okay, as i am watching these defenses play the games of their lives...here are some basic ohio state/wisky thoughts....
let me say something that is probably obvious to many, but want to reiterate it because it's extremely important imo. pryor playing over boeckman is huge on so many levels. first from a pure talent perspective. you have one of the most explosive players in the country...already. adds a lot of options to the offense that aren't there with boeckman, and puts defenses in some tough spots, especially when accompanied by beanie...what a backfield! secondly, the team has lost its faith in boeckman due to his performance in big games, and i think just his laid back personality in general. not an emotional leader, and he's never done anything positive in a very clutch situation to prove to his team he can be counted on. that's huge....if you're a qb and you make a mistake, it makes it very hard to bounce back when you don't have the amount of respect from your huddle that's needed. in that usc game, not only was the opposing defense's demeanor a lot different when pryor was in because they had to be aware of a lot more, but the offense visibly played harder, which is incredible to me. this helps change what would have been a terrible mental state of mind for the bucks, especially the seniors for much of the year i think. the whole aura of the team and its fans have changed with this change. as stupid as it sounds, as a fan, i didn't think i would be able to bounce back because i was just sick with following these guys. they fuckin blew another one. same old story with boeckman putting them in fucked up situations then hanging his head and not doing anything with any kind of risk the rest of the game. i thought wow, this team has to be spent right now....because i'm spent!!! as a fan!!! how can you pick your head up after that if you're boone or road warrior animal or jenkins who came back for this?? well pryor and the return of beanie has re-created that buzz, and they can be the only team EVER to win 3 consecutive big10 titles and may get a rematch and close out their college career with an epic rose bowl game. the pryor move, tressel's ability to motivate, and even the fact that they may have an outside chance to get back in the picture after the losses (i think there's no chance in hell) and at the very least have a chance to finish some of their college careers in an epic rose bowl rematch has completely changed the mindset of these players. tressel isn't being shy about great recruits, promoting competition amont the offensive line even among the freshmen tackles...so that adds some new excitement as well, and he's making changes and opening up competition in other spots as well. he's also playing the slighted card and rightfully so as they still aren't in the top10 even after all the upsets to unranked opponents at home (clear throat, bullshit). and yes, pryor will make some mistakes vs wisky, making his first appearance as the man on the road, but the experience vs usc helped i think....and, considering the mistakes boeckman has made in EVERY big game, i am not convinced his performance is going to be worse. pryor will get some bigtime opportunities because of wisky's need to load the box to stop beanie...something that usc didn't have to do because beanie wasn't in the game.
some quotes:
"i saw a lot of (pryor's) back today. on the td, he looked like a 100 yard sprinter. it's exciting" -guard, cordle
"as many (carries) as the team needs me to. i really think i can handle the ball 40 to 50 times next week" -wells
"we're definitely a new offense. i know we can feel that on the field, and i'm sure people can feel it in the stands and on tv. it feels a little different, but regardless it's the same guys so hopefully we should be successful." -hartline in response to the look of the offense with pryor/beanie in the backfield
the offensive line moves are huge. browning needs to be phased out, and tressel insinuated that this would in fact happen when he said rehring can play both guard and tackle and he'd like to get the two stud freshmen tackles on the field. that will help sure up the other side of the offensive line and allow the bucks to open it up on both sides of the ball. i think this will help them score a lot...havin one of the most talented backfields and a newly sured up oline will help the passing game quite a bit, and pryor can certainly throw it and make plays that way too. keeping the defense honest with the run is the only way we can pass because our receivers aren't the greatest at creating separation, but they'll be fine with man to man and no safeties lurking around. pryor also needs to find the tight end...something he did against troy that we hadn't done all year.
as i had said before, i had this game on my radar before the season started to play wisconsin. i thought homefield was huge and they'd win the battle in the trenches. they always play us well. 16 straight home games they've won by more than 3 tds per game!!!!!! 27-1 since 04. 21 of its last 22 night games. i still think wisky matches up well enough with our defense to be able to score at home. if beckum can get and stay on the field (he's banged up), we'll obviously have a tough time with him. and our dline looks pretty overrated, so we should give some up on the run as well. graham is very good too if he can't go or sees limited action, and i expect him to have success as well....but he got banged up as well and missed the game vs michigan. i wouldn't expect much from the receivers, but they should still be able to score despite all of this. another thing about their rushing offense is that for the last 3 games, they've been right around 160 or so, while gaining 404 vs marshall...so the stats are a little skewed. nevertheless they have a big experienced oline that doesn't give up sacks and gets a great push in the running game, which is something that we'll struggle with on the road. they have a little bit of an undersized dline that we should be able to take advantage of too (biggest starter is around 290), and the same can be said for their linebackers...but both units experienced. secondary is pretty inexperienced, but chris carter's brother is very solid and makes big plays. the secondary as a hole has been overly agressive and i think we can take advantage of this with some big plays in the passing game after establishing the run. michigan scored on plays of 58, 34, and 26 in their comeback last week, so it's a defense that can give up the big play.
osu will be able to run the ball. 211 yards rushing in last year's matchup and 3 second half tds for beanie. with pryor's added feature and wisky not getting any bigger in their front 7, i expect the same this year. same thing on the flip side with wisky averaging 215 a game on the ground. they have the size to push us off the ball, and i'm concerned about our dline here.
bucks should have the exact type of passing game that wisky is vulnerable to, only relying on it for big plays. they are ball-hawking and risk takers and they will try to jump routes and get nosy to the run. there may be an int or two, but there will be more big plays through the air if the ground game works early too. like i said on the flipside, evridge isn't a great qb, but he's solid and relies on his tight ends, something we're vulnerable to imo. we should have no trouble on the outside as our corners are better athletes than the wisky receivers. big plays from the tight ends though if they establish the run, which i'm counting on.
special teams edge goes to wisky here imo. excellent punter (over 42 yards per kick) and a kicker with a strong leg. gilreath can make plays in the return game, and nobody from the bucks can. this is dangerous for the bucks on the road, but good for the over as it will get the crowd into it both ways.
wisky in an excellent spot...pissed of as hell about that michigan loss, an incredible team at home, and revenge. this and their oline should make for a good game for them offensively. they were given the blueprint by usc, and while there are things they can't execute that usc did, there are some things that they can as well. i really see some fireworks on the other side of the ball too. plenty of advantages the bucks can take advantage of, even on the road. i like the bucks to carry the momentum from all of the changes and created motivation that have transpired over the last few weeks and use pryor and beanie to win a shootout. 33-24 buckeyes. over 44.5. would def lean bucks -1.
