OSU - UCF

[e0y2e3]

Don't sleep on UCF, that is a pretty good football team.

Game notes (biggest note is that Michael Bennet reinjured himself in warm-ups last Saturday and is not slated to start again).

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/osu ... 903aaa.pdf

[jb]

Don't sleep on UCF, that is a pretty good football team.

Game notes (biggest note is that Michael Bennet reinjured himself in warm-ups last Saturday and is not slated to start again).

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/osu ... 903aaa.pdf

Agree.

Bright side is a L would bring the Phist back in the fold.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

UCF will not have their starting RB.

[JCoz]

They are talented, I dont know that it would be enough to take the points in the game though.

[Gradysmanldy]

Win or lose, happy to see tOSU play some real competition early. I'd rather they lose a tough one to UCF than be ill prepared for MSU or Purdue. (not to mention those bastards up north who definitely aren't smelling their own farts anymore after Saturday)

[Cerebral_DownTime]

OSU- 31

UCF- 20

[FUDU]

I'm not a fan of college football ~ Macphisto

[Larvell Blanks]

I'm not a fan of Big 10 college football. Big East is where it's at ~ Macphisto

FIFY

[e0y2e3]

WhackPhisto never spoke about UCF, he as a USF/UF/scUM fan morons.

[peeker643]

WhackPhisto never spoke about UCF, he as a USF/UF/scUM fan morons.

He's shaping and creating the next President of the United States anyway. He has no time for shenanigans like this.

[Larvell Blanks]

WhackPhisto never spoke about UCF, he as a USF/UF/scUM fan morons.

I guarantee were he trolling these boards he'd be a UCF fan, especially this week. He also would have hung out w/ it's infamous alumni like Terence Trent D'Arby and Daniel Tosh, mosyt likely contributing to their fame (fleeting fame in the case of TTD)

[furls]

UCF is a much better team than Miami (U or University of..). That said, they still don't have the horses to compete with this team if they come out clicking. I doubt the Bucks stall in the first quarter like they did last week, and frankly Miami's three step drop spread offense had a better chance of putting up yardage and moving the ball than UCF's more traditional offense.

I think we see a more dominating defensive effort this week (even though the yardage will probably be similar). I like tOSU to put up similar offensive numbers (probably not the same points). Thinking something like 45-10.

[JCoz]

UCF is a much better team than Miami (U or University of..). That said, they still don't have the horses to compete with this team if they come out clicking. I doubt the Bucks stall in the first quarter like they did last week, and frankly Miami's three step drop spread offense had a better chance of putting up yardage and moving the ball than UCF's more traditional offense.

I think we see a more dominating defensive effort this week (even though the yardage will probably be similar). I like tOSU to put up similar offensive numbers (probably not the same points). Thinking something like 45-10.

I agree, I think they are going to have a much tougher go moving the football than Miami did. We should get some extended action from Grant and I am really interested to see if we have a MLBer in him or not.

You hope to see alot of improvement in the offense 1st to 2nd game, and I expect to see them put up points but it wouldn't surprise me to see this offensive line struggle this week, so we will see.

[JCoz]

There are a bunch of fans getting all riled up about O'Leary saying the shoe isnt very loud and the fans sit on their hands....well, for noon games vs unranked opponants, he's probably right. I was there for wisconsin a few years ago and was very unimpressed with the noise.

You can't take 8pm starts vs USC and UT at some example of how the Shoe is every Saturday at noon.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

There are a bunch of fans getting all riled up about O'Leary saying the shoe isnt very loud and the fans sit on their hands....well, for noon games vs unranked opponants, he's probably right. I was there for wisconsin a few years ago and was very unimpressed with the noise.

You can't take 8pm starts vs USC and UT at some example of how the Shoe is every Saturday at noon.

No.

He's wrong. Flat out.

Sincerely,

A guy who goes to multiple games a year.

[JCoz]

Well, "sit on thier hands" is hyperbole, but the Shoe is not all that loud at noon games either way.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Well, "sit on thier hands" is hyperbole, but the Shoe is not all that loud at noon games either way.

lol.

Compared to what?

[JCoz]

Well, "sit on thier hands" is hyperbole, but the Shoe is not all that loud at noon games either way.

lol.

Compared to what?

