Drive-Thru: EDDIE EDDIE EDDIE

Consistent with my stated aims to upload a YouTube relevant to the foe at hand this season, I went with a very obvious candidate.  Yet perhaps subconsciously I also went with an option that underscores my preferred outcome of the upcoming Illinois game this Saturday in Champaign.  Indeed: I want total humiliation.  Accordingly, I went with the 1995 matchup between Ohio State and Illinois.  This game is an obvious staple in Buckeye lore for the exceptional performance of Eddie George.  In this game, he cemented his Heisman credentials by surpassing Keith Byars’ single game rushing record (coincidentally also against Illinois) and became the first, and so far only, Buckeye back to total 300 yards in a single game.

Yet, Eddie George wasn’t the story entering this game.  It was November 11, 1995 and there were several developments brewing at the start of this game.  In the bigger picture, Ohio State was undefeated and even the no. 2 ranked team in the country on the heels of their domination of Notre Dame in a highly anticipated match, their victory over the previous year’s undefeated (and should’ve-been national champion) conference champion Penn State in Happy Valley, and their thorough routing of most opponents that season.  They even boasted the nation’s best tailback (eventual Heisman winner Eddie George), the nation’s best lineman (Orlando Pace), the nation’s best wide receiver (Terry Glenn, eventual Biletnikoff winner) and one of the better quarterbacks in the country (Bobby Hoying).  Yet they weren’t even the story of their own conference that year.  Curiously enough, Northwestern — who was cycled off Ohio State’s schedule for 1995 and 1996 — was undefeated in conference.  Yes: that Northwestern.  Its only loss was an inexplicable post-Notre Dame letdown against Miami of Ohio.  Ohio State’s perfect record was the only tiebreaker the Buckeyes had keeping them on top of the Big Ten.  Further, Ohio State had two conference games left to Northwestern’s one.  Northwestern had beaten eventual 8-4 team Iowa earlier in the day.  All it had to do was beat sub-.500 Purdue while Ohio State had to take care of Illinois later that same day, Indiana and Michigan¹.

In the micro view, Illinois had been an achilles heel for John Cooper his entire career at Ohio State.  Entering this game, Cooper was only 1-6 against Illinois and was almost single-handedly closing² the otherwise wide margin between the two schools in the series (now 56-23-2 Ohio State).  Further, Ohio State was going to play its first game of the season without Terry Glenn, the future Biletnikoff winner and — far and away — the best receiver in college football for the 1995 season.  As you’ll see in the YouTube clip, he injured himself making an impeccable dive and catch of a Hoying pass against Minnesota the week earlier.  Glenn would return later in the season, but he was never really better than 70 percent.

Naturally, the view of analysts entering this game was of a true dilemma for the no. 2 ranked Buckeyes.  It had the nerds breathing down its neck in the Big Ten and had no head-to-head matchup in the season to serve as tiebreaker.  It needed to be perfect in order to go to the Rose Bowl because Northwestern was probably not going to lose to Purdue the next week.  Moreover, it needed to start with a victory over Illinois — against whom Cooper had only one win in 7 tries — and it needed to be accomplished without the home run threat of Terry Glenn.

To make matters worse: Illinois, in spite of its record and its crappy offense, had one of the best defensive units in the country (especially in containing opposing team’s ground attacks), led by future Pro-Bowlers Kevin Hardy and Simeon Rice.  Antwoine Patton, a safety for Illinois, was no slouch either.  After two disasters to begin the season against Michigan and Oregon, Illinois had been holding their opponents to just over 11 points a game.  Surely these two studs in Illinois’ front seven, with the assistance of a run-stopping secondary, would complicate things for Eddie George as it did last year against the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium.  After all, Tepper was probably the road warrior of the Big Ten.  Illinois was 10-3-1 in road games under his tutelage coming into this game.

In spite of the odds against the Buckeyes entering this game, the end result was total domination of the Fighting Illini.  The Buckeyes began the game with the ball, which ended in a quickie interception thrown by Hoying — shades of the 3 interceptions he threw in the 1994 matchup.  After the following Illinois punt that pinned the Buckeyes within their own one yard line, Eddie George just… well… went nuts.  Hoying, rather than throwing interceptions, just handed off to Eddie, who almost made up the entire length of the field by himself before Pepe Pearson turned in the ball to the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead.  After another Illinois punt, Eddie again led the charge for another Buckeyes touchdown — this one to Dimitrious Stanley.  By the end of the first quarter, Eddie George was already safely over 130 yards.

