When Urban Meyer took the Ohio State head coaching job in November 2011, he made the expectations for his coaching staff crystal clear.
“I think Ohio State deserves the best group of assistant coaches in America,” he said at his introductory press conference. “Some will be (from Luke Fickell’s 2011) staff. Some will be from anywhere in the country. The calls I’ve been getting and people of interest in this great university is overwhelming.”
Just to drive home the point, he added, “I’m going to go about and try to assemble the best coaching staff in college football.”
After a 49-20 implosion against unranked Purdue, and season-long struggles in the run game and on defense, it’s hard to argue that this year’s staff has lived up to that benchmark.
This year’s Ohio State football team is made up of recruiting classes that ranked 2nd, 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 3rd in the nation. It would be almost impossible to make a coherent argument that the Buckeyes faced a talent deficit against Purdue, whose comparable classes ranked 51st, 72nd, 80th, 67th, 70th.
Last year, it was Iowa who kicked in the Buckeyes’ faces with recruiting classes ranked 41st, 47th, 59th, 58th, 56th.
These weren’t fluky games loaded with bad bounces for one team and lucky breaks for the other. These were games where the Buckeyes looked totally overmatched and unprepared on both sides of the ball, and then seemed to quit.
College football teams will have down weeks. That’s part of the nature of the sport. But when an off-game strikes for a team loaded with 4-and-5 star recruits, they’re supposed to be able to escape with an uninspiring win over a team one made up of 3-stars. At worst, they generally suffer a close loss.
Clemson’s “bad week” in 2017 was a 27-24 loss to Syracuse. Oklahoma’s last fall came in a 38-31 defeat to Iowa State. Alabama slogged through an uninspiring 31-24 win at Mississippi State.
This year, Texas lost to Maryland, 34-29. It happens. Already this season, 125 out of the 130 FBS programs have at least one loss.
However, top-10 or top-5 programs almost never lose by four touchdowns, especially to unranked teams.
Here is a comprehensive list of Power 5 teams that have lost at least one game by 28+ points in the last three seasons. See if any of the names stick out as being unlike the others.
Complete list of P5 teams to lose a game by more than 28 points during the 2016, 2017, and 2018 seasons:
• Arkansas
• Baylor
• California
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• North Carolina
• Ole Miss
• Oregon State
• Rutgers
• Tennessee
• Ohio State— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 21, 2018
Every single one of those programs has been in a down cycle recently. Except one.
Meyer’s teams don’t just slip on a banana peel like most programs of its caliber. They slip, fall through a department store display of expensive glassware, stagger bloody and dazed in front of horrified onlookers, and then plunge down an elevator shaft.
This doesn’t happen to Alabama. The Tide haven’t lost a game by three touchdowns or more since 2003.
It hasn’t happened to Clemson since 2014. They have only one 28+ point loss since 2011, and that was against a Jameis Winston-led Florida State team that won a national title.
But for some reason it keeps happening to the Buckeyes. And it keeps happening against teams that are destined for the Pinstripe Bowl, not the national title.
Everyone has a theory about why: It’s the game plan, it’s the team’s focus, it’s just that Ohio State gets everyone’s best shot.
Here’s a little secret: Teams are excited to play Alabama, too. There’s actually a whole meme about it. And teams want Clemson, too.
And yet the Tide and the Tigers somehow manage to stay out of that open elevator shaft year after year.
Here’s another little secret: whether it’s the game plan, the motivation of the team, or the players not responding to coaching, the issue is the same.
Ohio State has had issues at strong safety all season. Three different players have spent time at that position. In game one against Oregon State, it was a problem. In game eight against Purdue, it was a problem.
Ohio State has had issues at linebacker for two straight seasons. The run fits have been bad. Opposing running backs are open on passing routes. The tackling has been maybe okay at best.
Ohio State’s defense currently ranks 128th in the nation in success rate in S&P+. Basically, there are two teams in all of FBS who have been worse than OSU at stopping teams from consistently gaining yards.
