In my opinion, yesterday's games re-affirmed that the tried and true formula of 'Tressel-ball" is still a successful one.
--Two very good offenses in Florida and Texas were completely shut down by great defenses.
--Alabama and Nebraska completely controlled the tempo of those games. Alabama ran the ball up and down the field and forced Florida out of their preferred style of play. Yes, McElroy played very well. But he only threw 18 passes --and most of those were playaction and screen passes. Everything Alabama does is set up by a dominant zone run game.
--Alabama played disciplined defense, controlled the LOS, and soundly defended Florida's option game. Florida became entirely dependent on Tebow to run the ball and could not establish anything.
--Nebraska dominated Texas defensively. Texas has not had a consistent run game since Vince Young left. Nebraska pinned their ears back and Texas had no answer. If Nebraska had a) any semblance of a run game or b) didn't make special team mistakes they win that game.
--I think yesterday's results should make OSU fans feel very good going into the Rosebowl, as that will be another example of a defensive-oriented team facing down an offensive-oriented team.
Wow...looking at the play of other teams to encourage our own.... Now that's wacky. Seems very insecure.
ReplyDeleteJust a reminder...tOSU lost the last 3 bowl games because the other team "scored more points." Offense is half the game. Defense is half the game.
I get tired of my Buckeye brethren underestimating bowl opponents. If the rest of the nation is saying this Oregon team is explosive...then that's probably pretty accurate. Our ""D will likely do it's part, but Oregon will still do it's damage so our "O" needs to contribute as well.
It's imprtant to note that Florida had a heralded defense as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's also important to know that Florida was a fraud and has been all year.
ReplyDeleteNormally, I would not accept the legitimacy off cherry picking data, but if you examine just the rushing stats since the Purdue game, the Buckeyes are nationally
ReplyDelete#5 in rushing yardage
#11 in rushing average
I think you would agree that there was a real sea change in our offensive approach after the PU game and so i think it is fair to take some comfort in these data.
I heard Trent Dilfer say that a sophisticated offense might have 5 formations, use 5 different personnel groups in these 5 formations (= 25 variations) and run 5 different play types out of them (5 * 25 = 125 specific plays). Does this make any sense and could you illustrate how it might?
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