A Game of Thrones: No. 4 Ohio State 31, No. 23 Wisconsin 24

If you told me Joel Stave would pass for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns against the Ohio State secondary, I probably would’ve told you the Badgers’ shot at pulling off the upset were pretty high.

Unfortunately for Stave, his one interception of the day allowed the Buckeyes to extend the lead to 31-14 late in the third quarter. Even taking into account the wildly productive connection between Stave and Jared Abbrederis all game long, Wisconsin is not built to operate at such a deficit.

With vague questions lingering about Braxton Miller’s ability to jump back into the action and operate like the fully operational Death Star—and not the partially built one in Episode 6—the opening minutes would prove crucial. Miller quickly dispelled any notions of rust, zinging a laser of a touchdown pass on a skinny post to Evan Spencer, who zoomed by freshman corner Sojourn Shelton as if he wasn’t there.

Later in the quarter, Stave found Abbrederis as the pocket began to collapse around him (who finished with a whopping 207 yards on 10 receptions), resulting in a 36-yard score and Bradley Roby on the ground in the 6'2'' receiver's wake.

Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda’s side of the ball had a rough go of it in terms of getting pressure on Miller. A few minutes after the Abbdrederis score, Miller rolled to his left and rocketed yet another laser, this time to Devin Smith in the corner of the end zone for six.

The Buckeyes added a field goal with 4:33 to go in the second, extending the lead to 17-7 and necessitating a response from the Badgers. Once again, Stave was up to the challenge, as he found Sam Arneson for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 1:30 to go in the first half. Entering the half down 17-14, on the road, with Miller looking like he was picking up exactly where he left off, would have been a perfect outcome for the underdogs.

Of course, the half did not end without more fireworks. Miller hit the speedy Philly Brown on a 40-yarder with one second left, sending the Badgers into the half down 10 and perhaps reminding UW fans of Miller's late game touchdown heave in the same stadium two years ago.

Other than Miller’s ability to exploit UW’s vulnerable secondary with ease, the biggest issue confronting the Badgers was the inability to do much on the ground, which is of course where they do their business. Melvin Gordon finished the day with 74 yards on 15 carries, making for a respectable mark of 4.9 yards per carry. However, his longest gain of the day was just 16; for a player who has made a living busting off long gains, the absence of such in this contest was one of several death knells for the Badgers in Columbus.

In even worse news for the Badgers, senior tailback James White managed just 31 yards of his own, albeit on only eight carries. White is no slouch when it comes to making big plays either, as his dynamic touchdown run against Purdue last week showed. Nonetheless, with Gordon unable to shake free, the Badgers needed more tough yardage from their senior back.

With that said, as Michigan fans know, getting production on the ground is contingent upon good blocking. For most of Saturday night, a Buckeye front seven that has been universally deemed talented but young and “raw” stuffed the UW ground game, forcing Stave to beat the Buckeyes through the air.

To Stave’s credit, he often did just that, albeit mostly to just one receiver. On that front, I have to say that although I haven’t seen nearly as much of Penn State’s Allen Robinson—who many deem the best receiver in the conference—it’s difficult for me to say that Abbrederis doesn’t deserve that distinction.

With the Badgers down 10 entering the second half, an early third quarter score would be a healing salve on a 10-point wound that threatened to become fatal.

The Badgers forced a Buckeye punt, but proceeded to go three-and-out after failing to convert on 3^rd & 6. Wisconsin's front seven showed its resolve on the ensuing Buckeye drive, giving up three yards on first, second and third down before stuffing Carlos Hyde on 4th & 1. 

Wisconsin thus started their next drive at their own 39, but that field position was immediately squandered. Ohio State linebacker Curtis Grant sacked Stave on first down for a loss of nine. Then, the dam took on its biggest fissure in the game to that point. 

Bradley Roby reeled in Stave's only interception of the game, returning it to the Wisconsin 32. The Buckeyes rushed just four on the play, but Ohio State DE Adolphus Washington badly beat left tackle Tyler Marz to the outside. Washington hit Stave right as he threw, leading to a wobbly duck of a pass to an area of the field with nary a Badger to be found. In truth, you can't even fault Stave for this one; Washington is a great player, but you simply can't get beat like that, especially with the Buckeyes only bringing four. Easier said than done, of course.

Nonetheless, with an opportunity to hold the Buckeyes to just a field goal try, Wisconsin gave up a first down on 3rd & 8 at their own 15. This might not have mattered in the end, but being down two scores instead of three would have been a small victory there heading into the final quarter.

