Buckeye Blogger NetworkCoach Meyer’s comments following the win over the California Golden Bears, courtesy of Fox Sports Ohio: (transcription provided by the Ohio State Athletic Department)
COACH MEYER: Thank you all for being here. The best thing about 3‑0 is a chance to go 4‑0. And that’s about it. We’ve enjoyed a win against a very quality opponent, Cal, very good athletes, well coached.
And our guys found a way. I have been in games before where I thought we were going to lose, where I just kept waiting I thought someone would make a play, I really did.
And to see Devin Smith, having an athletic quarterback to get you out of trouble sometimes, sometimes gets you in trouble. But what is going to happen is we’re going to have to be throw the ball, become efficient throwing. We’ve gotten better. You can take a look at the evolution in the past, what’s it been 12 months, or 24 months, whatever it’s been.
But since Braxton became our quarterback, he’s much better. But we’ve got a long way to go. It’s kind of turning into that kind of a world for us right now that there’s a lot of players, people, numbers, committed to stopping the run.
And the good thing is we are developing some receivers. Devin Smith had a hell of a day, made a couple of great plays. Philly Brown is a good player. Evan Spencer is coming along. Jake had a decent day.
We’re starting to develop a little bit of depth. And you think about where that was to where it is now. If this would have happened in April whatever the 7th, they said okay, they would be able to stop the run, I’d say I don’t know; we’d have to figure out a way to score. And I think we just have to do a good job of finding a way to throw the ball a little bit better.
On defense, bad tackling. That’s all I know, is bad tackling. We’ve gotta get that figured out. It’s time to play Ohio State defense and that wasn’t Ohio State defense at all.
We’ve got to get that thing worked out. I know it won’t be from a shortage of effort. We are going to get it worked out and go. John Simon played hurt today. Gave a little emotional speech in there.
He had a sore shoulder. They kept telling me all week, it should be fine, it should be fine; it just didn’t heal as fast as we hoped. Boy, he just lost it in the locker room as far as just sharing, opening up his soul for this team.
And I’ve done this a long time, man, and he’s as good ‑‑ you mark that down there, can you put a jersey up there or something that says John Simon, because that’s a grown‑ass man ‑‑ excuse my language ‑‑ that’s a guy.
If we have another child I want to name him, what is it, Urban John Simon Meyer or something like that. (Laughter) can’t wait for that headline. But that’s how much I love that guy. I’m not ashamed to say I love him. Love that guy. Man.
Makes all of us look in the mirror and say: Are we doing enough for our team. That guy, what he just did in there, not to give you too much of what went on in there, but am I doing enough. When I say I, as our coaching staff, are we doing enough? Are we doing as much as he’s doing? No. We’ve gotta do more. Gotta do more. Gotta get you fired up.
And that’s what this great game teaches you. With that said, great respect for the team we just played and the coach I know, best thing about 3‑0 is, what, a chance to go 4‑0 and get better. Read More
It’s finally Saturday! The Buckeyes are set to take on the California Golden Bears at Noon EST on ABC. The Liveblog will kick off 30 minutes before gametime.
While you wait, check out the great members of the BBN: Our Honor Defend, Men of the Scarlet and Gray, Buckeye Empire, Silver Bullet, The Buckeye Blog, Unscripted Ohio, and Fox Sports Ohio.
Looking forward to seeing you there! Go Bucks!
As a part of the 2012 season, the Buckeye Bloggers Network is pooling their expertise to give Ohio State fans the most in-depth coverage possible for Saturday’s game.
This week tBBC looks at the Buckeye passing game against the Cal Defense. Be sure to check out the rest of this series via the links at the bottom of this post!
Buckle Up
Coach Herman is new to Ohio State, but I don’t get the sense that he’s one to lean on hyperbole.
So, when he tells his receiving corps that they will be challenged in ways that they have not yet seen, you’ve got to believe that this will absolutely be the case.
Much has been made of Cal’s “unique” defense- a Bear (seriously) look that emphasizes stopping the interior run game. It’s also been highlighted that this philosophy is dependent upon corners and safeties who have the ability to lock their men down for the evening. Given that Cal has been running this in a conference that can, at times, be a bit “pass happy”, it’s safe to assume that they might just know what they are doing.
And that’s just half the issue.
Coming into this season, one of the concerns that Ohio State fans and coaches each identified was the need for maturity and excellence from the receiving corps. Part of that was due to the issues that emerged last year- new coach, true freshman sharing time with a professional rocket launcher at quarterback, and an offensive philosophy that emphasize any number of plays as long as they were “Dave”. Losing their top playmaker for all but two games, and now losing him to graduation, it’s easy to understand why Coach Meyer came into the spring and fall looking to find out who would be the person he could count on.
