Block O Table

Good evening Buckeye fans! I hope you’ve been enjoying our Morning Hives and also our Urban Week installments. Today, I took the reigns of the Block O Table to recap what the boys discussed last week. Apologies to Dan and Chris for not adding two more seats to the table. Space is tight down in these basements.

To recap, Vico kicked off our Urban discussion talking about how Meyer will shape the current roster with existing players and recruits. Tuesday, Dan broke down the potential (and in some cases hopeful) changes among the offensive and defensive coaching staffs. Wednesday, Chris analyzed how Meyer’s big game record adds pressure to virtually every aspect of his decision-making process in his time at Ohio State. Next up was Charles, who looked at the player arrest record under Meyer’s tenure at Florida and what (if anything) does this indicate about the type of players going through his camp. Finally, Michael brought it home (yay, cliches!) by discussing Meyer’s return to the Buckeye state.

Today’s questions touch on information from last week’s content, as well as some general conversation I’ve noticed circulating on Twitter, the blogosphere and in the media. We have a lot to discuss so here are the questions in case you want to jump to a specific issue:

- Will Urban be bringing in talent from other regions, previously untapped by recruiting strategies? If so, do you think this will take away spots that normally go to Ohio and PA kids?

- Do you think Ohio State is going to become an untouchable super-power in the B1G or do you think this will be a chance for the other schools to step up their games in terms of recruiting, coaching staffs, etc.?

- Do you think this speaks to the stereotypical moral quality of SEC players or do you think Meyer doesn’t have a high regard for personal player development?

-How long do you think it will take for Meyer to lead the Buckeyes in another national championship win? Do you even think he will get another national championship win?

- Do you think Urban Meyer will have a longer tenure at Ohio State than Jim Tressel? If so, do you think this will be his final coaching job?

- And a bonus question, because everybody likes extra credit: Even though he won’t be coaching the game, do you think the Meyer hiring had any impact on the  selection of Florida and Ohio State for the Gator Bowl?

As always, jump in on the conversation. We love new friends and feedback!

Let’s go!

1. Vico discussed recruiting last week. One thing he didn’t touch on was if he thought Urban Meyer will be able to tap into new areas that Ohio State normally doesn’t get recruits from. Do you guys think he’s going to be able to bring in talent from other regions? If so, do you think this will take away spots that normally go to Ohio and PA kids?

Charles: I suspect that Ohio and Pennsylvania will continue to be the source for the majority of OSU’s recruits, there is just too much talent there to pass up and building a wall around Ohio is very important.  Since Meyer’s most recent recruiting experience has mostly been in the southeast, I suspect we will see Ohio State  recruiting that area more as it is the area that Meyer knows best.  This will lead to a few less scholarships going to Ohio and PA kids but I suspect that we will continue to get the top talent out of the area, especially with Penn State’s issues.

Dan: Meyer has made one thing absolutely clear when it comes to recruiting; he’s going to go after the best players wherever they may be. Whether it’s trying to flip the top defensive end in Pennsylvania, or steal a 5-star Florida State QB commit out of Alabama, he is putting his money where his mouth is. Obviously, Ohio and PA will continue to be the backbone of most Ohio State recruiting classes, but I expect with Meyer on board, the Buckeyes will pull more recruits out of the south than ever before.

Chris: The pipeline to the South is now wide open. The Buckeyes under Tressel had made some headway into Florida (see: Michael Brewster, Jordan Hall) but I think now you’ll see athletes that never would have even thought about coming north suddenly giving it a second thought. We’ve already seen this in Raequan Southward and Jameis Winston. The Ohio/Pennsylvania recruits will continue to pour in, as they always do, but I think that under Meyer, we’re going to be able to be more selective in whom we offer scholarships to.

Michael: I believe Meyer will pull in a few blue chippers from the SEC’s clutches, but the bread and butter will always be Ohio. Meyer knows the importance of winning the top talent at home and then finding the best outside players to add to the team’s strength and depth.

I agree with Dan here. Meyer is committed to the best, wherever they come from, so of course we’re going to see some guys from new areas and it will be awesome. Ohio and PA just so happens to produce some of the best, making it impossible for these kids to go away. We can’t really afford to start outsourcing as opposed to taking local talent. However, if we need, say, wide receivers and the wide receivers from the south who want to go here are better than the ones from Ohio, we’re probably going to take whoever would be the best fit for the team. Being at a MACTION school for my graduate degree, I do wonder if some of the Ohio kids who get passed up by Ohio State will choose to stay close and have a greater chance at being a star on one of the six Ohio MAC teams or if they’ll venture out into other waters within the B1G.

2. Do you think Ohio State is going to become an untouchable super-power in the B1G or do you think this will be a chance for the other schools to step up their games in terms of recruiting, coaching staffs, etc.?

Charles: I think we will likely see Ohio State return to being the team to beat in the Big Ten, after a one year layoff, but I do not think that we will be untouchable.  The rest of the conference has really stepped up its game in recent years.  Mark Dantonio is turning Michigan State into a legit conference power and Wisconsin will continue to be a major threat, even though Bielema is the dumbest coach in the conference.  The addition of Nebraska adds to the difficulty and Michigan is on the upswing.

Dan: Nobody is untouchable, but at the risk of sounding arrogant, I do expect the Buckeyes to be B1G title favorites more often than not. The biggest reason why  is that for the six seasons prior to the “lost year” that’s exactly what Ohio State was. Now the team once again has the most accomplished coach and arguably the best recruiter in the conference. With a breadth of young but experienced talent already in place, there is no reason to believe that the team won’t climb right back to the top of the conference.. I will, however, add a caveat. If Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison can continue to build on what they started this year, we could be entering another “OSU, Michigan, and the field” era.

Chris: I think of the B1G in recent years as being akin to the PAC-12 in that same timeframe. You had one program that won the conference nearly every year in USC. Then there were two to three other schools that challenged the Trojans for supremacy, but only succeeded when USC was down because of violations or the specter thereof. The same can be said of OSU and the Big Ten. The Buckeyes win conference championships, plain and simple. The only time we are challenged (and have shared the title, or someone else has won it) is when we’re down because of violations. I fully believe that had OSU been able to keep Tressel and Pryor, that we would have been playing in Indy instead of the Badgers. The team had an off season in a year in which expectations were as low as they could possibly be for a program of Ohio State’s stature and history. That will not continue with a solid coaching staff and a hunger to return to dominance.

Michael: Ohio State will return to challenging for conference championships, but the rest of the conference has done a nice job of catching up recently. As Charles mentioned, Dantonio and Bielema seem to have firmly established their programs. Fred Flintstone’s bunch up north seem to be getting their collective stuff together and Nebraska is a nice addition. Iowa is on a down swing, but they usually don’t stay down very long. I like a lot of what Kevin Wilson is doing at Indiana and Tim Beckman is a great hire for Illinois. I think the jury is still out on Jerry Kill and Danny Hope. Once Penn State regroups, I expect they’ll be formidable again. I think it’s the start of a great cycle of power for the B1G.

While it’s hard seeing your team do bad, Ohio State’s problems allowed us to see what the rest of the B1G really is made of. I think almost all of the other schools already started amping up recruiting and staffing efforts knowing they would never be able to compete with Ohio State if they didn’t (due to Tressel’s domination of the conference). Because he’s the only celebrity coach to ever be hired by a B1G team, the ante goes up even more. These next few seasons will be an interesting time for the B1G and I think we’re all excited to see the result.

3. As Charles discussed, Meyer was notorious for his Florida players’ high arrest record. Do you think this speaks to the stereotypical moral quality of SEC players or do you think Meyer doesn’t have a high regard for personal player development?

Charles: As I mentioned in my article, Meyer’s arrest record, while high, was essentially the same as Tressel’s, though Meyer’s may have been higher among players that he actually recruited.  It is hard to say what the cause of that may be.  Maybe Meyer does not place a great deal of importance on player personal development or maybe those players just weren’t reachable.  The higher academic standards of the Big Ten may help with the second issue.  The fans can also help, we need to recognize the role in this that we play.  When a young athlete is lauded with praise as much as many of these players are and treated like celebrities, it is easy for them to develop an inflated ego and maybe even a sense that they are above the law.  Overall this is a complex issue and there is no easy answer as to why Meyer’s arrest rate was what it was or what it will be at OSU.

Dan: As Charles said, Urban Meyer’s arrest record might not be as outrageous as the numbers indicate. These are 18-22 year olds that are thrust into a spotlight unlike anything that they have ever seen. Not all of them are prepared for it, and some of them will get in trouble. That’s just how it is. However, with Meyer’s perceived issues regarding player conduct, expect the seriousness of these arrests to be magnified when they do happen. After all, Outside The Lines has to fill 30 minutes a day.

Chris: We have to remember that even the best coaches with the best intentions can recruit kids who just can’t seem to stay out of trouble; no matter how well the compliance staff instructs them or how personal an interest the head coach takes in their development. We don’t have to look any further than Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor to see that truth. Meyer will recruit and mold every type of player, from the Academic All-American to the guy who just can’t seem to stay off the police scanner. The key is to quickly and forcefully deal with the latter type while holding up the former as a shining example.

Michael: Charles mentioned that Meyer’s arrest record was comparable to Tressel’s, which surprised me, actually. I think kids are kids and if you’ve got over 100 of them, some are bound to get into trouble. Hopefully he’s learned from his past experiences and we get the right kind of kids in the future to avoid it as much as possible.

The debate over how to assess player quality will never end and no one ever really wins. Charles’ tidbit about Tressel’s arrest record in comparison to Meyer’s also surprises me because I don’t think the comparison was ever made, but it doesn’t surprise me because of everything that’s happened this last year. I could write for days about comparing the moral choices of student-athletes to basically any high-profile position in society. People just do stupid things.

I also find it interesting that none of you thought to mention Tim Tebow. Meyer was Tebow’s biggest champion and some might argue Tebow is probably the most morally conscious person in the history of sports. Teachers, parents, coaches, and virtually anyone can try to be a positive role model for a student, but there are just as many people coming in and out of their lives that want to steer them toward questionable decision-making. Ultimately, it’s up to the kids to decide who they want to be and who they want to be around. Some of them will never make big mistakes, some will and will learn from it and some will never get it together at all, no matter how many opportunities thrown their way.

4. How long do you think it will take for Meyer to lead the Buckeyes in another national championship win? Do you even think he will get another national championship win?

Charles: Based on Meyer’s history he will likely get a championship at Ohio State as long as he stays long enough.  It is hard to predict how long it will take as we are still waiting to see what the NCAA sanctions will be and what impact they will have.  My guess is that in 4 or 5 years we will see another National Championship celebration in Columbus.

Dan: I hesitate to predict National Championships because they are so fluky. One bad bounce along the way, and your chance could disappear. What I will say is that I expect Meyer to have Ohio State competing for a national title in his second season. Braxton Miller, Devin Smith, and Evan Spencer, Michael Bennett, Ryan Shazier, and Curtis Grant will be Juniors. Jonathan Hankins (hopefully) will be a senior and guys like Warren Ball and (hopefully) Brionte Dunn will be ready contribute. Meyer won a national championship in his second season at Florida. Jim Tressel won a title in his second season at Ohio State. I see no reason why history couldn’t repeat itself.

Chris: 2013, if not sooner. This team has the raw talent to beat any team in the country on any given Saturday. They had it this year. What they lacked was a coaching staff that was able to adapt to the situation they were dealt. The staff went into this season with a seniority rules mindset, and gave us Joe Bauserman under center for three weeks. Then WalrusBall kicked in. When you look back at this season, there were two defining moments. The Wisconsin game, and the Michigan game. The first was when we got a glimpse of what Braxton Miller can do when the playbook is longer than a single page, and the second was the culmination of his season long on the job training. You could see against the Wolverines just how mature he had become, checking down to his third or fourth option and only taking off when plays completely broke down.

Meyer has the chops to take this raw talent and shape it into a contender in his first year. Will he be able to make it happen? Probably not. But when Braxton’s Junior year rolls around and he’s had a full year under Urban to completely soak up the philosophy, we’ll see magic happen. I have all the faith in the world that we’ll see Urban hoisting up his third and possibly fourth crystal ball and bringing them home to Columbus.

Michael: Winning championships is pretty difficult. I think the Buckeyes will be back to competing at that level after a year or two, but that’s no guarantee of winning one. I still see a competitive balance issue in the SEC West with the oversigning situation that allows teams like Alabama and LSU to essentially get five recruiting classes every four years, cutting those players that don’t pan out. Still, if we can get to the big game, I like our chances with Meyer, given his track record.

I definitely think he can do it. Am I ready to say he will do it? No. Especially not in his first year with a mixture of players who were technically recruited under three different coaching staffs.

5. Do you think Urban Meyer will have a longer tenure at Ohio State than Jim Tressel? If so, do you think this will be his final coaching job?

Charles: The Ohio State job is very stressful due to the high expectations placed on the coach and the team and Meyer has had health issues in the past.  I suspect that Meyer will be at OSU for a decade and then retire again due to health or personal reasons as a result of all the stress.  It is hard to say if that retirement will last but I think coaches always seem to miss coaching and he will try to return to it in some fashion if he can.

Dan: I don’t think that you can look objectively at Urban Meyer’s coaching career and predict a 15-year reign. While I don’t see him leaving for a better job, there really aren’t many, I wouldn’t bet on his tenure exceeding Tressel’s. Meyer’s seems to subscribe to the Neil Young theory of “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” He comes to a program, achieves great success quickly, and then moves on. I’m expecting Urban to lead the Buckeyes to 6-10 very successful seasons and then move on to the next phase of his life. And I’m fine with that.

Chris: Interesting tidbit. In the past 50 years, there has not been a single head coach at OSU that has left under his own terms. I sincerely hope that Urban Meyer is the one to break that trend. Columbus is a “destination” job, meaning this is usually the end of the line for most coaches. I think that this is Urban’s last stop on the coaching train, and that he lasts somewhere between Tressel and Hayes. He’s a spry 47 years old. Should he continue to have the fire, I can see him coaching until he’s about 60-62 and then taking up a position in the athletic department. This was the plan for Tressel, and as long as Meyer can keep his nose clean, this is the path I see him taking. With a few national championships along the way to cement his legacy.

Michael: Boy, it would be nice if that happened. Ideally, it would be great to get 10-12 successful years of Meyer and then have him retire from coaching. But I’ll go ahead and say it: I don’t trust him. If we get five years out of him and have some success (BCS bowl wins), I’ll be happy with that. Not only do we need him to hang around a few years, we need him to help find his replacement, which would ideally mean that he further grooms Luke Fickell. Whether he coaches again after Ohio State depends on his health, his length of tenure and whether or not Notre Dame wants him afterward.

I hope so, but it’s really tough to gauge since he really never spent a huge amount of time with one program in the past. Everyone thought he would be a legacy coach (in terms of years) at Florida and that didn’t happen. I’m not so sure the family problems excuse can come into play this time around. He has family and friends in this area and his children are older and probably understand that their dad is meant to be a coach. The health issue could come into play, but maybe now that he understands how to balance work stress, he’ll have a better handle on keeping himself in good shape for the long haul.

Bonus question!: Even though he won’t be coaching the game, do you think the Meyer hiring had any impact on the  selection of Florida and Ohio State for the Gator Bowl?

Charles: Meyer’s hiring absolutely had an impact on the Gator Bowl choosing to pair up Florida and OSU.  Bowl selections are all about money, how many fans will travel and how many people will watch so that the bowl can negotiate a better tv contract.  With Meyer coming OSU vs Florida now has a ton of story lines that can be exploited to increase viewership for a game that features two teams that had very disappointing years.  Without Meyer being hired the Gator Bowl would likely have been very hesitant as the willingness of OSU fans to travel to a lesser bowl after a disappointing season would have been a big question; Meyer’s hiring has given OSU fans an instant surge of optimism, hope, and enthusiasm for the team.

Dan: Ohio State was likely headed to the Gator Bowl with or without Meyer, but if there was any doubt in the selection committee’s mind, it was erased after the hire. If we’re speaking honestly, Ohio State probably doesn’t deserve to be in the game. Purdue beat the Buckeyes head-to-head and finished higher than Ohio State in the Leaders division. However, as is always the case with bowl games, it’s all about money and ratings. Ohio State is a much stronger “brand name” than Purdue and that’s the reason it was selected for the Gator Bowl. The Urban storyline is just icing on the cake.

