Football is a game of inches

I always hate using cliche sayings, mostly because it seems like when you can’t come up with an original thought it’s what one resorts to.  When referring to a neighbor who loses it and tells police he has a bomb strapped to him when its really just 20 snickers, you can count on an old lady to say “He was always such a nice and quiet young man” when her husband leans in and says “It’s the quiet ones you need to look out for!” Then the wife retorts “Well, at least nobody kicked the bucket.”

But as my anger continued to rise watching the first quarter of the OSU/USC game today, I realize the saying is true.

To give you a sense of where I’m coming from, I was out of town camping and DVRed the game, but did follow the game on my cell phone through ESPN. Why was I out of town? Because I figure we lose every damn big game while I’m in Columbus, so maybe a change of location would translate into a change of luck. I shat my pants when Pryor threw a pick on the third play of the game, nearly had an orgasm when we had a 15-10 lead throughout the second half, and was about ready to cry myself asleep by the time the evening concluded. I didn’t watch the game, but let me assure I too was on the emotional roller coaster.

So fast forward a few days and I observe the fall out. I listen to Speilman nearly come through my radio and tackle me on Monday. I read OSU fans arguing over who needs to get fired, Michigan fans delighting in our loss, and SEC fans poking and prodding with a stick of superiority.  I watched ESPN slobber all over Barkley as a Freshman phenom, even though Joe McKnight really won the game. I went over the box score, read the write ups, listened to the naysayers who want Tressel gone, and those who say “Wow, we didn’t go blown out!”

And yet, the game still sat on my DVR, unwatched.

Today, at 5:45PM after getting home from work, I figured I’ve been through the fall out – I’m prepared to relive the game.

Today, at 6:13PM after watching the first quarter, I turned the TV off and  would’ve like to throw that damn DVR and smash it.

To refresh your memory, OSU had the ball at the 1 yard line on 3rd down. They flashed a graphic that showed OSU had outgained the Trojans 147 yards to 5.  USC had three possessions; one where they started on the 3 yard line and scored in four downs (which was BS, if you haven’t seen the picture circulating), and two “three-n-outs”. The 3rd down play is ran, and we just cant punch it in.  Boom Herron explodes into a wall of men, gets close, and then goes in the opposite direction. A few inches stood between the front of the goal line, the ball carrier, and the victory that would have made OSU fans collectively sigh with relief.

A few more inches and people are talking about how Tressel needs a contract extension, and not how “Tressel-ball” doesn’t cut it in today’s game. A few more inches and every baby born in Columbus, OH for the next two days would have the nickname of “Boom”. A few more inches and the words “OSU” are not accompanied by an eye roll across the nation.

Football is a game of inches. Football is a game of passion and emotion. Football is a game of strength, straining muscles, and lightning quick agility. Football is a game of intelligence, preparation, and creativity. Football is a game where players need to give every ounce of energy, produce every droplet of sweat, and when they can’t push anymore find the courage to push some more – all in hopes of gaining that extra inch.

In order to ascend to that elite level, Ohio State needs that extra inch. You can’t win close games without it. You can’t gain respect without it. You can’t bring pride to your university without it. And at the end of the day, you probably can’t even win the Big10 without it. It would be easy for the team to be down about the loss, but I can promise you that the extra inch will not be found after wallowing in a pit of self-pity.

The Big Ten: Why We Suck

I worked very diligently on crafting a title for this this article but ultimately, this was the one thing that kept coming around. Our fall from grace as a dominant NCAA Division I power conference has been fast and painful. The fall has been different for every team in the conference. Like most conferences we have our less relevant football programs (stupid Northwestern so concerned with actually GRADUATING players) but the fact remains that, in the past, when our power teams came to play your school, it was time to break out the Icy Hot because a severe beating was nothing short of imminent.

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Where do we currently stand? Iowa players are telling their own fans to be quiet. Minnestota forgot there were more than 4 games in the season. Wisconsin did too. Michigan decided to field their understudy ballet students instead of actual football players. Both Penn State and Ohio State had the unfortunate mishap of checking their talent on the airplane to L.A. rather than carrying it on and somehow it wound up on a plane headed for Pewee Valley, Kentucky. Oh, and Ohio State can’t seem to beat the SEC even if the referees would let them bring crowbars on the field. I mean, in what sane world does tOSU go nearly undefeated on the season only to have the entire college football world question, not whether they should go to the National Championship or not, but whether they even deserve to be CONSIDERED?!

No doubt we’ve all thought and thought about this and I would imagine you’ve come to the same redundant conclusion that I have: We suck because we suck. No doubt we’ve all read that iron sharpens iron. That’s what we used to be for each other. The Michigan-Ohio State game was such a vehement battle to the death, that any competitor after was like playing in a pick up game at the park on Sunday afternoon. The rivalries so legendary that watching the game for the 5th, 6th or 95th time still gets you on the edge of your seat and out of your chair. Now the rivalries are harder fought in the stands and after the game than they are on the field. We’re just not good enough to make each other better anymore.

