(3)USC 18 (8)Ohio State 15
In my four-plus seasons writing for Buckeye 50, this is one of those rare times I got home from the game and just wanted to hit “erase” on the DVR. But I have an obligation to recap OSU’s games, win or lose, and I’m not about to shirk that responsibility. It’s been a busy week with work and preparing for vacation, but this is one of those losses where maybe it’s not such a bad idea to let things settle a bit before pounding on the keyboard.
I’m sure all of you have nitpicked this game to death with friends, family and co-workers. The sports radio phone lines have burned up and the blogs have gone bananas. I honestly don’t feel Jim Tressel’s job is in jeopardy, but the clamor for changes in his offensive philosophy has reached a zenith. The six straight losses to Top 5 opponents have come in all forms, but this latest setback is too much like Texas in 2005. While the Florida debacle remains the low point of the Tressel era, until this past Saturday no other defeat had stuck in my craw like the ’05 Longhorn tilt. Well, make room for the Trojans in the runner-up spot of my very unscientific poll. Is it ironic that the three teams who have dealt Tressel, in my opinion, the most gnawing losses of his regime are sitting in the top 3 spots in the rankings right now?
Anyway, some final thoughts on this battle before moving on to the Rockets-
I thought the crowd brought its A-game. Sitting in C-Deck, the noise doesn’t quite envelope you like it does in A- or AA, but the “twelfth man” did their job for 58 minutes or so. Once USC converted that 2nd-and-19 from their 5 on the last drive, I know the wind was out of my sails and I detected it in the crowd as that drive continued. Everyone knew what was coming and I’m not going to blame anyone in attendance if they simply sat or stood in silence as the inevitable unfolded.
When USC took the field, several of their players took a knee in the north endzone to say a prayer individually, not as a big group as you see at the end of a game. While some people can debate the appropriateness or whatever you want to call it, I thought it was a nice touch compared to the dancing and preening that is all too common out of athletes.
Terrelle Pryor went from hot to cold about as fast as you can on the opening drive. He and DeVier Posey, who was sorely missed last week against Navy, hooked up on a 23-yard pass play to get the evening started. But on Pryor’s next toss towards Posey, the speedy wideout wasn’t even looking for the football and linebacker Chris Galippo made an easy pick and brought it back to the OSU 3. It was eerily similar to the start of the Michigan game last year when TBGUN’s Stevie Brown brought an interception back deep into Buckeye territory on OSU’s opening possession. The “D” held, UM missed a field goal, and basically that was it for the Wolverines’ chances. This time, the stop troops again forced a fourth down, but Pete Carroll called tailback Stafon Johnson’s number on fourth-and-goal and he punched it over to get the scoring started. There was some uproar after the game that Johnson’s knee had touched down before the ball got over the goal line, but in watching the replay I don’t think it was an issue.
The Bucks evened the score right away, thanks in large measure to a 56-yard reception by Dane Sanzenbacher that parked the Scarlet and Gray on the doorstep. It was one of the finest passes Terrelle Pryor has thrown since he’s been here, although for some reason Dane took heat from some of the media know-it-alls for not scoring on the play. Dan Herron’s TD moments later made it a moot issue, but I’m not going to get on Dane. Had it been Ray Small, DeVier Posey or some other speed burner, sure, they would’ve scored, and let’s keep in mind that this is the fastest secondary the Bucks will probably face this season.
Speaking of Ray, he fielded two punts in the first half when ‘SC went three-and-out. The first he turned and caught to his side, and the second he nabbed on the dead run. After a few occasions last year where Ray reached back over his head to field a punt, I’m wondering at what crucial moment is Ray’s lack of fundamentals going to produce a turnover.
At the end of the first quarter, a tremendous blitz pickup by Herron enabled Pryor to launch a 34-yard missile to Posey, setting up a first-and-goal at the USC 2. But after an incompletion for Jake Ballard, Herron was stood up on two runs, bringing up fourth-and-goal. Aaron Pettrey put the Buckeyes into their first lead with a field goal, but you just knew that decision would play into the big picture at game’s end.
Ross Homan picked off a Matt Barkley pass on the ensuing drive, but Pryor could do nothing with it, ending a terrible series by burying a throw at DeVier Posey’s feet. Again, I harkened back to that sultry night in ’05 against Texas when a monster INT from A.J. Hawk only produced a Josh Huston field goal.