Chris: There is no question about that. There were at least two bowls that had selections before the Gator Bowl, but somehow the Bucks fell to them. There can’t be a person alive today who doesn’t believe that there was some serious horse trading happening between the bowl committees. The storylines are too in the forefront to be ignored. There was no way that the selection committees didn’t collude to make this matchup happen, regardless of if Meyer will be on the sidelines for the game or if he’ll be sitting in the WHAC with a sixer and an Affliction shirt on, rooting his team to victory. One thing may be predicted for sure though. The swag bags may be confiscated as soon as the team steps off the plane and only returned upon exhaustion of eligibility. Just to be sure.

Michael: I think it’s one of the main reasons, yes. The Gator Bowl has long coveted getting Florida and a matchup with Ohio State is a no-brainer, financially. The Buckeyes travel well because they have a passionate and sizable fan base. Any bowl game would want Ohio State, but a back-door deal was probably made to get the Buckeyes to Jacksonville for all of the Urban-related storylines. I’m planning on attending so I won’t have to hear all of that nonsense (or Craig James).

It seems we’re all in agreement that this hiring erased any doubts about letting Ohio State play Florida. Even though Meyer isn’t coaching, what a way to set the tone for the Meyer era. Also, these programs have storied fan-bases that will surely bring in huge dollars. It’s sports. Talent is fine, but for those working in the industry off the field, the money is really what matters.

Block O Table

Good evening Buckeye fans and happy Tuesday. I hope most of you have recovered from your football hangover. I’m a little late because it took me until this morning to get over mine. I saw so many of my best friends, yet there were so many I didn’t get to see. Vico and I had arealgoodtime at 11W’s second annual Eat Too, Brutus tailgate. It was great to reconnect with those we’ve already met in person and finally meet those we converse with on Twitter.  It was unfortunate that Charles and Michael could not make it. Next year, friends.

During the tailgate, there wasn’t much talk surrounding an Ohio State win, but more of a unanimous hope we weren’t embarrassed. After the game (which I watched at Little Bar so you can imagine the unnatural high my emotions were living on) the conversations turned from hope to OMGLOLWUTJUSTHAPPENED??? No one forget where they were the first time they saw the pass that made Columbus the loudest city on the planet for that moment in time. But while it was a great way to end October, we must remember we still have four games left in November. How do Michael, Charles and Vico feel about Saturday and what do we think about the rest of the season?

Good thing I asked.

1. WOO HOO!!! WE WON! Do you think Ohio State finally “silenced the doubters?”?

Michael: LOL, no. Ohio State hasn’t even silenced my own doubts just yet, although they certainly are showing encouraging signs. This is a team talented enough to beat anyone and yet fragile and inexperienced enough to lose almost any ballgame. Winning out might do it, and by winning out I mean the regular season, B1G championship game and Rose Bowl.

Charles: I think the win silenced some doubters but a lot of people around the country will say that Wisconsin was overrated due to having played such an easy schedule, referencing the fact that the Badgers had just lost to Michigan State.  The defensive letdown that allowed Wisconsin to take the lead will also not help with the doubters.  I think that the only way to truly silence the doubters is to win out, win the Big Ten Title game, and win the Rose Bowl (ideally against Stanford).

Vico: First, the Buckeyes have updated midseason evaluations of the team to heavily weight the importance of the suspended players.  To be fair, that was always going to be an important part of the story, but our performances in our three losses (and even our win against Toledo) gave as much weight to the coaching staff.  Jim Bollman and Nick Siciliano needed to be fired post haste (still do) and Luke Fickell was in way over his head and had zero chance of getting retained after the calendar year.  With the return of players like Mike Adams and Dan Herron, we have seen how Adams can make a decent-to-good offensive line better and how Herron is the very pulse of the offense.  That is not to discount our previous reservations about coaching, but the return of the suspended players — after their slate has spiritually been wiped clean after their respective suspensions have been served — have made the Buckeyes of late October an entirely different squad from the Buckeyes of early October.  Doubt, if you will, persists still because even this updated version of the 2011 squad retains essential elements of the squad that laid eggs in its three losses.  But, they are that much better and the offense is gaining traction, in spite of its limitations (i.e. the forward pass).

Second, I think Luke Fickell might be demonstrating that he is fairly quickly progressing as a head football coach, and not an interim stop-gap desperately trying to prevent the levee from bursting along the banks of the mighty Olentangy.  To be fair, Wisconsin losing total sight of a receiver 40 yards down the field with 20 seconds left to go saved bloggers like us from branding the game as “Nebraska, Part Deux”, but notice the difference in two halves against Wisconsin.  Ohio State stormed out the gates with Herron’s 57 yard run.  Rather than wimp out on 4th and goal and settle for three, Fickell pounded his jagerbomb and called for us to go for it.  Notice also how the offense used the speed option, something I don’t think should’ve worked as well as it did, to outflank Wisconsin’s defense (culminating, in large part, in Miller’s 4th quarter TD run).  It suggests those things like “learning” and “adjustments” we as fans like to see, and didn’t see against Sparty and Miami.  I still want some questions answered from the defense (namely how Wisconsin could accomplish jack for 3.8 quarters and score two touchdowns in just over two minutes), but they took away zone, and took it with prejudice.  Monte Ball had that 40 yard run to set up Wisconsin’s second 4th quarter TD (see: previous sentence), but Heacock’s unit took away Wisconsin’s bread and butter (zone, power O) and denied even the constraint play (like the end-around) all the while being held with impunity by Wisconsin’s offensive line.  What Heacock’s unit dared Wisconsin to do was beat them throwing the ball.  Paul Chryst tends to hate this, but I think he thought he had the quarterback for it.  He did.  Wisconsin even “won” first down routinely by finding Ewing in the flats or Pederson on a quick out.  It set up downs like 2nd and 4 and 3rd and 2.  And, all too often, the Badgers couldn’t convert when they tried their bread and butter plays.

All told, it suggests a team rounding into form at the right time, definitely a good thing for Fickell and for us as fans.  Still, doubt persists as even this surge by Ohio State casts doubt on the quality of competition.  Ohio State’s offense will still be limited and the defense is prone to the most inopportune mistakes.

2. Aside from the Devin Smith game-winning TD, what play do you think changed the course of the game and made it possible for OSU to even have a chance to come away with the win?

Michael: Ryan Shazier’s blocked punt was a key moment. It provided some cushion on the scoreboard and, perhaps more importantly, momentum and true belief. There were a few other plays that changed things a bit, including the big stop on fourth-and-two in Buckeye territory.

Charles: The punt block by Ryan Shazier was obviously huge, leading to easy points and digging the Badgers into a deeper hole, which they still managed to crawl out of.  The other play that changed the outcome was the final kickoff return by Hall.  With little time remaining on the clock getting the ball near midfield, instead of around the 20, gave the offense more options and had to serve as a big confidence boost.

Vico: Hmm.  There’s three that I can identify: Herron’s first play from scrimmage in the second half, Shazier’s punt-block, and Miller’s 3rd and 2 44yd TD run.  Of those three, I’m inclined to say Miller’s TD run was pivotal.  It gave Ohio State a 2 TD lead that, as we saw, we kinda needed.  I remember sitting with my friend in row 33 of 5A in the North side of the Shoe.  A fairly smart guy with football, he was awfully prescient in the fourth quarter, even remarking that it was good to be in the North endzone because it was where the magic was going to happen.  On the drive that culminated in Drew Basil’s 22yd FG with over 10 minutes to play, I remember him remarking “We need a TD, because I don’t want to be down 21-20 after the corollary Montee Ball TD run happens.”  That much didn’t happen, but the idea was Ohio State needed some extra insurance when the haymakers started coming from Wisconsin.  It came, and it came again.  But, that TD run by Miller gave Ohio State the opportunity they needed, even if it meant being down three points with 1:18 left to play.

3. Earlier in the season, I asked if you thought the B1G Ten was exceptionally bad this season. Do you still agree with your former opinion?

Michael: I think the B1G has talent on the field for the most part, but coaching is an issue. That said, it’s certainly behind the SEC in depth of quality.

Charles: I would not say exceptionally bad, I would say that the Big Ten is exceptionally mediocre.  Wisconsin was the one team that stood out from the pack and two straight losses have shown that they are not as good as they seemed.  It is hard to find many teams in the conference that are performing well on both sides of the ball.  Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State, and Illinois probably have the best defenses in the conferences but all have struggled on offense at times, some more than others.  Northwestern’s offense is good but their defense is bad, Michigan is similar but with a mediocre defense.  Minnesota, Purdue, and Indiana have issues on both sides of the ball.  Nebraska and Wisconsin have performed the best on both sides of the ball and yet both still have issues.

Vico: It is.  It absolutely is.  Minnesota and Indiana are among the worst — if not the worst — BCS programs this season.  Iowa struggled with one of those programs and actually lost to the worse of the two. Michigan and Nebrasky don’t have much on the resume that suggests quality befitting their record and their respective quarterbacks should be fined for every passing attempt.  Michigan State will always be Sparty and its offensive line is not good.  Purdue is a competitive squad with a good in-game coach and no talent.  Ohio State and Penn Shtate are almost spiritually identical squads this year with good-to-great defenses and offenses that probably cannot be trusted.  You’ve seen what’s happened to Illinois in conference play.  Wisconsin is still subjectively the best squad in the league from what I’ve seen, but their front seven is puny and got pushed around by Ohio State in the second half.  That is not at all a good thing to say about your league’s best team.  The B1G TEN is suffering from Ohio State’s woes, Penn Shtate’s idiot offensive staff (see, also: Ohio State), among other things that would help push the conference back to the elite status it enjoyed through the 1990s.

Who did I forget, Nerdwestern?  Right.

4. Do you think a win vs. Indiana will come easy? (Yes, I’m asking this with a straight face)

Michael: I think it should be a laugher, but this year’s team is young and we saw what happened to Sparty after their emotional win against the Badgers. I think Ohio State may struggle early, but gets in a groove eventually and wins by a comfortable margin.

Charles: On paper this is an easy win, but games aren’t played on paper and I am not going to count my chickens before they hatch.  Ohio State is a young team and young teams are prone to severe ups and downs.  Coming off of a huge win in a hyped game it will be easy for the team to overlook Indiana, the coaches and older players need to make sure that will not happen.  I think we will beat Indiana comfortably but not by enough for people to say “yeah, Ohio State is definitely back.”

Vico: I’m hoping so.  IU sucks, but I take nothing for granted with this year’s team.  The hope is this looks something like the Colorado game, but with more talent back (and, thus, more fireworks).  Ohio State has some confidence going and we hope that means an easy victory.  Still, as I mentioned in question #1, this team has essential elements of the team that put a combined 13 points on Michigan State and Miami and the team that kept misfiring against Toledo.

5. Now that we’re back in the running for the B1G Championship game, what are the best and worst case scenarios for the rest of the season?

Michael: Best case scenario is to run the table, get some help with Penn State and go to the B1G title game with a rematch against either Sparty or Nebraska. My gut says Nebraska wins the L division (whichever one it is). Whether Ohio State has enough offense (or defense if it’s Nebraska) to win a revenge game, I’m not sure. Should be spectacular to see if we get there though. If it comes to pass, I feel pretty good about Luke getting the job for realsies (and possibly B1G COY). Worst case scenario is Purdue Harbor II, followed by an awful, offensively-challenged game against Penn State and then The Game I Cannot Bear to Lose. These horrible outings would be the prelude to some bottom-tier bowl game and the end of the Luke Fickell era.

Charles: The best case scenario would be Ohio State winning out, definitely doable, and getting to the Big Ten Championship game with a Penn State loss at Wisconsin, it is very hard to win at Camp Randall.  Considering the strength of the remaining schedules, I think MSU has the edge for winning the other division and a rematch against MSU would be a low scoring, defensive affair that could go either way.  A win would get us to the Rose Bowl where we would most likely face Stanford, who offensively I do not think we can keep up with but with a young team, a month of bowl prep, and some luck, who knows.

The worse case scenario would be to overlook a Purdue team that has an offense that has looked like it is improving at times and then lose a defensive battle against Penn State before falling to a team from that state up north which is much better than they were the past couple years.  That would still get OSU to a bowl but not one that anyone would be excited about.

Vico: Best case scenario is playing for the B1G TEN Championship in Indianapolis.  This assumes two things: Ohio State wins out and enjoys the tie-breaker over Wisconsin while Penn Shtate finally enters Murderer’s Row in November and loses an additional game.  The Buckeyes would then, oddly, get a rematch against either one of the Michigans, or Nebrasky.  We could very well win that game and return to the Rose Bowl.  That said, we would be greatly underqualified for a game that, on paper, would pit the Buckeyes against Oregon or Stanford (*gulp*).  If that happens, that should go down as one of the better conference turn-arounds in the B1G’s history.

Worst case scenario has Ohio State beating Indiana and losing its remaining three games to finish 6-6 on the season.  It could happen.  We expect Ohio State to handle IU, but even a meek Purdue outfit could give Ohio State fits.  Danny Hope has more ACL tears on his roster than talent, but he is a decent in-game manager who could outwit a rookie head coach.  If we get punked in Purdue Harbor again, we’re left with two other games against Penn Shtate and Michigan.  Penn Shtate and Ohio State are almost equal squads on paper and it’s a game the Buckeyes could very well lose.  The same holds for Michigan, who is playing better this year than it did last year (mostly on defense).  Thus, the feel good moments from the end of October could give way to the same ol’ misery we felt through the end of September and into early October.  Thereafter, we start looking for property in Upper Arlington being sold to an “Urban Frank Meyer”, and start tracking flights from Gainesville, Florida to Columbus, Ohio.

Block O Table

Hi friends!

Sorry so late on this post. My football hangover didn’t end until yesterday. It’s safe to say my tolerance isn’t what it used to be in undergrad. On the bright side, we have no preview today because we have no game, so this should break up the time until next Saturday.

This week is just between Michael and Charles. Vico has been hanging out with tha govna in California and my master’s project work is putting me on a time crunch. Disclaimer: If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know I was obsessing over Pinterest Tuesday night/Wednesday afternoon, rather than doing work. In my defense, I had just completed a 13 page paper in 24 hours and was in between various online projects, so I just needed time to sit down and make lists of all the foods I want to make and the things I want to buy once I start my real job.

Now that you know some of what I do in my free time, let’s get this party going (referring to this post and next weekend, when hopefully all of us get to be in Columbus)

1. Finally, Ohio State beat a ranked opponent, holding onto the coveted Illibuck. What do you think clicked/held this team together during this game?

Michael: The defense held the team together, specifically John Simon, Johnathan Hankins, Bradley Roby and improved play from the linebackers and Tyler Moeller. On the flip side, the running game was really clicking with Boom Herron back on the field. Boom brings leadership to an offense that’s really been searching for some.

Charles: The key to this game was obviously the play from the defense.  Hankins, Simon, Moeller, and Roby deserve special mention for really stepping up and making some big plays.  It was nice to see the defense finally hang onto some interceptions and those turnovers were huge as they setup the offense with a short field on both of the OSU touchdowns.

2. Braxton Miller is clearly our starting guy. Kenny Guiton is passing Bauserman on the depth chart. Now that the quarterback situation seems to be intact, do you think things will finally come together as the second half (already, I know) of the season gets underway next weekend?

Michael: I expect to see improvement on offense but I have no real optimism that this team will ever be one of those score-at-will Ohio State offenses that we’ve seen at times in the past. Every week will be a struggle to put points on the board. The offensive line typically gets more cohesive this time of year and I hope that happens, but with a  freshman under center you just have to live with inconsistency.

Charles: I think that settling on one quarterback will help the offense as Miller will now get more playing time and thus more time to improve.  It will also help the rest of the offense as they do not have to worry about who is in at quarterback on a particular drive, allowing everyone to get more comfortable and gel better.  I think we will see improvement in the offense as the second half of the season progresses as everyone gains more experience.  I agree with Michael that this will not become a ‘score-at-will’ offense this season, not with a freshman at qb and especially not with the type of play calling that we have seen this season.

3. What’s the biggest improvement you saw against Illinois? What needs to get better before Ohio State faces Wisconsin?

Michael: The biggest improvement to me came from the linebacking corps. Sweat continues to look healthier. Sabino and Klein had maybe their best games of the year. Moeller I’ll include since he plays a hybrid position and he also had a better game in coverage than what we’ve seen. Lastly, Christian Bryant looked much better and more comfortable. As for what needs to get better for Wisky – everything. Every. Thing.