The Buckeyes are all the way up to 114th in allowing explosive plays. They’re 126th against the run, and 120th against the pass. Again, there are only 130 teams in all of FBS.
They have not been able to run the ball consistently all season, especially in short yardage. Four of the six worst yards-per-carry performances of the Meyer era have happened in the last four weeks.
Every week after another closer-than-expected win over an inferior opponent, Buckeye players and coaches dutifully trot out to inform the media that their slow start was due to the fact that their opponent did some things they hadn’t seen on tape. But no worries – eventually, after the Buckeyes’ halftime adjustments and superior depth had a chance to take hold, they got it figured out.
Defensive coordinator Greg Schiano is being paid $1.5 million this season, an $800,000 raise from a year ago.
Alex Grinch, who also serves as a defensive coordinator and safeties coach, is making $800,000 this year.
Ryan Day and Kevin Wilson, who share the offensive coordinator duties, were set to make $1.8 million this year before Day got a bump for his work as an interim head coach.
That’s $4.1 million, just in Buckeye coordinators. Purdue’s entire coaching staff makes $3.46 million.
Other teams are saving creative plays for you? Your players aren’t focused? Good news! You’re getting paid big bucks to figure those things out.
If you can’t do it, in the immortal words of Dan Hawkins: go play intramurals, brother.
This year’s OSU staff includes Schiano, who is one of Meyer’s long time friends. When he was hired, Meyer called him “someone I have known for quite some time now” and later “an elite friend.”
Offensive line coach Greg Studrawa worked with Meyer dating back to his first head coaching job at Bowling Green. Studrawa’s unit has struggled this season, with zero of his offensive linemen grading out as champions in the win over Indiana.
Linebackers coach Bill Davis was famously in Meyer’s wedding. He had spent 1992-2015 coaching in the NFL. When he was hired, his only college coaching experience was as a grad assistant at Michigan State in 1991.
More than a year and a half into his tenure, his unit has yet to perform consistently, despite having being loaded with highly-touted recruits. So was he the best man for the job? Or just the Best Man?
These three have all overseen areas which have not only been issues, but also been slow to improve this season.
Meyer himself has acknowledged that personal ties have colored the way he evaluates assistants. At the August 24 press conference announcing his three-game suspension, Meyer said, “As I reflect my loyalty to his grandfather Earle Bruce who was my mentor and like a father to me and likely impacted how I treated (fired wide receivers coach Zach Smith) over the years.”
Set aside Smith’s myriad off-field issues for a moment. He skipped recruiting trips and lied about it. And based on the growth suddenly shown by Buckeye wide receivers this season under Brian Hartline, it’s reasonable to wonder whether Smith was an even competent coach, let alone part of “the best group of assistant coaches in America.”
But he was an assistant coach at Ohio State for six full seasons.
A 29-point loss to a team that lost to Eastern Michigan is not normal for a program with the aspirations that Ohio State has. A 31-point loss to a team that went to the Pinstripe Bowl isn’t either. But they’re becoming an annual tradition in Columbus.
There have been eight weeks of promises that the coaching staff was addressing the Buckeyes’ shortcomings. At this point, whatever the real issues are, they might just not get fixed during the season.
There certainly aren’t going to be coaching staff changes right now, even with OSU on a bye week.
But at the end of the year, Urban Meyer is going to have to sit down and ask himself one question: Does Ohio State still deserve the best group of assistant coaches in America?
Ryan Day has a great offense against DIV III opponents, time to give the O to Kevin, not working at UCLA and not working in Big Ten
The bottom line on this team is that they lack discipline. They commit stupid penalties, rarely play well in the first half, are out of position on defense and can’t run block on offense. All of this is on the coaches. Meyer drones on every week about how these deficiencies are “fixable” … well that’s on the coaches too, so where is the “fix”. Schiano and several assistants need to go to get the wealth of talent the Buckeyes have back to playing like a “normal” Buckeye team. I’m sick of watching them play lousy against mediocre teams like Purdue.
