TheeOSU: A Look Into The Two Year Terrelle Pryor Window

Biggest myth uttered by college football fans about the 2005 MNC run “Troy Smith should have started over Justin Zwick”.

Any OSU or Longhorn fan who believes this revisionist propaganda needs to watch the game tape. Zwick was the better QB, by far (not even close) in that game. Hell, he may have been the better QB on both teams.
If not for the dropped TE pass the Buckeyes maybe win the whole guacamole.

The mistake Tressel made in that game was not letting Zwick stay on the field to win the game.

Back on topic; Pryor wears blinders, because his field vision in both the passing and running game is very limited. VY was like Neo in the Matrix and could see in every direction at any given moment along the spectrum of time within the known Universe. Pryor does not have that. He runs to the edge, just like the big fast guy in high school who can also break tackles with a big body. Pryor does not see holes or schemes. He sees sections of the field and runs in that direction, like a galloping horse.

I’ve seen him in person a few times, while residing in BIG 10 country. I think the OSU coaches know exactly what they have, so they limit his options and decision making.

Hhhhmmm, that’s the first I’ve heard about Zwick outplaying T. Smith. Our D looked much more off balance when Smith was in the game. They were very predictable with Zwick at the helm.

While I agree with you that it was ball game if that TE holds on to the ball (thank you Ced), it was really over when Zwick fumbled.

The game is still moving too fast for Pryor. It’s up to the coaches to scheme him into a comfort zone. They should minimize his reads, and do whatever they can to create predetermined passing lanes.

I disagree with Mocking Bird. Troy Smith was the better of the two in 04 when he tore shit up at the end of the year, he was better in 05, and he was better in 06 when he won the Heisman. That’s like saying Chance Mock should have played ahead of Vince in the 03 Holiday Bowl. Vince was always the better QB and you should ride lead your horse from beginning to end (for the most part).

The only reason Troy didn’t start the Texas game was because of all the off the field stuff. He was suspended week 1. To say Zwick was way better than Troy is patently false.

I would like to see a tOSU v. UT National Title game. It’s possible this year if the SEC and PAC-10 eat themselves up.

Both the Big 12 and Big 10 are down this year, which easily could end up in UT and tOSU remaining undefeated.

It would be a Fiesta Bowl rematch for Pryor and the Horns, and the media would eat it up.

A few months ago I thought 2011 was the next big year for the horns, but after looking what at our O-line depth chart will look like, I think its 2012

Our secondary should also be better in 2012 over 2011. I just hope we have a senior qb tossing the rock.

Ohio St. actually started employing the Greg Davis short-passing/ball control game against Oregon in the Rose Bowl and Pryor found a lot of success with it.
Bigger success could probably come from shelving old “Dave” for one season for the zone-read and QB option game. Or adapting Dave for the shotgun. I know they’ve dabbled with the Pistol some as well.

2012 looks great for Texas save for the uncertainty about Gilbert’s place in it. OL should be good and the D will have recovered from the upcoming hit at CB and obviously stacked everywhere else. Study hard Connor!

Please just watch the game again. Zwick puts together sustained drives down the field. If the TE does not hear hoofbeats, he scores and Zwick never leaves the game again.
It wasn’t a situation where Zwick played the first half and then Smith entered the second. Tressel put Zwick back in to the game, becase each time Texas would gift wrap a short field Smith would get stoned and OSU would settle for a field goal. His decision making was awful. He fumbles, he trips, falls, throws to phantom receivers, etc. His only good pass was a fly route to a future Pro-bowler.

Smith took over in 04, because Zwick got hurt. It was not a benching.

Thinking back on Troy Smith’s “development”, I don’t have a ton of faith in Pryor lighting it up this season. That’s to say that I don’t think the tOSU coaches ever made a significant effort to maximize the strengths of Smith.

Jacory Harris v Terrell Pryor could be a heck of show.

Zwick was much better against us. Pryor was lucky that we dropped two pick sixes from him in the 1st half. This was the reason that Zwick was put back in the game imo.

Immediately after the game, tOSU fans began screaming about the “dropped” pass. I didn’t remember a dropped pass, so I went back and looked. Yes, the initial catch was bobbled, but it would have been a very difficult catch. The hit on the receiver was almost perfectly timed, and has made lots of UT highlight reels.
I would love to see an experiment. Let all the complaining Buckeyes suit up and try to catch an identical pass, and get hit at the same time. If one out of a thousand actually holds on, then I’ll change my tune and call it a dropped pass, instead of a great defensive hit.

