Social Reactions: Ohio State Picked the Best Possible Weekend to Play Their Worst Game of the Season

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Mssweene's picture

Man Ohio State looked tough and gritty in that win over Northwestern. 
 

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Buckfrombirth's picture

Survive and advance. ;)

I survived Cooper and I hate Tai Streets.

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TNT's picture

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that the run game was horrendous against Iowa and Penn State, too. Northwestern didn’t expose anything that we didn’t already see the past two games.

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Optimistic Buckeye Pessimist's picture

This is a very important point. It’s not an over reaction, but a trend. It’s a long season and there are always ups and downs, but this is turning into consistency. We didn’t really see this last year until we played our rival. We know about this issue well in advance this year. Hopefully we pull it together and improve. 

Read my entire screen name....

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Colortv1967's picture

If you are counting on Day to improve this major problem, then you may be disappointed. 

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Texbuckbear's picture

Insert appropriate meme here.

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SalemBuckeye's picture

Except the Buckeyes couldn't stop the run either. Against northwestern. When we knew they were running.

SalemBuckeye

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Extramedium's picture

This was a coaching and play calling issue on defense.  It was as if they were trying to see if they could stop the run in a passing scheme on purpose.  That's the only way I can justify it in mind.
And this doesn't explain why NW was able to convert passing 3rd downs at will for a good portion of the game either.

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IBLEEDSCARLETANDGRAY's picture

Be sure to let Jim Knowles know how much he failed Saturday

Upon us all, a little rain must fall

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The Rill Dill's picture

‘We’ll be playing our best ball in November.’

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Baroclinicity's picture

Seems like the alums think there is a running game issue as well...

Priority #1:  Beat Michigan

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Ortonhallalumni's picture

No shit!! it 's not a well hidden secret!

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huffdaddy's picture

Total fan meltdown yesterday which started to seem especially ridiculous after Clemson and Bama got bounced from playoff contention. We have an issue (getting push in the run game) but people have turned that into multiple issues that aren’t there. 

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ROCK1's picture

NW lost to one of the worst teams in the MAC (Miami).

ROCK1

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SalemBuckeye's picture

You are comparing playing northwestern to Alabama playing LSU? LOL.

SalemBuckeye

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Extramedium's picture

Playing NW in 50 mph winds and torrential rain, yeah why not.
 

LSU is not very good either, but Bama is just not Bama at alll this season.  The committee did their best to give them a chance by putting them right outside the top 4 and propping up LSU to 10, but they even blew that.

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SalemBuckeye's picture

LSU is 7-2 and was ranked #10 by the committee. That makes them considered better than about 120 other teams.

SalemBuckeye

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Buckfrombirth's picture

Well said.. Maybe LSU wasn't overrated in the first CFP rankings.

I survived Cooper and I hate Tai Streets.

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Trebor40's picture

I have a different comparison, 

Ohio State was ABLE to run the ball against one of the best front 7s in college football = ND 

Yet worse and worse the last 3 games. 

Difference Miyan Williams fully healthy covered for the O-Line getting very little push

Miyan Williams injured unable to use both hands so cannot stiff arm OR change hands when trying to fight through tackles 

I would rather be on hand with 10 men then elsewhere with 10,000 - Timur Lenk

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The Rill Dill's picture

Both played top ten teams that didn’t field the 111th ranked defense.

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Ortonhallalumni's picture

I'd say Ryan Day is trying to turn OSU into a Big 12 offense, but in November the weather gets worse, and a strong running game is essential...Chic Harley, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, Howard Cassidy, Bob Ferguson, Jeff Logan. John Brockington, Jim Otis, Pete Johnson, Champ Henson, Archie Griffin, Jeff Logan, Tim Spencer, Calvin Murray, Keith Byars, Vince Workman, Carlos Snow, Robert Smith, Raymont Harris, Eddie George, Pepe Pearson, Michael Wiley, Jonathon Wells, Boom Herron, Maurice Clarett, Antonio Pittman, Beanie Wells, Carlos Hyde, Zeke Elliott, J K Dobbins; Jim Parker, Gomer Jones, Gust Zarnas, Jim Marshall, Kurt Shumacher, Warren Amling, John Hicks, Jim Lachey, Kirk Loudermilk, Mark Krerowitz, Rory Graves, Jeff Ulenhake, Korey Stringer, Orlando Pace, Juan Porter, Leshawn Daniels, Rob Murphy, Nick Mangold, Kirk Barton, Taylor Decker, Jack Mewhort, Corey Linsley, Andrew Norwell, Thayer Mumford, Josh Myers, Wyatt Davis...and many others...Do you think a strong dominate running game has been important at Ohio State in the last 100 years? Get it in gear coach Day! judgement day is coming in 3 weeks...