Compared to the night games I guess is my only real comparison. I've been to FSU and that was similair (as a conference noon game comp)

I went to a game vs Wisconsin a few years ago, had great seats, it was the year they crushed us in every relevent statistic except TO's and Scoreboard, really strange game to watch. Anyways the age groupd around me was 45-70 and was very unimpressive.

My thing is people keep saying "ask Barkley if its loud".... well the Shoe on saturday wont even be in the same stratosphere with that game, no matter what O'Leary says.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Well, "sit on thier hands" is hyperbole, but the Shoe is not all that loud at noon games either way.

lol.

Compared to what?

Compared to the night games I guess is my only real comparison. I've been to FSU and that was similair (as a conference noon game comp)

I went to a game vs Wisconsin a few years ago, had great seats, it was the year they crushed us in every relevent statistic except TO's and Scoreboard, really strange game to watch. Anyways the age groupd around me was 45-70 and was very unimpressive.

My thing is people keep saying "ask Barkley if its loud".... well the Shoe on saturday wont even be in the same stratosphere with that game, no matter what O'Leary says.

You got stuck in an old folks section, which probably did suck.

I've been to just about every stadium in the Big 10, except Nebraska, and I think it ranks right up there with the other stadiums...... maybe PSU is a notch above.

[Larvell Blanks]

I've been to just about every stadium in the Big 10, except Nebraska, and I think it ranks right up there with the other stadiums...... maybe PSU is a notch above.

Did the locals have fun with you in Happy Valley?

[motherscratcher]

iDK Coz, I've been to a shitload of games and it always seemed loud when it was supposed to be. I'm sure you're right that the non conference blowouts aren't the same as a night game vs USC, but why would it be?

If O'Leary can keep his boys in it, rest assured it will be plenty loud in there.

does anyone know how the non conference games worked out with the switch to semesters? Are there more students in there during these pre B1G season games now?

[Cerebral_DownTime]

I've been to just about every stadium in the Big 10, except Nebraska, and I think it ranks right up there with the other stadiums...... maybe PSU is a notch above.

Did the locals have fun with you in Happy Valley?

I've been there twice, neither time did I so much as have the slightest bit of a problem. I had a good time there, the sections I sat in treated us all fine.

[JCoz]

You got stuck in an old folks section, which probably did suck.

I've been to just about every stadium in the Big 10, except Nebraska, and I think it ranks right up there with the other stadiums...... maybe PSU is a notch above.

Yeah they were old and taking up at least a seat and a half each....

[fairvis]

I've been there twice, neither time did I so much as have the slightest bit of a problem. I had a good time there, the sections I sat in treated us all fine.

Penn State was the worst stadium experience for me over my years in TBDBITL. Whereas Michigan fans would just scream at you (and complain about you standing, prompting a Michigan sideline official to scream at us to sit down for 3 quarters in 2005, until we decided to just say "fuck it" and stand during the 4th), and fans in other stadiums were rather friendly (Purdue, Michigan State, Indiana, etc.), PSU fans were not. During the night game in '05, we had urine, full and empty bottles of beer, batteries, blowup dolls, food, etc. thrown at us marching into the stadium... and then required police protection while we were in the stands. When the game turned for the worse, we had to high-tail it out of there before we got mobbed. Worst game of my life.

However, the white-out night game was loud. Not as loud as it was in the 'Shoe for Texas in '05, but still LOUD. The 'Shoe is louder then Michigan Stadium as well. Although in '05 I had never heard a sweeter silence then when Gonzo came down with that ball.

But yes, noon non-conference games are fairly bleh. I can remember the BG game in '03 (the Scotty Mac game) where it only got loud at the end in an oh-shit kind of way. And the NC State triple overtime was pretty loud as well.

[motherscratcher]

Yeah, I was at thatNCST game.

I haven't been to other stadiums so I have nothing to compare it to, but that seemed pretty damn loud. I'm not saying the Shoe is " the loudest ever!!!" but I'm not sure how anyone can notice much of a difference between these stadiums when it gets like that.

[e0y2e3]

I'm not sure what is more amusing now, self-concious C-Bus fans raging about semi-true comments or Republicans inventing ways Rommney can win the election.

Regardless or which is funnier, the boards are chalk full of hilarity right now.

And we still have the melt-down post Browns game to look forward to.

