Ohio State 24- Penn State 7: quick game thoughts

This game turned out largely like I thought it would in many ways.



-Penn State's offensive line has been bad all year and they were just manhandled today. Cam Hewyard and Thad Gibson were men among boys.




-Penn State couldn't establish anything without any control of the LOS. They had no running game to speak of and didn't really even try and establish one.



-Penn State's WRs proved me correct in saying they were pedestrian. OSU's DBs got in their face and dared to beat them down the field-and they couldn't do it.



-As he had in the past, Clark got rattled when pressured and started making mistakes.



-Great gameplan by Heacock and company. Only put 7 in the box. Make Penn State try to run. Press their WRs. Make them make plays down the field. Of course everything is easier when your DLine can dominate...




-In my opinion this is the best defense since the 2002 edition. OSU can play with anyone with this unit.



-Special teams were huge. Great game by Ray Small. PSU's punt coverage was bad all year and burned them today.




-On offense they came out with nothing flashy but some good wrinkles. Running outside zone out of split backs like Mich did. The quick WR screens. It allowed them to move the ball early.



-Then Tressel got way too conservative. Like a caricature of himself. Run Dave on 1st and 2d down to the TE side. Then try to pass on 3d and long.



-Then OSU went deep on 1st down. PSU came up and great execution by Pryor and Posey.



-The last TD drive was how this offense should look. Broke tendencies. Constraint play off of Dave with the rollout and reverse. Still too many runs on 1st down but a big step forward.



-Pryor played a great game IMO. He missed some throws underneath. Especially to the TEs. But he played poised and controlled the game. I think he is now playing what JT envisoned. Not a spread QB-rather a player in a pro system that can nonetheless burn teams with the added dimension of his legs. As PSU has done all year, they wanted to blitz and play man on 3d down. And every time they did, TP recognized and burned them. Third down scrambles break a defense's back. You saw Bradley say it was on him because of the play call. It took PSU out of what they wanted to do and limited their pass rush. Pryor has made it so this offense can string together first down because of his legs. And he has really figured out how to use the rollout play to his advantage. He threatened the run just enough to draw the linebackers up, then dropped it over their head to the runningbacks. And really nice job using the RBs in the pass game.



-I am a huge fan of the Boren brothers. Justin controlled Odrick all game. And how about Zach?! Have you ever seen a kid learn a position so quickly!? He owned Lee on the edge. And great job in the pass game collecting the ball and getting upfield. They are both just football players.



-Have to tip your hat to the offensive line. They were put in some impossible situations by the play calling and nonetheless performed really well. Browning and Boren were tough as usual. And Miller played really well. It's a shame he came down with the flu like he did, because he has always performed when he's in. Also Saine deserves credit for how hard he ran.



-This game was the best (and worst) of Tresselball. I'll have more thoughts when I break down the film, but a good win.