If Ohio State wasn’t the #2 team in the country and fans weren’t expecting great things down the road from the Buckeyes, the game on Saturday would have been a resounding success.
That, however, is not the case. Ohio State fans are hungry for bigger and better things from this team, and there are still several areas that need improvement.
While there are certainly things that this team can do better, getting lost in the flaws is missing the forest for the trees. It is still way too early in the year to sweat the small stuff.
I understand that the small stuff can be the difference between a win and a loss in a close game, but any potential close games are still weeks away, giving the Buckeyes plenty of time to continue to get better.
The optimist in me is almost happy that this team has flaws that they can continue to work on each week. It provides motivation and drive to a team that might otherwise become complacent.
During a stretch of less-than-exciting match ups, motivation is important.
Join me after the jump for our weekly look at how the Buckeyes stacked up against our pre-game expectations of them.
Jeff- Sixty percent completion percentage from Pryor.
One thing that was abundantly clear throughout this game was that Jim Tressel was giving Pryor plenty of practice throwing the ball. Somewhat surprisingly, Pryor came on the field with the first team offense over and over in the second half.
Tressel could have just as easily put in the second team to run out the clock up 34-0.
That is reason #1 why you shouldn’t complain or listen to people complaining about offensive flaws in this game. The second half might as well have been an intramural scrimmage for the Buckeyes.
Tressel was letting Pryor throw the ball so that the offense could get better, which also opened the door for unnecessary and avoidable mistakes.
Pryor did have a better game passing the ball this week, going 22 for 29 (76%) for 235 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
Obviously, the two interceptions were bad, but now Pryor can learn from them in a 43-7 laugher rather than on the road in the Big Ten.
If Tressel was grinding the clock on the ground like he usually does in the second half, Pryor wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn from those mistakes.
Joe- Pryor consistently completely the short check-down passes.
Eric- At least three catches for Stoneburner.
Other than some bad throws that Pryor tried to force it into the endzone (which resulted in the interceptions), Pryor was more accurate overall and showed improvement from last week.
He consistently checked down to his second or third options, resulting in five catches and a TD for Jake Stoneburner.
A play worth noting was Pryor’s first touchdown pass to Saine (which makes two weeks in a row he has caught a touchdown pass).
Ohio brought the heat and got instant pressure. Pryor kept his cool in the face of the blitz, kept his eyes down field, and delivered a beautiful pass to a wide open Saine in the middle of the field.
It showed poise that Pryor didn’t have last season.
Getting better each game, that is what it is all about, and that is what Pryor did this week.
Jay- Running the ball well.
I have to admit that I was bothered when Ohio State failed to establish a run game in the second half.
Brandon Saine led with 48 yards on 12 carries and Herron added 9 carries for 27 yards and two touchdowns.
The more I think about it though, the more it makes sense to me. Does Ohio State need to practice running the ball? Probably not.
Does Terrelle Pryor still need practice running the offense and making good decisions at QB? Yes.
So if the run game is sacrificed in some of the early blow-outs for the sake of Terrelle Pryor getting better as a passer, so be it.
Something else to consider is that teams still seem to be selling out to stop the run on defense, hoping that they can “Purdue” Pryor into mistakes.
Clearly Pryor has progressed to the point that he can win a game through the air. We will see the re-emergence of the running game once opponents start respecting the passing game (if that ever happens).
The offense is taking what the defense gives them, and right now defenses are stopping the run and leaving themselves vulnerable to the pass.
Joe- Score touchdowns in the red zone.
Mali- Red zone TDs.
Overall, the offense performed well, scoring on 7 of 7 chances in the red zone, five of which were touchdowns.
They may not have been perfect, but they were better than last week (quality of opponent not with standing), and as mentioned, that is what it is all about.
Eric- A shutout.
On defense, Ohio State thoroughly dominated the game from start to finish (OU had 7 first downs) and nearly got the shutout.
Ohio was only able to drive it down the field to score with a last minute touchdown. The second team defense was in the game.
Otherwise, Ohio State played the opportunistic turnover generating (5 takeaways) style that has been their trademark so far this season.
Jeff- Seven sacks… at least.
Despite the numerous turnovers, Ohio State did not sack OU’s QB (they did get a safety).
The lack of sacks is not something that I am concerned about. OU only completed 9 of 17 passes for 82 yards with two interceptions.
Ohio State may not be sacking the quarterback as much as we would like to see, but they are clearly disrupting the opponents passing game.
The box score shows total domination on defense, and that is good enough for me.
Eric- No special teams gaffes.
Mali- Special teams, not “special” teams.
On special teams, Ohio State played better, but are still far from inspiring confidence in anyone.
OU did return a kick off for a TD, but it was called back on a blatant block in the back, which is exactly what happened last week… minus the flag.
Writing about improvement on special teams is getting pretty tiresome, but I do feel like that took some steps this week, so hopefully that continues.
Mali- No injuries.
The other unfortunate thing on special teams was that it seemed like every time down the field someone was injured in kick coverage.
Fortunately, nothing appeared to be too serious, but there were way too many Buckeyes on the turf in this game.
Mali- No false starts.
Jay- A “no mistakes” game.
Outside of some unfortunate injuries, the second team defense failing to preserve the shutout, and some bad forced throws by Pryor, Ohio State played a clean, disciplined game.
There were zero penalties called on the Buckeyes (of the false start variety or otherwise) and that is pretty damn good.
Pryor improved, the red zone offense improved, special teams didn’t mess up quite as bad, and the defense kicked ass and took the ball away as usual.
There is still plenty of room for improvement on special teams and in the run game, but there is also plenty of time to see that improvement.
Eastern Michigan is an even worse opponent than Ohio, and Illinois and Indiana shouldn’t be much better.
Perfection is a tough nut to crack, no matter how inferior the opponent, so I will take getting better each week instead. I think that is what Ohio State did this week, and they should continue to do so against Eastern Michigan.
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