The UW defense had yet another chance to hold the Buckeyes, on third & goal from the one-yard line. Miller pulled the ball from Hyde, and with what appears to be LB Joe Schobert in his face, surgically darted a perfect low ball between Dezmen Southward and Darius Hillary, right into the hands of Philly Brown. 

From there, the game of catch-up took an extra order of magnitude of desperation. 

I don't remember what OSU was doing defensively (and don't have the game in my DVR), but the Badgers finally found some success on the ground, with Gordon and White picking up gains of eight, four, 10 and five on UW's ensuing drive. Following a holding penalty on Bradley Roby, White popped off a 17-yard score to give the Badgers life with 13:47 to go. The 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive was Wisconsin's best of the night. 

Miller started the next Buckeye drive with a 15-yard scamper, an "oh no" moment if there ever was one. The Buckeyes drove down to the Wisconsin 28, where they were met with a 3rd & 4. Backup nose tackle Warren Herring brought Miller down on the play, forcing a punt. As the announcer in Little Giants said: Mr. Momentum may be changing his address. 

The two squads then traded three-and-outs, leaving Gary Andersen's team just 4:38 to score 10 points. Stave completed a big 3rd & 9 pass to Abbrederis (who else) to keep the drive alive. Stave hit Abbrederis again for 23 and Alex Erickson for 11, but the drive fizzled out at the Buckeye 24. This time, placekicker Kyle French put a 42-yarder through the uprights to cut the lead to seven with 2:05 to go. 

Fortunately for Andersen, the Badgers had all three of their timeouts, and he used every single one of them. The Badgers forced a punt, and were left with 1:29 to go 90 yards. Given Abbrederis's big play ability, this wasn't an inconceivable outcome. However, the Buckeyes certainly knew this; as such, Stave would need to connect with his secondary targets if the Badgers were truly going to make the Ohio Stadium crowd sweat in the Columbus night.

After an incompletion on first down, a fumble on second, a completion for 13 yards on 3rd down, the Badgers were met with a 4th & 4 for the ballgame. Stave was not able to target Abbrederis on his first three attempts, and the fourth would be no different; OSU's Doran Grant broke up Stave's attempt to Jeff Duckworth, ending the comeback effort in four efficient downs. 

The Badgers fought hard, but the Buckeyes were simply too much at the skill positions for the leaky UW secondary to handle, and the Badgers ground game never really took off. For the first time all season, the UW offense was without a single 100+ yard rusher. 

If the Badgers are to have a shot at a fourth straight Big Ten title, they will need to win out and hope for two Buckeye conference losses. The way things are going, that seems unlikely; Saturday was likely the coronation of the Buckeyes upon the Leaders division throne. 

Miscellaneous Notes: 

• Like Michigan, the Badgers' pass rush has been less than fearsome to date. Although Miller was able to avoid trouble a majority of the time, backup NT Warren Herring picked up two sacks on the day. 

• Chris Borland, the James Laurinaitis of Badger linebackerdom, picked up a whopping 16 tackles in this one (10 solo), including half of a TFL. 

• The Badgers have to be kicking themselves about OSU touchdown at the end of the first half. Keep them off the board there and perhaps the second half plays out another way. 

• Kyle French's missed field goal from 32 yards out did nothing to assuage Badgers fans concerns about the placekicking. The miss seemed like a minor footnote of an event at the time, but given that the drive started with a 64-yard reception by Abbrederis (about 47 yards coming via YAC), French's miscue was an ominous moment for a Badger team that was simply looking to hang on as long as possible. 

• I have to say it again: Jared Abbrederis is as impressive a receiver as any I've seen this season. 

• From the Buckeye perspective: Miller's ability to move around and maintain velocity on his downfield throws is positively Vick-esque. Anyone who was calling for Kenny Guiton to get the start (I didn't pay enough attention to know if they exist, but, they probably did) feels pretty foolish right now. 

• Miller's Badger counterpart squashed much of the doubters' sentiments after his performance Saturday night. The lone interception proved costly, but when you figure in the road environment and the absence of the usually robust running game, it's a wonder he only erred once. 

• At 3-2 (1-1), the Badgers have a much needed bye week coming up before getting Pat Fitzgerald's Wildcats at Camp Randall on Oct. 12. As important as Saturday night was for the Badgers, the next one will go a long way toward determining the tenor of the rest of the season for UW. I wouldn't have said this at the start of the season, but the upcoming three-game stretch against Northwestern, at Iowa and at Illinois will prove to be a legitimate challenge. I'm sitting here trying to think what would be an acceptable record there for the Badgers, but I'm not really sure anymore. Is Illinois really as good as they've looked against Cincinnati and Miami (OH)? I don't know, but the Illini's trip to Lincoln this week will do a little bit to answer that question. Many, many points will be scored, that much is certain. 

