Tressel, Pryor, and today's Ohio State game
I didn't get to watch today's Ohio State game (or today's Michigan game, for that matter), but I was going through the game summaries, and I saw that Terelle Pryor had six touchdowns. Since Ohio State ended up winning by 53 points, it didn't seem right to me, so I looked at the play by play. Pryor racked up all those yards and touchdowns because he was in the game until almost the fourth quarter! Ohio State had a drive start with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and were up 45-20. It's only 25 points, but c'mon, it's Eastern. I think this was a surprisingly unsportsmanlike move by Tressel, who seems to be a pretty stand up guy normally. On that drive, they scored a touchdown on what must have been some sort of trick play, because it was a pass from Jordan Hall to Pryor. He came out of the game after that, up 52-20.
I tried to think of reasons Tressel would run up the score in such a way. I first thought that was Woody coaching again, and he threw EMU in with M because they're close. He didn't, however, go for 2. On a more serious note, maybe he saw Pryor falling behind Denard in stats and acclaim, so he wanted to give him a big day so people would start talking about him again? I don't know, but running up the score on a bad MAC team doesn't really sit right with me. I would be disappointed if Rodriguez did something similar.
Last week, Rodriguez said he would have taken Denard out if we had the ball with an 18 point lead in the second half, but UMass kept scoring (thanks defense) so he left him in. Today, there were like 2 passes in the 4th quarter--almost all runs by Cox, Fitz and Gardner. Rodriguez wasn't trying to score 73 points like Oregon or OSU.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:22 PM ^
Sorry for such a long post. It didn't seem like that much as I was writing it. What are your thoughts?
One last point: maybe if Mack Brown had gotten Garrett Gilbert more snaps during the season last year, he might have been more ready and less scared during the NCG. Just sayin'
September 25th, 2010 at 9:45 PM ^
Leads me to believe that it was intended as stat-padding and heisman-hype.
Before we blame this all on Tressel - could he be doing this to placate his primadonna QB? One who may be pouting because a certain someone up North is hogging all of HIS attention? That play - given the score - was purely kissing TP's ass. (BTW It worked because it made all the highlight packages.)
I hope RR would not ever do something like that. Denard certainly doesn't seem to have the ego that would demand it anyway.
September 25th, 2010 at 10:43 PM ^
Pryor's just trying to prove that he can play at the next level....
September 25th, 2010 at 8:25 PM ^
Trying to pad Pryor's stats while playing a total cupcake.
September 25th, 2010 at 9:42 PM ^
insiders will tell you the same. Don't let the sweatervest and Jesus pimping fool you.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^
It's not the first nor will it be the last time this sort of thing happens. Tressell used to do the same thing with Troy Smith. The game would be well in hand and Smith would still be in racking up stats. It's what Meyer did with Tebow, it's what Stoops used to do with Jason White, Carroll did it with Matt Leinert too. The sad truth is Heisman races come down to end of the year stats and rarely do voters look at where those stats come from.
I'm sure more than a few Heisman campaigns have come to a screeching halt because of an injury to a player at a point in the game where he had no business playing. It's the risk these coaches run. If Tressell wants to keep Pryor in, I say let him. If it comes back to bite him in the butt, he has no one to blame but himself. On the flip side though if Pryor wins a Heisman it may be in large part due to Tressell's willingness to roll the dice and keep him in a game that is otherwise over.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:32 PM ^
That trick play was such a dirt ball move. You use trick plays in big games like the ND-State with the game on the line, not to run up the score on the worst team in Division 1 football. It was like Tressel was purposly tacking on stats for Pryor.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:31 PM ^
I have been bouncing this off of some of my boys, but would it be that retarded to keep Denard in there all day and do our best to take home the running man? I mean it sure would do wonders for recruiting and I think we all can agree that we probably aren't winning the NC this season... I'm not saying it would be noble, but god dammit go fucking blue and it sure would be fucking sweet.
/drinking many Keith Stones so easy on me here
//seriously though I don't think it's a bad idea
September 25th, 2010 at 9:14 PM ^
no no no. The day we sink to that level will be a sad day for Michigan. I have absolutely nothing against going for the Heisman but not at the expense of some poor overmatched MAC team the way ohio state did today.
Frankly I was impressed with RR when he kept Denard out at 21-14 (although it helps when you have a couple of solid backups). I'm sure the thought crossed his mind.
