Based on my observations from last year and this spring what follows below is a discussion of the main plays that will likely constitute the 2010 Ohio State offense. This list is not comprehensive but is instead what I would consider some of the Ohio State offense's "base plays." This post is a follow-up to my preview article in Buckeye Battle Cry. There, I discuss the schematic framework the 2010 Buckeyes will likely bring to the table. Here, I look at some of the underlying plays that Ohio State will run. I will begin with the run plays and corresponding pass plays, and then preview some of Ohio State's primary pass patterns. Part I will begin by looking at the 'Dave Series.'
RUN GAME
The Dave Series
Power (Dave) Play
Any discussion of the Ohio State run game under Tressel must start with the ubiquitous 'Dave' play (ofter referred to as the power-play in general nomenclature). Tressel is not alone in favoring this play--it is generally considered the most popular run play in modern football. Tressel discussed the play in detail at a coaching clinic, but the basics (courtesy of Chris Brown) are as follows:
The lineman to the side the run is going (playside) essentially “down” block, meaning they take the man to the inside of them. For the guards and center, that includes anyone “heads up” or covering them, but for the playside tackle, he does not want to block the defensive end or other “end man on the line of scrimmage.” These lineman use their leverage to get good angles to crush the defensive lineman, and the fact that they don’t have to block a couple of defenders on the playside frees them to get good double teams and block the backside linebackers. To use Vince Lombardi’s phrase, the idea is to get so much force going that direction that they completely seal off the backside.
They can do this because they get some help to the playside. First, the fullback (or, more often nowadays, some kind of H-back or other player) is responsible for blocking the otherwise unblocked end man on the line of scrimmage (“EMLOS”). He uses a “kick out” technique, simply meaning he blocks him from the inside to out, in order to create Lombardi’s famous “seal” going the other way.
The final piece of the puzzle is the backside guard (sometimes nowadays a tackle). He pulls and “leads,” meaning he retreats, looks first for the fullback’s block to cut off of, and then heads into the crease looking to block the first defender that shows up — typically the playside linebacker. He can block him whatever direction is best; it’s the runningback’s job to find the open lane.
The runner takes a lateral or slight delay step, takes the handoff from the quarterback, and follow’s the pulling guard’s block. As stated above, he wants to cut off that man’s block and get vertical quickly. It is a power play so he has to be willing to hit the hole fast; it’s not as much of a “read the defense” run as are zone runs, though it is a good complement to it.
Here is a basic draw-up of the play
OSU will run Dave from some variation of the I formation or from their "tight bunch" set where they have 3 TE/FBs bunch tight to the formation's strength (see below):
OSU can run this play either to the strong or weakside--though practically its more difficult to run weakside because they angles are so tight. The play also lends itself to better angles against a 4-3 over rather than a 4-3 under, because of the difficult back block the center has against the backside 3 tackle (see the top left diagram above).
The downside of this play (which I have previously discussed) is that all the action is front-side so that OSU can find itself in a situation where back-side penetration breaks down the play. But OSU has taken steps to make Dave a more dangerous play, as discussed below.
Dave Rollout Designed Run
As mentioned in my Buckeye Battle Cry article, Ohio State in 2009 developed a nice package to take advantage of the initial Dave action. Interestingly, Ohio State did not develop a series that attacked the backside pressure, but instead choose to further attack the front-side of the play action and put the force players in a bind. The first play they used to do this is a called fake Dave QB roll-out keep. This is actually an old play that T-formation teams used to run that OSU has successfully revitalized. OSU ate up chunks of yards calling this play against Oregon on the final drive.
This play looks exactly the same as Dave:
The offensive line to the front side is going to run the exact same play. Everyone through to the Center is going to down block to the inside gap.
The FB is going to again attack the EMOLS. As you can see watching the above play, however, the FB is going to try to 'influence' the OLB or DE to 'wrong arm' him like the defender is taught to do against the Dave play. The FB will then hook up and box him in if successful.
The backside guard is going to again pull, but this time rather than lead up inside the FB's kick-out block, he is going to pull around the FB and lead up on the outside 'force' player.
The QB is going to fake Dave and then get depth and run a sweep, following the backside Guard's block.
One can instantly see the bind this puts on the outside defensive players. As noted, the OLB or DE is taught to come in hard when they see the TE down-blocking to clog the C-gap. But this play takes advantage of this aggressiveness by using the natural outside D gap that the defender is responsible for. Oregon's players came down hard on the Dave action, leaving a wide outside gap. It also puts the force player (the safety or corner) in a bind because they must think pass with the QB rolling out. Of course, it helps to have a QB that runs a 4.3 and that naturally wants to find the edge against the defense.
Dave Rollout Pass
The final play that encompasses this series is the rollout pass off of the Dave play fake. This play looks identical to the Dave rollout-QB keep except that the pulling guard is not going to go downfield. Instead he is going to settle down outside the down blocks to create the pocket for the QB. And the QB is going to get more depth than he would when running the designed run so that he will have room to set his feet and step into the throw.
OSU likes running this fake into a 'twins' set, meaning two wide receivers to the same side. The base pattern they run off of this is a smash route.
This is one of the more popular route combination in college football, particularly against cover-2. As one can see, it puts the cover-2 squat corner back in the disadvantageous position of having to cover a hi and low pattern, giving the offense a 2 on 1 advantage.
Ohio State also likes taking advantage of the 'switch' concept to the two receiver side. Originally a run 'n' shoot concept, the switch, as Chris Brown describes:
Is, at core, a two man concept. Two receivers release and "switch": The outside guys angle inside for 5-6 yards before pushing vertical, while the inside guy runs a "wheel route" under the outside guy, rubs right off of his hip, and then turns up the sideline. That's when they play gets interesting.
Finally, OSU will run essentially a variant of the smash where the inside receiver (normally Sanzenbacher) will run an out route and the inside receiver (Posey) will run a post-corner route. This combination led to the majority of OSU's big plays out of the pass game last year.
As noted, the play puts the front side defensive backs in a bind. Not only is it an effective pass combination against cover-2 or man, but the defensive backs must also contend with the run threat from Pryor, exacerbated by the called run play.
Tressel and company have therefore figured out a way to take their favorite run play--Dave--and make it far more effective by adding the run-pass edge threat that Terrelle Pryor presents. Expect these plays to again be a large part of the 2010 offense.
I'm giving myself a shameless plug and promoting the Maple Street Press' 'Buckeye Battle Cry,' their annual in-depth preview for the 2010 Buckeye season.
I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to write an article for the preview edition, titled "Meeting of the Minds: Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor, and the 2010 Ohio State Offense." The article previews the 2010 offensive scheme by reviewing the up's and down's of the 2009 season schematically, through the hodge-podge scheme against USC, to the attempt to run a "spread-to-run" offense against Purdue, and then culminating in the Oregon victory. I focus on what made OSU so successful against Oregon, namely adopting two 'series' based schemes built around the combined threat of the OSU inside run game and the pass/run threat Terrelle Pryor presents on the edge. I expect we will see more of this to come in 2010. But if you want to check out the full article I highly recommend picking up the magazine--lots of great stuff for the 2010 season!