• On the other hand, the Buckeyes travel to Evanston this coming Saturday, where College Gameday will be setting up shop. The Wildcats did not exactly impress in their last two victories against Western Michigan and Maine, but Fitzgerald's squad is likely OSU's biggest test until their trip to Ann Arbor, depending on how bullish you feel about Iowa, Illinois (where the Buckeyes play on the road this season) and Penn State, and how down you are vis-a-vis Michigan's recent struggles. Either way, this should be another good one and a major test for a surging Northwestern football program. 

Keep Your Enemies Closer: Week 2

Here we are at Week 2, where the Buckeyes squared off against another supposed minnow from the state of Ohio in the form of the Toledo Rockets. While Toledo is not nearly as bad as Akron, they still should not have posed a threat to the Buckeyes; unfortunately for Coach Fickell and the Buckeyes, that was not how it turned out on the field. The Buckeyes (particularly Bauserman/Miller) will have the chance to "prove themselves," but this week was not the time for that. At least, it shouldn't have been. 


As a quick prefatory note, I just want to say that these reviews will be far from perfect. After all, I am not a Buckeye fan and cannot reasonably be expected to know the ins and outs of the Buckeye roster, practice buzz, injury notes, etc. as well as the average OSU fan. With that said, I noticed some talk about my discussion of the OSU tailbacks at the O-Zone. In the interest of accuracy, I will say that I wasn't aware that Hall was lined up to be the starter pre-suspension, and I'm not sure if I simply forgot or didn't know about Berry's hamstring issues, but, either way, I didn't know that he [Berry] would've been next in line had he been healthy (hence my designation of Hyde as "Herron Understudy #1"). Mea culpa. As the season goes along and I become more familiar with the roster, I hope that I'll able to be more precise in my analysis. In the end, though, I'm just a guy writing about what I see. I am by no means an expert and I shouldn't be treated as such. With that longer than expected note behind me, let's continue with the second installment of "Keep Your Enemies Closer."


The Offense 
The Buckeyes would still be without a number of key contributors in this one (namely Jordan Hall, in addition to the suspensions levied before the season), but there's still no excuse for the lackluster performance in this game. There were certainly some bright spots, but this game represented the picking of the scab that is Joe Bauserman as OSU's starting quarterback. I'm sure Joe Bauserman is a nice guy, but the Buckeyes won't get where they want to go with Joe Bauserman. Craig Krenzel he is not. 


Naturally, the most interesting issue that needs to be discussed from the get go is the Braxton Miller's role/lack thereof in this game. Miller stood on the sidelines the entire game, Waiting for Godot  Playing Time as Joe Bauserman opted for conservative checkdown after checkdown. The potential theories behind Miller's lack of playing time are many, and it's not worth speculating about the exact reason as opposed to the decision's effect and implications. Will Luke Fickell continue to go with the older, less talented Bauserman if he struggles in the coming weeks as OSU gets ready to face teams with BCS talent? That is indeed the question, and I fall unequivocally in the Play Miller camp. Despite the age difference, I sincerely believe that there is very little that Bauserman can do that Miller cannot. Of course, the previous sentence does not take into account the other half of the Great Mass of Infinite Possibilities also known as "mistakes," which Miller would ostensibly commit more of if he become starter. 


After a nice return from Jaamal Berry (who, judging from the burst he showed, seems to have recovered nicely from a hamstring injury), OSU marched down the field methodically but with very little help for now starter Carlos Hyde, who went for runs of 0, 4, and 1 on the 7 play drive. To be fair, a pair of defenders met him unblocked at the LOS on the first one, the second was a toss sweep which the Toledo defense flowed to fairly well, and there was just nothing doing in the last one. Bauserman, on the other hand, came out firing on a successful drive. Like last week, Verlon Reed was an early beneficiary of the gameplan. He carried the ball once on a token end around for a nice gain of 12 and added a reception of 13 yards two plays later. Later on, Bauserman would hit a ridiculously wide open Stoneburner in the seam for the touchdown. Bauserman had all day and fired a pass that was just a touch off, but Stoneburner made a one-handed catch that verged on nonchalant, almost to the point that it seemed as if he could have just caught it normally. Either way, Stoneburner's increased production should be a point of immense delight to OSU fans who have been wondering if the tight end position would ever become relevant again. Stoneburner did balance out the spectacular touchdown catch with a Braylon-esque drop on 4th and 3. In the grand scheme of things it didn't mean much, but a drop is a drop. Still, Stoneburner looks like he'll be a primary target going forward, which is a good sign because he's a pretty talented player. He ended the day with 4 receptions for 43 yards and the aforementioned TD grab. 