Another critical sequence unfolded at the end of the first half. Still nursing their 10-7 lead, the Buckeyes gained possession when Jordan Congdon’s field goal try clanged off the south end crossbar at the 1:49 mark. Pryor looked deep for Posey but overshot him. Yes, it stopped the clock, but just like the first down pass for Ballard on the eventual field goal drive earlier, I didn’t see it as a bad move. ‘SC was out of timeouts and probably expected Tressel to keep it landlocked and bleed the clock. And that’s what he appeared to be doing as Dan Herron ran for 7 on second down, but Pryor fired deep into double coverage for Posey on third down and came up empty. The charitable hosts had basically given the Trojans two free timeouts, but even with that Jon Thoma’s punt parked the visitors at their own 20 with :55 to go.
Pete Carroll seemed content to head to the half down three, but a simple run play to the right side by Stafon Johnson turned into a 29-yard romp, and the Trojans smelled blood. Their freshman quarterback navigated an urgent march to the OSU 3, where Congdon got his kick over the crossbar this time to knot the count at the break.
Leaving the field with ESPN’s Lisa Salters, Tressel was asked about the last OSU drive where two Pryor incompletions stopped the clock. Apparently wanting to redo his image on live television, “The Vest” said they couldn’t feel like everything was wonderful at 10-7 and decided to be aggressive and try to score. Definitely not the Jim Tressel we all know, but was it he or Pryor’s idea to try and force the ball deep into coverage for Posey? The Bucks had plenty of time and a pair of timeouts, so why try and get everything in one shot? As silly as it is, many of the same people calling for Tressel to open up the offense were screaming that he should have run three times here and ate up the rest of the half. Again, I don’t have a problem with trying to score, but why such low percentage passes?
I’ve beaten this drum before but I’ve given up on Kurt Coleman keeping his big mouth shut. Several times the cameras caught him up in Joe McKnight’s grill after making a tackle. I’m not totally exonerating McKnight, but I guess I expect more from a captain.
Early in the third Ohio State was faced with a 4th-and-1. True to form, they decided to punt, and also took a delay flag, presumably to give Jon Thoma a better angle, I guess. Now with 4th-and-6, USC was scrambling all kinds of people on and off the field, but of course the Bucks just stand there and let the Trojans get settled. Call for the snap, draw a “too many men” flag, get it back to a 4th-and-1 and see if you can get them offside. I know the odds aren’t very high but get your head in the game and be aggressive.
Later in the period came another killer sequence of events. Standing deep in the north end to field a punt, ‘SC’s Billy O’Malley let the snap go through his hands and out of the end zone for a safety. At this point, I’m thinking with the field goal that hit the crossbar and now this safety that the football gods are smiling on Ohio State. But fate turned as once again the offense couldn’t get the ball in the endzone. Terrelle Pryor did an excellent job of dancing away from the rush and buying himself enough space to uncork a pass to a wide open Brandon Saine near the goal line. But with Terrelle rolling to his left, the pass sailed towards the sidelines and Saine couldn’t get turned around in time to haul it in. I won’t say it was anywhere near as heartbreaking as the ball Ryan Hamby coughed up against Texas in that same endzone, but once again the ghosts of that Texas loss seemed to be seeping into this one. When Dane Sanzenbacher couldn’t scoop out another poor throw in the endzone, the Buckeyes had to again settle for a field goal. There was a lot of argument this week between whether to blame play-calling or execution. While the play-calling certainly does the “O” no favors, this particular series failed because of lack of execution and would loom large as the night went on.
On USC’s final drive of the third, Nathan Williams got through to Barkley and slammed him to the ground on his throwing shoulder. Barkley’s status for their game with Washington is somewhat up in the air, but he certainly will earn even more respect in that huddle for not only staying in the game but making clutch plays down the stretch.
I hate to continue alluding to Ryan Hamby’s drop against Texas in ’05, but Grant Schwartz had a “Hamby moment” in the third. Coming free on a punt rush that he had suggested to the coaches, Grant lay out but somehow missed Billy O’Malley’s punt. After watching the replay again, I still don’t know how he did. Now, by no means did it cost OSU the game, just as Hamby’s drop didn’t cost the Longhorn tussle, but it just seems indicative of the kind of momentum shifting plays that the Bucks just don’t get in big games anymore.
