OSU vs Marshall - Pryor looked good 17 for 25 for 247 - 529 total yards...wait for Miami
I watched some of this game. The Terrelle who showed up for Oregon in the Rose Bowl was in evidence vs. Marshall. Next week will tell if OSU is championship worthy, but in general they looked pretty good. Moeller, Rolle and Chekwa all played well (I didn't see all of the game but Heyward was not a huge factor??). Any other insights from this game? I missed the best of the first half.
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:58 AM ^
Probably about 260 other insights
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-first-day-college-football-open-thread
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:58 AM ^
They were playing fucking Marshall.
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:09 AM ^
Try: "They were playing Marshall who, bless their hearts, tried really hard."
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:01 AM ^
Hey now, what do you expect from a team coached by Matthew McConaughey?
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:10 AM ^
their assistant coach is Dr. Jack Shepard. He saved the entire island. He should have been able to pull this miracle off.
September 3rd, 2010 at 1:00 AM ^
can't be denied, but he did revert to the shotput throw a couple times.
OSU is just stacked, everywhere. They will toy with a lot of teams. With that said, Marshall looked terrible.
September 3rd, 2010 at 1:28 AM ^
they nearly scored on the drive to begin the second half. They had two plays go for 20+ yards while the OSU LBs were caught sleeping. This shut down as they got to the red zone...where they promptly fumbled. OSU will undoubtedly see quite a bit if that next week vs Miami.
September 3rd, 2010 at 2:01 AM ^
The OSU D has an unbelievable knack for forcing turnovers in its own red zone. We need a bit of that.
September 3rd, 2010 at 1:01 AM ^
I wasn't too impressed in the first half. It was way to early to pass judgement, but I am not impressed at all with Pryors arm, never have been. I know its a pretty biased opinion but I have always laughed at the inaccuracy of his arm. Next week will be a chance for a better assessment I guess.
Go Blue!!
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^
i agree. i watched the first half and wasn't overly impressed. he has improved in keeping his eyes downfield and processing reads quicker. however, he still does not know how to judge the proper pace and zip that should be put on each pass. he's good at throws from 7-13 yards, but still overthrows short balls. and he's also good at throws for which he needs a canon arm, but those are made infrequently. more often, he tried to loop the ball in between the layers of the defense and those passes had too much touch and not enough zip and height. marshall didn't make plays on those passes, but better defenses will.
September 3rd, 2010 at 1:03 AM ^
It was against Marshall. Enough said.
September 3rd, 2010 at 1:18 AM ^
I think they are currently a top 10 team.
But I also think they have the potential to lose 2-3 games (including one to us?) because Pryor does not look ready mentally to lead this team coast to coast.
At some point he will roll into a game against an inferior opponent (like Purdue last year) not ready, and without him they are very beatable.
And I am still not convinced that he can win the big games late, consistently.
I know thats asking a lot, but if they truly are the number 2 team in the country, he will have to have a Vince Young like season.
September 3rd, 2010 at 2:39 AM ^
I'm sorry I must have missed the part where TP was 20-4 as a starter including two Big Ten Titles and a Rose Bowl victory. He doesn't have to be VY for them to be number 2 in the country(especially since VY was a once every 10 years type of college talent who was the most dominant player I've seen in my 19 years on this Earth). I don't like OSU and I don't like Pryor but I can't stand UM fans misrepresenting his career thus far and all in all sounding like butthurt Spartan fans
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:04 AM ^
Ok, but Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl. That doesn't mean that he is bound for the hall of fame. There are a ton of QBs that could win with OSU's running game and defense behind them, so perhaps the record is not telling the whole story. Hell, even Boeckman looked like a quality QB for OSU against everybody not named USC.
Pryor has improved, but this game didn't tell us much at all. He was largely throwing to receivers that were wide open, and their running game was tearing Marshall up. Once again, a lot of QBs could make most of those throws. I am not saying that he is terrible, but I will withhold judgment until he plays someone of consequence.
September 3rd, 2010 at 2:15 PM ^
You don't need to get all worked up over this. It is not logically inconsistent to note that while OSU has won an impressive percentage of games with Pryor starting, he remains an erratic passer and that could come back to haunt them. Football is a team game. The QB alone is not responsible for everything. Last year, Pryor passed for fewer than 100 yards four times; in this day and age that's practically unheard-of. Remarkably, OSU won all four games. Personally, I feel that OSU's defense has been the key to its success and that Pryor has done well to avoid messing up too badly (save for last year's PU game). I do think that if you can force him to carry the team - and get Tressel out of his comfort zone - you have a better chance of winning. We'll see.
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:02 AM ^
If a team has a quality secondary, they have a real chance of beating Ohio State. I saw 3 different passes that would have been picked and countless more broken up by a team with corners and safeties who could run with receivers. They're secondary looked susceptible to outside curl routes and slants in between the linebackers and safeties. And a team with a great o-line (Wisconsin?) should be able to run the ball almost at will at certain points in that d-line.