Stoneburner had his touchdown and freshman Devin Smith--filling in for Corey "Philly" Brown, who went down with a pretty painful looking injury in the second quarter--filled in nicely, reeling in two receptions for 67 yards. Reed pitched in two receptions for 23, and Carlos Hyde flashed some receiving ability with 4 for 28 yards, as Bauserman looked to him in the flat on more than one occasion. Despite the absence of DeVier Posey and the injury of Philly Brown, the Buckeyes are still stocked at the receiver position, albeit really, really young. That could hurt them in the next few weeks as the defenders lining up across from them become better and the guys coming at Bauserman become bigger and faster, but it didn't throughout these first two games.

The running game, on the other hand, was a major disappointment. The OSU line didn't seem to get a lot of push throughout most of the day (from what I could tell based upon one viewing of the game, at least). Hyde was the primary ball carrier, with 20 carries for 76 yards, including one long touchdown run of 36 yards in which he showcased some solid vision and speed by hitting a crease created by good blocks from J.B. Shugarts and Jack Mewhort (he had another short TD run inthe 3rd quarter as well). Hyde got through the line, saw the daylight and ran to it. This was one of the few big plays on the day, as playing the "take out that one run and then see what his YPC is" leads us to a fairly grim figure of 2.1 YPC. This is not good. Rod Smith didn't do much better, carrying seven times for 24 yards and a long of nine. Once again, though, Smith put the ball on the ground (fumbling on OSU's penultimate drive), and it seems that he is building up a medical history of fumbleitis just as fast as Stephen Hopkins seems to be doing in Ann Arbor. Honestly, Smith probably shouldn't get many carries going forward, and especially if Hall is cleared to play soon. The announcers compared him to Eddie George at one point, which...okay. They're both big guys but the comparison ends there; there is a reason he is behind four other backs, although he is but a little freshman so there's still hope for him yet.


Toss sweeps were unsuccessful on a couple occasions, and Hyde was left with nowhere to go as Toledo defenders were able to knife through the wash like butter on their way to Hyde. The line's inability to just dominate Toledo in the trenches is a little worrisome, but the standard caveat about suspensions and whatnot (Adams) goes here. Although I don't think that Miami is very good, it will be interesting to see how the OSU line responds when exposed to a significant increase in athleticism and talent (whether those talented and athletic defenders can actually play defense and do things like make tackles and shed blocks in another story entirely) will be interesting. Toledo's front seven was obviously undersized and overmatched on paper but they did well in holding the Buckeyes to 112 rushing yards and 3.4 YPC. Pass protection, on the other hand, was generally pretty good (I don't believe that Bauserman was sacked a single time), but Bauserman's relative immobility is an issue when paired with a line that isn't up to normal standards at this point. 


Bauserman showcased his arm strength yet again on one play late in the second quarter when he heaved an absolute bomb down the field to Verlon Reed which ended up drawing a pass interference penalty. Arm strength is certainly not Bauserman's problem. If OSU can figure out their run blocking then that could really open up some more play action looks down the field (OSU has gone PA a number of times in their first two games). Bauserman, like Uncle Rico, can really throw that ball over them mountains if the offensive staff would just let him do it more often. How advisable an extremely vertical offense led by Joe Bauserman paired with inexperienced receivers might be is unclear, but what is clear is that arm strength is by far his biggest asset, and maybe it could help the running game if utilized in the correct proportion and circumstances. At the same time, he was pretty inaccurate at times despite having more than enough time to settle and throw. The boo birds came out early in the fourth quarter after Bauserman tossed two incomplete passes in a row en route to a three and out. I'm not sure how long the OSU fanbase will rationally tolerate Bauserman's existence as the leader of the offense, and I'm not sure how long Fickell will either given that this season is basically a one-year audition for him. I think you play Miller and live with the mistakes while assuming that his talent will eventually begin to override his youth, thus making him a better option in the long run. But, that's just me (I don't think I'm alone, though). 


The offense in a nutshell: Bauserman is not good, OL didn't perform like an OSU line should against a MAC team, and Hyde is decent but no Hall/Herron and definitely still reminds me of Lydell Ross (which probably isn't a great thing) too much to feel excessively positive about him as a player. This all becomes moot when Hall and Herron return anyway, but whatever. 