IT IS REALLY HARD TO FIRE YOUR FRIENDS. That’s why they shouldn’t have been hired in the first place.
I think a head coach should be allowed.to hire whoever he wants. He can hire his wife’s made of honor for all I care. When they prove over and over they suck, the coach has the responsibility to replace them promptly for everyone ‘s good. If he does not and the do the same thing the following year, it becomes bad for everyone and at OHio State, it will get really bad for everyone involved real quick.
When teams do not do well it is always the coach that people yell about. It is the same with Hue and the Browns, Lue with the Cavs, and I have even seen fans yelling about Francona with the Tribe. If Urban can win out you won’t hear anyone yelling about canning the head coach.
It’s not the Head Coach most people want run out of Columbus. It’s the asshats he hired.
James is correct.
Here’s the problem for all of you $uckeye fans. You deserve better than Urban Meyer. He’s the problem with the Assistant Coaches. They were his hires. He tolerated way too much from Zach Smith when the guy should have been fired years ago…indeed should have never been hired. He’s hired other Asst coaches that simply are mediocre (at best at their job). How can a recruiting class avg. of 3.6 created such avg talent…and when it comes to defense – less than mediocre talent? Either the talent is there – based on recruiting talent it is there OR you have some really BAD Asst. coaches. I think your answer is very simply FIRE Meyer and promoted Ryan Day. He’s going to be a very good, if not GREAT coach. It should be about time for Meyer to “play sick” again and leave the program. The buck (or is it the $uck) stops on Meyers desk. HE’S THE PROBLEM.
Some of Urbans decisions are the problem with his hire………yes, that’s all on him for hiring family friends and relatives. Nepotism, especially when there’s no talent in those individuals looks really bad when the flaws are put under the microscope. At some point Urban has to make a real heart decision. Either dump the family friends……………..or bow out, at which time those clown level coaches will ALSO be gone.
To me it’s a matter of what’s most important. The young men he and the “families” he goes out and recruits, or family friends who simply are not suited to be coaches at the level demanded for Ohio State. He’s giving them rope and it’s hanging HIM. That’s pure foolishness. Sure he and his family are set for life, but, what about all those kids he’s made promises to? He has painted himself into a corner and what he amounts to is about to be exposed. Letting this dumpster fire continue with these half ass coaches, or douse those flames and get top level position coaches to replace the underachievers.
The best 5 star athletes have a coach in Larry Johnson who is filled with the expertise to take them to their promised land goal. The jury is out on Taver and Alex. Bill Davis never should have been at Ohio State. Not ever. Greg Schiano, maybe……………as long as he has someone like Luke Fickell to slap him stupid………….er by stopping him from pretending he’s some kind of super coach capable of wearing an exotic coat of many dull colors. Brian Hartline was a tremendous player at Ohio State, he had a terrific pro career, and his obvious skills with wide receivers is off to an explosive start. Tony Alford has proven himself as a very good developer of running backs. When it was Ryan and Kevin calling all the shots to open the season the offense ran smooth and explosive. Being forced to run an RPO with a pro style QB, especially with guys in the developmental stage isn’t either of their strong suits. I think Kevin Wilson can change hats and develop either/or systems, but there has to be a quality OLine coach to make it happen. The Buckeyes don’t have one of those. Bad things happen when you can’t run the football in a pro style offense. You hang your QB out to dry, and IF the opponent can steal momentum, there’s just no fall back for a potent run game to to recapture the upper hand in energy. Give a dog a chance to fight and he’s going to fight. No rush game and that dog gets to stay energized. You have to kick the fight out of him. The Buckeyes have a OLine coach who has no idea how to fight, so it’s not a surprise seeing his OLine have no fight either.
As for you………why did you come here? You looking to stick your nose where the hell it doesn’t belong? Cool, we’re not our OLine coach and you’d be well advised to carry your “$” symbols back to the shithole you oozed out of.
