Bert and the boys

It really seemed early on that the Buckeyes were going to run away with the game against Bert Bielema and his Wisconsin Badger boys. When Cory Brown’s punt return for a touchdown put the Buckeyes up 7 followed by a machine-like high tempo drive early in the second quarter that resulted in a Carlos Hyde touchdown giving the Bucks a 14 point lead, the Camp Randall crowd seemed uninterested and it looked like the good guys were going to have their way. We certainly didn’t see the dramatic ending that put this game in … [Read More]

With the Buckeyes leading 14-7 and just over three minutes remaining in the game, Wisconsin had the ball 4th-and-1 from the OSU 2-yard line. We all knew who was getting the football, and Shazier knocked the ball out of Montee Ball’s hands and Christian Bryant recovered, giving the Buckeyes possession and the ability to hold on and get a 14-7 victory in Madison.

Ballgame, right?

Far from it. The Badgers got the ball back and drove 41 yards in 1:25 and quarterback Curt Phillips found Jacob Pederson for a 5-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 and send it to overtime.

In overtime, the Buckeyes scored first on just four plays as Carlos … [Read More]

Janelle

4 Quarters of Offense.We scored with 4 minutes left in the first quarter. I feel like this isn’t quite “early” enough, nor “often” enough for your taste.

Defense…more, please. It was a pretty solid effort from the defense, and probably would have been better if the offense hadn’t coughed the ball up twice. But you really can’t complain with 170 total yards for the Illini.

XBrax360. 223 yards passing, 73 yards running, and 3 total touchdowns. Pretty solid video gamey numbers.

Electricity in the ‘Shoe. Maybe it was electric in the first quarter, but I doubt it lasted much beyond halftime. Cold weather plus a blowout does not electricity make. Not having been there, someone will have to let me know if they felt differently.

WVaBuckeye

No more Illini Dancing on … [Read More]

Through just six games, the Buckeyes have had less than impressive victories over Cal and UAB. But they also had a hard-earned victory on the road against Michigan State and had an offensive outburst in a win over Nebraska.

There’s no denying Meyer’s impact on the Ohio State offense. The Buckeyes rank second in the Big Tne behind the Cornhuskers in total offense (431.5 ypg) and scoring offense (38.5 ppg).

The defense, though? Not so good. OSU ranks sixth in scoring defense at 20.5 points per game and tenth in total defense, giving up 386.5 yards per game. Both numbers will need to improve as the season goes on.

But one thing most Buckeye fans will say is that it is exciting to watch … [Read More]

COACH MEYER:  I want to give a lot of thanks to our crowd, the Buckeye Walk, the skull session.  That was one of the great evenings in Columbus, in Ohio State.  But I really appreciate that. I never want to let that go without telling the fans that.  That was tremendous.  Also, our student body and the quick cals, it’s really cool to watch guys really buy in, not only your team, but the fans. That was ‑‑ from the bottom of my heart, I want to make sure everybody knows that.  I know it’s not a great story, but it’s a great story.  That was a good thing for Ohio State.

Give credit where credit is due.  I thought the first quarter was a trainwreck for

… [Read More]

Contain.Keep Taylor Martinez in the pocket and force him to beat them downfield with his arm. He’s much more dangerous with his feet.

Defensive line dominance. Continue moving the line of scrimmage one to two yards into the backfield. Keep the gaps plugged and force Burkhead to bounce his runs outside.

Be smart. No silly turnovers and penalties from the offense. Nebraska is going to give them a lot of different looks, some they haven’t seen this year. Keep your head in the game.

Carpe Diem. While being smart, enjoy the moment and seize the opportunity! “Who’s going to make a big play first? Me!” should be the thought on everyone’s mind. It’s national television in prime time, this is why you came to Ohio State.

Feed Carlos. Carlos Hyde had a pretty decent game vs Nebraska last year. He took the team, with the offensive line, on … [Read More]

Offensive Consistency.At times this season, and especially last Saturday against Cal, our offense has looked spectacular and unstoppable. At other times it looks as though they’re impersonating themselves from last year. I want to see the offense have more consistency in their production, few or no three and outs.

Receivers that can catch. This goes along with the offensive consistency. The Receivers need to make catches. Sometimes Miller throws the ball too fast or more rarely just in an awful spot… but too many times a good throw has been ruined by the receiver dropping it.

More ground production from halfbacks. Hall had a solid return with 80 or so yards, but never looked particularly flashy. Hardly anyone else even touched the ball. It was nice to see Miller cut back on his carries and give us hope he won’t be injured from pushing himself on the ground, … [Read More]

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!

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 … [Read More]