Grading the Buckeyes Week 6--Indiana

Another game vs. the Hoosiers, another Buckeye win. This might have been the most complete, dominant game by this Buckeye team yet. Very few mistakes and quality football--but it was IU...

Offense: A-
Pryor looked great in the pocket and found the open receiver 9 times out of 10...and they were WIDE OPEN. The run game actually got moving a bit with Boom on the draw as well which is good to see. My favorite part of the gameplan was the move of Brandon Saine to (essentially) a slot receiver. I truly believe that Saine has the better football attributes but he's just not getting it done from running back. He's a steller receiver and showed it this week. I dropped them from an A because of the gameplan. It was blatently clear that Pryor was told running was unacceptable. I understand they wanted to protect him, but he must run next week. Pryor looked great, but some 3rd downs were handed to Pryor on a scramble and he shunned them (definitely called from the coaches). We still converted because IU is awful but take what the defense gives you. Carlos Hyde's fumble at the goalline also hurts, but it was mopup time.

Defense: A-
IU moved the ball very well against the horrid UM defense and they appeared to be pretty solid offensively. This looked like a test for the Bullets after a little shakiness recently, and they took the challenge and blew it up. The defense held the Hoosiers on their side of the field for most of the game, forced turnovers, and totally shut a pretty decent offense down. The secondary played well with a few picks and the pressure worked out well. The garbage TD was a little ugly, but it was backups...but they are still part of the defense.

Special Teams: A-
Nothing heard which makes it a good day. Some will complain about the FG block but I put that on the coaches. No reason to try a 53 yd FG with a kicker who has already shown he can't get the ball up high enough for the bombs. Tough task to ask a freshman kicker to kick a 50+ yarder for his 1st and 2nd attempts. Coverage team looked great, return game was pretty good, and the punting game was very good.

Coaching: B+
I went a little lower because of the FG call...still think that was stupid. Loved the playcalling. Perhaps Tressel read my recommendation of 70-30 passing/running breakdown and he took it to heart. The run blocking is still weak but the draw play worked well (since they can just tell the line it's a pass--o-lineman aren't too bright). Pass blocking, QB vision, WR routes, and RB blocking was excellent (I know it was IU) so utilize it. I wish they let Pryor run a little. IU gave it to him and he didn't take it. I respect keeping him healthy, but he needs to run next week.