Football
By the Numbers
By Jeff AmeyThe Buckeyes took a week off from conference play with a game against New Mexico State this past Saturday. The result was a 45-0 pasting that could have been much worse. Despite a slow start, the Buckeyes put up 559 yards of offense and scored all 45 of their points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
There are very few times you're ever going to see me dismiss a win as "just (insert team name here)", but this is one of those times. This is one of those games with very little to gain and a lot to lose, and the Buckeyes experienced one very big loss with what looked like a serious injury to kicker Aaron Pettrey. There was also very little you're going to learn about your team, and the few things we did learn weren't great.
Run/Pass Breakdown
82 Total Plays--559 yards--6.8 ypp
33 pass (40%)--14/33 for 249 yards 2 TD
49 runs (60%) for 310 yards 3 TD--6.3 ypc
15 Offensive Possessions
Ave. of 5.5 plays--37.3 yards
Ave. Start--OSU 37
First Down--36 plays (44%) for 196 yards
10 pass (28%)--5/10 for 89 yards 1 TD
26 runs (72%) for 107 yards 2 TD--4.1 ypc
Ave. gain of 5.4 yards
Second Down--26 plays (32%) for 139 yards
12 pass (46%)--4/12 for 58 yards 1 TD
14 runs (54%) for 81 yards--5.8 ypc
Ave. of 8.1 yards to go
Ave. gain of 5.3 yards
Third Down--19 plays (23%) for 220 yards
11 pass (58%)--5/11 for 102 yards
8 runs (42%) for 118 yards 1 TD--14.8 ypc
Ave. of 6.7 yards to go
Ave. gain of 11.6 yards
Conversions--10/19 (53%)
Fourth Down--1 play (1%) for 4 yards
1 run (100%) for 4 yards
Ave. of 12.0 yards to go
Ave. gain of 4.0 yards
Conversions--0/1 (0%)
Play Action Passing
1/8 for 6 yards
First Downs Earned--21
8 by pass
11 by run
2 by penalty
Formation Breakdown
Two Back formations--24 plays (29%)
2 pass (8%)--0/2 for 0 yards
22 runs (92%) for 124 yards 1 TD--5.6 ypc
Shotgun formations--35 plays (43%)
22 pass (63%)--10/22 for 145 yards 1 TD
13 runs (37%) for 77 yards 2 TD--5.9 ypc
One Back/Empty formations--23 plays (28%)
9 pass (39%)--4/9 for 104 yards 1 TD
14 runs (61%) for 109 yards--7.8 ypc
RUN TYPE BREAKDOWN--49 attempts
Counter/Trap-- 3 (6%) for 44 yards--14.7 ypc
Draw-- 2 (4%) for 3 yards--1.5 ypc
End Around-- 1 (2%) for 23 yards--23.0 ypc
Option-- 9 (18%) for 34 yards 2 TD--3.8 ypc
Power-- 21 (43%) for 122 yards 1 TD--5.8 ypc
QB run/scramble-- 9 (18%) for 74 yards--8.2 ypc
Stretch-- 4 (8%) for 10 yards--2.5 ypc
Other Stats of Note
~ 3 offensive penalties for 15 yards
~ Ohio State started on the New Mexico State side of the 50 three times--0 points
~ 4/5 in the Red Zone (3 TD 1 FG)
~ 2 sacks against and 1 turnover (Fumble)
~ 42/82 plays took place on the New Mexico State side of the 50--(51%)
~ 28/82 plays went for no gain or loss--(34%)
~ Number of plays of 10+ yards--17
~ Number of 3 and out drives--1/15 (7%)
~ Number of New Mexico State 3 and out drives--9/14 (64%)
~ Number of New Mexico State plays on the OSU side of the 50--none
There are few times you're ever going to see two teams farther apart talent-wise on the field at the same time. At least we can say that Ohio State can dominate a team they are supposed to dominate. There are several teams that can't say that this season.
This is probably going to be the shortest one of these columns I've ever written.The starters were pretty much done at halftime, and we saw a lot of players that don't usually see the field in the second half. What little we were able to take away from the game was not very encouraging heading into the three big games to end the season.
Quarterbacks
You could tell from the start of this game that the Buckeyes were going to let Terrelle Pryor get some work in the passing game, and with the caliber of defenses coming up, he needed as much as he could get. What did we learn from his play in this game?
When he's not under pressure, you can see that Pryor's mechanics have come a long way. There were a couple of throws that looked really good, especially the deep comeback to DeVier Posey on the Buckeye's second scoring drive. On the other hand, I came away from this game very unimpressed with Pryor's long ball, which we haven't seen him throw many of yet. He completed his first one to Posey on the first play of the game, but missed all the rest, some of them badly. His mechanics on those were poor, with him using mostly arm and not stepping into the throws. It caused his throws to hang, and with the wind blowing, it seemed pretty clear the ball was going nowhere near where he intended.
In the second half, Ohio State fans got a taste of the backup quarterback that some have been clamoring for with Pryor struggling this season. I would like to think that Joe Bauserman is better than the 2/9 for 75 yards day he had. I would also like to think that Bauserman would've had some idea he would be getting in the game this week and been better prepared to play. For the most part, he looked lost on the field, and his only two completions were tosses up for grabs to Duron Carter. I think it's safe to say the better player is on the field at this point.