Nevertheless $1 says Michigan State fans accuse us of running up the score too.
September 26th, 2010 at 2:02 AM ^
Keith Stone...you must be a smooth man. Seagram's 7 and coke here.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:32 PM ^
Does Pryor's hair know what year it is?
September 25th, 2010 at 8:52 PM ^
Yes. 1988.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:34 PM ^
Having a player win the Heisman is probably good for recruiting. Not that they need many more advantages as they're already cleaning up, but it may be a small factor.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:34 PM ^
JIm Bob Tressel is a first class DOUCHEBAG coach, I hope we kick their ass down in the Toilet Bowl come November! GO BLUE!
September 25th, 2010 at 9:07 PM ^
Really with the neg bang? guess you don't share my passion for Michigan football..hmm who knew..
September 25th, 2010 at 8:36 PM ^
Really? Didn't we just go for it on 4th and three from the seven yard line with less than four minutes left in the game, leading 58-21? Let's leave the self-righteousness on the shelf and enjoy our team's performance.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:38 PM ^
we weren't playing our first team offense, and a lot of coaches would actually prefer see it as worse to put 3 more points on the board, rather than giving the defense a chance to get a stop.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:40 PM ^
It's not like they don't need the practice.
September 25th, 2010 at 9:02 PM ^
I agree that it's better to go for it and give BGSU a chance to get the ball back and to stop us from scoring. However, we did call a bootleg (with a huge QB) and it looked like DG was going to pass it. That's designed to be a home run hitter inside the five.
September 25th, 2010 at 10:57 PM ^
That same huge QB had never attempted a collegiate pass before today. Heaven forbid he actually get to, you know, play.
September 26th, 2010 at 4:07 PM ^
It would only be self-righteous if Denard were still in the game and already had like 4 or 5 TD's. It was Gardner and he had not yet scored a rushing TD in his collegiate career. Plus our kicking game blows. Devin needs the experience.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:59 PM ^
Michigan did it with 2nd and 3rd string guys to get game experience. I thought it was justified
September 25th, 2010 at 9:07 PM ^
Going for it (with backups) is the normal thing to do there. You give the opposing D a chance to keep you off the scoreboard. Kicking the field goal is the bigger asshole move. (And leaving your starting QB in a game you're winning by 50 is the biggest asshole move.)
September 25th, 2010 at 8:36 PM ^
Its ok with me. Tressel can coach his team however he wants to. He hasn't recruited or developed a backup in the event that Pryor goes down. One would think that EMU would be a good chance to get at least a half of film on the future of your program.
As far as the Heisman debate between Pryor and Denard goes, assuming they both stay healthy and avoid any Mallet-esque performances, that battle will be settled when Michigan plays OSU.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:36 PM ^
Tressel is going to purposely run the score up on a team that hasn't won a game in two years?
The first thought I have (w/o looking at the OSU depth chart) is that they might not have anyone behind Pryor. I don't follow their recruiting, but we probably would have known about their backup QB's if they were notable.
Secondly, perhaps Tressel thinks that Pryor needs some extra work before heading into the Big Ten schedule.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:48 PM ^
September 25th, 2010 at 9:02 PM ^
but looking at their roster, they have three freshman and one junior (former walk-on) behind Pryor. Assuming at least one of the freshman is redshirting, they have the equivalent of Sheridammit backing up Pryor. Maybe they could have just tried pounding the ball with the running back.
Not saying it was the right thing to do, but I can also see why Tressel would have done that (even without the heisman factor).
September 25th, 2010 at 9:12 PM ^
They need someone to come in in case of injury to Pryor. How is that player going to get game-ready if he never plays?
You're trying too hard to rationalize this. Tressel wanted to pad his Heisman candidate QB's stats. Lots of coaches do that. It's not that big of a deal. I think it's more short-sighted than anything.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:38 PM ^
I thought it was a weird game too because EMU is maybe the worst team in D-1A and it did seem like Pryor was in there for more time than was necessary. I'm not sure it was a classiness issue by Tressel, since that doesn't appear to be his style. Maybe he wanted to give Pryor more reps because of the Big 10 season starting next week, or just wanted to be sure that the game was firmly in the bag given some of the scares recently. Anyway, it's OSU, and right now all I care about is UM and IU next week.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:39 PM ^
The backup Bauserman came in during the second quarter for one if not two offensive possessions and at least once in the 4th quarter. Guiton and Siems (who?) came in during the 4th as well. This game seemed to take forever while watching, I can't imagine what it felt like for Eastern. I think the score was 65-20 and there was still more than 8 minutes to go in the game. I won't say this wasn't a stat padding game because it obviously was but typically with games like this, a week before Big Ten play, Tressel works on a lot of different things knowing the game should be in hand by the end of the first half. A lot of what you saw today was practice for upcoming Big Ten schedule.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:40 PM ^
We put 65 on BGSU today and never let up. I feel the last run by Gardner was unnecessary, but I understand the thinking behind it.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:40 PM ^
What goes around, comes around........eventually.
