You were saying?
As much as I want to give the Penn State fans a well deserved kick in the nuts, I’m going to refrain. Besides, Cameron Heyward, Terrell Pryor and the rest of the Ohio State team beat me to it, then they did it again, and then again once more, and then just to be sure they got the message, Joe Bauserman dropped by just to let them know he was there.
But before I get to the game, as I said in an earlier post, this was a classic case of Penn State overconfidence. An overconfidence which began last year when Penn State barely got past the Buckeyes. In their haste to spread the photo above, they forgot that they had won by little more then an inch. If Pryor’s arm was an inch longer, he wouldn’t have fumbled, Ohio State would have the first down and the Buckeyes would have run out the clock. Another inch to the right and Pryor is off to the races sealing the victory. From there they turned to a softball season only to get blown apart by first Iowa and then the Buckeyes.
Before I get into the game, from a big picture perspective, I’m not sure what to make of this weekend. Like most, I’ve been waiting for Iowa to blow up hoping of course that it would come against the Bucks. Unfortunately, Northwestern beat us to the punch. While the loss of quarterback Rick Stanzi was a huge hit to their dream season, with all the close calls, it just seemed like it would happen sooner or later. So for now, at least some Iowa fans are coping with what could have been by blaming the refs and expressing their frustration with the injury.
But that is for another time. The Buckeyes did everything I had hoped they would do and then some. The defense pressured from the outset preventing PSU quarterback Daryll Clark from finding his rhythm. Heyward was a beast sacking Clark on his first possession and not letting up the entire game. On offense Pryor did everything we’ve been wanting him to do – no turnovers, passing looked pretty good and all signs are good. While there were a few more dropped passes then I’d like to see, when he aired it out…oh did that look nice.
But the one thing that impressed me the most, the one thing I did not expect to see, was the protection Pryor received from the offensive line. Pryor wasn’t sacked once. There were very few broken plays and they gave Pryor the time he needed to get the job done. While the criticism on Pryor has been harsh all season, we saw yesterday the difference an offensive line can make. And while yes, for the most part the play calling was fairly conservative, three yards and a cloud of type stuff, his decision making looked good. I don’t know what happened to the much acclaimed Penn State D but if the O line can continue to play like that, we’re in good shape.
It was also good to see the 3rd down conversions and red zone scoring finally fall in to place.
In the end it was classic Tressleball. Strong defense and special teams leaving the offense in good field position. Offense getting the job done with solid play and just a little bit of flair.
From a nutkicking perspective:
I am enjoying my morning tour of the Penn State fan base (And please, don’t troll their sites. Leave them to their own self loathing.) Here’s a few to check out:
Game notes from Pennlive.com
“We had him, I had him,” [outside linebacker Navorro] Bowman said. “I had that play and I let it go.”
Uhm…pardon me Navarro…have you seen Pryor play? There’s a season’s worth of outside linebackers saying that exact same thing.
Black Shoe Diaries is making plans for the Outback Bowl.
How about the shirts for sale over at Nittany White Out which read: “We decide when you hear the snap count.”
I guess somewhere in the second quarter somebody said, “O.K. now’s a good time.”
Bill Cline over at The Morning Call starts with a stunned crowd and writes himself into a speechless frustration. (I feel for you Bill.)
And Block O Nation vents his own self satisfaction as the Penn State trolls have been particularly hard on him this week.
I’ll let you take it from there. Read and enjoy but for now, leave the commens to the Penn State fans.
(Feel free to comment here though)
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
In the end, the Buckeyes had a solid win over a well-respected team (especially Penn States defense). Pryor looked good with the help he got from the O-Line. The backs ran hard. The defense was everything I thought thye’d be yesterday. Let’s keep it going! Go Bucks!!
I think it is fair to say that if Ohio State loses to Iowa after they lost their QB (their back-up played a total of three college level snaps before yesterday) that it would be much, much worse than the Purdue game. It would probably lead to an onslaught of national media dismissal. Moreover, I would suspect that it would bend Pryor’s head into a pretzel. Iowa by rights has no business being even remotely in this game. They are playing thier fifth string RB (first string went down in the summer, second string went down right before season, third string was demoted after first game, fourth string was injured at Michigan State) who is a true freshman, they are using a redshirt freshman QB with one game played, well a bit less than one game played. They are playing with only two offensive linemen who were listed pre-season as starters. They are down to four receivers and one was a QB less than a year ago.
Make no mistake, the Penn State game was a nice surprise, but if it was only to set up an even worse embarrassment. God help Jim Tressell.
Am I missing something here Jay? What in yesterday’s play suggests that Ohio State will lose to Iowa — especially considering the DL that you just mentioned.
You’re right, if the Buckeyes lose to Iowa it will be a huge embarrassment. However, you seem to be assuming that they will? Nothing I see to justify that conclusion.
Dude, anything can happen with this team. We now know USC is not all that. Purdue has been awful this year and impressive. The Wisconsin game is what I am looking at. Iowa plays that exact game, albeit without Stanzi who knows, and they ran roughshod on the Buckeyes.
Iowa has been turning it over like crazy. If they have one of those wierd games like they did at Penn State or Wisconsin, where they just pick off passes and eek out first downs, I could see the pressure mount on this team.
Look, I am not sold on this team. They reflect Pryor…an emotional, up and down kid.
I hear ya. It’s been a roller coaster season. The minute you think things are coming together, you get a Purdue.
I think the Buckeyes are moving forward though although I hate to think that Penn State was way over rated. Regardless, I’m not so sure Saturday was a “surprise.” I think Purdue was a serious wake up call for everyone – coaches and players. Buckeyes looked much better prepared for Penn State.
Pryor carried himself much differently this game also. I think it was the Dispatch that reported this morning how calm and centered he was during pre-game warm ups. When we start to see Pryor pull it together mentally — when he hits that zen sort of thing, look out. He’s going to be tough.
I’m not looking past Iowa. I do think it’s a much tougher game with Stanzi. I don’t have near as much faith in their late comeback style without him. I also think the Buckeye defense could give a freshman backup qb starting his first game nightmares.
I will look past Michigan though.
Oh, the tears of the Penn State faithful are so delicious!! I was shocked the Buckeyes (especially the O) played as well as they did. The D played lights-out, which was great to see. If they can do that the next two Saturdays, the offense just needs to not lose the game (turnovers) and we should be golden. What I fear is winning vs. Iowa and then scUM playing the role of spoiler the following week (they have, at times, shown flashes of real talent). Granted, we’d still be on our way to Pasadena, but it would be bittersweet.
I really think the Purdue game was a wake up call for the Buckeye’s. Know that their awake watch out. Penn State victim #1 and we go on to the next victim.
Penn State found out that they might be in the same conference as the Buckeye’s but not the
same league. Clark found out what it’s like playing a real denfense. Pressure in the pocket, pressure when he rolled out. Whatever speed he had was surely negated. What about the secondary. They acually manned up and played in your face defense. Clark never crossed the goal line on that 4th and goal. That was a homer call.
How about the O- line, they acutally blocked and opened up holes to run thru.
Proud to be a Buckeye, Let show Iowa the same.