Sorry, Buckeyes. Tressel sucks.

[Condem]

Let a fucking freshman beat you on your own turf. This asshole couldn't win a big game at gunpoint.

[JonLP24]

1. Barkley is not just any freshman, he was top rated QB out of high school

Besides it was mostly Joe McKnight that led the Trojans down the field. He was a very impressive high school standout as well. Not sure yet about Barkley but McKnight is a future pro for sure.

[Condem]

2. Bullshit, Jon.

Shitty coaching. Take the sweater vest off, Jim. You fucking suck.

[JonLP24]

3. Maybe I'm crazy

but I thought Ohio St played a great game especially on the defensive side. USC struggled getting first downs most of the game but yeah when they needed a touchdown the most they came through in the clutch.

[Condem]

4. A great game is when you win, Jon.

Pryor is an enigma. Second year and still throwing off the wrong foot. A helluva talent. But, dumb as a stump. And, I'm insulting a stump.

[JonLP24]

5. The problem with that is somebody has to win

and somebody has to lose. Can I say Ohio St put up a good fight? Unfortunately somebody has to win, if it's not Ohio St it's USC. If it's not USC it's Ohio St. I can't believe such a small margin has such a drastic outcome of a team sucking. At least give credit to great players USC has such as Joe McKnight, Taylor Mays, D-line, etc.

[Condem]

6. Putting up a good fight no longer cuts it in the Big Ten.

A horrible loss considering the circumstances. Playing in front of that crowd. The Buckeye's have been waiting for this game for a year. Tressel's a fucking choker. Plain and simple. Yeah, they'll win the Big Ten. But, he fucking sucks for the talent he's got. Give a guy like Ferentz that talent. National Champions.

[Upton]

7. This game wouldn't have been close if played in LA

not the beat down of last year, more along the lines of a 17 point USC victory.

Tonight, OSU had the crowd and the supposed experience under center. This was their opportunity to finally get revenge and make a statement not just for themselves but for their beleaguered conference, and they blew it.

[Condem]

8. Don't beat the drums too loudly, Upton.

No way USC comes close this year. Fuck. With that talent pool. I didn't see jack shit.

[Upton]

11. I think USC is probably a year way

they've got UW in Seattle next, perfect opportunity for a let down. Then they've got road games against ND, Cal and Oregon this season....I think they'll slip up somewhere along the line.

[JonLP24]

14. I hope USC considers those road teams as teams to watch out for

and completely ignore Arizona St who they also happen to have on the road. Vontaze Burfict was a top rated linebacker, 16th overall rated recruit and he's impressive. I got some looks at him so you haven't seen nothing yet. He's in the backfield on every play and layed a nasty shot on a QB in the last game. Also Mike Nixon tied for the leader in Pac-10 interceptions last year already has 3 and the QB looked good but the bad sign is their receivers dropped some passes and I hope they get over that. Oh do I wish USC sleeps on the Devils this year.

[Iggo]

39. "Vonfaze Burfict"?

Hell, that's better than Golden Taint. I have a new favorite player!

[JonLP24]

40. Vontaze Burfict

I like what I see out of him. I thought I kept hearing the announcers say "perfect" until the showed his name.


----------------------
Burfict has an outstanding blend of size, speed and quickness. He has rare athleticism for a 235-pound middle linebacker. Has a prototype build for a Division I inside linebacker prospect, with great height, bulk and long limbs to pack on additional muscle. Gets a great forward jump on the ball and is explosive filling downhill. His ability to run through the cutoff block with power or slip it with deceptive lateral quickness separates him from other great linebacker prospects. He's very difficult to block in traffic and loses little speed or power when sifting laterally. Game seems to slow down for him. Brings a solid base with square shoulders and great power to the point of attack, but he's far more than just a short-range run plugger. For a thick linebacker, he flashes good change-of-direction quickness and smooth hips when pursuing in space. Turns and chases down ball carriers to the sideline with good angles and speed. Shows strong tackling skills, soundly wrapping up and driving through ball carriers with great force. A fierce hitter and great blitzer. He's a complete linebacker, possessing good hips, turns and athleticism in coverage. His pad level will be a problem at the next level. Can get upright, expose his body to the cutoff block and struggle to escape quickly enough once he's engaged. Needs to work on getting to his coverage drops quicker and on reading his keys against both the run and pass. Takes too many false steps that are masked by his redirection quickness. Burfict is ready to make an instant impact for a college program, and he has the build to continue developing physically through a weight-training program. He's a future college stud.
http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=57263&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d57263

