Ohio State Buckeyes 2022

utsherman said:
The “Ryan Day is soft” narrative has picked up steam amongst some. I don’t buy it, but apparently it’s a thing.

Look, dude’s not Urban Meyer. And like .0000001% are even able to be mentioned in the same breath. Urban coached to create discomfort. Everything was a competition. He would publicly challenge/borderline call out players and position groups in sending a message. This clearly worked in college. Not so much in the NFL - clearly.

Day has created more of a family atmosphere and inclusive culture since taking over. And that likely rubs some old-school folks the wrong way for some reason. Of course the proof is in the Natty’s at the end of the day, and if Day can’t deliver with talent like this, then that’s on him and the staff to a large degree.

Back to physicality, as I think the O-line is nasty, the LB’s are getting better & tagging people, and the young interior D-lineman are physical. No need to question Miyan. He’s a beast that’s looking for contact. The backend has some questions for sure. But there were so many random players out yesterday (McCallister, Proctor, Hall Jr., and Hancock), that I’m willing to be patient. And as nwwarrior mentioned, Styles jumped off the screen in limited action/garbage time. I would not mind seeing him inserted if that backend continues to see inconsistency.
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I think it is a thing. Obviously. ;)

I agree, it is tough to follow someone like Meyer but his emphasis is clearly on one thing.

Him creating a family atmosphere? TBH that has been there for a while. Tressel and Meyer both had it and Day was handed the car keys to a Cadillac.

They have an ability to get more physical as the season goes on but I just do not see it yet.
 
Hammerdrill said:
It's hard to say. Because all really talented teams are the same way, as talent will almost always win, regardless of scheme. The thing with Don Brown was that they actually didn't have elite talent. so his scheme only worked vs lessor talent. I certainly do not like Knowles philosophy that we will give up some big plays, but that is ok, as long as it isn't too many. I think the Oak State game vs ND was an example of him being right however. In the first half of that they gave up lots of chunk plays, then really none in the second half.


Agree to an extent on the Jack Sawyer thing. Given his size, he is too big to be a LB type player. So I can't see maximizing his talent, all the while requiring him to do things that don't exactly match his skill set.

The Ryan Day is too soft is really not supported by the totality of his record. They have lost one game where they were "out physicalled", that is hardly a trend.
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All great points.

I'd say OSU lost the physical battle against Oregon, Michigan, and Bama.

Still unsure a B12 one hit wonder is the answer.
 
irish_buffalo said:
I think it is a thing. Obviously. ;)

I agree, it is tough to follow someone like Meyer but his emphasis is clearly on one thing.

Him creating a family atmosphere? TBH that has been there for a while. Tressel and Meyer both had it and Day was handed the car keys to a Cadillac.

They have an ability to get more physical as the season goes on but I just do not see it yet.
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I don't know if I've seen enough from the Buckeyes to say they are one of the four best teams in the nation.
 
oldpolecat said:
Easy to beat a cupcake. UM > osu.
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You may want to look more closely at UM’s schedule thus far. Opponents are a combined 2-9 being blown out in the 9 losses and two close wins against 1AA teams. Toledo and Arkansas St would have also blow out everyone on Michigan’s schedule. I have absolutely no idea how good Michigan is right now considering who they have played.
 
irish_buffalo said:
I think it is a thing. Obviously. ;)

I agree, it is tough to follow someone like Meyer but his emphasis is clearly on one thing.

Him creating a family atmosphere? TBH that has been there for a while. Tressel and Meyer both had it and Day was handed the car keys to a Cadillac.

They have an ability to get more physical as the season goes on but I just do not see it yet.
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I don’t disagree with any of this. I think we’ll find out how physical they are next week against a stout Badger team.

Clearly the family atmosphere has been there as you mention. But I would counter that Meyer had several speed-bumps maintaining this during his tenure. Sometimes it was a razor’s edge balancing discomfort and fear. I think that was evidenced in his time with the Jags.

And Day was handed the keys to a Cadillac, yes. Thus far he’s done well. I think Larry Johnson & Hartline have even helped to take recruiting to a different level in some respects. But Knowles needs to do his job. He won’t get 2-3 years to turn things around like he did at Okie State. With this talent, results are expected immediately. Otherwise, his seat will get hot quickly.
 
On the "soft" thing. It's a big mountain about a little molehill of truth. It's spread football. If you like power off tackle rushing offense, Wisconsin and Iowa is taking new fans.

