The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 1/4/11
January 4, 2011While We’re Waiting… Browns, Cavs and Indians Links Galore
January 5, 2011As we approach tonight’s Sugar Bowl battle between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Arkansas Razorbacks, we find the Buckeyes in familiar territory. Once again Ohio State is fighting more than just their opponent on the field. They’re fighting against fans who feel that the players involved in sold merchandise scandal shouldn’t be allowed to play. They’re fighting for respect for the Big Ten after the humiliation the conference suffered on New Years Day. They’re fighting to get the SEC monkey off their back. Above all else, they’re fighting to make a statement.
Whether it’s fair or not, the majority of all of this scrutiny and pressure falls pretty squarely on the coaching mind of Jim Tressel and on the legs and arm of quarterback Terrelle Pryor. For Pryor, someone who already has to carry far too much of the offensive load for this team, his share of the work load could be increased if whispers and radio rumors are true.
Perhaps it’s reading too much into nothing, but the fact that starting running back Daniel “Boom” Herron has been withheld from scheduled media appearances has led some to speculate that perhaps Herron has had second thoughts on his future and will no longer be playing in the Sugar Bowl, thus freeing himself to enter the NFL Draft this spring.
Above all others, it would make sense for Herron to leave while his draft stock is high. With a young, talented, and crowded stable of running backs coming back next season, Herron is unlikely to see the same number of carries next season and will thus be unlikely to repeat his respectable production. As a redshirt junior who is on pace to graduate this year, the timing might be right for Herron. Even without the 5 game suspension I thought it made sense for Herron to leave, and now I think it makes even more sense.
I’ve heard no indication one way or the other in recent days as to whether Boom will be playing tonight, but if by chance he’s not, the Buckeyes will likely turn to Brandon Saine, Jordan Hall, Jaamal Berry, and Carlos Hyde to split the carries in some capacity.
Of course a dark horse candidate to keep an eye on would be redshirt freshman Roderick Smith. It would be an unusual move to see Ohio State burn his redshirt just for the Bowl Game, but all indications are that this kid has been simply lighting up the field in practices, particularly in the Bowl Game workouts. Has he impressed coaches enough to convince them to use him in a Bowl Game for the first time? That obviously seems highly unlikely, but it’s a name to keep an eye on for the future.
Of course, the reality is that if Herron does indeed happen to sit out, then yet even more will fall on Pryor’s shoulders. I’m not sure I can recall a time when I’ve seen the Ohio State offense rely so much on one player, other than maybe Maurice Clarett in 2002. Yes, Boom Herron picked things up late in the season and Dane Sanzenbacher had an excellent season as well, but the offense just lacks the dynamic playmakers who can operate in and make moves in space to create large pickups in yardage. Will this hurt Ohio State against a tough SEC team like Arkansas? Or will Pryor once again rise to the occasion like he did in the Rose Bowl against Oregon last year? How all the distractions, fan and media negativity, and potential increased workload will affect Pryor will be fascinating to watch and could go a long way toward either helping or cementing his legacy at Ohio State.
The Sugar Bowl has not been a particularly kind place for Ohio State. They did beat Texas A&M in the inaugural season of the BCS back in 1999, but that was hardly enough to erase the scars of humiliating blowouts at the hands of Alabama in 1978, Florida State in 1998 and LSU in the National Championship game in 2008. For the Buckeyes to avoid a repeat in fate and to restore some respect to the Big Ten, it will be up the defense to slow down Ryan Mallett and the high powered Razorback offense.
There’s no shortage in irony in the fact that Ohio State will be facing the QB that Rich Rodriguez ran out of Michigan in a BCS Bowl Game on the same day that Michigan announced the firing of Rich Rodriguez. Wolverine fans may groan a little inside, but it shows that Mallett is indeed the real deal and because of him Arkansas has had an incredible season thus far.
Mallett was knocked out of their loss to Auburn, but in their other loss of the season, to Alabama, Mallett threw three crippling interceptions. Ohio State must hope their defensive line can create some pressure on Mallett and force him into making some critical errors once again. If the defense comes out in this game like they did against Wisconsin, this game will look exactly like every other Big Ten bowl game in 2011.
