M-Borg vs. THE Flavortown U Thread, Orig. by Buckeye Paul, absconded w/by talent.

[Hannibal]

FWIW, to use election lingo, Sagarin rankings have OSU and M in a statistical dead heat.

[Optimus Prime]

Gonna take a little poll here...who would mind if I kill Talent?

Well kinda. He's become my college football "Bookie".

Now there is no reason why you can't beat him to the point where he takes all future dumps with the aid of a small chimp, mind you.

[iam416]

Of modest interest, an article on OSU's defense highlighting UFM's active involvement in OSU's defense after IU (it's clear he's driving the bus when it comes to the changes below). It's of interest giving the Borges situation and such.

Those Ohio State fans who went to bed fairly early on Oct. 13, secure in their knowledge that Ohio State had a road win well in hand at Indiana going into the fourth quarter, probably spit coffee across their dining rooms when they got up to read the morning paper.

Thanks to a late Indiana comeback, the final score read 52-49, as the Buckeyes gave up their second-most points in a game in the modern era.
It was hard to tell what was worse – that the performance flew in the face of years of Silver Bullet domination, a tradition worked hard to establish and uphold, or that it came against traditional OSU punching bag Indiana.

“Yeah, that was very bad,” cornerback Bradley Roby admitted afterward. “It was very embarrassing for everybody.”

But this is football, and the answer to any problem if you ask any coach across the country is simple – go back to work.

By and large, that’s what the Buckeyes have done, and the response has been solid. Ohio State gave up 22 points to Purdue – nine of them being ceded by the offense and special teams – and 23 to Penn State, with the last two Nittany Lions touchdowns coming with the team playing prevent defense to protect a multiple-score lead.
There’s still work to be done – a pair of 20-point outings, back to back, isn’t the kind of stuff legends are made of – but it’s fair to say it’s progress after roller-coaster performances vs. Nebraska and Indiana.

“I'd be careful saying the word great,” head coach Urban Meyer said about the defense. “I have great respect for Silver Bullet defense, even when I was far away because I've always watched Ohio State. And I really feel like, fundamentally, I feel much better about where we're at defensively. And I think our coaches have done a really good job taking ten minutes, sometimes 15 minutes a day just working on fundamentals. This time of year that's almost unheard of, but you can see the improvements on the field.”
The reasons for the improvements – which have raised OSU to the top half in the nation in both scoring and total defense – are numerous. When speaking about the team’s issues after the Indiana game, Meyer identified three areas of weakness – a lack of playing to the whistle, allowing teams to extend plays; poor tackling, which has the same effect; and issues leveraging the ball, giving teams free space to turn modest gains into game-breaking scores.

It’s easy to see where the Buckeyes have improved in those areas over the past two games. Both Purdue and Penn State were forced into five three-and-outs – something that was treated as gaining a turnover in past seasons – and the tackling busts have been largely eliminated. Team defense has reigned as the Buckeyes have swarmed to the ball better, especially on screen plays and short passes.

“We're much better tackling and leveraging the ball,” Meyer said. “We blitzed more. We had more pressures. Our defensive staff will give you more numbers. But we played more man coverage and blitzed more than we did all year. So that's telling us something that we need to do more of that.”

Meyer’s quote also pointed to a bit of a schematic change the Buckeyes have made. The team seemed unsure how to deploy its secondary at the start of the year, especially as both Fickell and incoming co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers have backgrounds teaching zone coverages.

But with two strong cornerbacks in Roby and Travis Howard, the Buckeyes started toying with more man coverage as the season has gone on. The results have been pretty positive, as the Buckeyes played their most man coverage of the year on Saturday in combination with disguised blitzes that kept the Nittany Lions’ offensive line off balance and quarterback Matt McGloin on the run.

Meyer said he was behind that decision, which has been given more of a push since the return of safety C.J. Barnett from injury.

