Offense: A+
What a game. Cardale was absolutely fantastic based on the situation in which he was thrust. Without regard to the situation, I'd grade him at a B+ (some of the deep balls were thrown into coverage), but he gave his receivers a chance. This was by far the best the receivers have played all year. Thomas, Smith, Smith, Spencer, and Marshall all ran crisp routes and won seemingly every 50-50 battle. Oh yeah, there was also the ground game...200+ for Zeke. I'd say that's pretty good. The O-Line was outstanding opening holes and protecting the last remaining QB. There is almost nothing not to like here. If they keep up this level, watch out Bama (and we're going to be pretty good next year too).
Defense: A+
The best I've seen this defense look in 3 years...easily. The D-line play above and beyond the already lofty expectations. Bennett, Bosa, Frazier, Miller, and Washington were all electric. They took a major Heisman campaign and completely crushed it. The pass D was no slouch either (although their task was miniscule). The Vonn Bell interception was textbook. I could see from the stands the way he baited the QB and broke on the ball the second it was thrown. There was one bad play in pass coverage (about 3 plays from the end) in which a receiver was completely wide open...but those were the backups and Wisconsin sucks. It all comes back to the line and linebackers. I was very nervous going up against Gordon, and this team answered and destroyed the bell. Fantastic job.
Special Teams: A-
I'm sorry Cameron Johnston. You are amazing and borderline MVP. 72 yard punt that checked up at the 1? Another bomb hit with a 9 iron that kicked back inside the 5? Are you kidding? I just had to do something here because this is the only unit with any real blemish (and there were 2). The blocked field goal wasn't fun (although it didn't matter) and, you know where I'm going, ANOTHER KICKOFF OUT OF BOUNDS!! It was almost a point of pride to return to form on the last kickoff of the night. I'm sorry, but it grinds my gears. Cameron Johnston gets an A+++.
Coaching: A
Fantastic gameplan. Keep Cardale clean and let him do what he does best: throw the deep ball. The gameplan was essentially ride Zeke and bomb it. Perfect. Defensively, they clearly watched film and realized Wisconsin sucks. Stop Gordon and watch the Badger QB's suck. Bingo. I also love the mentality to jump on them early and show no mercy. The energy was there from the opening kickoff and that is testament to coaching. Never forget last year. Eyes on the prize.
Overall: A
This was about as flawless a game as possible. The crispness of execution was there and the hunger was definitely apparent. Cardale was bailed out by excellent receiver play at times, but he gave his guy a chance. The people in my section kept agonizing that more points were needed to impress. The two most important numbers from this game were both 0: 0 points given up; 0 turnovers. There was no doubt in mind after the game (actually, no doubt since VT) that we were in. I said the week before (and no one listened): win and jump TCU. This team has a tough draw, but to be the best, you have to beat the best (as the Badgers found out). Play like this and there's a real chance.
Go Ohio! Beat Bama!
Tuesday, December 09, 2014
Monday, December 08, 2014
10 Thoughts from a Great Weekend to Be a Buckeye
A few musings on the B1G Championship, the events of this weekend, and the season in general.
1. The Receiver Play Was Outstanding
On Ohio State's first drive, QB Cardale Jones threw up an end zone jump ball to Devin Smith, who was completely blanketed by Wisconsin CB Sojourn Shelton. An interception would have been disastrous, not just stifling a promising drive but shattering the untested quarterback's confidence on his deep ball. Instead, Smith fought off the DB and came down with the ball, giving Ohio State the lead less than 2 minutes into the game. All night long, the receivers made play after play, whether it was Devin Smith's end zone antics (3 times!), Michael Thomas's leaping catches, Corey (Dewey) Smith demolishing LB Joe Schobert (and getting kicked out of the game for being too badass), or every receiver executing outstanding downfield blocking on every play. Other than EzE letting a ball slip off his fingertips in the red zone, I can't remember a single dropped ball. This was what Buckeye fans had been waiting for after 3 years of abysmal receiver play.
