Just Stop It Before It Starts
We just played the 15th best team in the nation. Hearing the boos at the big house and witnessing how dark the liveblog got at times makes us look like spoiled brats. Our young team made many mistakes that are easily fixed and mainly due to nerves and inexperience. Denard cheered for his teeam when he was hurt/pulled.
Our team got knocked on its ass and got up and hit back. Got knocked on its ass again and got up and hit back again. Thats boys turning into men. That is the making of a dynasty.
We gained 522 yards! Our defense held Iowa to 383 yards. We are making progress. We are 5-2. We are getting better. Think of how much we will improve when our guys are 21 and 22 years old like everyone else they are playing.
Wisconson just scored 12 seconds into the game on OSU. That makes me smile. Now lets not clog up the board multiple late game threads!
October 16th, 2010 at 7:21 PM ^
Along with what the announcer said during the game. Michigan pretty much took themselves out of the game from the 2nd drive on.. Unreal how many 15 yard penalties we had on ourselves today.
All the mistakes are correctable, but our tackling was still pretty poor hopefully it imrpoves from here on out.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:27 PM ^
but how many correctable mistakes are we going to make and how long are we going to make them? I do believe that RR and his staff can make it work, but I have to say this is really painful. I must say though, it was really heartening to see the team fight back this week and cut it down to a one score game, we just have to be better at capitalizing on our opportunities.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^
How many? Probably a lot since we are playing tons of freshman and sophomores. Most teams have the luxury of hiding their Fr/So "correctable mistakes" because they only happen during practice or blow out games when it is not as critical. We do not have that luxury as our Fr/So (walk-ons, yes plural!) are forced to start or be 2nd string playing against people sometimes 5 years older than they are. It is very frustrating to watch sometimes but I'm proud of how they have played and handled themselves during all of this.
We are 5-2 heading into a bye week with one of the best offenses in the nation comprised of mostly Fr/So. I would love to be 7-0 with a great D and a perfect kicker but I like where we are at now.
October 16th, 2010 at 8:12 PM ^
This line of thinking is precisely what we heard after:
--UMASS, "I don't want to hear it, this team is as good as a midline BCS college, Sagarin ranks them 55 in the country-they have several BCS transfer guys." How many people said that? It was wrong
--Indiana: "I don't want to hear it, Indiana has probably the best passing attack in the B10." How many said that? They were wrong, and proved so by OSU. IU barely beat Arkansas St. today
--MSU: "I don't want to hear it. Just a few mistakes and the game would have been totally different." That was wrong too.
Now the people following this line want to stifle the conversation after another game of stupid mistakes, missed tackles, confused play on special teams, and an unusual, to be charitable, offensive scheme today.
We lost worse at home, with a supposedly better team, than we lost in the road to Iowa last year. Same with MSU.
We have a better offensive line. But this team is not getting better. It is not. And the people that sounded the warnings (I was not one of them) after UMASS and Indiana were right.
October 16th, 2010 at 8:20 PM ^
How many people constantly complaining on here predicted an undefeated or even 1 loss season? If you didn't, I really can't see why you would be upset. I actually can because this team tends to shoot itself in the foot but that is to be expected. This is a young and talented team. We have to wait a while for them to get experienced. The two losses they have are to two top 15 teams in the country! We are not even a top 25 team! We lost to two teams who were more efficient then us and that is what made them good teams. We have a bye week now to hopefully work on some things and come back stronger. We can hang with anyone and we've shown that, the final stretch will show us how good we are and until then sit back and enjoy the roller coaster. If I told you at the beginning of the season we'd finish 8-4, you would've been beyond pleased...
October 16th, 2010 at 8:30 PM ^
How many had Iowa as a "win" when previewing Michigan's season. This team was/is going to lose some games this season.
Now people are pissed because Denard may not win the Heisman, We may not be in a BCS game or win the Big 10 and Finish in the Top 25. Who in the hell had that as their reasonable expectation going into the season?
If you did pass me some of that shit so I can have some.
October 16th, 2010 at 10:12 PM ^
How many had us losing today? Very few. So if you picked us to win today, how can you not be mad that we lost. (Same logic).
October 17th, 2010 at 12:37 AM ^
I had us losing...by 10 pts, actually. It's a comment on the Iowa Preview. Congratulations me! I hate it when I'm right. Was really hoping to be wrong on this one.
It's pretty simple, folks. If the offense doesn't play perfect or nearly perfect this year, UM loses. Perfect execution is not a reasonable expectation (the Indianapolis Colts don't score a TD every time), especially for young players which this team has by the boatload. It is also reasonable that this team may not play well against bigger, better and more experienced competition (Iowa) and in intense pressure "rivalry" situations (MSU).
Before the season started, I didn't see more than 6 wins on the schedule. That was with my expectation of Tate taking the majority of snaps at QB and the defense being...well...as bad as they are. I hope I'm wrong again in a positive direction.
In other news, bummer to see Molk (and so many others) go down with injuries. I hope it's not serious for any of them.
