By far this was the best game the team played all year.   We had rhythm on offense and were dominant on defense.  I must say I was pleasantly surprised by our performance.   This by all appearances was the team we were supposed to have this year.
Pryor and Wells were impressive on offense.   They seemed to be in a better rhythm then when we saw them against Purdue.   The same play which burned us last year against Illinois seems to be our new bread and butter for Pryor/Wells combo.   Pryor has the option to hand the ball off to a cutting Wells or he can fake the opposite direction from Wells.   Pryor can then choose to run it himself or dump it to a short receiver.   It juked the MSU defense for most of the game.  I expect we'll see this against PSU.  Another encouraging sign happened early in the game when Wells reversed field and was running for a first down.   Pryor saw what he was doing and opted to block for him completing knocking the DB he was blocking on his back.   This kind of effort from a quarterback will go a long way with both sides of the ball and shows what type of player Pryor is.   I also have to mention the array of stiff arms that both Pryor and Wells displayed on Saturday.   I still don't think there's a defense that can stop these two (except of course what goes on in Terrelle's head).
The offense line seemed to finally be playing well together.   I had thought that Brewster was out for the game, but saw he had the start at center.   My rule of thumb is that I have to see something occur three times in a row for it to be legitimate, so we still have 2 more games to see if this is a trend or just a fluke.
The defense had another dominating performance.   Lauranitis was everywhere and played like the dominant player we expect him to be.   This was mainly due to the penetration the D line was able to get in the backfield.   Again, the jury is still out on the D line.   One more solid performance and we can say things are finally clicking for this group.   Jenkins and Chekwa had excellent games as well.  I just hope that Chekwa is back for next week's matchup.
PSU's strength is both of their lines and their receiving corp.   They just wear teams down by the second half and dominat in the final 2 quarters.   We always match up well with PSU and this year will be no exception.   I feel that the last 2 years the main difference was quarterback play.   We could always count on Morelli to do something incredibly stupid to help us win the game.   This year we don't have that luxury.   Daryll Clark is a smart QB and rarely makes mistakes.   At the same time, I don't think PSU has seen a strong defense all year, so pressuring Clark is key to victory here.   Their receiving corp is very fast, so we'll have our hands full guarding them.   Again, this game comes down to the trenches.   Whichever team controls the trenches, will win this game. 
I am really hoping that a trend is established in this game on both defense and offense which will propel us for the rest of the year.

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Well folks its the halfway mark for this season and so far the Buckeyes haven't lived up to their potential!   This last game against Purdue just emphasized what we've been discussing this whole year.

1. Offensive Line was offensive.   Granted their were some plays where I saw holes big enough for a Mack truck to drive through (and Pryor optioned not to give Wells the ball), but there were too many missed blocks.   Rehring in particular looked bad.   The line has been shifted around a lot this year due to poor play and the lack of cohesion is evident from these switches.   To make matters worse, super freshmen Shugarts and Brewster are out for the next few games at least (Shugarts for the year probably). 
2. No spark in the offense.   Neither Pryor or Wells had good games.   We're basically down to Wells as the only productive back.   Please keep Mo Wells out of any more games.   He is worthless.   Hopefullty Saine (hamstring) and Herron (concussion) are able to come back.   But neither back has wowed me this year.   Pryor is showing that he is a true freshman.   I was hoodwinked into thinking he was Superman, but he is Superman with a conscious.   He's just thinking too much on the field.  He's a perfectionist and that has kept him from being anything but perfect.   He just needs to commit and not second guess it.  If he continues to play this way the next few games, we'll be stuck with Boeckman (and he has no problem chucking the ball into double coverage).  I swear I saw the slightest smirk on Boeckman's face when they pained to him during Pryor's troubles against Purdue.   I'm still waiting for the spark from a speedy receiver.  Bottom line is either you have speed or you dont and, folks, we ain't got it.
3. Defense finally played like the defense we've been expecting all year.   Maybe the light finally turned on for the D Line and we have turned the corner.   If so, then we will have a good couple of games.   Unfortunately, I think it's not.   We lost Wilson for the season.   With Rose filling in the gap, you can expect that light to dim significantly.  We'll need the same performances out of the secondary we just saw for the remainder if the year to have any hope of coming out of the next 2 games alive.   We also need to hear more from Lauranitis.  He has to show he is top 5 draft pick in these next few games.