I get the sense that, although we’re getting closer, they are still looking. Read More
Sure, there’s games on Monday, but the weekend has been so amazing that we just couldn’t wait to get back in the saddle for our reflections on the games of note. Plus, are we really all that excited about a game that’s all technical and stuff? I thought not. Obvious choice for this week’s soundtrack… happy Labor Day.
Whew… I’ve got to admit, I should have been working out with Coach Mick during the offseason. Saturday found me trying to knock the rust off of my college football regimen, although I can definitely say that I was well hydrated. I’m guessing that’s what happened during the livechat- I hadn’t prepared enough, and brought the jinxation. You can breathe a sigh of relief, though- when I caught the replay on Sunday, my presence made no difference in the outcome… Baby steps, right?
That Isht's Cray, Bray
From the looks of things, a number of teams were still in “preseason” form, and didn’t have their moves down pat just yet. For instance, while I’m sure that Dabo Swinney’s mom is sure proud of him for leading his fellers to victory over North Carolina State, she certainly couldn’t have been too excited that his first steps leading the team onto the turf ended up in a faceplant. That, combined with this excellent display of exuberance are enough to remind Volunteer fans that their team still has some work to do. Which is good… no one likes to peak during the first weekend of games- well, no one outside of the B1G, that is (more later).
Some of the butterflies were even evident in the Southern Idaho State University trip to East Lansing. Sure, the B1G represented well, as Michigan State showed many why they are a favorite for the conference title… but the game turned out to be “off-script” for both teams. For instance, no matter how hard they tried, Rob Harley’s new squadron couldn’t “Sparty” the game away. Shocker. Oh, and SISU broke their streak of beating out of conference teams when they have a ridiculously long time to prepare… effectively ending their bid at a BCS bowl until they join a legitimate BCS conference in the Big Eas…. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t bring myself to type that. The game also gave us a pretty amazing interception- as always, Tim Burke has ALL the great screencaps and stuff from the weekend’s events.
Saturday’s festivities kicked off with Notre Dame pounding the living stuffing out of Navy in their game in the Emerald Isle… Brian Kelly, why you no like America? And then, your boys let this happen?
Man, back in my day, we fought revolutions for less <adjusts tricorner cap>. Read More
Fast approaching.
Yesterday was the official one month mark until the start of college football.
Ohio State may not be eligible for postseason play in 2012, but that has no impact on the anticipation for Buckeye fans.
Urban Meyer is one month away from his debut as Ohio State’s head coach, and that is the main reason OSU fans are excited.
The Buckeyes begin the 2012 season with four non-conference home games—only one of which is against a team from a BCS conference.
While OSU may not have a big-name program on its non-conference schedule like years past, playing four games under coach Meyer before the Big Ten schedule will be extremely important for the team to get comfortable in a new system under a new coaching staff.
Here at The Buckeye Battlecry, we will have in-depth previews of each OSU opponent during the week of the game. This, however, is the first in a three-part series briefly looking at the 2012 season a month out. Read More
Yup, it was a difficult weekend… but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a spot of fun, right?
Not a good Saturday around the old Casa Del Mali, which started when Nebraska found out that the option doesn’t work against a defense with speed. This would normally be the part where I pointed out that having a freshman quarterback as your starter is never a good idea, but I really like not sleeping on the couch. What was particularly surprising was the successes that the Longhorns had against the Blackshirts- and this is a rebuilding year for Mack Brown’s team.
The missus was able to keep her sense of humor throughout, though, commenting that she wished that there were three more Acho brothers playing so there could be Acho Cinco. Your humble correspondent is grateful that his internal filter kept the “Nebraska can’t block the two that do exist” comment inside his head.
Wait- I just typed that. Crap. Well, the couch is closer to the TV…
Also in LaLa land, Southern Cal absolutely destroyed Cal. Bears, are you sure you want to cut baseball and your national champion rugby program to save this? I’d love to see the Trojans back into a conference title, which would make the bowl ban that much sweeter. Although, I’m sure that we’d see some “undefeated in bowl play” t-shirts around the beaches and traffic jams. Read More
Finishing what Jeff started, as we do every week.
Here’s this week’s soundtrack/music to piss off the people in the cubicle next to you.
Every season, there’s one or two weeks that just screw up everything. From the Vegas lines, to the “pundit’s choices”, to alumni plans for Bowl Game Tailgating, and even the coaching hot seats get impacted by what actually manifests on the fields of play.
Welcome to that week. Be it the weather, the injuries, the flu, whatever- some astounding and amazing stuff happened over the past few days.
The top teams all continue to cruise along, with the exception of Florida who lost their Heisman Trophy fullback that throws the ball to one of the poorest pieces of blocking I’ve ever seen:
Up 31-7 late in the third quarter, you have to wonder why Tebow (who also suffered with the flu all week) was even in the game. Sure, the Gators won, but at what cost? At least they’re not Baylor, who lost their all-amazing QB to injury on Saturday.