One of the problems is that the decline happened for all of the teams at a quick pace simultaneously. The conference has not adapted to a more modern style of football, one that relies somewhat less on braun and more on strategy and speed. This is made evident when we play schools like USC who have more strategy than 70% of the NFL teams out there. When we play the SEC, they run away like we’re standing still because, regardless of the attempts we’ve made as a conference of teams to get out of our concrete boots and into the new style of warfare, we just haven’t caught up. They’re shooting smart bombs and laser guided missle systems while we’re reloading our muskets with paper patch bullets and screaming hateful chants in olde english. We just aren’t that relevant outside of our own conference. People look at us like that fighter going into the ring when he should have retired. Yeah, they respect his history and the amazing things he’s done, but they’re not afraid of him anymore. They’re not afraid of us anymore.

In the end, our games are still hard fought battles in the trenches. Our sense of tradition and honor is greater than anyone else’s. We hate each other but we hate them more.

I, for one, am tired of this. I’m ready to read a USC writer talk about how Michigan or Ohio State is more than likely going to ruin Pete Carroll’s season. I’m ready to be confident in saying that no matter who goes into the national championship game against us, the Big Ten will ride out of town with a tan and a crystal football. Every other conference should be complaining and making excuses about why we slaughter them year in and year out. It’s time for this trend to stop and it has to stop quickly.

We are the greatest conference in the NCAA. It’s time to remind everyone else of that fact.

Just Let L.A. Float Away

Yesterday my esteemed colleague and the purveyor of this site responded to an L.A. Times article written about the attendance of the OSU Spring Game. Now let me preface this by saying that I am, of course, a Michigan fan. But don’t allow that to stop you from reading this glorious rhetoric nonetheless.

Normally, I would be glad to see an opponent kick sand in the face of every poisonous nut on the planet, but Chris Dufresne’s article was the worst drivel I’ve read in ages and yet again makes us question how very far sports writing has fallen. The basic premise behind this article was that Ohio State fans have absolutely nothing to do in their lives but go to the Spring Game because outside of that, there’s nothing but field plowing and taking your sister out on a date available to them. On the other hand, glorious Southern California is so littered with magnificence that they just have too much going on in their awesome lives to stop and support their football teams. Mr. Dufresne is then kind enough to inform us that they are true fans since their butts are in the seats when it really counts. (obligatory reference to the OSU-USC game of ‘08).

Here’s why I take issue with that: He’s trying to take an exceptional, record-breaking thing (one that I, as a Wolverine, would be most happy to possess) and turn it into nothing in an effort to reassure his readers that they’re not bad fans, they’re just cooler than the rest of us. Yes, a sports writer who asserts that he and his readers are too cool for sports.

Ultimately, his point (like his spelling and grammar) quickly loses footing when you look at the facts.

The first point that completely exposes the sadness of the SoCal fanaticism was mentioned very clearly by my associate. Los Angeles County alone has approximately 10 million people, most of whom I can assume were NOT at the beach. That point in mind, they couldn’t muster any more than 20k people to watch a consistent national championship contending team go out their for their warm ups? Seriously? Is Frisbee Golf THAT time consuming?

The second point that’s even worse is based off of the assumption that the SoCal fans are there when it counts. They’re not and that’s just a plain fact. During the season, USC barely cracks 90% attendance and UCLA does even worse, eeking in just about 80% attendance. TEN MILLION PEOPLE and you can’t even get to capacity? Are you serious?

Mr. Dufresne, the reason Ohio State fills up the Horseshoe and Michigan gets 50k people to show up to a spring game after suffering it’s worst season in history is because these are fans that actually give a crap about these teams and these schools. These schools are part of how we grew up, part of childhood memories and where we came from. A school like USC buys it’s history. Half of the reason USC gets athletes is because of climate and girls. You can try using the “exceptional educational opportunity” line, but when you barely graduate 50% of your football players, it’s not really a valid point.

In the end, the true college football fans from around the country who actually support their teams IN SPITE of the fact that we could be doing other things would like to request that you put your roller skates back on, head back to The ‘Bu and the next time you have an ingenious brain fart to write about sports, write it in the sand and let the mighty Pacific wash it away.

USC and L.A.’s Weak Stab at REAL Football Fans

On the dispatch blog today, they pointed to an article on the Los Angeles Times taking a cheap shot at Ohio State fans in an article entitled “In L.A., there’s more to life than spring football“  Maybe the L.A. Times is hard up for page views so their putting garabage like this out, but either way their weak jabs at Ohio State fans have 0 merit and really make them look pitiful.  In a city that in 2007 had a estimated population of 9,878,554 was only able to bring in 22,565 people is extremely weak in comparison to Columbus which in 2007 had 747,755 residents and 95,722 fans at the Scarlet & Gray game.  Here’s an excerpt from the Times:

“Ohio State doesn’t have a beach!” he said. “I don’t blame our fans. It gets loud in here in the fall.”

