Don't Celebrate Too Much Yet ...

Greetings from sunny C-bus:

And Buckeye Nation is celebrating a week that will likely be the first in years where the sports talking heads will have little to talk (i.e. complain) about with regard to Buckeye football this week.

But, note to Tressel ... it's a bit too early to celebrate too much ...

See the video below for one of the few times in his 9 seasons with the Buckeyes that we've seen Tressel get a bit crazy ...

http://videos.cleveland.com/plain-dealer/2009/11/buckeyes_celebrate_penn_state.html

Now, for the game analysis ...

Terrelle Pryor is going to get a lot of credit for this victory, but in my opinion, the determining factor in this game was the play of the D line and specifically, Cameron Heyward. Heyward was a mis-match for virtually every O lineman Penn State tried to use against him and was notably double-teamed and held over and over. Heyward improved his draft stock ... sadly, because he's a junior ... and got on every NFL scout's radar screen with his play yesterday. He had 11 tackles including 3 TFLs. As the Columbus Dispatch put it, "he was in the offensive backfield almost as much as Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark." And he was. His speed was just stunning. Teammates interviewed after the game weren't sure exactly what had "gotten into" Heyward, but to a man, they liked it. And the play of Thad Gibson, Doug Worthington, et.al. gave the linebackers room to roam and roam they did. After Heyward's 11 tackle performance, linebackers B. Rolle and R. Homan had 10 tackles each. The game plan called for shutting down Daryll Clark's favorite receiver, Derek Moye and he did not have a catch yesterday. That left Zug open for 7 catches and 96 yards. The Bucks also effectively limited RB Royster to a subpar 13 carries for 36 yards and Penn State had 201 total yards on offense for the game. Penn State had been averaging nearly twice that this season. This also marks the 20th game in a row where the Buckeye D has held a running back to under 100 yards. And but for the bogus TD call, the Bucks posted another shutout for the season.

Did you know that the Buckeyes lead the nation in 3-and-outs on defense this year? I'm not sure this is a widely calculated stat, but the Bucks notably kept pace with this measure yesterday too.

Credit special teams for getting the ball rolling on the scoreboard. Ray Small came out large on the first punt return where he got loose for 41 yards down to the PSU 9. It was classic Tressel-ball from a field position standpoint. The Bucks were held on offense, then the defense moved PSU backward on their first drive. Field position advantage was moving the Bucks' way. Then Ray Small gives the Bucks the ball inside the 10 for a first score. Phew. Game on.

On offense, there was nothing fancy in the game plan. Early on, TP came out clearly amped up and nervous. He was overthrowing nearly every route and seemed to rush his throws. Then the Bucks took a page from the Texas playbook and let TP hit a few short screen routes to get his confidence up. Colt McCoy in his early playing days at Texas benefited from an offensive script that typically allowed Colt to "warm up", hitting the short routes to fine tune his accuracy and to get confidence before they called the long passing plays. I hadn't seen Tress use that plan previously but it sure seemed like when TP showed some early problems throwing the ball that the coaches went that direction. They also called a few running plays for TP and some read-option to let him get his feet moving.

And speaking of Texas, the Columbus Dispatch had earlier last week carried a brief article featuring the Texas coach Mack Brown talking about the TP-Vince Young comparisons (ESPiN showed plenty on that yesterday). I shared with several a comment by Brown that stated that during Vince's sophomore year, there was a game mid-season where it all seemed to click and Vince never lost another game in his college career. Brown then predicted TP would lead the Bucks to a National Championship before TP's playing days were over. Brown also commended the Buckeye coaching staff and Tress specifically for bringing TP along exactly right. Now, I don't consider Mack Brown to be a seer, but as I read the statements, I started to think about the comparison. Physically gifted, Vince and TP have been compared before TP even came to tOSU. Physically, there are similarities. But I also think about quotes by TP this week noting that he knew that he had not yet led the Buckeyes in a "big game" and on the big stage yet. And I knew that Penn State would provide that venue if TP could "step up" and deliver on the hype. And certainly the hype is something TP is saddled with, not something he asked for. Perhaps, he has turned the corner and it has all clicked. That answer comes this Saturday and so forth.

And perhaps Mack Brown and Tress bonded this past summer while they visited the troops in the Middle East together on a coaches' tour ... and perhaps Tress picked Mack's brain a bit ...