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bull1214's picture

The big 12 consisted of teams in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and iowa. You know what those states all have in common? They all have the same exact weather as Ohio except with worse wind. Just because they pass a lot dues by mean they’re good weather teams. Good lord 

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okiebuck's picture

Competition is a hell of a lot tougher this year in the Big 12, then the B1G; by a fucking long shot. 

Without winners there wouldn't be any gosh darn civilization. We make no apologies for winning or for aiming our entire program toward that goal. - Woody Hayes

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Optimistic Buckeye Pessimist's picture

Refreshing to see that take in print from staff. Glad we won, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. I fear it’s a longer term problem, but hopefully we see improvement 

Read my entire screen name....

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BuckeyeBattleCry11's picture

Maybe a longer term problem than we have time to fix...but we did see a BC clone on the field so we saw a picture of what's coming except TTUN is stronger faster and with a better O line.

Bbc11

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OfficerRabbit's picture

Great point... and also disconcerting. Corum will turn a few of those 10-15 yarders we saw yesterday into house calls. I really, really hope Knowles has an ace up his sleeve he hasn't shown on tape to stop the power rush that UM is bringing, as well as QB contain. JJ isn't Justin Fields, but he could hurt us with his legs.

 

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jimschehr's picture

The Buckeyes are a good team not great. Too soft to handle TTUN, Georgia, Alabama or LSU. Most likely a few others too. Toughness is a mindset and the Buckeyes don’t recruit or coach that mindset. The Buckeyes rely on their talent to win games but once a team smacks them around they become tentative. Unfortunately we will have to come to the realization that is what this team is. As far as a running game goes, the Buckeyes don’t demonstrate any unique design or strategy to establish a real run philosophy. The offense playbook is not designed to run the ball. Let’s hope for good weather and dry conditions. 

Try not to suck

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buckeyeupnorth's picture

Maybe the media, fan blogs, and fans should stop predicting cakewalks every week. They might not be so insanely upset when the team has to adjust and change the game plan when the one they came in with doesn’t work and we win by two touch downs instead of nine. 

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Colortv1967's picture

You keep on believing that if it makes you feel better. There are serious problems with the run game and the run defense. It will take a serious person the make in season adjustments. I not sur Day is that person.

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The Rill Dill's picture

Columbus would dry up and blow away if they had to operate that way. Hype is life, there.

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Ortonhallalumni's picture

3 games in a row the run game has been bleh...yes we had 200 yards yesterday, against a smaller, slower 1-7 NW Team...

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stantmann's picture

OSU runs for 207, averaging 5.9 per carry - OSU fans, "We can't run!"

Northwesterns runs for 205, averaging 3.5 per carry - OSU fans, "We can't stop the run".

Keep it in perspective: It took a TD with 3 minutes left for GA to beat Missouri 26-22 in good weather. People in Columbus would be melting down if OSU had a 4 point win game against Rutgers (comparable to Mizzou) and needed a TD with 3 minutes left to win the game.

Yet, here they are losing their minds because of a 14 point win on the road in the worst wind conditions in years, on a field where the wet grass was too long to gain traction. Northwestern put their heart into this, their game of the year; OSU? Not so much, but they still came out of there with a 14 point win.

Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect - Woody Hayes

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SalemBuckeye's picture

People are complaining about 1 thing. The run game. A poor result running is now a 3 game trend and it came against a horrible, horrible team. If you are still wearing Scarlet colored glasses...

SalemBuckeye

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stantmann's picture

You have to throw the Northwestern game out the window. Because of the conditions, very little will be useful in the future. Iowa/PSU yes, running game was not up to standards. That was more because of poor play calling. Ryan was trying to force the run when OSU was faced with 8-9 man fronts, when a quick pass over the middle, or a few deep balls would have sufficed - Which ironically later, actually opened up the running game.

OSU uses the pass to set up the run. Most B1G teams use the run to set up the pass. Like it or not, OSU is a passing team playing B1G football. Being pass first, bad weather days could cost OSU a win (last year in Ann Arbor), or make a mediocre team look better than they are (Northwestern yesterday).

Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect - Woody Hayes

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SalemBuckeye's picture

Disagree. Northwestern played in the same weather and outgained the Buckeyes. Yes. A 1-7 team outgained an 8-0 team that is known for its offensive creativity. Not only can't you "throw it out" it's the most alarming of the 3 game trend.

SalemBuckeye

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stantmann's picture

Salem: Defending the run, the Buckeyes need to figure out how to stop a mobile QB. Sullivan and Hull killed OSU out of the QB position.

I think you and I are saying the same thing, but go different ways to get there.

OSU is not a power team, they will never dominate the run at the LOS. They don't have a Carlos or Beanie back there, and the line seems to be more comfortable protecting the QB. They need to pass to set up run. Pass was taken away from them by mother nature. Let's hope that doesn't happen again before the B1G championship.

Michigan last year might as well have been Northwestern or Rutgers on defense, OSU was not going to win the LOS without the ability to stretch the field.

Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect - Woody Hayes

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AZ Buckeye13's picture

If you watch the game again, look at the cutback lanes that are there. Our RBs don’t cut back against the grain…instead they choose to stretch the run into the sideline. 

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The Rill Dill's picture

That’s what average backs DO.

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Bucks19's picture

If you watch the game again, look at the cutback lanes that are there. Our RBs don’t cut back against the grain…instead they choose to stretch the run into the sideline. 

They don’t “choose to stretch it”. Most of the calls were designed to run stretch plays. 

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stantmann's picture

AZ, yeah I noticed that on a few plays too. I chalked it up to the play call, but thought if JK was back there (or Sermon), he would have cut back regardless. It might be a vision thing. We knew Weber had great speed and decent power, but he didn't have great vision and cutback ability. Are we dealing with similar issues this year? JK made all the difference in that running game from 2018 to 2019 - Or was it Justin and the run threat? I'm hopinh CJ might have opened up a new threat to defend with his running late in the game yesterday. It can only help the running game going forward.

Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect - Woody Hayes

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Colortv1967's picture

It’s not that it was” just” a 14 point win that have some of us really questioning if this team can win against Michigan or in the playoff. It was how that 14 point win came about. At the end of the day, to blame problems on the weather is nothing more than an excuse for terrible play. 

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741's picture

Tyvis with the winning quip of the day.

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Colortv1967's picture

We all heard that eye test explanation by committee chair and ESPN personalities why OSU was ranked #2. They certainly did not look like the #2 team in the nation. They didn’t look like the #2 team in the Big Ten. But with all the chaos that happened at the top of the CFP rankings, they will remain #2 by default. 

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tGW's picture

Bama at #2. Best 2-loss team in the history of 2-loss teams...and teams....and history...and losses...Spin it espin! 

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b01000100's picture

Bama's only losses came to teams who beat Bama, so how could you not put them at #2?

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SalemBuckeye's picture

Hilarious only because of the innate truth.

SalemBuckeye

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Frimmel's picture

Maybe NW is more talented or tougher than their record and prior performance indicated? Maybe this game let Fitz get it through to his kids that they could maybe just stop sucking? I heard Spielman say once about TTUN I think when they were having defense issues, "Get in your gap, make a play, and stop being 112th." There is what Coach Fitz says to the media bit I don't think for a second he let his team think they weren't good enough to at the least put up a damn fight. 

I would also not discount playing with nothing to lose. Teams play above themselves against the Buckeyes all the time. It is like in "Gladiator," "A people should know when they are conquered." 

"Would you, Quintus? Would I?"

NW didn't lay down and gave the Buckeyes a bit more football than they wanted to play on a shitty Saturday morning. NW had nothing to lose and the Buckeyes really had nothing to win. "Competitive Stamina" is hard. We saw that all day on Saturday. Buckeyes at least came out on top and didn't need the assistance of a freshman QB throwing the game away like some teams did..

"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb

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AZ Buckeye13's picture

This game had nothing to do with Northwestern being more talented than we thought…this game had everything to do with playing in 60 mph winds and rain. 
 

I know that both teams had to play in the same weather but Northwestern practices and plays in those conditions much more often than we do. 
 

Give Northwestern their due, though. They used all of the play clock to shorten the game and keep Ohio State on a limited amount of possessions.

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Frimmel's picture

I think how much NW slow played things distorts how well they were defended by the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes did not force them to speed up by jumping out to a bigger lead. The defense kept them to only seven points. That is the defensive stat that really matters. The NW did not turn all those rushing yards and all that possession into points. 

