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Offense-
Put simply, the offense was an abomination at Penn State. Some of our problems can be attributed to Penn State's D and coaching staff, but we are so easy to defend. Our arsenal of plays may reach double figures in number. We again over-saturated the shotgun look and most plays are snapped with 1 second on the playclock. This may seem harmless but be assured the opposing team's defense tees off when you are constantly snapping the ball so late. Why the staff is so tardy in getting the plays signaled in is tough to answer. In fact, the staff (read: Tressel) got progressively worse as the game went on. Early in the game we, our offense was breaking the huddle with 13 or 14 seconds on the clock. Toward the end of the game, Troy Smith was still waiting for the play with the clock below 15.
Most disturbing in all of this is the realization that it's probably not going to change. Jim Tressel is the offensive coordinator. I don't see JT removing himself from the playcalling duties. He gets some guidance during game week from Jim Bollman but the vast majority of what you see is Jim Tressel's doing. He is a classic negative thinker, choosing to worry about what could go wrong rather than seeing the power in his fully stocked stable of athletes. As a result, you see a transformation of players from fluid to rigid. I believe they are scared to make mistakes rather than encouraged to make plays. The Buckeye 50 Yardline was succinct in summing up their feelings, much of it I agree with. Notable is that fact that JT has tried to implement changes and tweak his philosophy. We certainly aren't the same type of team we were 2 years ago. But, the results of change are lacking.
I don't believe I recall seeing a more frustrated group of Ohio State players. During the Penn State game, I saw Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn and Antonio Pittman show emotion that screamed frustration. They jump up and down, quiz the staff about why they aren't seeing the ball and rip their chinstraps down running to the sideline. They aren't pouting. They are confused and bewildered like most of us watching. There is an unbalance when AJ Trapasso is touching the ball more than Santonio or Ted or even Gonzo.
Even when things did go "well" offensively, the time it takes to drive is inordinate. On our TD just before half, that drive took nearly 8 minutes. It consisted of small chunks of yardage, several 3rd down conversions and over a dozen plays. We are the antithesis of a quick strike offense, as weird as that may be with speed like Gonzo, Ginn and Holmes. Our big play ability has atrophied or regressed because of lack of attempts or a QB that cannot make the throw or read. If he can't, get someone who can. If you don't have one, then it's on you as a staff. Have some accountability.
That all said, we still had an opportunity to win the game at the end. There is no question losing Kirk Barton early in the game provided unforeseen challenges to the staff. How you handle the challenge is important and shuffling the line twice wasn't the best reaction. It also hamstrung us that Santonio hurt his left ankle yet again. He lost some of his speed and wasn't able to push the DBs off him. We still crossed midfield 3 times in the 2nd half and came away with zero points. The best we could manage was a 50 yard Huston FG attempt. This group and staff gets a half a Buckeye Leaf rating, mainly for showing up and getting 11 players on the field.
Defense-
Some may think this rating is too high. However, I though the Silver Bullets played very well. PSU had scored over 40 points 3 times already this year, including against Minnesota. Michigan's vaunted offense could only muster 20 v. Minnesota.
The Bullets set the tone pretty early with Tyler Everett's near interception on the first PSU drive. He mistimed his jump but his play caused the incompletion. There were times Hawk, Carpenter and Schlegel missed tackles or took poor angles or the DB were a little soft, but it was pretty infrequent. The defense still held PSU to under 200 total yards, under 100 yards passing. The only subtraction here is the missed tackles and lack of QB sacks. Otherwise, it was about as solid as you get considering the environment. I have included a highlight video of some of their impressive plays and it can be seen here. Please save to desktop before playing.
I thought David Patterson grew up in this game. He really did yeomen's work and was rarely singled out by the commentators of ESPN (even though Bob Davie did an outstanding job IMO). Patterson and Kudla were getting held all night with only 1 flag called if memory serves. I will say that it looks like we are rotating less this year along the defensive line. I saw Joel Penton get a few snaps as well as Lawrence Wilson. But, the versatility of Carpenter is keeping some other players by the wayside, namely Vernon Gholston. Being that we are nearly at the halfway point, I wouldn't mind seeing Gholston get redshirted.
Special Teams-
Had Josh Huston not made a 30 yard FG or AJ Trapasso punted as well, this would be a zero or half leaf rating. Huston did miss a 50 yarder to the right, again. Trapasso started out well but struggled a little in the 2nd half. Without question, the most disappointment comes on our return game. It has gone south quickly. Ted Ginn appears to be afraid of contact so he doesn't run upfield anymore. I'm not sure if he's hurt but if he is, put only Santonio back. Ginn also muffed two punts, one he covered his own fumble and the other he let a crucial punt go over his head. These misplays were egregious and costly, especially the latter which backed us up to the 11 yard line.
I think the experiment of having Ginn and Holmes back should be shelved. We are getting consistently beat by the gunners because we are trying to single them on the outside. Let's double the gunners and put only 1 punt returner back. As it stands now, the gunners are making plays and our punt return average continues to plummet.
::Other Thoughts & Observations::
*Big kudos to Penn State's crowd. They were jacked and it, no doubt, helped their team. This was their "Texas game" and they came through.
*Huston's short kick was a slip and a byproduct of Penn State's new field. His left, plant-foot didn't slip as much as the tee moved by the sliding earth.
*Why doesn't Zwick signal in plays?
*The INT return to the 2 yardline was gigantic. Really, it could be said it was the difference in the game. I have been a Troy Smith supporter (and still am) but I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Justin in when Troy struggles mightily.
*How about some of those spots by the referee crew? On the one Davie pointed out as being off by a full yard, the ball was actually moved during the timeout to an even worse spot!! I have included screenshots below to illustrate. It didn't adjust the outcome of the game, only shows how bad and cavalier B10 officiating is.
--Horrible spot (before commerical)--
--Even worse (after commerical)--