My next project is--building on this article and after reviewing the spring game--is to lay out the primary plays that make up the Buckeyes' offense.
I am going to focus in this post on my Spring Game analysis. But in a follow-up post I am going to expand and focus specifically on what is the Ohio State 'base' offense heading into 2010, both in terms of overall philosophy and specific plays. After watching this spring it is clear that Ohio State is building very specifically on the offense employed in the Oregon game going forward, which I will discuss in more detail in future posts.
But first, specific thoughts from the Spring Game. I re-watched and broke down the first half and did a play-by-play for the First Quarter. Here are my specific thoughts:
I will discuss this in more detail later, but it is suffice to say that Ohio State's downfield passing game has 'evolved' to transition from a more pro-style, downfield passing game, to what I would consider is a more-typical college based spread attack employed by teams like Texas and Oklahoma State. (See here). The focus of this is short, horizontal stretching routes, specifically the: all curl route; the double slant/snag combination; quick outs; and the double scat routes. (The play action passing game is more vertical, namely with flag/out combo, switch, and post/dig). OSU will then run a deeper horizontal stretch with the 3-verticals route. I do not want to use the word 'revolution', but this represents a continued development of what OSU gradually included last year that peaked in the Oregon game.
Building on this, the most promising thing I saw in the Spring Game was a Pryor to Stoneburner connection on the 3-verticals route. The defense was playing a cover-2 man under. As described in the above article, Stoneburner read the cover 2 and broke to the post. Pryor read this perfectly, stepped up into the pocket, and delivered a strike before Stoneburner broke on his cut. It was very well executed and bodes well for OSU this year.
I am with those who think Stoneburner is legit. He needs to improve his 'scramble' reactions when the QB starts moving. But he is a threat down the seams and the deep corner and brings another dimension that allows OSU to expand their pass game in the way described above.
Adams has, in my mind, locked down the LT position. He is doing a great job sitting down in pass protection, being patient, and using his feet. Last year he would get in trouble because he would rush to get outside, and then the DE would beat him underneath. I am not seeing that any more. I also think Marcus Hall may need to move inside. He was constantly getting beat around the edge, and to me does not look to have the 'body' of a tackle. It may simply be youth, but I would like to see him perhaps move inside with Adams and Shugarts only juniors.
Boom Herron ran the best I have seen him run as a Buckeye. He stayed patient, kept his feet moving, and used his vision to find the hole as opposed to barreling into his blockers. He was also the quickest I've seen him. Jordan Hall again impressed me. He had a great cutback on the first carry he received, which again makes me believe that he has the best vision of any of the running backs.
The Defense played very vanilla up-front. They employed their usual array of coverages, but there was very little blitzing. This gave the QBs more time and exposed the secondary more-so than they may otherwise be.
The above may qualify what I say here. But I am now a bit concerned with the safety play. I thought the safeties were repeatedly out of position and getting beat deep because they are too flat in their breaks. I am not ready to pull the alarm yet because some of this were problems with the back-ups; I need to see Hines and Johnson together. But I do not think there is any doubt that OSU's defensive strength is in the front 9, and I expect you will see defensive schemes that reflect it.
These are some quick thoughts, as I mentioned I will have an in-depth breakdown of OSU's offensive playbook coming soon. For those interested, here is a play-by-play breakdown of the First Quarter +
First Scarlet Series:
1st-10:I sprint draw fake, 3 verticals.Hall beat around right side, Pryor had to throw short
2d-10:Gun ace right-Good time, nice job by Adams sitting down and moving his feet.All curl play, Pryor anticipated Stoney’s cut and hit him right in stride.5 yd gain.
3d-5:Gun 4 wide.Nickel.2 high.Rolle comes A gap.Cover 1-robber.Double snag routes.Rolle beats Lindsey, Pryor doesn’t step into the throw and skips the in-route.
First Gray series
1st-10:Gun split left.4-3 under.1 high.Lead zone left.Z Boren neutralizes Klein and Boom has a nice cut outside.5 yd.
2d-5:I-twins right.4-3 over plus 2-high.Sprint draw play pass right.Cover 1 man.Deep safety stays inside, Posey beats Torrence, PI.
1st-10:Gun ace right strong.3-4 heads up.2 high.3 man pass dropback route.Q-Q-H coverage.The DBs took false steps, wide open but Guiton didn’t put air under it.
2d-5:I left.4-3 over. 2 high.Zip motion right to twins.Sprint draw right.Saine missed the cutback, instead tried to cut outside.
3d-7:Gun ace right strong..Nickel double eagle 2 high.Nickel blitz.Double slant/snag route combo made so famous during Oregon.Way too much DB slack in man coverage, easy pickings on the slant-route.
1st-10:Gun ace tight trips strong.3-4 nickel.4 vertical pass pattern.Cover 3, Torrence never gets deep enough-nice catch by Washington.Deep safety No. 8 got stuck in no mans-land.Bad safety play for Scarlet.
Second Scarlet Series:
1st-10:Gun tight trips left.Nickel 2 high.Cover 2 man under.3 verticals.Great read by Stoney on the 3 verticals play.He saw the cover 2 so broke for the goal post between them.Fantastic job by Pryor stepping up in the pocket, never taking his eyes off downfield and hitting him on the cut.Most promising thing I’ve seen.
1st-10:I twins left.4-3 open plus 2 high.Fake Dave pass left.LBers bit the Dave fake.Very nice job by Browning getting his shoulders squared pulling.Nice change up in the route—ran a ‘switch’ route.Will fool teams expecting the flag-out combo.Fooled Sabino who was stuck in no-mans land.
1st-10:Gun tight trips right weak.4-3 under 2 high.3 step ‘Texas double out route.”Great job by Pryor
1st-10:Gun tight trips left strong.4-3 open plus 2 high.Dropback.Q-Q-H coverage.Snag-flag combo.Clarke got stuck in quick sand.Pryor hit his spot and threw it right on time.
Second Gray Series
1st-10:Ace double tight wing right.3-4 shaded to the field (NG and backside in 2-I techniques).2 high.Draw.Great job by Brewster and Boren controlling and turning their men.4 yds.
2d-7: Gun 4 wide right.4-2 nickel 2 high.For whatever reason Mewhert did not get off on the snap count, leaving Bellamy basically untouched into the backfield.Sack.
3d-11:Gun split backs left.Nickel 1 high.Q-Q-H.Flood route left.Miller got out of position and Heyward was able to shed inside.
Third Red Series
1st-10:Strong I right.4-2 nickel.Playactionshallow cross “drive” route.M. Hall again got beat to the outside.Pryor ball batted.
2d-10:Gun 4-wide.Nickel 2 high.Double snag route.Hall got beat inside this time but Pryor stepped up and delievered the flag route.Q-Q-H coverage but the deep half safety never got over to his side quickly.Stoney in the slot running the flag route-tough in that position.Great job with Adams dealing with the swin move.