Alabama and Texas rolled, so there’s really nothing to talk about there. But number 4 Mississippi either completely spit the bit against the Old Ball Coach (emphasis on “old”, as in “formerly good”), or revealed that their ranking was based on the smoke and mirrors of a bowl win against a not very good TTU team.
Then, number 5 State Penn went down against Iowa for the second straight year. This time, at home in a game characterized by sloppy fourth quarter play:
Your friends may have high-fived you, but your mother is pretty embarrassed right about now
The six possessions that PSU had in the second half included 4 turnovers, a blocked punt, and a blown field goal. What did we learn in unHappy Valley? Either 1) Scheduling cupcakes may not be a healthy diet, 2) The Hawkeyes have got the Lions figured out, 3) PSU might want to rethink the whole “white out” idea, since it’s not a guarantee and may add more pressure, 4) If you decide to go to the “white out” in a costume, be prepared to look like an idiot on national tv….
Rolling right along, number 6 Cal got absolutely worked by the Oregon Knights. As one Cal fan said to me on Saturday- “looks like we started our late season collapse a bit early… you know, to get it out of the way.” Good thinking, that. What’s ironic is that for once, the Ducks didn’t have the ugliest uniforms in the Pacific Northwet. Perhaps they should stick with the classic look; and perhaps the Seahawks should fire whoever came up with those monstrosities. Fire them with real fire.
Number seven LSU needed a late game goal-line stand to hold off Mississippi State, and number 8 Boise State cruised. Number nine Miami dropped an ACC tilt against Virginia Tech- I guess discussions of their resurgence were a bit premature, no? Number ten was idle, and we’ve covered number 11 VaTach. U$C took vengeance on all things Washington by pounding the ‘Cougs. We’ll get to lucky number 13 in a bit- fourteenth ranked Cincinnati and fifteenth ranked TCU both squeaked by their unranked opponents. Number sixteen TBPU destroyed the school of one of my favorite coaches, while Houston earned their number seventeen ranking with a win over Texas Tech (great coaching hire). Elsewheres in the top 25, Georgia held off unranked Arizona State in Tempe and North Carolina fell to Georgia Tech. Florida State… well, they’re Florida State.
Other “interesting” games- Notre Ame needed to rally to beat Purdue (!), Washington proved that it couldn’t keep the momentum going by dropping to Stanford, and Mich1gAAn needed some serious home cooking from the officials to ensure a victory over Indiana.
You read that right, the Hoosiers almost beat TTUN in Ann Arbor. I really hope their QB can hold up until November.
Soo… let’s talk a bit about the number 300. Saturday marked the three hundreth consecutive sell out at Nebraska, a feat that dates back to 1962. That’s a ton of games, as the Sullivans can attest. The Huskers/Bugeaters celebrated with cool throwback uniforms and by beating the andouille out of the Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana Lafayette. Best quote about the streak? “Congratulations, Nebraska fans, for preserving the lone streak Steve Pederson and Bill Callahan couldn’t destroy” Here’s to 300 more, Husker fans.
But that wasn’t the only 300 on Saturday- Ohio State’s Jim Tressel marked his 300th game as the Buckeyes squared off against the Fighting (kinda’) Zooks of Illinois, in the battle for the ugly turtle. Tressel entered the game 220-77-2 and left the game 221-77-2, after #13 Ohio State handed a 30-0 (300?) beating to the Illini. It was a game that saw a bit of everything- a tribute to Woody (0 passing yards in the first half), going for it on fourth and goal (late in the game, too…), and defensive lineman Doug Worthington attempting to fly. Major kudos for anyone who can send me video of the leap of doom. UPDATE- BuckeyeSki from Eleven Warriors with the assist! Thanks man-
Obscure Schools update: Tuskegee was triumphant in the Gateway Classic, while Wartburg easily handled Loras at home.
Coming this week: Conference games continue, as LSU and Georgia kick off the SEC in earnest. Cal tries to rebound against U$C, and Indiana hosts the Buckeyes. The first annual “nicknames that make me giggle” game as Mich1gAAn and MAChigan State square off.
“It’s Ty Willingham’s Fault”- Washington travels to Notre Ame. War Tiger rolls into Rocky Top, and OU heads to the sunny beaches of Miami. Illinois hosts Penn State, Nebraska is off, and TCU welcomes SMU.
And here’s a friendly video from the Mich1gAAn Department of Tourism:
Back Thursday with a visit from June Cleaver’s favorite neighbor.
Here’s the soundtrack for today’s journey in the past. And no, unlike some people, it’s not really Journey.
Arrr, yesterday’s games fell on the national holiday o’ “Talk Like a Pirate Day“. Should we be surprised, then, that the upset o’ the day happened at a place whar people show up in boats? Ahoy, and it warn’t the team that we expected t’ see success. In Piratey news, East Carolina lost to North Carolina. Great Neptune’s mandibles!!