Side benefit: thousands of tOSU fans having the crap knocked out of them.

“Any OSU or Longhorn fan who believes this revisionist propaganda needs to watch the game tape. Zwick was the better QB, by far (not even close) in that game. Hell, he may have been the better QB on both teams.”

I don’t remember this at all. I remember thinking the entire game, “THANK GAWD they keep playing Zwick, he’s terrible.” And a lot of “Wow, why does Smith not play every single snap?” I honestly think if Smith plays 3/4 of the snaps, tOSU wins that game…and not in the last few minutes either.

I don’t remember this at all. I remember thinking the entire game, "THANK GAWD they keep playing Zwick, he’s terrible." And a lot of "Wow, why does Smith not play every single snap?" I honestly think if Smith plays 3/4 of the snaps, tOSU wins that game…and not in the last few minutes either.

I just remember thinking “GAWD, I hate these midwestern, jersey wearing faggots” and “I hope we make it back to the stip club in our hotel parking lot tonight.”

The Gold Fox was the highlight of Columbus, btw (game excluded of course).

Isn’t one of those QBs in the NFL?

And the other sitting on a (currently) non-burning couch?

“If the TE does not hear hoofbeats, he scores”

Hearing “hoofbeats” had less to do with him dropping the ball than the hit from a guy giving up 50# that damn near knocked the i dotting tuba player’s teeth out.. Calling that a dropped pass is an affront to reality, although Huckleberry probably will correct me.

Pass breakup imo.

“Hell, he may have been the better QB on both teams.”

Over Vince Young?

In 26 games at Ohio State, Pryor still doesn’t have a single moment where he looked as electrifying and freakish as Vince did on his 60ish-yd run against OU in our blowout loss in the 2003 RRS. It’s not there. It’s never going to be there. The comparison needs to die. Pryor can be a great college QB, but he’s never going to be as transcendent or frightening to the opposition as Vince became as he matured.

Pryor is big and fast, but that’s where the comparison ends.

From the tOSU game:

Troy Smith drives:
1. Gets the ball at the Texas 36 after long return and personal foul — gains 8 yards and tOSU kicks field goal
2. Gets the ball at the tOSU 20 — engineers long TD drive
3. Gets the ball at the Texas 18 after Hawk intercepts VY — loses 1 yard in 3 plays, tOSU kicks field goal
4. Gets the ball at the Texas 30 after Selvin fumbles — gains 12 yards before drive stalls, tOSU kicks a field goal
5. Gets the ball at the Texas 37 after VY is picked off — Antonio Pittman runs it 3 times for 13 yards and first down; Pittman gains 2 yards on 1st down, Smith throws an incomplete pass on 2nd down, Smith fumbles and recovers it for a 2 yard loss on 3rd downs; tOSU kicks a field goal

On the next drive, Smith is replaced by Zwick because Smith had not done crap outside of one long drive despite getting the ball 4 times in Texas territory. On this drive, Zwick drives down the field and Hamby drops the TD pass.

Zwick goes 3 and out on the next tOSU drive, which leads to Smith possession #6

6. 3 & out on drive that starts at midfield, tOSU punts after gaining 2 yards

Zwick is back in. He starts at the tOSU 30. He drives tOSU into field goal range. tOSU’s kicker finally missed.

On the next tOSU possession Kelson forces a Zwick fumble. Smith gets the last shot

7. Smith is sacked for a safety. Game over.

So they both sucked.

well, neither guy was lighting it up, exactly. but, tressel-ball’s ultra conservative play calling was a factor in the wasted possessions in texas territory, too.

“Pryor is big and fast, but that’s where the comparison ends.”

Not to play devil’s advocate here but, Pryor isn’t chopped liver.

In his second year he threw for 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. VY threw for 12 and 9. I’m going off memory here, so don’t hang me if I’m wrong.

Of course VY’s lowest rushing output was a shade under a thousand and Pryor hasn’t broken 800 yet. The average per rush is even more important. VY was around 7 per, and TP is a little less than 5.

“…Pryor leading the team in rushing yards and attempts last year, but only with a 4.9 ypc average,”

By the same token VY had a gawd-awful passing TD-INT ratio his sophomore year:
2004: 148 of 250 for 1,849 passing yards, 12TDs 11INTs 167rushes 1,079yards 6.5ypc

Everyone is judging Pryor from VY’s Jr year which isn’t exactly apples-to-apples yet.

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