1st-10:Gun ace left.4-3 over 1 high.Double curl-flag route.
2d-7:Gun tight trips stron.3-3 nickel.4 verticals route.2 deep man under.Pryor throws the vertical to Stoney but doesn’t put enough air on it.Should have checked down.
I had the privilege of attending the OSU jersey scrimmage today. Because I was in the South Stands I had a good "video" view of the offensive and defensive schemes from directly behind the action.
I want to make one general point, then I'll turn to schemes and players.
Overall: I'm sure the CW out of this scrimmage will be that the offense and offensive line were not any good. But that is really an unfair reading. First off, the 1s did not play very much as a unit. And then of the snaps the 1s played, Pryor only played about half of those snaps. I personally saw Pryor play maybe 3 series. And then you have the fact that he is in a black jersey and cannot run. And then you add the fact that the 1s were largely working situations, like coming out of their own goal line. But all that being said, the first team offense largely did the job against the first team defense. They moved the ball running, Pryor had time to make plays, and the line worked pretty well together. There were some dropped balls, but the wind was terrible. The one's looked worse when Bauserman played, as he cannot help but get balls tipped. But where the offense really looked bad was the 2s and 3s against OSU's 2d and 3d string defense. But think about it--we are so loaded at DE and LBer how many of those guys would be starting for every other Big Ten Team: Wells, Thomas, Klein, Dorian Bell, Newsome, etc. So they were lighting up patchwork second and third team O-Lines. So you really can only expect so much.
Schemes:
Offense:
The offense is largely building upon what they did against Oregon. It is a really nice package built around several series from both the shotgun and I that have the common theme of being built around the inside running threat and outside run/pass threat of Pryor.
That means a combination of the 'spread', namely with tight trips or 3 wide, split backs, based around the zone read play and then the half roll passes off of that, and then the I-formation, based upon the Dave/rollout and sprint draw series. You will notice that all of these series have the common fact that they combine our inside running game with the outside run/pass threat bind that Pryor puts defenses in. So it plays to the teams strengths and really works well together. They all allow Pryor to get to the outside where he is such a threat. For example, we saw the fake Dave QB run play that Pryor just killed Oregon. That play puts the OLB in such a bind--does he screw down on the power play like he's taught to do, or does he stay outside to contain Pryor? As VB said, pretty much all you can do is tell your SAM LBer to just make a decision one way or another, don't get stuck in no-man's land. The Tight-trips shotgun formation also is such a threat to the defense. They put the HB to the tight trips side. That means you have 7 defenders to the strong side of the football that the defense has to acount for accordingly. But then, OSU can run inside zone back to the weakside, and also has Posey alone to that side. So a defense is put in the bind of both having to respect the numbers to the strength but accounting for what they may see to the weak side.
OSU is consciously working hard to get the TEs and Running Backs involved in the passing game. OSU showed some unbalanced where Stoneburner would be to the weakside but then release into the pass route. Every pass pattern called was a 5 man route with the TE running seam, drag, or in routes.
Defense
OSU's defense has reached a point that they are all so comfortable with teh system and what they are trying to do that they are getting very complicated. Their base is 4-3 under personnel. But from that they go a variety of ways. Oftentimes they will play a 3-4, but they bump down one side into an 'eagle' look with a 3 technique. The thing is, its really hard to figure out what their keys are. Sometimes they bump the eagle down based on formation strength, sometimes based on the field. Other times they played a straight-up 3-4. Still other times they showed a 4-3 over. Coverage-wise they are showing cover 1 press, but then often dropping to a lot of quarter-quarter-half coverage.
And the Defense was really bringing the heat today. Rolle and Homan were constantly x-blitzing, and they would often bring Williams around on a twist. Everything OSU is doing defensively reflects a staff and team that is confident in what they are doing and their ability.
Personnel
In the limited amount of action Pryor looked very comfortable in the pocket. He was stepping up, making his reads, and staying comfortable in the pocket. I remarked that he just looks much more comfortable and in control with everything.
Cameron Hayward is the leader of this team. He is extremely vocal the first one running down the field to participate in drills, the one in front cheering and hollering on the defense, and spurring people on. The defense takes on his persona and they were really animated and cheering each other on all day. IIt is funny, Simon is like Heyward's shadow, he tries to follow and mimic everything he is doing. The offense, by comparison, was pretty lacking in emotion. Now, part of this is just the defense between offensive and defensive football. But right now it is clear who the defense's leader is, the offense does not have someone as vocal. Heyward is poised to take another step forward and be the most dominant defensive linemen in college fb this year.
The defense flies to the football. It's hard to say certain people stand out, because they are running and gang-tackling everyone.
As I said, I thought the first team O-Line looked pretty good. I thought Miller may have gotten a few more snaps than Adams, but I thought Adams more than held his own. My personal sense is that Adams will be the starter and is playing better, but they are going to make him earn it.
I think Sabino has fully locked down the SAM spot. People need to realize that the 3 LBer positions are not interchangeable. You can play either the inside spots (Mike or Will) or the Sam spot. The Sam is now always on the LOS and is basically a mix between your traditional head-up on the TE linebacker and the nickel star player. Half the time he is playing in the "grey" area splitting between the end of the line and wide receivers, forcing everything inside. Sabino's athleticism allows him to do this and really gives the 3-4 look another dimension.
I must admit that I did not predict this. I thought that Ohio State's goal would be to control the clock, make first downs and keep the ball away from Oregon. Ohio State succeeded on each account, to the tune of nearly 42 minutes of time of possession.. What I did not expect was that OSU would do so through an mix of quick dropback and playaction passing, the inside run game, and Terrelle Pryor's legs. When one reviews the tape, though, it becomes clear that OSU had a great gameplan for what Oregon was trying to do.
1. This game contained a great chess match. As expected, Oregon showed a variety of looks at OSU. But it can effectively summed up as follows:
--Against Ohio State's pro formations, Oregon largely employed a 4-3 "open plus" (3 and 5 technique strong with their strongside Lber over the TE and other Linebackers stacked) with their backside safety walked up as the 8th man. Oregon also heavily favored the strong-side of the formation.
--Against OSU's shotgun looks, Oregon mixed in heavy doses of 6 and 7 man blitzes with soft man coverage behind it, with looks where they would rush 3, leave their 4th linemen 'spying' Pryor, and play Quarter-Quarter-Half coverage behind it to try and double Posey.
To break this down, Oregon brought multiple blitzes, but their favorite was a favorite for them all year; what some call a "Florida" blitz, where two linebackers come off the weak edge with the line then stunting strong (though Oregon generally ran this with man coverage behind it). (H/T: Smart Football).
Oregon's goal, as they made clear during the run-up to the Rose Bowl was to rattle Pryor. They then tried to mix in the Quarter-Quarter-Half coverage. This coverage, among other things, rolls towards one side of the field, allowing a team to 'bracket' the offense's best receiver.
Oregon mixed in this coverage, likely in the hope that Pryor would be rattled from all the blitzing and try to force balls to Posey. Oregon's ultimate goal was to take away OSU's inside power running game first, and make Pryor beat them with his arms and legs.