Just like every other team contending in the country this year, they seem to have a few very glaring flaws.
September 3rd, 2010 at 1:27 AM ^
OSU is great, no doubt. But they were playing Marshall. The Herd have lost 45 games the last 6 seasons. They have been a joke of a program for a while and they were a joke tonight.
Next week against Miami should be more entertaining but I still think the Bucks win big. The Canes haven't been lighting the college football world on fire either the last several years.
September 3rd, 2010 at 1:40 AM ^
Props to Shakoor on the blocked Basil FG attempt though! I hope Miami goes into Columbus and rolls on the Bucks.
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:46 AM ^
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:07 AM ^
They used to be a bottom of the top 25 program. I wonder how much of that was just the Randy Moss/Chad Pennington years and how much was the rise of WV as a top program? They seem to coincide. There's only so much talent that can be lured to West Virginia...
September 3rd, 2010 at 2:09 AM ^
Pryor passed pretty well IMO, but he was denied the run all game long, i'm sure the Vest was holding him up a little bit, but i wasn't really impressed about TP's elusiveness tonight, he was able to shake a couple of tackles but just enough to avoid losing yards, if i recall correctly TP had 16 or so rushing yards
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:32 AM ^
i thought he threw the ball ehhh efficient enough. He did get to sit in the pocket all day and throw which I am not sure helped him because he didnt scramble and didnt get many rushing yards b/c of this. I do think this made him look like a better passer than he is though.
September 3rd, 2010 at 6:53 AM ^
I watched both games an I think Miami will put 45 on OSU with no problem. Harris and the boys looked so much more polished than Pryor did throwing the ball. After watching both games I think Miami is so much farther ahead of OSU and it wont be close.
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:08 AM ^
OSU beats Marshall, it means nothing.
Miami beats FAMU, it means everything.
I watched both games, too, and neither team showed me enough to make a reasonable pick between them. Fortunately, we only have to wait another week to find out who wins.
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:39 AM ^
I am sorry you could not see Pryor's passes to the feet of his recievers. If you watched Harris's passes on target all night. His recievers did not have to be 6 yards open to get his passes. Harris looked like the better Heisman worthy QB tonight. OSU bettter be worried. Maimi's second string looked sharp also. They want to run the score up after the phantom PI call after time ran out in the NC game. This team wants to put 70 up and make OSU look stupid. I could see 45 - 7 Canes.
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:51 AM ^
Well, at least we've got a statement to which we can hold you later. Good luck with that.
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:10 AM ^
So you have a team that went 9-4 last year and lost to a powerful Wisconsin in the bowl game...
...winning by 38 points...
...against a team that went 11-2 last year and beat a powerful Oregon in the bowl game.
This is why I don't put stock in what many Michigan fans say on here.
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:42 AM ^
a little heavy on the hyperbole. miami lost to the cold as much as it lost to wisconsin and oregon wasn't "powerful" by any means. how many pts did they give up the last 3 games of last season?
having said all that, miami's not beating ohio st by 38 pts.
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:46 AM ^
I think it's funny that you criticized my light hyperbole by saying "Miami lost to the cold..."
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:56 AM ^
I agree with you on the point that J's analysis of yesterday's games and next week's match up are totally skewed, but not all of us "Michigan fans" are as crazy as you may think. I'm not sure what team you're a fan of, but I'm going to venture a wild guess after reading your site and noticing your 29000+ points that you are a "Michigan fan". I will no long put stock in anything you say on here.
Its not what you said, but how you said it. Seems like you're just sucking up for 30000 points and a pat on the back from Irish and Not a Blue Fan. No reason to spurn the rest of us "Michigan fans" and our outlandish viewpoints. Go Blue
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:03 AM ^
Yeah, I'm sucking up to the two non-Michigan fans (Not a Blue Fan and Irish) in the hopes of getting to 30,000 points... Maybe they'll up-vote me to 30,000!
Use logic much? If I wanted to suck up to get to 30,000 wouldn't I suck up to the thousands of Michigan fans on here?
Also, I said I don't put stock in what "many Michigan fans" say on here. A few are smart. Many are not. There's a significant difference between what I said and what you wanted to think I said.
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:04 AM ^
Sorry about the double post.
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^
is another attempt to get that 30,000 pts. We've got you pegged Magnus. /s
But in regards to the topic of Harris vs Prior, I thought Harris looked more polished than Prior last night. Prior was able to make the easy throws, but a few times I saw him force some long passes that Posey had to make a nice play on, rather than go to the easy throw underneath to the wide open reciever. Also, when Prior was rushed, he seemed to go into a little bit of panic/ make a play mode, that you don't usually see in a 3rd year starter. I think Tressel saw this, and its why he kept him in the game longer than you would expect. Might have been the first game jitters that just needed to get out. Despite the numbers, I didn't see him playing relaxed like he did in the Rose Bowl. With such a natural talent, he is a killer in games when he stops over thinking his plays. Next week he will get his chance to prove whether he is truly a heisman hopeful. Should be a great game next week.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:46 AM ^
Who's this Prior guy?