Ohio State has certainly had their ups and downs in big games under Jim Tressel. From the National Championship and wins over Kansas State, Notre Dame, and Oregon to tough losses to Florida, LSU, and Texas. The Big Ten will turn their eyes to New Orleans tonight to hope that Tressel, Pryor, and the rest of the Buckeyes can put an end to the SEC burden and show that the conference still has at least one elite football program left. And for a program feeling like they’ve been punched in the gut by this latest round of scandal and suspensions, a victory tonight could go a long way toward beginning to heal some of those wounds.
Go Bucks!
45 Comments
If the result is anything other than a big win for Arkansas, I’ll be pretty surprised. I’m not an OSU hater or anything. I just know the Large Eleven (soon to be ‘Tremendous Twelve’) has looked like poop falling off a log so far in the bowl season.
As a side note, the Buckeyes didn’t play very good competition this year to prepare them for this game.
Quick!
Name the best win of the season this year for OSU.
Since the guy who runs this revenue stream has admitted that he pressured Ohio State and the NCAA to let our Pawn Stars play tonight so that everybody would get paid in full (except the players, of course) , The “Sugar” Bowl has never been more aptly named.
I hate the SEC.
That is all.
It is more likely that Tressel wears a hat and a hoodie tonight than it that Roderick Smith plays.
No way he sees the field from anywhere but the sidelines. It would go against everything that is the sweatervest.
I’m an OSU alum, I love the Buckeyes but the suspensions and the NCAA have ruined this game for me. Even if they win, they don’t win because the suspended players are in the game. I hate the SEC but they beat the Big 10 up pretty bad the other day and I don’t see anything in this game that makes me think it won’t happen again.
What makes things even worse is RichRod got fired so we can’t even look forward to beating him again next season.
I travel for work and lucky for me this week I am just a 20 min drive from the U of Ark campus in Fayetteville. I just hope the game is a good one so I’m not laughed at all night by all my Arkansas friends. The entire suspension drama over the past few weeks does not give me a good vibe though. Go Bucks.
MORE THAN A WIN (c) LeBron James Incorporated, LRMR Media Temple 2k11!!
Not feeling great about the Buckeyes chances tonight, so I hope they prove me wrong. If they do, it will be unquestionably the second biggest victory of Tressel’s career, only behind the Fiesta Bowl NC win over Miami. There have been more important wins (e.g., the win of #2 Michigan to send undefeated Ohio St. to the BCS Title game back in 2006), but in terms of the program’s reputation, etc., this would be the second biggest win.
Arkansas by 10 my Browns QB of the future Ryan Mallett (dreaming) leads the Razorbacks by throwing for 3TD and 1 INT.
Highly doubt Mallett only throws one pick. If they get out ahead early, it’s possible – but if OSU is leading later in the game, Mallett will make mistakes, just like he did against Bama’s defense.
It is a traveshamockery that those 5 guys are playing tonight. OSU and the NCAA has to be kidding.
/hates OSU
Contrary to many, i like the Bucks chances tonight
Rich Rod, WHACK!
Nice Miami Heat hat, TP. Is his LeBro there? It was reported on MSNBC and the SF Chronicle that the Stanford Band was banned last night because their halftime performance might mock Lebron and hurt his feelings. The halftime performance was called “Recent events in the pro sports Miami world”. Pretty funny. Oh well. Go Buckeyes.
This is my facebook status….
The +/- on the Sugar Bowl Tonight
Mentioning of SEC speed +/- 8.5
Tattoo-gate +/- 5
OSU’s 0-9 record against SEC +/- 11.5
Place you bets!!!!!
I already heard a mention of speed and record on the pre game and we’re still an hour and a half away from kickoff. Lord give me patience! 12 minutes ago clear
@9 Alabama’s D is better then Ohio State’s IMO. Arkansas has plenty of speed and talent but we’ll see what happens. Perhaps the Buckeyes can save the Big 10.
i bet the Buckeyes and the over so you know who i’m rooting for.
Great article, by the way.
@MattyFos –
Give me the under on speed (I don’t think there is a big difference in speed), the under on Tattoo-gate (ESPN doesn’t like to dwell on controversy during games, ie every Favre broadcast) and the over on OSU vs the SEC (I think OSU loses). I hope you’re keeping track.
@Mark I wasn’t specific… I mean, how many times does ESPN mention speed, tattoo-gate, and OSU’s SEC record… For example; Des Howard mentioned speed four times and fast twice. Then Captain Kirk said OSU needs to remove ankle weight twice in two sentences.. They basically blew up the under in one segment.