Did anyone else hear the sound at the beginning of the game….sounded like a gun shot….sure enough before the first play ever went off the offense they shot themselves in the foot. Then another shot…not sure if it was the same foot but there is no excuse for an illegal formation (i.e. not enough men on the line of scrimmage). As a high school official I can tell you this is easily avoidable….tell the official you are either on or off the line….coach look in the backfield do you see more than four players??? If you do something is wrong!
After starting out horrendously with inexcusable penalties…the one-dimensional offense is easy to stop. Did OSU out gain Purdue??? Sure but I will give you all the yards you want if I can humiliate you on the scoreboard. Btw 49 – 20 score is humiliation.
As a side note….a QB with a competitors heart, desire to run, the ability to pass and run beat another ranked team and now has his team ranked at #4 with quality wins over several ranked teams….Oh, wait, wasn’t that the QB OSU used and abused until he left for a better situation?
Nobody got fired today. That’s all we needed to know. The losses will keep coming. What was Meyer’s record his last year at Florida?
I don’t know football, (though I love the team) and don’t pretend to be able to analyze the play with much certitude, but I do know about exercise physiology and strength training. And from even the small amount that I’ve seen in regards to the strength and conditioning area of coaching at the OSU, it is apparent to me that this is a very poorly run area. These coaches are using methods shown to be faulty as early as 1969. If done right the players should be bigger, faster, and stronger not the opposite as the year progresses. The strength traniing coaches are the weak link in the coaching chain.
I hate saying this but NEBRASKA IS CHOMPING at the bit right now, and I am not sure OSU is. They played Minn better than we did and put more points on Minn than we did
THIS DOSNT LOOK GOOD.
Yeah after Meyer said that the Gophers defense was great, Nebraska scores 53 points. He didnt say good, he said great.
There is a reason the sports pages are not in the business section of the paper. For many that makes the sports pages the first interest! For a lot of reasons Ohio State has fallen off the path of a rewarding experience. To be fair, to Coach Myer and his staff, his high level of success has devoured his accomplishment in a hail of frontrider fairweather spoiled immature fans who need a life badly. What they are seeking from sports they will never get. That said, there are Buckeye fans who come to their support of the Buckeyes from an organic relationship to the traditions of the team built over the years. Ohio State is after all the school of James Thurber and Elliot Nugent. The intellectual home of Rah, Rah! and the ambivilance of “the Male Animal”. As much as I love to see the scarlet and gray win every game the “business” of winning that necessitates the appeing of business values as the way of victory on the gridiron has it all ass backwards. “The joy which death alone can still” is after all just a sentiment, it can be crushed at the hands of the mercenary exchange of the overwhelming cash nexus that has become Ohio State football!
One thing we learned early on playing football. The heart and soul of offense is the offensive line. The heart and soul of the defense are the linebackers. There’s a reason for that.
If the offensive line sucks……..no amount of talent at the skill positions make a damned bit of difference. PERIOD.
So why the linebackers? Because they are the group who mitigate the gaps and blur the passing lanes. Defensive linemen can be super players and among the best units, but, while rushing the QB is important, ensuring that the linebackers are clean to make plays is job 1. I have complete trust in Larry Johnson to deliver balanced and tremendous defensive lines. I can’t remember a time when his groups ever came up short of excellence since the day he first began coaching defensive lines.
Zach Smith NEVER belonged on a football sideline….EVER. Bill Davis has sucked since his first hire.
Personally I think the jury is still out on Alex Grinch and Taver Johnson. I know Taver and he’s a good teacher of young talent. Alex remade a really shitty Wazzu defense so I suspect safety play will improve……..BUT…………..NEITHER safety or corner will improve until the heart and soul (linebackers) are able to develop and function efficiently as the foundation for the defense.
When Luke Fickell was made interim HC it interrupted the continuity of the entire defense. Mike Vrabel wasn’t ready to take over linebackers and that units development was set back because of it. We saw a lot of the same pathetic play we’re seeing now into the second year under Davis. Bad pass defense, and teams able to gash into the second level.