This is the hump.   Our last two ranked opponents are before us and if destiny has us repeating for a third consecutive National Championship loss, then we have to rise against MSU and PSU.   If, somehow, we beat MSU convincingly and beat the media favorite Penn State, then the country will once again be forced to acknowlege us.   It makes no sense that we are consistently top 5 recruiting class year in and year out and not have the ability to simply reload.

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This was a  quality victory over a good Wisconsin opponent and goes some way to regaining some respect nationally.  Most pundits had Wisconsin as being the team to beat in the Big 10.   Of course, Penn State is now the national media darling (more on that later).   In spite of this victory, there still remains a few glaring issues which will keep us from reaching and/or winning the National Championship.

Pryor is the real deal.   He has so much upside, its scary.   The poise he showed in crunch time showed should send fear to the rest of the Big 10.   He is a freshman after all.   Granted he made some mistakes, but the fact he drove us down the field with the game on the line and won it on the road in Wisconsin  is quite impressive. 

Seeing Beanie run as he did is quite encouraging as well.   One does have to worry about his overall health.  He does seem to get beat up and have to play through a lot of pain.

The offensive line played better than I have seen them play all year.   Still not as dominate as they should be, but better.   That in itself is encouraging and hopefully the trend will continue.

Our main problem is the lack of a D line.   They haven't shown any improvement and seem to be dominated by whomever we are playing.   The line was a sieve through most of the game, allowing Wisconsin to move the ball at will.   We won't stand a chance against a better team (such as Penn State) or any of the top 5 teams in the country.   It appears that Gholstein was much more of an impact then we gave him credit.   Wilson was supposed to be a worthy replacement, but hasn't seem to fill the role yet.

In addition, our receiving corp is average at best without a true burner.   We have our great route runners (Robo and Hartline) and our clutch guy (Hartline), but no speedster to clear the DB's.   In every game, the opposing DB's seem to have no problem staying step for step with our guys.  

I just don't see us being able to keep pace with a top team.   It appears more and more that the media has been correct in their assessment of the Big 10 being down the last few years and that OSU have been the recipients of this down time.   Some people have said this is the best team Tressel has ever had, but it appears more and more that the 2002 team may be his best team.   We just seem to be missing the hunger that that team had back then.

With any luck, Penn State will stay undefeated and we can secure a victory over them.   The national media absolutely loves this team and beating them would definitely restore us to some prominence.   It probably won't be enough for this year, but at least get us going in the rght direction.

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After much thought (and the last few blogs), I remain convinced that the problems with the Buckeyes mainly stem from their O and D lines.   Over the last few years, this has seem to be the issue on all of the big games.   That said, Tressel has opted to rotate underclassmen into the O-line and has been experimenting (in part due to inuries, in part due to poor play).   It's hard to say right now whether we will reap the benefits of these changes this year.  

In the end, making Pryor the starting QB is the correct thing to do.  We needed a spark and a leader and it appears he is providing on both fronts.   There will be some bumps (hopefully minor) along the way, but the dividends will be huge (in possibly 1 year).   Pryor teamed with a healthy Wells will be an unstoppable duo in the backfield.   We should get use to the large yardage on the ground amassed by them.    Just think about it, in their respective recruiting years, both Pryor and Wells were the #1 recruits in the country and McDonald's all Americans.  The main question is whether we will develop a passing game.  Pryor has shown incredible arm strength so far, but needs to use it.   Additionally, we hear players (Wells in particular) ranting and raving about what he brings to the offense.   I don't recall comments like this from players regarding Boeckman.

It's apparent that the National media needs much convincing before they will back the Buckeyes.   This year may very well be lost.   If we can play well and beat Wiisconsin at Camp Randell that will go a long way to helping us.   Of course, with the National media gooing over Penn State, it would be nice to beat then at our place if they remain undefeated.

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