2. Ohio State did a very effective job attacking these looks and had a great gameplan.
--First, Ohio State just wore Oregon out by running one play that had a simple yet multifaceted coverage beater to each side. It was a five man pattern featuring double slants to one side and a 'snag' combination to the other. Snag is a 3-man route where the outermost receiver runs a snag or scat route, the inner receiver running a flag, and the back releasing to the flat.
Here is the play in full (you can also see above)
This play provided Ohio State multiple benefits. First, it was part of the quick passing game so it allowed Pryor to throw before the blitz came. Second, putting these routes to each side actually provided '3' coverage beaters.
It provided a man coverage beater in the double slants and a zone coverage beater in the snag.
Against zone, it had both a cover 2 beater in the slant and a cover 3 (or other 4 man underneath zone) beater in the snag.
Finally, it provided quick hot routes to either side against the blitz.
Ohio State gameplanned very well in designing this play against the myriad of blitzes they knew Oregon would show. The double slants were particularly effective against the loose coverage Oregon was playing behind their blitzes; sometimes it was like stealing.
This was the primary play OSU used to control the clock passing.
--Second, OSU also did a nice job utilizing play-action. The next two primary plays they utilized fall into this category. First, out of shotgun, they used a quick half-roll off of zone read to hit the inside receiver on a quick out following under a fly route.
--Third, Ohio State then looked to make 'big' plays off their I-formation play action passing game, particularly their 2-man smash routes off the 'Dave' play-action rollouts. OSU thus used their 'shotgun-spread' passing game to control the clock and their I formation play-action passing game to make big plays. While this may seem paradoxical at first, it is a tried and true rule for two reasons. First, in a pro-formation the offense has more pass protectors to give the QB more time to hit plays downfield. Second, the safeties creep up to stop the run, opening holes. As can be seen here, OSU was able to draw up Oregon's safeties who were continually playing run against OSU's I formation, allowing big plays.
Ohio State was also able to design plays to take advantage of Oregon's blitzes; for example the wheel route to Saine is one where they guessed correctly that Oregon was running their 'Florida blitz, leaving Saine streaking down the sideline past the dropping Defensive End.
--Finally, Ohio State was able to get positive plays for Pryor running on the edge due to Oregon's emphasis on stopping the inside running game. Oregon's safeties were playing hard downhill, allowing Pryor get to the edge. The last drive was perhaps the best example with the called Dave rollout runs, but Ohio State was able to do so in the zone read game also. Oregon was selling out to stop the give, leaving the keep open in key situations.
In all these instances, Ohio State perfectly gameplanned for what Oregon likes to do. Oregon could not get a pass rush with their defensive front, so they knew they needed to blitz. But to try to avoid giving up big plays, they played loose man coverage. OSU moved the ball up and down the field hitting quick slants and outs in front of that coverage, eating up chunks of yards and clock.
2. It goes without saying that Pryor played a very good game. Perhaps most impressively, he did a very nice job diagnosing Oregon's coverage and blitzes, stepping into the pockets and hitting the quick routes. In addition, what sometimes gets overlooked--because he makes it look so easy--is just how important some of his individual efforts were running the football. Time and again he would pick up critical first downs. He did his best job yet of running North and South and running physically. That is very demoralizing to a defense and sustained multiple drives.
3. Posey took his game to another level. I have at times been critical of the Wide Receiver's this year, particularly in being physical off the line of scrimmage, running crisp routes, and concentration. But Posey really showed marked improvement--he was extremely physical and went up and made plays. Because of this, as noted, Oregon went to quite a bit of quarter-quarter-half coverage. This opened things up for Dane on the quick outs and slants. Though Dane was still getting bottled up too often off the line against press coverage, he did a nice job making plays. The improved wide receiver play was nearly as important to the offense's success as Pryor.
4. The offensive line played very, very well. There is no doubt that they became the strength of this offense by the end of the year. Oregon had no chance of getting pressure without blitzing. And, for all the exotic looks they saw, the Line largely did a good job of picking things up, other than Cordle and Shugarts occasionally getting beat off the edge by stunting linemen. They dominated Oregon in run blocking--Shugarts, Browning, and Ballard were particularly impressive; I think this was Ballard's best blocking game this year. And it was great to see the offense pick up every third and fourth and short. Oregon knew we were going to run the 'Dave' play but could not stop it. Everyone could see how pumped Tressel was about this on the last drive and it cannot be considered anything but a big step forward from where things started with the Navy game. The offensive line cannot be considered anything but a strength as OSU heads into next year.
5. I hate ending on a negative note, but my one real critique is the tailback play. Though they did well in the pass game, they had bad games running the football. I cannot tell you how many big run plays were left on the field by Herron and Saine missing holes--it was disappointing to see (one example is on the 'Dave' play in the first video clip above-rather than following his Z. Boren kicking out in the 'C' gap where the play is supposed to go he runs right into the frontsides down blocks).
I have seen them have better games, but vision is neitherof their strong suits and I do not know whether that is something you can really 'develop.' To me, this is the major area that, as of now,will hold back OSU's offense going forward next year. It really puts a lot of pressure on the OLine to be perfect and Pryor to be a major factor with his legs.
Putting that aside, though, this was a very good performance by the coaching staff and offensive unit. OSU perfectly dissected what Oregon's scheme and devised a gameplan to both attack it and control the clock. Then, Pryor and the offense played at a high level throughout the game and repeatedly made key plays. A great victory and a good omen going forward. The Play-by-Play below.
OFFENSE
First Possession: 0-0. OSU 25
1st-10: Gun Ace right strong. Oregon 4-3 tight under. 2 high.
Dropback. OSU runs a snag/in combo. Oregon cover 2. No one open.
Good protection. Pryor tries to force the ball, incomplete.
2d-10: Gun trips right weak. Or3 3-4 Half Eagle 2 high. Fake zone
left, bubble screen right. Nice block by T. Washington stalemating
his man, letting Dane gain 5.
3d-5: Gun. Ace right-H-back right weak. Or: Eagle, 0 high.
Dropback. Ore twists up front, cover man robber. Browning pancakes
DT, giving Pryor a running lane. Completely outruns the robber
linebacker, then breaks the DBs ankles. 24 yd gain. Great run.
Posey pancakes guy at the end.
1st-10: Ace trey right: Fake zone left, half roll right. Oregon
Q-Q-H coverage. Nice block by Ballard to establish the edge. Quick
out to Posey for 5.
2d-5: Gun-Ace right strong-Stoney as a tight flanker right. Oregon
eagle weak 1 high. DT twist nickel blitz. Cover 1. Double slant to
the left. Perfect call against the nickel blitz. Great throw by
Pryor. 8 yd gain. Nice job by Cordle picking up and driving the
nickel back inside, letting Pryor step up.
1st-10: Ace trips right weak: Ore-Eagle to the TE 2 high. Ore only
had 2 guys on OSU trips. Bubble screen to Sanz, good blocking, 7 yd
gain. Unlike USC punished them for not covering up our WRs.
