Semi-OT: Gerdeman Voices Concerns re: OSU
Key quote at the end:
If Ohio State wins out, they're still in a pretty good spot, provided that Michigan shows up in Columbus undefeated, which they will be overwhelmingly favored to do. If Michigan loses a game prior to The Game, then the Buckeyes will need a Penn State loss somewhere along the way in order to get into the Big Ten Championship Game. Penn State's schedule is exceedingly winnable, so you may as well just get used to the fact that you are now a Michigan fan.
However, what would this offense be able to do against Alabama, even in a dome? How would this offensive line hold up? Especially when Nick Saban is given about four bye weeks to study the OSU offense? That's obviously a risk everyone is willing to take, but is the offense even good enough to get there? Are the special teams? Is the defense?
What happens if it's breezy when Nebraska comes to town? What if it is drizzling for the Michigan game? What if it's chilly up in East Lansing? These are all legitimate concerns and Ohio State will have to overcome these obstacles. The future is still theirs, but the present might keep them from it.
October 26th, 2016 at 3:34 AM ^
October 26th, 2016 at 3:58 AM ^
October 26th, 2016 at 4:24 AM ^
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October 26th, 2016 at 6:28 AM ^
See! Mark Richt was right.
October 26th, 2016 at 8:53 AM ^
But what if the couches run out out in East Lansing? They don't grow on trees, ya know.
October 26th, 2016 at 10:53 AM ^
October 26th, 2016 at 4:34 AM ^
...I think there's a possibility Michigan could lose The Game and still make the B1G Championship because OSU drops another game.
Wisconsin's was able to go toe-to-toe with OSU yardage-wise (and then some), and their green roster was exposed via some not-so-special special teams moments. The Buckeyes don't seem to have the focus that M has right now and there's some legitimate concerns on all 3 sides of the ball. Nebraska and Northwestern each have momentum, and I'm personally glad that OSU is playing in College Park rather than M. Definitely could see OSU limping into The Game at 9-2.
Then again. M could drop a game, too, so let's just make it all moot and get that win in The Shoe.
October 26th, 2016 at 4:51 AM ^
October 26th, 2016 at 5:30 AM ^
October 26th, 2016 at 8:56 AM ^
Most QBs would have taken 5-6 sacks in his shoes.
Plus I'm grateful that the OSU WR thought he could score downfield on a header past the goalie.
October 26th, 2016 at 9:48 AM ^
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October 26th, 2016 at 11:39 AM ^
Pretty clear now that the game plan against OSU is take away the run and make JT beat you down field passing. The good news is that our D is perfectly designed to do just that. Front 6 can shut down the run. Our corners can man up allowing extra pressure on passing downs. OSU is unlikely to hit big plays in those situations.
October 26th, 2016 at 9:40 AM ^
If we lose The Game, I could also see Ohio losing in the B1G championship game to a 2 loss team from the West, where by Michigan would potentially carry the B1G banner as a 1 loss team for the playoffs.
October 26th, 2016 at 11:21 AM ^
-1 for even saying "if we lose The Game"
October 26th, 2016 at 4:48 AM ^
Though I'm not sure he is giving credit to Harbaugh and this team when he skips to talking Alabama though. I understand the worry about Saban and four weeks of him studying OSU but I think this is what Brown's defensive prowess was brought in for in the first place. That was months ago and Michigan is just getting practice sessions in at this point.
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October 26th, 2016 at 5:05 AM ^
October 26th, 2016 at 9:12 AM ^
No one cares what you think. Thanks for sharing. Jokes aside, I share some of you concerns with our offense, but I think OSU's offense and defense both have exploitable deficiencies. I've watched their last three games and they are not as good as you think: (i) no real deep threat or consistent WR play; (ii) significant pressure given up by their O-line when only four are rushing, let alone on blitzes; (iii) struggles with stopping rushes up the middle; and (iv) lack of variation with their offensive play calling. Outside of Curtis Samuel, their run game doesn't really inspire fear. Go back and watch their last three games.
Edit: looks like I replied to someone on the Android app who's shadowbanned.
