Tequilla's Ohio State Post Mortem Thoughts
By and large, I thought the team competed hard and while you could see some frustration and youth show up I never felt the team quit … that's a positive sign when thinking about how the team will continue growing over the next 2 months.
Demond does a lot of things right but this was his 6th career start and his 2nd against the #1 team in the country … this game had a lot of similar attributes versus that game at Oregon last year. There are a lot of skills but there's some nuance that Demond needs to improve on and that includes learning to take an incompletion and pulling the trigger on more "dirty" throws … right now he doesn't really pull a throw unless it's going to hit his receiver perfectly in his chest. That's a great goal to have and it definitely highlights his completion percentage and his lack of interceptions. But it also causes him to potentially take sacks (particularly when playing against athletes that can compete with his athleticism) and/or limits some additional opportunities in the passing game (compare to some throws Penix would make that were "my guy or nobody").
I thought by and large both sides of the LOS played fairly well and it would have been hard to expect more … positive sign going forward.
The fake FG by Fisch was horrendous and highlights that he went into the game thinking he was going to have to try to steal some items to flip the game instead of allowing his players to play straight up. At that point in the game his team was holding their own (and borderline outplaying) … take the points. Instead, when the fake fails not only do you get a far greater shift in momentum that you wouldn't have had with a FG miss but you signal to both teams that you don't think that you can win straight up. Next time you meaningfully touch the ball you're down 14-3.
The 0 blitz by Walters on the Smith TD was an unnecessary risk given that it was very obvious that Ohio State's game plan was to minimize downside risk with their offense … but what the play really does is highlight that we're just a bit lacking in difference makers vs JAGs as the blitz was a step late in causing pressure and forcing Sayin to get rid of it earlier than he wanted and an inability to rally to the ball and tackling Smith before he hit the first down line (which should happen way more often than not). That said, hard to ask for much more from the defense in the game … they did their part.
It's easy to point to the red zone and blame Fisch but I'd put that more on a lack of execution (notably penalties) and the challenge that a tight field puts on winning 1 on 1 battles … in addition the tight windows in the red zone can really hurt Demond with his desire to make "clean" throws … they probably needed to cause a wide field 1 on 1 fade for Boston at least once. Other than that, the only thing I'll point out is the sack that Demond took on 3rd and Goal at the 3 probably should have been a run as it looked like 5 OL vs 5 in the box for Ohio State … particularly true if you were planning on going for it on 4th down. BTW, going for it on 4th and goal from the 3 would have been the wrong call given that the FG put you to a 1 score game.
The good news is that some of the things Ohio State was able to do others may try but will almost assuredly miss the athletes to be able to do so.
This will be a very instructive game traveling to Maryland. Talent wise we should win. But how do we rebound and can we combat the time zone travel against a team that is going to be hyped after a bye as a home dog.
Comments
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The Fake FG plus the 0 blitz got me disengaged from the game, plus the roughing the passer which wasn't. Barely watched after that.
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Agree 100%
After the failed fake field goal I turned to my wife and said, "We've lost this game because Fisch just told the team that we can't compete without trickery and shenanigans." -
The kids played hard
Locker looked good out there
Won the first half. Bodes well for Ty
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@Tequilla how do you see the lineplay? I see an echo chamber saying "that's what happens when you get wrecked on both sides of the line" but I thought it was relatively even
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Don't you guys think it's a little early for the Jedd is Ty analogies? 2007 was year 3 of Ty after 2-9 and 5-7 campaigns. A lot of good coaches and teams will lose to the Buckeyes this year.
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There's was a gutsy play the odd 4th down conversion mid field earlier in the game that I liked.
The fake FG was pretty fucking stupid.
I think there was a lot of irrational doog exuberance going into this game based on a lot of wishful thinking.
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I think its a little late to pull the Ty apologies direct from the 07 loss to Ohio State
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I have PTSD from Ty and Sark years of the shit line of we lost by three scores but we played harder and we have young players and wait till 2-3 years from now. The two times we have actually popped in recent history - 2016 and 2022, we were just good suddenly and returning experience is becoming a much less important metric. The team is also really upperclassman heavy.
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My response to it was more geared to the reaction of part of the fan base.
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90% of the upperclassmen are mercenary transfers we can just get more of
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As fun and good as 2016 and 2022 were, they didn't feature any wins as big as beating the Buckeyes this year would have been.
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*2023
And I disagree. The win over Texas in New Orleans at the Sugar Bowl was a huge win in the playoffs.
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I trust my eyes, and the offensive and defensive lines are definitely not close to top tier and nowhere close to being able to compete against the best the B1G has to offer.
I hate to think what the score would have been if this game was at the Shoe (ILTCITSIDT).
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********2023*******
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The "showed them we didn't think we could compete" narrative is total nonsense. The problem is that it didn't work, period. Oregon ran a fake against Maryland? in the 1st half last year because the game was tied or close and Husky fans were all over them for having to run a fake to beat the Terps.
They did it again this year against Oregon State in the first half of a close game. If it hadn't worked was Lanning sending a message to his team that he didn't think they could win? I get that the Beev is not Buck but this is armchair echo chamber nonsense. Do you seriously think the players would demotivate because the coach faked a FG? If that's the case TSIO and Fisch should be door ass out.Hell, Lanning did that semi onside kick thing against, checks notes, OHIO STATE last year because he KNEW they needed to win the possession battle. It worked and they won by 1 point. When it works it's "BIG BALLS LFG". When it doesn't work it's "He's sending the wrong message!". Come on. You're making shit up because you're unhappy with the result.
