Football
10 Things We Learned from yet Another Win in Bloomington
By Brandon Castel10. Indiana is Indiana. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Give the Hoosiers credit for improving their stadium, taking care of their non-conference schedule and hanging tough with Michigan in Ann Arbor last week, but that still doesn’t change the fact that Indiana is Indiana. No matter how many steps they take to get their program going in the right direction, the talent level in Bloomington will never compare to that in Columbus. For all the talk about their veteran offensive line, their dangerous feature back and their two stud defensive ends, the Hoosiers had two players Saturday: Tandon Doss, the wide receiver who caught six passes for 96 yards, and Ray Fischer, the kick returner who went to Glenville with Ray Small.
9. It is legal for the fullback to catch a pass. Watching freshman fullback Zach Boren catch an 8-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter Saturday sent shock waves through Buckeye Nation. Who is Zach Boren, is he related to the Boren that plays offensive line, and more importantly, when did they change the rule about fullbacks not being allowed to catch the football? In fact, that’s not actually a rule in college football. It never has been, although it was practically a law at Ohio State until recently. In fact the last fullback to catch a touchdown pass wearing the Scarlet and Gray was Trever Robinson back in the 2007 season-opener. Before that, you’d have to go all the way back to 2001 with Jamar Martin. While it’s unlikely Boren was the first read on that play, it’s clear Terrelle Pryor is keeping all of his options open, and all of a sudden that includes tight ends and fullbacks.
Duron Carter
Photo by Jim Davidson8. Duron Carter does more than just catch touchdowns. Yes, Duron Carter caught his first touchdown pass as a Buckeye Saturday night, which was big news considering he is the son of former OSU star Cris Carter (only 26 more to catch his dad). He also proved he has more to offer this team than just his clutch hands. After hauling in a tough pass on the goal line in the first quarter, Carter laid a block in the second half on a Pryor scramble that nearly knocked the cleats off Indiana linebacker Justin Carrington. After the game, Carter was much more excited to talk about the block than the catch.
“I like hitting a lot. Football is a contact sport. If you don’t like contact, you shouldn’t be playing,” he said after the game.
7. Anderson Russell is not the anti-playmaker, at least not always. Few players have taken the kind of heat of the years that Anderson Russell has over the years. After dropping a bundle of easy interceptions in 2007, Russell gave up the game-winning touchdown against Texas in the Fiesta Bowl last year and found himself replaced in the starting lineup by Jermale Hines in week two of this season. The fifth year senior just can’t seem to do anything right, and even broke up a pass that would have easily been picked off by teammate Devon Torrence last week. With captain Kurt Coleman out of the lineup against Indiana, however, Russell stepped up and took his spot as the playmaker on the defense. Along with tying Ross Homan for the team-lead in tackles against the Hoosiers, Russell recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and made a great open-field tackle in what was a big game for him.
6. There’s a reason Aaron Pettrey lost his job to Ryan Pretorius two years ago. Watching Aaron Pettrey boom field goals from 50 or 55 yards, it’s hard to imagine how this guy ever lost his job as Ohio State’s kicker to Ryan Pretorius two years ago. Then came Saturday’s performance. After knocking his first attempt stiff from 46 yards, Pettrey missed his next two attempts from 35 and 29 yards. So far this season, Pettrey is 6-of-6 from 40 yards or more, but just 4-of-9 from 39 or less with a missed extra point. It’s bad enough the Buckeyes aren’t consistently getting touchdowns in the red zone, but they should at least be able to count on their kicker from in there. Whether it’s a mental thing or a mechanical thing when Pettrey is inside of 40, he had better get it figured out or the Buckeyes will be forced to try Devin Barclay or Ben Buchanan in the short-yardage role.
5. Brandon Saine has transformed himself into a complete running back. There was a time not too long ago where Brandon Saine was considered a speed back. The Zoom to Dan Herron’s Boom. After all, he was a former high school track champion, but in three seasons at Ohio State the former Ohio Mr. Football has transformed himself into much more than a speed back. Making the first start of his career in place of the injured Herron Saturday, Saine proved himself capable of handling the load as the feature back. Despite splitting carries with freshman Jordan Hall, Saine racked up a career-high 113 yards on 17 carries. He showed vision, burst and the ability to move the pile, but the one thing that truly separates him from Herron is his ability to run through arm tackles. Rarely does the first guy bring Saine down, and that is great quality to have as a running back.
4. This offensive line is better than last year’s group. It is still too early to start making general statements about the progress of this Ohio State offensive line, but if we learned anything about them Saturday it’s that they are at least better than last year’s group. Justin Boren has been a tremendous addition at left guard and Bryant Browning is enjoying a much better season now that he’s at his best position. Michael Brewster is a year older, and playing a little better than he did a year ago. Even without Jim Cordle (foot) and Andrew Miller (flu), the two players who opened the season as starters, the two offensive tackles held their own against Indiana’s duo of Greg Middleton and Jammie Kirlew. They are still learning, and Mike Adams definitely missed a big block that led to a Pryor sack, but the extra attention they are getting from coach John Peterson seems to be paying off.
3. Running out of the shotgun suits Ohio State’s personnel better than the I-formation. They tried it against Illinois with great success, but after watching them run it against Indiana, I’m convinced this team should operate out of the shotgun the rest of the year. No, the I-formation will not die at Ohio State, but running out of the gun seems to work best with the current personnel. Not only does it allow tight end Jake Ballard to operate as a lead blocker, but it forces teams to view Pryor as a second running back who can keep the ball on the zone read play or hand it off to Saine, Herron or Hall. They have totaled 455 yards on the ground the last two weeks running out of the gun, and they have averaged nearly five yards per carry.
2. Pryor is getting better, but he is still a ways off from being a finished product. Terrelle Pryor is getting better every day. He still has a long ways to go as a quarterback, but the staff has to be pleased with some of the things they saw against Indiana. He missed on a couple of slant passes that would have given the Buckeyes first downs, but it wasn’t because he didn’t know where to go with the football. The throws were off, but the decision making was leaps and bounds ahead of last year. He finished with 159 yards and three passing touchdowns, and nearly had a fourth that was picked off late in the fourth quarter. There are still major flaws in Pryor’s game, and Tressel can’t be thrilled with the way he put the ball on the Turf again, but he seemed to be much quicker with his decision making this week.
1. Ohio State’s defensive front can intimidate opposing coaching staffs. Forget the comparisons to defenses past, let’s talk about the reality of this Ohio State defensive line. If we learned anything from this week, it’s that this OSU defensive front is so intimidating that it actually causes opposing coaching staffs to lose sleep. Indiana Head Coach Bill Lynch continued to run the football late in the game Saturday even though his team was averaging less than a yard per carry on the ground simply because he did not want make it open season on quarterback Ben Chappell. They will need to be at their best next week, however, as they welcome Wisconsin’s smash-mouth offense to Columbus. Even if they have to play without Dexter Larimore, who left Saturday’s game with a strained knee, the Buckeyes are deep enough to win the battle up front against any team on their schedule.
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