What Went Right/Wrong: Toledo

Simon made plays all day

That certainly wasn't the game any of us were expecting, including Mark May. The offense struggled all game long, the special teams (at times) looked awful, and the defense was back on it's heels for the entire game what with the Spread formations and trickery by Toledo. Let's take a look at what went right and wrong for the Buckeyes on Saturday. 

What Went Right

- Carlos Hyde rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries with 2 touchdowns, but he dominated for most of this game, pushing for extra yardage and giving that extra effort, which really payed off in the end. Hyde also scored the eventual game winner, running right up the gut from the 3 yard line and in for the score to give the Buckeyes the lead against the Rockets I'm sure due to his play in the past 2 games that when Jaamal Berry and Jordan Hall take the field again, Fickell will find room for this kid to get some yardage, most likely on short yardage situations. 

- The secondary play for Ohio State was once again a big factor in on the defense. All middle to deep passes were covered very well, and Dominic Clarke and Bradley Roby did very well for themselves, and give some serious depth to this corner spot when Travis Howard returns to play. Some might argue that these 2 should be the starters, and Howard should earn his spot back, and I might end up agreeing with them. The final drive by Toledo was on complete lock-down as far as deep passing. They couldn't hit the men they wanted to, which lead to more pressure for a mistake to be made.

- John Simon as usual was a leader for this team. After playing decently in the first half, Simon had to leave the game for a while as he was cramping to an extreme. In that absence, the Rockets did well for themselves, although they did that all day anyway, and were able to have the ball on the last drive to give themselves a chance. Fortunately, Simon happened to return from the cramp to come in and play, and lead to his quarterback rush, which resulted in a bad ball from the QB on 4th down. Game over, Buckeyes win.

Akron Rewind

Fickell had success on his debut in the 'Shoe

Luke Fickell’s first game as head coach of The Ohio State University is in the books.  The result was a dominating 42-0 victory over Akron.  As with any season opener, there were some impressive moments and some not-so-impressive moments. Let’s get started.

What I Was Impressed With

1. Luke Fickell.  Despite all the offseason talk that Fickell would just be Tressel 2.0, he showed that he is a completely different coach.  There were times were the Buckeyes were being extremely aggressive, on both sides of the ball, at moments in the game when Tressel would not have been.  On a 4^th-and-1 inside Akron’s 20 in the 2^nd quarter, Fickell went for it, got it and scored a touchdown a few plays later. 




That would have been a time in Tresselball where the field goal unit would be on and the Buckeyes would take the points.  Fickell was also aggressive on defense throughout the game, never taking his foot off the gas.  It showed as the Silver Bullets held the Zips to 90 yards of offense.

2. Dominic Clarke.  The sophomore cornerback started in place of the suspended Travis Howard and was one of the most impressive Buckeyes on defense.  Clarke had multiple pass breakups and seemingly shut down every receiver on his side of the ball.  This experience will help the secondary down the road if Ohio State is going to be in nickel as much as they say.

3. Kick Coverage.  After all of the struggles this unit had last season, it was refreshing to see good coverage downfield and, most importantly, actually bringing down the kick returner.  Yes, it was Akron, but you have to start somewhere.  Doc Tressel has done an excellent job so far with this group but it will get tested in the coming weeks, especially against Miami.

4. Jake Stoneburner.  What was there not to be impressed with? He caught some touchdowns, blocked, caught some more touchdowns, blocked some more, and then caught some more touchdowns.  Stoneburner was the first Ohio State tight end to catch three touchdowns in one game on Saturday. 

Stoneburner scored not one, not two, but three TDs vs. Akron

His size makes him difficult to cover for defensive backs and his speed makes him too fast for most linebackers.  Stoneburner could have a field day in a couple weeks against Miami as they looked rather soft over the middle against Maryland this week.

5. Both Quarterbacks.  Joe Bauserman shocked most Buckeye fans when he came out and led the team down the field to a touchdown on his very first drive.  Perhaps even more shocking was the 15-yard touchdown run he had to cap off that drive.  The 5^th-year senior didn’t seem fazed by the fact that he hadn’t started a game at quarterback since 2003 and came out to throw three touchdown passes, all to Stoneburner.  Bauserman certainly looked the part, playing all but one series in the first half.  Give credit to Bauserman for playing well enough to keep Braxton Miller off the field for all but three plays in the first half.  A poor snap and a drop cut Miller’s first drive as a Buckeye short, but he would rebound in the second half.  Miller finished the game 8-12 for 130 yards and his first touchdown pass of his career, a pass that was caught by fellow freshman Devin Smith. 

Things I Was Unimpressed With

1. Drew Basil. The kicking game could be a point of weakness this season for the Buckeyes.  Especially if Basil kicks the ball the way he did in the first game.  Basil missed both of his attempts, one from 40 and one from 45.  He was only credited with the miss from 40 since the 45-yarder was wiped out by an offside call on Akron.