October 17th, 2010 at 2:30 AM ^
With each team with a TD less...but the point was, we were in a pretty small minority. And you can't say ...."you thought we'd lose, how can you be mad"...without wondering "you thought we'd win, why aren't you mad?" Either you acknowledge expectations can vary, or you have to let it work both ways.
October 16th, 2010 at 8:34 PM ^
I also hoped to see a leap, particularly in the things that killed us last year--stupid penalties, missed tackles, missed assignments, turnovers, dropped passes and times of abject confusion on the field. Do you honestly believe we have even BEGUN to improve in these areas? I don't.
October 16th, 2010 at 9:38 PM ^
I'm pretty sure RR himself said one of the signs of improvement would be to be in the conversation of a top 25 team by the end of the year. I think we can all agree thats not going to happen. Also, next year I'll predict 0 wins, that way when our team loses for any multitude of reasons (terrible defense, youth, coaching, penalties, turnovers, insert excuse here for anyone in denial, etc.) I can be happy. I can't believe we're claiming moral victories in games we went down 21 in the 4th quarter b/c we outgained a team by giving them amazing field position the whole game.
October 16th, 2010 at 10:17 PM ^
Between a prediction and an expectation. One can say "I expect that we should win 9 or 10 games, but Rich is a shitty coach, so I predict we'll win 7"....and still not be happy with it. Or "our talent is 5 win level, but I expect Rich to coach them up to 8 because he's a genius." That whole meme is tired. Most who had us winning 6 or 7 probably had us losing 1 of the first 5. And those that had us winning 8 probably had it when winning at Penn State was supposed to be hard (it may still be for us), and 8 entailed beating MSU, Iowa, or PSU for one "good" win too. Being right on a prediction is not an acceptance of it's worth. I can say the Lions are going 3-13, and not be thrilled by it.
October 16th, 2010 at 10:35 PM ^
I will be ecstatic if we finish 8-4 but do you really think we'll sweep PSU, Illinois, and Purdue? There is no way we can compete in our last two games. The only remedy for this team is time; time for the underclassmen to physically mature and acquire the football knowledge they need to play at this level.
We can waste a lot of time and space assigning blame but it doesn't accomplish anything. Barring a total collapse, rr will be here next year and probably the year after that as well. Can you imagine opening against Alabama with a new coach and philosophy?
October 16th, 2010 at 8:21 PM ^
I hope you are not right. Your facts are correct. Scoring wise MSU and Iowa were closer last year. Let's see how it plays out. I just see the little things that give me hope. I don't want a regime change. The BIGTEN is strong right now and we are building. I do not think I am pure BS tho. But +1 mgopoints to you sir, for the facts. I was writing this OP with my heart and observations of the teams body language.
October 16th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^
than your specific post. I disagree as I said, but it wasn't personal.
October 16th, 2010 at 8:50 PM ^
I know it wasn't personal, no apologies needed. You hit me between the eyes with the stats, thats what I respect. Ive been reading this blog since the beginning, joined not to long ago and just dont say much, usually.
October 16th, 2010 at 9:20 PM ^
Unfortunately I agree. I cannot be a RR apologist anymore. The team keeps making the same mistakes and he has yet to have a signature win let alone one in the BigTen. We may have racked up the yards but that obviously doesn't constitute points. He's just not a very good coach right now.
October 16th, 2010 at 10:10 PM ^
Than hearing the same excuses every week. It an incredible shifting scale.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:27 PM ^
we have to be patient. we have some great competitors on the offensive side of the ball and i anticipate that the defense will mature and be good enough to get us to 8 wins. i see a huge win over penn state. i also see where we can use both tate and denard. we will see them alternate most likely from here. i was impressed with kenny demens as well he filled gaps when we needed a play. i want to also say right here and now that anyone who calls for rich rods head is outside of their mind. 5-2 is not bad and guess what we can call this year two rather than 3 because year one was a mulligan and a waste of time.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:55 PM ^
Demens was good. Can't wait to see the UFR on him.
Was Obi out of the game after the announcer pointed out how he got totally leveled?
October 16th, 2010 at 8:42 PM ^
...you are a very generous fan.
October 16th, 2010 at 9:40 PM ^
Well, I read this exact post many many times last year. Is this acceptable now? Will it still be acceptable next year? Wait till next year.
October 16th, 2010 at 10:06 PM ^
Capitalization is your friend.
October 16th, 2010 at 10:35 PM ^
VAGINA IS MY FRIEND!! SERIOUSLY THE BUCKEYES ARE NO LONGER NUMBER ONE. I LIVE IN COLUMBUS AND I LOVE IT ALREADY. LONG LIVE COACH ROD!! WE NEED TO GET OVER IT AND BE READY FOR PENN STATE. I HONEST TO GOD THINK WE HAVE ALL TURNED INTO WHAT I SAID I LOVE AT THE TOP.
THANK YOU COME AGAIN!!!
GO BLUE!!! NITTANY LIONS BETTER LACE EM UP TIGHT BECAUSE WE WILL BEAT THEM BY 20.