The Bucks put together another 200 yard rushing game, but this time it was against Penn State, a team that led the Big Ten in nearly every defensive category and led the nation in several categories. Somehow, the O line seemed to click. And Boom came out a man possessed ... he ran effectively and looked healthy until he tweaked the ankle again and gave way to Saine. Saine looked awful after his first series and I was shouting at the TV for Tressel's ears ... where is Boom? But once Boom went down, Saine seemed to catch fire. Combined, the duo had 126 yards on 36 total carries and each ultimately got about 50% of the work. Sadly, PA-boy Jordan Hall got little time - 3 carries for 17 yards. Tress said after the game that the coaches were disappointed that Hall didn't get into the game more. OK. I buy that.

And how about DeVier Posey! Okay, just 2 catches but the 62-yard catch on the first play of the third quarter drive after PSU's punt. Up until that play, Tress had called run on every first down. Finally ... time to make the PSU defense honest. Up top. And that seemed to seal the momentum in favor of the Bucks and permanently quiet the crowd.

TP went 8 of 17 for 125 yards and 2 TDs. He also had 5 carries for 50 yards and 1 rushing TD. The game stats aren't Heisman-worthy but the big stat was this ... NO TURNOVERS. The Bucks for the second week in a row did NOT commit a turnover. And Penn State did.

Clearly, TP is banged up from last week's game. The recumbent bike on the sideline was a bit of "show" but there was a purpose. The claim was that Pryor needed to keep his ankles loose. Huh? I'm guessing something more of a gross muscle group like a hamstring ... either way ... keep it going Terrelle.

In a funny postgame line, Tressel when asked about the Penn State white out crowd said, "We thought all of that white was cheering for us since we were wearing white. It was nice." The Dispatch this morning called the white "surrender flags".

And consider that this was Tress's first victory against a higher-ranked team since the national championship game against Miami. That stat surprised me.

And that overhead shot provided by ABC/ESPiN at the game showing all the white but for the corner of red and the little blotch of red around the 20-yard line (where TP said his family was sitting) was very cool. Props to Penn State for getting even the blue-hairs organized to show school spirit. I truly wish that OSU could accomplish the same.

Iowa's surprise loss to NW changes the "game" for this coming Saturday. First, NW shows that their competitive game vs. PSU was no fluke. Fitzgerald is no dummy - after all, he's a NW grad. The NW coach put together 2 weeks of solid game plans to take down the biggies in the Big Ten. While they didn't get it done vs. Penn State last week, they sure did against Iowa. And nothing fancy. Just a solid game by NW got the job done. But, the decisive 7-point swing in the game came in the end zone following Iowa's opening drive (where they looked unstoppable by the way). NW came in on a well-called blitz and caught Iowa QB Stanzi in Iowa's end zone for what could have initially been a safety. Not only did NW get the ball loose from Stanzi resulting in a fumble that NW fell on for their first TD, but Stanzi went down awkwardly on the side of his ankle for a game-ending injury. And the injury, per Coach Ferentz, will keep Stanzi out for the next "couple of weeks". It appears to be the classic "high ankle injury", an injury that really hobbles skill players. Ferentz says that they will gameplan assuming Stanzi cannot go and if he can, it will be a bonus. Seeing the QB on the sideline on crutches and in a boot up to his knee tells me that the injury is not likely to heal by this Saturday, unless he's a heck of an actor.

So Saturday's home finale is for the Rose Bowl. The Bucks win, they go ... regardless of the Ann Arbor outcome the following week. The Bucks win, they also win the Big Ten ... again. Don't even speculate on who the Rose Bowl might have from the Pac 10. Talk about a screwed up conference.

But don't go to the florist just yet. There's work to do.

On the injury front, Pettrey is done for the regular season. Boom? Not clear. Another injury to the same ankle will probably hobble him or keep him from this Saturday's home finale. Big Mike Adams could be back for this coming game. Dexter Larrimore got in yesterday's game but he will continue to return to his pre-injury form as the games go on ... bad news for opponents. TP - let's just hope that the bike is just what the doctor ordered.

The home finale is this Saturday vs. Iowa at 3:30 in Ohio Stadium. Seniors will be honored - always emotional. And the weather ... bring the rain ponchos ... so far.

GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!