Letdowns are relative.
Last year, Ohio State had a letdown the week following a dramatic win over Penn State and lost 55-24.
I’m sure you remember. The Buckeyes went to Iowa still sleepy-eyed and worn down from the exertion a week earlier and they were completely dismantled.
On Saturday, Ohio State had another letdown the week following a dramatic win over Penn State and came away with a 49-26 win over Indiana.
Defensively, the Buckeyes gave up over 300 yards of total offense in the first half, and offensively, OSU turned the ball over four times, including once on downs.
However, to paraphrase head coach Urban Meyer after the game, if that’s a letdown and you still won by nearly four touchdowns, then the Buckeyes are a pretty darn good football team.
And he’s right, but so are those who were calling this game a letdown.
But this wasn’t just a letdown game for the players, it was also a letdown by the coaches and the fans.
For instance, one week after seeing a nation ridicule Penn State for running the ball on fourth-and-5 to end the game, we saw OSU offensive coordinator Ryan Day run the ball up the middle on third-and-9. This was Ohio State’s first drive and the play took place on Indiana’s 39-yard line and it was likely a play called with the assumption they would go for it on fourth down after a 5- or 6-yard gain, but when you have Dwayne Haskins and seven willing receivers, why?
Instead, Mike Weber got the carry, fumbled the ball, and the Hoosiers recovered.
Then there was the Ohio State defense being forced to call three timeouts in the first quarter. After the game, defensive coordinator Greg Schiano said he’s probably done that before in his 30-odd years of coaching, but couldn’t remember a time off hand.
All three timeouts were called for different reasons.
“It was kind of three different circumstances,” he said. “It’s not something you’re very proud of to use those timeouts like that. One time was a substitution issue. One time I just didn’t like the call we were in. I thought early in the game don’t give up the big play.”
The fans, meanwhile, watched and politely did little else.
Meyer thanked the fans after the game, as he always does, but there were plenty of tweets and message board posts asking why the crowd was so quiet.
Being in the press box with the windows closed, I couldn’t really hear anything, which would tend to prove the point of those complaining about the lack of noise.
For Buckeye fans, there is nothing so definite as Indiana being a win. As such, they can be expected to be a bit tame in the noise department.
But even for the fans, following a come-from-behind win like the Buckeyes had last week can apparently bring a week-long exhaustion.
Perhaps quarterback Dwayne Haskins was speaking for everyone after the game — players, coaches, and fans.
“I’m not going to lie, we probably are still tired from last week,” he said. “Definitely was a little low in energy during the practice during the week. But best thing about today, we found a way to win. Even though it wasn’t pretty at all times throughout the game, football is about overcoming adversity.”
Every single player on the team heard from their coaches last week about avoiding a letdown. The words “the Iowa game” were playing on a loop inside the mind of every last Buckeye.
Haskins said energy at practice could have been better, but maybe he was just speaking of the offense. Both Schiano and middle linebacker Tuf Borland said the energy for the defense the last week was great.
Of course, since this defensive performance wasn’t atypical this season, maybe there was no letdown on that side of the ball. After all, nothing we saw on Saturday was new. The Ohio State defense did respond well in the second half, but the first half was a mess. Was that a letdown of game planning?
I do think, however, that the players would have been better off if the coaches and fans were as focused on not having a letdown as they were.
Fans read about it, coaches talked about it, and it would appear both parties forgot to apply the words they had heard and said all week long.
There is a reason why after every big win, players and coaches are asked about the possibility of a letdown the following week. It’s real. Defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones said it was tough to bounce back and regroup after the Penn State game. Those games drain players, and they apparently drain coaches and fans.
Then, when you compound that by playing a team that hasn’t beaten the Buckeyes since the ’80s, you can start to see why maybe the amperage wasn’t where it needed to be.
But all is not lost.
This was still a 23-point win against a team that is likely to be going to a bowl game this season.
The Buckeyes put up over 600 yards of total offense and held the Hoosiers to 89 yards of offense in the second half. Those are impressive numbers by any measure.
If this was a letdown — and it was — then Urban Meyer will take nine more just like it this season and go home very, very happy.