Are you kidding me, thats your excuse?  If anything the weather in Columbus saturday made people feel like having cookouts, going to Buckeye Lake, or a variety of things, but our fans showed their loyalty by sitting in a crowded stadium cheering on their team.  Sorry USC but thats what real fans are all about.

Another excerpt says:

“In Los Angeles, we say there’s football and a thing called a life. So, in relatively obscurity, our two teams tinkered in their workshops.”

Well…. You keep tinkering USC because come Sept 12th our Scarlet & Gray is gonna be ready for you when you come to the shoe and maybe you’ll wish you took your spring game a little more seriously!

Update: See our latest response to the L.A. Times – Let L.A. Float Away

Spring in the Shoe

A sun drenched Ohio State Horseshoe took on a record crowd of 95,722 fans to show-off the Ohio State Buckeyes to the nation. The score might have reflected an unbalanced contest in the Gray’s favor, but I don’t think that bothered any of the fans there. Dawning the shorts, tank-tops and sandals (Tressel even chose clothes for the weather putting on the Hawaiian Ohio State shirt) you came with sun tanning lotion and a curiosity that you didn’t have the past three seasons. It is not a scary feeling, but a charged feeling of nervous energy walking into a party and saying, “I wonder who we are now?”

The entire country is asking the same question. After watching two national championship trips end in disappointments and watching last year’s Buckeyes loose to 3 different national championship contenders (USC, Penn State, and Texas) the view beyond Ohio is not suppose to a favorable one, but if anyone part of that view watched ESPNS’s top plays on Saturday they saw the pretty 44 yard rainbow pass thrown from Terrelle Pryor to an open Lamar Thomas in the corner of the end zone maybe they will become as curious as the rest of us. Below are some other observations and highlights that showed up like blooms in spring.

Quarterbacks. We might have not gotten to see Pryor for as long as promised, but we saw what we wanted to see, an athlete that has improved from just being a running quarterback to a complete player. Terrelle Pryor showed a live-arm with better accuracy, that when given time he will hit seams and plays that will make highlight reels. His instincts might always slow down his release, but he showed more confidence in looking over a defense and letting it fly. Joe Bauserman was 10-21 and showed confidence throwing into several tight windows. Jason Siems finished 2-5 for 21 yards and had good poise for being the third string quarterback. Terrelle Pryor has made it hard to recruit some of the top Quarterbacks in the nation that want more playing time, but Pryor’s size and strength should protect him. When you are as big as some linebackers playing quarterback you are hard to bring down.

Running Backs. Brandon Saine is back looking faster and more determined displaying a majority after a season troubled by a hamstring injury that should make him a threat to defenses in the Big Ten. His 6’1” frame and 217 pounds should be more rugged this year. When we first met Saine we were introduced to a versatile back with a lot speed. This year I am hoping to see a complete versatile back that can be a threat to burst through the middle or catch the 5-yard dump off and turn it into 10 or more. Boom Herron was steady playing for the scarlet team that looked like it had the better O-line for the run. Both of these backs together in the backfield will create a diverse offense. The depth at running back for Ohio State is always deep. History draws running backs to the Buckeyes. I saw 5 backs play in the game the biggest highlight coming from Marcus Williams for the Gray who finished the game with 98 yards on only 7 carries the most which came on his first that was a burst out of the backfield. Probably the best run-blocking of the game was given to Williams on that play when he slid out from behind the line and into one of those holes that he dreams of in his sleep.

Wide Receivers. They are who we thought they are!! Too put a spin on the too-famous a quote from Dennis Green. We thought they were talented and they proved that they are and they should continue to prove it in the fall. Devier Posey enters his sophomore season as a 6’3” 205 pound imposing giant that should make corners start to shake when they see him line up across from them. The most impressive thing about him is his hands. He just snags the ball out of the air whenever he wants with perfect form (I think everyone wanted to see Pryor and him on the same team, we will have to wait). Lamar Thomas might have given a fist-pump when he got put on the same team as Terrelle, but he also knew he have to show up and he did, getting behind the defense to catch the opening TD of the game. I was worried about Ray Small and so was someone else, because after dropping a pass and looking a little shook up the Gray team ran an onside-kick play and recovered the ball. This let him have one more shot (some people just need a second chance) and he took advantage of it. Catching an underthrown ball from Pryor he showed who he was with an ankle-breaking fake and an appearance in the endzone at enof the first-half.