He, and the Buckeyes offense, wouldn’t let up either.  The Buckeyes never punted in this game, with the only 3 drives not ending scores coming from Bobby Hoying’s opening interception and Josh Jackson’s two missed field goals.  Further, save for Hoying’s interception, every single one of Ohio State’s drives ended deep in Illinois’ red zone or with a touchdown.  The two times the Buckeyes had to rely on field goals from Jackson came with the Buckeye offense stalling within the Illinois’ 5 yard line.  5 touchdowns and 2 field goals later, the Buckeyes offense had thoroughly flattened one of the better defenses in the country en route to a 41-3 victory.

Lest we forget about the performance of the defense, who dominated Illinois’ fragile offense the year after most of the same players had led a stirring second half comeback the year earlier in Ohio Stadium.  Illinois’ only points in the game came off a field goal to open the first drive of the second half.  Indeed, the plan was at the half that if Illinois could start the second half with a scoring drive to cut into the Buckeyes 17-0 halftime lead, it would be able to haunt Ohio State with visions of last year’s game.  However, after that drive, Eddie George took the first play from scrimmage after kickoff for his Heisman reel touchdown run.  In spite of a dominating first half, Eddie George had been kept out of the end zone in the first half.  In the second half, he poured in 3 touchdowns, with one coming as a receiver after Illinois’ lone turnover in the game.

With all said and done, Ohio State had won 41-3 and Eddie George had the best single performance of any Buckeye tailback in the program’s history.  It was a game that cemented Eddie George’s Heisman credentials, thus making Tommie Frazier the most horrifying college football player in history without a Heisman Trophy.

For the purposes of this exercise, though, it serves a point of reference for the type of humiliation that I think is the only just result for last season’s game against Illinois.  I can handle losing to Illinois since I don’t particularly value that rivalry.  Indeed, only those clowns in the Bucket & Dipper honorary care about the rivalry among Buckeye fans.  But getting Zooked? On Senior Day? And to snap our Big Ten record undefeated streak?  Now I want blood.

That said, I can wish all I want for a similar performance from Beanie, but there’s just no Orlando Pace or Rickey Dudley on the roster currently to create havoc.  There’s not even an Eric Gohlstin on the team..

Ohhh well.

Without further ado, you can watch my compilation of the 1995 Illinois game below.  In the interest of brevity, I don’t show much of the defensive highlights since it was kind of your garden variety total annihilation of an opposing offense.

1. we’re not talking about this game…
2. okay, that’s an exaggeration, to be fair to John Cooper.

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The Roots of Ohio State’s Problems, Part Four: Stale Is the Beginning of Death

We’ve seen this far too many times—but oh, how the mind lets the minuscule details pass us by.

Before I continue my thoughts, I’d like to give a pre-warning before the scarlet and gray fanatics come from all directions of this great nation seeking my severed head upon a silver platter: THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL PROGRAM IS NOT ERODING. OHIO STATE FOOTBALL IS AT A ZENITH OF COMPETITIVE EXCELLENCE.

I’m in no way saying that Ohio State football is on the decline, but there is a very pulling fear in the pit of my stomach that if things don’t change soon, we could be headed that direction as a program. So that said, ah, where was I…ah yes, the mind passing up small telltale signs…

Nebraska…Michigan…Notre Dame…Miami…Alabama…teams that have been to the top of the mountain in the college football world in glorious past. But what do they all have in common? They have all in recent years fallen completely off the mountain, banging their heads violently on the way down until they hit the bottom of the valley with a complete thud.

Presently, none of these teams have come close (other than possibly Michigan in ‘06) to achieving the elite and dominant status they once had at their pinnacle.

But what happened to these powerhouses? Where did the cracks form in the blocks of the foundations that brought these programs off their pedestals and back to the world of ordinary in college football? Well, it varies with each program.

Nebraska lost a legend to retirement and never had the same level of coaching afterwards, and locale has also been a recent issue. Michigan fell to old training, old traditions, and an old coaching regime. Notre Dame’s elitist thought from board of trustees, alumni, and fans alike has arguably caused their current problems.