2d-3: Gun trey left strong. Oregon Eagle strong. 1 high. Zone
right. Great blocking by Shugarts and Browning at the POA. Shugarts
manhandled the DE, establishing the edge, and then Browning locked up
the LB. Very nice cut by Saine off of Browning. 6 yd gain, first
down. Ore constantly aligning to TE, so we attacked to the weak
side.
1st-10: Gun, ace right stron. Oregon: 4-2-5 strong 2 high.
Droback. Coverage beaters. Double slants to left side, ‘snag’ combo
to right. Cover 4. Not a very good pattern by Sanz, not a great
decision by Pryor-had Washington or Posey open.
2d-10: Gun ace trey right strong. Ore Eagle trong. 1 high. Oregon
double backer weakside blitz, slant strong. Man coverage. Fade stop
to Posey (man coverage beater). Great throw, needs to be caught.
3d-10: Gun tight trips right strong. Dropback. All curl route. Ore
cover 2. Great protection. Cordle and Brewster lock up their man.
Very nice job by Pryor checking down to Saine. And then great run by
Brandon bowling over the DB for the TD.
SECOND POSSESSION: OSU 7-0. OSU 3 yd line
1st-10: Tight I left. Ore-4-3 under. 2 high. Dave left. Ore’s
safeties came up immediately, nice job by Boom bouncing it outside. 8
yd gain plus a facemask.
1st-10: I twins right. Ore-3-4 strong. 0 high. Dave right. Pryor
checked into it going the way where they had a 3 technique and a LBer.
Big downblocks by Shugarts and Browning. Nice job pulling around by
Boren, huge hole. 9 yd gain.
2d-1: Gun tight trips right. Ore 3-4 under. Zone right left. Pryor
should have kept. Ore slanted hard on the zone action, Brewster got
beat across his face, 2 yd loss.
3d-3: Gun double tight halfback left. Ore-nickel under 2 high. Zone
read right. Ore scrape exchanges-they had the right call here, but
Pryor just owns the LBer with a stiff arm and takes him to the ground.
Nice block by Boom to get Pryor the first down. 5 yd gain.
1st-10: I twins right: Ore-4-3 under nickel: 1 high. ISO right.
Decent blocking at the POA, but not much movement, limiting to a 3 yd
gain. Ore’s safety walked up at the last minute, stopping the play.
2d-9: Gun ace right strong. Ore 4-3 under nickel. Fake zone right,
double slants high, snag underneath. Cover 1. Pryor great throw to
Dane on the inside double slant. 12 yd gain. This route beat Oregon
like a tom-tom here. Offered Pryor a lot of options. Versus man it
has a coverage beater-double slants versus cover 2, snag versus cover
3. Versus man has two man beater routes in the slant and the snag.
And also gives two-easy hot routes to each side versus the blitz.
1st-10: Gun tight trips right strong Ore nickel over 1 high. Zone
read left. Cordle and Boren didn’t sustain their blocks well, and
Boom missed the hole. 3 yd gain. Offsides, though.
1st-5: I twins right. Oregon 4-3 over and LBs shaded strong.
Safeties at 10 yds. Dave right. Blocked perfectly to bounce it
outside except the safety came up. I still think Boom should have
bounced out instead of shoving his head in the hole. 2 yd gain.
Oregon’s safeties were playing so aggressively when we were in the I.
2d-5: I twins right. Ore 4-3 over. 9 guys within 7 yds. Sprint
draw pass right. Shugarts got his pads down and got beat on the speed
rush. Pryor tries to scramble around. If Cordle and Ballard stay
with their guys Pryor has a big play but gets tripped up.
3d-15: Gun ace right: Dropback. Flood left, option routes
underneath. Cordle gets beat inside by Rowe. Pryor rolls right,
somehow gets the ball off. Dane was open but he needed to come
horizontal as he should on the ‘scramble’ drill. Incomplete.
4th-Punt.
Third Possession: 7-0 OSU 49
1st-10: Gun split twins left. Ore 3-4 nickel strong. 1 high.
Dropback. Oreg brought 6. “Florida blitz”—two off weak side, slant
to strong, drop off the strongside. Cover 1. 3 verticals route with
a HB wheel route. Saine against the DE in man coverage down the
sideline. Great job by Pryor sliding in the pocket and hitting Saine
on the fly. 45 yd gain.
1st-Goal at the 4: Gun split unbalanced left, H-back otion right.
Ore 4-4. Was going to be an outside zone away from the unbalanced,
but bad snap by Brewster trying to reach block. Nice job by Pryor
minimizing the damage.
2d-6: Gun unbalanced double tight-H-back motion to the weak side.
Ore Eagle 2 high. Fake outside zone bootleg right. Not a great block
by Cordle establishing the edge. If Pryor is patient, Z. Boren comes
wide open, but he forces the issue, 2 yd gain on a scramble
3d-4: Gun unbalanced right, twins left stron. Ore-4-3 under. Load
option right. If Pryor runs the play and actually options the
playside linebacker Saine walks into the endzone untouched. But he
danced too much with it trying to make a play. 2 yd gain.
4th-FG.
Fourth Possession: OSU 10-3. OSU 16 yd line.
1st-10: Gun split backs left. Ore 4-2 under nickel. 2 high. Load
option left. Ore’s safeties come flying up-Pryor needs to pitch the
ball but instead gets strung out. Need the playaction off of that.
2d-8: Gun ace left strong. Ore Eagle weak to field 2 high.
Dropback. Same double slant/snag combo. Ore did a DT around stunt,
double weakside blitz, Adams and Boren got caught in no-man’s land,
letting the stunter come around unscathed. Ore likes bringing 2
backers to one side, move the line the other way.
3d-7: Gun ace left weak. Or-3-3-5. 7 man blitz. Dane gets
manhandled at the line, so he doesn’t come free for the hot route.
Protection was not terrible, Brewster did not maintain his block but
Pryor forced it a hair too early. Dane was wide open if he is
patient. 1 yd loss.
4th-Punt
Fifth Possession: 10-10. OSU 33
1st-10: Gun trips right. Ore-3-4 to the field. Dropback. Double
stunt twist blitz. OSU picked up the blitz, Dane did not turn around
for the ball, though.
2d-10: Ace bunch left. Ore-4-4 under to bunch. 1 high. Dave left.
Big hole. Nice kickout by Ballard and pull by Browning. Boom ran
outside the hole, then worked hard for 6 yards.
3d-5: Gun split right. Ore 3-4 2 high. Dropback,. Ore drops 8,
plays Q-Q-H. Pryor forces the rush upfield. Facemask. 15 yds.
1st-10: Gun ace tight trips right strong-Ore 4-3 uneder. False start.
1st-15: Gun motion to tight trips right, stron. Ore 3-4 to field.
Fake zone left, Smash right. Pryor delivers right away to Posey on
the snag route. 4 yd gain.
2d-11: Ace right weak. Ore-4-3 over to field. 2 high. Dropback.
