The weirdest thing happened after my morning nap on Sunday. After hours of unable to find the sleep button Saturday night, finally my body crashed. The amazing thing was when I awoke from my stooper, I was still an Ohio State Buckeye fan, even after going to bed mad at them.
Granted sometimes the fandom gets the best of us and we tweet ignorant stuff out like this:
https://twitter.com/smsommers84/status/790036778455601153
Why do I call this an ignorant tweet?
It is easy for us to sit there and say what should have happened, or what could have possibly happened if X or Y took place or was part of the game plan. We aren’t sitting at Woody Hayes Athletic Complex game planning every week. The fans do not have the ability to see practice or gauge who is stepping up and who isn’t throughout the week.
It’s not as easy to solve problems based on a solution that says play T worked on this team so it should have worked on Saturday against Penn State.
That being said, it was painfully obvious that some positions groups didn’t play as well as others at Beaver Stadium.
The Slobs
The line looked like they were having major issues all day long. Give Penn State’s defensive front major credit for having them playing on their heels all night long. Constant pressure on the outside against Isaiah Prince made him look like he was wearing concrete shoes. True freshman Michael Jordan had some issues as well, even with Jamarco Jones on his side with his hands full or looking around confused as J.T. Barrett was stepping forward to avoid the pass rush.
Marcus Baugh missed key blocks at times also but that has been his signature since the Bowling Green game. Baugh has some great moments then you see other times where he doesn’t even know the playbook in order to pick up his responsibilities.
Not sure if the loudness of the White Out was the issue but since the Buckeyes were able to quiet them after the big Curtis Samuel run, one would think that wasn’t the main issues at hand.
Zone 6
Whether it’s timing with Barrett, none of the wide-outs are stepping up to create space or hang onto the ball when it hits their fingers. Noah Brown proved he can catch amazing passes but seems like the easiest passes to him are the most difficult.
There is no deep threat, or no one that can or will burn past the opposing coverage to help open up the game for the Buckeyes.
J.T. Barrett did miss some open looks but his timing was way off due to him having to run around to keep plays going. Only a few times did one or two receivers come back to help create something to help move the ball.
Not knowing where the first down marker was evident during the first half. Zach Smith needs to work harder at getting his group ready for gameday than he does tweeting. which wide receiver coach is the best in the country.
Special Teams
The staple of Urban Meyer coached teams looked like they were wearing maize and blue – telling Penn State special teamers to lay down and stop fighting and to recognize the name.
I am not going to second guess Meyer’s call to go for the field goal, the man has three national championships. He has earned credit to make mistakes if it was one (it wasn’t).
My issue with that field goal was they should have called a timeout. The way they came rushing onto the field with only seconds left proved to be costly by leaving the middle exposed for a block. The coaching staff cannot go back in time but what if they score three instead of giving up seven.
Not only was the field goal the issue but Cameron Johnston had a punt blocked, the coverage of the special teams didn’t pin the Nittany Lions back very often.
Coaching Staff
This is the one I couldn’t wrap my head around especially during the first half. It reared it’s ugly head again in the final possessions for the Buckeyes.
Why on 3rd and long (over 5 yards) did they keep running empty backfield and have zero help for an offensive line clearly having difficulties against the pass rush with blitzing added to their attack?
This allowed the pass rush to get to Barrett which only had one option each time, his last resort or safety valve of a three or four-yard pass. Not being able to have zero time to let a play develop downfield then not adjusting to it was causing major stress in the air chair QB I was turning into.
This issue of getting the plays in at a timely matter is beyond even acceptable anymore. A year and a half and this problem still exists tells me the offensive coaching staff need to be put into pressure situations all day every day till Game Day so they feel comfortable.
The defensive coaches aren’t ones that need to be really put to any fire even with some insane crazy plays the defense seemed to allow. A young team will have breakdowns like they did but have to tip your cap at some of the crazy plays they seemed to pull off.
The Officials
None, zip, zero, zilch.
Yes, there was an unfortunate horse collar tackle called that was clearly not.
Yes, another missed call on pass interference could have helped Ohio State.
These did not cost the Young Bucks their win.
They put themselves into the situation where they walked out of Happy Valley very unhappy.
Now we will see the hunger, the anger, desire of this young football team. This is where you find out if there is the heart of a champion wearing the Scarlet and Gray. It is time to learn, adjust, adapt and move forward.
https://twitter.com/Gobucks2204/status/790223184062734336
I fell asleep as an angry Buckeye fan, searching for answers on Sunday morning. I woke up I was still a Buckeye fan.
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