Ohio State’s Offense
Over the last three years, Ohio State’s offense has been largely responsible for all five of their losses. You’ll hear pundits argue that it’s their “slow Big 10 defense” that can’t keep up with the spread and, though there are small elements of truth there (despite what the NFL draft consistently demonstrates), the key area to look at is on the offensive side of the ball. In fact, it’s overwhelmingly the place you should look.
Look at the Ohio State offense in their fives losses:
Texas ‘05. We shut their O down completely: they had 255 yards. We forced a key fumble and a safety. They never converted in the red zone.
Penn State ‘05. Several white LBs with long strings of consonants for last names held them to 10 points, 230 yards, and forced 2 turnovers. Troy Smith fumbled the game away with 81 seconds left.
Florida ‘07. Ohio State had 82 yards of offense. Eighty fucking two. Florida had 5 sacks and 556 hits on Troy Smith. Goddamn, that was ugly. Yet, somehow, all the media can remember is Percy Harvin juking a dude for a seven yard gain. With all due respect to Urban’s niftiness, Florida’s offense was along for the Gator defensive ride.
Illinois ‘07. The Juice certainly got loose and this was Ohio State’s worst performance against the spread, but people forget that Illinois held them in Columbus to 21 points and 336 yards; intercepting Todd “TB” Boeckman three times.
LSU ‘08. Ohio State had eight minutes of spectacular offense followed by thirty two minutes of suckitude and three turnovers - every single one of them killers. Unlike Florida, LSU had only 209 hits on the QB. Ohio State’s WRs will beat press coverage next Arbor Day. And Ohio State’s last TD was a mercy job if I’ve ever seen it. The LSU DBs were already thinking about how much Golden Girl pussy this win wouldn’t translate into. Three bushels is the correct answer, by the way.
There’s no question Ohio State’s D didn’t distinguish themselves in all of these games, but they dominated in one of them (Penn State), played very well in another (Texas - to date the greatest spread O in CFB history), and were quite passable against Florida. LSU was decidely below average and against Illinois they plain sucked.
However, in every single one of them their offense was totally ransacked.
Yet, I can’t watch ESPN for five minutes without hearing how Ohio State’s slow defense can’t cope with the spread.
Hmm.
January 8, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Good post. I recall dfl had a mudhole type post in 2005 which lambasted Tressel for his lack of creativity offensively. Something about buttfucking a rhino in a way that only a true wordsmith like horndfl could phrase it.
They remind me of a college version of the Baltimore Ravens. Even when there is talent (not that Baltimore ever had much), their offense fails to produce.
January 8, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Crappy QB = Crappy Offense. 2 = 2. The sky is blue.
January 8, 2008 at 1:11 pm
You’re math is wrong.
January 8, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I’ll tell you what- Davey O’Brien’s 1938 TCU team would have a lot better luck against these Buckeyes than the 1938 Fighting Irish. The Notre Dame Box offense would get totally shut down by tOSU.
You’re right in that their offenses were the main cause of defeat in those games. The Buckeyes have also had some good performances defensing spread teams in the past. Their problem is that is that it is just so hard to shut down a talented spread team. LSU hit a first half hot streak, and took the Buckeyes out of what they want to do on offense (control the line of scrimmage, work the field position, run the clock, and wear down the opponent). LSU jumped ahead and forced Tressell to do stuff he doesn’t like to do- go for it on 4th down on his own side of the field, eschew field goals, etc.
January 8, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Scipio, I am not buying this bologna. I dare you to count how many white people Ohio State had on defense. Once you get to 5 save yourself the trouble and stop. Against any decent team these days, 5 white guys on a defense equals slow. Argue about their sucktitude on offense all you want and I will agree with you, but dont even attempt to give them a free pass on the overall lack of teamspeed or I may try this rampoplex that I keep hearing about.
January 8, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Scip, I wonder if Terrelle Pryor has noticed the same thing.
January 8, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I believe the quote about Tressel was along the lines of, “Tressel’s vagina could swallow a Cadillac.”
I always appreciated that line for some reason.
January 8, 2008 at 7:43 pm
OSU in 2005 - Troy Smith was close to going bombs away on UT defense. If not for Zwick starting and getting more snaps, that game may go differently.
Also, they had a white TE drop a sure TD against us. Against PSU later that year it was the same TE who whiffed on the DE who crushed Troy Smith’s ribcage and forced the deciding turnover.
So if not for one crappy TE OSU might’ve been undefeated in 05
January 8, 2008 at 9:24 pm
If not for a crappy bunch of coaching, we would be undefeated. forever
January 9, 2008 at 6:42 am
If Bob Stoops and Jim Tressel coach against each other in a BCS game…..who wins and is the score 0 to 0 or 60 to 60?
Things that make you go hmmmmmmmm
January 9, 2008 at 11:17 am
Hey, isn’t anyone going to write a blurb about the rumors swirling around that I, The Major, might return to Texas to once again grace the Longhorn faithful with my well-documented football omnipotence?
January 9, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Ohio State’s offense seems to be more effective when you play your defensive backs a quarter mile off their receivers.
January 9, 2008 at 5:08 pm
A game is 60 minutes not 40, football genius.
January 9, 2008 at 9:44 pm
And an offense does not possess the ball for 60 minutes, scientist.
A thousand pardons for picking a random number that suggested I may have been watching basketball.
BTW, it was also exaggeration that Florida hit Ohio State’s QB 556 times. Just a little charity for you there.
January 10, 2008 at 4:18 am
OSU isn’t bad against the spread, and neither really is OU. My point was always that both teams built up reputations against traditional offenses, then look mortal against spread teams.
It’s harder to play against spread teams, so nobody is going to be better against them, but if you spread out OSU, they are going to look like a slightly better version of everybody else. Unlike us, they can actually force punts because they can tackle in the open field and cover downfield.
Nobody but the NFL has figured out the spread, and the only answer seems to be “have NFL athletes on defense.”
January 10, 2008 at 8:40 am
Also, the NFL field is narrower by 10 yards. Makes a big difference when you’re trying to bounce runs outside. Just ask Reggie Bush
January 10, 2008 at 12:37 pm
hash marks
just ask kickers
January 11, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Crunk is drunk. (FYI.)
January 15, 2008 at 7:36 am
Interesting comments on race here: there seems to be the belief by some on this site that white = slower, black = faster. Some would say this is racism, others would point to the % of blacks starting at speed positions at the highest levels of sports in the US. I’ve heard of a scientific study that tested large populations of high school kids in basic athletic drills. The results showed similar medians for the races. The differences were in the upper tails. 99%ile blacks faster (or whatever the test was) than 99% whites.
Anyone have any data?
January 15, 2008 at 8:07 am
The Smaller 11 just plain sucks!
January 15, 2008 at 9:53 am
“The differences were in the upper tails.”
now that sounds racist to me…