Grading the Bucks--Week 12: Illinois

Offense: A-
Not too much to be concerned about here.  Hyde is an absolute beast and would definitely be in the thick of the Heisman race if he hadn't had the off the field issue.  I think his best quality is that he seems to run harder as the game goes on. You could notice a slight difference with no Jack Mewhort, but the drop wasn't significant (he will be good to get back).   The O-line is still wearing teams down physically which is good to see. Miller is running fabulously, but his passes have not been as sharp as they should be.  Yes, it was windy, but he was missing too many looks.

Defense: C-/D+
And now Buckeye Nation is reminded that this defense isn't very good.  They did score a TD but giving up 35 is unacceptable to any opponent let alone hapless Illinois.  Scheelhouse has had flashes, but he shouldn't have looked competent against the Buckeye defense.  Roby has simply not been the same player and the loss of Christian Bryant (I can't believe I'm saying this) is a problem.  The secondary can not cover which will most likely be exploited in a bowl game vs. a talented opponent.  IU will score, but not enough; UM sucks; MSU offense sucks; but a Oregon or FSU...yikes.  Noah Spence and Joey Bosa have been phenomenal rushing around the ends but can our line win a 'blue collar' game vs. Bama.  I'm not sure.  This unit is what it is--mediocre.  Not the Bullets of old.  I like what I've seen from Shazier, Bose, and Spence--that's about it.

Special Teams: D-
This was a horrendous special teams game.  I'm keeping them out of F land because Cameron Johnston was punting very well, but the breakdown on the punt coverage was just plain awful.  Maybe our coverage unit has been spoiled since Johnston has only allowed 2 returns coming into the day.  Can't forget the missed PAT as well.  This unit played the worst they've played all year.  I think it was probably due to a lack of mental focus, but that is no excuse.

Coaching: C-
Offensively, I'm still flabbergasted at the number of designed runs called by Tom Herman for Braxton.  Miller is made of glass...perhaps we should utilize his special talents more sparingly to avoid another needles injury.  The playcalling was OK other than that, but I still say FEED THE BEAST in short yardage situations.  Carlos needs more carries--he's averaging an eyepopping 7.9 yards a carry.  I was surprised to see he had 24 carries last week, but they were mostly in the second half.  If he can take the beating (I think he can since the line blocks so well), stop these finesse pass plays on 3rd and short.  Go for the bowling ball.  Defensively, the bigger problem is the players than the coaches, but that being said, the coaches need to utilize the players they have and 'coach them up'.  I'd like to see some more creative blitzes to rush the QB because our secondary gets picked apart is the QB has too much time.

Overall: B-
As opposed to what ESPiN would like you to think, the Bucks were never in any danger of losing this game, but they didn't play near to their capabilities.  Great teams bring it every week, and we're not there.  The defense absolutely needs to improve to compete at the highest level.  The good news going forward is that the offense is getting better and can hide some defensive flaws. The bad news is we'll have to stop a high-powered offense in the bowl game at some point. Time to get better.