[motherscratcher]

Yes, look at all the self conscious C-Bus fans RAGING!!!

[furls]

Well, "sit on thier hands" is hyperbole, but the Shoe is not all that loud at noon games either way.

I tend to agree with you on this one with one caveat. That is a newer development because they have basically made every interesting game an afternoon/evening game. The 'shoe is pretty quiet against crappy ass noon game non conference opponents. It is a totally different animal for a 3:30 kick against Iowa or some other middle tier B1G team, and it is night and day for an evening game.

[furls]

I was at the '05 Texas game and it was LOUD. I was at the '06 scUM game and it was HOLY FUCKING SHIT LOUD. I felt like I was standing in front of the speakers at a Who concert.

The loudest I have ever heard the shoe was during the '03 (?) Purdue game when the Bucks recovered a fumble in the endzone at the end of the game to tie it and push it to OT. It was so freaking loud my daughter crumbled and started bawling and could not recover even after the stadium calmed down. We had to leave before the OT started.

[pod2dawg]

There are a bunch of fans getting all riled up about O'Leary saying the shoe isnt very loud and the fans sit on their hands....

Just curious, does anyone know if O'Leary ever did finish up that Master's?

[pup]

I remember the NC State game. Wasn't there, but it was close to causing a new Guiness Record for shortest wedding. Maybe Swerb can expound on the details

[furls]

The offense is sucking right now. Why have they completely abandoned the pass? This is looking a lot like the Rich Rod offense, that is not what I signed up for!

[furls]

UCF is stacking the box, as much as you can against a spread, it will be interesting to see what adjustments they make following the half. I suspect we will see a couple of bubble screens, although I would really like to see some bootleg looks and vertical TE routes. The LBs are just playing the option, so you should be able to get TEs past them.

Howard and Roby have been awesome the first two games. I am still scratching my head on how Christian Bryant graded out so well last week. He is playing pretty poorly this week too. Surprisingly, O. Johnson has looked pretty solid today and made some pretty decent plays.

They are still not getting any pressure on the QB. DL play has been pretty pedestrian against the run and the pass.

[furls]

Oh yeah, still not impressed with Carlos Hyde, he is a Rich Man's Maurice Hall.

[furls]

Loved that call to rush 3 on 3rd and 21. That always seems to work out! Doesn't matter how good your secondary is, if you give the QB all day, a pocket to set his feet in and throwing lanes, he will make you pay!

I was hoping that the rush 3 would go away when Meyer took over, but I guess not.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

This pass rush is lame as shit.

[FUDU]

Actually I see more Beanie Wells in Hyde than Hall. I'm not saying he is as good as Beanie I'm just saying he has some similarities but he doesn't seem to be able to bring it all together consistently enough.

Our D is definitely disappointing at times in this early season.

[FUDU]

Can never understand how a Braxton Miller can not run on those plays and instead take a sack.

[furls]

Actually I see more Beanie Wells in Hyde than Hall. I'm not saying he is as good as Beanie I'm just saying he has some similarities but he doesn't seem to be able to bring it all together consistently enough.

Our D is definitely disappointing at times in this early season.

He is pretty much the opposite of Beanie Wells:

Wells had:
-Amazing feet
-Exceptional quickness
-Elite Vision
Those 3 attributes (along with a good stiffarm) characterize Beanie Wells. Hyde is below average (for an OSU back) in all 3 of those areas. He is either a richman's Maurice Hall (stronger and faster) or a poorman's Brandon Saine (slower).

[furls]

This pass rush is lame as shit.

Pass rush is awful and the run D has been ordinary against a mediocre team. The Buckeyes are going to have to take chances and dial up the blitzes. The DL is not disruptive.

The more I watch this D the more convinced I am becoming that the real stength is the paper thin secondary. There have been some breakdowns, but they are making a lot more plays.

[danwismar]

^^^^^(My view from 8 rows up in 23AA)

Box score...Stats...Play by Play here:

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports ... 12ucf.html

A few reflections on the game:

Suppose we shouldn't be disappointed in a double-digit win over a pretty decent team...but I really was.

defense playing zone coverages and then getting no pressure is terribly frustrating to watch. Safeties getting run over by running backs sucks too. Running backs who don't know where to go can't always be bailed out by a slippery QB.