Charles: The biggest improvement was the defense.  This was probably the best overall game the defense played all season, we saw some big plays made and the defense finished the game well, not suffering a letdown like they did late against Nebraska.  Coming up with some key turnovers certainly helped give a nice momentum spark.  Boom Herron’s return and the fact that he did not show any signs of rust was also a big thing for the team and he certainly made the offense more dangerous.

4. Ohio State is notorious for struggling against Illinois, at least in the last five or so years. Given the low score and the performance of the team thus far, would you consider still consider this win a struggle or do you think it’s more of a turning point?

Michael: It was a struggle, but it may end up being a turning point. It was nice to see the team respond after the second-half meltdown at Nebraska. Credit Luke Fickell and probably the seniors for that. But let’s not kid ourselves. Illinois was a vastly overrated team and the fact they were ranked 16th says more about how few great teams there are this season than it does about the strength of the Illini. That said, a big road win could instill some confidence in the team (if they can at least keep the Wisconsin game close) and set up a nice finish with a favorable schedule in November.

Charles: I think it was probably both.  I do not think you can call a game where the team only scored 17 points, 14 coming off of a short field, anything but a struggle.  At the same time, the team deserves a lot of credit for staying with it in a tough, close game and this victory should give the team an important confidence boost going forward.  This team is still young and the mental impact of a losing streak could have been very costly, a win heading into the bye week is going to do wonders for the mental state of the team.

5. Do you think Ohio State even has a shot against Wisconsin?

Michael: There is always a chance, but I really think the Badgers have to help the Buckeyes by making some mistakes on defense and turning the ball over a few times on offense. The Badgers look very solid, but the level of competition hasn’t been great and their only decent opposition had to play at night in Camp Randall in their first ever B1G game. I’m not sure Ohio State can win in conservative mode. I really think this is a game where they have to be aggressive and let everything hang out. And of course, that could always backfire too. To summarize, I’m hopeful but not terribly optimistic.

Charles: Of course Ohio State has a shot against Wisconsin but I would not be putting any money on it.  I agree with Michael that Wisconsin will probably have to help by making some mistakes as the Badgers have been very, very good so far this season, although it has primarily been against weaker competition.    OSU will need a pretty much perfect game from their defense as Wisconsin can beat you multiple ways with their offense.  The OSU offense will have to avoid making mistakes but will have to also make some plays of their own, some creativity in the play calling will help with this as the weakness of the Badger defense is their lateral speed.

6. Random final question: In one sentence, sum up how excited you are for Buckeye basketball to commence in a few weeks:

Michael: I’m always excited to see the Buckeyes rev up for hoops season and I’m dying to see a leaner, meaner Sully do his thing. This year’s team has a lot of potential, but I would be surprised if they attained the level of success that last year’s did in the regular season. Diebler and Lighty will be missed. But even if the regular season doesn’t go as well as last year’s, there is potential to do more damage in the postseason than last year. (Hate you, Kentucky.)

Charles: I am always excited for Buckeye sports and both OSU basketball teams should be fun to watch this season; the men are title contenders while the women are coming in a bit more under the radar but should feature a new look that is much more up tempo than we have seen from OSU teams in the past.

Block O Table

This season, it’s an understatement to say Ohio State’s weekly performance has been…inconsistent. I’m still unsure how the team that played an impeccable 40 minutes of football in Lincoln was the same team that played a dismal 60 at home against Spary. I’m also unsure of how the team that played that impeccable 40 minutes of football in Lincoln could fail to have a contingency plan in place if the starting quarterback happened to get injured, forcing him to be out for the next 20. Of course, none of us will ever really know the answer to that question, but, here at OHD, we like to hypothesize a few answers amongst ourselves.

Let’s get scholarly:

1. We could place the blame on many, many different factors for what happened in Lincoln Saturday night. If you had to pick one component as the key contribution to Ohio State’s disastrous destruction, what would you choose and why?

Michael: If I can only pick one, it’s the overall fragility of this team due to a lack of leadership. When things start to unravel, there is no one stepping up to stop the bleeding. In the past, guys like Brian Rolle would be that guy. In a more game-specific sense, it was Braxton Miller’s injury. Ohio State could have survived the fumble and subsequent touchdown with an answering drive, but when Miller got hurt after picking up the initial first down on the ensuing drive, panic set in. The defense crumbled, Bauserman kept on being Bauserman, and the walrus forgot he had a viable running game.

Vico: I like Michael pegging lack of leadership as a unifying theme to account for Saturday’s meltdown.  Luke Fickell lacked the calming presence that Jim Tressel had when he was in charge.  Jim Heacock let the game slip away from him as Nebraska’s liberal use of inverted veer stymied his Silver Bullets, who tired out in the process.  Nebraska scored its last three touchdowns in 6 minutes and 46 seconds total, conceding 230 yards of offense on those drives.  And Jim Bollman? Well, Joe Bauserman entered the game with a two touchdown lead near the end of the third quarter and threw more than Braxton Miller did in the previous 40+ minutes of game time.  Of course we lost the game.  Nobody led and everybody failed.  Just embarrassing.

Charles: I agree with Michael and Vico that the lack of leadership on all levels was the key to the meltdown in the second half.  The team was obviously feeling confident on both sides of the ball until the fumble and then the Braxton Miller injury, at that point everyone seemed to deflate.  In situations like that, with the team facing adversity in both the physical and mental aspects of the game, you need a seasoned player of two to step up and lead by example through effort and performance on the field.  Unfortunately this team is young and nobody stepped up to be that emotional leader, to calm everyone down and get everyone focussed on what they needed to do to regain control of the game.

The coaching staff did not help matters as I did not get a sense of leadership from any of the coaches, Fickell looked a bit lost in some of the camera shots they showed.  There were no adjustments made on defense to counter Nebraska’s offensive adjustments and the offensive playcalling was almost the exact opposite of what it should have been.

In PR, we discuss the importance of creating a contingency plan for clients, in the event that a crisis might strike. If crisis does strike, someone must be the appointed leader to ensure contingency is executed. Ohio State clearly has no contingency…no leadership…no…real..plan. No real captains, no real play callers and no real way to keep themselves in bounds when Bauserman starts throwing bullets at anyone wearing a jersey.

2. Reports say Braxton Miller will start against Illinois. Of course, with a sprained ankle, Illinois is most likely going to make sure this ankle stays unhealthy so they can have a go at Joe Baus. Given the injury, are you relieved Miller is going to be back on the field or do you think he should sit out one more week to heal?

Michael: It all depends on the severity of the ankle sprain. If he feels up to it, I’d rather have Miller in the game. It will help if Boom/Hyde/Hall can have a huge game to relieve some of the pressure. If the ankle is bad or gets tweaked again, we’d better just dig a hole and crawl into it.

Vico: If not for the fact that Joe Bauserman is a senior and I’m sure I’d genuinely like him as a person, I wouldn’t want Joe Bauserman on the travel squad.  Seriously.  He’s 3/24 for 26 yards in road games this season; what has he accomplished to be on the travel squad?  He had a QB rating of 0.9 for the Nebrasky game.  He cannot play again for fear of being the biggest goat in Ohio State’s storied history.  I don’t want that for him.

I’m nervous about Miller because he’s had high ankle injuries to hinder his junior and senior seasons of high school.  He soldiered through a lot of it, but these injuries recur and don’t quite go away.  I trust our medical staff on this one.  If they think he’s good to go, then he should go.  It’s just that Kenny Guiton should be waiting in the wings.

Charles: I think it all depends on how Miller’s ankle is doing.  If it is still bothering him and limiting his ability, or more importantly could become a worse injury, then he should be on the sideline, it is not worth letting a kid get seriously injured just to get a win.  However Braxton does give us the best chance of winning now so if he is healthy enough to play, then of course I am relieved to see him on the field, not only for what he brings to the team but also because the injury is not that bad.

I’m certain that the only way we can win is if Miller plays. It’s also a good sign that we might lose. On the one hand, if Miller is in, we can have someone who is somewhat more confident reading the field than Joe Bauserbomber. Sure, he’s a freshman, he’s going to make freshman mistakes. But his slip-ups Saturday were outnumbered by his accuracy and drive. On the other hand, Miller is now a running target. The last thing this team needs is a season-ending injury to take out the brightest glimmer of hope Ohio State has to get somewhere this season…and the next.

3. This is an open-ended vent space to discuss your thoughts and feelings about Jim Bollman. Why? Because you’re already doing it elsewhere so you might as well put it in a contained space. Go:

Michael: I’d really like to know who let him into the press box midway through the third quarter. Whoever called the game prior to that was doing a nice job.

Vico: Jim Bollman needs to go away forever.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about him as a person who cares for his players, but he’s not getting the best out of them.  Our offenses under him (and Jim Tressel) were reliably good enough, but that’s not good enough with Tressel gone.  Also, I might actually have more credentials as a quarterback coach than Nick Siciliano.  Let me check my resume to be sure…

Charles: A lot of this could have gone in the answer to number one because Bollman and the changes in his play calling are a major factor in the complete reversal of things between the first and second half.  In the first half we saw some creative playcalling that took advantage of the specific offensive personnel that OSU had on the field and was designed to neutralize the specific threats that Nebraska had.  After Bauserman came in the play calling reverted to what we had seen several times already this season with Bollman trying to jam a square peg into a round hole.  Bauserman is not a great quarterback but he is not nearly as bad as people make him out to be, the problem is that the play calling with him in there has not been set up to give him the chance to succeed.  Considering the success we had already had on Saturday with the ground game, OSU should have continued to try to run the ball with Bauserman in there, mixing it up with some short slants or passes to the flats.  This wouldn’t have required the offensive line to protect a non-mobile quarterback as long and would have helped to build Bauserman’s confidence.

The only explanation that I can come up with as to what happened with Bollman’s play calling on Saturday was that he came in with a specific plan on how to use Miller and it worked well.  However when Miller was injured that plan obviously no longer worked and Bollman just could not figure out how to make any adjustments, instead he mostly looked like he was picking plays from a hat.

I think Jim Bollman could be a great Santa Claus. He’d be the best grandpa I never had at Christmas time. But I don’t know what he’s doing as a coach. I can’t even speculate fully, because I really, truly am baffled.

4. Sure, we’re only halfway through the season, but at this point, people are saying that OSU’s chance at any bowl game are shot. Do you guys agree?

Michael: I disagree. I know we’ve been spoiled by years of success, but I’m a bit disappointed in some of the backlash. I’ve heard people saying the team quit. The defense may have fallen apart, but I didn’t see anyone on that field stop trying.

The first 36 or so minutes of Saturday’s game proves this team has a lot of talent and can sometimes put it all together. They just need better direction, better in-game adjustments and a little more on-field leadership when things aren’t going perfectly. I still think Ohio State is capable of beating Indiana, Purdue, Penn State and Michigan. That would get them into a bowl. Whether or not they actually do it remains to be seen.

Vico: Ohio State will be underdogs in its two remaining games this month and will likely lose both.  That will put them at five losses on the season.  They would need to win out in November, beating the two crappy Indiana schools, an average Penn Shtate team with a good defense, and f*cking Michigan, to get to 7-5 under those circumstances.  That gets us bowl eligible for sure, but I’m not excited about whatever bowl that would be.

Charles: I do not agree that OSU’s chances for a bowl game are shot but I think the possibility of staying home for the holidays is becoming very likely.  With Indiana and Purdue on the schedule there are two games remaining that OSU should win fairly easily, though with Purdue’s improvement at offense lately that many not be a gimme game anymore.  Penn State is a toss-up game, their offense is also horrible but their defense is very stout, and was impressive against Iowa’s passing attack this past weekend.  Michigan will be a tough game but rivalry games are almost always a toss-up.  There are definitely enough wins possible still on the schedule, the issue is what is the mental state of the team going to be like.  The Buckeyes have the talent to make a bowl, however this is a team that has not gone through this kind of mental hardship in a while and how they handle the mental side of the losses will be the determining factor in how the season will play out.

The other day, I was thinking about this team and how a number of my friends’ are so angry about it. The fact is, those of us who went to Ohio State during the Tressel years only know what it’s like to cheer for really good Buckeye squads. Sure, many (like myself) were fans as kids & throughout high school, but when you’re actually a true Buckeye, as in, as student of the university, the spirit is different. It consumes you for however long your tenure and stays with you for life. Now that many of these friends have graduated, or are in their final year(s), they feel like that spirit has been crushed. They have every right to be angry. We all do. But, if anything, we’ve seen that this team is full of surprises, good and bad. That’s reason enough to stick with it.

Maybe it’s time to take a year and be the underdogs so we can feel the real emotions of college sports, rather than always being the B1G BAD BULLY OF THE B1G TEN. Of course it’s difficult, but whether you’re a student, an alumni or a forever fan who never attended, you can’t be fair-weather. You are the spirit of Ohio State.

Do I think the Buckeyes still have a shot at a bowl game? Absolutely. Do I think it’s going to take more than finger-crossing to get there? Of course! But at least it shows we have faith.

5. The Buckeyes are notorious for having trouble against the Zook. What do you think MUST happen to avoid the usual, another loss, and an 0-3 start to B1G play?

Michael: Braxton Miller must stay on the field; the defense must contain Nathan Scheelhaase; Ohio State must run the football well; the Buckeyes must avoid turnovers; and Jim Bollman must be locked in a closet. Calling and executing a trick play wouldn’t hurt.

Vico: Ohio State’s pass rush and secondary will need to win the day against Paul Petrino’s vertically aggressive passing-intensive offense.  The Illini (thinking especially of the Razorbacks in the Sugar Bowl, given the connection) will use a variety of route combinations to get skill players like AJ Jenkins the ball deep down the field.  The scheme is balanced and will use constraint plays to get 4 yards when the defense is playing its hand.  Yet, it has an explosive element that gives AJ Jenkins about 130 yards receiving a game.  Secondary needs an acute awareness of what’s happening and the defensive line needs to get in Nathan Scheelhaase’s face.  We’re not going to outscore Illinois as such, though we almost did that to Nebrasky until, well… you know…

Charles: The first thing that has to happen is that  there needs to be more mental toughness from the team.  OSU came out fired up against Nebraska, obviously having put their MSU loss behind them or used it for motivation, and I want to see the same thing against Illinois.  Adversity will happen at some point in that game, a play will go against the Buckeyes and I want to see more mental toughness out of the team than what we saw against Nebraska.  I am not saying that anyone quit, just that they couldn’t shake off what was happening and reverse the momentum swing.

We need to see better play calling on offense, similar to what we saw in the first half against Nebraska.  That will be tough because Illinois’s defense has been very good this year, though they are not unbeatable.

We also need to see the defense get after Scheelhaase, he is not a star quarterback but he is solid and is very capable of winning games for his team if given the chance.

Ohio State must 1.) Be consistent. 2.) Identify a leader. 3.)Not let Bauserman throw anything. 4.)Prepare. 5.)Not play in normal “versus Illinois” fashion.

Block O Table

I thought the Miami Block O Table questions were painful to ask.

I was wrong.

Between the consecutive not-top-ten worthy Bauserman plays and the junior high offensive line, I’m not really sure how much worse things could get for Ohio State. Alas, two days later, Gene Smith proves me wrong in another less-than transparent press conference.  After announcing the further suspensions of three players (Dan Herron, DeVier Posey and Marcus Hall) for Nebraska because they were awarded excess income for hours not worked, we all have to wonder, are these guys stupid? Don’t you think nine months would be enough time to figure out NOT TO TAKE ANYTHING FROM ANYBODY??? Oh, and let’s not forget Verlon Reed’s season-ending ACL injury, further diminishing the hope of succeeding against Nebraska.

Once again, my school schedule is preventing me from answering my own questions (yes, I’m still tweeting a lot, but half my grad project is monitoring and managing a social media account a non-profit, so I’m allowed to be on there!) but I think the boys nailed it nicely. Let’s go!

1. Probably the only good thing to come out of Saturday’s game was that Ohio State avoided it’s first home shut-out since the 80′s. The defense wasn’t all that bad, either. Can you guys think of anything else that looked good? I’m…drawing a blank…

Michael: Aside from the defense, nothing really looked good. I guess the special teams were fine, if unspectacular. There is a lot of work to do on the offense and among the coaching staff if anything is to be salvaged of this season.

