What Went Right/Wrong: The Game

Brown showed some improvement

There's something very deceiving about the 6-6 record that Ohio State holds for the 2011 season. A lot of these losses came down to either the final couple of minutes in the game, or were within striking distance the entire day. We lost to Michigan 40-34. Before that margin, Michigan was at first and goal, leading with only a couple of minutes left in the game. Then some magic took place, allowing hope to enter my head.

That magic, came in the form of some very stupid mistakes by Michigan. A holding call, and then a personal foul against the Wolverines pushed them all the way back to around the 20 yardline. In turn, they had to kick a field goal, leading to the final score. Of course, Ohio State had an opportunity to get things going and to win the ballgame with a last minute drive once again.

With that, let's get onto what went wrong and right for the Buckeyes on Saturday.

What Went Right/Wrong: Wisconsin

Now that the Buckeyes have upset the Badgers, the Big Ten's Leaders division is wide open. Thanks to a strong effort from the defense, mixed in with some dazzling plays from Boom Herron and Braxton Miller, Ohio State controls their own destiny to get to Indianapolis for the inaugural B1G Championship Game. Let's take a look back on Saturday to see what went right and wrong for the Scarlet and Gray.

What Went Right


- Defense Wins Championships Big Games: The Silver Bullets have shown flashes of defensive domination in games, such as against Michigan State, the first half of Nebraska, and now Wisconsin. Almost collapsing in the 2nd half similar to the Nebraska game, this time Braxton Miller and the rest of the offense were able to give this defense more of a break, to allow for Andrew Sweat and John Simon to continue to harass Russell Wilson all night long. The defense was also able to hold Montee Ball down on rushing the entire night, and was very effective to contain Wilson until the end of the 4th quarter.

- Special Teams Are Back To Being Special: Up until the very last year of Jim Tressel's tenure, Ohio State was known for having very solid special teams, especially when it came to kick and punt returning, thanks to Ray Small and Ted Ginn Jr. Now, after last year's horrendous showing, it appears the special teams are once again clicking. Kick coverage has been fantastic, while the obvious blocked punt by Ryan Shazier was huge, the unit as a whole has been very impressive. Nate Ebner and Shazier are similar to missiles when it comes down to moments where we need a special teams play.

Boom's big run got things started

- Passes Are Nice, Boren Goes Boom: While the fans of Ohio State were screaming to pass the ball all season long, the offensive line and Zach Boren have been fantastic in breaking open holes for Boom Herron to run through. Boren may be the best blocking fullback in the whole country, and he proved it Saturday night. Braxton Miller didn't have any real big passes until the Hail Mary, but was pretty consistent in his attack going 7/12 (58% completion percentage) for 89 yards, and rushing for 99 yards on 19 attempts. He looked cool and collected out there even in the most tense moments. Boom Herron has great vision, as he had 160 yards on 33 carries.

What Went Right/Wrong: Colorado

You could say Brutus was happy

The Buckeyes bounced back in their fourth game of the season, as they took on the Buffaloes of Colorado. After suffering their first loss to the hands of the Hurricanes (Who got beat the next weekend by undefeated Kansas State), Luke Fickell and the coaching staff finally decided to start true freshman quarterback Braxton Miller. For Buckeye fans across the nation, it was finally Miller's time to shine, and we would get to see how a whole playbook would look like under his reins. A solid 37-17 win showed a couple of things from the offense, as well as the defense. While the win may not have looked so grand on the television, the fact of the matter is that Ohio State scored 20 more points than the Buffaloes, with a freshman quarterback with no real playing experience other than a couple designed runs against Miami, one of which ended in a turnover.

This week might prove to be will be a real Big Ten test for the Buckeyes, who are headed into conference play with a 3-1 (0-0) record. Starting off for Ohio State they meet the Michigan State Spartans in the 'Shoe. After that, they travel to Lincoln to take on the new-comers to the B1G, Nebraska. For now, though, they have to set their sights on MSU, and to do that, they'll have to improve on some things from the Colorado game. With that, let's take a look at what went right and wrong for the Buckeyes on Saturday. 

What Went Right/Wrong: Miami

Hall did his best, no doubt.

The first loss in the 2011 season was in serious contention among Buckeye fans for one of the worst offensive performances in recent memory. Miami seemed to be in control for most of this game, and even when they gave chances for Ohio State to get themselves back into it, Bauserman failed to bring about any offense. Even when true freshman Braxton Miller came in, the offense showed sparks of life, but ended up stepping on their own feet and stalling the drives with turnovers, and lackadaisical effort.

While the Buckeyes have 1 more week to learn what they need to do to win games, the Big Ten season is right around the corner, which means it's go time for the Scarlet and Gray. Let's take a look at what went right and wrong on Saturday.

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.