Big Stage, Big Letdown

Greetings from C-bus:

Were it not a beautiful sunny day, I'm not sure I would have gotten out of bed. A combination of mack truck and junk food hangover hit me this morning as the supreme disappointment of "the loss" hit me again this morning.

For about 58 minutes, the euphoria of a much-fought win seemed almost outer-worldly. And then, the experience came crashing down as the bungled final Buckeye possession played out.

While the pundits largely got the game story wrong, they got the outcome right. The Bucks lost and there are 2 points of blame that ultimately come down to one common theme. Coaching.

I feel strongly that the offensive game has passed the coaching staff by ... and their egos are such that they seem to be oblivious to the obvious. Terrelle Pryor for all his talent has regressed. His inability to manage the clock, the numerous and costly offensive line penalties, and the problems getting the plays called speak to indecision on the part of the coaching staff and the QB. He does not look like a QB with nearly 1 year as a starter under his belt. Pryor's mechanics may be better, but his command of the game paled in comparison to that of Matt Barkley on the big stage. And Barkley got it done. Pryor did not.

The second issue - predictable offensive calls. Why hand off the ball to the RB 5 yards deep with a QB sneak should deliver the 1 yard needed on the 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1 call? USC let Barkley carry the ball 5 different times with success. If you afraid of an injury to Pryor, then why let him carry the ball at all. And when there is some semblance of creativity in play calling as was shown in the only TD drive, why regress to the old staid play book with the lead. There is no killer instinct on that staff, and therefore, the opponent is never "put away" in a game. Navy was the hors d'oeuvres; USC the main course.

But the fears that manifest last week over the defense are now mere memory. The Bucks accomplished a great deal on the defensive side of the ball ... and that is where the pundits got the script of last night's game wrong. The Buckeye defense did hold up ... with the exception of the final drive, the USC offense was held to minimal production. The rushing offense from the stable of USC backs was largely ineffective but the lack of productivity on offense in the second half just wore the defense down. That last drive was nothing fancy, but the missed tackles let nearly every play rack up just a few additional yards. And those yards added up. But had I told you that the Bucks would have held USC to 18 points, most would have thought that holding USC to 18 points would have nearly assured an OSU victory. Largely it was "mission accomplished" by the defense.

The game's stars for the Buckeyes were all on the defensive side of the ball: Ross Homan, LB, led all players with 9 total tackles. USC tested the relatively untested Devon Torrence and he held up well with 8 total tackles. Brian Rolle with 8 tackles also showed speed and good lateral movement. And Heyward was a force on the Dline. In fact, the Dline really put down the gauntlet against the largely All American USC Oline. And Jermale Hines played the safety position with great prowess.

And I don't want to forget to lob kudos on the special teams. The Bucks were largely productive on kick off and punt returns. The pressure put on the walk-on punter resulted in 2 points. The missed kick seemed to be another Buckeye bounce of the ball. The Bucks also controlled field position for much of the game.

The offense never capitalized.

Had you asked me last night, I would have said that the season was lost. A night's sleep and I am feeling more like that there is something to build upon if the coaches will read the tea leaves and really critically analyze their highly predictable offense and their weaknesses. Tressel needs to seriously consider significant changes on the coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball. The defense is sound. And yes, I miss Mark Dantonio but props to the defensive side that showed real aggressiveness, rushing the passer, disguising blitzes and coverage schemes. Overall, the defense gets high marks for about 57 minutes of the game and the coaches put a team on the field qualified to make stops with schemes that were largely effective.

I can't say the same for the offense. I can't say much for the offense.

Next up, Toledo in a game played in Cleveland. I, for one, hope the Bucks are able to leverage the outcome of the game and build upon it for the rest of the season.

The game is at noon eastern, ESPN Plus this Saturday.

GO BUCKS from JennyBucks.