Well, that was pretty freaking’ awesome. Ohio State and Jim Tressel came out with a plan on offense. Pass, when they expect run. It’s a really simple concept, but Tressel hasn’t really gotten that until now. Speaking of Tressel, did you see his face once it was over? I haven’t seen him that happy since the 2002 National Championship game against the U. Terrelle Pryor came out looking to prove he is a QB, and not just a running back that has good arm strength. He threw for career highs in attempts and more importantly, yards. I know that Thad Gibson is a man, as is Cam Heyward, but if we get them back next year as well, I don’t see why we couldn’t take it to the BCS Championship game. That’s not an opinion really, they will have so much talent next year.
You may not remember, but last year’s loss to USC, before the game, all the experts were talking about the stable of running backs that they had. Hmm, Brandon Saine, Boom Herron, Jaamal Berry, Carlos Hyde, Jermil Martin, and finally Jordan Hall. Out of all those RB’s only one is not on the team at this moment due to academics, and that is Hyde. It would not surprise me to see Brandon Saine or one of the other smaller backs be moved to a WR spot. We could use a 4th option in there, as we will have Sanzenbacher, Posey, and Duron Carter. I hope to see T Wash in the mix, but there is no word yet. Laamar Thomas is in the same situation, unfortunately.
On defense, we come back reloading, depending on some NFL decisions. If, in fact, we do happen to get Heyward and Thad back, that would leave Jermale Hines, who really has a legitimate shot at the pros, and Chimdi Chekwa. I highly doubt Chekwa would go, simply because he has a lot to learn, and he has simply not lived up to expectations so far. If we keep all of those, which leaves a free safety spot open in place of Anderson Russell, who really shouldn’t be TOO hard to replace.
Oregon played a heck of a game, but we had our way upfront. I don’t know if you all noticed, but every one of our guys was so much bigger than theirs. Look back to the only sack of the game, and Heyward barely shoved him, and Masoli went down without another thought. That’s ok; I would have done the same thing if I saw all of that steam-train coming at me. I tip my hat to Oregon’s third option, Barnes. Inside The Shoe did not really mention him during the preview, or the Matching up posts. He defiantly earned a mention.