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:45 AM ^
This is exactly how I feel. I'm pretty receptive to people saying "Yeah, I'm just not sold on Pryor. He stills makes bad decisions from time to time and those could be really crippling in conference play. He stills reverts to that ugly throwing motion when pressured, and that's a major problem." However, that's a far cry from "LOL TUO$ SUCKS MIMI WILL BET THEM 5,037-3 PRIOR WOULDNT EVAN START HEAR". The former is a reasonable opinion, whereas the latter...well, it is what it is. Why is it so damned hard for people to think rationally about sports? It's fucking Marshall. The only thing that this game tells you is that OSU beat Marshall just as badly as OSU should have beaten Marshall (as opposed to the last few seasons, where OSU has failed to pound tomato cans as expected).
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:18 AM ^
I mean seriously?! You got this out of watching Miami play an FCS team?
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:33 AM ^
is to stop drinking so much on Thursday nights. It's distorting your perception.
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:43 AM ^
I, for one, welcome more threads about our rivals, like Ohio State, and less on crappy middle of the Big Ten programs, especially Michigan State.
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:20 AM ^
I only care about one OSU game.
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:36 AM ^
I'm sure the Oregon and Marshall secondaries are also laughing about the inaccuracy of Pryor's arm. If UM fans around here used the same standard of performance for evaluating Denard Robinson's accuracy as they use for Pryor, MGoBlog would have melted down already with the red-hot castigation of Denard's potential. Oddly enough, he's frequently pronounced to be equal to if not superior to Tate Forcier when it comes to throwing the ball. I'm sure all this has nothing to do with many UM fans being ridiculous homers.
Here's an idea: hold off on the smack talk about Pryor until we actually beat him and OSU. I don't like him any more than anyone else around here, but some of you are no different from the losers on RCMB that you like to make fun of.
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:44 AM ^
considering he's passed for less than 50% lifetime against michigan (14/30) i'd say michigan fans are one of the few fanbases that can talk about TP being an inaccurate passer.
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:26 AM ^
I doubt that osu fans would have any counters to an argument about Pryor's play against Michigan the past two seasons.
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:17 AM ^
The sample is too small. Pryor's stats aren't consistently as good as they were in those two games. As for what little bit I could stomach last night before turning it off, OSU's recievers were so open that Sheridan could have hit them. Pryor is being misused, and it will cost OSU down the road. A legitimate dual-threat QB is being turned into a pocket passer, thus negating one of his strengths. And I think his feet are more of a threat than his arm. Consequently, I see them losing twice this year.
As for the assertion that applying the same standards to Denard would cause a "meltdown," everyone here pretty much HAS applied the same standards to Denard. Nobody here has suggested that Denard's arm will bring him a Heisman, as so many have sugggested about TP. People here, especially last year, lamented Denard's inability to throw the ball well enough to keep the defenses from stuffing the box against him, and there was no "meltdown."
Denard has a coach who is intelligent enough to use Denard in a way that will give his team the best chance to win. TP doesn't.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:43 AM ^
your insane ignorance to reality is refreshing. If Denard threw for 250+ and 3td-0int, this board would literally have 4 or 5 "BETTER THAN PAT WHITE?" threads.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:48 AM ^
No, he's right. Tressel also screwed up by teaching Troy how to throw from the pocket. In fact, JT shouldn't even bother coaching guys at QB, he should just say "go run around out there and score some points". That way, they can use their natural talent more effectively.
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:38 AM ^
Yeah, both OSU and Miami dominated inferior competition with both starting quarterbacks rolling up big numbers. The only real difference was that Tressel kept Pryor in the game into the fourth quarter while Miami sat Harris at the half. The Vest must have been thinking BCS computer models and Heisman campaign. Never too early to manipulate voters.
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:46 AM ^
IMO, Pryor did not look very good. He can put some good air under his passes and let his recievers go get it when they are in single man coverage and is good on rollouts, but other than that I do not think he has made the strides to be a good quarterback yet. If there is anything that will keep OSU from getting to the NC game, it is definitely QB play.
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:55 AM ^
I only watched the first half, but he put up two ducks that should have been intercepted.
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:11 AM ^
I saw Pryor revert to arm punts when he got pressured by Marshall. That's enough for me.
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:30 AM ^
the bar is pretty high over here. Jacory was sharp against 1-AA FAMU but Pryor looked bad against a team that won a bowl game last year. Hilarious. If Pryor was bad last night, I will take bad every game of the year. 3 td's no picks and 250+. Listen, Marshall wasn't great but tOSU ran some pretty vanilla offense and TP executed it well. Two or three bland called runs and a few sacks on balls he should have thrown away. If any of your 3 qbs put up those stats against a bowl winning team you all would be shitting your pants. As was mentioned above, some of you sound like butthurt sparty fans. The OP nailed it, TP looked "pretty good" not "Manning-esque" or "NFL calibur". He looked pretty good.