Other sites have him as the top ranked player at his position(so does ESPN) and the #9 recruit(ESPN has him as #16)

[Iggo]

41. Rhymes with perfect.

Excellent selling point!

[Condem]

16. A much improved Huskie squad.

I like the direction those lad's are going in. The Pac-Ten isn't the same without Washington being good.

[Upton]

18. Finally broke their 15 game losing streak today

UW is going to surprise a lot of people this year. Sarkisian has brought that USC attitude of expecting to do well, plus he's opened up the offense, which only makes sense because QB Jake Locker is NFL caliber..he'll be playing on Sundays.

[JonLP24]

19. Speaking of Pac 10 vs Big 10

Oregon has a 31-30 lead over Purdue and it's pouring rain in Eugene.

[JonLP24]

9. I tend to think in terms of USC overcame, Joe McKnight made the biggest plays of the drive

USC won rather then Ohio St blew it, Ohio St lost.

If you have no idea how good of a player Joe McKnight is I suggest you look into it. He had every major university trying to get him and even missed a year of high school football due to hurricane Katrina.

Obviously home field advantage matters or it wouldn't be home field advantage so that is the reason why I give major kudos to USC as well as Barkley but mostly Joe McKnight because without him they wouldn't of won that game.

[Condem]

10. And without McKnight, Jon, Tressel would of found a way to lose.

You don't let a freshman QB dictate the game in the final minutes. Just fucking awful. He's no Tate Forcier.

[JonLP24]

12. I give up

I hate Ohio St but I can't find it easy for myself to slam someone with an .800 winning percentage. I know I sure as hell couldn't win as many games or conference championships if I was the coach. That's just my opinion and I apologize for being contrary :hi:

Let's go Devils :bounce:

[Condem]

13. And no big wins in the last seven years.

Sorry, Jon. OSU get's all the talent in the world and carries the torch for the Big Ten. And doesn't do shit with it on a national stage. We have such a tough time drawing squat to Iowa City. Yet Ferentz does a much better job with the talent on hand. My opinion. This loss pisses me off to no end.

[Botany]

50. In 2006 Ohio State played

3 teams ranked 2nd in the country @ the time they played
Texas (away), Michigan (home), and Florida (bowl game) and Tressel was 2 and 1
and 5th ranked team (Iowa away)

no team has ever played the 2nd ranked team in 3 times in 1 year

[Upton]

15. Tressel can't win the big games

he's lost the last 5 games played against top 5 ranked opponents, 3 straight BCS bowl games and he's never beaten USC. He builds up that winning percentage against cupcakes and lesser Big Ten opponents but put him outside the conference, and he's exposed.

[JonLP24]

17. He has won atleast 1 big game

National Championship many years ago. I'd also consider OSU win over top ranked Michigan in 2006 a big game win but USC crushed Michigan in the Rose Bowl that year so it doesn't matter I guess. Go Pac 10!! :bounce:

[Onceuponalife]

20. There's no crying in football, condem

USC played a great game and like Jon said when they needed to score they did it. That's what champions do. USC is a well coached team and they haven't lost to the Big 10 in 13 years. Give them some credit. Forget all this "boo hoo the Buckeyes blew it, it couldn't possibly because USC is the better team" I'm not buying it. Even with 106,000 rabid OSU fans screaming USC never gave up and didn't flinch.

btw, why can't the Buckeyes stop the quarterback sneak? USC was 4-4 with that move, every time they needeed it, they got it.

