There are winning games ugly, and then there is what Ohio State’s victory over Illinois was. Four total pass attempts, one completed pass, and plenty of runs made the Buckeyes’ win in Champaign about as unattractive as a win can get.
The bye week provided plenty of retrospect for the team, the fans, and pundits alike. There is plenty to ponder as we barrel towards the end of the regular season. As unlikely as it might seem, Ohio State still has an opportunity to win the Leaders Division if they were to win all of their remaining games.
That task is not without its pitfalls especially starting this week against the Wisconsin Badgers, who are coming off a 37-31 loss at the hands of Michigan State. If there was an opportunity to knock the boys from Madison off, I thought the best case scenario would be off of a tough loss to Sparty. Since this writer turned out to be Nostradamus on the first part, let’s just see if step number two will come to fruition this Saturday. With that, let’s dive into a little Scarlet and Gray Q&A.
What kind of positive momentum does the win at Illinois provide?
In short, it provides a lot. This might seem like a no brainer but there seemed to be plenty of positive ways to look at the game. Rewind to two Saturdays ago, and you might recall the high winds that wreaked havoc on offensive game plans that day. While there is some room to debate how much the elements affected the Buckeyes offensive game plan, it had to have some effect on how few passing plays were called.
The quarterback situation seems still an enigma for most fans. We know Braxton Miller is the guy come hell or high water the rest of 2011, but many are beginning to wonder if the freshman signal caller was as finished a product as many had predicted before he arrived in Columbus this past spring. Miller is certainly the right direction to go in, but it might be a situation that will continue to call for unconventional game plans.
If anything, the win over Illinois reminded me of many of the game plans the Buckeyes had called for late in the 2009 season after a humiliating loss at Purdue. The rest of the season was steady dose of Boom Herron and Brandon Saine as the scarlet and gray reeled off five straight wins en route to another Big Ten title. While I don’t see the same result awaiting the Buckeyes at the end of this season, I do think that plenty of games can be won due to a conservative game plan.
For those who have read this column since it began a few weeks ago, you will remember I have called for a scaled back passing game with plenty of hands off to the running backs and designed quarterback runs. Maybe the offensive staff recognizes that this is part of the blue print to a successful season.
What is to be made of the situation at running back?
After his performance at Illinois, it is clear that Boom Herron is the best running back on the football team right now. While this revelation doesn’t come as a surprise to many people reading this, what may come as a surprise is the situation behind Herron on the depth chart.
The latest lineup that was released listed Jordan Hall OR Carlos Hyde as the backup at running back. There were rumblings around Columbus that Hyde was rather disappointed in his work load at Illinois. He carried the ball just three times against the Illini. After having his best game of his college career the week prior, I can understand where Hyde is coming from.
Jordan Hall might be a little bit of a better compliment to Boom Herron, but there seems to be an overall consensus amongst most of the fan base that Hyde is the better running back overall. Hall’s size does not lend itself well to the B1G style of running the football. I have asked for this for the past few weeks but I would love to finally see Hall in the slot where we were told he would be. I really think he would be a great asset matching up against a linebacker or a safety.
Will the extra week of preparation and Wisconsin’s loss allow the Buckeyes to pull off a big upset?
In many ways when you compare Michigan State and Ohio State, they are alike in many ways. Both teams have good defenses that rely on mistake free offensive game plans to win ball games. In many respects the Silver Bullets are as good as the Spartans are on defense.
Michigan State provided the Buckeyes a great game plan last weekend. If Ohio State can slow down Montee Ball and contain Russell Wilson’s ability to extend plays, the Buckeyes could extend the Badgers losing streak to two.
Ohio State’s biggest weakness has been running quarterbacks finding seams at the line of scrimmage and gaining yards on broken plays. Wilson doesn’t seem to be as proficient of a runner, but Wisconsin’s offense will test the secondary’s ability to hold coverage downfield when Wilson buys time with his feet. The Spartans did it to varying degrees of success, but it will be interesting to see if the Buckeyes can do the same.
How concerned should fans be that the team will come out flat after a bye week?
One flaw to the Jim Tressel era was the lackluster play from Ohio State after a week off. The team had not had a scheduled bye week for some time prior to last season. The team struggled last season for half of the ball game against Penn State before Ohio State came from behind to beat the Nittany Lions rather handily in Columbus.
The biggest advantage the Buckeyes have is that they are playing at home, at night, and during Homecoming. Adding to the motivation will be the unveiling of the Nike Pro Combat uniforms to honor the 1961 team, and to top everything off, Eddie George will be honored at half time. If this young team has difficulty getting ready to play in this ball game, then they have much more to worry about than originally thought.
Where do this year’s Nike Combat uniforms rate compared to other years?
I am a little surprised that Ohio State even decided to participate in the Pro Combat uniform series again this season after all of the item having been sold or traded to a certain tattoo parlor. I mean, why tempt the guys?
Nevertheless, Ohio State has chosen to honor the 1961 National Championship team with this season’s throwback uniform. For what it’s worth, I like the uniforms and I would say they rank second in front of the 2009 uniforms but behind last seas1on’s uniforms.
As far as whether or not the university should continue engaging in the uniform series, I think I speak for many with a resounding “NO!”
The good thing about the throwbacks is that the Bucks are 2-0 in them so far. Let’s hope that win streak will stay intact.
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