Grade--C+ Neither QB finished with over 50% completion percentage and ended the game completing just 41% of their passes combined. Pryor gets good marks for his running again, but better defenses have taken that away.
Running Backs
It was painfully obvious that the New Mexico State offense wasn't going mount much of an attack, so it was no surprise that the Buckeyes used seven different backs to run the ball. I think we're on the way to a bit of a controversy as to who should be the starter. Maybe not this season, but the competition for the starting role next year ought to be interesting.
Brandon Saine had seperated himself from Boom Herron in the first half of the season, and assumed the starting role after Boom's injury, but the injury also opened the door for freshman Jordan Hall to get more reps, and I think he's been one of the bigger surprises this season. Both Saine and Hall have their relative strengths and weaknesses. Saine is harder to bring down, but doesn't cut very well. Hall is easier to bring down, but has good vision, patience, and better cutting.
With Herron back to being in the rotation (and scoring another touchdown this week), the promise Jermil Martin showed against Minnesota, and the redshirt going on Jamaal Berry, the depth at the running back spot is the deepest it has been under Tressel. We just don't know if any of them are going to be worthy of the title "superstar" yet.
Grade--B It wasn't a great day for the backs, but the Aggie defense was stacked to try to take away the running game. Against that, the backs still managed to combine for nearly 200 yards.
Recievers
With the passing game getting so much work in the first half we got to see the recievers with more work than usual. I don't think we learned anything from this game about them that we didn't already know...with one exception. DeVier Posey threw a beautiful touchdown pass to Dane Sanzenbacher on a reverse pass. The scary thing about the pass? Posey looked better mechanically on that pass than both of the regular quarterbacks in the game.
Grade--B- I was going to give them a straight "B" until I remembered the drops and miscommunications in the first half.
Offensive Line
The offense managed 559 yards and averaged almost seven yards every time they snapped the ball, yet I came away from this game concerned about the line heading into the last three games of the season. Jim Cordle earned Offensive Lineman of the week last week against Minnesota, but against the Aggies, he was abused in pass protectionat the left tackle spot. With the exception of against the Gophers, the left tackle spot has been an area of concern for the past four games.
With Justin Boren missing the game due to injury, the left side of the line looked pretty rough. I'm concerned about a lack of continuity hurting the entire unit, but I'm more concerned about the left tackle spot. With Mike Adams out f and Cordle struggling, who do the Buckeyes turn to to protect Pryor's blind side? Speed rushers have been giving that side fits, and the pressure has usually been getting to the QB very quick. Andrew Miller started the season at that spot, but we don't know if he's going to be the answer either.
Grade--B Aside from the pass protection breakdowns on the left side, it wasn't a bad game from the line, especially with the Aggies loading up the line of scrimmage most of the game.
Offensive Coaching/Gameplan
I don't think there was much in the way of a "gameplan" per se. It was clear there was going to be some work on the passing game and read option, but that seemed to be it as far as a "plan" went. After building up the 28-0 halftime lead, the "plan" seemed to switch to getting as many players reps as possible. Joe Bauserman played the entire second half at QB.
Whenever the Buckeyes build a large lead, the overwhelming majority of the run calls become the classic "Dave" or power play, and with 21 attempts, I guess you could say they got some work in on that play as well. Other than that, it was just a hodge-podge of playcalling. On the bright side, this was probably another game where they could've thrown darts at a dartboard to call plays and still put up 30 points.
Grade--B I suppose they accomplished their goal on offense. Pryor got some work in the passing game. I'm just not sure they're going to be all that pleased with the results despite the 559 total yards.
Defensive Coaching/Gameplan
This section is going to be very short and sweet. It was clear from the start New Mexico State wasn't going to get anywhere on the defense. The only real question was going to be whether or not they got lucky on a play to break a big gain. It didn't happen, the Aggies never crossed the 50, and they ended the game with less than 100 yards of total offense. It doesn't get much more dominating than that.
Grade--A+ I came close to making this one an "incomplete" since the two teams were so far apart talent-wise, but it's not the defense's fault the Aggie offense is bad.
Special Teams
There was no in between this week for this group. Either what happened was very good, or it was very bad. On the good side, there was a perfectly executed onside kick that took advantage of what the coaches obviously saw on film. The coverage teams were good yet again, and are the only real bright spots on the entire special teams.
On the bad side, Aaron Pettrey looked as if he recieved a knee injury that is going to cost him some significant time out of his senior season. This left junior and former walk-on Matt Barclay to take over the kicking duties. He finished the day only hitting one of his three attempts. That one was better than Pettrey's two earlier misses, as the two combined for a 1/5 day on three pointers. With Jon Thoma again struggling, the kicking game left a lot to be desired. With the stress Tressel puts on special teams, and especially kicking, this has to be a major concern for the next three weeks.
Grade--C The grade for the season continues to slowly go down. This has become no better than an average unit.
It's November, and it's time to seperate the winners from the losers in the Big Ten. The next two games will determine if the Buckeyes spend the holidays in Pasedena at the Rose Bowl, or a lesser bowl in Florida. The game this week against Penn State is probably the biggest of Pryor's short career as far as his development goes. Will he step up against a big time team in a big time game, or will we see more of the same? It's time to see if the work he's gotten in the last two weeks pays off.
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