TOK, I agree 100%....vision, power, elusiveness, explosiveness, etc are all equally, if not more, critical for a running back. None of the great backs we've had in Columbus during my lifetime were speed merchants......I guess Robert Smith would be an exception as he was a sprinter, but he had several other critical attributes that made him a great back.
Somebody posted that the avg margin of victory of Ohio State over a Tiller coached Purdue team is only something like 4pts. Be interesting to see how the game turns out on Sat night. Purdue has a nice offense from what I saw vs ND, but then the Ohio State defense is light years ahead of ND and the Purdue defense let us up off the deck in the 2nd half. I'm thinking a close game at half with the Buckeyes taking over in the 2nd half and rolling. No "Tressel Ball" as Stu would put it, in this game. Terry
Tressel is starting to be a riveboat gambler...going for it on 4th down, faking punts...go figger. I don't think it will be a runaway, but I don't think the game will be close unless Purdue's D-line plays above themselves. Purdue has a good offense but so far the Buck's defense looks awesome...and the offense is good enough that Tressel is not required to play "Tressel Ball".
Nice Photo Stu. I am looking forward to this game, one of the few I have been able to watch, as we do not have cable. Our offense has been a pleasant surprise this fall. I really thought we would rely on our running game more, but Boeckman has not hardly missed a beat. Don
Things do keep setting up nicely for OSU. I think it's possible you guys go all the way again. Do you have Illinois on your schedule? They seem to have kicked it up several notches this year.
Indiana and Iowa are the two no-shows on our schedule this yr. After Purdue we face a tough challenge from Kent State :roll: then finish with Michigan State (Whobe and I will be there), at Penn St, Wisc, Illinois, and at Michigan.
Stu, I've been waiting for you to chime in.....the Boilers have, with few exceptions, played us tough, tough, tough.....and in R-A have been real freakin' scraps. Hell even our recent victories could have gone either way - one in OT, the NC year was Holy Buckeye where Coach Tressel first evidenced brass balls of galactic dimensions on the 4th down call..... This is a great test for both squads......the Boilers get to see if their offense is the real deal and likewise for the Bucks defense. Assuming that battle is a draw, I think our offense may be a bit better than Purdue defense....looks like Beanie is OK - not 100% - and Saine will be back and might get a few carries. The Small kid is coming along and if he lives up to the hype, could be a real threat to complement Robiskie....I'm looking forward to seeing how good this Buckeye defense really is....enough talk. Let's see them against a good offense. All in, I say advantage Buckeyes and I think is probably just about right at 6 1/2 - 7. Bill, we do have Illinois this year.....I'm sure the Zooker is pointing for this game. As a former assistant, a signature upset in Columbus would be huge for him and his program....they almost pulled one off last year in Champaign, but I don't think the home fans are gonna let that happen....
Don, the biggest problem for the Boilers is that in those games you mentioned we had a couple of premier DE's that could bring the heat. Our defensive line is smaller and the pass rush has been a bit anemic this year. Ohio State's O Line is maturing, I think, nicely, and I look for Boeckman to have lots of time...also as good as Purdue's offense is, we are going to have to gamble and the Buckeye defense is just really impressive as a unit and I look for a couple of Boilermaker turnovers, despite how well Painter has been playing.
Ain't this a ?itch. I'm sitting here looking at two tiks for this game ....I read it's a sell-out.....and my Doc hasn't called back yet with the ok that I can go to the game. (just those hard bleachers and prolonged sitting)
Buckeyes strike early for two scores and takes the home crowd out of the game. Defense seems to play better each game. Painter looked very uncomfortable most of the evening. Benie Wells is still having problems with that ankle. What happened to Tressel ball? We are airing it out very consistently. Don
Don.... <t>I had two sets going here in Houston as the ND game was not shown and what always impresses me about OSU teams is the way they adjust and play solid defense. Purdue was never really in the game from my sight lines. Congrats.</t>
An excellent win over a good football team....the defense has shown that it is a for real, no questions asked a$$-kicker. The Purdue offense is a good one and will, imho, give everyone fits the rest of the year and they were completely overmatched by the Buckeye D. The jury is still out on the offense....I'm not sure how strong the Boiler D will prove to be this year, but after a strong start, we sputtered a little bit....Coach thought we could take advantage of the Boiler secondary by throwing the deep ball early and often. After the initial success, the Boilers changed up personnel and we had no success at all, but 3 picks....it's clear we are a very different offense with Beanie Wells in the game and effective.....unfortunately, Beanies ankle appears to be the kind of nagging ankle that is going to bother him all season.....maybe he takes a seat -v- Kent St and gets back up to speed. I hope so.....with him in the backfield, I think these guys can make a run. If not, I have my doubts....it was nice to see Small emerge as a big time offensive threat. Something else for opposing defenses to think about.... What has impressed me the most about this young team is their ability to stay focused and poised under the bright lights and in very hostile environments.....the first half in Seattle and early in W. Laf. As past Buckeye teams have done, they seem to have taken on the personna of the Coach.....cool, calm and collected, focused only on the business at hand.....no doubt this is going to help them greatly down the road in Happy Valley and that place up north. The Illini look to be coming on quite well under the Zooker....we face them in Columbus in a classic "sandwich game" in the teeth of our schedule....after trips to Happy Valley, a date with the Badgers at home and just before our trip up to the Big house. Stay tuned....
I was kind of wondering what happened to the game after the 1st Qtr. When they put up the score during the ND game that it was 14-0 I figured you guys were ready to cruise. This Buckeye team reminds me a little bit of the 2002 team which was a great defensive team and an offense that just did what it had to do to win and didn't put the defense in a bind. Terry
I think that the offense is better than than 2002...as long as we have Beanie Wells...here's hoping that his ankle heals up...Tressel must fell that way as well, as he has opened it up much more. Purdue's defense made some plays after the first quarter and stepped up and played a pretty good game, I think. Ohio State's offense moved the ball but had some struggles. I didn't see any breadowns or particular areas of concern. Boeckman threw the ball really well...two of the interceptions were great plays by the defensive back one-on-one, but the other he shouldn't have thrown (into coverage, telegraphed, allowing the safety to get over in time.) Ohio State's defense is playing awesome...just awesome. I think that the butt kickings they received by Fla. and Mich. in the last two games last year has been eating at them. The Purdue Sports List is displaying some sour grapes ("I don't think Ohio State is a Top 5 team...all they could get was 3 FG's in 3 quarters against us and we suck...they dropped three interceptions they should have had...they haven't played anybody...yada, yada.") They are very unhappy about how many OSU fans were able to get tickets from Purdue fans turning the stadium into Columbus west, filled with OH-IO cheers and ruining the "Black Out" with big areas of Scarlet. (Me too, though I'm glad the OSU fans travel well). They are very unhappy about the collapse of our offense ("all our gimicky little flareouts and bubble screens confuse MAC teams but turn to crap against good athletes.") Some are predicting that we go undefeated from here on out while others are saying that it's all over and we won't win another game. Typical Fans.
I agree that this is a superior offense with Beanie in at TB and indeed his situation reminds me alot of Clarett's tentative shoulder during the 02 run.....the defense and special teams won several ballgames down the stretch......I think we went 3 or 4 games in a row with but 1 or 2 offensive TDs - we did have Mike Nugent and Andy Groom on special teams and Chris Gamble returning punts and picks. Our special teams have shown some improvement but I'd sure like to have those guys back..... Give credit to Spack and the Purdue defense...they stepped up and made plays when they had to.....it no doubt will be a good learning experience for Boeckman.