Buckeyes looked pretty decent in their home opener against Youngstown State. 38-6 Todd Boeckman our new 5th year junior QB was 17-23, two TDs, and no interceptions. All three QBS got playing time. Beaning Wells and short running game was non existent. Offensive line was not as dominate as expected. Special teams played well. Eight freshmen played in the opening contest. Only bad news was the loss of starting defensive end Lawrence Wilson with a broken leg. He will be out for about eight weeks Don
Good news and bad news...... Boeckman looked very, very good. Showed poise, made good decisions and looked sharp on all throws asked of him. Our QB position appears to be in excellent hands. The frosh RB Saine is going to give Beanie a run for his money. He looked scary good. This kid is a 215 pound back that broke Teddy Ginn's sprint records and is still growing and getting stronger and faster. Good God! Bad news is the play of the O-line and the running game esp in short yardage. I expected them to dominate and Beanie Wells to have a huge day.....didn't happen and I was quite disappointed with Beanie and the play in the trenches. If we don't get better here, we'll struggle against some of the more physical Big 10 teams. Worse news......the loss of Lawrence Wilson at DE. He and Gholston would have been a very formidable combination. I was looking for him to have a break-out year and become a star in his own right. Very sad....we'll miss him. He was a great physical presence and a very emotional leader on the field and sidelines. Ouch....
Based upon what I've seen, I'm not sure this team is ready for a cross-country road trip to Seattle..... defense has looked good but I wouldn't characterize either of our first two opponents a fair test and they have yet to force a turnover - that's 4 consecutive games! I have grave concerns about the offensive line - an area I expected to be a strength. The running game showed some late spark yesterday but still way too inconsistent.....and against lesser competition. The QB looked very good in the opener, played a very sloppy first half yesterday. The jury is still out..... Bottom line, based upon the first two games, I have no idea how good this team is....or can be. We know nothing. This week will tell us alot. I would expect a very close, defensive struggle in Seattle. Then again, maybe Coach Tressell has been playing it very close to the sweater vest and will unveil a Ferrari of an offense????
Buckeye Terry, I agree with most of your thoughts. If we can eliminate the turnovers and develop some consistency, we might be OK. Like you, this game should tell where we stand. Don
I would worry a little that OSU struggled so mightily with Michigan last year.....seriously... :shock: :? 8) Then there was the unmentionable game in Arizona and now these two sluggish games to start the season. I think this Washington game will be one helluva test.
It's hard for me to imagine that Washington has gone from pre-season worst team in the Pac10, to a helluva test.
It's more Ohio State than it is Washington Terry. I go back to the 7 point tussle with Illinois and what has happened since then and then consider the loss of top players on offense and this team is not on a high plane heading out to play the Huskies. I think it will be a test.
Another piece of the puzzle is that maybe the Huskies win over Boise State was not all that glamorous as well? Boise State lost a lot of players from last year. Our defense should hold us in the game, but the offense needs to step it up and cut down on mistakes. Should be an interesting game before a full house. Don
Imagine it TOK....the Huskies have two very solid wins under their belt. They were 5 or so point dogs to 'Cuse in the Dome, made the cross-country trip and kicked their a$$ and then took down Boise.....they have already exceeded expectations. It's fair to say that we have not.....couple that with the cross-country road trip, Seattle has never been an easy place to play, a very, very young football team - 3 SRs starting only 4 in the 2-deep - and you've got a real test. I saw somewhere the Bucks open as 5 point favorites.....I don't see it. Give me a 3-2 win right now and I'm happy.....
No I get it that a cross country trip adds to the difficulty and I watched the UW/Cuse game and their QB looked very good. Of course Syracuse is a bad team, but still. I'm just saying that UW has been a bad team for 5 years now and hasn't recruited very well either. But the pundits might all be wrong and UW might have a break through season.
In 1979 Florida was winless at 0-10-1. In 1980 it was "run Lindsey run!" as Georgia escaped Florida in the showdown game for the SEC title. Georgia with Hershel Walker went on to win the national title in the Sugar Bowl and UF won it's bowl game. Turnarounds can happen.
It will be a tough, tough environment for our kids.....this is a very, very young football team and Husky Stadium is going to be rocking....these people are starved for a good football team and they do truly believe that this may be it.....we are going to have to maintain our poise and get the crowd out of the game early. I'd rather not have a test under adverse conditions quite yet.... I've heard much angst among the Irish faithful about the youth along the ND o-line......I would venture a guess that our O-line is as young and inexperienced as anybody. 1 Sr in the two deep to babysit the 6 Soph/ Frosh! As you guys well know, that is not a recipe for solid, consistent o-line play.....they're supposed to be good when they grow up - we're going to get a chance to see how good they can be whist still wearing diapers!
Left Tackle 75 *Alex Boone, 6-8, 313, 3rd/Jr. 73 Josh Kerr, 6-5, 276, 2nd/R-Fr. Left Guard 71 *Steve Rehring, 6-8, 345, 4th/Jr. 70 Bryant Browning, 6-4, 311, 2nd/R-Fr. 78 Dan Dye, 6-3, 277, 5th/Sr. Center 64 Jim Cordle, 6-4, 302, 3rd/So. 66 Andrew Moses, 6-3, 272, So. Right Guard 63 Ben Person, 6-4, 321, 3rd/Jr. 77 Connor Smith, 6-5, 317, 2nd/R-Fr. Right Tackle 74 *Kirk Barton, 6-6, 300, 5th/Sr.
Look at all those babies......and Barton's backup is a redshirt freshman as well. We did expect more out of this group than we have seen thus far. The real issues seem to be the inexperience in the middle - center in particular. Up front you're only as strong as the weakest link.....
Funny how things change year to year. Washington is now a team you have to be concerned about and OSU is a team that has to be concerned. ....as does Florida...
Should be a great game. That Washington QB looks like he will be a great one. Looks like Ty is turning things around. Terry check your message box. Been on vacation and haven't checked my mail until today.
AJ.. <t>I think this is the start of TY 's annual slide if you look at their schedule. I will catch some of this one while focusing on the Tenn-Fla game.<br/> <br/> Glad Saturday is almost here.</t>