Miami has just been in the headlines for everything but football, and its perception as a “renegade program” has hurt the program. Alabama, meanwhile, has been looking into the past ever since Bear Bryant, and a combination of bad coaching regimes and NCAA infractions have eroded them as well.

As you can see from these programs, any multitude of things can drag a program from the peaks of national and conference championship glory to struggling to rekindle past glories. But it’s not those universities that I want to draw my comparison from.

Today I look at the current states of Penn State and Florida State: two more programs that in their prime were perennial national championship contenders and forces to be reckoned with; two teams that I can see Ohio State following down a path of stale mediocrity if they don’t realize that a program needs fresh approaches from time to time.

At present, The Ohio State University is riding a crest of success this program hasn’t experienced annually since Woody Hayes ran the program: BCS Championship appearances three of the last six years, a national championship in 2002, and two consecutive outright Big Ten championships, with the Buckeyes currently in pursuit of a third straight, which has NEVER been done in Big Ten history.

It is indeed a good time to be a Buckeye, as the phrase is so commonly uttered amongst fans.

But the numbers don’t go away…41-14, 28-21, 38-24, 35-3…all lopsided, all embarrassing, ALL connected. I want you to think back into the banks of your memory, as painful as it may be…and recall the games against Florida, Illinois, LSU, and USC.

Those games had two commonalities: Florida and Illinois both effectively ran versions of the spread, and LSU and USC were had DECIDEDLY better talent. All of these games had one thing in common…OSU wasn’t prepared to play any of those games.

Who is to blame when a team is repeatedly not prepared to perform during a big game? Is it the players who lack the dedication to be ready for every and all angles you might encounter during a contest? Is it a team that isn’t quite as good as they are reported to be from a talent perspective?

Is it the mental approach that the team takes? What about the heart and fire of the team collaborated together?

Or is it a coaching staff that doesn’t trust its talent, doesn’t make appropriate adjustments, plays not to lose instead of playing to win, and doesn’t prepare for the team for every possible occurrence that it can think of happening during the game?

What’s the answer? Everyone is and has been asking Ohio State that question for going on two years now!

What’s the answer…? Probably a little of everything. But what is at the root of these questions, and what is the problem? I think the root of it runs to a stale atmosphere.

Riddle me this, Batman…tell me how a team with 20 returning starters from a National Championship runner-up, a team with as many as four to five first round picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, and a team with as much big game experience can be as uninspired at times and be performing as poorly as this 2008 edition of Ohio State football has been?!?!

I can already hear the comments on the board…”We just beat Michigan State 45-7!” “We are changing offensive philosophies midseason!” “We’re 7-1 Zuke!” Blah…blah…blah…

THOSE ARE EXCUSES, SOFT STATS, AND I’M TIRED OF LISTENING TO THEM. There are no excuses for the lack of passion this football team has played with at points this season. There’s no excuse for the absolute egg we laid in Los Angeles earlier this year, and most of all, the fashion with which we laid that turd egg!

Whether you like it or not, fellow Buckeye fan, USC was our chance to prove that we were a legitimate national contender, that the two national championships were wrong place, wrong time freak occurrences…Ohio State should have come out with a fire that would set the Coliseum ablaze, prepared for the challenge, and gone out there to win and not lose.

But we did none of those things. We looked overmatched, unprepared, and dispassionate, and we wilted under the pressure of the situation.

Regardless of what we do the rest of this season, the program needs to REALLY start looking for the missing pieces of the puzzle. What is the missing link in this team as it is currently constructed? How can we take this program to the next level and keep it there?

It’s clear to me that there is a staleness to the program. The players aren’t getting the message of what these coaches are trying to convey to them.

Look, I respect the hell out of this coaching staff. As a unit they have achieved many wonderful things and should be proud of all they have accomplished together. But there comes a point where you are at a particular place and the message gets repetitive, the voice gets drowned out, and the lessons don’t sink in with the same effect.

Whether the coaches are good coaches is regardless. The changes are needed to get fresh air into the program—to put the veterans on their heels a little bit, to give a new direction if needed, to hear a new voice of reasoning. Those are just the facts of life, and the Ohio State football program needs refreshment of that fact.

Where have the Silver Bullets gone? The defense that blitzed, took risks, attacked, and took the fight to the offense? The defense I’ve sat and watched most Saturdays over the last few years looks more like the “Silver Bend But Don’t Breaks.”