Vico: We have talent.  Good, young talent.  We will have to see what comes of Verlon Reed and Mike Bennett’s injuries*, but we have some great youth in the program.  Ryan Shazier can be a phenomenal talent down the road, perhaps even this season on defense.  Curtis Grant has potential as does Doran Grant.  Devin Smith could be an all-everything WR and I’m not going to say Braxton Miller is going to be nothing but hot garbage for us.  He can be great.  Hungry Hungry Hankins is just a sophomore.  So is Carlos Hyde.  Darryl Baldwin and JT Moore could be all-conference performers by time they’re seniors.  Brad Roby might win a Thorpe Award as an upperclassman; he’s that good in man coverage.

So, that’s a taking-away point from an awful game on Saturday.  Those are just names I’m throwing out there in a hurry.  Look at our roster and see how many players in the 2-deep are sophomores or freshmen.  We have talent.  We might… no: we DO need coaches that can get the most out of them, though I am obviously thinking Bollman and Siciliano here.  I genuinely like Jim Heacock and believe in Paul Haynes and Taver Johnson as defensive back coaches.  Vrabel might still be getting his bearings as a coach, but has a high ceiling.  He could also ground and pound me and I’d prefer he not do that.

Charles: I think that the main positive thing that we can take from this game is the performance of the defense.  The D shutdown the MSU running game, forced a senior quarterback into a couple turnovers, and held the defending conference champions to only 10 points.  It takes some effort to find those good things however thanks to the overall gloom that the game result produced.

2. If you had to shift the blame for Ohio State’s disgusting display of offense, where would you put it? Or do you think the problem is deeper than something as simple as, say, Joe Bauserman’s sackability level?

Michael: Well, you could make a case that it’s Tressel’s fault for not sharing the damn email, but that’s just my anger talking. If Bollman is the offensive coordinator, then it’s on his shoulders to create a game plan and find a scheme that works for the players he has. He has done neither. Also, his offensive line has stepped backward, which is to be expected without Adams (thus far) and with two offensive guards graduating, but that’s supposedly his area of expertise. Part of the blame lies with inexperience at quarterback and wide receiver. I think Bollman bears the brunt of my finger pointing and Nick Siciliano’s uselessness is another key contributor. But I’m sure Nick runs a hell of a video machine.

Vico: Coaches. Easy.  It doesn’t help when Joe Bauserman one-hops intermediate passes.  It also doesn’t help when the pass rush from a quality defense like Michigan State is too fast for true freshman Braxton Miller.  He’s a better mechanical thrower than Pryor was at this point, but he’s not throwing against air.  He’s throwing against coverage that he’s struggling to read.

With that said, this is absolutely on Bollman (and likely Siciliano as well, who is also in the booth) for failing to put together a coherent game plan and for not getting the offense out of its own way.  Ohio State routinely ran power I into stacked fronts and insisted on sophisticated passing routes with several deep posts and square-ins when the Spartans were clearly sending numbers.  Unblocked defenders were meeting Jordan Hall in the backfield and unblocked pass rushers were sacking Joe Bauserman in the backfield before one of the deep passing options could get open.  It makes everyone look bad and the offensive brain trust is ultimately responsible.  (ed note. I already bitched about this in the recap post).

Charles: Some of the blame does have to be placed on the players as the performance of the quarterbacks and especially the offensive line left much to be desired.  However a bigger portion of the blame has to be placed on the coaches for not coming up with a game plan or adjustments to counter what MSU was doing.  MSU was blitzing and bringing lots of pressure but the coaches did not try quick slants or passes to running backs in the flats to counter those blitzes, instead they tried longer passing plays and more runs up the middle.  The o-line missed lots of blocks and the quarterbacks struggled but the coaches did not put them in the best position to succeed, something that we have seen in both of OSU’s losses this season.

3. A lot of fans have reached a verdict in the court of public opinion: Luke Fickell is out, somebody else has to come in.  At this point, what do you think lies ahead for Fickell’s career at Ohio State?

Michael: It really depends on what happens from this point on, which is a copout answer, I know. If he can even win seven games with this bunch, he deserves a chance with a real offensive coaching staff, but this offense hasn’t shown it can put up enough points to beat four B1G teams. Ideally, if he’s not the head coach, he and Heacock get to stay and coach the defense for our next head coach. The reality is that he’s probably coaching somewhere else next season.

Vico: It’s not looking good for Fickell for a few important reasons.  First, this is Ohio State.  We cannot afford for someone to hang around a couple years, take a few lumps and ultimately get into a groove as an elite coach.  We need to be elite, now, and into eternity.  If Fickell needs more seasoning before he becomes an elite head coach (and I genuinely believe he can be an elite coach), he can’t do it at Ohio State.

Second, his offensive coaching staff is not helping him.  Yes, the defense choked the first two drives against Miami, but ultimately rebounded thereafter.  Plus, we held a senior-laden defending conference champion to ten Goddamn points on Saturday and lost.  Again, we need to be great, and now.  I don’t want to write off Fickell because I don’t believe in this idea that we should phone it in and accept this season will suck.  The moment we do that is the moment we’re not serious about Ohio State football anymore.  Does it look good? No, but I naively hold to the fight song that informs me that I should fight to the end for O-HI-O.  If we soldier through to the end, Fickell might stay.  Bollman and Siciliano need to get out of my life forever, though.

Charles: I think if Fickell has a future at Ohio State it will be as a defensive coach/coordinator.  Fickell getting the head coach job was always a longshot as a school like OSU will tend to want a name that will help with recruiting and Fickell does not have enough of a name yet.  The poor play of the offense in three games so far has essentially sealed Fickell’s fate as far as being the head coach.  It certainly did nothing to help his cause when Fickell essentially gave up on the first half, choosing to head into the locker room rather than trying to run one more play before the intermission.  While any play at that point probably had little chance of success considering the performance of the offense so far, it sent a very bad message to the team and the fans.  I would love to see Fickell on the OSU staff next season but his fate will mostly depend on who is hired as head coach and if he wants to bring his people with him.

4. All-in-all, has your worry-meter level skyrocketed after Saturday, or has it stayed relatively similar to what it was against Miami?

Michael: I’ve learned to stop worrying and just take this season as an interesting science experiment that is unlikely to be repeated ever again (breaks knuckles furiously knocking on wood). Like the offseason that preceded it, this football season may need to be killed with fire when it’s all said and done.

Vico: The only thing I’m more worried about now is October.  I thought we’d beat Michigan State, lose to the Cornhuskers, lose to the Illini in a trap game and fight and claw valiantly against the Badgers.  Now? We might get smoked in all games this month.  November opens up a little with Indiana, Purdue and Penn Shtate, though how comfortable can we really be?

Charles: In some ways my worry-meter has skyrocketed as the way the offense looked I now have doubts as to whether or not OSU will qualify for a bowl at all this season.  Miami made it very clear that we had issues with the offense but the lack of improvement when facing a good defense since then is very concerning and does not bode well for the remainder of the season which will see very good defenses from Wisconsin and Illinois, a solid defense from Nebraska, and a fairly good Penn State defense.

5. Finally, just a few minutes ago, Ohio State held an always entertaining Gene Smith presser. Time to share your thoughts, frustrations, etc. starting….now!

Michael: Anyone who took improper benefits while this offseason from Hell was going on should be summarily kicked off the team and the university should disassociate itself with them. Anyone with judgment that poor has no business being an Ohio State football player, including DeVier Posey and Boom Herron. I’ve had enough. Examples need to be made. Hammers need to fall. Fire, brimstone, etc.

I think Smith should be fired and replaced with someone with a firm hand, who doesn’t completely embarrass the school every time he stands behind a microphone. Further, boosters need to be put on notice that none of this crap will fly, even if it is completely rinkydink when compared with the Nevin Shapiros of the world.

Vico: Frustrations? Not me!  Being frustrated would not be having arealgoodtime and Pitbull just texted me that it’s time for a one-of-a-kind taste.  I got me a six-pack of Dr. Pepper and I’m gonna find me the nearest freeway underpass and have arealgoodtime! See you at the sexy party, everybody!

Charles: Today’s announcement pissed me off at the actions of the players involved and sigh at how it just seems to fit with how the past 9 months have gone.  I agree with Michael that for these players to take extra money for summer work considering everything that has been going on at OSU, and the scrutiny it is under, is beyond stupid and these players should be removed from the team immediately.

People will try to downplay this by pointing out that this stuff goes on everywhere and just is not caught all the often.  While that is true that is no excuse, I demand better from OSU and there is no reason that we should not expect better from the Buckeyes.  I also think at this point Gene Smith needs to go, not only for his handling of these recent incidents and his overseeing of the department but also do to his eroding of the college atmosphere of OSU games as he adds a more corporate feel to those games in the name of increased revenue.

Block O Table

Happy Tuesday everyone! I’m so glad we’re back to talking about Buckeye wins, even if it is just a one week streak so far. As always, I’ve reached out to the OHD staff to reflect upon the past Saturday and provide predictions for the future. I’m not sure about you all, but I’m having a pretty busy week. Maybe it’s just the grad school thing that I signed myself up for (8 more months!), but my Tuesday is turning into a whirlwind. To save myself time and space, I am not going to provide my answers to my own questions at the moment (although I really like my questions this week) but I encourage you all to fill in the void!

Here we go:

1. Ohio State’s comfortable win against Colorado was a nice change of pace compared to what happened in Miami. What or who do you think made the biggest improvement and/or impact this week?

Michael: The biggest improvement came from the special teams, which were special in a good way. Buchanan keeps launching bombs inside the 5, Hall continues to be a home run threat in the return game, the kick coverage is improved behind heat-seeking missiles like Nate Ebner, Ryan Shazier and Zach Domicone, and Drew Basil seems to have righted the ship.

The special teams impacted the game by winning the field position war in lopsided fashion, allowing Brax to relax and forcing Colorado to squeeze their playbook a bit. Me likey. As far as individual players are concerned, I thought Braxton Miller and Devin Smith were much better this week. Christian Bryant playing more helped the defense.

Charles: I agree with Michael that the special teams played much better, I was very happy to see Drew Basil make some field goals which should really help his confidence during conference play. The kick return game was also much better which really helped in terms of field position. I think the biggest improvement though was in the offensive play calling. Braxton Miller definitely benefited from having plays called which suited his talent and abilities, which did not happen as much when he was in against Miami.

Vico: Defense, clearly.  Ohio State’s offense had the benefit of playing against a very small Colorado front with a patchwork secondary.  I didn’t see much from a play calling or execution stand point that wowed me or suggested marked improvement from last week (beyond Devin Smith making the case that he needs to be on the field more often).  Curiosity or pessimism about our passing game was unlikely to be allayed with a 5/13 performance by Miller, though 2 were for touchdowns (see: Smith, Devin).

Ohio State’s consistently short field position was great, but makes inference a little more difficult.  That said, the defense made sure it started on a better note than it did against the Rockets or the Hurricanes.  Against the Rockets, the Buckeyes’ defense conceded two scoring opportunities (omitting the blocked punt and return to the 1).  The Rockets wanged a field goal and scored a touchdown on those two drives.  Against Miami, the Buckeyes conceded two touchdowns to start the game.  Against Colorado, they conceded nothing, forcing 4 straight 3 and outs.  That allowed Ohio State to get an early 10-0 lead and, really, never look back from the first quarter.

2. It seems like Buckeye Nation is unanimously for Team Braxton. He played great, but I still saw him make a few freshman mistakes. What do you think are his strengths and what do you think he needs to improve on as we head into B1G play?

Michael: His athleticism and accuracy are his strengths. He makes plays where there is no play to be made, and has shown the ability to put the ball where only his guy can get to it. He’s still very raw though. He must work on following his progressions. Right now he’s probably tucking the ball after his second read. As he develops, he’ll be able to check his third option and beyond. As accurate as he is at times, he still needs some mechanical development. He missed a big play to Carlos Hyde by not setting his feet before he threw. Also, he has to learn self preservation when he runs, or he might be in a full body cast by midseason.

Charles: Braxton’s athleticism is obviously his biggest strength, allowing him to turn broken plays into something.  His passing accuracy is also better than I expected at this point in his career, though he still has some work to do on this front and that will come with experience.  As Michael said, he pulls the ball down and runs a little early instead of fully going through his progressions but this will also come with time.  One of the biggest improvements Braxton could make is in how he uses the blocks set for him, Denard Robinson does that very well (I really hate to say that about a Wolverine) and Braxton could learn a little from watching some tape of him.  A couple times against Colorado Miller actually ran into his own guy, slowing him down.

I also agree with Michael that Braxton needs to learn when to run out of bounds or slide in order to minimize the punishment he is taking.  The hits that a running quarterback takes over the course of the year tend to really wear on them and is one of the big reasons that they always tend to have injury problems.

Vico: If we are going to be without a passing offense this season, then Braxton Miller’s athleticism gives Ohio State at least an alternative rushing threat for opposing defenses to consider.  I’m not sure there’s much worse at a quarterback position than a pure passer who can’t pass.  If Miller is not quite there yet, his ability to scramble creates at least a new set of problems for opposing defense.

Still, higher caliber competition will expose some of Braxton Miller’s weaknesses, such as his inexperience in the passing game.  His first inclination to tuck and run at the first sight of pressure could lead to wear and tear by November, so the hope is that he learns to keep his eyes down field.  Remember that play in the third quarter where Miller started to scramble, but looked up and saw Hyde open down field?  He lofted the pass a bit, but he used his legs to expose a weakness in Colorado’s defense on that play.  Better execution would lead to a completion.  For now, I hope he works on that.

3. Speaking of the B1G, a lot of talk is circulating about the conference going through some growing pains overall. Do you guys think the B1G, overall, is going through an “off” season? If so, what do you think is the problem?

Michael: The B1G certainly hasn’t distinguished itself this season. Part of it is that Ohio State is the conference’s standard bearer and is having a turbulent year. With some of the programs, I think constant turnover is part of the problem. Minnesota and Indiana look pretty awful right now and Purdue doesn’t seem much better.  Minny and IU need to find good coaches and let them develop those programs. Those coaches might be in place now. We’ll see. Purdue’s issue has been not recruiting quarterbacks with bionic knees and the graduation of Ryan Kerrigan. The jury’s still out on Danny Hope. Iowa is Iowa. Sometimes the Hawkeyes are good and sometimes just meh. Penn State is the same way.

On the other hand, Wisconsin has looked good, albeit against very suspect competition. Illinois and Nebraska have been pretty decent, with the exception of the Western Michigan and Fresno State games, respectively. Sparty looks pretty similar to last year. Northwestern is hanging around despite not having Dan Persa. TTUN is still largely a one-man offense (but what a dynamic player to hang your hat on), however I see improvement in Ann Arbor. The defense has not improved much from the perspective of giving up points, yards and big plays, but they are countering that by blitzing a lot and creating turnovers and even some defensive scores.

Charles: I do think that overall this is a down year for the conference.  Other than Wisconsin, every Big Ten team has at least one glaring weakness that will cost them a game or two over the course of the season.  While Indiana and Minnesota are often bad and at the bottom of the conference, they both may be among the 15 or so worst teams in the country this season.  The question that comes to mind is whether this is just a coincidence that so many conference teams happen to have a issues at the same time or if this arises from the college game shifting toward one that is dominated by southern teams.

Vico: Who are the best quarterbacks in the B1G TEN, at least as viable passers? Russell Wilson? Check.  And then Nathan Scheelhaase, or Kirk Cousins?  Yeah, it’s that type of year for signal callers in the conference.  Denard Robinson and Taylor Martinez are phenomenal athletes in their own ways, but no one respects their ability to throw the ball.  Denard Robinson was national quarterback of the week against Notre Dame for a 11/24 and 3 INT performance.  Three of his four touchdowns came on terrible throws that his receivers caught against a very stupid Irish secondary.

Beyond that, Vandenberg is very vanilla for Iowa and the other quarterbacks in the conference include “two-headed monsters” at Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn Shtate.  I assume whatever QB that Purdue has now is an ACL tear waiting to happen and Indiana’s best quarterback is still in high school.  Defenses across the B1G TEN are still formidable, generally speaking, but there is a lot lacking at quarterback.