2. MV...T?
Cardale Jones was the easy sentimental pick for MVP of the game. The stats were gaudy (12-17 for 257 yards, 3 TDs, and no INTs), and he looked completely at home in or out of the pocket (watch him get wrecked throwing his prettiest rainbow of the day to Devin Smith). But the MVP award could have just as easily gone to Devin Smith himself. Or Michael Bennett, who completely destroyed Wisconsin's interior line and made Gordon a complete non-factor. By game's end, Bennett had racked up 4 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles, one of which led directly to a touchdown return by Bosa. Or Doran Grant, who picked off 2 passes and broke up 2 more. Or Cameron Johnston, who is almost definitely a witch, knocking a ridiculous 73-yard line drive right over Kenzel Doe's head to die at the 2, as well as a 58-yarder that landed a blade of Fieldturf short of the goal line and boomeranged back like a Phil Mickelson lob wedge. Or Ezekiel Elliott, who broke Gordon's own B1G Championship rushing record on all of 20 carries (and one shoe). Honestly, you could point to any random member of the two-deep, hand them the game ball, and nobody would complain.
3. The Old Urban Is Back
All season I've had to put up with the derps on Facebook and Twitter saying that Urban hasn't won a game of consequence at Ohio State. I guess the 24th consecutive conference win didn't mean anything, even though that's never been done before. Or knocking off the defending conference champions every year he's been coach, twice on the road. Or beating Michigan 3 straight years, or going 3-0 as an underdog...I think the skeptics will come around after this one. Not only was this game of tremendous consequence, making all the difference between #4 and #5, but it seemed like Urban knew the Badgers better than Gary Andersen did. This is a completely different team than the one that took the field against Navy on August 30th, and that doesn't happen without outstanding leadership. A new O-line, a new linebacking corps, two new quarterbacks, a new kicker, it didn't matter. The system works, jerks.
4. The Committee Got It Right
By season's end, there were only 6 teams seriously in the discussion: Alabama, Baylor, Florida State, Ohio State, Oregon, and TCU. Florida State, as the only undefeated team, was an easy pick to fill one slot. Alabama and Oregon were equally obvious selections, boasting elite wins, the conference trophies from the nation's top 2 leagues, and acceptable losses. And despite the committee's bizarre week 14 decision to put TCU at #3 after blowing out 6-6 Texas, Ohio State was easily the best choice to complete the quartet. The Buckeyes had the 2nd best win of the three teams (@Michigan State, only eclipsed by Baylor's win over TCU) and a great #2 win (the Wisconsin blowout, comparable to both Big 12 teams' wins over Kansas State), as well as a win over a mid-major champion, Cincinnati (compare that to TCU's win over Minnesota and Baylor's win over...Buffalo), and an overall resume that featured wins over NINE bowl-bound teams (compared to 5 for Baylor and 6 for TCU). The teams' FBS opponents' W-L comparison is quite stark (85-57 for Ohio State, 64-57 for TCU, 61-59 for Baylor), and as far as the "eye" test is concerned, no team in the nation had a win as impressive as 59-0 over Wisconsin. Yes, the loss to Virginia Tech was bad, but it's hard to imagine such a factor being dispositive when so, so many others weighed in favor of the Buckeyes.
5. ...Kind of
The internal ranking of the top four teams, however, made little sense. In the last 35 years, an undefeated power conference team has been ranked behind a team with a loss at the end of the regular season exactly FOUR times. 2012 Ohio State and 1993 Auburn were on sanctions. 1993 Nebraska was ranked #2 behind a Florida State team that demolished everyone on their schedule except for #1 Notre Dame (losing by 7), and the Huskers got a chance for a #1 vs. #2 matchup against the Noles in the Orange Bowl. 1992 Texas A&M was ranked #4 behind undefeated Miami, undefeated Alabama, and 11-1 Florida State, who had lost to only Miami (Wide Right II). Somehow, the committee saw fit to drop undefeated Florida State to #3 this year based on...the "I" test (as in "I think this team is better"). Make no mistake, this year's versions of Alabama and Oregon aren't juggernauts that tripped up against elite opponents; they're very good teams who, unlike FSU, had a bad week they couldn't quite turn around.
The playoff matchups should be: #1 Florida State vs. #4 Ohio State (Sugar); #2/3 Oregon vs. #2/3 Alabama (Rose).