Just too damn much hysteria by Buckeye media! Fact: OSU is rated #2 nationally! Perception and reality line up pretty closely in the naton’s eye. Dwayne Hastings has quickly become a Heisman favorite. Wonder why? Bosa is out! That is a real concern. Enough. Urban has a headache. Everyone needs to take an aspirin and calm down! Paul Brown had an expression that applies here. ‘When you get into the endzone act like you have been there before!’
I don’t buy into the letdown theory. That might feel good but it’s just a cliché. The Buckeyes are the big fish in a conference that’s not very good. The failure to score until late in the game and giving away so many big plays, not to mention the excessive penalties are signs of systemic trouble, not a down day after a big game. I think the Buckeyes are good enough to win the Big 10 if they can stay focused but that is not a done deal. Their vulnerabilities may produce a loss before then. They are nowhere near being championship quality on either side of the ball. Don’t make excuses. Excuses get you shut out 31-0 by Clemson. Get back to work.
Great post
I knew the espnsec would never forget about Urban’s loyalty to the departed receivers coach but our own people. Sometimes 4/5-star guys fail to make the grade. The football staff is what it is for the season and the 4/5-stars can become heros. I hope its this year but, I’m not about to bash my own because they didn’t make the point spread or its taking half to three fourths a season to gel a NEW backfield and linebackers. I think our nation has had enough of perception of innocence being tossed out the window. Thanks Buckeyes for not letting the PSU game come back to beat you.
Great insight, Tony. Particularly the last paragraph.
The most bothersome thing for me yesterday was Urban’s headache. Don’t think that he wasn’t more affected by the off-season than any of us thought. He’s in my prayers, and I hope everybody else’s too.
The question becomes……….what is acceptable and what is expected AND what is noticed and by who.
The Big 10 has produced 1 decent playoff caliber team, and that was back in 2014. Currently the Big 10 isn’t viewed as a top contender among Power 5 conferences. Perception matters and it’s why Ohio State, UCF, and Southern Cal were virtually ignored last year.
Sure it’s great to win the Big 10 title, and every year Ohio State SHOULD be a candidate to get it done. The problem is that (repetition alert) PERCEPTION MATTERS in this stupid thing we call a playoff format. It’s the same tragic bias ridden beauty contest that the BCS was.
Bias is human nature and the only way it’s going to be removed is to LEAVE NO DOUBT by ruthlessly dispatching of your opponent.
Knowing that the perception isn’t very high for the Big 10, when even the top viewed teams go out and don’t perform “consistently” good to very good against programs that are historic dumpster fires of weak competition, the already biased playoff committee is handed excuses they can use for downvoting your program.
SCREW being a nice guy. If you have time on the clock and you’re already winning by 20 or 30 or more points…………..drive a stake through any chance of bias by sticking the ball in the endzone one more time. If you came to play 60 minutes……..PLAY 60 minutes and the opponents feelings be damned. Ohio State has 6 games where the defense has shown up for half the game. THAT’S not merely perception, it’s provable statistically AND optically. Winning the Big 10 for guys coming into the program is important, but they want to sharpen their metal in the crucible of facing the NATIONS best talent playing for National Titles. That’s what competition is all about to begin with, and always will be.
I sat in section 11A and we stood and yelled like crazy on third downs. I was the first one to stand then others followed and also stood up and hollered.
The jury is still out on the Grinch. We miss Kerry Coombs, who would NEVER put up with the pathetic play at safety that we have been witnessing week after week, and if we face any team ranked in the top 4, we will get SHREDDED..Fuller is the only good player in that secondary. The linebacker play is just as pathetic, and Luke Fickell NEVER would put up with linebackers being out of place, missing tackles, and being lost in coverage. Billy Davis may have been Urban’s best man at his wedding, but he needs to be shown the door. How many 4 and 5 star rated linebackers do we have in our stable? And this is the best play we get. This is pure ridiculous, and needs to be shored up quickly. Urban’s loyalty getting the better of him again. The Grinch and Davis need to be gone after this season.
Need to be axed? definitely Davis, but not yet for Grinch . This is his first year isn’t it?
It’s overreaction Sunday maybe, LOL!!!
This is the same Luke Fickell whose defenses were shredded by mis-direction and across-the-field throw-back passes in sequential games, right? Oh, and remember when he was surprised to learn that Navy runs the triple-option? We all wanted his head on a platter too.