plays that allows the defense to be aggressive and attack the offense. However, given history, Heacock tends to drop into a soft zone against good teams to prevent the big play. I’m tired of this – Heacock needs to let the players play.
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