"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb

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Bucks19's picture

I know that both teams had to play in the same weather but Northwestern practices and plays in those conditions much more often than we

Weather all Week in Evanston was 70 degrees and nice. All Fall, weather has been nice in Chicago. So that is a false comment 

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Yenots11's picture

I get it. It wasn’t pretty. No one wants to blame the weather. But have any of you guys played in that shit? It for real sucks. We have such a high expectation of these young men (and maybe this one falls in the coaches). Fitzy even said they gameplanned solely for the weather. Did Day & Co. think that CJ would still be able to throw in that crap? Maybe. 
 

IDK y’all. This seems like a throwaway game to me. Win and move on. 

Go Bucks!! 

"Aut viam inveniam aut faciam!"

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JimTresselsVest's picture

it came against a horrible, horrible team

SalemBuckeye, the other possibility is that they're a team with potential that's been playing very poorly. Just because NW has had a few bad games doesn't mean they were incapable of playing us tight for a couple quarters, the way they almost always do, even in years when we've taken TTUN on trips to the woodshed.

Every single week these boards are filled with people arguing over how Day should play McCord during garbage time, as if that's going to happen every game. Look at Bama, Clemson, Tennessee. TTUN was down to Rutgers at the half.

Go Bucks!

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Cruiser79's picture

Would have been nice if instead of throwing some of the passes into the wind, the offense went with a jumbo look and ran the ball. Of course I have no idea if they even have that in the play book. Happy they won but have some concern. Just as some of the former players do. Tyvis Powell is a gem of a person. Go Bucks !

Cruiser79

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AZ Buckeye13's picture

Northwestern went jumbo package a lot during the game. I agree that Ohio State should have done that also.

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Bucks19's picture

Northwestern went jumbo package a lot during the game. I agree that Ohio State should have done that also.

Not a lot. That is stretching it  

And That should have worked on out in our favor. 

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thedewman10's picture

There is this….https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2022/11/134502/trevey...

and when Paul Finebaum said there might have been an SEC site or more postponing this to a later time, it was obvious the conditions were horrible. Also note in the GA-TN game, when it rained hard, GA had 31 yards and TN had 21…or so they said…who knows

TheDewMan10

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StJohn45's picture

The Ohio State running game can be better, when was the last time our two backs actually played together in a game? One or both always seem to be hurt. I believe earlier in the season those two backs were considered the best duo in College Football. We had a mental let down yesterday against NW the first half of football was just terrible, but as good teams always do they find a way to win even if its pouring rain and with 30-40mph winds. If we are blaming anyone for this first half let down than it has to be Ryan Day for not having the team mentally prepared.

JRG

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Bench Warmer's picture

Justin Frye ia a failure. 

none

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OldTownBuckNut's picture

I think we forget that every single B1G steam is full of D1 talent, and some NFL talent. They’re among the best athletes in the nation. When given the right circumstances, opportunities, and motivations, they can show out. NW did exactly that. Their RB and QB played at a very, very high level yesterday. What they did to us they would have done to anyone in the country. The important thing is that we won and that is all that matters. I’m done getting frustrated by not blowing people out or winning a beauty contest. This is B1G football. We don’t get the credit we deserve for being the ONLY conference that plays in weather like we saw yesterday. The only. 

Round on the ends and "HI" in the middle. O-HI-O.

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461buckeye's picture

We do not have a big tough rb that can be counted on every week to get those tough 3-4 yards as needed. Yes Miyan is the back to do it but the durability issue pops up. I do not know what scum is feeding Corum but we need to find out fast and do it also. The Game looks like a toss up to me now and we are looking less capable as the weeks go by. Wish I could be more positive but the stats do not lie.

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BeijingBucks's picture

I am as fit as I have ever been being a Buckeye fan.

The team is entertaining and regularly overdrives my heart (before the 4th quarter). Playcalling lets me vent my spleen. Execution leads me to drink enough to work out my liver. Lungs workout yelling at the screen? Check. Brain gymnastics weekly trying to figure out if I'm a homer for being happy they win or a neurotic for being unhappy they don't achieve the standard (established vs Wisconsin in Champ Game 59-0). 

All in all we need a drive to go to the gym and workout in a boring environment. Same as the Buckeye team needs a drive to compete every week. It was hard to stay up and watch NW let alone to have to play it in a tornado. Hope they can get healthy. It's time to now start building up to a peak on that last Saturday in November.

HS