The game’s final critical point for Ohio State came midway through the fourth. With a 3rd-and-7 at the USC 32, Jake Ballard got flat smoked by Everson Griffen who dropped Pryor for a loss of 4. A 49-yard field goal at worst now became a 53-yard opportunity, but “The Vest” chose not to let Aaron Pettrey try it. I’m not going to bet the ranch that Aaron would’ve knocked it through, but this gets back to Conservatism 101. Aaron has PROVEN he is more than capable of 50+ yard field goals, so what message does it send to him that you won’t give him a shot? With the way the “D” had played in the second half, so what if you give USC the ball at the 36? If the Trojans are going to score, they’re going to score, but have some faith in your players. And don’t confuse this with redzone situations if you’re thinking “You scream when they play for field goals and then you scream when they don’t try it!” That was a great opportunity to let Aaron have a rip at it.
Now with 7:15 left, USC took over at their own 14. Devon Torrence blew by Joe McKnight to drop Matt Barkley for a loss of 4, and then USC drew a false start flag. Kirk Herbstreit told Brent Musburger he’d been coming to the ‘Shoe his whole life and had never heard anything like the din that was cascading down from the Ohio Stadium record crowd. The mighty Trojans were on the ropes.
Then, just like that, old “mo” strolled over to the east sideline. McKnight popped through for 10, and then had to be salivating on 3rd-and-9 to look up and see Ross Homan on him in pass coverage. You may as well have had former Ohio State sports information director Marv Homan trying to cover McKnight; it would have been about as effective. Barkley connected with McKnight for 21 yards, and when the freshman signal caller calmly connected with his tight end Anthony McCoy for 26 yards down the seam, it was a whole new ballgame. Doesn’t it figure that two of the big haymakers thrown by the ‘SC offense come courtesy of throwing to a) a back and b) a tight end? And just when you think the brain trusts upstairs would’ve learned something from the Homan/McKnight foul-up, they went one better on 3rd-and-9 and had Austin Spitler shadowing Damian Williams. Sheer genius there, boy. Williams got 8 of the needed yards, and Barkley converted the first since his playbook actually contains a quarterback sneak unlike Ohio State’s.
By the time Stafon Johnson darted easily around the right side for the go-ahead score, it had long settled in to the record throng what would happen. Joe McKnight, the key cog in the eye-popping drive, capped it off by taking a swing pass in for the two-point conversion, providing for the final margin of 18-15. Using an outstanding blend of power, speed and quickness, McKnight was the focal point of a classic march, and I’m sure somewhere in Southern California a writer for “The Trojan 50 Yard Line” is adding this game to their “Greatest Drives” series.
So now it’s up to Cleveland to face a Toledo team that has lit the scoreboard up big time so far this season. This is a trap game, folks. While Navy befuddled the OSU “D” with the triple option and USC played a mostly ground-bound game, the Rockets like to spread it out and throw, so in essence the Buckeye defenders are facing their third style of offense in so many weeks. With that and the extreme hangover that you know will come from this USC game, how will they react? It will be interesting to see how Toledo reacts to certain scenarios since their head man Tim Beckman coached under Tressel. You would think that insight would help him stay up with Tress in the coaching chess match.
RANDOM THOUGHTS- Not only was the OSU/USC game the highest rated program of the night on any television network, it was ESPN’s highest-rated football game ever…Whether this season winds up in a BCS bid for the Buckeyes seems to have several things going against it. To get any benefit of the doubt, the Bucks would need USC to win out, and since this isn’t the big, bad “bogeyman” Trojan team of recent vintage, I don’t see them doing it. A win over Penn State obviously helps the cause, but the Lions’ lame schedule will puff them up more than they probably need to be. The Big Ten as a whole needs to keep the pedal down, although this latest big game black eye for OSU, Iowa’s escape over Northern Iowa, MSU’s loss last weekend, and Illinois opening week failure against the Tigers have somewhat stained an otherwise solid start overall for the conference.
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September 12, 2009
Ohio Stadium
Columbus, OH
Attendance 106,033
9/5/09
VS
By Joe-S-U
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