September 25th, 2010 at 10:12 PM ^
Maybe that's exactly what Tressel was thinking when he dropped 73 on Ron English.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:40 PM ^
Or The Vest really really wants to help The Killer who drives a Sonata win the heisman.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:42 PM ^
They were scoring with the 3rd team offense in the game.
September 25th, 2010 at 11:49 PM ^
And that third team offense pulled the trick play when the game was in hand, right?
They didn't? Shocking.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:41 PM ^
Also, OSU has not played a road game yet this year, and with them going to Champaign next week he might have wanted to stretch out the offense a bit more than usual.
September 25th, 2010 at 8:50 PM ^
Dude wears a sweater-vest. Nuff said.
September 25th, 2010 at 9:15 PM ^
we are up 35-0 on ohio st and RR keeps denard in as WR and Tate or Devin throw a 99yd TD to him. Fuck yeah!
September 25th, 2010 at 9:35 PM ^
Take TP out and play who? Bauserman? Does OSU really even have a backup QB (Sarcasm)? I think this is the problem for OSU. You can't take out your players if it means that you can't run out the clock. I'm sure if Tressel thought he could kill the clock with Bauserman then he would have rather than risk injury. Coaches are in general pretty conservative and Tressel is way more conservative than most. But, I think he has no other options since he hasn't recruited a Qb since TP IIRC.
September 25th, 2010 at 10:21 PM ^
All the more reason to take Pryor out. If TP is injured, OSU is royally screwed. Take him out, run Bauserman or your punter at QB if you have to. If things get close, put TP back in. That's just what I'd do, but I can see how a coach would want to help out his star in getting the stats necessary for the Heisman. Can't completely fault him for that.
September 26th, 2010 at 8:53 AM ^
I agree with you that Tressel should have taken him out, but I personally see this as a sign that Tressel realizes how weak his offense is without TP. Or he's just an a-hole, and I agree with that too.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:34 AM ^
Actually, OSU has Kenny Guiton at QB. Guiton played pretty well in OSU's spring game and is perfectly capable of pulling the car into the garage for OSU with a 30+ point lead against one of the 5 worst teams in the FBS.
This was a dick move by St. Tress. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Dick move.
September 25th, 2010 at 9:52 PM ^
I can't stand that sweater vest wearing bitch, he pisses me off. If he kept pryor in to get stats is just low. EMU is awful so 5 or so td's for Pryors is literally nothing cause there awful. If U of M played EMU and denard was in there for 3 quarters. He would have well over 500 yards, big TD runs, and numerous td's.
September 25th, 2010 at 10:39 PM ^
someone is swigging the haterade hardcore right now. TP played 2 quarters and 2 drives, the receiving td never would have hapened if our defense didnt give up a td on EMU's ensuing possesion. TP led the offense to a TD on the first possesion of the 2nd half, which put us up 45-14 and ended Pryor's day, however, EMU came right back with a TD, so Jim put Pryor back out there for one more drive, to end any (albeit slim) hope EMU had. i don't see how that is "padding his heisman stats", he ran the offense. acting like TP isn't good because you hate him is no better than Buckeye fans acting the same way towards Denard. you look like an idiot.
September 25th, 2010 at 11:56 PM ^
you look like an idiot.
Sort of like putting in your starting QB when it's 45-21 for a trick play against a team you're running and passing all over? Right.
Or I guess I could have called you on not capitalizing a single part of any of your sentences, but hey, I suppose none of us should expect much.
September 26th, 2010 at 2:12 AM ^
Capitalization police! lookout!
September 26th, 2010 at 3:30 AM ^
What's that? I couldn't hear you over your raging incompetence.
Responding to a post with proper capitalization, pos-ing yourself, and then not defending your initial dip-shittery is exactly what I'd expect. Keep it up.