Buckeye fans are ready to put down their coffee cups!

For the past three years, Ohio State has constantly been in contention for a national title, only to have their butts kicked by the SEC, and lose in the last “16 seconds” to a very talented Texas team. Buckeye fans know all too well the disappointment of a hopeful season. We can still see the straw that broke the camel’s back. We have come to believe, then have our hearts handed to us. For the weaker fan, they go off and complain about how Ohio State can’t keep up with the talent of other conferences. For the stronger fans, we question the X’s and O’s. We don’t see a talent disparity, but a coaching one. We question why we can’t use our offense like that of Florida, Texas, Texas Tech, etc.. When I watch an Ohio State game, I sometimes need a cup of coffee to wake me up. Let’s face it, Ohio State doesn’t have an exciting play book. But, oh how times are a changing!

We now have a 6′6, 240 lb, QB that is the fastest guy on the team. Don’t believe me, check this article out: http://brutusreport.com/Articles/Latest/LatestArticlesDetail/tabid/701/smid/1405/ArticleID/900/Default.aspx

If Ohio State doesn’t use TP’s 4.33 speed to its benefit, it will be hard for me to continue supporting the sweater vest. I know, he is a great guy/recruiter/game manager/book writer. But, if he continues to waste this recruited talent, eventually the players will see that it would be too their benefit to attend a school like Florida, Texas, and that ugly team up north. Simply because their numbers would be better at a school with a spread offense. Now, if your a Kicker/Punter, Ohio State is where it is at. Just like Tressel has stated: “The punt is the most important play in football”. Ohio State fans can only take so much conservative disappointment. We can only stand to drink so much coffee during games. If Tressel doesn’t turn this offense loose, there will be a public outcry like the College FB world has never seen. Right now, the attention is on Jim Bollman. The funny thing is, Bollman isn’t even calling the plays! But, take heart fans, I think we are getting ready to see some exciting football.

After watching many highlights of the scrimmages and spring game, it looks like you are going to see the Boom & Zoom show, highlighted by a running/throwing 240 lb monster. He can also play a little WR, i.e. Texas game last year. Our young offensive line should continue to gel and get better. The WR’s will utilize its speed to spread the defenses out. You will see less defensive blitz’s because their linebackers will be needed to watch Terrelle’s versatility. Boom & Zoom will be able to catch short passes out of the backfield that could turn into big gains. We are going to see more option plays, which can be a headache to stop for defenses. Tressel would be crazy not to use the speed of this team. This is probably the fastest offensive unit he has “EVER” coached. So, get ready buckeye fans, we might be on the verge of seeing more crystal football trophies in the near future. If we don’t,  let the public outcry for Tressel’s vest begin.

The Buckeye Losses Stop Here: Five Things Ohio State Must Do To Beat USC

It was a cool, breezy, November night in Columbus, Ohio. Scarlet clad fans stormed the field after watching the top ranked Buckeyes defeat the second ranked Wolverines.

It was 986 days ago, and it was the last time Ohio State won a “big game.”

It was the last time the Buckeye’s weren’t “outclassed” by equal competition.

It was the last time Jim Tressel was called “The best play-caller in College Football.”

After two National Championship defeats and an embarrassing performance against USC last season, Ohio State’s reputation has taken its lumps. And although the Buckeyes played both Penn State and Texas (top five teams) down to the wire, a loss is a loss, which gains no respect.

The next chance Ohio State gets to repair it’s image is September 12, when the USC Trojans visit Columbus for part two of their non-conference series. And regardless of how much I hate this term (because every game is a must win), this game is as close to a must win for Jim Tressel as he’s going to get.

And it’s not just the Buckeyes reputation that’s at stake; the Big Ten conference is at risk as well. The country has grown weary of watching Penn State, Illinois, and Michigan get blown out of the Rose Bowl. The conferences 1-6 bowl record last year didn’t help the way people view the league.

Not to mention how this game will affect recruiting, momentum, and the perception of the Buckeyes remaining opponents.

The Buckeyes can regain some of the trust from college football fans that they’ve not-so-elegantly lost the last three years with a win against USC.

I’ve put together a list of five things Ohio State must do to beat the Trojans come September 12. Let’s get started!

Protect the Quarterback

The glaring difference against Florida and LSU in the National Championship games and against USC last season was the Buckeyes inability to protect the quarterback.

The offensive line must do a better job at staying in front of whatever defensive lineman they are responsible for:

If that means Bryant Browning (last year’s right tackle and this year’s probable right guard) has to do the tire drill until he passes out to improve his lateral movement and foot speed, so be it.

