Tag: Ohio State Buckeyes (Page 13 of 22)

      Ohio State smelling roses after win over Iowa

      November 14, 2009 /

      Ohio State edged Iowa 27-24 in overtime to win at least a share of their fifth consecutive Big Ten title and essentially book a trip to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl. It’ll be the Buckeyes first appearance in the Rose Bowl since 1997.

      I’ll be honest, I expected more out of the Buckeyes today, who were 17-point favorites over a depleted Hawkeyes team. I figured OSU’s stingy defense would harass freshman quarterback James Vandenberg, who struggled mightily last week when Ricky Stanzi suffered an injury in Iowa’s loss to Northwestern.

      But give credit to Vandenberg, who was awfully impressive while completing 20 of his 33 pass attempts for 233 yards and two touchdowns. He found Marvin McNutt for a 10-yard touchdown pass with less than three minutes remaining to tie the game at 24-24 and force overtime.

      The problem is that Vandenberg also made a ton of freshman mistakes, which led to three Ohio State interceptions. The Buckeyes actually picked him off a fourth time and returned it for a defensive score midway through the fourth, but OSU was called for offsides and the touchdown came off the board. Vandenberg was also lucky another one of his passes wasn’t intercepted on Iowa’s game-tying touchdown drive, as the ball was deflected into the air around multiple OSU defenders but a Hawkeye receiver caught it for a first down.

      Vandeberg’s counterpart, Terrelle Pryor, wasn’t asked to do much in the passing game. He completed 14 of his 17 pass attempts for only 93 yards and no scores. Jim Tressel played things ultra-conservative and allowed Brandon Saine and the running game to take over. Saine finished with 103 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.

      Iowa was the No. 4 team in the country heading into last weekend’s action, had the inside track to win the Big Ten title and at the very least, had a trip to the Rose Bowl almost locked up. After today, they’ll be lucky to be ranked in the top 15 when the new polls are released on Sunday and will likely head to the WhoCares.com Bowl.

      On the flip side, everyone was ready to write Ohio State off after they lost to Purdue last month and now it looks like they’ll be crowned Big Ten champs again. It’s amazing how quickly things can change in college football from week to week.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football

      LeBron reaches out to Terrelle Pryor

      October 22, 2009 /

      Cleveland Cavs’ star LeBron James has recently started reaching out to Ohio State sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who has come under criticism lately after his poor performance in the Buckeyes’ loss to Purdue last Saturday.

      From ESPN.com:

      “[I’m] trying to mentor him and get him through ‘life in the spotlight,’ which I’ve been through,” James said after a preseason game in Columbus on Wednesday night.

      James said he has been speaking to Pryor on the phone in recent weeks to try to help him deal with celebrity at a young age. James knows something about that, since he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated under the headline “The Chosen One” while he was still in high school in Akron, Ohio.

      “Being that No. 1 guy, how do you adjust to it and how do you get through it and still perform at a high level?” James said. “Sometimes it can be very difficult on [a young athlete]. I’m trying to be that guy who can really help him get through a lot of situations which he’s never seen before but now he’s seeing and understanding.”

      Pryor said the bad game at Purdue had helped open his eyes.

      “That opened me up to the world and opened me up to myself and who I am as a person,” Pryor said. “I think maybe that was the best thing to happen to us last week. Maybe we’ll learn from it. We’re having real good practices, and we’re just trying to get the fans back on our side.”

      Pryor seems to have a good head on his shoulders and generally wants to excel at the collegiate level. Hopefully he doesn’t succumb to the pressure and criticism of the media and tanks the rest of his career because he has plenty of athletic talent.

      This is when Jim Tressel needs to step up and do everything he can throughout the week and on Saturdays to ensure that Pryor succeeds. If that means scaling back the playbook and giving Pryor only 10 plays to master, then so be it. Spreading out the offense and trying to fit a round peg in a square hole won’t work and Pryor will only continue to struggle.

      It’s great that a star like LeBron is willing to help a student athlete out. But he isn’t going to be around Pryor all the time like Tressel is. Maybe Tressel’s future at Ohio State should be tied to how Pryor develops over the next couple years. (If it isn’t already, that is.)

      College Football

      No. 9 Ohio State solid again, beats Wisconsin

      October 10, 2009 /

      Ohio

      Terrelle Pryor and the rest of the Ohio State offense were bound to have a quiet game. Despite their relatively subtle performance, Ohio State’s defense and special teams managed to keep the Buckeyes on the board as they held off the Badgers 31-13.