If Meyer doesn’t dump Davis IMMEDIATELY it’s a concession that he simply doesn’t give a shit about his players. The players deserve the best education available, and they are currently being washed down the river so Urban can keep his family friends and relatives employed. If they were worth a damned if would be different, but guys like Davis, Studrawa, and Schiano just aren’t worth a middle of the road HS position coaches salary.
I also think that Urbans insistence on RPO is what’s dragging down Ryan Day and one of the best offenses in the history of Buckeye football. Dwayne Haskins has blown the ceiling off of expectations, but, he’s nowhere close to an RPO QB. He’s a pass first pro style QB. Urban always talks about fitting the scheme to the players. LIES! If that were true the entire offensive line blocking scheme would have changed to more of a drive, power trap group of blocking assignments. As it is, Studrawa has no idea WHAT to do so the offensive line is still blocking for the RPO instead of a power pro style based in drive blocking and mauling defenses.
What Brian Hartline has done in his 2 years being involved with the receivers and his first years actually developing them………HAS BEEN REMARKABLE. I’ve been saying since Smith was their position coach that the talent is definitely there. Yep, a whole host of position coaches can miss on recruits occasionally, but it’s rare. The talent has in fact been there. They just needed a good coach to draw our that talent so that a passing scheme could exploit their abilities. As we’ve seen…………..the results speak for themselves.
The offense can simply be MUCH better though. Get a damned offensive line coach who isn’t a yes man to the RPO. Said this also at the beginning of the season. If Urban goes with Dwayne over Joe Burrow, he has to go full on pro style because Dwayne isn’t an RPO quarterback. Urbans insistence that he could somehow marry the 2 offensive philosophies is why the Buckeyes have no running game. Like when RPO was Urbans wet dream scheme……..the receivers looked horrible. NOW with an RPO blocking scheme with a Pro Style QB, it’s the running game that sucks ass. The common thread of the 2 styles……..OFFENSIVE LINE. That’s Greg Studrawa being incapable of teaching basic offensive line fundamentals. Without those base skills, switching styles looks exactly like the current offensive line looks, and why it’s not going to get better. The question is…..why in the hell is Greg Studrawa getting paid 500K a year if he can only fulfill 50% of his positions requirements? I see Ed Warinner making 250K up north and the Varmints are literally bludgeoning defenses in every facet of offense.
You just can’t keep dirty laundry sitting in the middle of the floor. If you don’t pick it up and wash it, the entire house will stink. I don’t care about the practicalities of changes coaches at this point. Sometimes you just have to do, what you have to do. At least the house won’t stink. Even with new coaches today it’s not going to get much worse. Hell it might even improve and those new assistants will have a head start on 2019.
i am not and have never been a fan of Schiano. i think he misses too may obvious defensive calls that the average fan could call when a team is in a certain down and distance. the jury is still out on Grinch. i dont ever hear anyone talking about our LB’s in a good way, nor the position coach and they seem to lacking a lot. this defense definitely misses Luke and Ash. i am also not impressed at all with Studwara, our o-line is horrible, and the best line coach Urban has had is now coaching the UM oline and they are now strength on that team.
Additionally this team lacks toughness, discipline, leadership, and make a boat load of boneheaded play every game.
Well written and 100% true. If he doesn’t make some coaching changes things will not get better. It is easy to make the point that OSU is lucky to be 7-1 could easily have two or even three more losses.