Inside screen. Bad luck. Called a screen when Oregon dropped 7 into
a cover 4.
3d-11: Gun split backs right. Ore-3-3-5. Dropback. Ore rushes 2
and spies Pryor. Ore drops into Q-Q-H. Doing it to double Posey.
Great play by Pryor and Boom-Pryor moving to buy time, Boom by coming
back inside when he saw him scrambling. 15 yd gain.
1st-10: Gun ace right stron. Ore-Eagle to strength. 0 high.
Favorite play-double slants, snag. Ore double backer blitz, and
stunt. Pryor hits Posey before the stunt man comes around on Cordle.
Ore favorite blitz-Double LBer blitz to weak side, 3 technique to that
side stunt around. 9 yd gain.
2d-1: I left. Ore 4-3 under 2 high. Dave left. Big hole where the
play is called-Ballard and Cordle collapsed down Oregon’s line. Saine
hit it up inside for whatever reason. Still got the first down 2 yd
gain.
1st-10: Did not get set. 5 yd penalty.
1st-15: Gun split backs right—Ore 4-4 under-Ore stunt left. OSU fake
zone right, boot left. Flood right. Ore’s LB blitzed off the edge
unblocked. Nice play by Pryor stepping up and great grap by Posey on
the cross, using his strength to grab the pass. 8 yd gain.
2d-7: OSU gun split left. Or-Eagle to the field. 1 high. All curl.
Ore double LB A gap blitz, stunt. Cordle came inside to pick up the
backer, letting the stunt man come around free. Pryor could not find
anyone open. Kept it straight up the middle. Coverage sack.
3d-7: Gun trips right. Ore-3-4-5. Ore stunt. Nice pick-up by
Saine. Good job by Shugarts on the edge. Pryor gets outside and
outruns 5 Oregon players and then runs over Ore’s DB. 6 yd gain.
4th-1: Double Tight I-fly motion right. Ore goaline 4-4. Dave
right. Great POA surge by Ballard and Shugarts opening a big hole.
Shugarts dominated the ‘5’ technique. Nice lead blocks by the Borens.
5 yard gain. Dominating statement. 1:51
1st-Goal: Gun Ace right strong. Oregon 4-3 under 1 high. Dropback.
4 man rush. Q-Q-H coverage. Post corner routes. Good
protection-Oregon could not get pressure with just 4. No opening,
threw it away beyond Posey.
2d-Goal: Gun 5 wide, trips lef. Ore nickel shift strong 2-high. Ore
had no one over Dane, Pryor tries to get a quick snap to throw the
bubble. By the time Brewster snaps Oregon had re-aligned and shifted
a man over. Then Dane tried to string it out. 2 yd loss.
3d-Goal: Gun split back right. Ore-3-3-5. Ore rushes 2, plays a
cover 1 robber with a spy on Pryor. Dropback, shallow cross, snag
combo. No one open, Pryor tries to force it to Posey. Incomplete.
4th-FG.
SIXTH POSSESSION: OSU 13-10
1st-10: Gun split back right. Ore-3-4 2 high. Dropback. Roll into
Q-Q-H. Good protection, nice job by Browning and Ballard. Pryor
holds the ball a long time, could have run for yards. Threw it away
2d-10: Gun trips right. Ore 3-4 2 high. Dropback. ‘Drive’ crossing
route combo. Rowe beats Shugarts spinning inside, but great pickup of
him by Browning. Pryor does a very nice job stepping up in the pocket
and throwing a crossing route to Sanz. 16 yd gain.
1st-10: Spike
2d-10: Gun split back twins right. Ore 3-4. 2 high. Ore brings the
‘Raider’ blitz. Stunting DT gets around Cordle, flushes Pryor in
pocket. Throws it away.
3d-FG
SECOND HALF
1st Possession-Ore 17-16. OSU 20
1st-10: Gun ace left. Ore-4-3 overshift. 1 high. Motion to tight
trips. Zone read left. Nice blocks at the POA. Brewster does not
sustain his block quite long enough, but Cordle lets his guy go
upfield and Boren gets to the second level and stalemates the LB. 5
yd gain.
2d-5: Gun trips right. Ore 4-3 over shifted a gap further strong
(something they do often). 1 high. Bubble screen. Nice run by Dane,
setting up the cut inside. 7 yd gain.
1st-10: I twins left. Ore 4-3 open plus. Dave right. HUGE hole
right where the play is supposed to go. Great kick out by Z. Boren
and down blocks by Ballard and Shugarts. But for whatever reason
Saine does not follow his lead blockers and instead runs inside into
traffic. Could have been a big play, instead only 2 yards. The TBs
left a lot of yards on the field.
2d-8: I twins right. Ore Eagle 1 high. Fake Dave rollout left.
Smash combo. Ore safeties bite on the fake. Pryor does a great job
setting his feet and throwing a perfect ball over Posey’s back
shoulder. 36 yd gain. 9:15 3d quarter
1st-10: Gun tight trips right stron. Ore-Overshifted 4-3 over. 1
high. Fake zone left, roll right. Smash route. Ore squeezes to the
run, great job by Pryor delivering the ball before Ore’s OLB recovers.
6 yd gain. Great use of playaction on this drive.
2d-5: I twins left. Ore-4-2-5 look. 1 high. Stretch left. Really
nice job by Cordle and Brewster locking their men and getting hats to
the play side. Saine turns it up and gets 4.
3d-1: Double tight I right. Ore 4-4 pinch 1 high. Dave left. Big
push by Ballard on the frontside DE, great kickout and pull by Boren
and Browning, and then really nice job by Saine sticking his nose
right up the field for the first down. Ore had 9 guys in the box with
their playside DE sitting in C gap and still did not stop it.
1st-10: Gun motion to tight trips right stron. Ore-4-3 double A gap.
Zone read left. Brewster gets tossed by the playside 1 technique,
who blows up the play. Pryor should have kept the ball.
2d-13: Gun tight trips right stron. Ore-3-3 2 high. Dropback.
Flood left Ore brought 7-3 off the right. Dane and Ballard wide open.
Dane had it but laid out and dropped it. Nice job getting rid of the
ball,.
3d-13: Gun ace left. Or-3-4. 1 high. Ore brings 7. Nice job by the
right side of the line picking it up. Dane open on skinny post, but
Pryor throws the hot route and Dane runs his route-miscommunication.
Dane needed to cut off his break.
4th-FG
Second Possession: OSU 19-17. OSU 20
1st-10: OSU I left. Ore 4-3 under 1 high. Fake Dave left. Ore bit
hard on playfake. Nice job by Boren kicking out the end, Pryor
stepped up in the pocket and delivered a strike to Posey on the out.
Ballard ran a shallow cross. First time I’ve seen them run this play
from a non-twins set. 15 yd out.
1st-5 (offsides): Gun split backs left. Ore 4-3 over strong. 2
high. Outsise zone right. False start
1st-10: Gun split backs left. Ore 4-3 under 1 high. Fake outside
zone left, boot right. May have had Ballard on the delay route, but
Rowe stayed home and made the play. 5 yd loss.
