Ohio State-Wisconsin Post-Mortem

Ross filled in for me last weekend with the game recap, as I was attending a wedding reception at the time of the game (as an aside, can anyone guess the last time I attended a wedding? October 11th, 2003. Ohio State traveled to Camp Randall and was upset by the Badgers. So, yea, no more weddings for me.) Since Saturday, I've watched the game in its entirety and rewatched multiple portions to see what went wrong, and I've decided to commandeer the weekly animated drive chart with some observations and thoughts, divided by positions and units.

Terrelle Pryor

On my first time through the game I was ready to write off Pryor's performance as horrible, but after rewatching segments and looking at the stat line (14/28, 156 yards, 1 interception, 56 yards rushing), I came to the conclusion that he was not good, but he was not terrible, either. Possible Heisman candidates do not disappear in big games like this one, which Pryor undeniably did; and yet, his performance in the second half clawed Ohio State to within a field goal with 11 minutes left in the game. In fact, at one point in the second half, Pryor had completed seven consecutive passes over two touchdown drives, with multiple scrambles for positive yards mixed in between.

Being behind the eight ball immediately took Pryor out of the game in the first half, as far as passing the ball is concerned. And as expected, Wisconsin completely abandoned their previous strategy of aggressive safety play from a "1-high" shell. Wisconsin is the first team this season that consistently stayed back in variations of zone coverage without putting the focus on preventing Pryor from running the ball, and it worked to a great degree.

The broad conclusion that we can take from this game is that Terrelle Pryor is not as polished of a player as he has appeared against lesser competition, and he struggles to pass against teams that scheme against the Ohio State passing game. He is not a rhythm passer; and when he's asked to pass accurately and run the ball heavily on the same drive, he struggles with that transition. Quite simply, he's not at the point where the coaches can assume he'll  perform in the passing game. It's something that they will have to set up through play-calling and manipulation of defensive coverages.

Rest of the Offense

Evaluating the offensive line is very tricky because of the situational struggle they were put in. Falling behind 21-0 signals sharks to the boat like spilled blood. Wisconsin's defensive line teed off on the Buckeyes pass protection on obvious passing downs, and Terrelle Pryor's mobility was the only thing that prevented the Bucks from having five + sacks on the day.

J.B. Shugarts was not good enough, period. He flat out whiffed on J.J. Watt on multiple occasions; it's one thing to get beat, but it's another to get embarrassed and not even put up a fight. Shugarts was embarrassed by Watt multiple times on Saturday. Ohio State actually had to put backup tight end Reid Fragel in as an aid to Shugarts in blocking Watt, and yet Watt still affected the quarterback frequently.

Mike Adams was not great, but he did not struggle as much as Shugarts. In the run game, Adams actually had a number of key blocks, including a beautiful one on Boom Herron's direct snap touchdown run. He was not good enough in pass protection, but he gave the passing game a chance, at least.

The interior of the line came to play, which is more than can be said for much of the rest of the team. Boren, Brewster, and Browning were physical in the running game, and anchored well against Wisconsin's defensive tackles in pass protection. It's a shame that the tackles could not have played as well as the interior, or we'd be discussing the offensive line's virtues right now.

Dane Sanzebacher and Boom Herron deserve credit, as well. They battled on every snap, and they were the only skill position players who deserve any recognition. The rest did not make a positive impact, and the need for a true third receiver was cemented today. Someone needs to step up.

Defense

Horrible. A complete failure to mentally prepare for the test that Wisconsin provides. Brian Rolle said that they knew exactly what Wisconsin was going to do, and they did it. The beauty of the Wisconsin offense is in its dedication. They will not try to trick you, but if you do not step up and meet the physical and mental challenge, they will crush you. It was 21-0 before Ohio State's defense realized that this wasn't last season, and they weren't going to steamroll the Badgers just by showing up.

Ross Homan's injury was killer. His replacement, true sophomore Jonathon Newsome, screwed up so many times, and in a game where the linebackers are asked to make most of the plays against a Badger power rushing attack, Ohio State could not afford a player who misreads keys and gets lost in pursuit.

The lack of depth along the defensive line was exposed against Wisconsin's veteran, physical offensive line. The loss of Doug Worthington, Todd Denlinger, and Thaddeus Gibson became more evident with every snap. True freshman Jonathan Hankins was welcomed into Big Ten football by Wisconsin's guards. Right now is the time for Adam Bellamy, Garrett Goebel, Solomon Thomas, and others to step up. Ohio State will be playing an equally physical Iowa Hawkeye team soon, and they will need to meet the challenge along the defensive line.

The corners played poorly, especially in run support. John Clay and James White regularly turned four yards gains into first downs after the corners whiffed on them. It's understandable that a 190 pound defensive back cannot bring down the bulldozer that is John Clay, but the corner must engage him and stop his progress, at least. This breakdown of basic tackling skills compounded the issues of the front seven.

Special Teams

Good coverage on punts and kicks is like oxygen: When you have it, you never think about it. When you don't, it's all you can think about. Drew Basil needs to get his act together. He may be a freshman kicker, but his job is specific and simple- just kick the ball as far and high as you can a couple of times a game. That's it. He is not the punter or field goal specialist. His job is to handle kickoffs, and he's screwing it up. If he doesn't have the leg to reach the endzone, fine. But he cannot keep hitting short, direct kicks without more of these returns taking place.

Overview

This was an odd game in that it was a failure of every unit involved. No one unit was to blame entirely, but no one unit was good, either. The special teams absolutely set the wrong tone for the entire night, and it's hard to say how much actual damage they did to Ohio State's chances of victory. One thing's for certain, though: it was a hell of a lot more than seven points that were given up when David Gilreath bounded 97 yards into the endzone. Any psychological advantage Ohio State held over a Wisconsin team that had never beaten them was gone in twelve seconds. The Wisconsin crowd immediately entered the game vocally, and Ohio State did not lead once the entire night after that.

And, again, this was an Ohio State team that did not show up to play until they were down three scores in a blink of an eye. Whatever it was, complacency, arrogance, hubris, whatever, it kept the Buckeyes from preparing like they should have for a tough Badger team. Maybe it was because they had beaten them three straight seasons, or maybe it was because of the hype over being the new number one. I don't know. But it was clear from the opening kickoff that this team did not show up to play a Big Ten football game. And that's a failure on everyone's part, from the coaching staff to the players on down.