[Condem]

28. Who's crying, Once? I'm fucking pissed.

Half of my posts in the college football threads are in defense of the poor Big Ten. Now, that must continue for another year. The rest of these fair weather mutts will look in. But, they certainly won't join in. Ya never see half of them until you criticize St. Jim. Well, he's about to get a whole lot more of that.

[TZ]

21. This is a stupid thread

Tressell was supposed to be blown out by Miami in that Championship game a few years ago. That's a big game. I also remember OSU spoiling Michigan's perfect season a few years ago. Lol. I suppose Peyton Manning sucks too cause he hasn't won any big games either ( using your logic, that SuperBowl doesn't count. Seriously it's only the last three years that this can't wins big one has even started. You have a very short memory.

[jakefrep]

22. I agree

Ohio State was not embarrassed tonight.

[Condem]

29. Who said anything about embarassed, jakefrep?

Please tell me something. The anti-Big Ten circus will get louder. Whether fair or unfair. Agree?

[Upton]

23. Tressel's a loser

what has he done outside the conference since the Miami game? I'll tell you what...after tonight, his Buckeyes have lost 6 consecutive games to top 5 ranked opponents, and lost 3 straight BCS bowl games which include the 2 infamous BCS title butt kickings.

Tressel is overrated as a coach, OSU is overrated as a team, and the Big Ten is overrated as a conference.

[Condem]

26. Short memory, TZ?

What do you think Big Time College Athletics is all about? Ask your buddy John Cooper about that. Why is Pryor throwing off his wrong foot constantly? He's an amazing talent but that is called coaching, I believe. Barkley looks much more polished as a freshman. Sorry, Buck fans. It won't be just me that will be stressing this point. The din from the anti-Big Ten folks will be unrelentless. And, it will continue for at least another year.

[Condem]

30. Stupid thread, TZ? Man, THAT shit bothers me to no end.

Would this be a stupid thread? "Buckeyes beat USC. Shed choker label. Restores faith in the mighty Big Ten." Would that be a stupid thread? If you don't think those high$$ Ohio State alumni aren't getting sick of the "can't win a big one" talk, you are sorely naive.

[PVnRT]

47. Oh, quit your damn whining

"Wahhhhhh, Ohio State lost and now people will say mean things about the Big Ten, waaaaahhhhhhhhh."

Guess what? The Big Ten isn't the best conference in the country. That would be the SEC. Until the Big Ten wants to give up its bullshit image of the run-it-up-the-middle-and-lose conference, that's how it's going to stay. I'm getting sick of Big Ten fans just whining and bitching and moaning about it and not demanding some fucking changes.

[Condem]

48. What's you're fucking deal today, PVnRT?

Did we wake up and decide "I'm going to be a fucking asshole" today. Take you're run it up the middle and lose shit to a fucking SEC thread. You're a mother-fucking fair weather friend if I ever saw one.Or are you just trying to start some lame ass shit? Either way, get lost.

[PVnRT]

53. No, I get tired of whiny fucking bullshit like yours

Fair-weather friend? Yeah, whatever chief. I suppose Kirk fucking Ferentz is the savior of the Big Ten.

The Big Ten can either change or lose itself to irrelevancy. I'd rather that not happen, being a Michigan fan, but that's how it is. Unfortunately, you're too much a fucking homer to apply your fucking brain to the situation.

[Condem]

54. Whatever, PV

I gotta take a shit.

[madinmaryland]

24. Go pound some sand, cboy.

[PVnRT]

25. Blame his defense for being unable to stop the run

McKnight ran all over that team last night, especially on the last drive. Up until that point, Ohio State had USC on the ropes.

[Condem]

27. The buck stops with him, PVnRt

They had a year to prepare. They did not get it done. 3 points, 10 points 1 point. They lost a game they should of won.

[caraher]

31. Tressel decidedly does not suck

Tressel knows his job, and when you coach at Ohio State that job is beating Michigan. Period. Everything else is gravy. And he has excelled at that.

He generally does have a lot of talent, but the reason he loses so many games against top-5 teams is that they are better teams. Every once in a while he gets the Buckeyes to overachieve and gets a little luck on the side (see the mythical "national championship" a few years back - and I will always call it "mythical" unless and until there's a playoff). I think that's good, not bad, coaching.