In addition, the coaching staffs in the B1G TEN are fairly green and not elite, nationally.  Ron Zook is the third longest tenured coach in the conference now that Tressel is gone, and that should speak fairly loudly.  Even the positions at stable programs like Penn Shtate and Iowa don’t perfectly coincide with quality.  Beyond that: Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota, and Indiana have first year head coaches.  Danny Hope is just terrible and he should feel bad.  Nerdwestern is Nerdwestern, no matter how hard it tries.  The “mid level tenure” programs at Michigan State, Nebraska and Wisconsin aren’t uniformly excellent.  Both Michigan State and Wisconsin are defending conference champions and are teams to beat this season, but their performances in 2008 and 2009 before that aren’t particularly good.  Bo Pelini is probably still finding his bearings as a head coach.

4. Back to Ohio State…The way I saw it, our special teams is finally starting to get it. Do you guys agree or do you think we still have a long way to go?

Michael: I agree that they are starting to get it. I still worry about protecting our punter and placekicker though. Basil’s sacrificing some distance on his kickoffs for hangtime, which may be helping the coverage unit. As I mentioned above, Buchanan’s placement has been impeccable and Hall must be scaring the hell out of the opposition. It was great to see Basil hit from 47, because confidence is huge for kickers.

Charles: I do think that the special teams are starting to get it, though there is still work to do.  Basil sacrificing distance on kickoffs worried me a little but our coverage was good and that really negated the extra yardage given to the opposing team by the shorter kicks.  Basil hitting a couple field goals was huge as I believe his problems were more mental than mechanical.

Vico: I hope so, but I don’t know.  Ohio State still has a fairly long stretch of special teams disasters dating back to the 2009 Iowa game and is only two games removed from the latest blunder.  If Basil can reliably reach the end zone on his kickoffs and if Buchanan can get the punt off quicker, I think we’re effectively set.  We’re seeing steps in that direction, which is good.

5. Two-part question here: What are some key things Ohio State needs to do to hold off Sparty as we commence B1G play? Also, what do you think Sparty is going to do to try to win (do or do not, there is no try!) or at least keep the game close?

Michael: Ohio State must protect the quarterback. That’s probably the most important thing – keeping Braxton upright and giving him time to come off his first read when the coverage is good. Miller needs to make quick (good) decisions and continue to improve his accuracy.

Defensively, the Buckeyes must tackle and the linebackers/safeties have to be better in coverage against the tight end in the middle of the field. And really, Ohio State must improve in every facet of the game. The performance against the Buffaloes was encouraging, but it was probably not good enough to beat Michigan State. I expect Mark Dantonio to dial up the blitzes against Braxton. Quite frankly, I expected more blitzing from Colorado. Dantonio will send guys from everywhere to confuse the youngster on obvious passing downs. We’ll likely see some zone blitzes and also 8-man drops on long yardage plays. And I think we’ll continue to see the box stacked on early downs. MSU will try to keep forcing third-and-long and then mixing their blitzes. One last thing: Michigan State knows we’re young on defense and there will probably be a trick play or two to defend. We must defend those. I would love to see Bollman open his playbook to the “unconventional plays” section once or twice too.

Charles: MSU will be the toughest opponent yet and the team will have to perform better in nearly every aspect of the game.  The offensive line needs to do a good job of protecting Braxton in order to lessen the chance of him making freshman mistakes do to being harried.  I would also like to see us attack the edges via sweeps, screen passes, and Miller running; Sparty has struggled against those types of plays at times this season.

On defense the Buckeyes need to defend well against runs to the outside.  MSU’s offensive line has struggled to open up holes in the middle for their running backs and most of their yards have come from running outside.  The OSU defense also needs to get pressure on the quarterback.  Kirk Cousins is one of the better quarterbacks in the conference but he has struggled when on the road under pressure.

I expect MSU will come out and try to set the tone early by running the ball and getting the early lead.  I agree with Michael that we will probably see a trick play or two, Dantonio has shown that he likes to use those in big games.  MSU’s defense is going to focus on shutting down the run game and dare Braxton to beat them with his arm; the Spartan secondary has been playing very well and will come up with some interceptions if Braxton is a bit off on his throws.

Vico: Michigan State becomes a special kind of vulnerable and self-defeating when Kirk Cousins is forced to do stuff.  The Spartans are basically a I Can’t Believe It’s Not Tressel Ball offense, predicated on setting up a third and comfortable for Cousins by liberally running Le’Veon Bell and Edwin Baker down the defense’s throat.  Against Notre Dame, Bell and Baker combined for 17 carries and 53 yards.  Cousins, when forced to do stuff, was 34/53 for 1 TD and 1 INT.

Last year against Iowa, Baker and Bell combined for 15 carries and 33 yards.  Cousins, when forced to do stuff, was 21/29 for 198 yards and 3 INTs.  Cousins also set up the huge deficit with the pick six at the end of the first quarter.  A similar story unfolded against the Rammer Jammers in the Capital One Bowl, though Michigan State’s inability to stop Alabama’s offense did as much damage as Cousins being forced to do stuff.  There are two ways of forcing Kirk Cousins to do stuff.  One is take away Bell and Baker.  The other is unloading on the Spartans’ defense with an offensive fury and make Michigan State feel it has to catch up in a hurry.  One is more likely than the other for the 2011 Buckeyes.

Meanwhile, Ohio State’s offensive “brain trust” will have to realize that Michigan State’s defensive coaching staff is one of the smartest in the country.  Expecting to fool Michigan State’s defense with designed QB draws/scrambles, like it did to Colorado, will not work as well.  Michigan State’s MIKE linebacker will be spying Miller and Michigan State’s front four is much, much bigger than Colorado’s front.

How does Ohio State beat Michigan State’s defense (currently ranked #1 in the country in total defense) when Michigan State is putting numbers in the box and daring Miller to beat them over the top?  Hopefully Ohio State has an answer.  A series of three and outs by our offense just gives the upper hand to Michigan State’s running attack.

Block O Table

Good afternoon, Buckeye fans. Whether you were hungover, depressed or a combination of the two, I hope you’ve all recovered from Saturday’s “upset” at Miami. In numerical and humility terms, yes, this was an upset, but if you really look at the logistics of our team, I’m not so sure I’m as surprised about this as most. Sure, I thought we would play better. I thought we would play much better. But this is a new team. If we really want to do the math, the equation goes something like this:

-4 veteran starters – adequate preparation for missing those starters + a QB less than halfway toward AARP eligibility + a freshman QB who arguably has more pressure than any other freshman QB in college football at the moment – a vest + affliction “endorsements” + heart – consistency = nothing close to resembling an Ohio State team we’ve seen in the last five years.

Whatever the sum of the variables, Ohio State is at a disadvantage in a number of ways, but so are most teams in CFB. It’s not up to us or our team to make excuses. It’s also not up to us to throw in the towel after the third game. The Buckeyes have lost in week two before. Sure, we were a better team, and so were the teams we were playing, but an L is an L. All we can do now is look forward to Colorado and B1G play. But before we do so, let’s see what the OHD staff had to say about the loss and their thoughts on moving forward.

1. Let’s get this question over with…What do you think was the most painful moment of the game?

Michael: There were two moments that were especially painful. One was the failure to punch in a touchdown following Roby’s interception. That would have made it 14-10 at the time and would have really put the pressure on a quickly-unraveling Jacory Harris. It would also have given the Buckeyes real belief that they could overcome the slow start. Settling for a short field goal felt like a loss in that situation and no doubt allowed the Canes to breathe easier and regroup. The second was the dropped pick six on Miami’s final drive. At that point it would have made it a 17-13 game (or 17-14 with a 2-point conversion) with more than eight minutes left. It wasn’t an easy play, but that was a lost opportunity. And Miami went on to convert a third down and put together a long, Tresselian game-killing drive.

Charles: I am not sure that I had one moment that could be described as the most painful.  I think the entire game was just a long, drawn out sinking feelings that just kept getting worse with every blown opportunity.  I guess the most painful moment was that first big run by the Hurricanes which instantly gave me the feeling that this was going to be a long night.

Vico: The entire third quarter was probably the most painful moment.  For me, at least, it was the moment it sunk in that we were not going to come back and get this win.  Ohio State’s offense looked outright horrible in the first half.  Its “halftime adjustments”, whatever those were, amounted to 6 yards on 12 plays on 3 third quarter possessions.  There was nothing I saw in the first half that indicated Ohio State had any answers for its own incompetence, and that just felt terrible.

The obvious answer is THE WHOLE GAME WAS PAINFUL, MARGIE! WHY ARE YOU MAKING US THINK ABOUT IT AGAIN? I DON’T EVEN WANT TO DO THIS STUPID ROUND TABLE THIS WEEK!! Luckily, these guy spared me the cynicism. For me, I’m going to have to agree with Michael on the dropped pick six. It was the turning point of everything, but unfortunately, the tables turned the wrong way.

2. A lot of fans feel Fickell should stop trying out this 2 QB system and start Braxton Miller. Do you agree? Also, do you think it’s fair to shift all the blame to the QB situation, or is there a bigger problem fans should be worried about?

Michael: I’m not ready to push the panic button after one loss, in a game that many felt would be a tough one to win on the road. That said, unless there’s an underlying cause that we don’t see on television, I’m officially off Team Let-Braxton-watch-and-learn. It’s possible that there are issues down the field with the young receiving corps keeping Bauserman from being comfortable throwing it. If that’s not the case (and the coaches would know this), then it’s time for the Baus to be the backup again.

As for whether or not it’s fair to shift the blame on the quarterback…of course not. But, fair or not, the quarterback and the head coach get the glory for wins and the blame for losses in the mind of John Q. Public. Bauserman didn’t drop any passes or give Miami a two-touchdown head start. But he sure didn’t help himself with his play in the passing game.

Charles: Based on what we have seen at this point, I think Fickell should only switch to Braxton full time if he is shifting his main concern from this season to building to the future.  At this point I do not think that we have seen enough from Braxton to suggest that he deserves the quarterbacking job all to himself, just like Bauserman has not shown that he should have the job all to himself either.  Obviously Joe has issues, mostly stemming from being too slow to throw the ball and being too cautious to take risks, his display of happy feet in the pocket against Miami is also concerning.  However, Miller did not do a whole lot better moving the ball on Saturday and he committed turnovers, which are to be expected from a freshman.

I think Fickell should keep the 2 QB system for now but he needs to work on improving the play calling to suit the person in at quarterback.  When Bauserman is in I would like to see a focus on using the run to set up the pass followed by some play action passes with some short passing plays thrown in to take advantage of Stoneburner and to build Joe’s confidence.  With Miller we can employ more zone read plays and quarterback roll-outs that put Miller on the corner and give him the option to run or pass.

I think the problems with the OSU offense go far beyond the quarterback situation.  The receivers had some issues getting open against the Hurricanes, not entirely surprising considering their youth, and they dropped way too many passes which proved costly.  The play calling was also haphazard and did not show any flow or even logic.  We were willing to go away from the run too quickly when it was working.

Vico: There is no value added from Joe Bauserman leading a disjointed offense to the field going forward.  As much as I’m sure I’d like him personally, that he was so unprepared to lead this team does not bode well for future games against tougher defenses like Nebrasky or Wisconsin.  A loss for Braxton Miller is a learning experience for a future investment.  A loss for Joe Bauserman is just a loss.

The QB situation is, as it stands, a symptom and not the problem, per se.  I understand that Ohio State was without 70% of its 2010 production for this game, but college football programs everywhere deal with attrition.  Auburn retained only its running backs from its offense and can still be productive.  Even qualifying that the losses were “abrupt” is not accurate since Ohio State knew in December that it would be without its offensive star players for the first five games of the season.

The problem is not that Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller are inexperienced.  Though true, this might explain a dumb interception like the one thrown by Braxton Miller and not explain the overall ineptitude of the offense.  The problem is the coaches for spending time detailing various packages for the offense, contingent on personnel under center, and not devising a coherent game plan that puts players in the best position to succeed.  It is not necessarily that Joe Bauserman was so woefully unprepared to lead this offense, but that the coaches failed to prepare him.  It should not matter greatly that an offense is inexperienced under center when it is a run-first ball control offense with a fairly experienced offensive line and an All-American at center.  And yet, it oddly does for us.

Vico brings up a good point about it not being a matter of experience, but a matter of positioning. Bauserman may never have gotten a lot of playing time under Tressel, but that doesn’t make him inexperienced, it just makes him not as good as anyone else who’s started in the last 10 years. He’s not terrible, if he was he wouldn’t be in Scarlet and Gray. But he’s not the answer. Not always, and not the majority of the time.

That being said, it’s easy to shift the blame to the quarterback because the quarterback is the leader. No. The coaches are the leaders, the quarterbacks are the centerpiece that make the main course look more presentable. There are a lot of gaps in this system that go beyond Bauserman and Miller’s control. As far as a starter for Colorado, I say give Miller a chance, let him build confidence at home in front of fans who overwhelmingly want him in the starring role, and see what he can do with a different kind of pressure.

3. Do you still think the Bucks can go 9-3 or 10-2 like we all predicted?

Michael: I still think this team is talented enough to do it. But it’s not going to be easy, and it never was going to be easy. The defense cannot afford slow starts, the quarterbacks must complete passes to wide receivers and tight ends, and there cannot be turnovers like we saw from Braxton (even though there will be turnovers if he plays…he’s a freshman. Duh.).  While 8-4 or even 7-5 might seem more realistic at this point, the return of Boom, Posey and Adams should help with leadership, and a more game-conditioned Jordan Hall will provide more explosive plays offense.

Charles: Of course the Bucks can still go 9-3 or 10-2, I think the first three weeks of the season have shown that every remaining team on the schedule, with the exception of Wisconsin, has some glaring weaknesses that can be exploited.  Unfortunately with the performances we have seen in the past two weeks, I do not believe we will do that well.  I think 7-5 or 8-4 are the more likely outcomes with losses coming to Wisconsin, Nebraska, and at least one other team.  The return of Posey, Adams, and Herron provides a major wildcard though and how they impact the team in terms of their play and leadership will be crucial.

Vico: Possibly.  Most people had the Miami game pegged as a “could lose”, though I think most felt we could actually weather the game and bring back the win.  Meeting those expectations for a January bowl game suggests no significant screw-ups going forward.  This includes beating Michigan and Penn Shtate.  It also means Ohio State needs to pick up a win against either Wisconsin or Nebrasky and avoid, as best as one can, a letdown in Champaign (my Ackbar game of the year, per our Block O Table).

I think we can do it, but it’s not going to be easy. A more attainable goal might be 8-4, but I don’t like to lower my standards. One thing to note is how weak the entire B1G played last week. I don’t think that’s either an advantage or disadvantage, but does anyone ever remember a time when the entire conference played poorly all in the same day?

4. The AP Polls were just announced. Ohio State is out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2004, ending the nation’s longest streak. Are you surprised by this? How long do you think it will be before they get back in it?

Michael: I wasn’t too surprised, but I think if the final score was closer we’d still be in there somewhere, around 22 or 23. I don’t think Ohio State gets back into the Top 25 with a win over Colorado unless it’s an impressive blowout. Should the Buckeyes get past the Golden Buffaloes, I think a win over Michigan State would do it, barely. That said, if we lose one of the next two, or both, we might not see a return to the Top 25 this season.

Charles: I am not at all surprised that OSU fell out of the Top 25 and after the performances we have seen against Toledo and Miami, they do not deserve to be ranked.  It is hard to say how long it will take to get back in as the depends in large part on how the teams ahead of the Buckeyes do.  Even a blowout win over Colorado is unlikely to do it, unless there are a lot of losses by the teams ahead of us.  A win against Michigan State could do it but the loss by the Spartans to the Irish have ruined a lot of their luster.  I think it will take wins against Colorado, MSU, and Nebraska to get the voters confident enough about the Buckeyes to put them back in the Top 25.

Vico: I’m not all surprised.  We’re not a Top 25 team at the moment.  Winning throughout should get Ohio State back into the Top 25, especially if they can win in Lincoln.  Easier said than done, but that would get Ohio State back in the rankings.

It’s a consensus, no one is shocked. Vico is right. We are not a Top 25 team right now. Could we get there again, sure. But it’s not going to happen for a few weeks. Instead of griping about how bad we are, what fans should be doing is showing support now more than ever. Nobody likes to be a loser. Everybody wants to be the best. But, there are 120 FBS schools. It’s better to be in the “others receiving votes” column than down at rock bottom.

5. As always, I have to ask, what is the biggest thing Ohio State needs to work on going into next week’s home game against Colorado?

Michael: Fixing the passing game and correcting our angles of attack on defense need to be the focal points this week.

