If the great Charles Dickens were looking to write a sequel to “A Tale of Two Cities,” Luke Fickell and the Ohio State Buckeyes might want to add “A Tales of Two Halves” to the realm of possibilities.
The Buckeyes reversed their offensive fortunes of a week ago against Michigan State, and the scarlet and gray marched down the field four times in the first half to put 20 points up on the scoreboard.
Unfortunately after scoring a touchdown on their first possession of the second half, the Ohio State defense gave up 28 unanswered points en route to a 34-27 loss at the hands of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
With another tough road test on the horizon, it’s time once again for a little Scarlet and Gray Q&A.
What was a bigger turning point, Braxton Miller’s injury or Miller’s fumble?
I had a caller on the weekday radio show I co-host call Miller’s fumble a Bill Buckner like moment on the football field. It was interesting to hear those two events being compared to one another. While it might seem apt to say that Miller’s fumble had an impact on the game, because it did, I don’t see it in the same light as I do the injury sustained by Braxton in the third quarter.
Was it just me or did anyone else feel like the body language on the field was entirely different with Joe Bauserman directing the offense? It was so clear that there just seemed to be a total lack of confidence by the entire team once number 5 was relegated to the bench with the sprained ankle. Heck, I think even Joe Bauserman was uncomfortable with himself being the quarterback on the team.
Miller’s injury had more than just an effect on the confidence of the team too. It was a rippling effect on down the line. Tons of three and outs meant the defense needed to be on the field a lot more in the second half. Not only that but they were going against one of the fastest offenses in all of college football.
Who do you put this loss on: the offense of the defense?
For as bad as the defense was in the second half, it has to be more on the offense. But much like it was against Michigan State, it is not the offensive players as much as it was the offensive play calling staff.
There was plenty of fuel added to the fires of animosity towards Jim Bollman and his offensive staff, but the one that most sticks out to me was the abrupt U-turn away from handing the football off to Carlos Hyde in the latter stages of the football game. Hyde had arguably his best game as a member of the Ohio State football team in Lincoln. He ran for over 100 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries.
Not only did the play calling veer away from running the football, but when the Buckeyes did they had Jordan Hall in the backfield. Nothing against Hall, but why is he the one running the dive plays towards the end of the ballgame instead of the much bigger Hyde?
Compounding the problem of the love of passing with a large lead was the team was doing it with a guy who is obviously not calm enough to handle the game at this level.
I have pled for this the last few weeks, but Fickell needs to assert himself somewhat in the offensive game. I know it is not his area of expertise, but even a primarily defensive coach knows what was working and what was not. Until the young head coach does this, Ohio State may continue to have this inexplicable play calling.
Why hasn’t Kenny Guiton gotten a legitimate look under center?
While it seems like a no brainer to the arm-chair quarterback, you have to first understand the history of how Kenny Guiton ended up being a Buckeye.
After it was clear the Terrelle Pryor was the QB of the future back in 2008, backups Robbie Schoenhoft and Antonio Henton saw the writing on the wall and decided to transfer. This left the Buckeyes with just one true quarterback on scholarship on the depth chart, until Bauserman came back in the spring.
Guiton was really a toss away scholarship with really no plan by Ohio State coaches to play him at any point. Prior to even being recruited by the Buckeyes, Guiton had offers from Kansas, Iowa State, Houston, Rice, and wait for it….Prairie View A&M. Clearly the Texas native would’ve had to have been brain-damaged if he turned down the Buckeyes compared to the other offers.
First impressions are often the lasting impression, and this is very evident with the Ohio State coaching staff, just ask Troy Smith. He was in a similar position during his recruitment in 2002, and it took a while (too long according to some) to let Smith start at quarterback.
Guiton has gotten better since he first set foot on campus, and he could win the Bam Childress Award for the yearly winner of the best player in the spring game. Jim Bollman even said Guiton would have gone in if the Buckeyes had gotten the football back against Nebraska.
I am always wary of deeming a quarterback better than another guy until we see them play an actual down in a real game situation. Guiton’s best asset is his similar skill set to Braxton Miller. The Buckeyes don’t have to change everything they are doing on offense if Braxton Miller is not able to finish the game against the Illini. With that in mind, Guiton needs to be the backup this week in Champaign.
Where will Boom Herron fit in if he returns this week?
Before last week, I would’ve said that Boom Herron should step in and start at running back for Ohio State. Carlos Hyde changed all of that, although Jordan Hall is still listed as the starter on the depth chart followed by Hyde.
Fickell has said Herron should provide a lift on offense during his weekly press conference. While there is some truth to that, Boom may have to provide more than just an emotional lift.
I hate to reward a guy by giving him considerable playing time immediately, but Herron offers the offense a chance to do what they had talked about during the preseason: using Jordan Hall as a slot receiver. Hall is one of the fastest players in the nation, and his speed matched up against linebackers should be advantage Buckeyes every time. Ohio State was very successful with this with Brandon Saine the previous few seasons. This advantage will also come in handy when it comes to reading coverages for Braxton Miller or Kenny Guiton.
How important is it to get a win at Illinois?
While it goes without saying how important it would be to win one at Illinois, it becomes even more critical heading into a bye week. I have heard an idiot on local radio in Toledo predicting Ohio State will not win a game in October, and as much as I didn’t think it was a reality Illinois is the best chance to do make sure that doesn’t happen.
Ohio State needs to treat this game like a Super Bowl. Illinois is going to want to keep their winning streak going, but this is an Illini team has played just one team in the Top 25. They also trailed, yes trailed, Western Michigan and Northwestern by double digits before coming back to win. This team is very beatable, but the defense has to limit the running of Scheelhaase and the offense has to score points.
Here’s hoping the Buckeyes can get back on the positive side of things this week.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
