Buckeye Blogger NetworkJason joins us again with another review of this week’s game…
The old adage of “a win is a win” certainly rang true on Saturday. The Buckeyes performed well enough to walk away with a somewhat convincing win, 31-16 over Central Florida. And this is in way to take away from UCF’s accomplishments Saturday afternoon, but that was what we call an “ugly” win as errors in the secondary, offensive line issues and penalty’s plagued the good guys all afternoon. Let’s look back. 
The back 7
It’s early, but for the second week in a row we have seen major issues in the secondary and back seven in general in passing situations. Corners leaving receivers assuming they have safety help and linebackers chasing slot receivers across the middle are disturbing and happening too frequently. I don’t believe talent is the issue as some of these guys are athletic freaks of nature. A combination of miscommunication and being in the wrong place seem more likely.
Obviously, these are problems the coaching staff will address and get corrected. Sometimes maybe it’s making things simpler. Sometimes it’s a need to take pressure off guys who may be trying to do too much. Other times it’s running the snot out of someone and repeating reps in practice over and over until it sinks in. Whatever the case, Urban Meyer doesn’t strike me as the type of guy who is going to let it work itself out. I imagine he’ll start with conversations with Kerry Coombs, Everett Withers and Luke Fickell. They’ll work it out. Expect improvement.
Gap protection
One of the things I was looking closely at was our defensive line and their gap protection. To be more specific: How would our defensive line protect their holes against a UCF team that was said to have a more conventional running attack in that it was to come more straightforward. Central Florida started the game trying to hit the Buckeye defensive line between the tackles and did have some success early on in finding gaps and exploiting them. But this was very short lived success for the Black Knights (I) for two reasons: 1. Ohio State tightened up and 2. They went away from it shockingly early. Despite early success, UCF shifted to what you see in your everyday spread offense. Read More
We’re excited to add Jason to our merry band of miscreants, and look forward to his weekly “review” of Saturday’s game. If you haven’t already, give him a follow on the old twitter-bot.
| Well here we are. September 1, 2012 has come and gone. Before we get into what we witnessed yesterday, a quick update and comment. Those of you familiar with my ramblings/writings/blogs- I can’t tell you how honored I was to be asked to contribute to this site. To our loyal readers and the great people who write here and run the site, I won’t let you down!For those of you who don’t know me, I take a different look back on the game that has just been completed. I don’t typically get in to the stats of the game, more so the atmosphere and feelings I’m left with after it.Without further ado, let’s get into the bashing that was Ohio State vs. Miami yesterday. |
Jitter bug
I don’t honestly know that things could have looked any worse in the first quarter. Then I think “What if Miami hadn’t dropped so many balls?” and I realize it easily could have. First game jitters and nervous energy seemed to be radiating from the sidelines all the way to the broadcast booth infecting the comments by the stooges giving us play-by-play and analysis on the Big Ten Network.
It had to be expected: New coach and coaches, all new schemes, new pregame rituals on the field, the list goes on and on of “firsts” accomplished on Saturday. All it took was a little spark from the offense and everything seemed to suddenly be right in the state of Ohio. Read More
Much More Successful Than This
As we get closer to Kickoff Week, here’s some quick notes from Ohio State and beyond. Don’t forget to sign up for this year’s “Pick-em” contest!
Buckeye 411
It’s your regularly scheduled look around the world of college sports- a bit more in depth than the tidbits we’ve got after practice. Following Tuesday’s notes, be sure to check the latest on “reform” from the NCAA and thoughts on Penn State’s constant appeals processes.
Buckeye 411
Always. Forever.
Not So Fast… Any speculation about Roby playing offense and defense was shut down by the coaches today. He made a spectacular play on an overthrow today, though- he’s going to be special. However, Corey Brown said that Roby wasn’t the fastest guy on the team, and called him out saying that he (Corey) wasn’t able to run during testing but that he could beat Roby in a race.
Moving Forward
Before Buckeye Nation turned it’s eyes to shootyhoops on Saturday, the 2012 football team took to the field for it’s first full-pad practice of the spring. Here’s some of the things we’ve learned after three days under Coach Meyer:
Several Big Ten teams played bowl games today at around the same time, and nearly every one of them struggled . Ohio State joined that club in their game against the Florida Gators, losing 24-17. The Buckeyes valiantly attempted to stage a comeback in the game down 14 with 3 minutes left, but were unable to secure the onside kick with under a minute left. Braxton Miller showed some impressive passing at the tail end of the game, ending the game 18/23 for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns.
This is the first time since 1897 that Ohio State has had 7 losses in a single season, and the first time since 1946 that the team has lost 4 games in a row. It is the first time since 1988, John Cooper’s first season, that the Buckeyes have suffered a losing season.
The Florida Gators started the game with the football in excellent field position. Drew Basil was unable to keep the ball from going out of bounds at the one yard-line off a bounce on the opening kick. The error gave the ball to the Gators at the 40 yard line, where Florida quickly built a big head of steam running the ball to the left edge. Surprisingly, showing an early aggression that they haven’t been able to find all season, the OSU defense managed to respond quickly and force Florida into a fumble.
Boom Herron started things off for the Buckeyes going the other way with a couple nice runs up the middle. The Bucks were also helped by a Florida late hit on Braxton Miller as he was going out of bounds, eventually allowing the Buckeyes to work it down inside the 40. Unfortunately, the Gator defense stiffened and got a pair of sacks to put OSU in a 3rd and 18. Jim Bollman chose to go conservative and run a QB draw, hedging on the punt and the field position battle.
Read More
Today’s the day. The Buckeyes finally get a shot at a little payback against the Florida Gators at 1 PM in the Gator Bowl.
Our Buckeye Blogger friends will be joining us at 12:30 pm today to enjoy the game. You should go see what they’ve had to say about it! the Buckeye Blog, OSU Silver Bullet, Scarlet and Game, Buckeye House Call, Our Honor Defend, Men of the Scarlet and Gray, and Fox Sports Ohio.
Go Bucks!
Prizes for everyone!!
Today was the football team banquet; here’s who was honored:
Congratulations to these Buckeyes and all who were acknowledged during the season ending event!