2. Rod Smith, Inside the 5.  In his first collegiate game, there was plenty to like about Rod Smith.  The redshirt freshman rushed 18 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.  He could have had two touchdowns if he had not fumbled inside the 5-yard-line on the Buckeyes’ second drive of the game. 



Smith's fumble cost the Buckeyes 6 points early



If not for the fumble, Smith may have made the other side of this list, but turnovers can change a game.  Luckily for the Buckeyes, this one did not come back to haunt.

Normally, we will try to find an even amount of things we are impressed and unimpressed with.  But this was Akron.  Akron went 1-11 last year, and for good reason.  If there was much to be unimpressed with after this game, we would be in for a long year.  The weeks ahead will present the Buckeyes with greater challenges, allowing us to nitpick a little more.  All sides of the ball were very good on opening weekend.  The defense didn’t force many turnovers, but they did their job and kept Akron off the scoreboard.

Young Running Backs Ready To Step Up

Jordan Hall looks to be a major factor for the Buckeyes this fall.

Despite losing Brandon Saine to graduation and also losing Boom Herron for the first five games of 2011 due to his role in “Tatgate,” getting production out of the running back position should not be a problem for Ohio State.

While Herron is on the sidelines for the first five weeks, junior Jordan Hall and sophomore Jaamal Berry figure to get most of the touches at running back.  Also ready to fill in is Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith.

These four will need to produce to keep pressure off whoever the new starting quarterback will be.  Establishing a run game is something the coaches will look to do to keep defenses on their toes and making them unable to just pin their ears back and rush the passer.

Final Recap: Recruiting 2010 Part 1 of 2.

Part 1

As we look back on the recruiting trips Jim Tressel and his staff took this year, we see they brought in some good talent. I think the closest comparison to this class would be the 2005 class, where everyone thought that guys like Jenkins, Laurinatitus, Hartline, etc, were all labled as scrubs. Buckeye fans were wrong execpt on one note: Anderson Russell. (Sorry, had to stick it in there). We will recap the recruits we missed and hit, while giving them grades, and a rundown of their future as well as where ITS said they would go.

Seantrel Henderson - OL - 6'8"/330 - LOI - None - ITS said USC

As everyone knows, because we keep telling you over and over again, Seantrel Henderson has not totally decided where he wants to go to school at yet. On National Signing Day, he annouced he would attend the university of SC, but never signed his LOI. Many rumors flowed soon after, and Seantrel would proceed to say he wants to wait and see what the NCAA decides to do with the allegations involving USC. What this basically means is that he didn't have enough time to truly think about it, and wanted more descion time, but he said USC because CBS paid for the rights to televise it. (Which, in all honesty, is complete bull, since they didn't televise it on the CBS around the nation). It came so close that Seantrel sent a text message to his former high school coach with the word Miami. Not good news for Buckeye fans. Overall the staff seemed to go after him hard, but Tressel didn't want to spend all his time there, so he risked it and it eventually lead to this. Grade: D - (until further notice)

Jordan Hicks - LB - 6'2''/220 - LOI - Texas - ITS said Ohio State

Jordan Hicks was the lone "star" recruit in the nation to announce on Friday afternoon. Buckeye fans thought  he was either a Gator or a Buckeye. They were wrong. Hicks announced in front of his school that Friday to announce he would be playing for Mack Brown. Hicks shocked some Buckeyes and that's when the Henderson recruit became even bigger for the Buckeyes to pick. Many thought if we didn't get Hicks, we had to get Henderson, and we didn't (yet). Jordan is an outstanding linebacker, who has good speed and a good nose for where the ball is at all times. ITS posted some exclusive video of him a couple of months back. Jim Tressel and his staff recruited him fairly well, and in this case, there was nothing they could really do. Grade: B

Roderick Smith - RB - 6'3''/220 - LOI - Ohio State - Ohio State - ITS said Ohio State

Rod Smith is a very good running back that Ohio State was recruiting fairly hard, and was, most fans think, the lone gem in a heap. Smith has outstanding size and has rare athleticism for a kid with his frame. He is a great cutter, even when going full blown speed. He's known for his break out plays, which will help the Buckeyes with big play capability. We know he can block, and scouts had him down that he can catch fairly well. His weak point, would be his inside running, although that can be easily fixed by weight gain and good coaching, which we know Dick Tressel is reliable in that category. I think Rod can start his sophomore/junior year. There is so much talent at running back right now, that we have a stable similar to what USC used aganist us the past two years. Herron, Saine, Berry (Our favorite since recruited, love the kid) Hyde, Hall, Martin, and now Smith. Grade: A-

Come back tommorow for part 2, when we wrap up the last of the big name recruits.