Defense. The Ohio State moniker might be a little concerned that Terrelle Pryor put up 191 passing yards, but then again he is on our team. The Ohio State University is Linebacker-U (I am not sure what the course numbers are though). The lineage is lengthy and drooled over by the NFL if you are patient you will be rewarded. Tyler Moeller should be rewarded for not just tackling Pryor on his first jaunt out over the line-of-scrimmage, but also for chasing down the longest run of the game from behind. The defensive backfield looked shaky, but in the spring Wide Receivers have the advantage early so I wouldn’t be concerned right now. The Gray did get an opportunistic interception late. Turnovers are often a specialty of the Buckeyes defense and the depth at linebacker should create lots of blitzing opportunities.

Offensive Line. This might have been the biggest surprise in the entire game. I saw plenty of penetration by the defensive line like a lot of fans did, but there was a certain physicality out there by individuals that was not there last year. The leader has got to be Justin Boren the Michigan defect that will be interesting to watch when it is time to play Michigan and the crafty Rodriguez. He is like having an NFL veteran on the college level. He is exactly what Ohio State needed on the O-line this year a leader that has it out for that team up north should provide our line with nasty instincts it needs to compete this fall.

All in all it was a beautiful spring day for the Buckeye fans that could enjoy working on their tan while watching their beloved Buckeyes. The highlights should be good memories to keep all of us happy for the next couple of months before July (that is about the time I get really antsy for football). I’ll continue to give some highlights in these dry months ahead, trying to keep my excitement in check for the upcoming season. Though if you feel like I do right now you can say it with me…”Bring on the Trojans!!”

OSU Spring Game Tips from Bella Buckeye

Rose Bowl to address Penn State violations

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
The Rose Bowl issued a statement Tuesday regarding two violations by Penn State at last year's game against USC. Not sure why it's taken nearly four months to acknowledge these issues, but here's the full statement from Rose Bowl Director of Media Gina Chappin:
At the Rose Bowl Game held on January 1, 2009, Penn State University failed to…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

Thoughts on Pryor, 1st pick of the Spring Game Draft. Pryor Vs. Gibson

“You know what, the minute you don’t go full speed, I think your chances for injuries go higher,” Tressel said. “We need to be ready, and where there is risk there is reward, too. Maybe we’ll step a little closer to being better if we go a little harder.”

Risk verses reward those are probably the two perfect words you think of when having Terrelle Pryor as your quarterback. Going in to this year’s draft for the April 25^th Spring Game everyone had to be thinking who is the best player? Everyone says defense wins championships and Thaddeus Gibson was the first defensive player picked to counter the Terelle Pryor pick. When Tressel said that the quarterbacks were going to be live for even just part of the annual Ohio State Scarlet vs. Gray backyard brawl, you would be foolish not to pick who would become the most exciting player in that circumstance.

Everyone will be saying on the outside, “I like to see if he has improved in throwing the football.” While on the inside you are thinking of the line from the movie Forrest Gump, “Run Terrelle, Run!!” Run he will. Thaddeus is extremely athletic and hopes to be one of the best sacking prototypical combo linebackers in division 1a this year, and is begging to sack Terrelle Pryor. The chase will be fun to watch and I think all the fans will appreciate it when both are left still standing after their cat and mouse game in the Shoe.

There are other names too, the new Mr. Spring Brandon Saine which everyone is hoping can shed the title and be Mr. Autumn as well, the electrifying Devier Posey I am sure will make a play receiving and punt returning, Ray Small is looking to be the comeback player of the year and will also look for an opportunity on a punt return, and will we find the missing Cornerback opposite Chimdi Chekwa? We hope so.

No this is not your usual backyard football game of tag football with your friends. This is The Ohio State Buckeyes annual spring game and they have a lot to show their fans. I’ll be watching the game with the rest of the Buckeye nation in hopes that I can see answers before we meet the USC Trojans on September twelfth. You don’t have to pick sides, you don’t have to root against anybody. For one game you can just be a fan and be grateful your heart won’t be torn out  or your breath taken away screaming when the winning field goal is kicked, so after another game against the Fighting Irish sit back and have a party and wonder. “Do you think Tressel would ever leave behind the sweater-vest for the Ohio State Scarlet and Gray Hawaiian shirt he wore on Wednesday?”

USC Names Corp Starter

The Trojan

In between Springsteen shows, condensing the “Win Forever” concept into book form, and trying to lure Will Ferrell to Twitter, Pete Carroll has taken time out of his awesome life to evaluate the quarterback situation at USC and has chosen redshirt sophomore Aaron Corp to be the Trojans’ starter …
Continue reading at Eleven Warriors

Sophomore Aaron Corp To Be USC’s QB

Southern California coach Pete Carroll says sophomore Aaron Corp will be the Trojans’ starting quarterback through the summer and into fall camp.
Continue reading at College Sports for NBC4i.com

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