The trick Urban and Day both have tried to pull off (with mixed results) is to have a power running game as an adjunct/compliment. Urban tried to do it with read option, especially with JTB, but Urban did it with called run plays when he didn't have the QB to run. If you can't run at the end of games, it's hard to finish teams off and when you can't run in the redzone, you have to kick a lot of FGs.

The team that can beat you primarily by running the ball is, by definition, out-physical-ing you. Scheme, speed, and depth are also factors. Very few teams have been able to do that to recent Ohio St teams, so it's not like this is a long-term trend. Last year's team could not run the ball when they wanted to and the defense had problems with gap soundness, so that lends to the "soft" impression.

Read Urban's book. He says there are only a few things to motivate players, but love and fear are the most powerful. Urban's coaching "love" is conditional. If your play leads to winning, he loves you: Tim Tebow, John Simon, JTB, etc. If your play wasn't helping the team, he would use fear to motivate you - and it was not pleasant. This, no doubt, works, but it was part of what burned Urban out every 5-7 years and wrecked his health.

Day seems to use a more unconditional love and not as much fear. Those who think every coach should be Bear, Woody, and Bo will see Day as being soft. But Day has lost 4 games and won 37 in his brief tenure. I think it's hard to argue that he isn't being effective. The losses came to Clemson (who they actually beat if not for some curious officiating and serendipity), Alabama (COVID year), Oregon (who out-schemed them), and scUM (who did beat them up this one time in the last 15 years).

If we are comparing him to Urban, who Day hasn't lost to is inferior Iowa and Purdue teams. Not yet, anyway.

Ohio State will lose some games. If they lose to good teams who just play better, that's the nature of football. But it will not be because Day or his team is "soft".
 
I’m definitely tired of watching them struggle against higher competition and then everyone acting like things are getting better because they smack a MAC school or Maryland
 
Crusaders said:
I’m definitely tired of watching them struggle against higher competition and then everyone acting like things are getting better because they smack a MAC school or Maryland
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I think the importance of the Arkansas State and Toledo games were getting Stroud a chance to develop some chemistry with the new starting receivers before they start facing some of the better B1G teams.
 
Crusaders said:
I’m definitely tired of watching them struggle against higher competition and then everyone acting like things are getting better because they smack a MAC school or Maryland
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I think they are going to smack Wisconsin around this week. After they do it, then we tend to demote the Badgers out of the category of "higher competition".

Wisconsin always brings you physicality and makes the game a rock fight. Wisconsin will make the run difficult early and do what they can against the passing game. Depending on how the Badgers do against Stroud, the score at half will reflect that. But its hard to do it for 60 minutes. Ohio St will limit the Badger running game to a few breakouts and Mertz is going to have nightmares when he drops back.

Buckeyes win by 17 to 24 in the end. But this could be like last year's Sparty game if the Ohio St offense is purring in the first half.

FWIW
 
The true freshmen who have played have been impressive. Arkansas State and Toledo aren’t murderers row but seeing Caden Curry, Sonny Styles, Tegra Tshabola, Jyaire Brown all get extended run and make plays is very encouraging. Especially Styles, who should still be playing on Fridays.
 
Summa said:
You may want to look more closely at UM’s schedule thus far. Opponents are a combined 2-9 being blown out in the 9 losses and two close wins against 1AA teams. Toledo and Arkansas St would have also blow out everyone on Michigan’s schedule. I have absolutely no idea how good Michigan is right now considering who they have played.
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Easy to beat a cupcake. UM > osu.
 
OSU and Michigan are both cupcakes for Georgia. The last several posts are like arguing about who’s the taller midget.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …
 
IVCguy said:
I love fans who know who and what every team is in Sept.
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I know, right? No doubt Georgia is deserving of their spot at this point, but they have plenty of things to clean up. Have you seen their run game yet? It will be interesting to see how they handle a team with a decent secondary. I mean, Bo Nix, Spencer Rattler, and Samford aren't the best measuring stick thus far. Lol.
 
Won't argue anything with Georgia. They look legit. My argument has been and will continue to be that TOSU has the coaching and athletes necessary to compete with Georgia by late December, early January (if healthy).
It's a long season. They will continue to grow and develop in practice and in the film room. This group is chalk full of dudes that will play on Sundays.
 
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