Rod Smith...anyone still wondering why he doesn't play? With Hyde hurt (and I agree with Furls that even he is nothing special as an OSU tailback) a position of depth isn't anymore...although I do like what I've seen from Dunn so far. Hope Hall is back this week, or they could be in trouble.

I still think Christian Bryant had a good day in the opener...but agree with Furls that he was pretty awful this week (even though he led team in tackles) Getting toasted on Storm Johnson's long run was inexcusable...Sabino too on that run...

Orhian Johnson is an improvement at Star...Meyer said in the postgame that he had some input in the decision to play OJ, based on practice performance and crazy athleticism.

Could hardly believe how many runs they called for Braxton, especially after the talk all week that 17 carries was too many last week. (Someone please tell Tom Herman!)

Thought the offensive line was pretty solid all game...Linsley is really playing well at center, and Norwell-Mewhort on the left side can be devastating. Up in the air still on Marcus Hall at RG.

Meyer is refreshingly candid in postgame..."we've got to find a running back who can play a little" he told the on field reporter after the game. Makes no bones about lack of pass rush...too many big plays allowed in passing game, etc. Owns up to his own decision-making errors. I really like that aspect of the new guy. Also like how he defends his guys and their effort etc...at the same time he's ripping them for not being very good as a team.

Shoe got pretty loud at times...also new sound system is a huge improvement and HD scoreboard with bigger screen is a big step up.

Can't see them in shot above, but Troy Smith, Bobby Carpenter and J.B. Shugarts were standing right in front of us most of the game. I think Shugarts only had two false starts.

[FUDU]

The biggest difference I see (between the Meyer way and the JT way) in watching just two games is how much more trust Meyer puts into his players on the field.

I understand for JT that had a lot to do with his style of playing close to the vest etc, but it is very refreshing in a sense to see a coach like Meyer (who could easily be egotistical and controlling) let go of some of that urge to control that a coach might have.

[JCoz]

My Thoughts on the game:

I'm with Dan in that it was about as disappointing a double digit win can be.

Starting in the back of the D, the Corners played well, OJ played the game of his career and was far, far better than Brown last week. Bryant played ok beyond the awful, awful angle he took on Storm Johnson's big run. Barnett had another shitty week, really disappointed in his play so far this season.

The Linebackers are just awful right now. I cannot believe that our LBers are so bad right now at OSU that Sabino is playing in the nickel. He is bad, bad, bad. Shazier is more just disappointing because of the expectations, but he isn't playing very well either. Grant hasn't been on the field so I cant comment on him.

I agree to a point on the DL Furls, but the rush D has been much better than you are saying above. Taking away the big play they had about 50 yards on 20+ carries, the rush D is decent, its just that certain plays just stick in your head, like the Storm play and the one where it took 15 buckeyes to bring down a back.

As much as I like him, have to say that Simon has been a non-factor, every time I see him the QB is just rolling away from him and he never gets there, if we expect to have any pass rush we NEED to rush 4 and Spence needs to play opposite of Simon. Hankins has been playing well but he seemed to take some time to come on in this game. Washington looks fantastic on the inside, the DT's in general are really earning their keep IMO.

On offense, I don’t have much good to say either. They regressed this week, pure and simple. There must have been 6-7 busted plays, and not at OLINE like you’d expect but at the QB/RB exchange. It got Brax hit an extra half-dozen times. This week the offense honestly didn’t look much different than it did last year. Brax was the only one accomplishing anything. It didn’t look organized, and he will get killed by game 6 if they have anymore games like this. On the bright side Brax's throws were more accurate and showed signs of life.

Question – How many times has Braxton pitched the ball here? I’m feeling pretty secure putting the over/under at 2. Place your bets.

Thought I’d enjoy watching this offense more than I am so far. Surprised at the lack of bubble screens so far, I dont think we are doing a great job keeping defenses honest.

On to the next game.

[furls]

Good Stuff Jcoz.

The LB has not been good, but the scheme is worse. The LB play seems extremely tentative and I cannot really tell what they are asking these guys to do. The scheme seems so passive (or the players are just playing passive). It is hard to watch. There is no attack in this defense, it starts when they drop a DE into pass coverage and rush 3 and it culminates with weak tackling. Go take a look at the way 'Bama's LBs and safeties were hitting.... Braxton Miller would not have survived if he had been playing 'Bama and ran the ball 27 times. Shazier played great last year because he just ran around and made plays; they have put a muzzle on the kid this year. Sabino is not playing well and he should be on the bench. I can't stand this Nickel D we are playing. I think it is time to get Perkins/Marcus/Williams/Roberts/Perry some PT, man it would be nice to get Curtis Grant on the field too!

