Grading the Bucks: Week 3--Kent State

Let's be clear: this game really meant nothing.  OSU dominated from the first snap, but that was partially due to good execution and primarily due to a poor opponent.  This was a game where a blowout means nothing, a close win elicits worry, and a loss is an instant death sentence.  Onto the letter grades.

Offense: A-
How can I give this offense anything but an A+?!?!?  66 pts?!? Remember Tressel? Calm down and don't forget that Kent State plain sucks.  I will give JT an A+ because he was phenomenal.  The RBs and OLine looked good as well.  The problem is that I can't give an A+ or even an A with the receiver play.  They weren't terrible, but there were some terrible plays.  Two dropped touchdowns that were dropped in beautifully by Barrett (one to Smith and one to Thomas) are inexcusable (see last week vs. VT--looking at you Smith).  Barrett is clearly a more polished passer than Miller was even last year.  Give him time (and catch a freaking ball), and the Bucks will do just fine.

Defense: A
Ok, I will say 0 is 0.  A shutout in the game of football today is very difficult and should be  recognized even against an inferior opponent.  I want to highlight the play of Darron Lee and Tyvis Powell as they were very good.  The screwup yet again of Noah Spence appeared to have no ill effects.  I'll give credit where credit is due. Let's see if they can play sound against Cincinnati.

Special Teams: C-
Boy, I had no clue how to grade this unit but I simply have to downgrade them for some mistakes.  No missed kicks is a positive but there were 3 issues:
1) Another shanked punt by Johnston (what happened to him?)
2) Blocking a punt (YAY) then recovering (YAY) then fumbling it back (....really...REALLY?!?!) and giving the Flashes a first down.
3) Marshall getting stopped on the kickoff return...BY THE FREAKING PUNTER!!
These all deserve a hearty 'C'Mon Man?!?'

Coaching: A-
The Oline is the problem, so we saw some intermediate and short passes....GENIUS! Finally, the playcalling matched the personnel.  I think I actually saw a slant thrown in. Defensive playcalling and film study was clearly effective as the scoreboard shows.  Going for it on 4th down was a little questionable late in the game, but I can understand letting the backups get some reps.  Playing a weak opponent hides a lot of issues, but I think some steps were taken in the right direction. Why the downgrade to A-.  This is purely due to VT...Tech losing at home to ECU makes me question the coaching and prep work from two weeks ago.  That stings.  Yes, they coached well today, but that score makes me angry thinking about the suck 2 weeks ago so I move em down.

Overall: A
Let's be honest, the downgrades were for little individual issues.  At the end of the day, this was a complete game with a complete blowout.  An A grade is nice, but let's do it when it matters.  Keep the train rolling. I guarantee a Bucks non-loss this week (although I've heard 'bye week' has a new coach).