Where to begin. I thought the Iowa game last year was a disaster, but losing to Purdue, of all teams. We were beaten soundly by a bunch of 2 and 3 stars with a couple of 4’s thrown in. I seem to remember a LB out of Centerville who was a three star, named A. J. Hawk. For God sakes those three freshmen LB’s could do no worse than Browning and Werner and now Harrison and Tuf.I know an elite orthopedic surgeon who works at the hospital where my daughter works up north. In his words there is no way Tuf Borland should be playing.He watched him last year in the games after Iowa and now this year’s games. No way does he have the lateral quickness he had last year. Calcium builds up in that tendon when it is not healed, but being used quite extensively. Go from there. Werner is hopeless, but he is Urban’s boy. Grinch has shown me nothing with the safeties. You telling me among all of that talent he cannot come with a good safety to go with Fuller and the Corners, Taver remove your head from your backside cavity. WTF!!! Even the D line sucks. Quite worrying about Bosa leaving and get mean and play(cleanly).
O Line, come on, Studrawa get in one of fat boys faces. NONE of them can move. Put Myers at center and move pouty Jordan back to LG, he doesnt want to be the center, look at him. Munford is hurt and playing LT, protecting the QB’s blindside. Knox is too damn slow, so is Prince, the biggest dud of all of them. Put Petit Friere in there. Brandon Bowen should be back for Nebraska, put him at LG. Haskins looks for a place to fall down. On 3rd and short, what the hell is wrong with putting Berry lined up as a FB and blasting a hole in the middle, Much like Boren and his predecessors did. Holy Jesus, it doesnt take a genius to see all of these issues. The WR’s are the only ones performing. With some decent blocking Weber and Dobbins will be OK. As Toby Keith said, “PUT A BOOT IN THEIR ASSES”. I change it to suit the team.
Coaches Hartline and Alford are only ones worth a damn. Where would we be without Hartline.
My son is a former H.S. coach down here and he sits here and dices up our D and knows what Day and WIlson are calling next. TOO PREDICTABLE!!!
URBAN, TIME TO WAKE THE F— UP.
I’m no expert, but there seems to be a lot of truth in this article. This late in the season, the mistakes should be fixed. If not, it’s either the players or the coaches. Urban needs to sit down and decide which, and get it fixed. If it’s coaches, it should be addressed right after the season. It would be suicide to bring in a new coach now.
Bosa and Burrow made good decisions
Excellent article; We know what the problem is and now to fix it! Those are very good points. However, being a die Hard Buckeye, I believe that these are things that can be fixed.
** I suggested that Urban fire the OL coach, he didn’t get my memo. LOL, so with him keeping these folks; .
1. Our biggest issue is our OL play, specifically Run block, please don’t share with me how 2 or 25 can run differently, they are being smacked and gang tackled behind the LOS repeatedly, and no the DL and D of Pur, In and MN don’t really scare me. The same impact awaits Haskins when he tries to run. Usually any large yardage carry by 2 or 25 usually means there’s yellow stuff on the field. This explains why there were 4 red zones and 6 pts. This explains how we out gained PUR and lost!
2. Urban and the person who gets paid to hang out with our OL, needs to have a very honest and brutal conversation.
3. This is boot camp week for our OL, and this is also all spots on our OL are up for grab week. This is also bye week and let’s fix this now! The talent is such that even if we bring in rookies, and they do mediocre, it’s still a good line and will lead to a good running attack with our sizzling pass O and talent. It will certainly be an improvement! That is issue NUMERO UNO, and don’t look now, but NE hung 50+ on MN and MD is not that bad and we all know about MSU and MI. Easily four losses. Surprisingly this OL does pretty good with pass blocking, so to me IT’S COACHING!
4. Urban might want to consider bringing in Tate Martell, if, IF, he can complete a short pass, then his scrambling out of the gun near the end zone with the threat of 2 or 25 running can be dangerous. He can also come in during the game and if D’s know this qb just isn’t a runner, but can actually hit high % shots, it’s enough to throw D’s off line.
5. I really don’t blame the D that much. To me, PUR is probably the best O they will see here in. No doubt, MI and MSU have a power game, but not the spread or the speed of PUR. In reality, the D held PUR for the most part to 7pts in the first half, until that late second TD as we missed momentum. We really held them to 21 pts. into the fourth. The first four TD’s of Purdue all needed fourth down penalties and conversions. And I know what they did late, but our D packed it in and we were put in a very difficult position. Imagine if we scored on just 3 of our Red Zones, it could of easily been 27-14 us! No doubt penalties and the LB play needs to improve!