If someone has to frame Offensive-Line Coach Jim Bollman for insurance fraud (or any crime, for that matter) so he can finally be fired, so be it.

If Jim Tressel makes all the offensive lineman eat the nails of an alligator and wash it down with a gallon of dragon tears (or whatever Justin Boren does that makes him so angry all the time) to teach them how to play with an attitude, so be it.

Ohio State must do whatever it takes to keep Terrelle Pryor on his feet. I’m tired of seeing Ohio State’s quarterback looking like he wrestled a bear (and losing) after all their big games.

Protecting the quarterback is imperative. If the Buckeyes can do it, it will allow Pryor to get through his reads and move the offense down the field. If the Buckeyes can’t do it, it could be another long night for Ohio State.

Open up the Playbook and Execute

The look on Jim Tressel’s face in this picture embodies all of the frustration stewing in the hearts of Buckeye fans. You can almost hear the coach’s thoughts:

“Should I put five wide receivers in and let Terrelle Pryor take over the game with his natural ability to run the spread? Or should I send a couple tight ends and a fullback in to run the off-tackle play for Beanie that we just ran nine times in a row?”

A moment’s pause follows as he weighs his options…

“We should just go with the off-tackle play again. I mean, Beanie hasn’t hurt himself in a good three days, and I know that he’s gonna break a big one soon. I just know it.”

All kidding aside, Jim Tressel kept the offensive game-plan simple last year. He created a playbook that would maximize the unique talents that Beanie had and limit any potential mistakes from a freshman quarterback. If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same thing.

Of course, after last year’s OSU-USC game, there were Trojan defenders who said they knew exactly what Ohio State was going to do on offense and that nothing surprised them. I would have an issue with that if it mattered.

You can’t tell me that teams didn’t know what Ohio State was going to do in 2002 when they won the National Championship.

Execution is just as important as, or even more important than, a variety in play-calling.

The Buckeyes will have to mix it up against USC this year. Pete Carroll will be replacing nine starters on his defense. With this being the second week of the season, it would be the perfect time to hit them with some trick plays and a diverse, hurry-up offense. But the priority here is execution. Ohio State must execute whichever offense they choose to run when the Trojans come to town.

Create Pressure up Front

If you look at the defense for the National Championship Buckeyes in 2002, you’ll notice that they consistently created pressure on the opposing teams quarterback.

As previously mentioned, creating that pressure upfront disrupts everything an offense is trying to accomplish. And since that championship team seven years ago, the Buckeyes have been unable to create such havoc (with a slight exception given to the 2003 team).

It seemed as though the blitz packages, the nasty attitude, and the attacking defenses left when Mark Dantonio did in 2003. Jim Heacock took over as the Defensive Coordinator (in ‘05) and implemented his I-don’t-care-if we’re-getting-picked-apart-we’re-still-sticking-with-this-zone…defense.

But half way through the 2008 season, something clicked. Whether it was Nader Abdallah’s out-of-nowhere realization that he was a man child, Thad Gibson’s opportunity to play after Wilson’s leg injury, or Heacock’s sudden willingness to blitz more often, the Buckeyes started creating that pressure.

Ohio State must continue to get after the quarterback. Buckeye fans are holding their breath, crossing their fingers, and sacrificing small animals (chill out PETA, that was a joke) in hopes that Jim Heacock doesn’t give up on that attacking mentality they displayed late last year.

Whether it’s Aaron Corp or Matt Barkley behind center, this will be the first big game either quarterback will have played in. Pressuring him would be a very good thing for the Buckeyes.

Get Mad

A recent article pointed out the difference between Marcus Freeman’s reaction to the Texas loss in the Fiesta Bowl to Terrelle Pryor’s reaction.

Freeman’s reaction was one of…relief. As if he was relieved that his team wasn’t blown out of the water by a good opponent. He was happy with the effort, and came away with the moral victory speech that losing teams often defer to.

Terrelle Pryor was upset. He was already looking ahead to the 2009 football season, saying the Buckeyes were going to put more points on the board. He told the media that there were some “teams we owe some stuff to.” He was angry.

The Buckeyes need to take a nasty attitude into this football game.

They need to be-someone just spit in my mother’s face and I’m mad-angry.

They need to be-Samuel L. Jackson, yelling his lines unnecessarily in every one of his movies-angry.

They need to be-Britney Spears strangling a paparazzi photographer with her man thighs-angry.

The key to playing with an attitude is to keep that anger in check. Tim Tebow plays with an attitude, but he controls it and redirects it toward the field and toward his opponents.