Charles: On the defensive side of the ball the tackling needs to improve, the Bucks missed way too many tackles against Miami despite the overall good defensive play for most of the game.

On the offensive side the passing game needs to be fixed from both the quarterbacks and the receivers sides of it.  The play calling also needs to improve, against Miami I questioned if their was an offensive plan at all or if the coaches were just making it up as they went along.  The running game is solid, use that to set up the pass, incorporate more play action passes, and take a few risks with the play calling – throw in some surprises.

Vico: Start Braxton Miller and operate a game plan that will fundamentally keep defenders out of the box.  Work on play action and work on selling it.  Ditching the two quarterback system should be useful and Colorado is just bad enough to allow Braxton Miller a margin of error.

Defense should be fine, though I would obviously like to set the tempo sooner.  Miami scored two touchdowns on its first two possessions.  Toledo had three scoring opportunities on its first three possessions of the ball game.  It missed a field goal on the first drive and scored touchdowns on the other two.  Not good.

Start Braxton Miller. Play Joe Baus at certain points to take the load off, but if the Buckeyes really want to rebuild, Braxton Miller needs to build his confidence. I also agree with Charles that the entire passing game needs to improve on the offensive side. And, let’s not forget our special teams. Ohio State NEEDS to pay attention to its special teams if we want to make those overlooked, yet necessary, key plays happen.

Block O Table

Happy Tuesday, friends! Since the Block O Tables tend to bring in some quality participation from our readers, I decided to take control turn it into a weekly project. This week, we discussed the scare from the team that plays in the armpit of America and what’s in store for the Buckeyes as they head to South Beach. At the moment, I’m watching the Miami Dolphins get manhandled by Tom Brady, hoping the Hurricanes play just as bad, if not worse.

Let’s get started, shall we?

1. Obviously the Toledo game was a close call, but, as we all noted in our season preview Block O Table, we all put the Buckeyes on upset alert when it came to the match-up with the Rockets. Even so, were any of you surprised with the outcome? More importantly, what do you think was done well to avoid the loss, and what gave you the biggest scare?

Michael: I wasn’t overly surprised with the outcome. We knew Toledo was a good football team and that it was a potential trap game. Ohio State is young and Tim Beckman’s crew took advantage of that with plays designed to neutralize our defensive line and pit their best players against our young linebackers and secondary. I think Ohio State’s defense was essentially the difference in the game. The Silver Bullets adjusted to the screen game, started tackling better and were able to get pressure on the quarterback late, when it mattered most. What gave me the biggest scare was Rod Smith fumbling when it looked like Ohio State would go up by two scores.

Charles: I was somewhat surprised by the outcome as while I suspected Toledo to present a challenge, I expected the Buckeyes to eventually take control of the game.  As I watched the game I kept expecting OSU to step it up and put the game out of danger but they did not.  The thing that gave me the biggest scare was the playmaking ability of Toledo receiver Eric Page.  After Page turned a short pass into a long touchdown in the first half I kept expecting him to do it again.  On the last drive of the game my eyes were mostly watching Page, dreading him getting the ball.

Vico: I noted in the preview that we absolutely needed to manhandle Toledo’s defense up front.  Remember those few situations we had that were 2nd and 3, or 3rd and 2?  We needed to pick up those first downs in the subsequent rushing attempts to Hyde or Smith.  At a certain point (like: when the game begins), any opposing defense is going to key on stopping the run and the offense will be at a numbers disadvantage in the box.  This will prevent positive yardage plays, but it shouldn’t stop us from picking up the 3rd and 2.  Even when the box is stacked, I expect our offensive line to block for two yards and expect the running backs to plow forward with appropriate pad level and pick up the 2 yards.  That much was surprising, as well as disappointing.  It needs to get better, and now.

Positive notes from the game focus in large part on the secondary.  This was supposed to be the weakness of the defense, right?  Even with Howard out and Tyler Moeller playing like he’s lost at times, it often looks like the strength.  Dominic Clarke has been outright exceptional, as has Bradley Roby.  We have cornerbacks, and young ones too with bright futures ahead of them.  Elsewhere, Andrew Sweat has been our most consistent performer on defense.  He was appropriately blocked on Toledo’s second touchdown in the first quarter, but played superbly beyond that.

Biggest scare might be the inconsistency on the defensive line,  as well as the mounting injuries.  The defensive line is disruptive and very good against the run, but needs more TFLs and QB hurries/hits.  I think John Simon was just cramped, but we can’t lose him.  The sooner we get back Nathan Williams from his bone bruise, the better.

I was honestly surprised at how surprised I was with the outcome. Looking at the season, I, like everyone else, predicted Toledo to be a potential trap game. However, after the Akron game, my faith restored itself in this team. Sure, Akron is awful and Toledo should and probably will win the MAC, but it seemed like Bauserman was a different QB against the Rockets. However, I agree with Vico that the biggest scare was the inconsistency of the Buckeye defensive line. In the past, the defense has usually been there to pick up the slack for any offensive mistakes. This season, it seems like we might be seeing the opposite, which may or may not be the best thing, depending how you look at it.

2. It seems like both the Buckeyes and the Browns need to hash out some special teams issues. Which is sad, because this usually is the other way around. Do you think fans should be worried that Ohio State special teams aren’t playing in typical (well, Tressel-esque) fashion at this point in the season? Why or why not?

Michael: I think the special teams were a problem last year, aside from placekicking and it just doesn’t appear that they’re fixed yet. In fact, placekicking is now an additional problem. As an Ohio State fan, I do worry about special teams, although there are some signs that the coverage units are improving. You just can’t get kicks blocked and repeatedly miss field goals.

Charles: I do think that the issues with the special teams are something to be concerned about.  These are not a recent issue as we saw the special teams struggle last season too.  Drew Basil’s struggles when it comes to kicking field goals has left 9 points on the field and his miss against Toledo almost proved very costly.  The struggles on kick coverage are also of concern as nothing can turn the momentum of a game quicker than a kickoff or punt returned for a touchdown, see the start of the Wisconsin game last season and the blocked punt by the Rockets on Saturday.

Vico: I’m counting 3 blocked punts since the 2010 season, I think?  Miami’s two return touchdowns against us in 2010 gave them a puncher’s chance in the contest in Columbus. Wisconsin broke our back immediately to start the game in Madison last year.  Marshall even housed a blocked FG in last year’s opener, their only route to the scoreboard. Incidentally, that blocked FG came against Drew Basil, who still has not made a field goal in his collegiate career.  Quite simply: we basically suck on special teams.

And yes we should be worried because this appears to be the story since Derrell Johnson-Koulianos stormed Iowa back into a would-be cakewalk to the finish line in 2009′s senior day game.  Kenjon Barner kept Oregon in the Rose Bowl two games later.  This is a long term problem now for Ohio State that demands our attention.  The problems are multifaceted.  They include players forgetting their blocking assignments in the “Purdue punt” formation, Ben Buchanan taking forever to get off a punt, gunners not staying in their lanes, and just plain ol’ having a scholarship FG kicker not make a FG in two years.

Obviously, I’m worried about special teams. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have asked this questions. As the boys above pointed out, special teams mistakes can be extremely costly, yet we often overlook them when we think about the hierarchy of most important positions. This problem MUST be addressed soon if we want to prevent similar (or worse) mistakes as the schedule deepens.

3. Do you think the loss of the suspended players, specifically Jordan Hall, Corey Brown and Travis Howard, are going to start to have an impact on Ohio State’s performance as the teams get tougher? Do you think they will be re-instated by Saturday or is less than $300 a more serious offense than we thought?

Michael:I have no idea why these three are still suspended. We’ve been offered very little in the way of information, which is frustrating, to say the least. If it is proven that all they did was accept $200 in cash each, the suspensions have already been too harsh based on NCAA precedent. Ohio State already misses Jordan Hall’s versatility on offense, but I think the defensive backfield is ok for now, although not nearly as deep as it was with Howard and Pittsburgh Brown. Obviously, a reinstatement of all three would do wonders not only for the team, but also for fan morale.

Charles: I think anytime you have players suspended it has an impact on a team, especially when those players are expected to get playing time.  The fact that the length of their suspension is not known has an additional impact as it alters the team’s ability to properly plan for the upcoming game.  My guess is that the three will be reinstated for Saturday’s game but it is hard to tell as the NCAA’s decision making process on these things is not the most straightforward.  Whatever the decision is, I just wish they would determine it as soon as possible and announce it so that the team can prepare accordingly.

Vico: It will, but I’m pleased to know (or assure myself) that Dominic Clarke, Minister of Defense of Howard Island and interregnum head of state, has been playing at such a level that he just might secede and form the Confederate States of Clarke.  Oddly enough, we’re not missing Howard, but I do think we’re missing Hall a great deal.  Carlos Hyde has been serviceable in the two games we’ve seen him.  His vision is not quite what I’d like, but he’s the better option than Rod Smith at the moment.  Namely, he doesn’t dribble the football like Smith does.  Hall, though, is our best option at tailback with Herron out.  He sees holes better, has far more patience in the backfield and provides a receiving option in the flats.  I don’t know why it’s taken this long to get him unsuspended, but it should happen for the Miami game.  After all, what did he do, exactly? Rob a bank?  His punishment (as well as Howard’s and Brown’s) has already exceeded the suspensions for several Miami players, who gained more in impermissible benefits than any of the Charity Three are listed as getting.

It sucks that these gentleman were idiots and took money, knowing very well how much scrutiny was on them. Not too mention that this happened at a charity event. However, I do think those that have filled their spaces haven’t done all that bad. We can sit and point fingers about “well his crime was worse than his crime” all we want, but at the end of the day, it only matters what happens on that field and if we get that “W” in the win column.

We know for sure we’ll have our tatgate friends back for Nebraska, which has it’s pluses and minuses. We’ll have key starters back, yet, they’re key startes who haven’t practicing and playing before being thrown into a big game. With the Charity Three, it seems as if the NCAA is going to make this a game time decision, which really stinks because no one knows when they’ll be ready to be inserted into Fickell’s playbook. Hopefully they’re better at playing catch-up than they are at making monetary decisions.

4. I was at a wedding, so my contact with sports was limited to listening to the Buckeyes game on the radio on the way to Sandusky. But, I am aware some interesting things happened around the conference. What B1G team, besides Ohio State, takes the cake for week two’s most #lolwut surprise, either on the winning or losing side?

Michael: First of all, never go to a wedding on a football Saturday. Why are people still scheduling these? Getting back to the question, there are two things that jumped out at me. The first was Nebraska having trouble at home against Fresno State. They won, but I didn’t expect them to have such a hard time. The second was the fourth quarter in Ann Arbor, which was LOLWUT in its entirety. Perhaps never has pass defense been deemed so optional. The Irish seemed to be in as giving a mood as Catholic Charities USA, turning down the numerous opportunities to catch Denard Robinson’s underthrown jump ball armpunts. Or as Kirk Herbstreit calls them, smart, back-shoulder passes.

Charles: I agree with Michael that weddings should not be schedule on football Saturdays unless the couple getting married hates their invited guests.  I think the biggest surprise of the weekend was Nebraska struggling with Fresno State.  Most of the country expected Nebraska to come in and dominate the Big Ten so them looking vulnerable to a non-BCS team was a surprise.

Vico: Michael and Charles went with Nebrasky, and understandably so.  Fresno State’s offensive line had considerable success blocking for a diminutive tailback and protecting a freshman quarterback.  I’m going off the beaten path here and selecting Indiana for the hell of it.  They lost last week to Ball State in a game played in the Colts’ new stadium.  This is wrong on several accounts as the Hoosiers and Cardinals have no business playing in such a venue, nor do the Hoosiers have any good reason for losing to them.  On Saturday, they went for broke against Virginia, a quality opponent for their talent level.  They were down 23-3 in the third quarter and 23-10 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.  They exploded for three TDs, including a quick defensive score on a 54 yard fumble return to take a 31-23 with 6 minutes left.  They lost 34-31, because of course they did.

As I said, I’m not at liberty to answer this question, because I only know what I know from the scores. However, as much as the timing of fall weddings suck, this wedding was a blast and I probably would have regretted missing it more than I was bummed about missing CFB.  Congrats Jenna and Jarrett!

5. Looking ahead to Saturday, what are some key things Ohio State needs to work on if they want to avoid another scare in Miami?

Michael: Forget the scare; there are some things that have to happen just to avoid an embarrassing loss. The defense must tackle better and shed blocks. The running game must improve. Bauserman has to be much, much sharper, and the offensive play calling must be more diverse. Special teams must be about a million times better. Some interceptions by the defensive backs would be nice. They’re playing well so far, but the only INTs have come from the linebacker position. Come to think of it, the Buckeyes need to force more turnovers. Oh, and Drew Basil needs to kick the ball between the uprights.  Other than that, the status quo is fine.

Charles: I think the focus for Ohio State this week needs to be on getting the offense back to working as a unit.  This past week’s offensive struggles arose from failures by pretty much every part of the offense at various times that combined into a haphazard mess.  The o-line’s blocking was inconsistent, the running backs missed some gaping holes, and Bauserman misfired on several big passes.  The offense will need to settle down against Miami and play their game, with everyone being more consistent.  This will allow Fickell to open up the playbook and inject more diversity in the offense.  Consistent play by the o-line should also help Bauserman feel more comfortable; as we saw against Akron, Joe can be a very good quarterback when he is comfortable but against Toledo he showed that he can be impacted by pressure.  An improvement in the field goal kicking will also be a big help.

Vico: Ohio State needs to spend the week fine turning various components of the offense and the offensive philosophy.  They don’t have classes yet.  I think we’re better zone running at the moment than we are with Dave.   Joe Bauserman must, must, must sell the bootleg better and I think we have the talent to incorporate that into our zone plays.  The fly sweeps that we attempted early in the game against Toledo were means to loosen up the defense and get some excess numbers of Toledo’s box on defense.  Problem being: Toledo adjusted immediately to follow the sweep and we never used that as just a threat and not the designated play.  I think we could’ve burned Toledo a few times.

I want more consistency from the defensive line.  Miami has the athletes in the back field and showed (to me, at least) a very good offensive line in defeat against Maryland in Week 1.  If the front four can step it up, we could take over the game against the Hurricanes (questions on offense notwithstanding).

I’m just going to go ahead and sum up everyone else’s answer: Basically we need to improve everything or Mark May will dwell on and on for days about the U being awesome and how bad Ohio State is. Well, actually, win or lose, he’s probably going to do that anyway.

Block O Table

A long, nearly insufferable offseason of Ohio State football concludes on Saturday when the Buckeyes kick off against the Akron Zips to begin the post-Tressel era.  Just as Jim Tressel started his reign in Columbus at home against the Akron Zips, so will Luke Fickell (who was incidentally an assistant on that 2001 Akron squad).  With the start of the season a measurable number of hours away, I wipe the dust off the ol’ Block O Table and invite Margie, Michael and Charles back in to talk Ohio State football.  Oddly enough, I just noticed the particular image I Photoshopped for these features has three chairs opposite the head of the table.  I, naturally, am at the head of the table because I rule and it’s my table. Mine.  I also assume I have the comfiest chair.  If not, I demand a transfer of the comfiest chair at the table to my position at the head of the table.

While the discussion was done via series of e-mails, we hope it ties together neatly as if it were a conversation.  We invite you to jump in.

01. Joe Bauserman looks like he’ll start against Akron.  Does he start against Nebrasky and Michigan? If not, who will (I’m guessing you’ll go the Braxton route here, if you choose to do so)?

Michael: I do think Joe will start against Nebrasky and I hope he starts the whole year. The reason I say that is because it likely means that he is playing/has played well, and that would be a good thing for more than just the obvious reason. The other reason is that it would allow a more natural “easing in” process for Braxton Miller. That said, if Miller is truly good enough to take the position, then I’m for that, by all means. If Bauserman plays poorly it’s bad for Ohio State and rushes the Braxton era into being. I don’t think that’s a good thing, though it could potentially work out fine.

Charles: I agree with Michael that Bauserman will start against Nebraska and I hope he does so.  I suspect that we will only see a change at starter if Bauserman struggles.  It certainly sounds that we will see both Bauserman and Miller used in games and I suspect at first Miller will be mostly used on plays where he is more likely to run that throw.  Over the course of the season Miller will turn into more of a balanced qb as he is given more of the playbook to deal with.  As this happens he will start to take more minutes from Bauserman.  No matter how good Miller does, I still suspect Bauserman will start against Michigan but Miller could end up playing most of that game.