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I agree that the message is overrated. I just don't think you call a fake FG in the 2nd quarter when you have the momentum, a very good kicker, and can put points on the board at home.
Where Fisch & Doherty Sarked it was in not giving the ball to Coleman enough in the 2nd half.
I bet Walters wants that blitz call back but overall the D played well enough to win if the offense had done its job though Ohio State has NFL guys at pretty much every position on D.
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The refs also legitimately fucked UW egregiously.
They need to do a warning for a sideline infraction first, and that roughing the passer was game breaking.
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The fake field goal was stupid on multiple levels. One, it was unnecessary at that point in the game (and yeah, I know the fakes are supposed to come when the other team doesn't expect it, but that just seemed to be poorly timed — and Ohio State was coached up and ready for it); two, a FG would have gotten you within one score; and three — which is the biggest part of the absurdity to me — the play that was called had no shot whatsoever of being successful. It was like half the team was executing (or lack thereof) to one play call and the other half executing (or lack thereof) to another. You only run those plays if everyone is on the same page, and clearly they were not.
Ridiculously poor coaching. Fisch gets an F for effort on the day for that play alone.
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It's not often we agree. The Doog was skrong around here.
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As a Buckeye fan I agree, the Fake FG was a poor decision especially when you are at home and in the game. The roughing the passer was also a terrible call against the Huskies. Frankly you guys have a good team and I see a 9-3 maybe even 10-2 season for you. I think you get Illinois at home. Michigan on the road will be tough but they are not what they have been the last couple seasons. Oregon will be a challenge but you get them at home so never know…. Good luck the rest of the way…..
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We went into 2016 ranked 14th and were expected to be good. We were in the top 10 after week one. It was not out of nowhere, but it was not trusted until it happened.
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Hated it at the time. There was no timeout called when Ohio state lined up to cover it. There was no audible out. They lined up for a fake, Ohio State sniffed it out, then they ran it anyway right into a defense prepared. Totally stupid coaching.
My high-school team had provisions for if the other team didn't line up for the fake properly ffs.
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No… The WR coach was 3-4 yds into the playing field doing the Dougie or some shit dance after the first down catch. Then on the VERY NEXT PLAY your head coach runs out to the hash marks and berates the referee behind his back… Both penalties fall into the Vinny Holmes should have known better category.. Dumbfuckerey @ its best.
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Agreement is not part of your contrarian DNA, Big Dog.
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The line play definitely held its own and I think we should walk away from the game encouraged but by no means looking at it as a finished product or not in need of further talent improvements.
From an OL standpoint, I thought that they opened some decent creases in the run game. If you take Demond out of the rushing picture (due to the sacks) you're looking at 17 for 89 … I'd take that. The downside to that was that when it got into the red zone and the sledding got tougher they weren't able to rise to the challenge. On one of Jonah's carries Q got beaten badly to the inside blowing up the play. Consistency was a bit of a problem as well … but it wasn't bad.
From a DL perspective, it was clear to me that Ohio State's initial game plan was to try to lean on the run and run it down our throats. That wasn't successful. Getting a key 4th and 1 stop on the 1st drive was the high water mark for the defense … really good to see. The Ohio State run game was largely pedestrian and their longest run came on a 3rd and 16 in the 4th quarter that probably shouldn't have happened (bad play call there IMO). While Ohio State averaged 4.4 yards per carry, my thought is that the favorable run D that we saw through 3 games is more real than not and we should have some confidence that it's going to be hard to just line up and beat us via the run this year.
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2016 … we popped at the back end of 2015 and that was a team that had a lot of young players that played early (notably Browning, Gaskin, Adams) and improved through the season. There's a similar trajectory possible for this team
2022 … there was a lot of noise that clouded how good that team could have been given how horrific Lake's 2nd year was. The biggest surprise of the year was Penix, his ceiling, and his health. That year is representative of what a key add or two can do to raise the ceiling of a roster but also highlighted that there was a lot of younger talent on the roster that just needed the right foundation to blossom.
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I'm not upset at the outcome … this was always the "likely" outcome
I'm not saying that Jedd was signaling to his team and his team quit … not saying that at all.
What I'm saying is that if you're on the Ohio State sideline you're taking that play as an indication that they don't think they can compete with you. It must have just been coincidence that they took that play and translated it into their 1st score of the game and then scored coming right out of halftime. When you're an underdog don't give the favorite any reason to wake up. That play woke them up.
Also, Ohio State knows that most teams are going to try to find a way to steal something whether it be the onside kick you noted from Oregon last year to the fake FG that we ran. They are going to be alert for that.
As for Oregon routinely doing that stuff, it's part of their DNA and what they do. How anybody isn't prepared for them doing stuff like that blows my mind.
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JFC dude, now you're saying it's the reason they went down and scored? Coincidences don't happen? There has to be causation from that specific play to why they put a drive together? You are not nearly as smart as you think you are. And anyway, that's not what you said. You said it was a signal to both teams.
The reason UW ran cover zero in the red zone and didn't cover the best WR in the nation is because they failed a fake FG post of the day.
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Yeah not understanding as much of the dominated on both sides of the line stuff. It's a good point out on that being their longest run and the second was a run by Sayin in a very long third down situation as well. It also wasn't like our pass rush was much better or worse than it was against CSU or the Coug until they collapsed. And Durfee probably finally officially tapped out for his career.
Offensively I think almost all the sacks were coverage type sacks. Their front did beat us really bad at some really crucial times.