Simon looks like a slow LB blitzing B or C gap, because at WDE that is really what he is, a big, strong, slow LB. He plays best inside, he has never been all that good at getting to the QB, so it is not surprising that he is struggling again this year. He really struggles with long athletic tackles, he doesn't have the speed to get outside and once they get their hands on him, he is done. The space eaters inside have been playing very well. I am particularly suprised by the strong play out of Schutt. Schutt will be the starting NT next year, so these reps are valuable. I was expecting Washington to play well (at DE) this year. Spence just isn't strong enough; he will get there, but he is absolutely quick enough.

The offense is terrible, it is Dick Rod meets Cleveland Browns west coast dink and dunk (Jeff Garcia Era). Not nearly enough intermediate routes and the RBs are just so ordinary that it is sad. I cannot believe that we thought RB was a position of strength. I am hoping Dunn takes Hyde's job during his injury. Why are they even running options for BM if he is never going to hand it off?

That said, there has been some improvement in the position groups.... how 'bout those WRs? They look pretty damn good. The OL play is MUCH improved. Corey Linsley may be the next Mangold (pay attention to this later). The kid is playing out of his mind. Mewhort has been very impressive too. Miller looks great.

I think the biggest part of the problem is that we build some of these kids up to some ridiculous level. Based on the commentary going into the season I thought John Simon may actually kill players on the field this year. I found myself starting to buy the hype early in summer, until I rewatched some games from 2011. Simon is almost a clone of Mike Kudla, another oversized, powerful, slow LB playing DE. How many times have you read that player XXX was the next Ted Ginn? I know Ginn has been a bust as an NFL player, but he was a rare talent in college. We do it to ourselves and we only have ourselves to blame when it turns out that Rod Smith is not in fact the next Eddie George or Corey Linsley is not the next Nick Mangold; he never claimed he was, we did.

[pod2dawg]

^^^ Very good stuff. I HAVE to believe Urban is holding back in the playbook, on both sides of the ball.
For what you ask? Michigan State
This scheme , with these limitations cannot beat Sparty.
B. Miller will never keep this pace up running it and finish the season.
I pray you are right in that the scheme makes the LB's invisible.
I really think Urb is being conservative, trying to make do with what he was left with , we will evolve radically as the season progresses.

[e0y2e3]

My problems are simple:

1) The defensive scheme, neither Sabino or Shazier was made to drop and play passive like we constantly are doing, not to mention the fact that Grant can't even get on the field because we've fallen back into this gawd damn nickel D trap.

2) The D-Ends. Seriously, we're playing Hankins at D-End because Bennett is hurt? Like, that really happened? Whatever excuse the D makes about wanting Hankins lined up on the big UCF TE is just that, an excuse and ridiculous. Simon was double teamed all day long and he will stay double teamed when we are lining up 1 and 3 techs as the other D-End. Uhg.

[e0y2e3]

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2012/09/1 ... r-pressure

[furls]

My problems are simple:

1) The defensive scheme, neither Sabino or Shazier was made to drop and play passive like we constantly are doing, not to mention the fact that Grant can't even get on the field because we've fallen back into this gawd damn nickel D trap.

2) The D-Ends. Seriously, we're playing Hankins at D-End because Bennett is hurt? Like, that really happened? Whatever excuse the D makes about wanting Hankins lined up on the big UCF TE is just that, an excuse and ridiculous. Simon was double teamed all day long and he will stay double teamed when we are lining up 1 and 3 techs as the other D-End. Uhg.

The nickel trap is that, we are playing the nickel not taking any risks, keeping the plays in front of us, and not losing.... therefore it is a good defense! tOSU has played this defense against Spreads for a long time, but now it is actually becoming our base against teams like UCF... ugh. PASSIVE.

We have better athletes, inside and outside. Let them make plays. If Roby is a fraction as good as we are led to believe he should be fine against 90% of the NCAA in man coverage. Howard is playing lights out right now, let him man up too.