If the Buckeyes want to stop being the end of bad “big-game” jokes, they must get nasty. This is THE Ohio State University, and NO ONE comes into our house and pushes us around!

Wear Red and Be Very, Very, Very Loud

This last one is for the fans.

If you are in possession of a ticket that gives you admittance to this game, you must do two things:

One, you must wear red. The three gentlemen in the middle of this picture are breaking my first rule. This makes me so mad; I could kick a puppy (again PETA… a joke).

There is nothing cooler than seeing the bleachers in Ohio Stadium glowing a florescent red under the lights. If you’re a buckeye fan and didn’t get goose bumps from the birds-eye-view of the Shoe when Ohio State played Penn State this past year, you need to check your pulse.

I’ve sent Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith 318 letters demanding that any Ohio State fan who tries to attend a game wearing anything “not red”, they will be required to wear a scarlet poncho and a matching sombrero. So if you don’t want to look ridiculous for the game…wear red, it’s intimidating and looks cool as heck.

Two, you must be very, very, very loud. “The Shoe” is arguably the loudest stadium in the country, and that is disorienting for the opponent. You already know that Aaron Corp or Matt Barkley will be making their first meaningful start. Your one goal in this game is to make whoever ends up being the starting quarterback to soil themselves.

Scream when they have the ball. Scream when they are in the huddle. Scream when they’re trying to call an audible. Scream during the timeouts. And when your voice is shot, just clap. Give everything you can. Practice screaming with your friends two weeks before September 12 so you will be better at it.

If you have tickets to this game, do not sit on your hands in a white “away” jersey. Wear red and SCREAM!

Buckeye Banter | Jim Tressel Lets Loose at Record-Setting Scarlet and Gray Day

The Ohio State annual Scarlet and Gray Game hasn’t always been exciting or necessarily fun to watch. Yesterday, during 2009’s scrimmage, however, the excitement factor was in full overdrive.

Even before the game started, the atmosphere in and around Ohio Stadium seemed more like the Buckeyes were getting set to open the non-conference season than hold an early spring scrimmage. 

The fans…
Continue reading at Bleacher Report – Big Ten Football

OSU and the NFL Draft

Four former Buckeyes were taken on day one of the 2009 NFL Draft Saturday. Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins was the first Buckeye taken at No. 14 overall by the New Orleans Saints. Running back Chris “Beanie” Wells was the second Buckeye picked in the first round, No. 31 overall by the Arizona Cardinals.

Continue reading at The Official RSS Feed of Ohio State Football Head Coach, Jim Tressel

Spring Fever, Gray 23 – Scarlet 3

When it rains, it pours. And for fans who’ve gone an agonizing three months without football, Saturday was a flash flood. At 1:30 p.m. a record number of over 95,000 fans watched the new team in the Spring Game which concluded in time for fans to see former buckeyes picked in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.

Continue reading at The Official RSS Feed of Ohio State Football Head Coach, Jim Tressel

Big Ten lunch links: Pryor to go live

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg Ohio State starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor can be hit in two quarters during the team's spring game Saturday, Doug Lesmerises writes in The Cleveland Plain Dealer.  "It's a gamble, yeah," head coach Jim Tressel said of putting his star on the line. "But we need to get better. If we don't get better, that's a…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

Spring Game Rosters

The official OSU Spring Draft was held on Wednesday and Sophomore Quarterback Terrelle Pryor was selected with the number one overall pick. The Scarlet and Gray will face off this weekend in Ohio Stadium as Buckeye fans get their first glimpse of the 2009 OSU squad.

Continue reading at The Official RSS Feed of Ohio State Football Head Coach, Jim Tressel

Future Bucks Represent U.S.

Storm Klein of Newark, Ohio, and Jack Mewhort of Sylvania, Ohio, both incoming freshman at Ohio State University, have been selected to play for USA Football’s 2009 Junior National Team which will compete in the sport’s first junior world championship this summer.

Continue reading at The Official RSS Feed of Ohio State Football Head Coach, Jim Tressel

A quick look at Ohio State’s spring draft

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Michigan State wasn't the only team to hold a spring game draft Wednesday. Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, who passed on the idea to Spartans head man Mark Dantonio, oversaw the Buckeyes' selections for the spring game on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
Some notables for each squad.
SCARLET Running back Dan "Boom" Herron Wide receivers…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

Spring Game Rosters Announced

My. God.
If you have time to spare… and can make it past the lovely image of Jim Tressel looking like a retiree in Boca… the Spring Game draft has been concluded and the rosters have been announced.
Things to consider:

Gray team chose first because it won the coin toss.
Teams were drafted by position.  So, once the [...]
Continue reading at Our Honor Defend

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