      After losing to USC in the second game of the season, Ohio State is evolving into a remarkably complete team under coach Jim Tressel. Remember, this is the same program that lost star running back Beanie Wells and their top receivers in the last NFL Draft.

      The Buckeyes held their composure against an undefeated Wisconsin squad, quickly overcoming a 10-7 deficit in the second quarter. Both teams were 2-0 entering today’s overlooked matchup at the Horseshoe. With this win, Ohio now has a great shot at winning the Big Ten.

      Although Badgers quarterback Scott Tolzien passed for 250 yards, he couldn’t find anyone in the end zone and was picked twice. Even worse, those two interceptions were returned by the Buckeyes defense for touchdowns. Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor did connect with DeVier Posey for a 32-yard touchdown, but he only threw for 87 yards total.

      Interestingly enough, Wisconsin put up much better numbers offensively. With 250 yards passing and 118 yards rushing, they should have outlasted Ohio State. In the end, Tolzien’s interceptions cost his team an important victory.

      College Football

      2009 CFB Preview: Ohio State Buckeyes

      August 28, 2009 /

      Check out our other 2009 college football previews.

      Preseason Ranking: No. 6 in AP Top 25; No. 6 in USA Today Poll.

      Key Returning Players: Terrelle Pryor (QB); Daniel “Boom” Herron (RB); Dane Sanzenbacher (WR); Jake Ballard (TE); Michael Brewster (C); Bryant Browning (OT); Jim Cordle (G); Thaddeus Gibson (DE); Cameron Heyward (DE); Doug Worthington (DT); Kurt Coleman (S); Chimdi Chekwa (CB); Anderson Russell (S); Ross Homan (LB).

      Key Losses: Chris Wells (RB); Malcolm Jenkins (CB); Alex Boone (OT); Marcus Freeman (LB); Brian Hartline (WR); James Laurinaitis (LB); Brian Robiskie (WR); Nader Abdallah (DT); Rory Nicol (TE); Ryan Pretorius (K); Steve Rehring (G); A.J. Trapasso (P); Donald Washington (CB).

      Player to Watch: Terrelle Pryor, QB.
      After dazzling Ohio State and Big Ten fans with his dual-threat capabilities last year as a true freshman, Pryor enters his second season looking to become a more complete quarterback. Pryor completed 60.6 percent of his passes last year and amassed 1,311 passing yards with 12 touchdowns. He also rushed 139 times for 631 yards and six touchdowns. With a full season under his belt, the sophomore should have a better understanding of Jim Tressel’s dynamic offense. In fact, Tressel has waxed poetically about Pryor’s development this summer, claiming that his sophomore signal caller is the same athlete he was last year, but 10 times the quarterback. If that’s true, the Big Ten is in massive trouble.

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      College Football

      Top 10 Heisman Hopefuls Version 1.0

      August 20, 2009 /

      Every couple of weeks during the 2009 season, I’ll rank the top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates based on their chances of winning college football’s most prestigious award. Players will either rise or fall in the rankings based on their performances throughout the year.

      Below is Version 1.0. Obviously with no games being played yet, I’m mostly projecting with this top 10. These types of rankings always stir up a lot of debate, so I encourage readers to tell me which players should be rated higher or lower. I’ll update the list after the first week or two of the season.

      Without further ado…

      1. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
      After Sam Bradford edged Tebow out in last season’s Heisman race, some will argue that the Oklahoma QB deserves to be at the top of this ranking. But I’m giving the slight edge to Tebow right now after he absolutely destroyed the competition in the second half of last year. Florida will incorporate the no-huddle into their offense this season, which should only benefit Tebow’s style of play and give him even more scoring opportunities than he already had. Outside of Florida having to replace tackles Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins, there’s little reason to believe that Tebow will take a step back in 2009 and considering the Gators are once again national title contenders, he should be the front-runner to win this year’s Heisman.

      2. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
      After throwing for 4,720 yards and 50 touchdowns last season, I don’t doubt that the reigning Heisman winner could be even better in 2009. But the Sooners’ offensive line is a major question mark entering this season with the losses of Phil Loadholt, Duke Robinson, Jon Cooper and Brandon Walker. That’s a lot of change in one offseason and while OU should light up the scoreboard once again, I could see Bradford taking a backseat to Tebow when the final Heisman results are tallied.

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      College Football

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