6. The Big 12 Doesn't Need a 13th Game
Much was made of the fact that the four playoff participants each won a Power 5 conference championship game this weekend. After Baylor and TCU found themselves on the outside looking in, every Big 12 Chicken Little declared that the league would never get a fair shake until they got an extra game of their own. This is, of course, obviously wrong, for at least 2 reasons:
A) Just win, and you're in
Imagine if TCU could have put together a single late-game drive or stop against Baylor, or if Baylor had...not sucked...against West Virginia. The Big 12 would've had a team at 12-0 and probably #1 in the playoff rankings. Would they really want to risk a sure thing in a conference championship the following week? Ask 2007 Missouri.
B) This year's champ...still wouldn't be in
No matter how you split the Big 12, Baylor and TCU would almost certainly have been in the same division. So TCU would have ended up exactly where they are now, and Baylor would have had a chance to play...Kansas State again? Oklahoma? West Virginia? None of those wins could have made up for the gap in strength of schedule between the Buckeyes and the Bears. It would've been Ohio State, Baylor, and TCU at #4, #5, and #6, just like it was without "One True Champion."
7. Avoiding the BCS Mess
When the new playoff format was announced and everyone cheered that the controversies of the BCS era would at last be no more, I remained skeptical. I predicted that future arguments about #4 vs. #5 would be just as bad as the #2 vs. #3 problems of the past. After one year, it looks like I'm 0 for 1 on that front. Could you imagine what the debate would have looked like this year if we were under the 2-team playoff BCS system? Would the top 3 have looked ANYTHING like they do now? Would the voters really have snubbed the undefeated, defending champion, 29-win streak Florida State because of a few close wins? If not, how fierce would the fight have been between Alabama and Oregon? Certainly worse than the OSU/TCU/Baylor slugfest.
So congratulations, playoff people, the future does look bright after all. (And, as a homer, I'm obviously happy to have a 4-team playoff when my team is squarely at #4.)
8. Wait Till Next Year
After Braxton went down for the season, I wrote that the Buckeyes might actually be better off in the long run, since the very very young 2014 Buckeyes would have a year to gain valuable experience before Brax retook the reins for his true senior season. But no one (except the haters) expected Barrett to outplay Miller in his freshman year, and nobody but nobody expected Cardale, this raw O-line, and the oft-maligned defense to do THAT to Wisconsin last night. Think about how good this team is right now, then imagine next year's squad with these guys returning:
3 All-B1G caliber QBs
All-B1G caliber RB Ezekiel Elliott
4/5 of this year's OL
Dontre Wilson AND Jalin Marshall
5 of this year's 2-deep DL
All of this year's good LBs
The entire secondary (minus Doran Grant)
Every kicker/punter
If we're not preseason #1, we won't be outside the top 4.
9. January 1st, That Is
Even though the 2015 Buckeyes should be better than the best pieces of 1998, 2002, and 2006 combined, the scary thought is that this team is good enough to win it all THIS YEAR. We're somewhat of a long shot, but it's not like there's a 2013 Florida State or 2004 USC or 2001 Miami in the bracket. We all saw what Cardale can do with 7 days to prepare; imagine what Tom and Urban can do with a month. As I said last week, this season has already been an unbelievable success, but this team isn't ready to quit just yet. All that stands in their way are 1) Urban's nemesis, 2) the runaway Heisman winner, and 3) the defending champs.
After Indy, I can't wait.
10. Put Me In (the stands), Coach!
It bears mentioning that my fellow Let's Go Bucks! weekly prediction co-champion John Draper and I have been to 2 Ohio State games this season, and the Buckeyes have won them by a combined score of 125-0. We are currently accepting sponsorships to send us to New Orleans.
BONUS: It's 12:51...
Oh, by the way, Saturday also saw Michigan's basketball team lose to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the only D-1 school that doesn't have a chance of playing in the NCAA Tournament (due to their unique independent status).
Ohhhhhhhh.....(tap tap tap)
1. The Receiver Play Was Outstanding
On Ohio State's first drive, QB Cardale Jones threw up an end zone jump ball to Devin Smith, who was completely blanketed by Wisconsin CB Sojourn Shelton. An interception would have been disastrous, not just stifling a promising drive but shattering the untested quarterback's confidence on his deep ball. Instead, Smith fought off the DB and came down with the ball, giving Ohio State the lead less than 2 minutes into the game. All night long, the receivers made play after play, whether it was Devin Smith's end zone antics (3 times!), Michael Thomas's leaping catches, Corey (Dewey) Smith demolishing LB Joe Schobert (and getting kicked out of the game for being too badass), or every receiver executing outstanding downfield blocking on every play. Other than EzE letting a ball slip off his fingertips in the red zone, I can't remember a single dropped ball. This was what Buckeye fans had been waiting for after 3 years of abysmal receiver play.