October 17th, 2010 at 2:26 AM ^
I'll have what he's having.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:32 PM ^
our O would kill us twice in consecutive weeks. Our D played as to be expected. Our O once again killed us...damn
October 16th, 2010 at 7:46 PM ^
Before you post, go read an OSU liveblog and you will be calmed down significantly. Just passing along what is working for me!
October 16th, 2010 at 7:22 PM ^
get much agreement here. Bottom line is it's a loss. Fundamentals looks downright awful at times. There is no excuse for that, it's a coaching issue. Having said that, glad we have a bye week coming up.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:25 PM ^
If people are consistent with preseason predictions of 7 or 8 wins, he will get plenty of support here. Two months ago we would have been thrilled if we were told we'd have five wins and put up 520 yards on Iowa.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:33 PM ^
Would you also tell the us from the past that the 520 yards on Iowa didn't matter?
October 16th, 2010 at 7:36 PM ^
It was supposedly one of the best defenses in the country going into this game. TO's and penalties killed us, not the defense. You can go cry about how much we suck if you want, and I won't stop you, or you can try to look for positive things. We are on pace do do exactly what people hoped for going into the season.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:27 PM ^
Go fu*k yourself. Go back to the beginning of the season and realistically think about whether you thought our your team would beat Iowa. We almost did. Dont get negative on us. We're still having as good a season as most fans expected.
Cheer up.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:30 PM ^
and suddenly believe they thought we were a 10-2 team going into this season.
oh, btw, for those naysayers who claim that RR is nothing - look how a backup qb (albeit a good one) was able to carve up Iowa with the exact same offense Denard has.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:35 PM ^
About tate...
We looked good as an offense with our starting QB out and gained over 500 yards of offense against one of the best d's in the nation. I feel pretty good about our progess.
our d needs some experience, but g-damn our offense is good.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:33 PM ^
Really, I'm impressed. Did we play fundamentally sound ball today? Did we? How is that negative? It's an observation. I think have hope, so go stick your head in a hole.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:44 PM ^
I'll give your a postive point because I was maybe a dick for bringing a "go F#ck yourself" as a header, but my point is solid. No, we didn't play fundementally sound ball. Yes, we stayed close to a top 15 team. Denard and our offense have made us all overly optimistic.
But for now, maybe you're right, I"ll go stick my head in a hole.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:49 PM ^
noted.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:35 PM ^
What game were you watching? Michigan prevented a blow out. They did not almost win.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:58 AM ^
i'll return to the "Go fly a kite*" mantra.
You're wrong. They had some miscues that led to the loss. They didn't just keep it close or prevent a blowout.
**EDIT- this post was just rude and argumentative and I should have been negged for it last night. Changed to PG levels.**
October 16th, 2010 at 7:29 PM ^
Obviously you didnt play football. Our fundamentals are not missing. Muscle, experience, know-how and chutzpah are just being developed. Come back in 2 years when we are a F'ing machine and pretend you always had faith....
October 16th, 2010 at 7:37 PM ^
fuck man our O is supposed to carry us this yr....there goes Denards Heisman...Our O dropped the ball, our D played as well as they can, Denard fucked up, OC fucked up,,etc
October 16th, 2010 at 8:42 PM ^
now put down the drinks and sleep it off.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:52 PM ^
Just playing devil's advocate, and not trying to argue or be a dick, but getting on top of the ball after a blocked FG is about as fundamental as it gets. Teams like Iowa, Wisconsin and MSU always play to the whistle, no matter what. Sometimes we don't...
October 16th, 2010 at 11:43 PM ^
But apparently that's not fundamental either.... we both didn't play football, so we should have no opinion.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^
The discipline of this team is terrible. It is tough to watch the false start penalties, the illegale formations, and the after the whistle penalties. These are not "hustle" penalties, they are a lack of discipline. Hopefully the bye week will clear this up.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:48 PM ^
You're correct. But hey, that's not fundamental according to some people. You must have not played football either. /sarcasm
October 16th, 2010 at 8:02 PM ^
The discipline is fine, but maturity is lacking. Lewan after the whistle - that's enthusiasm and the way he plays. He's the kind of guy you hate on other teams and love on yours. And he'll learn - what is this, his second start?
As for illegal formations (5 men in the backfield), that Top 25 opponent of ours got called for the same thing, with a lineup chock full of Sr and Jr players. I'll take the problems on offense and look to the future if even with all these problems we're getting 500+ yards and scoring 28 points against the best scoring defense in the nation.
October 16th, 2010 at 8:33 PM ^
This team is hard to watch sometimes. Generally I understand the "they're a young team" comments but this is getting ridiculous. Multiple facemask penalties, illegal formation penalties, multiple kickoffs going out of bounds, not covering the blocked field goal. I'm a fan and I wear my maize and blue with pride but right now it's mostly educational pride.
October 16th, 2010 at 7:23 PM ^
are so easily correctable...why do they keep happening? My god have we had a single game without someone taking a stupid facemasking penalty? I have hope for this team but the mistakes make these games hard to watch. Can I get a fast foward button or something...2012 cant get here soon enough