Let the players who only care about money go somewhere else...they are more hassle than they are worth because they could flip at any moment and then you've wasted so much time recruiting them. It doesn't seem to be working out for Texas A&M anyway. Also good luck getting those boosters to pay up year after year. We are still getting great players and those players are making money off their name as is intended.

And yet with one made FG or one defensive stand we would have won the championship this year (with our 4th string RB). I mean I suppose we could've lost to TCU...but I mean I doubt it. Agreed though that running is important. Honestly considering the state of our RB room I think we ran pretty well. I would argue you can't win without a defense before pointing to the run game.

I can't remember a single one...that is amazing.

Yeah idk I mean what is the difference between a nickle corner, a hybrid linebacker and an extra safety...if your trained for that hybrid role the name is just semantics at that point. You are always going to swap situationally anyway. I just think the scheme isn't as important as the knowledge and execution of the players and if you switch coordinators you just add another year of learning curve struggles.

In modern football any defense can get beat. Georgia got gashed by us. At times they looked as terrible as ours. No one is calling for their coordinator (because they won). Michigan with their top D got gashed by TCU. And as I said, we put up an absurd number against Iowa. The reason Iowa is so good is because they have used the same system for years and the players are well trained in it from day one. That consistency allows them to play without hesitation because there is no thinking involved. It also opens you up to a great play caller who can pick apart the weaknesses, especially when you don't mix things up. What makes me mad is that no one on this blog is willing to give Knowles even a season. Doesn't matter how much he is paid, you have limited practices to drill a complex system into your players. In a few years the underclassmen who have trained in this system will be able to play loose and fast without missed assignments. I don't care what anyone says, our defense was miles better than the mess last year. They actually held us in games (ND, Penn State, NW) when our offense struggled. They got beat bad against the best two teams we played because our secondary just couldn't handle man coverage. They will improve.

The one that gave up 54 points to us this season? Hmmm

We scored 54 on Iowa...

Exactly

The one that gave up 54 points to us this season? Yeah great idea.

Without our improved defense we would have lost to ND or Penn State or Iowa or maybe multiple this year. Our defense actually held us in games when our offense struggled at times.

Maybe at some point we have to just accept they are better...this year and last year. It sucks to admit but it isn't the end of the world... It doesn't mean they will continue to be better...

After losing at home with a giant chip on our shoulder I don't see many other logical conclusions. I'm sorry but I don't buy the "soft" BS, the Day doesn't understand the rivalry crap or a lot of the other conspiracy like things people are saying on here.
 

We had a great season (top 4), and with the extra practices we could figure things out, execute like we are capable of and win the whole thing. And next year, with more time under Knowles and some of our new coaches we could get even better.

If you have a zone beating pass play called and the defense is showing man, why would you run the play? It is a huge advantage to check, change the call and get a play that is better suited to what the D is showing. There is a time and place for tempo as well. Why they can't get a play off after a timeout is definitely a head scratcher but we have been using the check, audible strategy for a few years now with great results.

How many teams would go undefeated without their best WR and their top 2 RBs playing injured. Our offense is still one of the best in the country and one of the best Ohio State has ever had. Enjoy it.

What gets me is just the sheer joy in the eyes of every single person on that sideline. I have never seen such genuine happiness for someone scoring a TD. Day was jumping up and down like we'd won a national championship. And that shot of Harrison waiting to hug him with nothing but ear to ear smiles on every one behind him...damn. You just know what he means to this team.

I think with the defense it was truly a scheme issue. An obvious one at that. Knowless came in and fixed it (for the most part) in one off-season. I think the defense will get even better (more complex) if he's around a few more years. With O-line it's different. The type of recruits getting the higher stars might be more pass pro style guys since that is the way the game has been moving. The heavy run teams seem to do it well with 3 star guys. It might take a bit to develop a run style o-line (if that is what we even want). Urban used the QB to even the numbers in the run game and simpler passing scheme. Day doesn't want to injure his QB because his pass game is more complex.

You want to go back to being a physical run team with no pass game? How many national championships does Wisconsin, Iowa, Wisconsin, ttun, have in the last 20 years? I truly believe that Day understands we need to be more physical running, he hired a new coach to get us there. But it takes time (especially with o-line). Give it a season or two to get the right recruits, scheme, training, etc. Until then sit back and enjoy probably the most talented WRs and QB we've ever had.

I don't think you remember Tresselball...it was typically very very ugly offensively to the point of extreme frustration (iso after iso, 3 and outs, no creativity, punting all the time just to gain field position). It made games against bad teams exciting. But we still won just like yesterday. People forget how bad our offense was.

I forget...how good was Purdue when they crushed us in 2018?

The Buckeyes might deploy the video game version of the offense (Evil Ryan Day) or use the opportunity to run live practice drills (Sun Tzu Ryan Day) or completely discard the notion of deception and telegraph its intentions all afternoon to build the team's tolerance for frustration in a cruel and unjust world (Obi-Wan Rynobi).

Hilarious and true. The references are perfect. 

This article poses a good question...what is the best performance from a buckeye defender? This says JT's was in the top five but I can't think of a time someone was responsible for 4 turnovers (and had a TD, 6 tackles, 3 tfl and 2 sacks).

Conventional wisdom always says to run the ball well to open up the pass. But it seems the opposite can be true...pass the ball well and you open up the run game once they unload the box. Nothing wrong with that.

Seems he was in on third downs mostly? So passing situations. I thought that was strange too. Seems to work though

I guess my point is, he's said in the past that he will use his legs if its open and necessary. It has not been necessary this year yet so we don't know but I believe he would.

We didn't lose last year because our offense or lack of QB scrambles. Our D couldn't get off the field.

The key against running teams is to get up a few scores before they have a chance to wear you down in the 4th quarter. They start slow...if we can get a big lead (which we definitely can) they can pound the ball all they want in the 2nd half and waste all the time they want. We have shown that we can do the same at the end of games.

This is a hilarious take. At what point in this season of record breaking offensive blowouts did you want our star QB to put his health on the line and run the ball?