Doubts May Linger

Greetings from C-bus:

It took fans just 3 plays on offense to know that Tressel and the team took the "silence the doubters" banner seen outside Skull Session very seriously through spring and fall practice. The playbook remained relatively wide open from the Rose Bowl preparation through Thursday night's game and Terrelle Pryor seemed to have matured a decade between the Rose Bowl and 9/2/10.

Welcome back to Tyler Moeller! Moeller lost a year due to a head injury suffered in a FL bar more than a year ago while on vacation with his family. Moeller however led the team in tackles Thursday night and he looked to be back to form from nearly 2 seasons ago. His lateral speed kept Marshall from turning the corner and he anchors a relatively young and somewhat inexperienced secondary - a point of worry of mine. While Chekwa is the veteran back there, he was the same Chekwa who has lockdown capabilities but he's making the same mistakes - not turning his head to the ball and leaving himself open to the almost certain interference call. Frustrating.

The 3rd receiver position remains open. Sanzenbacher and Posey have locked down the first 2 receiver spots with both making a clear statement in the game Thursday. Perhaps the 3rd receiver might really be Jake Stoneburner? I think that depends on the strength of the opponent's defensive line and whether we need a TE for blocking or in the passing game. And certainly a quick view of Zack Boren as fullback eases your fears when it comes to blowing up holes for the RBs - Zoom and Boom (and definitely in that order). Grant Schwartz caught some balls out there Thursday and it was nice to see the senior get in there but all eyes during preseason were on Philly Brown and Chris Fields and neither showed too much Thursday. Taurian Washington was said to be #3 but he was quiet Thursday.

And boy ... work needs to be done on that special teams unit. Sure, the opening fumble recovery was their work, but the blocked field goal was a missed blocking assignment combined with a low, line drive and coverage of the opponent returns was lacking - blocking assignments missed no doubt. Some discipline is needed in keeping guys in their lanes. I'd also like to see some more consistency in kick off depth and punt distance. Good coverage on the punt with the near-stop just short of the goal line. There's definite speed on those squads. Appears they need discipline.

For Miami, the game Saturday might be like playing a 4th OT although no one on that squad was part of the 2002 game. At least the media is trying to build the game up to be some sort of re-match. Bahhhh. But it is a chance for Miami to prove that they are "back" in primetime, on a big stage. The Bucks must come out prepared to sling it around with some very good athletes and we must be prepared to stop a talented QB in Jacory Harris. I saw him play in person last season at Winston-Salem, a game that Wake should have won. But the thing about Harris is that he's a competitor and has a will to win. A final drive in the waning minutes of the game propelled Miami to the victory when the receiver got behind a Wake DB into the endzone on a long, risky pass play. The Miami team roster is full of Harris' high school teammates. The squad is loaded with speed. Harris was a risk-taker last season - my guess is that Coach Randy Shannon has him more disciplined this year. Miami put the hurt down on their opening opponent Florida A&M. Miami did not fare well against Wisconsin in last year's bowl game, however, which makes me think that Miami will not fare well against a tough, disciplined defense like OSU and the physical play of the Big Ten. That being said, Harris is a gun-slinger. Our secondary had better be ready.

Keep in mind that the early weather forecast for Saturday calls for rain showers. That might favor a ground game from Zoom and Boom ... but it's too early to forecast Ohio weather with any certainty ... in fact the morning of the game might be too early.

GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!