Couple things:
1) 4th and inches, Illinois has the punt team out and OSU calls timeout. Illinois comes back and runs for the 1st down. Excellent time out.
2) Hey ABC, wanna mention the fumble on Illinois first drive? The one on the goal line? No? OK
3) Maybe this time they'll pass... Nope... how about this time? No? OK this time they gotta pass... OSU's defense might want to look for the run at some point.
4) If anyone is surprised that OSU had trouble with Juice Williams, they obviously didn't watch OSU's game against Washington and James Locker. Locker would have these long drives that would end with an INT or some kind of mistake. Williams didn't make those mistakes.
5) There was going to be a game where Todd Boeckman stunk it up and the defense needed to step it up. This was it. Too bad the defense stunk it up too. Also, Boeckman threw some terrible picks. The one in the endzone was brutal (he got spooked in the pocket, even though there was no pressure).
6) Everyone pile on OSU. Please. Come on, they didn't deserve to be number 1, they didn't play anyone good, blah blah. Enjoy it. Only 2 of the 24 starters are seniors, they're gonna dominate next season.
7) In the same vein, OSU fans shouldn't be that mad or upset. Seriously, this was the rebuilding year. There's still a chance for a BCS game.
8) Speaking of the BCS, this is great. Obviously, I'd rather have OSU go undefeated... BUT if they were to lose, I'd want it to screw up the BCS as much as possible. And having OSU as one of the 1-loss teams hurts the BCS. The more big name teams with 1-loss the better.
9) Maybe they'll pass this time...
10) I was worried about Michigan losing and playing against Ohio State free and easy with nothing to lose (solely to mess up OSU national championship hopes). Well, both teams lost... so... ya...
2 comments:
I agree with just about everything you said, Ben.
I'd like to think NCAA might do something about a football playoff b/c of so many 1-loss teams, but doubt that they'll actually change anything even though it is obvious the current system is an absolute joke.
Big time mistake by Tressel to call that timeout. Zook even said he rethought it once time was stopped.
Boeckman was exposed. He's played pretty well, but he also has been throwing up a lot of junk this year that either didn't hurt the team or ended being caught by OSU great receivers.
That was really disgusting how they ran out the last 8 minutes. Inexcusable.
And finally, that blown call on that fumble was HUGE. It's just as silly to say "Illinois outplayed Ohio St. anyway" or "OSU didn't deserve to win anyhow" as it is to say that blown call was the reason why the Buckeyes lost.
The answer lies somewhere in the middle. That call had a major impact on the game, not only in terms of the 7 point difference in the final score but just as importantly, the momentum swing was critical. Was it the reason why they lost? Maybe, maybe not.
I also had the same thoughts regarding Michigan. OSU will match Michigan's intensity for sure. I expect a win.
A lot of people were comparing this year's OSU team to 2002, mostly because of all the 'lack of respect' talk plus 'they just keep winning' but I found that ludicrous.
The 2002 team won a lot of tough games in the final period (or survived, whatever). This team hadn't had a game where they got punched in the mouth and came back and won.
The last 8 minutes were brutal. Of course, the defense gets the blame for the bulk of it (hey guys, they're trying to run out the clock, they ain't passing) but Boeckman and hte offense deserve some blame. They only had the ball for roughly a minute before Boeckman threw that INT (into double coverage). You needed to give your defense a least a little bit of rest at that point.
If they beat Michigan, they'll still get a BCS Bowl, which would've been my goal way back at the start of the season.
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