OSU v. Marshall Quick Game Thoughts: 4 Downs

The Marshall win was a satisfying, thorough performance.  It was a game where OSU performed where I thought they should be, given what I saw of the team this spring and fall, and demonstrates that this is Jim Tressel's most complete Ohio State team.  I will have my usual extensive review later, but here are my initial '4 downs' of thoughts regarding the Marshall win.

1.  I was pleased to see that the 'offense' Ohio State practiced throughout the spring and fall was the same offense they utilized last night.  In the passing game, OSU continued to combine a ball-control, horizontal stretching , and  a play-action and half roll vertical passing scheme.  A couple of examples will suffice.  The first TD pass to Posey was a weakside hitch in a 'spacing' concept.

With spacing you have four receivers stretching the underneath defenders along the same horizontal plane.  As with so many of Ohio State's drop-back concepts now, they are looking to horizontally stretch the underneath defenders. 

More after the Jump:

The play-action passing game, meanwhile, featured, a deeper, more vertical attack.  The TD pass to Sanzenbacher was a perfect example of this.  OSU ran the "NCAA pass" off a half roll on a lead zone fake:

Ohio State effectively demonstrated that their passing game will be built around a ball-controlled, horizontal drop back game, and more vertical play action game--a very effective formula. 

2.  The OSU run game, meanwhile, remained a mix of 'Dave,' 'Sprint Draw,' and 'Zone.'   Indeed, Brandon Saine's first long run was on lead zone, and then his untouched TD run was Dave.  (For those critical of the Dave play, that run demonstrates the big play potential Dave has if you get through the initial level).  I was very impressed with the offensive line as a group--it was a dominating performance in both the run and passing game.  Personnel-wise, one interesting wrinkle I saw was a very "heavy" unit for short yardage--OSU brought in Miller and Connor Smith along with 2 TE's for a 8-man line look.  OSU was extremely effective in 3d and 4th short yardage, converting every time (usually by running 'Dave').

3.  My thoughts on Terrelle Pryor will largely echo others.  He very much seemed in control as he has this spring and fall, and it was good to see that transfer over to a game.  I was impressed not only with his decision-making in the passing game, but also in terms of when to pass v. run.  He did not force it one way or another, but simply tucked and ran when it was the appropriate time to do so, and hung and the pocket and went through his progressions when that was the right play.  If I was really nit-picking there were a few occasions where he unnecessarily locked onto Posey, but this was minor and he rarely ever forced things.  Instead, he directed the run-pass offense I described above very much like the man in charge, and will be a forced to be reckoned with. 

4.  Defensively, it was another solid performance.  I thought at times that the large number of injuries the unit suffered this fall took its toll in terms of everyone being on the same page--the first team has not had a lot of opportunities to play together.  I also think that pursuit angles were sometimes poor and can be cleaned up.  But again, this is nit-picking.  I have heard some rumblings regarding the defensive line's lack of pass rush, but the D-Line cannot be blamed for failing to get a pass rush against a team that exclusively employed a quick passing game and WR screens.  Getting Nathan WIlliams back will be very helpful, not only because of the talent he brings, but also because it makes the defensive line rotation much more 'comfortable.'  Last night, Simon had to rotate over to play as the No. 2 Leo, making him play out of position and stretching the line thin.  Williams' return will make a large difference.

As a bonus, I want to say that it was great to see Tyler Moeller back to his old self.  Any tentativeness was nowhere to be found, as he was all over the field making tackles.  Not only is that great to see for him personally, but also is crucial for OSU's defense this year, as they will play more nickel and 3-4 this year than they will in base defense.  As noted, I will have my thorough game review early next week.