Margie: Barring any injuries or major September screw-ups, I agree with the boys that Bauserman does indeed start against Nebraska. According to everyone who’s been covering Buckeye camp, it looks as if Bauserman is much improved from the last few seasons. This gives Miller the advantage to grow as a freshman should, rather than get thrown into the high-pressure situation that’s upon them. As far as Michigan is concerned, I think it depends on Bauserman’s performance against Nebraska and Wisconsin and the progression of Miller in practice and when he gets in the game.

Well, we have unanimous agreement here at the table.  The fan base appears torn on this issue and mostly leaning toward the idea of playing Braxton Miller immediately as the investment in our future.  I’m expecting big things from Miller in the future.  But, if for whatever reason, he is not the designated starting quarterback, I genuinely hope that Bauserman can carry the load.

Consider the allegory of the incumbent politician, who stays in office forever as long as he produces results and provides for the constituents.  He is turned out, with prejudice, when he fails at that task.  That is Old Man Bauserman this season, in whom I have no interest in seeing failure.  That said, going with Bauserman invites its own set of risks.  Bauserman getting the lion’s share of snaps suggests the coaching staff is confident in Bauserman’s ability to manage a game relative to the other options.  Further, they should have some confidence in their ability to move the ball in a fairly vanilla offense where Bauserman will be unspectacular at most facets (but hopefully solid).  Miller gives an added dimension in the run game that the coaching staff must feel is not imperative as long as they can get yards on the ground through standard zone plays and our ol’ buddy Dave.  I hope it works.  And, if it works, then Bauserman starts through the season.  And I’m fine with that.

If it doesn’t work.  If Ohio State needs zone read plays to get yards on the ground and if Ohio State struggles noticeably in pass protection or, of course, is Bauserman is the second coming of Austin Moherman, then the switch is made.  I really don’t care who quarterbacks the team, though I’m aware of the strengths and weaknesses of all four options.  It just has to work.

02. Ohio State has no shortage of land mines in the schedule, but what’s your Admiral Ackbar It’s A Trap! Game of this season? And why?

Michael: Admiral Ackbar is camped out in Northwest Ohio. I see Toledo as a big early trap. If Ohio State comes out and pastes Akron as many people expect, it would set up the Miami road game as the next potentially big game, depending on what’s going on with the Hurricane suspensions. But Toledo is a pretty decent football team. I don’t mean the Rockets are “good, for a MAC team.” I mean they’re good, period. I expect Toledo to be a much tougher challenge than we’d like and an overconfident Ohio State team missing key on-field leadership from last year and due to suspension (Boom, Posey, Rolle, Homan, Heyward, etc.) could potentially DERP this game away if the Buckeyes are careless with the football and/or the O-line plays poorly. Intensity in Week 2 is vital. Other games Admiral Ackbar will be watching for cleverly disguised ruses are Colorado, at Zook and Purdue Harbor.Although I’m not as worried about the latter since Ryan Kerrigan has moved on and they may be on their 6th-string quarterback at that point.

Charles: Toledo has the potential to be a trap due to a lull in intensity following opening week and preceding a big road trip to Miami.  Colorado could also be dangerous as they are a BCS conference team but with that being the first game with that being the first home game with all the students back on campus, I expect the added crowd energy will fire up the team.  As strange as it is to call the reigning Big Ten Co-Champs a trap game, Michigan State is the game that screams trap the most to me.  Over the last decade OSU has a history of handling MSU and it is easy to dismiss the Spartans due to their history of the past few decades.  Combine this with the fact that this game occurs the week before the trip to Nebraska, probably the most anticipated game of the season, and it is very possible the team is not fully focussed for this game, making Sparty probably the most dangerous opponent on the schedule.

Margie: Well, Akron should get rid of its football team and put all of the money towards its soccer team. I wouldn’t really call conference play trap games because anything can happen there. Colorado potentially. Miami doesn’t matter, they’ll lose regardless, and there might not even be a game there. So, I’m going to follow suit and choose Toledo. Like Michael said, they’re not just good for a MAC team, but good overall. I’m hoping that because we’re preparing ourselves for this, it won’t bring on the same LOL’s of Michigan’s App State debacle.

I like that all three chose Toledo.  I actually got into an argument w/ an Ohio State pal in St. Louis while I was there for two weeks in the summer.  I noted my anxieties about Toledo, and he scoffed at them.  That game could be trouble if our offense is dysfunctional enough to manage only 17-21 points against a great offense, but anemic defense.  I’m sure Tim Beckman had that game circled moments after the suspensions were upheld and Tressel resigned, thinking of exactly that type of outcome.

As for me? Illinois has my Ackbar senses tingling.  How can it not?  Paul Petrino has give a new lease on Ron Zook’s inexplicably long tenure in Champaign.  His arrival has turned the Illini from a haphazard kluge of Juice Williams’ zone reads and deep heaves to Rejis Benn to a working copy of brother Bobby’s offense in ArKansas.  Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase will enter a sophomore campaign a year removed from an impressive freshman campaign that saw the Illini get its first bowl win under Zook and first bowl win since the MicronPC.com (!!) Bowl in 1999 against the Virginia CavaHoos (or whatever they’re called).  Plus, the Illini host the Buckeyes in that shitty wind tunnel they call Memorial Stadium for the second year in a row.  Yes, it’s true they haven’t defeated us there in nearly 20 years, but the potential is all there (sans a defense that might take a step back from 2010).  It will be one week after a signature game against the Cornhuskers and a week before the bye.  I hope we’re ready.

03. Philly Brown and Andrew Norwell were our impact freshmen at wide receiver and offensive line.  Incidentally, these two positions are noticeable problems for the 2011 team.  Who, if anyone, do you think will make a similar impact at these two positions this season?

Michael: At receiver, I expect Verlon Reed to make an impact, particularly if his sticky fingers from training camp carry over into the game schedule. I also see Devin Smith stepping in and contributing some meaningful plays. For these younger guys, I see blocking as the area they must contribute something positive. We know they can catch and run. On the line, I expect Jack Mewhort to contribute some good things but beyond our first string things get sketchy really fast.

Charles: I have to stick with my guys that I gave some love to in the post-Signing Day Roundtable and give some more love to Evan Spencer and Brian Bobek.  Both have impressed so far during camp and have climbed onto the depth chart.  Both will get plenty of time to shine, Spencer due to the lack of star power at receiver and Bobek due to the coaches wanting to give the backups on the line some playing time since they are so inexperienced.

Margie: I’m actually in complete agreement with Michael on this one, on the Verlon Reed part, basically because of his camp performance. Hopefully things don’t change on Saturday. And…well…that’s about it for the moment. I wish I could say differently.

I already hitched my wagon to Devin Smith, who, with some rose-colored eyes, I see as having the type of contribution Santonio Holmes had as a redshirt freshmen in 2003.  By the end of the season, he might be dragging two toes in the end zone in a BCS bowl like a future pro.

My outlook on the offensive line is considerably bleaker.  I fully expect the depth problem to only be mollified by the return of Mike Adams from the suspension and my feverish prayers that everyone remain healthy throughout the season.  I’m not expecting any immediate contribution from the freshmen beyond a “That’ll do” from Brian Bobek.  I’m not expecting Chris Carter or Antonio Underwood to immediately impress.  That said, one story I expect to emerge near season’s end, when Adams, Brewster and Shugarts prepare to say goodbye, is the future of Andrew Norwell.  By time we play the Indiana schools, we might be telling ourselves “Wow, Norwell might be a first round pick in the future.”  Norwell is only a sophomore.

04. What is your best case scenario for the 2011 season? What’s the worst that could happen? What will end up happening?

Michael: I think the best case scenario is a repeat of 2002. The defense should keep us in games and if the offense can take care of the ball and help the defense stay somewhat fresh, the talent is there to have a special season. The key is building early momentum and confidence (a.k.a. surviving the first five games), and keeping the “silence the doubters” and “shock the world” themes going. The worst thing that could happen is an early non-conference loss, a couple early conference losses and an unthinkable loss to Fred Flintstone’s bunch in Ann Arbor. The most likely scenario is a 9-3(ish) season, because a first-time head coach and a first-year starter at quarterback are not generally conducive to B1G championships. But the team is talented enough to win the games it should win. Nebraska, Michigan State and Wisconsin will be very difficult games. Penn State will be somewhat tough (at Miami potentially falls into this category). At Michigan is a rivalry game, so emotion plays as big a role as talent and first-year quarterbacks don’t have a great record in that game. Toledo and at Illinois will be somewhat-difficult games where turnovers or special teams gaffes could tip the balance.

Charles: Of course the best case scenario for any team is to run the table and win the national title.  Even with the suspensions and the questions at o-line, Ohio State has the talent to run the table on the regular season and make the National Title game, though they probably can only be one other undefeated team for them to make the title game.  The worst case scenario is that all the off-season troubles catch up to the team mentally and the hasty transition to head coach causes Fickell to be less effective as a coach than he should be.  The team blows a non-con game to someone and then gets rocked by the difficult start to the Big Ten schedule which also hurts confidence.  The team ends up 6-6, including a loss to Michigan, gets invited to the Pizza Bowl and the NCAA decides to wait until next year to hand down a bowl ban.

As much as I would like to say that I think the Buckeyes make the National Title game, I just do not see it happening.  The beginning of the conference slate is too tough and I think we lose at least one, but most likely two, of the games against Michigan State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.  A random fluke loss elsewhere on the schedule sends OSU to 9-3 and finishing second in their division.  The time off before the bowl game will allow the younger players on offense to improve and unless they draw a really unlucky matchup, the Buckeyes give Fickell a bowl win that he can use to make a solid case that he deserves to keep the head coach job.

Margie: Best case: Obviously go undefeated, win the inaugural B1G Title game, win a National Title and get the term “Fickellball” into Webster’s Dictionary, all while ESPN fires Craig James.

Worst case: Lose to Toledo, Miami, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn Schtate and (ick) Michigan. Pat Forde somehow takes the credit and lets us know through one-word paragraphs. Craig James gets promoted. Fickell doesn’t get the job (obviously) and we get someone fatter than Brady Hoke for 2012.

What’s going to happen: A National Championship is highly unlikely, though a B1G Championship is still possible, even with a couple losses. With too many key players out the first five games, the Buckeyes are vulnerable to losses at Toledo and Miami, and probably Nebraska. I know we want our team to “shock the world,” and I think they have the potential to do so, but I don’t forsee an undefeated season. My logical prediction is 9-3 (two to ranked B1G Ten opponents and one fluke loss, most likely to be from Toledo) and a second-place conference finish. My dream wish is exactly what I outlined in my best case scenario, or at least the firing of Craig James.

My best case scenario is another conference crown and trip to a BCS game.  I still see at least one conference loss in us even in a best case scenario, so I’m not envisioning a national title.  That said, that should be the goal every year and I encourage this team to prove me wrong and thoroughly shock the world f*ck the world and everyone in it.  Still, I see at least one L in Fickell’s first year in Columbus.  It could be the trap game I identified against Illinois.  It could be on the road against Bo Nebrasky and his very tough outfit in Lincoln.  Whatever the case, even my rosy prediction has us outside the national title picture.

Worst case scenario is a replay of Tressel’s first season, but without the season-defining win against Michigan.  This cannot and must not happen.  We cannot lose to Michigan ever again.  Once this entire century is one loss to Michigan too many.  A pox on them.  The rosters aren’t even comparable, but a loss is conceivable if Ohio State is limping to the barn at the end of the season.  If there’s no fire in the squad and a lot of anxiety about the team’s future (*gulp*), a let down against the Wolverines is not out of the question.  To that end, Wolverines’ fans would need a bit of a best case scenario from their own squad (the Wolverines’ offense adapts to new scheme nicely and an undersized defense plays at least average).  But, it can happen. And it must not happen.  With my last breath I curse them to the darkest quadrant of hell.

My sensible prediction follows Michael, Charles and Margie.  Therein, the Buckeyes go 9-3 or 10-2 and play in the Capital One Bowl against an SEC team to be named later.  In this sensible prediction, the Buckeyes could still win their division.  However, the bold (can I call it that?) proclamation is that Ohio State must win the B1G to be in the BCS.  They will not get an at-large.

But, to close on a happy thought, my super best case scenario is a national championship season with cake and beer.

Cake and beer, with beer in cake. It's like looking at the face of God.

…which will be celebrated with BIG AMERICAN PARTY!!!

Yaaay!

Block O Table

Jim Tressel’s sudden resignation and Terrelle Pryor’s departure from the football program has elicited a variety of responses among the Buckeye faithful, largely clustering into two separate categories. Some fans have taken the news as a call to arms, either defending the coach that knew too much and marching to his house in solidarity, or asking “why us?” when Cam Newton’s father essentially admitted to shopping his son to the highest bidder and with Colt McCoy’s wife also confessing that Texas football players are also on the take.  The reaction here has been stunned silence for the most part as everything happening is straight out of a Penn State or Michigan fan’s wet dream.  Charles, Margie, Michael and myself exchanged some e-mails about everything to fill the void, assuming the form of a “Block O Table”.  Feel free to add to the conversation in the comments section.

01. Legacies are built over time and change over time as well. Given their abrupt, and intertwined, departures, what becomes of the legacy of Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor for you right now?

Michael: I’ll always see these as two different, yet linked, departures. Pryor made mistakes of immaturity, ego and selfishness – common among young men of his age in this era of entitlement. I have no doubt he had to go, and my memories of him will be formulated only when the final sanctions are announced. If the NCAA should find a lot of Pryor violations and come down with the sledgehammer, obviously it will not sit well with me. If what has already been proven is all that comes of this, I’ll still remember TP fondly as a player, particularly the Rose Bowl victory, his late TD catch against Texas and of course the fourth down pickup against Iowa, just one play after Posey dropped his perfectly-thrown pass. For me, TP’s legacy will be mixed…he’s a talented player, I enjoyed watching him off the field, but he didn’t take full advantage of his opportunity and missing his senior year will keep him from owning every OSU quarterbacking record.

Tressel, on the other hand, is a grown man who made a mistake. I don’t really know what line of thinking went into the decision to make that mistake. It could have been ego – “my way of teaching is more productive than the NCAA’s.” I prefer to think it wasn’t just about winning games, because in my mind a 4-game suspension in 2010 was much easier to weather than a 5-game suspension in 2011 for those five players. I honestly never thought it would cost Tressel his job unless more was discovered and was pretty devastated by the resignation on May 30. I was particularly bummed because it happened on my anniversary. I will remember Tressel as, arguably, the best coach OSU has ever had and one of the best in college football history. I honestly believe he’s a good man that made one very bad, and costly, decision. All of those ex-players and his colleagues can’t be wrong. As Maurice Clarett said on the Dan Patrick show, you can’t be a fraud for 30 years without being found out somewhere along the way. Ultimately, I hope that after the witch hunt plays out and the NCAA findings come out, that Tressel’s legacy in the public eye won’t be tarnished. Personally, I will always remember his tenure fondly.

Charles: I think that the legacies of Tressel and Pryor will be vastly different depending on whether you are an OSU fan or not. Buckeye fans will see the two has having separate legacies with little connection while the majority of the rest of the nation will always see them as intertwined.

I think Pryor’s legacy will be that of a talented kid who did not reach his full potential do to the poor choices he made. Pryor was a young, star player who was presented with a set of rules that he needed to follow but was also presented with numerous opportunities to gain financial advantage from breaking those rules. Like many players before him, Pryor did not have the maturity to resist those temptations. At the same time, Pryor was also guilty of being egotistical and his history of making comments that were obviously not well-thought have forever given him a legacy of being a deeply flawed young man who always headed for trouble. I think among OSU fans there will always be a sense of regret regarding Pryor and what he could have been if he had been more mature, if he had kept out of trouble. Personally I am happy that Pryor is leaving, in large part because of his choice to sell what should have been prized mementos from his time as a Buckeye. The impression that Pryor gave was that being a Buckeye was not important to him and while I can forgive making a poor decision, I cannot forgive not caring about your school and team.

