Neither did I.
But let’s take a look back at The BBC’s weekly feature and see what we were hoping to see in the Ohio game.
1) A touchdown on the very first Ohio State possession – Fail. A quick three-and-out to start the game was a nasty foreshadow for what we were going to witness the entire first half.
2) A stop on the very first Ohio University possession – Success! OU got a first down on the drive, but we kept the Bobcats in check, allowing 17 yards on 6 plays.
3) SIT DOWN, BEANIE – Success! Thanks for staying put….and it was nice to see you walking the sidelines without a limp!
4) More possessions for Terrelle Pryor -Fail, but with good reason. Pryor is incredible, but he’s not a guy that deserves prime possessions…not yet. We couldn’t put him in much until the threat was over. Pryor ended up with two possessions, a three-and-out and a late drive with a couple of nice plays.
5) Better pressure on the quarterback – Success! We pressured Ohio QBs all day long, enough to force them into a 35% completion percentage for the day (attributed to a good pass rush combined with excellent coverage on Ohio WRs). The only time we had difficulty was when Boo Jackson and Theo Scott would escape pressure and scramble downfield.
6) Three takeaways – Success! We got five, which may have been the deciding factor in the entire game. We’ll need that against USC. Two passes batted up in the air ended up interceptions….impressive, especially Lawrence Wilson’s. That one reminded me of Marcus Freeman’s play against Iowa in 2006.
7) 50 rushing attempts on the day – Fail. We had 40 on the day. And here’s the most interesting stat of the day – after Ohio took a 14-6 lead, Ohio State ran 31 more plays on the afternoon. 22 of them were running plays, 9 of them were passing plays. 71% of our plays during that stretch were running plays. How many other teams in the NCAA turn to the running game when they need a comeback (and their best RB is on the bench)?
8) A TD throw for Joe Bauserman – Fail. Bauserman never saw action, and you can understand the reasons why.
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