A look back... and ahead

One of my first posts for ITS discussed my concerns with our current running backs (Saine and Herron) and not giving enough touches to the younger potential studs that OSU had waiting in the wings. Well, I’ll take my foot out of my mouth right now. Brandon Saine looked like the back that we all thought he could be last Thursday against the Thundering Herd. His breakaway speed and terrific downfield cuts in the game will give Big Ten defensive coordinators nightmares this season. Coming out of Piqua, he was heralded as a terrific speedster but many had worries about his injury laden past. Those fears seemed to come to fruition over the past few seasons with nagging injuries taking a chunk out of his playing time. He finally looked the part Thursday night, appeared to be healthy and proved to me that he deserves the number one slot at running back. Brandon, if you by some chance you happened to read that post from July, I apologize. I realize it was only Marshall but he looked like a different dude out there.

Berry did well in his first game

Well I guess JT wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to throw the ball more this year. Pryor and the offense came out flinging the pigskin just like they did last January in Pasadena. I have to say that I was quite impressed with the new throwing motion that Pryor had on display. He looked more confident and seemed to be stepping into his throws more rather than whipping it off his back leg like so many times last year. The competition wasn’t much and there will be plenty of tough defensive lines that will cause more havoc later in the season (like in about 3 days). However, I was very encouraged at the way the ball was coming out of his hand.

With the success of the passing game, I was a bit concerned with Pryor’s lack of a running game. I understand that there is no reason to take unnecessary shots in the opener against an inferior opponent. It seems that the coaching staff has really stressed staying in the pocket and going through his progressions in the off season. That is all well and good but one of the things that makes Pryor so talented is his scrambling skills. It appeared that he was very reluctant to leave the pocket and was really trying to make throws down the field. Hopefully this was part of the game plan and we will see more of that gazelle type running more down the road. I just don’t want this part of his game to disappear in an attempt to prove to everyone that he can pass. The Buckeyes will need both skill sets to make it to Glendale at the end of the season.

Overall it was a great way to open up the 2010 campaign. I for one was thrilled to not have the white knuckle experience that so many other non conference games have given me in the past. Putting away a team early is definitely the way to go. It was good to see Berry get some quality time toward the end of the game and I believe he is a future stud in Columbus. The defense pitched a shutout (fluke blocked field goals don’t count) and completely shut down the running game of Marshall. You really can’t ask for anything more from the silver bullets in the opener.

On to the big one down in C-Bus this weekend. There are a few things that I would like to see happen in this game that would ensure a Buckeye victory. The first is a dominant running game by Saine and the rest of the Buckeye backs. If OSU can continue to run the ball with the authority we have seen over the past 6 games it will spell trouble for the Hurricanes. I don’t have to tell everybody that a running threat will open the passing lanes for Pryor and keep the talented Miami defensive line at bay. Miami’s defensive front came away with 8 (!) sacks last week and a solid rushing attack will help to slow these guys down. If the D line harasses TP too much, Pryor, or any other mere mortal for that fact, tend to make mistakes. Turnovers will be a key to this game and we want them to come when Mr. Harris is on the field.

Oh, bring it on

The secondary will also have its hands full with the talented Miami receiving core. Hankerson is simply a beast and hopefully Heacock has a plan to help contain that guy. The defense must disguise their fronts well and not tip Harris off as to what they are doing too quickly before the snap. As seen last year, Harris is prone to turnovers. However, he is a year wiser and the Buckeyes can’t take for granted that he will just turn the ball over on his own. I have complete faith in our defense but they will have to be on their game this weekend.

Finally, the front four of the Buckeyes have to put pressure on Harris without having to blitz too often. Obviously, Heacock will have plenty of blitz packages ready to go but we will need those safeties, linebackers and corners in the secondary to be successful. If there was any criticism from last week’s game it was that the D line didn’t get enough pressure on their own. I love watching Tyler Moeller light up quarterbacks as much as anybody but I fear we will need his skills further down the field in this one. The good news is that Nathan Williams returns this week so at least we won’t have to sit through anymore Solomon Thomas… which is nice.

As predicted in ITS’s “Who you got” feature, I have the Buckeyes winning this one by a score of 31-21. This is a huge early test for our silver bullets and will go a long way in telling us what kind of team we have this year. Miami has the talent to win this game but I just don’t see it with 105,000+ screaming buckeye fans in their ear. If the defense keeps things in front of them and the offense can control the clock, we should all be happy people by 7:00 Saturday night.

By the way, the Rock’s rant on the game was lame at best. If you didn’t hear it, make sure to look it up for some good laughs. Dude, you’re not a “feared” fake wrestler anymore. You make movies in which you play fairies. Know your role and shut your damn mouth! I watched some wrestling in high school… sue me.