I will apologize in advance to those who visit our site during the fall to check out our game recaps. There will be none, in the traditional sense anyway, forthcoming for the Michigan State game. Most of you were either there or watched it on TV, and there’s no sense rehashing it in any great detail. I’ve got a lot on my mind and figured it was time to therapeutically use this opportunity to float some things to our readers and see what you think.
*First off, DeVier Posey and Dan Herron should never play another down as Buckeyes. They’ve already been rotting away on the sidelines thanks to their roles in “Tattoogate”, but then earlier this week we find out that they made their way up to Cleveland to get greased with some booster swag from Bob DiGeronimo. The university was quick to disassociate themselves from Bobby D, but as of this moment Posey and Herron are somehow still on the team. Chris Spielman put it best on the “Buckeye Roundtable” radio show last Monday night- screw up once, we’ll give a second chance. Screw up twice, sayonara. I cannot in good conscience root for this team if they’re going to let these two play. And after everything Ohio State has been through with the NCAA, what message does it send to future recruits or even guys on the current roster when they see that these two screw-ups are still allowed to be on the team? Herron and Posey need to be let go, period.
*And while you’re holding the door open, hopefully it won’t be long before Jim Bollman goes through it. Up until this year, anyone who barked at Bollman for his stupidity as an offensive coordinator was misplacing their venom. Jim Tressel controlled the offense when he was here, don’t kid yourselves. Bollman only had “O-coor” as a title. You could even let Bollman slide this year, even though he is calling plays, because the Buckeyes are so green and inexperienced on offense that he doesn’t have much to work with. But his main responsibility is the offensive line, and they are terrible. And you can’t really use the inexperience excuse either- Brewster and Shugarts have played a lot of football, Norwell and Hall have games under their belts, too. The only real newcomer is Jack Mewhort. This group gave up 9 sacks last week, which is inexcusable in itself, but more so when you supposedly have a “running” quarterback behind you in Miller. The bottom line is Bollman’s lines have consistently underachieved. There’s never been a sense of nastiness with any O-line since he’s been here, and I defy anyone to name me one time that Bollman’s work has been so stellar that other schools showed any interest in him at all. Ohio State needs new blood in a lot of areas, but the offensive line has been crying out for change for long enough.
*This is no “out on a limb” prediction, but don’t look for Luke Fickell to be here next year, in any capacity. Would it make for a nice story if the next head coach wanted to keep him on? Sure, but Luke probably needs to look for another head coaching gig at a smaller school to continue his climb toward another shot at a major program. He has a lot of tools to achieve, but he’s not ready for prime time. Does he deserve credit for taking one for the team? Absolutely, he does. In fact, I wouldn’t doubt for a minute that Luke wasn’t point-blank told in the wake of Tressel’s resignation that he would just be keeping the throne warm for a year. Those who thought this would be an audition of sorts for Luke are sadly mistaken. He’s being a caretaker for an absolutely thankless situation, and if the offense doesn’t improve, it’s going to get even more thankless.
*The defense, on the other hand, has played well enough to win the two games OSU has lost. I didn’t say they had played well- too many missed tackles, 3 dropped pick-sixes- , but well enough. The “D” only gives up 10 points at home, you’re plus-2 in the turnover margin, and you LOSE? Sure the defense is having its growing pains, but I’m not going to give up on them just yet. Now there are things that need work- Travis Howard and Orhian Johnson plain look lost at times, and Storm Klein gets himself out of position too much- but overall in this mess of a season they’ve made a decent showing of themselves. They just have all the right in the world to sue for lack of support.
*I have to admit the Urban Meyer idea is growing on me. I’d been hesitant for a couple of reasons. His health is obviously a concern, and Ohio State is absolutely no place to be for the faint of heart. Plus it wasn’t like his Florida players weren’t dragging the school through the mud- 35 arrests in Meyer’s stay. I guess the question would be what would Urban Meyer do with DeVier Posey and Dan Herron? Let ‘em stay ‘cause your offense stinks and they’re proven playmakers, or turn ‘em loose ‘cause they’re proven idiots? It no doubt would be a PR boon to hire him, and with as much as the national media is enamored with him, maybe Buckeye Nation could once again pick up a paper, log on or turn on the TV without having to hear their school constantly getting slammed. As I stated before, it’s probably time to thoroughly scrub away the last remnants of Tressel and get a fresh group of coaches in here with modern offensive ideas.
*Don’t look for anything to come out of Lincoln. Remember now, Bo Pelini was the defensive coordinator when LSU shackled OSU in the ’07 national title game. I’ve heard people say that while Nebraska has more individual talent on the defense, as a whole they’re not Michigan State. That’s all fine, but we don’t have anything resembling the offense that Wisconsin does to wear anyone down, and Pelini has got to be licking his chops wanting to turn his defense loose on Braxton Miller. And the ‘Husker offense has got to be looking to get well after the embarrassment last Saturday night. People have made so much about Mike Adams being back for this game. So what? First and foremost, he should’ve been kicked off the team along with the rest of his tattooed buddies. But since no one had the stones to do that, just what difference will he make in Lincoln? The line is in disarray and last I checked Bollman was still coaching them. Adams has been rusting since the Sugar Bowl, so if you’re expecting one guy to make a difference this weekend, you’re sadly mistaken.
*Are the Buckeyes going bowling? I guess the NCAA will have the final say in that if they ever get around to rendering a final decision towards Ohio State. I wouldn’t care if it was the Motor City Bowl at this point. The underclassmen on this team could use the extra weeks of practice. But as big of a plus as that usually is, why would anyone on this team put forth any monster effort for a coaching staff that most likely won’t be here next year anyway? And after the Buckeyes go 0-for-October- which is shaping up to be a reality- they’re going to have the pressure of having to win 3 games in November just to get bowl-eligible. Sure, the schedule eases up, but what will the mental state be coming out of a brutal October?
*Will there be better days ahead? I would hope things wouldn’t get any worse. Those who are fretting what will become of future recruiting classes can relax if Meyer gets in here. No matter whom the next coach is, odds are good that none of Tressel’s staff will be retained, and the team can get a fresh start there. And if the youngsters on this team don’t have their confidence completely shattered by the time this debacle of a season is over, you have to believe the fire they’ve been through and the lessons learned will pay off down the road. The Ohio State football program has bounced back from dark days before, and it will do it again.
(25)Michigan State 10 Ohio State 7
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October 1, 2011
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By 'Joe-S-U' Hylton
OSU March '90
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