Bringing back our weekly feature from last season (with some new writers!), here are some things that the staff at tBBC would like to see from the Buckeyes against the Thundering Herd.
Jeff
Foot On The Gas Pedal – Oregon was shocked when Ohio State came out and called a pass play 9 of their first 10 snaps. Opponents of Tresselball are not used to this. Make the entire NCAA stand up and recognize that the playbook is wide open in 2010.
Go Up Big And Rest The Starters – by the end of the third quarter I don’t want to see any starters left on the field, unless they require specific work. This game isn’t so much about playing Marshall, it’s about getting tuned up for Miami. Make it happen.
The Secondary Is Weak, So Abuse It! – Marshall was returning their top two defensive backs, then in April they went all Oregon on us and got arrested. Both DeQuan Bembry and T.J. Drakeford have been dismissed from the team, leaving the secondary in shambles. Show no mercy, boys.
Joe
Pryor to come out poised and ready for a big season– you can see when a QB is ready to take his game to next level, calm in the pocket and a much slower pace, hitting secondary reads, not locking on one receiver, and accuracy on the deep ball.
Both sides of the line dominating an inferior opponent- opening holes for the backs on offense and pressure on the opposing backfield all day.
Good Safety Play– show me that we will be ok back there. We have 3 guys right now with Hines, Barnett, and Johnson that are ready to step and prove they are ready to be the last line of defense.
Eric
A game totally unlike 2004– that game continues to haunt my memories to this day. The game, which was the second of that season, sent a very powerful message that it was not going to be the kind of season we had grown used to from the previous 2. Shutting down Marshall would be a great way to start this season off.
A big day for CJ Barnett– given Marshall’s offensive strategy, it would not be surprising for CJ Barnett to need to make a number of plays for the defense to be successful. A big day for Barnett would be a bright spot for the future of this secondary.
A solid throwing day from Terrelle Pryor– I’m not looking for greatness here, just a solid day that shows he’s still on the right track. A little bit of rust from the off season would be unsurprising and understandable, so I’m expecting a bit of a slow start from him.
Dare we dream? 3 catches for Jake Stoneburner– we asked for more passes to the tight ends all last season, and got a couple lucky breaks. I’m hoping this off season’s claims were not simply hot air.
Mali
Let’s just get this out of the way right now:
No False Starts– you know the freaking snap count, for the love of God.
Shutout– we’ve been hearing a lot about how great this defense is, this is when to prove it. I’m especially interested in the defensive secondary’s performance.
Stoneburner- we’ll need all the weapons we can muster this year; let’s get Stoney (and Zach Boren) involved early.
Young Bucks- I’d love to see playing time and bunches of excellence for these guys: Philly Brown, Jamaal Berry, Jonathon Hankins
Tresselball– personally, I don’t mind a low scoring (but well in hand) game for the opener. Don’t give the Hurricanes something to prepare for.
No Injuries– someone has to say it, might as well be me.
Jim
Football– I will worry about specifics later.
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