5. We’ll wait and see, but I can tell you one thing, don’t overlook NE in the shoe, they were handed a recipe for success…hear that Urban?
The greatest indictment of the coaching staff is the lack of improvement in the weaknesses that have been glaring since the first game. The coaches recruited the players and they trained them so no one else is to blame.
urban does look like a lost dog, what ever medication he’s on has his head in the clouds! Upsets happen I get that, but to get blowed out when your a big favorite! Like the late great Vince Lombardi said, what the hell is going on out here!
We all know what’s going on out there and its the OL!
There’s a silver lining in all of this: Almost every assistant coach has a 1 year deal. Holding out hope that some of them don’t receive extensions and are given the chance to spend more time with family or pursue other opportunities.
i don’t always agree 100% with Tom but I do here…i did think coming in the hype over the OL was that–hype—before the season began i thought this was our weakest returning line in years, but didn’t expect them to be THIS bad and was hoping the coaching/time/ would helpn them progress as we have seen in past years with early weaker starts but solid towards the end….but it’s only got worse….the LB issue has been ongong for 2 years now …it’s so obvious to anyone with common sense…same with the DB’s—i thought this was our weakest DB group before the season began–all these early defections to the nfl catch up and Coombs was a great db coach…….i am willing to give Db coach some time, but OL and LB coaches HAVE to go ASAP and Schiano should be gone too because there seems to be a lack of leadership there..I was a Schiano fan before–or nothing against him at least–but this season is a massive disappointment and major coaching changes need to be made…Meyer looks tired, worn down and I’m guessing much is from the off-season but now is the time to step back up and put that crap behind and get this team to reach it’s potential..i dont have a ton of hope, BUT i am also not gicing up all hope because this team CAN win out and win the conference….I am doubtful, but I am not giving up and hope the coaches and players don’t either..
I dont think the offensive line is great but how are they supposed to run block when they are running a read option but one of the options never runs. Every time they run the read option the defense knows who is getting the ball. With a pro style QB like Haskins, they should be running a power I.
Maybe this will help. Harry James, a big-name bandleader from an entirely different day, had to hire some subs while on the road from the local musicians’ union. They were all sub-standard. James was visibly angry. The union rep said,
“But Harry. these are all nice guys!”, to which James responded, “I don’t care if they’re nice guys. Get me some pricks who can play.” That is all.
Urban obviously learned nothing from the entire clusterfuck of a month August turned out to be. Wish I had a friend who could give me a 1.5 mill per year job. To me its all about the arrogance of urban and his coaches and their refusal to change their schemes or beliefs when its obviously not working. Remember this is the guy who stubbornly kicked the ball to Barclay last year to start the psu game and 10 seconds later it was 7 zip. I make much less than 8 mill a year and knew you shouldn’t kick to this guy especially given the kickoff coverage problems from last year aka 100 yard TD return given up to Maryland. My biggest fear is Meyer has given up. He looks like a lost dog and unable to provide the leadership or direction necessary to maybe salvage this train wreck defense assuming he even knows what to do. Maybe Urban can get Chris Ash back when Rutgers fires him. Our D was total ass in 2011, 2012, and 2013 or at least we thought so and didn’t start improving until Urban hired him in 2014. I don’t even know what to call this defense.
Honestly there isn’t a single point I could add to this excellent article that is 100% spot fucking on! Well done!
I don’t know which scenario is worse: That Urban doesn’t know what’s wrong with the Buckeyes, or whether he does know and can’t fix it.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a suspicion that OSU’s problems on the field are in part attributable to something going on off the field. Could be bad chemistry (whatever that is), strife within the ranks, poor coaching (as cited above, at least one valid factor), or a lack of leadership on the team.
