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Offense -
Is there any disagreement on this being a one Buckeye leaf effort? I would think not. One of the few bright spots was the running and effort by Antonio Pittman. He ran with a burst on Saturday that hasn't been seen here since the Michael Wiley days. Clarett was a bull but didn't have the burst that Pittman showed. In the same vein, I would also have to tip my cap to the offensive line. They were up against of the top defensive lines in the country and perhaps the best DT in Rodrique Wright. Wright was largely a non-factor thanks to Robbie Sims and Nick Mangold. Sims, incidentally, graded out to 93% according to Tressel. Having said that however, 2 of Texas' 4 sacks came on blown assignments from our Tackles. Doug Datish missed the blocking call and Zwick was clobbered. Similarly, Kirk Barton tried one of the worst attempts at a cut block I've ever seen which allowed his man to sack Troy Smith.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention coaching and or playcalling or the QB carousel. None of them made much sense or had an element of flow or design. Actually, I'm not even going to spend much time on the QB debate. I have my preference and I made it known before Texas. Following the game, I was down on Justin but after watching the game again, I realize I was too hard. He didn't play too poorly and he is throwing the ball better than last year. But, the playcalling? What's the design or flow? What are we setting up? There is a faction that think its about the number of called passes compared to runs. It's not. Not even close. It's about using the entire field. Working the deep third, the middle of the field, and getting the opposing D on roller-skates. This happens using the run as much as it does that pass. I've harped for long time that we don't run a basic toss play. This should be a staple and it's non-existent in our offense. I also believe we work too much horizontally to the line scrimmage. And, when we do go vertically, it's often on the sidelines. There were occasions where we lined up in double tights using Hamby and Roy Hall. Both TE's released into routes and, instead of using Hall's speed in the seam, we have him running a simple 4 yard flair route.
The coaches have a tough job and it's easy for me to pick it apart when things don't go well. But, this is 5 years of bad offensive production.
Defense -
As much as I want to award this crew with 4 Buckeye leaves, I can't. Not with TD Ashton gave up in the waning minutes. And make no mistake, it was mostly on Ashton. Yes, Nate Salley didn't get over as quickly has he should have but Ashton was beat badly. This wasn't a typical a Cover 2 situation where Ashton let the WR by knowing he had help (Nate) over the top. Ashton was out of his back-peddle almost immediately and had turned his back to catch up (paying no mind to the flat as he would in a typical Cover 2).
Still, the D was nearly flawless after the first 2 series of the game. Forced fumbles and 2 INTs gave the offense prime field position most of the night. All 3 linebackers were excellent with AJ Hawk showing why he's the best LB in the country. The front 4 did yeomen's work by tying up the Texas OL so they could not release to the 2nd level. There were some other breakdowns (tackling and assignments) but all in all, a good performance, one that would win most games.
Special Teams -
Even with the missed safety and the poor coaching decision to pooch kick, this unit was exceptional. Josh Huston was 5-5 on FGs until he just missed a 50 yarder. Our return teams compiled nearly 200 yards in runbacks (a factor that minimized offensive yardage, along with TOs). Coverage teams, sans the missed safety, were solid and big kudos to AJ Trapasso. I was really worried about our punting this year, but he has calmed my fears completely. He will be an All-American before he's done and he was crucial in helping us control field position all night.
::Other Notes and Observations::
* Anyone else notice Santonio hurt his ankle in the 1st Qtr? On Santonio's first return, he had no tape on the outside of his shoes. On his following returns, his left ankle was heavily taped. Probably just a minor issue, in fact, he was back practicing today with seemingly no problems (see photo).
* On Texas' first TD, Donte Whitner was expecting inside help from Anthony Schlegel. Schlegel was sucked in on the inside handoff fake and left Donte.
* While many, including myself, wish Hamby didn't drop the TD pass--not many are talking about Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzalez caught a Troy Smith pass in the 2nd Q in which he lost his balance and fell down (but got the first down). Had AG stayed on his feet, he likely scores. Texas defenders were rushing from the middle of the field to cover.
*All Points Bulletin for: Sirjo Welch, Eric Haw, Lawrence Wilson, Dionte Johnson, Albert Dukes, Devon Lyons, Sian Cotton, Maurice Wells, Marcel Frost. Believe me, I know some of the stories that are out there on why these guys aren't playing...but c'mon.