Record-setter

Greetings from C-bus!

Fall has emerged from days and days of 90 degree heat just in time for another scorcher in the 'Shoe (supposedly it was 70 degrees about game time but with the sun, it felt hotter) ... oh, the Bucks scorched another opponent yesterday too.

I don't know what it is about the scheduler, but the Bucks seemed to have had an abundance of green-clad opponents in the first 4 games ... who walked with little more than a stack of green and a loss on their record. But the nonconference season has come and gone, and the Bucks are 4-0.

It was the first time since 1950 when the Bucks ran 83 points up on Iowa that the Bucks have scored as many points and there were more than 100 points combined scored in yesterday's contest. It's enough to make the Vegas bookies head spin. For a while there, I thought the Bucks weren't even going to cover the spread.

Dane Sanzenbacher tied a record with 4 TD catches in the game - the most recent was Terry Glenn with Bobby Hoying at the helm. In that game, Hoying had 6 TD passes, something Terrelle Pryor has not yet achieved. But TP had 6 TDs in the game - 4 passing, 1 rushing, and 1 receiving. The statistics seem to suggest that TP was the first to achieve this feat. TP also accounted for 348 total yards of offense (not a record) in a game where TP played a few more minutes than anyone imagined he might. Good thing.

On offense, 12 different Buckeyes caught passes, including TP. Sanzenbacher led all receivers with 9 catches for 108 yards and the 4 TDs. Herron, Saine, and Posey had 3 each. On the pass from Jordan Hall to TP, Pryor later recounted tales of their high school days, telling the reporters that Tressel called the play telling TP that if he didn't catch the pass to just keep running out of the stadium. In high school, Hall and Pryor hooked up several times including one in the state championship when TP went for 55-60 yards on a Hall-thrown bomb. TP apparently out-jumped three defenders and told the assembled that they could catch it on YouTube. Pryor remarked that Hall has a good arm.

The running game sans Pryor still gives me worries. The morning radio call-in shows this morning were calling Tressel too loyal to Boom and Zoom, particularly since Jordan Hall continues to show promise. Add to the mix the Jamaal Berry 67 yard run and Carlos Hyde's play in shortened time and one can sympathize. I'm just not sure what Boom and Zoom lack and it is hard to tell if yards gained in mop-up duty, granted before a 2nd and even 3rd team line, are a result of talent or fatigue (and give-up) in the opponent at that point. Hall did get some time with the 1's in the game and did not disappoint. I hate that stutter-step that I see in both Boom and Zoom vs the burst I see in the young guys.

The defense let up on the pedal Saturday ... and they knew it. Brian Rolle in particular seemed to capture the theme by saying that the Bucks did not play Buckeye D in the first half of the game and after EMU's third score mid-way through the 3rd period, the defense seemed to wake up. That being said, the Buckeye secondary was full of opportunities for freshman and real-game experience for the back-ups. Prior to the game, Chimdi Chekwa experienced some soreness in his back and attempted to loosen up on the sidelines. He got in to the lineup late in the game, finally, only to get into a rough tackle with his own teammate. EMU to its credit found a weakness in our secondary, sliding the TE into space on all 3 of the pass completions, getting match ups with our linebackers and safeties on the plays. Not sure that Chekwa would have prevented the completions, but the inexperience on the part of Devon Torrence and Orhian Johnson getting just his second start showed. The Bucks had Andrew Sweat back at LB, but on nickel downs, Sweat rotates out in favor of Tyler Moeller, who continues to impress.

I would imagine that our Big Ten opponents will use more of the LB/safety match-ups one-on-one on big TEs and receivers, seeing this weakness. I would also expect that the Bucks may zone up a bit more and personally, I hate the zone because it can be exploited for that short, underneath stuff that works effectively as part of a time-consuming drive. While I don't think IL has the talent to exploit this, no doubt a more experienced QB and offensive scheme will want to find more of these match-ups. I continue to worry about the plethora of injuries on the Bucks D, in particular.

Among those injured yesterday were Jake Stoneburner who rolled an ankle. While Stoneburner tweeted after the game that the ankle was nothing, today he tweeted that it was sore. I like the way the offense has exploited Jake this season, but missing IL might be good given the larger tests upcoming.

Many around C-bus have been abuzz today about the "run-up" in the score yesterday. In fact, Tressel has put up 50 or more points 5 times since coming to OSU. And of course, Wisky put up 70 yesterday too. Tressel did not seem to intentionally run up the score - the long run by Berry was a nice bonus and Kenny Guiton's TD was a good play by the popular back-up QB. That being said, TP's 6th TD of the day was on a trick play. Sure it gives the opponent something to think about and Posey threw a TD pass last season but I do wonder if Tressel isn't trying to "pad the stats" of his young charge, Terrelle. I'm okay with that if he is ...

Next up ... Illinois. Illinois is 2-1 and did not play Saturday. The game is at noon eastern on Big Ten network. While the Purdue loss last season taught us to never look too far ahead (hear that Texas!), I do expect that the next two games (Illinois and Indiana) will be speed bumps on the road leading to the next big showdown - at Wisconsin 10/16 (night game). The Big Ten season starts today! There are no small games!

GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!