Buckeye Blogger Network
Opposite of Shakespeare
Here are your updates from Thursday-
Legally Speaking*
Responses from Youngstown
Other Buckeyes In The News
Ready to Lead, Ready to Follow, Never Quit
Lots of things to catch up on… Some of this has been around for a bit, but we’re not all edgy and trendy and stuff.
The Story Of The Week
Although it’s not really sports related, the capture/death of Osama Bin Laden did have some ripples throughout Buckeye nation and the sports world, particularly on the twitterverse:
Draft Update
Strong linebacker play has been a trademark of Ohio State football for decades. While another school may have been given the title ‘Linebacker U’, few teams have matched the consistent excellence Buckeyes have brought to the position.
At the start of the season, Ohio State had two sure things at linebacker in Ross Homan and Brian Rolle, and one pretty big question mark on the strong side. Given recent history at the position and the talent waiting in the wings, however, there was little question that the Buckeyes would successfully fill the void.
Determining exactly who would fill that void was one of the more interesting stories of the off season. Etienne Sabino appeared to have the spot locked up following the spring, but Andrew Sweat returned from injury in the fall and quickly passed Sabino on the depth chart.
In a surprise move by the coaches, Sabino went from the presumed starter to taking a redshirt year. Saving Sabino’s eligibility will benefit depth in the future, but made him a non-factor for the 2010 season.
Even with Sabino out of the picture, Ohio State still had plenty of talent and depth in 2010. Here’s a look at how the Buckeye linebackers performed this season. Read More
Scoping it out...
No press conference this week, but we do have Tress’ thoughts from after The Game and so forth
Buckeye 411
Michigan is among the elite programs and will be and their record will reflect that in the course of time but, you know, we all have our ups and downs in a period and so forth and it’s highly competitive. It’s going to become more competitive because we’re adding Nebraska. The world changed when we added Penn State. The world changes even more when we add Nebraska. The world changed when Dano (Dantonio) went over to Michigan State. There’s constantly changes, but Michigan will be back, we don’t have to worry about that.
REPORTER: Jim, obviously you talk all the time about you want to get better over the course of a year. To be 11-1, where do you feel like this team is in achieving this goal and just how good of a team do you think you are at 11-1 at the end of the season?
COACH TRESSEL: Not good enough to be the outright Big Ten champions and automatic bid to the Rose Bowl and all those things that you shoot for, but we’re pretty fair, and I believe we’re a top ten football team and probably going to get to play a top ten football team and see if we’re allowed to stay in the top ten is what I would guess, but I think it goes beyond that.
Sometimes the ball bounces funny and you end up undefeated or you end up losing however many, and our guys just kept working and whatever came their way, they handled it and pressed on and handled adversity and handled success as it came. They need a little break and they need to take a deep breath and then they need to think about playing against one of the top teams in the nation wherever we play, whoever it is. We’ve had — really we’ve had 13 games in 2010. We played a pretty good Oregon team on the first day of the year, so it’s been a lot of fun.
But who cares what I think. See ya
No such thing as overkill. Not this week.
One day late on this- sorry, I forgot that the TressPress was Monday during The Game week.
Buckeye 411
Well, don’t have to tell you what week this is. It’s exciting and there’s nothing like it. You can feel the energy in our building and amongst our kids and coaches and fans and all the rest and on the campus, and we’re looking forward to it.We’re looking forward to the fact that we’re honoring that 1942 team, which one could argue that that’s when a great part of our tradition began in Ohio State football, and not to mention the fact that what those men did once the season was over, they went and served in the ultimate way, and we even lost a couple members of that team in the war, so you put all those things together, I don’t know if you could make the Ohio State/Michigan game any more special, but I think when you mention that football team and what they mean to our program and what they meant to our country, it just adds a little bit more.
These 24 seniors are great kids. They’ve done everything we’ve asked. They’ve been a part of some good football teams and they’re trying to lead this team into being a good football team and they know they only have one more chance back in Ohio Stadium. And I know they’re anxious and nervous and have a lot of emotions going through them right now. It goes fast and there’s about half of them that have been here five years and the other half four, and they’ll all tell you, I’m sure, that it’s been a blur and it’s been wonderful, and they’re going to savor every moment of this week.
You know, I think all of the things that are real, are real, but the things that are most important is what you have to focus on and the execution in a game that you’re so excited about is the focus. The Ohio State /Michigan game is the focus, and then there are tons of by-products for everybody, but the single most one everyone knows that’s ever coached or played at Ohio State is that you’re defined by your Ohio State /Michigan games. Certainly they’re on their way to winning championships or not winning championships or going to BCS bowl games or not going to BCS bowl games, but they have a — the Ohio State /Michigan game has a compartment of its own that is what you need to be most aware of, in my opinion.
“A lot of times when those two are yelling at each other, I’m not sure, but that’s the love/hate,” Tressel said. “There’s got to be a good guy and a bad guy. I’m usually the good guy, and (Siciliano) is the bad guy. That’s the way I designed it. He knew that when I hired him.
“And I told that to Terrelle when I hired (Siciliano). I said, ‘Hey, this guy is going to be on your fanny constantly. If you have 6 inches wrong on a step, if your hip’s not just right, he is going to be all over you. So get ready for it.’”
It will be good turkey.
Juuuussst a bit outside
As promised, updates from Tressel’s press conference and other college football news:
Buckeye 411
The Golden Gophers, coming off their 7th straight loss of the season, ran into the #11 Buckeyes in the Twin Cities. Ohio State started slow, but eventually put the clamps down and killed the Gophers 52-10. The Buckeyes found success with a balanced attack, with Pryor throwing 18-22 for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns and Dan Herron carrying the ball 17 times for 114 yards and a touchdown. Herron’s 100 yard game was the first since Saine’s against Marshall during the season opener.
All Night Long. Photo courtesy Columbus Dispatch
The Buckeyes came out of the gate passing the football. The strategy was exactly the opposite to the previous game when they started out with 5 straight Herron runs. Pryor found some open receivers downfield against the Minnesota secondary early on but wasn’t able to connect on a couple of his passes. Intermixed with the passing game were a few runs to Herron that gained a few yards. The Buckeyes eventually got the ball down to the 3 yard line and took two Boom runs and a Pryor quarterback keeper for the touchdown.
The balanced offensive attack almost seemed like a first first the Buckeyes this season. Ohio State traditionally would attack in the first drive with either a vast majority of passes or a vast majority (or all runs). The change was clearly another step in the development of this offense after the Wisconsin loss.
Sorry for the delay- We’ll just call it “user error” on my part and leave it from that.
Anywho- Cole brings us a mid-week reminder of the amazing performance of the Buckeyes on Saturday!
