Ohio State football is on hiatus until the 2010 season begins on Septe
mber 4th against Marshall at the Big Horseshoe.Buckeye Branches
1) Terrelle Pryor was a deserving MVP,but give some credit to Jim Tressel for loosing up the offense a bit and giving his prize player a chance to open up a bit.
Tressel's play calling was a welcome change from the usual "Tressel Ball" and was a major factor in the victory.
2) Pryor looked as good as he has all season and his determined running on a few key third downs were a key as well.
Pryor still needs plenty of work on his passing,but with continued progression,he could be a Heisman contender next season.
3) Underrated stat of the day-time of possession.
41:37 to just 18;23 in favor of Ohio State and it wasn't a deceiving stat either.
Sometimes it just means that you are giving up quick scores or touchdowns off turnovers.
Not on this day as Ohio State was able to keep the ball and use their offense as part of the defense.
4) Nice games for recievers DeVier Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher as they combined for 17 of Pryor's 23 completions and Posey caught one of Pryor's two touchdown passes.
5) What great catch by tight end Jake Ballard in the fourth quarter drive that put the game away!
Ballard leaped into the air and hauled in a high Pryor toss on third and 13 to keep the drive alive.
I have always thought Ballard was underused in the OSU offense and I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a NFL starter down the road.
6) I thought the biggest play of the game though was LeGarrette Blount's fumble out of the end zone in the third quarter when it appeared that Oregon was beginning to take command of the game.
Instead,the fumble gave the Buckeyes the ball and pretty much ended Oregon's day as far threatening.
7) Of all the deciding factors in the win,one that most might have missed was the play of linebacker Ross Homan.
Homan was the player keying on Duck quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and made Masoli hand the ball off more than Oregon likely would have preferred and eliminating the options that make their offense so dangerous.
Homan has announced that he will be back in Columbus next season.
8) Ohio State lost one of their star underclassman defensive linemen,but it wasn't the best one in my opinion.
Thaddeus Gibson announced his intent to apply for the NFL draft,but Cameron Heyward is staying in what could only be described as great news.
It appears that Gibson will be the only Buckeye underclassman to go pro as of now.
9) Wideout Lamar Thomas,who was the main kick returner in the Rose Bowl has announced plans to transfer to a school that he hopes will play him at running back and wide receiver.
Good luck in that.
10) Seldom used safety Rocco Pentello is moving on as well.
Pentello will be transferring to Ashland,where he will have two years and immediate eligibility.
Pentello will return to his high school position of quarterback and duel with former Ashland Arrow Taylor Housewright for the starting passing job with the Eagles....
11) The Big Ten should hear less from the critics this off season after a 4-3 bowl record that saw the conferences top four finishers (OSU,Iowa,Penn State and Wisconsin) all nab wins with others coming close with near misses.
Northwestern took heavily favored Auburn to overtime,Minnesota lost by a point to Iowa State and Michigan State acquitted itself much better than expected against high powered Texas Tech.
Photo Credit-Marvin Fong -Cleveland Plain Dealer
1 comment:
Really, the most insightful comment of the night was that both teams' defenses were lining up against the offenses they see in practice. The real shock was how well the Oregon defense played when it was backed up against the wall -- most of the season it merely had to impede the opposing team long enough for the offense to catch its breath.
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