Tressel will have a vastly different legacy depending on who you ask. Non-Ohio State fans will see Tressel as a coach who was always surrounded by smoke and who finally got caught. This scandal, and the fact that Tressel lied to the NCAA, will serve as all the evidence that many people need to assume that all the past allegations were true and that Tressel was always cheating. Buckeye fans will be more forgiving, in fact we have already seen this. In the eyes of many Buckeye fans Tressel will always be a good coach and a good person who was unjustly punished for a mistake made in response to his players. Personally, I have met and talked with Tressel a few times, once for an extended period, and I do believe that he is a good person who made a huge mistake. The problem was that not only did Tressel make a mistake, he kept making more mistakes while trying to cover things up. As such, while I will fondly remember the majority of his tenure fondly, there will always be that smudge on it that causes me some sadness.

Margie: Michael said it perfectly when referring to the departures as “separate but linked.” When we talk about this story in this context, it’s as if we’re discussing good and evil. In Ramzy’s column (which I’m sure you’ve read by now), he discusses how Tressel gave these kids the freedom to make their own choices. He didn’t smother them and he also didn’t let them run around Columbus slinging guns. As a soft-hearted father figure, rather than bringing fear onto the field, he was a mentor. Also as a father figure, he did whatever necessary to protect these kids. Unfortunately, his protection of their reputations cost him his own. I think the majority of Buckeyes, and many non-Buckeyes, can agree he was a great man that made a huge mistake.

Pryor, on the other hand, has always been and probably always will be, a case of cockiness. Anyone who has ever worked in the Columbus sports media knows this. It comes off in his demeanor in interviews and it comes off in the way he struts around school as if he owns the place. My freshman year was the year of Troy Smith and Ted Ginn. The year of 42-39. And also the year Florida owned OSU in the championship. But for sake of bad memories, let’s just go back to Smith and Ginn. Maybe I’m biased because 2006 was my first year as an official Buckeye, but I have yet to witness a more dynamic duo than Smith and Ginn on a college field. Not just at OSU, but anywhere. Two years later, when Pryor, I found myself completely underwhelmed. Sure, he improved since his freshman season, and ended up being a pretty great quarterback. But the thing that got under my skin the most was his pompous attitude. His way of not owning a room, but demanding to own the room.

I’ve always believe that no matter how well you perform at your job, if you are kind, respectful and humble, any blemish on your skill is minimal, just because you are a good person. Yes, Tressel screwed up, and his departure was probably the right thing to do, but I would never put him and the words “human garbage” in the same sentence (well, besides this one, but you get the point). Tressel bled Scarlet and Gray. Tressel was passionate, not just for the game, but for all the kids that stepped out onto that field every Saturday from September to November. Pryor came to the Buckeyes because they paved the way for him to be great and not necessarily because he always wanted to be a Buckeye. When tat-gate kicked off, Tressel made those kids promise to stay for their senior season. As soon as Tressel resigned, all of them banded together to uphold the Buckeye spirit by keeping their promise to the coach that gave them so much, except for Pryor. To me, being a Buckeye is more than walking around campus and wearing scarlet and gray. It’s an aura that consumes you, and you embrace it. You share your pride at some point throughout your day. But, like in all things people worship, there is always a blemish. Despite all his improvements on the field, Pryor, to me, will always be that blemish that needed to be sloughed off.

My wording of the question underscores my belief that Tressel’s and Pryor’s respective fates are unmistakably intertwined, but I suspect their legacies — broadly understood — will diverge over time.  Tressel will survive this and, over the years, he will be greeted warmly by alumni and fans.  Fans still think well of him to march on his house after quitting his post in light of new allegations regarding the atmosphere of the football program and the star quarterback he recruited, but I suspect more than a few fans have a hard time looking at him now.  I know I do.  There is a lot of grief among Buckeye fans right now as we are taking a pounding in the media and in the college football landscape writ large.  It’s far worse than the Florida and LSU debacles.  A lot of that grief is on Pryor.  Even more of it is Tressel’s responsibility.

Yet, time heals all wounds and Tressel has done too many other things for the program and the community for his departure to be the first thing by which we remember him.  I have no doubt the punishment to be given by the NCAA will be harsh and, frankly, I would welcome what USC got (2 year bowl ban, scholarship reduction limiting recruiting classes to 15 over 3 years).  However, Woody Hayes arguably did worse for the program by admitting to advancing money to players deemed to be in need.  It put the football program on probation in 1956.  He also kinda punched some Clemson bro.  None of that defines Woody Hayes for the Buckeye fan.  Eventually, this scandal will not define Jim Tressel for Buckeye fans either, who will more likely remember him for our first national title since the Super Sophs of 1968 and also, just as importantly, for turning the Michigan rivalry on its ear in a manner unparalleled by any other Ohio State coach, perhaps on either side of the rivalry.  Rival fans will remember him as the guy who confirmed the narrative, a wolf masquerading in sheep’s clothing (i.e. a sweater vest).  But, fuck them.

Pryor’s legacy will not survive this scandal.  The much ballyhooed Jeannette, Pennsylvania recruit we hoped would be a program savior will be remembered as a program cancer by most Ohio State fans.  You may gather by my hero worship of Donnie Evege and tribute posts to the likes Nader Abdallah and Austin Spitler that I believe every player, be it Archie Griffin or Srecko Zizakovic, contributes to the Buckeye lore that defines us as individuals.  They should all be remembered and celebrated.  Pryor did a lot of good things on the field.  His performances in the clutch against Iowa and Oregon in the Rose Bowl would otherwise be legendary.  Once the NCAA starts striking his victories from the record, his legacy becomes a huge net negative for which the “good times” don’t exist by NCAA decree.  Instead, we’re left remember him as the guy who, from the moment he stepped foot on campus, appeared determined to realize every dumb message board-type slander against the football program as serial cheaters for which a dollar sign in lieu of the S in OSU is witty commentary.

Tressel’s more responsible for all that happened, but Pryor will get the bigger long-term punishment.  I never, ever wish Buckeye players “didn’t happen”, even for problematic legacies like Steve Bellisari or Art Schlichter (for their own very different reasons).  I kinda feel that way about Terrelle Pryor right now.  I would just as soon forgo his on-field performances and accept the uncertainty that follows having Todd Boeckman quarterback that 2008 team through the season, or having someone like Antonio Henton, Rob Schoenhoft or Joe Bauserman at the helm for the past two years.  I would rather take that than deal with this.  That might change over time as I get older, but I don’t know.  I don’t wish him harm and I don’t hate him as a person.  I don’t even know him.  But, I’d pretty uncomfortable if he showed at Ohio Stadium to be honored as part of the 2008 team.  I’d clap because I would feel compelled, but not hard and not often.

02. On my dumb blog, I outlined several reasons for why Ohio State should preserve the institutional status quo surrounding the football team (not included: compliance dept, obviously) and make Luke Fickell the priority in getting the job. Do you feel that the only way to fully move on from this scandal is by searching for an external candidate and starting over?

Michael: Well, first of all, your blog isn’t dumb. So there. I think it’s very important to separate Jim Tressel’s ideals from the current scandal. I don’t think OSU should throw the baby out with the bath water here. Despite this mess, JT instilled a very good culture at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and one that his assistants and the vast majority of his players bought into. It’s also one that other successful coaches have tried to emulate. That culture consists of being thankful for the opportunity to be part of the OSU football tradition, paying forward their good fortune upon those who are not as fortunate, being accountable to your teammates, taking responsibility for your actions, etc. It’s vital that we keep that in place.

Fickell, ultimately, should be judged for his performance. That said, it would be unwise to expect too much from him, considering the fact he’ll have a first-year quarterback and some very tough games. If Ohio State loses four or fewer games this season, it should be viewed as nothing short of a huge success and Fickell should be given the job. Even a five-loss season wouldn’t deter me from wanting to keep him, depending on how those transpired (and which teams they are against). Ohio State should absolutely consider other candidates, because due diligence is important, but I also think it’s important to consider Fickell the favorite and see how things play out. I would hate to see a sizeable recruiting hole develop due to uncertainty with the coaching position, so I hope that Fickell can get this team off to a good start (say…5-0?) and force the powers that be to keep him. Also, I hate the idea of him going to someplace like Illinois and kicking our ass every year.

Charles: I agree with Michael that Tressel instilled a culture among the football program that was mostly good and important to continue. At the same time, hiring a coach from outside of the program would go along way toward removing the dark clouds that hang over the program in the eyes of the rest of the country. While many Buckeye fans would say that it does not matter what the rest of the country thinks, they would be wrong. Perception of the program is important, primarily in terms of recruiting. A program that is perceived as dirty is likely to scare away some recruits and to give other coaches an easy sales pitch when they are recruiting against Ohio State.

I think Fickell will have one season to essentially audition for the job but I think that in the end politics and the image of the program will matter just as much, if not more, than the results on the field. I think a good record on the season (four losses or less) would make a strong argument for Fickell to get the job but at the same time, coaching for one season does not give a completely accurate view of how well he will be able to recruit and develop players, as well as make staff decisions. I also think that if a premier name coach expresses interest in the job, nothing short of going undefeated, or maybe losing only one game, will save Fickell. The other important question related to Fickell’s fate is how will the donors respond to him, and I cannot begin to guess on that.

Margie: As Michael said, this blog isn’t dumb. If it was, we wouldn’t be doing this, now would we?

Anyway, I think we really have to wait and see what happens. We can’t jump to 2012 when we’re only in mid-June 2011. Fickell knows the shoes he has to fill. He’s had enough time with these kids to know how they work. He’s not going to suck, but we don’t really know if he’s going to be “good” either. The argument surrounding this that irks me the most is “Oh, Fickell should go be a head coach at a MAC school and build his resume before he comes back to the big time.” First of all, this further emphasizes how every MAC school is perceived as the B1G Ten’s B****. Attending grad school at a MAC School, I realize sports aren’t everything, but it’s what the schools are giving their money too. Nobody likes when a coach comes on for a couple years and then peaces out as soon as more numbers come his way. I find this insulting to everyone involved and passionate about those schools, especially when the crappy football teams get the most of this money. Secondly, if Fickell gets a winning record at Ohio State, wouldn’t taking a position at a smaller school be a slap in the face? He already would have proved himself at OSU in the same amount of time most MAC coaches do. I think if he does well, we should keep him. If he doesn’t, well then it’s back to the drawing board, that of which anyone with a brain could tell you, is not containing Urban Meyer.

I’m already on the record on this, so I don’t have much to add.  Fickell should be the priority in getting the job and I think we’d be screwed pretty hard if it’s clear to us through midseason that he is unfit to be a head coach.  Fickell isn’t even 40 yet.  His youth would allow him to weather the future NCAA storms and emerge before his coaching prime, if he reaches it with us.  Buckeye fans would still need to keep a bayonet at his back to let him know that we don’t accept failure and we won’t tolerate accepting this as a time when we’re not going to be very good.  That’s loser talk.  Ohio State has enough going for it be one of the premier destination jobs in college football, but it would be hard to justify the likely scholarship reductions and bowl bans for an external candidate like a Jon Gruden or an Urban Meyer (assuming they would accept the job if offered).  Any established external candidate would be accepting a three to five year handicap off their current “coaching primes”.

Like I said previously, we’re putting Fickell in a position to fail and fail hard.  This is not an enviable position for him right now.  If he emerges with 8-9 wins and fights valiantly in defeat, I would be happy to promote him, while again keeping the bayonet at his back.

I will also burn down the athletic director’s home if someone stupid like Paul Rhoads gets it.

I’m serious.

03. Terrelle Pryor’s resignation (can we call it that?) from the football team means we’re no longer looking for a temporary expedient at the all too important position of quarterback. We’re now looking for the next era. We have (ostensibly) four options: Old Man Bauserman, recent redshirts Taylor Graham and Kenny Guiton and, perhaps the popular pick, true freshman early enrollee Braxton Miller. Who starts against Akron and who starts against Michigan?

Michael: There are so many question marks and variables regarding this question. If Tressel were still in power, I’d be comfortable saying Bauserman against Akron and perhaps Miller at Michigan. However, I don’t have a feel for how aggressive Fickell will be when it comes to offense. Knowing that this is his one-year audition might affect his decision to start a true freshman, plus, he’s a Tressel disciple in many respects, which lends itself to limiting turnovers. However, if he is confident he can navigate this season with a great record and retain the job, he may decide that the future is now and go with Braxton Miller. I have no decent read on this situation at all. If we can whip the offensive line into shape, it could even be Taylor Graham. If forced at gunpoint to predict, I will assume that Fickell is as aggressive on offense as on defense and hitches his wagon to the kid, Miller, for the 2011 season.

Charles: I agree with pretty much everything Michael said. Tressel would start Bauserman and maybe have Miller in by the end of the season if Bauserman struggled. Fickell’s choice will likely depend on his offensive strategy and what he thinks he needs to do to get the head coaching job. If Fickell thinks he has a good chance of the job, and if the o-line and running backs can produce, I think he may go the safe route and start Bauserman or possibly Taylor Graham and count on the quarterback to make a few plays but mostly not make any crucial mistakes. If Fickell thinks that he needs 10 or more wins to get the head coaching job, then he is likely to go for the bigger risk-reward scenario and go with Miller and hope that his athleticism trumps his youth and inexperience in the college game. My guess is that we will see Bauserman get the start against Akron, with Graham and Miller seeing lots of playing time. By the end of the season I expect we will see either Graham or Miller, with the deciding factor being the performance of the o-line and the running backs.

Margie: Since Akron is Kent State’s biggest rival, this question makes all kinds of hate steam out my ears. The difference is that OSU and Michigan are notoriously good at football while Kent and Akron are not. And not only is Akron one of the worst teams in Division One FBS, but also the worst team in the MAC. The only way the Zips have a shot at a win is if half the soccer team decides to put on helmets and trade kicking a round ball for throwing an oval one. However, if it happens, expect to see a low budget film made about said triumph within the next ten years or so. As far as Michigan is concerned, as much as we love to hate the Wolverines, something needs to be decided in the QB camp by Thanksgiving. No matter who the opponent, conference play is always the toughest. The fans have more to say and the emotion runs high. It also helps that Michigan has true fans. Living in Akron and going to Kent for a year, I can honestly tell you that most of the students at the two schools could care less about MAC football and the ones that do still like bigger (in the market sense, anyway, we don’t oversign in Ohio, right?) teams, be they OSU, TSUN, Penn State or whoever else you picked when you were a kid.

That being said, I think Bauserman would be the best candidate against the Zips, with Guiton and Graham as backups, just in case. His “experience” is enough to execute basic plays against a terrible defense, and is enough to give Miller the chance to sit back and observe. I feel like the kid is just going to have way too much pressure on his shoulders and would probably be more relaxed if eased into the game plan. I think this will keep him focused and allow him to concentrate at a higher level than if just tossed out to the piranhas (or, Kangaroos in this case). It will also keep him at a safer distance from any injuries so he’s healthy and ready to go Wolverine hunting in November.

Of course, this could blow up in my face, in which case I will be further convinced I need to get far away from the city of Akron.

Is everyone in agreement that Joe Bauserman starts against Akron and doesn’t against Michigan?  That would be bad news for the 2011 football team since it would only happen if Joe Bauserman was struggling mightily and we were dropping decisions through September and October before the Michigan game.

This has to be the weirdest quarterback controversy in recent NCAA history.  The weird thing is that all four candidates, who have contrasting styles all their own, all have very good reasons as to why they should be the starting quarterback for interim coach Luke Fickell.  If Fickell’s priority is to win now, Old Man Bauserman’s experience might be enough to get him the job in a year where Fickell is going to be very reliant on Jim Bollman and Doc Tressel.  With our stable of tailbacks, a conservative quarterback who can connect on the occasional constraint play, like a Taylor Graham, might be the way to go.  If we feel we need to make the quarterback someone who is a run threat, Kenny Guiton might be a good candidate, especially since he has a few more years in the program than Miller.  But, if the future is truly now, Braxton Miller might be the man to begin a new era of Ohio State football and hopefully define Fickell’s tenure in Columbus.

Given everything that’s been happening, we have almost no information about how this quarterback battle has been resolving itself.  It’s anyone’s guess.  I too suspect Bauserman will start against Akron and, somehow, fear he won’t against Michigan.  I’d be just as happy to have him start the whole season if it means he’s performing well and winning games.  Look for Taylor Graham to be battling Braxton Miller to be the guy that tries to unseat Joe Bauserman if he stumbles along the way.  Taylor Graham is the best passer on the bunch, but is even more stiff than Bauserman, can overthrow his passes and doesn’t make the best decisions on a roll-out.  Miller is a true freshman and no one will know what his composure is like until he’s burned.

This should be fun, no?