Sugar Bowl: OSU vs Arkansas

[Burg_Grad_77]

I thought I smelled a foul odor, and what do you know, I open the thread and there's The General.

[Hoggy]

I thought I smelled a foul odor, and what do you know, I open the thread and there's The General.

LMAO.....it was only a matter of time before the SEC lover showed up and informed everyone how bad OSU and the Big Ten actually is. I will take the "Senator Vest" and support the Buckeyes all the way.

[seofan_via_dublin]

My biggest reason is lack of trust in Coach T. in big time BCS bowl games.

Especially against SEC teams I believe, 0-3.

Didn't think so!

[seofan_via_dublin]

You tongue in cheek mention Childs injury and mock Buckeye fans.
When Arkansas loses their entire 1st string receiving corp, then you can compare to what the Buckeyes secondary has experienced this year!

[ManitouDan]

not been a believer in ark all year . Bucks should win this one. they better , might be their best shot to get that monkey off the back. I think Ark over-achieved and won't play with the confidence of a georgia,florida,lsu,bama,auburn

[seofan_via_dublin]

Justin Boren

[Bleeding Red]

I think the Bucks will be fine. We have done a good job containing good QB's all year, with the exception of the Wisky game.

Mallett doesnt really run, so if our D ends and D line can get pressure on him without pulling corner and safety blitzing, our D backs will cover well.

I think we will handle Arkansas' offense to 14 pts or so and score 28.

So I will go with 28-14 OSU.

[JChipwood]

General is right on concerning the offense of tOSU. I have and always will root for the Bucks but am not blinded nor do I think these are new concerns or new problems with the offensive schemes. The passing scheme in general is set up to fail before even taking the field. That is not going to change in the weeks leading in to the bowl game because the changes are not subtle and are certainly not changes that a QB can learn in a season much less a few weeks. Reads, progressions, over-loading defensive areas, utilizing rubs and so on and so on. Certainly will be interesting to see how well Miller is utilized and how that affects future recruiting of QBs that have big time passing abilities. As far as the running is concerned, we can defend TP all day but fact is he runs soft for his size and is way under utilized in that aspect of the game as far as the diverse ways we could get him in space and make him a threat to other defenses. Our offense could be the most dynamic in the country and could be even moreso in a couple of years. I know he wants to be a pocket passer but I want to be a millionaire and I think both will forever remain dreams of ours.

Back on topic.....................hopefully the Bucks humiliate Arkansas, I too have thought they have been a good team but never great and have not been consistant enough to be considered good week in week out. I'll say Bucks by 17.

[91blue14]

we already know chekwa will get picked on as usual and get exposed. i hope he dont ruin my trip to new orleans and give up the big play

[JChipwood]

^^ Maybe he'll learn to turn his head and find the ball when it is in the air and make some big plays..........or probably just get exposed again, you're right. Over under for pass interference calls on him should be about 4. Have fun in Orleans!

[Rebels on 3]

Go OSU

[boilermaker]

I wonder ,, will a Pig eat a worthless nut????

[seofan_via_dublin]

Poisonous nut!!!
The pig would die

[The General]

Dont worry.If OSU loses to Arkansas,and to a SEC squad for the 9th straight time,vest will recieve another free pass.There will be some grumblings,but as soon as they recieve a pre-season #1,2,3,4,5 ranking next fall and then front-run their OOC and ten opponents,maybe getting knocked off by someone along the way,but then beat Michigan,every thing will be back to what it is now and every year that the Senator has been there. But I for one think this is a landmark game. Asignature game for Tressel. The Rose Bowl game was a big win,as far as I am concerned. It stemmed the tide somewhat to me.PRYOR was the difference. They are getting ready to play an outfit that is better than that Oregon team.Without question.And Ptyor has to be the difference again. Scheme it up vest. You have a big expensive toy to play with that has been made available to you...And he makes millions...Not for the rehearsed Senator Vest routine...Go Bucks...I will surprised,and darn near shocked if they win....but I am pulling for them and hope they can do it.

[91blue14]

tressell better not get blowed out. that wont sit to well with the faithful

[The General]

It wont matter...He will receive a free pass..Its not that that they get beat...Hell everyone gets beat. Its how they get beat....And part of it is not even their fault..They play in such a weak,overrated league overall and frontrunso many opponents,this and their schemes ill-prepare them to play against anyone who can match up with them physically and athletically. Hoping for a signature win.

[JChipwood]

It wont matter...He will receive a free pass..Its not that that they get beat...Hell everyone gets beat. Its how they get beat....And part of it is not even their fault..They play in such a weak,overrated league overall and frontrunso many opponents,this and their schemes ill-prepare them to play against anyone who can match up with them physically and athletically. Hoping for a signature win.