Did anyone else see the Miami Heat hat on Pryor during warm-ups? Dude really knows how to get the fan base behind him right before a big game…
If Mallet plays like he did against Bama, people will see he’s a glorified Derek Anderson.
Of course if he tears us up, he will look nothing like DA, and I’ll feel like a fool.
@Lyon
If he plays well he’ll look like DA… DA has one amazing game, then two bad and a mediocre game.
Petrino just ran into the locker room… Odds are Arkansas will find a letter addressed to the team from Petrino saying that he accepted the Pitt Panthers job.
/sarcasm, but not outside the realm of possibility.
I felt apathetic about this game, but now the fire is lit…
Look at that – suspension brothers hooking up for a beauty.
Go bucks
I want Jimmy to put up 60 points then in the post game interview I want him to say “What’s that trash you’ve been talking about my team, players, and conference?”
Pryor is going out in style – wow – to bad he didn’t have a little more if this against Wisconsin huh?
The nuts r cracking man if they blow this game the wolves will be at the door! Mallet is a stud.
If this ends up being an epic choke, we need to have a serious WFNY discussion if the entire last month qualifies as one of the worst in Ohio sports history…
The fix is in…no way that’s a safety
Why can’t we step on their throats when they’re down?
Clearly our problems are state wide and not just local when it comes to sports.
3rd and 5 and they go off tackle? Tressel calls the game like marty shottenheimer. Play not to lose rather than to win.
Ha ha blocked punt with under 2 minutes r u kidding me!!!
INT just saved the mutiny man did OSU escape.
How absolutely insane were those last 5 minutes?
They tried as much as they could to give that game away, but Arkansas just wanted it more I guess.
Can someone explain to me why OSU went for it on 4th down with 6 minutes to go? Seriously, what was that? I didn’t get it at all.
I thought Tressel’s decisions at the end of the game were bad. They got lucky they didnt need any timeouts and that ‘Arkunsaw’ kicked a field goal after the botched 4th down attempt
But isn’t amazing how good a team can do when your receivers make difficult catches (Sanzi, Posey) and how dropped passes can absolutely kill you.
Where have I seen this before?
GAME AGAINST HOGS GONE HAM LOL WUT
@21lyon.. you nailed it.
as browns fans we should know that DA reveals himself at the worst possible time. but until he reveals his true self even browns fans –who should know better– marvel at the un-stop-able talent in that cannon of an arm. breathtaking. pro and con.
i was shocked at grossi’s pregame tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/TonyGrossi/status/22428503337078785
having lived through the unfulfilled promise of DA, i was dumbfounded that ‘one who knows’ would leave a suggestion that such a qb might be in the browns thinking.
ryan mallett may develop into a spectacular qb. but if he does, i’m convinced he’ll be the nfl’s wilt chamberlain. i like what i’ve seen in colt mccoy as a ‘whole’ qb. whole means, in this order:
1. inspiring confidence in his teammates
2. football is his passion
2a. pre-game film review and preparation is not a chore
2b. it’s actually a joy.
3. intelligence to read defenses at line of scrimmage
3a. confidence to audible at l.o.s.
4. balls to stand tall in the pocket when it’s breaking down
5. arm strength to complete crossfield down-and-out.
to our benefit, #5 is most prized by simpleton draft-niks. please let someone draft mallett before us. i look forward to choosing between green/fairley or trading down and taking ayers/carimi.
@42 Mallett will not be another DA not even close and I’ll bet you today, tomorrow and the next day. Don’t confuse a bad INT to Lise a game with less skills. He didn’t have alit of help from his WRs consistently. That TD throw along the left corner of the end zone is the result of talent. Give Mallett and McCoy that throw 100x and I’ll take Mallett. That being said given where the Browns will draft and the presence if McCoy here I can’t see Mallett being drafted. Whoever does draft him, if he comes out for draft, will be better instantly. Book it!
The Browns need a top WR followed by a stud DL, LB and RT. After that another RB along with another CB would be my wish list. Hopefully if there is free agency they can fill the RT spot.
Ohio State surprised me, in the first half…in the second they almost reverted back to their old ways enough to almost lose. But hey a win is a win is a win right?