2. MV...T?
Cardale Jones was the easy sentimental pick for MVP of the game. The stats were gaudy (12-17 for 257 yards, 3 TDs, and no INTs), and he looked completely at home in or out of the pocket (watch him get wrecked throwing his prettiest rainbow of the day to Devin Smith). But the MVP award could have just as easily gone to Devin Smith himself. Or Michael Bennett, who completely destroyed Wisconsin's interior line and made Gordon a complete non-factor. By game's end, Bennett had racked up 4 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles, one of which led directly to a touchdown return by Bosa. Or Doran Grant, who picked off 2 passes and broke up 2 more. Or Cameron Johnston, who is almost definitely a witch, knocking a ridiculous 73-yard line drive right over Kenzel Doe's head to die at the 2, as well as a 58-yarder that landed a blade of Fieldturf short of the goal line and boomeranged back like a Phil Mickelson lob wedge. Or Ezekiel Elliott, who broke Gordon's own B1G Championship rushing record on all of 20 carries (and one shoe). Honestly, you could point to any random member of the two-deep, hand them the game ball, and nobody would complain.
3. The Old Urban Is Back
All season I've had to put up with the derps on Facebook and Twitter saying that Urban hasn't won a game of consequence at Ohio State. I guess the 24th consecutive conference win didn't mean anything, even though that's never been done before. Or knocking off the defending conference champions every year he's been coach, twice on the road. Or beating Michigan 3 straight years, or going 3-0 as an underdog...I think the skeptics will come around after this one. Not only was this game of tremendous consequence, making all the difference between #4 and #5, but it seemed like Urban knew the Badgers better than Gary Andersen did. This is a completely different team than the one that took the field against Navy on August 30th, and that doesn't happen without outstanding leadership. A new O-line, a new linebacking corps, two new quarterbacks, a new kicker, it didn't matter. The system works, jerks.
4. The Committee Got It Right
By season's end, there were only 6 teams seriously in the discussion: Alabama, Baylor, Florida State, Ohio State, Oregon, and TCU. Florida State, as the only undefeated team, was an easy pick to fill one slot. Alabama and Oregon were equally obvious selections, boasting elite wins, the conference trophies from the nation's top 2 leagues, and acceptable losses. And despite the committee's bizarre week 14 decision to put TCU at #3 after blowing out 6-6 Texas, Ohio State was easily the best choice to complete the quartet. The Buckeyes had the 2nd best win of the three teams (@Michigan State, only eclipsed by Baylor's win over TCU) and a great #2 win (the Wisconsin blowout, comparable to both Big 12 teams' wins over Kansas State), as well as a win over a mid-major champion, Cincinnati (compare that to TCU's win over Minnesota and Baylor's win over...Buffalo), and an overall resume that featured wins over NINE bowl-bound teams (compared to 5 for Baylor and 6 for TCU). The teams' FBS opponents' W-L comparison is quite stark (85-57 for Ohio State, 64-57 for TCU, 61-59 for Baylor), and as far as the "eye" test is concerned, no team in the nation had a win as impressive as 59-0 over Wisconsin. Yes, the loss to Virginia Tech was bad, but it's hard to imagine such a factor being dispositive when so, so many others weighed in favor of the Buckeyes.
5. ...Kind of
The internal ranking of the top four teams, however, made little sense. In the last 35 years, an undefeated power conference team has been ranked behind a team with a loss at the end of the regular season exactly FOUR times. 2012 Ohio State and 1993 Auburn were on sanctions. 1993 Nebraska was ranked #2 behind a Florida State team that demolished everyone on their schedule except for #1 Notre Dame (losing by 7), and the Huskers got a chance for a #1 vs. #2 matchup against the Noles in the Orange Bowl. 1992 Texas A&M was ranked #4 behind undefeated Miami, undefeated Alabama, and 11-1 Florida State, who had lost to only Miami (Wide Right II). Somehow, the committee saw fit to drop undefeated Florida State to #3 this year based on...the "I" test (as in "I think this team is better"). Make no mistake, this year's versions of Alabama and Oregon aren't juggernauts that tripped up against elite opponents; they're very good teams who, unlike FSU, had a bad week they couldn't quite turn around.