I can totally agree with the scheming issues. The BigTen is overrated at times but have had decades or strong teams to support those ratings. Tides rise and fall and we both have seen the bigten be dominant and have seen the SEC struggle, recently the SEC has been on top. They have great coaching, great players, and awesome coordinators which to me make the biggest difference on a football team I have said, and not so secretely, that I hate our schemes at tOSU and they prepare us to beat teams of lesser ability but your matchup statement is right on imo. I have been consistant with that thinking for 10 years. Sometimes even so much as when teams are our equal talent wise, we struggle because we base our schemes on being dominant physically and athletically rather than out thinking or out playing other teams. The BigTen is however a much better conference than the Pac10 year in year out especially since the fall of the Trojans and would be comparable to the Big12 in terms of depth even if not 1 vs 1 and 2 vs 2 matchups. The SEC is the best right now and all others have some catching up to do. We will see though, I have yet to see other than the improvements of James, how Oregon is a better team than they were last year........if so it is a minimal gain and they will probably get slaughtered by Auburn just as they would Alabama. One thing I totally disagree with is that the getting beat is not tOSU's fault partly, regardless of the competition level, if they had coordinators who would teach better technique and play with schemes that would fully utilize the talents of the kids we have recruited, things may be alot different when playing teams even if we are outmanned.

I love JT for what he stands for and his quality of person but tOSU and it's players deserve better coordinator support and should see the light as far as scheming is concerned and make changes. The General points out some very valid specific areas but most are blinded and don't want to see the truth.

[seofan_via_dublin]

Not blinded, but gave accepted that Bollman is never going anywhere.
He's our OC in title and coaches parts of the O line. He's been with Tress forever, and the only way he is leaving is on his own.

Tress is loyal, sometimes too loyal.

As for coordinator support, our DC Luke Fickle does an outstanding job on the sidelines and was named national coordinator of the year.

One day, I'd love to give full account on my thoughts on the buckeyes,
But I'm a circle the wagons kind of guy, and if someone who claims to be a buckeye fan consistently bashes the buckeyes, I'm not jumping on that wagon and hanging with Benidict Arnold. I'll stand on this wall and protect the things I hold sacred!

[JChipwood]

I'm with you dubs as far as not jumping ship and I'm not standing with Benedict Arnold, just agreeing with some of the things he says because they have been evident for a very long time. Maybe coordinators is a loose term, coaches in general down to position coaches need to have job descriptions and goals for learning criteria evaluated. We either aren't learning what they teach or aren't teaching what is necessary to fully maximize the potential of our athletes. Was Tedd Ginn the best recevier on his team??? Could he have been the best in the college game?? Answers no and yes but he never developed as a route runner, Gonzo did. I'll make concessions about any linemen because you have given an evaluation on JB already, those areas are obvious especially when our guys go to the NFL and have trouble learning the footwork. Is Chekwa talented?? Has he improved on his weaknesses? yes and no!! We have been very very good for the past few years and the record shows but rather than focus on numbers, we as fans, need to watch the games more closely and look for player improvement and team improvement, not individual improvemnts due to hard work or talent but improvement across the board. Win or lose, I would be happier in the end if our guys would make strides to get better from week to week and year to year and if our coaches learned from mistakes. We don't have to copycat anybody's schemes but rather emulate the schemes utilized at the next level which is the ultimate goal of our players when they come to The Ohio State University. You watch them closely, you watch the recruiting, you see it and it is okay to not blast anyone responsible.... I didn't say much until about 2006 but enough was enough. Luke does a good job, especially recruiting, but our talent exceeds our accomplishments. We don't play great offensive teams at times and should hold those teams virtually yardless. I remember PSU's first year in the BigTen when they had 5 yards of O at half, they had a pretty good offensive team and were ranked in the top 5.

I've said all year our defense will be really good next year even losing Rolle. If healthy Sabino and Bell could be much better than Rolle and a slow Homan. I circled the wagons years ago when Bruce was okay as long as we only lost 3 games per year only playing 10 or 11 at most and guys showed little to no improvement during a career, history is our best teacher and preventer of making the same mistakes.

JT is our man but like you said he is too loyal. What happens next year when Miller shows more passing ability than Pryor will ever have? We both know that answer. The problems aren't all JTs fault but he does have control and knows the game and kids well enough to surely see what becomes more obvious to us every year. Loyalty is great but can be harmful if over appreciated.

[TigerTownKid]

I personally feel that Ohio State will win this game. I was hoping Arkansas wouldn't have beaten LSU, because I believed LSU-Ohio State would have been a much better game.