Ok, that’s enough.
But, like TLAPD, the U$C choke to an unranked conference team should become a national holiday, since it happens more frequently than leap year. And given that 5 of the last 6 of these losses have come on the road in the Northwet, there must be something more significant going on. Perhaps the Curse of DB Cooper or something.
Nevertheless, the Trojan Tragedy has sent ripples throughout the college football world. In Los Angeles, fingers are pointing at Surfer Pete, asking again why the coach is unable to keep his team focused. Granted, the starting QB and safety were banged up, but given U$C’s deep pockets of five star talent you’d think they’d be able to beat a team that was 1-15 in their last sixteen games. A team of young men recruited by Ty Willingham. Hmmm… where have we heard that before?
While a post game let-down is to be expected, it didn’t hamper Ohio State who headed to Cleveland and shut out the #5 team in NCAA offense. Toledo, fresh off of their clown stomping of Colorado, was held to 210 total yards and 13 yards rushing. Ohio State’s rebound included 370 yards of offense from “Lebron in Cleats”. Mich1gAAn fans? That’s how you beat Toledo.
To celebrate the “Mistake by the Lake” and the Ohio State recovery, the AP poll decided to drop USC from 3 to 12, and bump tOSU from 11 to… 13. The Buckeyes were jumped by Chokelahoma, who took care of Tulsa on Saturday. However, the team that handed OU their loss got pummeled at home; BYU lost 54-28 to Free Shoes University. And yet, the Sooners didn’t suffer due to the loss of the team that beat them… This, among other things, is the reason that we need to do away with polls until October. But you knew this already.
Around the mid-west, Mich1gAAn managed to cruise against a directional school after struggling in the first half. Notre Ame was the beneficiary of back to back boneheaded decisions by MAChigan State’s sophomore QB, first overthrowing a wide open receiver in the end zone, then sealing the game with an interception at or near the endzone. Penn State continued their “Hosting Hostess” tour, although they did allow Temple to score on their vaunted defense.
SEC action witnessed Auburn holding off the weather and WVa (rats- a burning couch goes great with rain), Arkansas falling to Georgia in a shootout, Calipari’s scandal defeating Pitino’s scandal, and Florida eventually getting around to beating Tennessee in the “our orange is uglier than yours” festival. MSU beat Vandy (really?), and LSU squashed some other team from Cajunland. Old Miss and Alabama combined for 105 points in their wins.
The Huskers lost a well fought road game against a very good Hokie team in the final minutes. True conversation between my beloved and I: Her- “Wow, it’s such a tough loss when you’re winning the whole game and then it falls apart in the last seconds”. Me- “I wouldn’t know what that was like at all.”
Other Big 12 action: Rice couldn’t stick to TBPU, Kansas State blew their one chance to shine in the Rose Bowl, Colorado won while Baylor fell to UConn, Rock Chalk pounded the Cameron Crazies, and the Pirate Cap’n missed out on an opportunity to do Blackbeard proud.
On the Left Coast, toOSU played football from Ohio with predictable results, Washington State won (I know, right?), and Oregon unveiled yet another hideous ensemble in their upset of the Utes. Cal’s Jahvid Best looked to be just that against a chippy Minnesota Team opening their new stadium. Arizona evened the “Big T1e1n Pac Ten challenge” at one each by falling to Iowa.
Elsewheres- TCU continues to roll, Syracuse beat Northwestern in this week’s “They have football teams?” bowl, and Pepperdine remains undefeated. Oh, and this has to be the worst idea of the week- UCF planned a tribute for the African American members of Buffalo’s 1958 team, who rejected a bid to the Tangerine Bowl because their darker hued teammates weren’t allowed to play. Coincidentally, UCF also scheduled a “White Out” for that date, and asked their fans to come dressed in all white. Good thinking.
Small schools update: Bacone got fried by Howard Payne, 56-7.
This week’s games include an Ohio State/Illinois matchup that will prove how much Ron Zook can screw up his team if given a buy week, and an important Kentucky/Florida clash, if the Gators are healthy enough to show up. Maybe St. Tebow can heal them… although, I’m not sure I’d trust his medical experience. Mich1gAAn hosts Indiana, and Kansas welcomes Bret Favrere’s alma mater. Cal and Oregon square off, Nebraska gets whatever’s left from LSU’s blowout, and the marquee game is Miami and Va Tech in a Big lEast showdown. Texas plays UTEP, TBPU welcomes Eddie Robinson’s school, and TCU travels to Clemson. Washington faces off against Stanford, while the Cougs get to be the rebound team for U$C. Notre Ame has to face a Purdon’t team that just lost to a MAC team… That’s not going to end well.
And now, some inspiration for those underachievers in Block O:
High school students. Just sayin’.
