Olentangy Offerings
1) I did a podcast on my buddy R.L.Malpica and I's Cleveland Sports Outsiders before the game.
Remember that I (tongue in cheek) picked Oregon to win and we talked about the problems at quarterback for 2015,if all three quarterbacks returned.
Good luck with that decision,Urban Meyer!
2) I spoke on the podcast about that I thought the key was the Oregon pass rush and how much they could pressure Cardale Jones.
They didn't do much against Jones,which enabled him to throw the ball with ease most of the time and since they couldn't key on Jones-Oregon couldn't...3) Key on Ezekiel Elliott,who was basically unstoppable in rushing for 246 yards and four touchdowns.
Elliott was the key reason for winning these games as Elliott put the numbers up that made one think more of Eddie George and Archie Griffin than what Buckeye fans expected from him.
Elliott is most likely the preseason favorite for next years Heisman....
4) Underrated play that might have swung the game Oregon's way-after the first drive resulted in a Ducks touchdown,the second saw Marcos Mariota hit a wide open Dwayne Stanford in the hands with a ball that Stanford would have likely scored with.
Stanford dropped the ball and Oregon would not score another touchdown for the rest of the half...
5) Oregon was able to move the ball against Ohio State,but another key was poor red zone and third down conversions against the Buckeyes.
Oregon scored just their first drive touchdown in the red zone and was an anemic 2 for 12 on third down.
That will rarely get the job done against good teams...
6) There was no doubt that this was all Ohio State.The Buckeyes turned the ball over four times with three of them in Oregon territory.
This game was close was close for three quarters,without those turnovers-it would not have been...
7) We all too often hear about the speed possessed by the SEC and to a lesser extent the Pac 12 school and Ohio State has come a long way in cutting into that gap under Urban Meyer,but there still is a place for rugged Big 10 style football and this win showed it on both sides of the football.
The Ohio State offensive line shoved Oregon off the line to create those gaps for Ezekiel Elliott and the front seven allowed Marcos Mariota hard earned yardage,but other than the opening long strike in the second half,only occasionally allowed the Ducks the big play that marked their offense this season...
8) I wonder if the Big 10 would like to reconsider their selection of Minnesota's Jerry Kill as conference coach of the year?
Three quarterbacks and a national title,think Urban Meyer wins a re-vote?
9) The other key play of this win?
The Buckeye defense stepping up after Cardale Jones had the ball slip out of his hand and turning the ball over to Oregon on the OSU side of the field.
It was the only time that I felt that Oregon was ready to swing the game their way and the defense dug down and held Oregon to just a field goal.
The three points cut the lead to one,but holding the Ducks out of the end zone kept the lead and felt like a victory...
10) We wrap with a look at 2015,where I would think that Ohio State will be ranked either first to start the year or worst second to TCU.
I'm fine with either because under the new system,it's not where you start,but where you finish.
Too bad TCU (who is on the Buckeye schedule for 2019 and 2020) isn't on the schedule next year-I'm sure that game would have a ton of hype over the summer!
11) Bonus-Stuff it Mark May!
No comments:
Post a Comment