2d-15: Gun empty. Ore 3-3 shift to field. 1 high. QB draw. Nice
initial set-up. Ballard did not have a good stalk block of Rowe, but
Pryor drills him with a stiff arm that knocks a DE down. 6 yd gain.
3d-8: Gun ace right. Ore-3-4. 1 high. 3 man rush. Cover 1 robber.
Nice protection. Pryor has Posey going down the sideline but lofts
it up and leaves it short. Interception. Herron’s guy had slipped
but Pryor did not see him.
Third Possession: OSU 19-17. OSU 12
1st-10: I right. Ore 4-3 under 2 high. ISO right. Good blocking by
J. Boren on the backside completely locking his man down. Nice cut by
Saine and then runs over the safety and knocks his helmet off-their
safeties were flying down all game. 5 yd gain.
2d-5: I twins left. Ore-4-3 over 1 high. Dave right. Great
kick-out by Z. Boren-huge hole outside by Saine missed the cut and ran
into the defense. 2 yd gain.
3d-3: Gun ace left. Oregon brings 7. Double slants left. Just a
tad beyond Sanz’ reach.
4th-Punt
Fourth Possession: OSU 19-17. OSU 21
1st-10: Gun ace left. Ore-4-3 over. 2 high. Dropback. Nice initial
job by Cordle and Shugarts on the edges. Then amazing run by Pryor
through an arm tackle for 12 yds. 12:10 4th.
1st-10: Gun tight trips right strong. Ore 4-3 tight. 1 high.
Corner blitz. Zone read left. Ore backside end did not respect the
keep and ran Boom down from behind. Too bad because very good push
from Shugarts and Browning. 3 yd gain.
2d-8: Gun tight trips right. Ore 4-3 over tight. 1 high. Fake zone
read left, boot quick out to Sanz. 5 yd gain. 11:25.
3d-5: Gun ace left strong. Ore-3-3-5. 2 high. Giving Dane a 15 yd
cushion. That is stealing. Double slant, snag combo.
1st-10: I left. Ore 4-3 tight. 1 high. Dave rollout right. Boren
and Boom run into each other. Pryor takes off back across the
field-huge hole except Rowe is able to trip him up from behind for a 1
yd loss.
2d-11: Shift to Gun tight trips strong. Ore 3-3-5. Sprint option
right. Pryor had the cutback, but slipped. 1 yd loss.
3d-12: Gun ace right. Ore-3-3-5 2 high. Dropback. Double post,
flood right. Ore 3 deep. Cordle gets beat off the edge, Pryor rolls
outside, hits Ballard as he releases deep off the scramble. Amazing
catch. 25 yd gain
1st-10: Gun twins left. Fake zone right, boot left. Smash. Hits
Dane on quick out. Incomplete.
2d-10: Ace tight bunch left unbalanced. Ore 4-3 open plus. Dave
left. Nice frontside blocking blocking down and locking up the
frontside. Herron tiptoes a bit, gets 4.
3d-6: Gun ace right. Ore 3-4 2 high. Ore all blitz-brings 7. Zone
read left. The backside safety bit down enough for Pryor to get the
edge and stiffarm him. He’s then able to outrun everyone else for a
first down. Huge individual play by him.
1st-10: I twins left. Ore-4-3 open plus. 1 high. ISO right. Huge
hole on the right side. Shugarts pancakes the DE and Browning drove
his guy down. Z. Boren then pancakes the LBer. Herron completely
misses the hole and runs up Brewster’s back. I saw this WAY too many
times this game. 2 yard gain.
2d-8: Gun split back rights. Dropback. Ore Cover 2. Nice
protection. Ore had no hope of getting a pass rush without blitzing.
Stop-fade to Posey. Perfect throw and great catch. TD.
Fifth Possession-OSU 26-17. OSU 27
1st-10: I twins right. Ore 4-3 open plus. 1 high. Stretch right.
Browning gets beat but for whatever reason Saine cuts inside. If he
follows Boren he makes a positive play.
2d-12: Motion to Gun tight trips strong. Ore-4-3 over. 1 high.
Load option right. Pryor makes the pitch—should have done so earlier.
Nice blocking by Washington on the edge. 10 yd gain.
3d-2: Gun double tight strong right. Ore 4-2-5. 1 high. Load
option right. Great run by Pryor getting up the field and running
physical for the first down. 5 yd gain.Very nice job at the POA by
Shugarts and Browning creating the hole. Shugarts kept his head
playside and ran with the DE, and Browning wheeled and turned his guy
inside.
1st-10: Double Tight I left. Dave right. Saine again misses the
hole. This play is a C gap play. The FB kicks out the pulling Guard
seals. The TB needs to follow those two and run between them. It is
a hole to bounce play. Again and again the TBs would run up inside
right where the down blocks are taking place and miss big holes. 2 yd
gain.
2d-8: Double tight I left. Ore 4-3 open plus. 1 high. 3 min left.
Fake Dave called run rollout left. Great job by Boren on the edge
locking down the playside corner allowing Pryor to get around the
edge. 7 yard gain.
3d-1: Double tight I right. Ore 4-3 open plus. Dave left. Nice job
by Browning pulling and sealing off the traffic and of Saine sticking
his head in there for the first. 3 yd gain.
1st-10: Double tight I right. Ore 4-3 open plus. 1 high. ISO left.
The safety filled immediately and made the play for a 1 yd gain.
2d-9: Tight I right. Ore 4-3 over tight. Dave fake keep right.
Great blocks by the Boren brothers-pancacked the playside LBer. Big
space for TP to run 13 yd gain.
1st-10: Tigh I left: Ore 4-3 open plus 1 high. ISO right. Nice cut
by Boom in traffic around Browning taking his guy inside. 4 yd gain.
Victory Formation.
For further discussion, go to Scout.com's Ohio State's 'Ask the Insider's' Board.
I will have a lot more to say after reviewing the film, but for now these are the things that jumped out at me. All in all a great victory--OSU did exactly what they had to do--set the tempo, controlled the clock, and controlled the line of scrimmage--and did so through their passing game. Very impressive
OFFENSE
What a gameplan. I thought OSU would try and control the clock, which they did to the tune of nearly 42 minutes. I thought that Pryor would be called upon to make some big plays with his legs, which he did. In particular, the fake Dave rollout play was highly successful in the second half, both as a pass and called run. But I had no idea that OSU would control the clock through ball-control passing. Pryor continually moved the chains through short to medium drop back and half roll pass plays and OSU was highly successful doing so.
For those that complain that OSU does not have a 'sophisticated' passing game, or run 'sophisticated' routes, this game was the perfect tonic. True to form, Oregon play an aggressive blitzing style with soft man coverage behind it. So what did OSU do??? Run underneath man-coverage beater routes all night. Doubleslants were the most prevalent. Again and again OSU moved the chains by hitting the inside double slant before Oregon's man coverage could converge. OSU also featured bubble screens, running back arrow and wheel routes out of the backfield against man-coverage linebackers, seam routes, quick outs off the zone read fake, and fade-stop routes, most famously on the last TD pass to Posey. OSU did a great job controlling the ball and moving the chains by featuring these routes.