“I've been pushing a little bit, and we'll continue to push,” Meyer said. “I think it's having confidence. C.J. Barnett coming back at full speed, and I understand the injury issues. Once again, our two corners can play man. There are three other eligible players that have to be manned up as well, and that is where the issue comes, not with confidence.”

The team’s run defense has been given a boost as well. The Buckeyes gave up 223 rushing yards against Nebraska but that number has decreased in each game since then, as Indiana picked up 129, Purdue 117 and Penn State only 32 with zero carries of 10 or more yards. There are a variety of reasons for that improvement, but some can at least be attributed to the move of fullback Zach Boren to middle linebacker. In that spot, the senior has been very good against the run, filling the right gaps and providing a physical presence while calming things down when they go haywire.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Well kinda. He's become my college football "Bookie".

Now there is no reason why you can't beat him to the point where he takes all future dumps with the aid of a small chimp, mind you.

Consider it done.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Gene Smith has been busy. Scheduled Boston College now. The UNC series has also been flipped. So this is what we're looking at for the next decade:

2013: Florida A&M, @ California, Buffalo
2014: @ Navy, Cincinnati, Kent State, Virginia Tech
2015: Northern Illinois, @ Virginia Tech
2016: Bowling Green, Tulsa, @ Oklahoma, Central Michigan
2017: Oklahoma, @ North Carolina
2018: Cincinnati, @ TCU, North Carolina
2019: TCU
2020: @ Oregon, Boston College
2021: Oregon, @ Boston College
2022: @ Texas
2023: Texas

[iam416]

So, I was watching a show on BTN last night and the panel was blathering about. Finally, it was Chris Martin's turn. Ordinarily I'd flip b/c he's largely an idiot, but I was slow on the draw. Anywho, he says this:

Urban Meyer's hiring is the most important B10 coaching hire in the history of the conference.

I was flabbergasted. I couldn't believe that Chris Martin actually got something right. My suspicion is that he's got a line to OP's private plane down in El Paso where he's chasing Agua Gold, and OP gave him the goods.

[UMStan White]

Chris Martin, the Mark May of the Big Ten Network.

[iam416]

And if the Chris Martin observation, though painfully obvious, wasn't good enough, Jesus, or the next best thing, is now a big Ohio State fan: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.s...l#incart_river

[THE_WIZARD_]

shaddup

[lineygoblue]

Chris Martin needs to take a course on Big Ten Conference history.

[iam416]

Chris Martin needs a new brain. That said, he was astonishingly correct on this one occasion. Blind squirrel, etc. Or, perhaps, more likely, even Chris Martin can figure out universal truths. At least a few of them.

[Hannibal]

So, I was watching a show on BTN last night and the panel was blathering about. Finally, it was Chris Martin's turn. Ordinarily I'd flip b/c he's largely an idiot, but I was slow on the draw. Anywho, he says this:



I was flabbergasted. I couldn't believe that Chris Martin actually got something right. My suspicion is that he's got a line to OP's private plane down in El Paso where he's chasing Agua Gold, and OP gave him the goods.

Did he talk about "self-inflcting wounds"? LOLOLOLOLOL

[Optimus Prime]

It's San Antonio and if Martin ever showed, he'd find by boot in ass!

Miami to San Antonio pony express, G - V, style.



God Bless the Eagle Ford Shale play.

http://eaglefordshale.com/

[Hannibal]

IGod Bless the Eagle Ford Shale play.

http://eaglefordshale.com/

Indeed. America has, in a very short time, become a country that is nearly as oil rich as Saudi Arabia.

[Rocky Bleier]

Bo's hiring at Michigan was bigger. He put Michigan back on the college football map, and began a 40 year run wherein Michigan is the winningest program in college football history. Meyer's run will be shorter, and he is merely perpetuating the cheating ways that were established by that hypocrite in the red sweater vest. The spread offense has been part of the Big Ten for years. Besides his arrogant smirk, what is he really bringing that is new to the conference? Most players on the current roster with a police record?