So far, I’ve heard a lot of dismay from Buckeye fans regarding yesterday’s 31-27 win over Navy. Yes, I see the reasons for the concern, but I don’t agree with it.
Navy was NOT a bad team. Nobody within the program thought they were either, and those who want to shine the negative light on a 4-point win either
- Didn’t know what to expect from the triple-option and it’s ability to eat up yardage
- Were previously known as Buckeye-haters
- Just watched their team nearly lose to Northern Iowa twice in the last 7 seconds.
I assumed we’d give up lots of early yards, and I thought the first three Navy drives would be ugly for us. The triple-option is difficult to defend, but the Bucks did one HELL of a job making the adjustments after just one drive. After that opening drive, the Middies only had one more first down the rest of the first half.
Yes, the huge TD pass was unexpected and the interception by Pryor hurt us bad. But two bad plays against us do not make a verdict of “ZOMG we suck!@”. Relax. Breathe. Call it jitters if you want, but this team is not in serious trouble. Trust me.
I’m not unhappy with the way we won this game. I AM unhappy with Tressel’s decision to run off-tackle on 4th and 2 when he could have taken the field goal. Do one of two things in that situation, Tress;
- Kick the field goal and go up 18 points
- Do something TRULY unexpected, like a play-action pass or a wide option that gives you a chance to pitch it. Running Herron off-tackle is not bold enough, and you NEED to be bold if you’re going for it on 4th.
That cost us big, and the take-away from that is that Tressel won’t let it happen again. He learns from his mistakes and he’ll do the right thing next time.
Tressel did do the right thing most of the game, and we must applaud him for putting seven true freshmen into the lineup on Saturday. These kids are going to be nervous enough when an 8pm nationally-televised game against USC happens next week. At least he took some of the pressure off by giving them important game experience.
Also, I don’t want to be “that guy”, but I’ve got to point out one more item that is being largely avoided….what fracking game were the boys in stripes watching? Navy was called for 2 minor infractions all game long, and there was no sign at all of a Middies O-line that was playing clean. Holding was no longer a call in the NCAA this weekend, and multiple Navy penalties were made into no-calls with no rhyme or reason to it. And to further make my point, there was this;
There’s no excuse for that call to be missed. It wasn’t even close.
Anyway, we’ll begin our look at this week’s HUGE game starting tomorrow. Get some sleep, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
One more thing…..Anderson Russell? Play defense, please. That kinda hurt.
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