October 26th, 2016 at 9:25 AM ^
danwillhor is banned from the full site. I was wondering who the hell you were responding to so I went to the app.
He's got a point about osu's penchant for turning their offensive miscues into damn TDs. Never seen a team with so much effing luck when they actually screw up the play they ran.
As far as our D, we've now seen 3 teams keep their O mostly in check. IU, UW and pedosu. I'm fairly certain Brown and the gang can take that and make it even better. Our O, on the other hand is what concerns me.
October 26th, 2016 at 4:53 PM ^
October 26th, 2016 at 5:47 AM ^
sometimes on the farm it is a temptation to count our chickens before they have hatched, but it's not good to do so.
win on saturday. don't stumble v. m-land, in iowa, v. IU, then get to the game. if we think sparty will give us their best, then you have to know that ohio will be insanely fired up, and that is a team loaded with 4-5 stars. by that point their whole team will have a season plus under their belt. really like our chances, but pump those brakes.
October 26th, 2016 at 6:08 AM ^
October 26th, 2016 at 7:18 AM ^
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October 26th, 2016 at 10:21 AM ^
On the other hand, it's a good thing that all the remaining games are against teams that are decent enough, or at least well-enough coached (in the case of MSU), to be meaningful games. I mean, Michigan is rightly favored in all of them, but none of them are trap games. There will be no loss of focus.
However, after running this gauntlet there will be a sense of relief going into the B1G championship game -- that game is the reamaining trap for this team. Survive that, and barring injuries I like this defense against anybody.
October 26th, 2016 at 6:41 AM ^
We have the pleasure, as fans, to postulate and predict as much as we want. Keep that talk out of the locker room and M will be fine.
October 26th, 2016 at 8:16 AM ^
When I was in high school my team was heavily favored to go to state title. Our friends were saying it, the community newspaper was saying it. Our coach did a hell of a job preparing us each week but we ended up losing to a "cupcake" team two weeks away from end of regular season. So. I think at some level the feelings and postulations of the fan base can and does make it into the locker room. It's just a good thing we have harbaugh there to block against it.
"Playoffs!? You're talking playoffs!?"
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October 26th, 2016 at 7:44 AM ^
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October 26th, 2016 at 9:53 AM ^
if i was playing or coaching on this team it'd be way, way more 'focused' on one game. my comment was directed toward the realistic expectations of average fans, like me, and in direct response to the OP's article about ohio's outlook and expectations.
October 26th, 2016 at 11:02 AM ^
...we understand that any game (especially a confernce road game or rivalry game) can jump up and bite you at any time. Look at NC St. @ Clemson or OSU @ PSU or so many games from past seasons. I'll be waking up at midnight to watch the Staee game and be as nervous and anxioius as any game........but can still talk potential/theoretical situations. That's the beauty of the sport.
That said. Jabril, Wilton, Jourdain, Mr. Butt....if you're reading this and Coach hasn't drilled this into your heads from Day 1, Saturday is your championship. Beat State.
October 26th, 2016 at 6:39 AM ^
OSU controls their own fate. If they win out, they beat MIchigan. If they beat Michigan, it becomes a 3 way tie, and the 1st tie breaker is overall record which eliminates Penn St, and then the head to head comes in, which they would have over Michigan. Doesn't matter, because we will win in C-bus.
October 26th, 2016 at 6:51 AM ^
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October 26th, 2016 at 1:44 PM ^
Playoffs?! Don't talk about playoffs! Are you kidding me? He's just hoping Ohio can win a game, another game!
October 26th, 2016 at 7:19 AM ^
They need UM to go into The Game undefeated, or they would lose the head to head against Penn State. Only Michigan controls their own fate.
The non-conference record only comes into play if there is a 3-way tie.
October 26th, 2016 at 8:19 AM ^
The following procedure will determine the representative from each division in the event of a tie:
(b) If three or more teams are tied, steps 1 through 7 will be followed until a determination is made. If only two teams remain tied after any step, the winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative.