I've got two words for anyone who thinks Tressel "sucks:" John Cooper. Year in and year out he came to the season-ending showdown the favorite and found ways not to win. As a Michigan fan, I loved Cooper at the helm at OSU, and that says it all... And if you must think of mythical national titles, just remember - nobody loses the Michigan-OSU game and wins one.

[Condem]

32. Hey, pseudo- Buckeye fans.

Better head over to the Ohio State fan sites. This stupid thread is a petting zoo compared to the anger over Saint Jim there. But those fuckers know nothing, right? Just over reacting. Whatever.

[Upton]

34. Check it out..

from this morning's Columbus Dispatch:

Meanwhile, the crowd of 106,033 sat glumly. Ohio State's reign as national punching bag in the big games will slog on. It was the No. 8 Buckeyes' sixth-straight loss to a top-10 team.

[Condem]

36. Glum?

The OSU fan's I'm hearing from are fucking irate. Just an incredible blown opportunity. Be interested to hear from Capt. America. He was there.

[GaYellowDawg]

38. Actually, they probably don't.

My school's fans are not an unreasonable lot in person, but our Internet fans are a bunch of panicky, whiny assholes who want to fire someone just about every week. And due to a lack of experience playing college football, fans generally don't know jack shit about it, no matter how long they've followed it. I know I don't.

[Condem]

43. Disagree from my standpoint, GaYellowDawg

I find HawkeyeNation followers to be quite knowledgable and passionate about college football. Nice win.

[GaYellowDawg]

44. Oh, as a whole...

...Georgia fans are pretty good. The ones on the Internet suck. Ohio State fans may be the same way.

Thanks for the compliment, but if we keep on playing games like that, I may have to order heart medication. I'm just glad we won. I thought we were getting ready to put that game away when we went up by 15 and we just let them off the mat.

[Condem]

45. Yeah. I took the Dawgs -7.5 so I took it on the chin.

But it was still a helluva entertaining ballgame to check up on during the commercial breaks of the USC-OSU game. Didn't thing the Cocks had that good of an O.

[GaYellowDawg]

46. I didn't think so, either.

I was predicting the score as 13-9, Georgia. I was pretty sure there would be only one TD scored the whole game. I was really surprised that both defenses played that poorly. Red zone play and special teams were actually the difference in that game.

South Carolina got inside our 25 7 times (twice via turnovers deep in our territory). They scored 2 TDs and 5 FGs. In the meantime, we got inside their 25 5 times and scored 3 TDs and 2 FGs. We gave them a pick-six and a safety, and blocked the extra point. They gave us a kickoff return TD and we also scored on a 61 yard reverse. If they'd performed better in the red zone this thing wouldn't have been close. If we'd stayed turnover free, it wouldn't have been close; 18 of their points came via turnovers.

Total yardage and time of possession get bandied about as crucial stats. Neither means much if you can't get into the endzone very often, and South Carolina couldn't do that last night. They didn't score a TD on offense after their first two possessions. I'd far rather win on the scoreboard than in the stats sheet.

On edit: Oh yeah, and never take Georgia and the points in a UGA-South Carolina game. That game has been decided by 7 points or less in 7 of the last 9 years.

[Condem]

33. Just got off the phone with my bro-in-law who was at the game.

He said the crowd reaction at times was a lot more than angry murmuring. With exception of a couple Buckeye fans here, I consider him a pretty good authority on Ohio State football. And he's fucking PISSED at the play calling. But that just makes him fucking stupid, doesn't it???

[Auggie]

35. I agree Tressel blew it

Play-calling became way too conservative on the last drive.

[Faygo Kid]

37. Another WalMarter weighs in.

Until UM beats Tressel, give it a rest.

[Condem]

42. What's UM have to do with this thread, Faygo?

Confusing me with somebody else?

[Botany]

49. the man has had teams in 9 national championship games

6 @ Youngstown State (4 and 2)
3@ Ohio State (1 and 2)

btw USC was the better team.