I couldn’t fault Bosa for declaring he’s done playing for the Buckeyes, opting to get completely healthy to prepare for the NFL. However, when one of your captains says he’s leaving the team (even standing on the sidelines and attending practices to encourage teammates), that in itself reflects on a person’s character and true leadership – seems to me.
Hope Saturday’s calamity isn’t the precursor of an ongoing collapse.
We all know what’s going on out there and its the OL! mmm interesting that while OSU collapses Haskins throws for record numbers. So it’s not that bad and is a specific issue.
Excellent article Tom you are right on,I hope Urban reads it!?
Right on all points! I , for one have been following the Buckeyes since 1966. I have seen a lot of highs and lows, during the years. But i have never seen such talent come into a program since Myer has been here, and yet so much of it wasted because of poor assistant coaches the last two years. I watched as Myers first year he had to see what he had both in players and coaches, and at that time i think he made a lot of good decisions as he replaced some of his assistants in the off season. He made some great hires in my opinion in Herman, Alford, Combs, Johnson along with keeping Fickle. Then after winning the National Championship, everything starting falling apart. I know you are going to loose some assistants to other programs, but you need to get as good if not better replacements for them. And as far as Zach Smith, i never did like his coaching, and i said repeatedly on here, he needed to be replaced. I believe pink slips should be handed out to Schiano,(Fickle was 100% better) Wilson(too much ego problem here, as Myer needs to intercede in play calling sometimes) Davis,(Linebackers have been terrible since he arrived, Fickle was better)Grinch ( Ash brought rugby style tacking to the Buckeyes and it doesn’t exist now since Ash left) Sudrawa (not even close to how Warriner worked with the o-lines he had) Taver Johnson (worst cornerbacks coach since Everette Withers first year of Myers tenure at OSU), Day(i have him on the bubble) As pointed out by Tom Orr, they have had some of the top recruiting classes, some of the elite players, for crying out loud to work with, and they aren’t being developed. Same thing is happening with other position players as happened for the past 3 years when Smith had the receivers, no development. Myer needs to step up and take control of the ship or he will go down with it as its captain. Myer also needs to learn to adjust his offensive style of play too. I’m i the only one who thinks that both Dobbins and Weber should be in the backfield at the same time on some plays, or an addition of a fullback? (Especially on short yardage). The starting offensive line has had time to show their ability, now it’s time to replace some. You might just find, another player that may have more desire to hit someone in front of them in a different jersey, even if they aren’t 100% ready according to the playbook.
I agree with the idea of featuring both Dobbins and Weber together on some plays. Either that or decide which one is the starter and go with him. It’s always been said it often takes time for even the best running backs to get into a rhythm. With Dobbins and Weber shuttling in and out, that’s obviously not happening.
And whatever became of Demario McCall? Is he in somebody’s doghouse? If they’re not getting production from other running backs, maybe a change of pace would have some positive impact.
Nope, appreciate your optimism, they are being smacked hard and gang tackled behind the Line of Scrimmage. Any D looks great when they aren’t being blocked, the only thing MCall would do is to get tackled as he tries to cut the corner. Why? No run blocking! Just ask Campbell, Hill and Victor.
ALL so VERY painfully true Tom…seems as though the players love the school…the coaches only love the money…
I prefer good coaches that are young and eager to make a name for themselves. They will burn the midnight oil and relate better with the players.
I am biased but a lot of the issues on defense are due to Luke leaving, he was the DC even though many times the new guy, Ash or Schiano were given credit for that job and he coached the LB’s. I agree with you about there being a need for new coaches and I hate saying that. We are not at practice but the OL for example there are many times that guys come free and we never seem to get up to second level guys to pen big runs like teams do to us. We made the LB from Hilliard look like an all American. There is an ole saying by all coaches you are either getting better or getting worse. Parts of this team are not getting better. Lastly I believe that there is a lack of toughness to these guys, which I feel is due partly to the issue of Urban not being there all of camp. What a bonehead mistake by OSU
Absolutely on point, I could not have said it better myself.