If one or both of the Big Ten division champions is ineligible to play in the Big Ten Championship Game, then the participant(s) in the Big Ten Championship Game shall be determined by the following procedure:
If the championship game cannot be played (due to any reason beyond the control of the Big Ten Conference), the two division champions (using divisional tie-breakers as set forth above) shall be declared co-champions and the following procedure will be used to determine the Big Ten Conference representative to the College Football Playoff:
October 26th, 2016 at 8:32 AM ^
Everything I said was completely factual even if you can't see the forest because of the trees.
October 26th, 2016 at 12:37 PM ^
When talking about records compared to each other. It means what was Michigan's record against Penn St. and OSU. What was Ohio State's record against M and PSU? What was PSU record against OSU and UM? It doesn't get down until 6 when PSU would drop out, which is comparing overall win percentage.
October 26th, 2016 at 9:01 AM ^
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October 26th, 2016 at 8:04 AM ^
If psu wins out, osu wins out, Michigan wins all the games except for the last one, it creates at 3 way conference tie in which case it would be determined by AP Poll (I believe) so it would either be osu or M, Michigan could still backdoor their way into the big ten championship in this scenario if the game came down to a last second kick or something.
This scenario doesn't even matter anyway cause..... WE GONNA WIN!
October 26th, 2016 at 8:22 AM ^
Penn State wins out, Ohio State and Michigan win remaining games with the Buckeyes knocking off the Wolverines in the final game of the regular season.
Under this scenario, steps 1–4 would all result in ties, leading to step 5, which would remove Penn State (thanks, Pitt!). The Buckeyes would then get the nod because of the head-to-head win over the Wolverines.
Penn State drops another game, while Ohio State and Michigan win their remaining games up until they meet, with the Buckeyes winning “The Game” in Ohio Stadium.
A month ago, the prospect of Penn State winning its five remaining games was laughable. Now, not so much. Michigan State is a tire fire, Iowa is back to being Iowa and the other three opponents are Indiana, Purdue and Rutgers. Still, it's far from guaranteed that Penn State will win out and should they drop a game, they'd fall out of a hypothetical three-way tie with Ohio State and Michigan in this scenario.
The Buckeyes would then take the tie-breaker due to head-to-head record with the Wolverines.
Michigan loses multiple games, including the finale to Ohio State, while Penn State wins out.
This is bad news for Ohio State fans as Penn State would have the head-to-head tie-breaker.
Ohio State loses a single game the rest of the way.
If Ohio State loses another regular season game, you can likely kiss a Big Ten championship good bye. If the loss is at the hands of Michigan, you can definitely say adios.
October 26th, 2016 at 5:49 PM ^
This is all correct except for the description of Michigan State as "tire fire." It is clearly a dumpster fire. that is all.
October 26th, 2016 at 6:54 AM ^
October 26th, 2016 at 7:10 AM ^
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October 26th, 2016 at 10:34 AM ^
They aren't going to lose back-to-back games. Not in Columbus.
October 26th, 2016 at 12:41 PM ^
Desmond is that you? Lol I kid but he said the same thing this week as well.
October 26th, 2016 at 6:16 PM ^
...it's not obvious who they'd lose to. Nebraska, maybe--but that's also an underwhelming team.
October 26th, 2016 at 7:04 AM ^
Control the ball, play solid defense, and win the field position battle with fantastic special teams. That's how Tresselball works, and it would have worked again for Ohio State if the special teams had not lost this game in every way possible.
Going over their game in my mind again, the extremely conservative playcalling does stand out, and he is right in that it was definitely a nod to Tresselball in a lot of ways. It was not a typical Meyer game on offense at all and that was actually kind of shocking in a way.
October 26th, 2016 at 7:20 AM ^
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October 26th, 2016 at 7:48 AM ^
October 26th, 2016 at 7:32 AM ^
article about osu OT in any way, shape or form? C'mon people.
I'm wondering which team we'll face as the #2 in the CFB. Clemson? Washington? L'ville? A&M?
October 26th, 2016 at 7:45 AM ^
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October 26th, 2016 at 8:22 AM ^
slept since I read the title, so....