The playoff matchups should be: #1 Florida State vs. #4 Ohio State (Sugar); #2/3 Oregon vs. #2/3 Alabama (Rose).
6. The Big 12 Doesn't Need a 13th Game
Much was made of the fact that the four playoff participants each won a Power 5 conference championship game this weekend. After Baylor and TCU found themselves on the outside looking in, every Big 12 Chicken Little declared that the league would never get a fair shake until they got an extra game of their own. This is, of course, obviously wrong, for at least 2 reasons:
A) Just win, and you're in
Imagine if TCU could have put together a single late-game drive or stop against Baylor, or if Baylor had...not sucked...against West Virginia. The Big 12 would've had a team at 12-0 and probably #1 in the playoff rankings. Would they really want to risk a sure thing in a conference championship the following week? Ask 2007 Missouri.
B) This year's champ...still wouldn't be in
No matter how you split the Big 12, Baylor and TCU would almost certainly have been in the same division. So TCU would have ended up exactly where they are now, and Baylor would have had a chance to play...Kansas State again? Oklahoma? West Virginia? None of those wins could have made up for the gap in strength of schedule between the Buckeyes and the Bears. It would've been Ohio State, Baylor, and TCU at #4, #5, and #6, just like it was without "One True Champion."
7. Avoiding the BCS Mess
When the new playoff format was announced and everyone cheered that the controversies of the BCS era would at last be no more, I remained skeptical. I predicted that future arguments about #4 vs. #5 would be just as bad as the #2 vs. #3 problems of the past. After one year, it looks like I'm 0 for 1 on that front. Could you imagine what the debate would have looked like this year if we were under the 2-team playoff BCS system? Would the top 3 have looked ANYTHING like they do now? Would the voters really have snubbed the undefeated, defending champion, 29-win streak Florida State because of a few close wins? If not, how fierce would the fight have been between Alabama and Oregon? Certainly worse than the OSU/TCU/Baylor slugfest.
So congratulations, playoff people, the future does look bright after all. (And, as a homer, I'm obviously happy to have a 4-team playoff when my team is squarely at #4.)
8. Wait Till Next Year
After Braxton went down for the season, I wrote that the Buckeyes might actually be better off in the long run, since the very very young 2014 Buckeyes would have a year to gain valuable experience before Brax retook the reins for his true senior season. But no one (except the haters) expected Barrett to outplay Miller in his freshman year, and nobody but nobody expected Cardale, this raw O-line, and the oft-maligned defense to do THAT to Wisconsin last night. Think about how good this team is right now, then imagine next year's squad with these guys returning:
3 All-B1G caliber QBs
All-B1G caliber RB Ezekiel Elliott
4/5 of this year's OL
Dontre Wilson AND Jalin Marshall
5 of this year's 2-deep DL
All of this year's good LBs
The entire secondary (minus Doran Grant)
Every kicker/punter
If we're not preseason #1, we won't be outside the top 4.
9. January 1st, That Is
Even though the 2015 Buckeyes should be better than the best pieces of 1998, 2002, and 2006 combined, the scary thought is that this team is good enough to win it all THIS YEAR. We're somewhat of a long shot, but it's not like there's a 2013 Florida State or 2004 USC or 2001 Miami in the bracket. We all saw what Cardale can do with 7 days to prepare; imagine what Tom and Urban can do with a month. As I said last week, this season has already been an unbelievable success, but this team isn't ready to quit just yet. All that stands in their way are 1) Urban's nemesis, 2) the runaway Heisman winner, and 3) the defending champs.
After Indy, I can't wait.
10. Put Me In (the stands), Coach!
It bears mentioning that my fellow Let's Go Bucks! weekly prediction co-champion John Draper and I have been to 2 Ohio State games this season, and the Buckeyes have won them by a combined score of 125-0. We are currently accepting sponsorships to send us to New Orleans.
BONUS: It's 12:51...
Oh, by the way, Saturday also saw Michigan's basketball team lose to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the only D-1 school that doesn't have a chance of playing in the NCAA Tournament (due to their unique independent status).
Ohhhhhhhh.....(tap tap tap)
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