Has anyone else noticed that this defense doesn’t seem to play as fast as they used to? It’s not that this team isn’t fast, because they are actually probably one of the fastest, if not the fastest, defenses Ohio State has ever had. But they are in a READ AND REACT system. Let me say that again…READ…THEN…REACT.

While this defense is trying to read…good opposing offense have already reacted to the Buckeye defense.

Jim Heacock (the Ohio State DC) has two options left to me: A) stay and change the philosophy, or B) look for new work.

I know it’s heartless of me to say. I know that this defense plays lights-out football against the Purdues, Minnesotas, and Indianas of the world—which, by the way, is why Ohio State’s defensive statistics are annually inflated—but this defense doesn’t work against the Floridas, USCs, and LSUs of the world.

It gets exposed when it counts—and that’s the bottom line.

I love Jim Tressel, think he is a great coach and an even better man, and am in no way advocating he be fired. That would be ignorant on my part considering Ohio State’s success under his tenure.

But the time has come for the Board of Trustees, AD Gene Smith, and more pressure from the fans to see a bright, young, energetic, and innovative OC come onto this staff and work hand in hand with Jim Tressel in developing a new plan with this offense. Not only would it give a new, fresh offensive outlook for the players and the opposition, it would help recruiting exponentially.

Enough is enough with “Tresselball” at Ohio State. We’re Ohio freaking State…we’ve had the likes of Terry Glenn, David Boston, Joey Galloway, Eddie George, Keith Byars, Robert Smith, Orlando Pace, Troy Smith, Ted Ginn Jr., Cris Carter…and on and on and on…There is absolutely NO REASON that we shouldn’t be able to throw a pass on first down!

There is no reason that we should be 109th in the nation in total offense going into MSU last week! No way…not with Terrelle Pryor and Beanie Wells in your backfield, not with young receivers like DeVier Posey and Lamarr Thomas paired with at least solid veterans Hartline and Robiskie. There are no excuses.

What happened to Michigan? They got old and stale in philosophies and the coaching staff. Lloyd Carr was at his last stop, as was the majority of his staff. At the very least they weren’t going to advance their careers as head coaches.

What about Ohio State? Where has the transition in coaches been the last few years? Other than Darell Hazel and Luke Fickell, this staff is very established (aged). While having an established core group is nice, wouldn’t it be nice to have that established corps blended with fresh young minds using Ohio State as an audition to get head coaching gigs for themselves? What’s so wrong with that?

Dantonio did that. Snyder did that. Mel Tucker did that. But in recent years that progression of coaches has run dry. Now you have a team with far too many seniors who have been through the wars, having experienced far too many rough environments and team challenges together for them to look this uninspired, unprepared, and at times, inept.

You see it all the time when new college football head coaching jobs open up—all the hot young coordinators around the country who are up for the gigs…and where were a lot of them from? Texas, USC, Florida, even places like Oklahoma State, North Carolina, and West Virginia.

I think it’s a good thing to lose coordinators. It means they have done an outstanding job at your school. It means that they are creating explosive offenses and defenses. It shows that they’ve proven what it takes to go out on the road and pull in those big recruits that help their system excel—and their talents are now being rewarded with a chance for a program of their own.

Where has that gone at Ohio State?

I fear that Ohio State is ripe to fall into a stale state as a program if changes aren’t made and problems aren’t addressed moving forward. Sometimes those changes are not easy to make: They involve long-lasting relationships, they involve a working comfort level…and losing those things or change in them is very difficult.

But sometimes that difficult transition is exactly what is needed for personal growth, and growth from your program.

Never rest on your accomplishments and your past—or that’s exactly where you’ll be left.

 

Thanks for the ear guys. Please, as always, feel free to leave comments and thoughts. Also please spread the word about the series to others, and if you choose so become my fan! Hope you enjoyed the article, and sorry this installment took so long. Also look for the next installment coming soon…

* The Roots of Ohio State’s Problems, Part Five: Recruiting Is the Lifeblood (OSU from 2004-07)

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My latest report card

OFFENSIVE LINE

Terrelle Pryor might think twice next time before masquerading as Orlando Pace. He had his head snapped back like a rock ’em, sock ’em robot, trying to throw a downfield block for Beanie Wells. As least he showed the kind of fire that had mostly been missing this season from the guys who actually earn their scholarships playing offensive line. Saturday, thankfully, the front five took their cue from Pryor. Don’t want to jinx things, but it looks like the Buckeyes might have found their best combo: Alex Boone at left tackle, Jim Cordle at left guard, Mike Brewster at center, Steve Rehring at right guard and Bryant Browning at right tackle. But let’s hold off on a coronation until after the Penn State game.

