Buckeye Blogger Network
Defensive Pressure you say? Bradley Roby hungry!
Pass the ball!There was definitely some passing, though perhaps not quite as on-target as we may have hoped. 16-30 for 249 yards and 4 touchdowns (with a pick) is certainly nothing to sneeze at.
Run it up. Not as much of a “cakewalk” as you expected, was it? We did pick up more than Cal’s defense was averaging, but only by 4 points.
Bri’onte scoring again. Mr. Dunn did not even touch the ball on Saturday – except on a 22 yard kick return – let alone house it.
Pass rush. Definitely a significant improvement here! The pass rush was much more aggressive than we’ve seen in previous games, and led to more than a few sacks.
Braxton getting less than 15 carries. This is a case of “careful what you wish for”. Braxton got less than 15 carries, but it seemed terribly contrived, and may have caused him to hesitate a bit longer than he should have a couple times.
Secondary issues gone. I think this one speaks for itself. I’ll spare you the hideous laughter…this time.
Down field passing. Ignoring the types of routes, we definitely saw some downfield passing. We even saw a couple completions – one big one to Smith for 72 yards, another to Stoneburner for 40, and one to Philly Brown for 21.
A Lot To Work On
Ugly.
That’s all there is to it. That game was simply ugly.
In a game that was a lot closer than it seemed it should be during the 2nd quarter, the Buckeyes evaded the Cal Golden Bears 35-28. California did an excellent job of keeping the game close until halftime before putting in their 46 defense as an adjustment to confuse the Buckeye offense. The result was a motivated Cal team that managed to take the lead early in the 4th quarter. The Buckeyes regained control only to see it get tied up again. A final deep shot over a corner and safety that had bit on a possible Braxton Miller run gave Devin Smith the go-ahead Buckeye Touchdown.
This team has a long way to go before they’re going to be anything like what Urban Meyer wants to see on the field. The defense still seems to have communication problems, and also struggles to tackle. This is not the kind of defense that’s going to do well against the Big Ten at this point. They need to really get it together if they want to be even a half-way decent OSU defense. That said, it was the defense that had to dig deep at the end and stop California to secure the victory. They have it in them, but it isn’t quite there yet. Hat tip to Christian Bryant for picking up the interception to secure the victory.
Props to Jeff Tedford and company for their great gameplan, including the confusing use of the 46 defense. If not for their field goal kicker missing three shots during the course of the game, this might have been a different story in the end.
As for the offense, it has its moments. It is pretty clear that they aren’t 100% there on understanding the system, but they’re taking the steps towards getting there. At some point, this offense is going to be insane – but that may not happen until next year.
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!
Jeff wants to see more #25 in the endzone.
Pass the ball!California has allowed 260 yards per game through the air…and that was against Nevada and Southern Utah. In a game where we should be leaning on the passing game more because of injuries, it’s nice to know that it’s the weakness of the opposition. The Thunderbirds actually threw for FOUR touchdowns against these guys (that’s Southern Utah, by the way).
Run it up. Cal allowed 31 points in each of their first two games…again, to Nevada and Southern Utah. This game should be a cakewalk, so let’s rack up the points and make it fun.
Bri’onte scoring again. Bri’onte Dunn went to the same high school as I did (and has the best use of the apostrophe since Butler By’not’e), so I have a place in my heart for him. Let’s get him some more scoring opportunities.
Pass rush. we have too much talent on our D-line to not be getting constant quarterback pressure.
Braxton getting less than 15 carries. I dont mind Braxton getting carries but 20+ per game is too many. I would also like to see the RBs be more effective along with the passing game.
Secondary issues gone. I’m not sure what has been going on the first couple weeks. I understand lack of pass rush but there have been quite a few breakdowns downfield.
Down field passing. I would like to see smith and brown running the go routes and skinny posts. Some corner routes as well as hitting stoneburner up the seem as well.
The “traditional” Pac-10/Big 12 matchup turns into the now Pac-12/Big ## matchup. At least they got a couple of traditional teams…
The Basics: Wednesday, December 28th, 2011, 8:00 PM EST on ESPN, from Sand Diego. California (7-5, 4-5 Pac 12) and Texas (7-5, 4-5 Big 12).
History: As with many of the other bowl games, we have covered this one a couple of times over the last few years. While this is a Pac 12/Big 12 matchup these days, it originally started out as the destination of the WAC champion. It sure has come a long way from those humble roots.
California: The Golden Bears are the jack-of-all-trades this year. Good at everything, master at nothing, their per-game averages rank in the 40′s in many of the major categories. It’s enough to beat you, but not by a lot. For Buckeye fan’s reference, the Cal Bears only managed to beat the Colorado Buffaloes 36-33 in OT. They did almost catch Stanford closer to the end of the year, and definitely improved over the last few games.
Texas: The Longhorns have simply not been the same since losing to Alabama in the National Championship. They did manage to improve this season, and with Colt McCoy’s brother, Case McCoy, slinging the football they should be good going forward. This year, however, they’ll be depending on their 19th ranked running game far more than the passing game.
Who we got?