From there, OSU did a nice job balancing by mixing in shotgun-spread type runs with Pryor picking up some big third downs on the zone read, traditional I formation football, and the heretorefore mentioned called fake- Dave run plays.
Perhaps most importantly, Ohio State stayed aggressive. On first down, Ohio State was extremely balanced, going 10-16 passing for 107 yards. They then did a great job on the game-clinching drive of using play-action called runs to get big first downs.
All that can be said about Terrelle Pryor is wow. Just a great, great game. Stepped up in the pocket, did a great job hitting the slants on time, and buying time with his feet to chheck down and hit the RBs on key underneath routes. Also did a nice job of checking to the bubble screen when it was there. Then when he ran, he largely ran the ball hard and sniffed out the first down market multiple times, and how about those stiff arms!?!? He deserves every accolade for this game, and I think it represented a culmination of all the little improvements I saw throughout the year--taking what the defense gives you both running and throwing, better mechanics, checking into the right play, and not forcing throws.
Posey and Sanzenbacher deserve as much credit as Pryor. I have been hard on them at times this year, but they took their games to the next level. Posey played very physical and caught balls in traffic. Oregon started cheating their coverage towards him and Dane came up big over the middle. Both did a nice job getting off the line, running precise routes, and reading the blitz. Big steps forward.
The Offensive Line also played a very big game. For the most part they handled the multidude of blitzes and stunts Oregon threw their way, giving Pryor time. OSU also time and again picked up critical short yardage conversions, never getting stopped on third and short. It was great seeing Tressel's reaction on the last 3d and 1 Dave play where OSU gained 4. Oregon knew it was coming and could not stop it. The line took a big step forward this year.
Brandon Saine and Jake Ballard also had critical catches. Saine again showed the threat he is out of the backfield, showing great hands and nimbleness. Ballard's catch was highlight reel-esque, a great contribution from someone who is mostly called on to block. All in all it was a great team effort and execution on the offensive side of the ball of a very nice gameplan.
DEFENSE
Just an amazing performance by the defense. To deal with a short field most of the game, and hold Oregon to 17 points and 13 first downs is quite an accomplishment.
Schematically, OSU did a great job of mixing coverages and looks. We brought a lot of zone pressure, played quite a bit of cover 4 and quarter-quarter-half coverage, and kept Oregon guessing. Up front, we lined up primarily in an over front to limit Oregon's reads.
The key to OSU's defensive success was winning first and second down. And OSU did that by limiting Oregon's primary play, the zone read. In fact, Oregon did not have success running this play all night. Instead they had to turn to their fly sweep and WR screens on the outside to move the ball.
OSU did so by doing what they have done all year--dominating the line of scrimmage. Heyward, Gibson, Worthington, and company came up huge controlling Oregon's offensive line and limiting Oregon's running lanes.
In so doing, OSU limited to Oregon to 3d and medium and 3d and long. And this was critical. Rather than letting Oregon go to their offensive identity, which is their running game, Oregon had to pass. And they largely had no success doing so against OSU. OSU's back seven's mix of coverages controlled Oregon's wide receivers and TE, and Masoli could not read coverages. Even when he had time he had no idea where to go with the football. Oregon had to rely on bubble and jailbreak screens to pick up third downs, which was only successful for so long.
What is particularly impressive is that the OSU defense did this defending essentially half of the field. The kickoffs and coverages were terrible and were effectively the equivalent of one or two turnovers. But the defense made up for it and held Oregon in check.
A great all-around game on both the offensive and defense, both in terms of scheme and execution. OSU controlled the clock, set the tempo of the game, controlled the line of scrimmage, and came up with big plays when they needed to. These are the things that win games against good teams and OSU succeeded at all of these tonight. I will have much more to say about this game as I review the tape, but for now lets enjoy the win!
For further discussion, go to Scout.com's Ohio State's 'Ask the Insider's' Board.
For further discussion to Ohio State Scout's 'Ask the Insiders' Board.
Gameday...and some last minute thoughts before the Rose Bowl:
Special Teams
I never focus enough, relative to its importance, on special teams. I believe that special teams could be a factor in multiple ways today.
Oregon's kick-off return unit has been fairly successful this year, averaging 24.5 yards per return. Ohio State's kick coverage unit, by contrast, has been susceptible to allowing long returns, most notably against Iowa. Ohio State must do a better job containing Oregon's kick-off returns--the last thing you want to allow a dynamic offense like Oregon have is the equivalent of 1 or 2 less first downs to make per possession.
On the flip side, Oregon has been susceptible to giving up sizable kick-off and punt returns. Ohio State, without Ray Small, must find a way to take advantage of this and get some positive plays out of the return game. Even if they cannot get a play as impactful as Small's first return against Penn State, they must get their offense a few free first downs.
It will be interesting to see whether OSU uses Aaron Pettrey or Devin Barclay to kick field goals. Oregon has been highly successful in the kick game this year, and Ohio State must be able to match them.
Final Thoughts
I have said it before, but I will say it again: turnovers will be critical. In particular, Oregon has been susceptible to fumbling and Ohio State's defense must force turnovers. OSU's defense has been successful all year at causing turnovers and they need to continue that trend today. By contrast, OSU must protect the football. OSU's defense can be successful against Oregon, but they must be kept out of unwinnable situations.
As Nebraska and Wisconsin reaffirmed this week, physical, dominant defense can stop good offenses, especially if they control the line of scrimmage. Ohio State has the chance to do exactly that today. Everything for Oregon starts with the zone-read play, and if Ohio State controls the frontside of that play they can stymie everything else Oregon does. The zone read is not a true option play, so Oregon's line must still establish the front-side zone play to be successful. Or as Chris Brown states:
[On the zone read] the initial read is of the backside defensive end; but even if he stays put, the success of the playside inside zone play still depends on however the blocks turn out, as opposed to the true triple, where you know it will be a success because you have double teamed everyone and the only threat is the man you're optioning off of.
Therefore, if Ohio State can stalemate Oregon's line and control all the gaps on the line of scrimmage, Ohio State can shut down everything Oregon does, because everything is predicated off that initial zone action.
Offensively, Ohio State must stick with their gameplan and not panick, even if they fall behind a score. Wisconsin got down early 7-0, but did not let that change their plan coming into the game against Miami, which was to hit them in the mouth, run the ball down the field, and hit play-action off of it.
Look for Ohio State to take advantage of Terrelle Pryor's health by getting him on the edge fairly often, and by using schemes that take advantage of Oregon overly focusing on Pryor.
Ultimately, this game may come to the intangible factor of who establishes their tempo, their style, and controls the football game. We saw Wisconsin impose their will and dictate against Miami. Ohio State has a similar opportunity today and must establish their will.
For further discussion to Ohio State Scout's 'Ask the Insiders' Board.
