Observations on the loss to Ohio State, 10-21! Post Game Press Conference Player Participation Box Score
1--To say the offense played bad is a huge understatement! Offense gets 3 red zones and can only score 7 points while the defense holds Ohio State to one red zone for 7 points. Both teams scored 7 points off turnovers.
2--Forcier was 23 of 38 for 228 yards, one TD and 4 interceptions. Forcier completely killed our momentum with a 4th quarter red zone turnover when a conversion would have given us momentum in a one score game; instead, it gave the Buckeyes the momentum with a two score lead. Then, he comes back to throw two more 4th quarter interceptions after that. Offense had 309 net yards, 16 first downs, and 6 of 19 on 3rd and 4th down conversions. Roy Roundtree had 9 catches for 116 yards. Greg Mathews had 6 catches for 63 yards. Martell Webb started at tight end over Kevin Koger for the first time this year, and caught one pass.
Ross Homan had 11 tackles and a pass break up to lead the Buckeye defense; Jermale Hines and Brian Rolle had 9 tackles each and 7 of those 18 tackles were for loss. Kurt Coleman came up with 2 big interceptions, Thaddeus Gibson and Devon Torrence had one interception each to stop Michigan drives. The Buckeye defense handled our offense like a high school varsity defense handles a junior varsity offense; it was like men against boys on that side of the ball. To say we looked "one dimensional" isn't accurate because we were flat. We were forced into 6 punts and 5 turnovers. 4 of our drives were "3 and outs."
3--Michael Shaw gets his first start, and Buckeyes completely shut down our running game. Vincent Smith gained 32 yards, and caught 3 passes for another 28 yards and a TD. Denard Robinson gained 31 yards and Shaw got 10. We netted 80 yards rushing. It was expected that we'd have the leadership of Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown on offense this year, but neither was physically available to play in the big one.
4--Defense played their best game of the year, and gave this team a chance for a win. Defense held the Buckeyes to two offensive touchdowns, 9 forced punts, a turnover, 318 yards of total offense, 4 of 16 on 3rd and 4th down conversions. The Buckeyes controlled the second half and time of possession by 6 minutes with the turnovers, and gained 251 net rushing yards with Brandon Herron gaining 96, Brandon Saine had 84 yards and Terrell Pryor gained 74 yards on 50 carries. Pryor was only 9 of 17 for 67 yards, 1 TD, 1 interception and 2 sacks. Jonas Mouton had 11 tackles and an interception. Kevin Leach had 10 tackles.
5--Special team advantage to the Buckeyes. They are killed our kickoff and punt returns cold with solid hitting and great coverage. They forced us to beat them with our offense, and we couldn't do it. Olesnavage missed a field goal, and barely made the other.
6--Rich Rodriquez will get one more year to prove he can lead this football program, and we better see significant improvement on both sides of the ball including wins over Michigan State at home and Ohio State in Columbus if he wants to retain his job. I hope he has learned that the team who emphasizes defense 24/7/365 is the team who will prevail in the conference and Ohio State proved today why they are the Big Ten Champions in 2009.
Observations on the first half against Ohio State, 3-14!
1--To say the offense played bad is a huge understatement! Offense gets one red zone and doesn't convert any points while the defense holds Ohio State to zero red zones. The Buckeyes convert two Michigan turnover into 7 points.
2--Forcier was 15 of 25 for 133 yards and one interception. Offense has 166 net yards, 33 on the ground, 10 first downs, and 3 of 10 on 3rd down conversions. Roy Roundtree has 5 catches for 63 yards. Greg Mathews has 4 catches for 46 yards. Ross Homan has 8 tackles and a pass break up to lead the Buckeye defense. Time of possession is even.
3--Michael Shaw gets his first start, and Buckeyes completely shut down our running game. 33 net yards with Vincent Smith gaining 25 yards on 4 carries.
4--Wolfolk starts at safety and Leach at MIKE linebacker, and defense hold the Buckeyes to one offensive touchdown, 6 forced punts, 163 yards of total offense, 1 of 7 on 3rd down conversions. It has been our best defensive effort all year. We have one sack and an intentional grounding on Pryor. Can we continue for 3 or 4 quarters? Or do we "cave" in the second half like the last 4 games?
5--Special team advantage to the Buckeyes. They are killing our kickoff and punt returns cold with solid hitting. Thoma has outpunted Mesko. Olesnavage missed a field goal, and barely makes the other.
6--We get 4 Buckeye turnovers in the second half, and close out with a win, 24-21! We must score on the first drive of the second half to start the momentum, and I do not mean score a field goal. Go Blue!!!
Wednesday, November 18 Press Conference
Depth Chart and Game Notes for Ohio State