Scarlet and Grey 2013

Remember back around the last week of December and on through New Year’s when everyone was upset and moaning about the Buckeyes not being bowl eligible? Seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it? I told you time would fly by, and here we are with summer camp and the 2013 season opener as the next events on the Ohio State football schedule.

Like a lot of you I wasn’t able to logon to the Big Ten Network’s live stream of the game or listen to the radio play-by-play online. I followed along on twitter for some of the pregame and a little bit of the first quarter and decided to wait it out and stay away from it until the BTN broadcast … [Read More]

Granted, we didn’t really “learn” much in this practice with a scoreboard, but there were some things that stood out. We’ll continue to talk more about this in the coming days, but I’m excited about the pistol formation that we saw throughout the scrimmage… yet another angle to attack and destroy.

We all identified things that we were looking for- let’s see how our folks did. We’ll be using my elaborate and completely subjective scoring system which awards as follows: 2 points for a correct answer, 1 point for a partial, mockery for everything else.

Thanks again to our friend Josh Winslow for his great photo coverage!

What player scores the first points of the game? Correct Answer: Braxton to Smith

• WVa: Braxton Miller on
… [Read More]

Buckeye 411

• We Talkin’ About Practice? Tuesday was a return to the WHAC for the Buckeyes after Spring Break, and it sounds as if it was a bit of a “rusty day” for the Scarlet and Gray. No need to panic, though- this is typical for teams the first time they put the pads on in the spring or in the fall.
• Injury Update- Barrett, Shazier, Wood, and Bogard were in “orange” jerseys today, although JT was taking mental reps behind Braxton as the practice went along. Jordan Hall had
… [Read More]

The Gator Bowl- The year started out with the Buckeyes in the Gator Bowl taking on the Florida Gators. The outcome and subsequent bowl ban clearly make this one of our “worst of” for the year. The catch to it that makes me crazy is listening to everyone now talk about it like they knew that the bowl ban was coming. From Gordon Gee to Gene Smith and down the line to all of us, everyone thought they would be getting probation and reduced scholarships for “Tattoo-gate”. The revisionists out there like to destroy Smith for … [Read More]

Air it out. Well, Braxton did some work on the passing game, and probably would have thrown more passes than he has in any game all season if he hadn’t gotten hurt. Considering Guiton tossed 10 (not counting his spike), that matches up fairly well.

The obvious… The defense actually did a pretty damn fine job. The first touchdown pass was fairly boneheaded, and Purdue victimized us on the edge with the throw-back passes and screens (but, honestly, we saw that coming). Most importantly, when it mattered most, they got the job done.

Special Teams keep being special. The special teams certainly had an impact. The positive side were the two blocked kicks. The negative side was the 100-yard kickoff return.

No sleepy nooner. It was sleepy for the better part of 4 quarters. It woke itself right up at the end, though.

Color coordinate. The pink out looked … [Read More]

Air it out. I’d like to see Braxton Miller get back to work on the passing game. Test Purdue’s corners with some shots deep.

The obvious… All around improvement on defense.

Special Teams keep being special. Return a kick/punt, block a punt of field goal, special teams keep having an impact. It’s contagious and, maybe more importantly, can get into opponents heads before a game even starts.

No sleepy nooner. The game kicks-off at high noon, no excuse for The Shoe not to be electric and rocking. This team is 7-0, you’re there anyway, don’t sit on your hands and not be loud.

Color coordinate. “Pink Out The Shoe” is the theme this week to support breast cancer awareness. Typically these color coordinate attempts are a terrific failure at Ohio Stadium. This one shouldn’t be. Get a pink t-shirt or sweatshirt and wear it to the game. Then be … [Read More]

Stay on the Gas. Part Two. Well, it wasn’t the 100 point game. The offense did their best to keep their end of the bargain up, but the defense decided to sleep on the job.

Young Guns. Part ?. We saw quite a few young guns in the defense, which may have hurt us more than it helped. The offensive side of the ball, however, saw very few young guns doing anything productive – beyond Rod Smith’s 6 carries for 40 yards anyway.

Freak Show Coming together. Just About. We got a blocked punt for a TD thanks to Travis Howard. Rod Smith also did a fair job on the kick-off returns. Balance that with a blocked punt for Indiana and a missed field goal.

End the Misconception.  Well, we did not manage to end any misconceptions, when we needed just about every point we scored to claim the … [Read More]

Since Eric is at a wedding and Tim’s got work, you’re stuck with me for the recap.  Buckle up.

First Quarter

Braxton was able to get enough of the passing game going over the middle of the field to keep the Hoosiers honest, and found Jake Stoneburner for an early first down catch on a close call.  A pass interference call kept the Ohio State drive alive, and Braxton made a good read on an option pitch to Corey Brown for the first Buckeye score. After a three and out by IU, the Buckeyes took over again and began to feed Carlos Hyde. … [Read More]