Jump to content

Borrominion

New Members
  • Posts

    87
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation

311 Excellent

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

  1. Yo - hope it's safe to jump back in with my postgame thoughts. It was a nailbiter and hats off to TX for the great game they played. A few notes... - Haven't read your postmortems but clearly there's no reason to panic on TX's part. That was a whale of a season opener, on the road, against a jazzed crowd and a hyped opponent with more or less equal talent. In the end the loss will matter little if TX plays to its potential this year. Even 3 losses with one of those coming in the CCG would safely put them in the CFP field. So yet another rematch is a clear possibility for us. - Both teams played tight, IMO. Dropped passes, misfired passes, etc - not surprising given the magnitude of the game and coming in without any sort of warmup. But in the end we got a few great plays from great players on both sides. - The entire difference in the game more or less boils down to the fact that we converted our 4th-and-goal opportunity and TX did not. That's about as even an outcome as could possibly be expected. Everything else was effectively a wash. I think TX looked like the more dangerous team overall, but OSU was a lot more opportunistic and TX couldn't quite solve the puzzle. - Both teams pass protected very well. TX had a clear advantage in the running game and for that reason alone I would, in a vacuum, have predicted a TX win. But I think a big part of that success was also due to the light box of OSU's defensive scheme, which looked primarily to take away the big play and was willing to give up small chunks on the ground and underneath stuff in the passing game....which Manning helpfully decided to suck at executing. On offense, OSU played a game so conservative that I think Jim Tressel blushed in shame and envy. Since we had a lead for much of the game and TX offense wasn't really doing anything, we were never really forced to put our shiny new QB at risk. Which is great, given the defense he was facing. I think Sayin acquitted himself well with the little he was asked to do. Had Manning had been able to hit any WR in stride, the dynamics of the game would have been much different and more would have been asked of the OSU offense. - Speaking of Manning (because it's clearly obligatory) - I think he's going to be fine over the course of the season. Heisman level, maybe not, but in the 4th quarter he showed why OSU was worried about the downfield threat from his arm. Those crossing route misses were weird, but I would attribute much of that to nerves and adrenaline. After all, he is presumably human. A few games to iron things out and I think he'll start to click, as will the rest of the offense. Manning is big and strong and he was able to keep a number of plays alive that should have been sacks. Even on his final play he somehow completed the desperation pass while wearing a DE as a cape. I'm not as down on him as most - but OTOH those mechanics did look goofy. Mostly I thought he just looked uncomfortable, partly due to the OSU defense, partly due to the big stage, maybe his shoulder pads didn't fit quite right. We'll see. - From what I've gathered on the game experience, it sounds like the visiting fans had a much better time, and I'm grateful to hear it. Looking forward to hearing a few more stories from those who traveled. Thanks for making this a fun opener. Hopefully it keeps the flame alight to encourage other programs to do so too. I remember when this series was scheduled and it seemed so far in the future....can't believe it's already half over. I'm really looking forward to the return game next year, might have to try to sneak into that one.
  2. Just back from a client meeting where he said "I feel worried about the game experience - I'll be there tomorrow." I said "oh I think you'll be fine - when do you leave?" Him: "tomorrow morning." Me: "....isn't the game at 11? What time is the flight?" Him: "oh a buddy decided to fly out so I'm just going to hitch a ride. Only a two-hour flight so we should have plenty of time." Must be nice, bro. Anyway, can confirm you'll have at least 1 or 2 fans in attendance.
  3. LOL - I was just there a month ago and just had that same thought. Obviously it never occurred to me as a kid, but it definitely did as a father. But I just decided not to ask such important questions.
  4. I'll suggest the burgers at Thurman Cafe in German Village....I've never actually managed to go but it's on the bucket list. And that neighborhood is my favorite in town, atmospheric and walkable. If you're a nerd, check out the Book Loft which is my favorite bookstore anywhere (partly due to the nostalgia of going there as a kid with my Dad on Friday nights before games).
  5. Agreed - despite the high rankings this one feels a lot less monumental than the games 20(!) years ago did. Certainly it's the playoff structure that takes out some of the pizzazz. OTOH I admit there's something nice about having a game like this that's "big but not TOO big" where the loser will have plenty to play for, including a possible CFP rematch later on. I miss the insanity of the old pre-BCS system, though.
  6. Yes, I tried to qualify with "since Woody" because between his start and Brown's short tenure there were 3 coaches over 8 years of meh. FWIW I do love Bruce, didn't really mean to dunk on him - just going with on-field results as the simplest choice in that matter. Another advantage Bruce had was his coaching tree with apples like Meyer, Saban etc all sprouting from his guidance. I was just thinking about the "graveyard of coaches" thing last night after making this post. It's not something we can probably claim now, but it was certainly true then, and it speaks to the fact that the pressure of the job has always been there.
  7. The combination of mountains of cash and existential terror is a great motivator, lol
  8. FWIW I think Sark has done WAY better than I expected at TX. When he was hired I was among the many who mostly said "huh?" but he has already proved me wrong on that take. He's been excellent and seems to be set for the long haul.
  9. Since Paul Brown got to OSU in 1941 (before winning our first NC the next season) OSU leads the country in winning percentage. The main factor has simply been a long string of good coaches. Since Woody arrived, the worst HC we've had was Earle Bruce and he's in the CFB HoF. There are a lot of factors at play in maintaining that success - primarily being the only major program in a football-crazed state - but high among those factors is simple good luck.
  10. Random important update from tonight. My 6-year-old and I were just preparing for football season - hanging the Block-O flag on the house, testing out the OSU cheerleader outfit for Spirit Day Friday, etc. She asked when we were going to make the traditional candy Buckeyes to give out to friends, so I told her we do that at the end of the season, you know, before we play Michigan. She looks at me with a worried side-eye, pauses, then says "if Michigan wins I'll get you two beers and a wine."
  11. Parse it how you want, I guess - I'm not trying to mislead. 3 of those guys started on the OL against TX in the CFP - the 4th guy had started against Oregon and Tennessee and played ~45% of the snaps in the national title game. I'm not claiming that any of them started at tackle. FWIW Donovan Jackson himself didn't play tackle last year until Simmons went down in Eugene, at which point he switched over and made himself into a first round draft pick.
  12. Ah shit, I forgot to read the fine print! Will try to earn my keep
  13. Montgomery, Hinzman, and Tshabola were starters for all CFP games last year (I think). Siereveld started 2 CFP games and 4 regular season games. RT Phillip Daniels is the new guy transfer from Minnesota, with 3 starts last season.
  14. It's not the swagger that'll get ya. It's the moxie.
  15. Exactly - establish the run, and stop the run. The primary key for each team, IMO.
×
×
  • Create New...