GRADE: A

RUNNING GAME

Still waiting for someone to show they can stop the Beanie-Terrelle Express. With the Spartans buying the fake, Terrelle Pryor ambled for 72 yards on 12 carries. And Beanie Wells was even more of a load, rushing for 140 yards on 31 carries. The only thing slowing Beanie was his own teammates. A chop block penalty on Mike Brewster and Steve Rehring cost him a third touchdown.

GRADE: A

PASSING GAME

Yes, Terrelle Pryor’s passing skills still leave a lot to be desired. His 56-yard completion to Brian Hartline was more of an artistic success on the receiving end and his seven-yard TD to Brian Robiskie was thrown off his back foot. But Pryor was able to get away with it because he bought extra time with his feet, allowing Robiskie time to get wide open in the back of the end zone. My fear is that he won’t have enough passing reps when the time comes to really throw the ball with authority. What will OSU do then, page Todd Boeckman?

GRADE: B minus

DEFENSIVE LINE

Is it just me, or is Thaddeus Gibson coming up with a big play every week? His 69-yard fumble return TD on Saturday was the longest in the Tressel Era. The pressure up front has never been better than the last two weeks. Tackles Todd Denlinger, Nader Abdallah and Dexter Larimore have shown signs of life playing alongside Cameron Heyward, and Rob Rose couldmake us forget end Lawrence Wilson (season-ending knee injury). Personally, I’ve already forgotten him.

GRADE: A minus

LINEBACKERS

It’s hard to say who got more face time Saturday on ABC, James Laurinaitis or daddy Joe, the former pro rassler. With his parents watching from the stands, Laurinaitis (11 tackles, one sack) had one of his best games of the season, leading the charge against Javon Ringer. Actually, the best defense against the nation’s top rusher was OSU’s offense. By jumping out to a 28-0 lead, the Buckeyes essentially took Ringer out of the picture. When he did carry the ball, Laurinaitis was usually there to greet him with a bearhug and playful tap on the helmet. Ringer finished with 67 yards on 16 carries, saying goodbye to his Heisman hopes.

GRADE: A

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Nobody is playing better on defense right now than Malcolm Jenkins. His strip sack of backup Kirk Cousins led to Thaddeus Gibson’s 69-yard fumble return TD, one week after Jenkins blocked a punt (resulting in a TD) and intercepted a pass against Purdue. Jenkins was still in at the end, flying downfield to stop a punt returner cold with an ankle tackle. “He won’t let me take him out,” coach Jim Tressel said. Donald Washington, back in the flow after an early-season suspension, returned a fumble 44 yards to set up a TD and nickel back Jermale Hines scored on a 48-yard fumble return in the closing seconds that pained Tressel almost as much as his close friend, MSU coach Mark Dantonio. The last thing Tress wanted to do was pile on, but his team needs all the style points it can get.

GRADE: A

SPECIAL TEAMS

Couple of close scares here. After making a splashy debut on special teams last week, Lamaar Thomas dropped the opening kickoff and got tackled at the 8. Worse was Ray Small’s decision to field a punt inside the 10, compounded by his fumble. Austin Spitler, out most of the season because of injury, recovered the loose ball and saved Small from another trip inside Jim Tressel’s doghouse. Aaron Pettrey made a 40-yard field goal, but his kickoffs have lost their oomph this season. On average, only one out of four have resulted in touchbacks.

GRADE: C

COACHING

Up 28-0 at halftime, the Buckeyes threw only two passes in the second half. Hey, you didn’t expect Jim Tressel to turn into a Big 12 coach overnight, did you? Give him credit for throwing the ball deep on first down on the play where Brian Hartline pinballed off two defenders. And, in fairness, although it won’t show up on the stat sheet, he did have Terrell Pryor throw long for Brian Robiskie in the second half, resulting in pass interference. But I’m still not convinced Ohio State can win a shootout with Penn State, if it comes to that. Maybe the defense should have saved Saturday’s two scores for next week.

GRADE: B

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