[Condem]

51. Waiting for you to weigh in, Botany.

Thanks for doing so. Besides a couple of grunts, my brother-in-law wouldn't talk to much about last nights game. Just a couple of observations. Terrell looked absolutely clueless at times. And his mechanics...I don't think USC was the better team. No way. I told you a week ago that OSU had a great shot to win this one. It's great to bring up his past record and all, but he blew a big one last night. Plain and simple. That being said.. OSU will run the Big Ten table, get to a BCS game and get absolutely no respect. Just like last year, Botany.

[Botany]

52. Terrell was like 5 out of 7 passing the 1st quarter and 5 out of 13 for

..... the rest of the game. I know a couple of former players and even they are
shocked @ Terrell's mechanics although all of them think he will be great but
he is still has a long way to go. OSU played 1 good quarter and played to hang on
for the other 3 .....

[Capt. America]

55. I was there. It was both incredibly exciting and incredibly dissapointing...

First off, I have to give it to the Buckeyes for coming back and punching USC in the face for 7 following the initial interception. They could have said, "oh no, not again", and been rattled but they were not. I also have to give it to the Buckeyes defense, which I thought would be the question mark this year given all the talent that left last year. Essentially, the defense held USC to one touchdown and one field goal and kept McKnight around 60 yards for the night. Kudos to them.

However, this loss was obviously due to Tressel. The problem I saw was that he was playing "not to lose" versus playing to win. He was waaaaaaayyyyyyy too conservative. He was trying to do field position/clock management like he did in in 2002 (which, by the way, is his default setting). But he does not need to do this any more. Pryor is not Craig Krenzel. Besides, its time to open up the playbook, or borrow someone else's, or hire an offensive coordinator.

I understand that Pryor wants to become a complete quarterback, not just a running quarterback. He can practice that against NM State or Toledo, but not against a USC team that you are beating. You need to have him run DESIGNED RUNS from the very beginning in order to pick up first downs. Spread the field and run, run, run. I'm not certain whether Pryor is either fools' gold or whether Tressel is not providing him the opportunity to be more than he can be. Either way, Tressel's offense was pure vanilla. When you get three opportunities to start at the 50 yard line and come away with ZERO points, there is a problem with playcalling. You can't tell this on TV, but in the stands you can see that the offense only lined up in essentially two formations all night.

Obviously the university is not going to fire Tressel because he beats Michigan,wins or shares the Big Ten title practically every year, and is a good representative of the school (i.e. no Lane Kiffin moments). However, someone, a friend, the university, his coaches, needs to tell him to open it up.

Condem, I too am tired of defending the Big 10. Sparty didn't help this weekend, but I thought Purdue gave a great showing on the road and your Hawkeyes beat an in-state rival that is also a Big 12 team. We have to remember that these things are cyclical (see also: Miami, Florida State, Nebraska for proof) and things will change. I think that the Big 10 conference will get better the deeper we get; namely, improvement from Indiana (ha), Northwestern, Minnesota, etc., it can't be like the Pac-2. I also think that we will get better as a conference when we start paying more money for quality coaches.

[Condem]

56. Great post, Capt. Much appreciated.

If I had to repost that thread it would have been "sucked" not "sucks". I was a little too into the moment. I agree. It's cyclical. You hear from a couple of doomsayers here and they think the Big Ten irrelevant. Never has been and never will be. These are the assholes to ignore. It was a good game. The Bucks blew a huge opportunity. Life goes on. Thanks again, Capt. We got Arizona this weekend at Kinnick so we'll do our damnedest to get one for the Big Ten.

[LiberalFighter]

57. I don't think Tressel can coach well towards the end of the game

when there is pressure.

[Capt. America]

58. I think he can coach, its just that he plays against the clock, not his opponent.

Meaning, he plays to run down the clock and not to turn over the ball. He plays not to "lose" versus to "win". It worked for him in 2002. Practically every one of those games were close and he won with defense, field position, clock management and luck. The problem is that he happended to roll "7s" that whole year. He obviously left too few points on the board and too much time on the clock for the last two big close ones (2:00 left with Texas last year and 3:50 left against USC ).