The Defense
Despite the final score, I wouldn't be too worried about the defense if I was an OSU fan. The Buckeye defense shut down the run, giving up only 46 yards on 30 carries. The Buckeyes were quick to the ball regardless the type of run, and the interior of the DL was stout once again. I was especially impressed with Etienne Sabino, who made a couple of plays that, to make a comparison with a Michigan player, reminded me of Brandin Hawthorne's slashing TFL against Notre Dame this past week. Sabino looked fast and quick to diagnose plays, a good sign for Buckeye fans as he is still relatively unproven despite a good bit of recruiting hype. 


For the most part OSU seemed to come out in a 4-2-5 look, with three guys on the line in a three point stance and one guy standing up on the edge a good amount of the time. OSU shut down the zone read pretty well...I can't remember it getting more than at most 3 or 4 yards. The linebackers stayed home and attacked when they saw the ball come out of the tailback's belly or stay in the QB's hands. Given Michigan's success with the zone read against Notre Dame, this is of particular relevance. Of course, Denard Robinson and whatever tailback Michigan trots out (hopefully Toussaint is in one piece and ready to go by The Game) are much better than Toledo's tandem, but that is a match-up that neither fanbase should think about for quite some time. 


Jonathan Hankins impressed me on one sack in the first half in which he flashed a surprising amount of agility and quicks in completely blowing by the left guard to get to Dantin. For a guy who was supposedly "slow played" by Michigan in the recruiting process for essentially being out of shape (see "too fat") despite having obvious talent, I was blown away by his quickness on this play. If he didn't play for Ohio State I'd say that he'd be a solid candidate for the elusive and always hilarious fat guy touchdown, but I guess I'll just stick to hoping that Will Campbell will drop in coverage against Eastern and return a pick for six like he's Ed Reed. A guy can dream.

First Team All-Awesome Name MLB Storm Klein had a nice pick as well, and did a solid job in getting to his spot while tracking the QB's eyes, and then, ultimately, actually making the catch. He looks like he should be another good linebacker for the Buckeyes, and yes, I am very jealous of the talent and consistent production from the LB corps for the last several years or so down there. Having guys that are disciplined, fast, and well-coached? What a novelty. I honestly have no idea how much Vrabel has or hasn't done with them thus far, but on the surface I'd say so far so good.

The only major issue on the day was a few big plays here and there. I didn't envy the Buckeye defensive backs, as defending Eric Page seemed like trying to catch a fly with a pair of tweezers. That guy is agile and fast, and I don't doubt that he has a career in the NFL ahead of him (if not simply as a punt/kick returner). The play he scored on in late in the first quarter (the 66 yard screen) was just a perfect combination of execution on the part of Page's blocking and pure, unadulterated speed on Page's part. Andrew Sweat flies in and gets blocked out of the play just enough that his tackle attempt left him flailing at Page's feet, and Page was able to enter hyperspace down the sidelines as he zoomed past Orhian Johnson (I think?) and outpaced CJ Barnett. Page can really go, so no shame there. Still, Sweat could've done better here, but the secondary could have better to clean up the mistake as well.

Other points came: a) after a blocked punt lead to a short field for Toledo and b) a touchdown after a 44 yard pass that took the Rockets to first and goal. In short, OSU's defense is still good, although the big plays and Toledo's final drive--in which they marched down the field from their own 28 all the way to the Ohio State 17 before the drive fizzled out--are things to improve upon. Also something to keep in mind: the Buckeyes were without Nathan Williams for the entire game, and John Simon didn't play much of the second half.


Special Teams 
Jaamal Berry looked good all day on kick returns, bringing three out for an average of 22.0 per returns and a long of 28. He seemed plenty quick so it seemed to me like any hamstring issues are no longer extant. In the same vein, Chris Fields had a brilliant 69 yard punt return for a touchdown in which Ryan Shazier decided to make a cameo appearance as Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. Fields brought it down the field in a flash, with little to no lateral movement, with the help of good blocking and good speed on his part (not great coverage helped somewhat too). The return from Fields is good news, especially in light of the roadrunner known as Philly Brown's injury (which didn't look too good). 




On the other hand, OSU had a punt blocked, missed a field goal (putting Drew Basil at 0/2 on the year), and was unprepared on Toledo's two point conversion on their first touchdown. Has Basil simply been unlucky or will this be the first year in a while that OSU won't have an obvious asset at the PK position? Who knows...it's way too early and way too small of a sample size to tell. Let's see how he does on the road this week. Kick coverage was decent except for one big return for 42 yards from Eric Page. This is the second week in a row that OSU has allowed a return of 40+ yards, so this will definitely be something to work on for Fickell and Co. 




Well?

This was certainly not an ideal win for the Buckeyes but college football isn't always ideal. As an outsider, the main points I took away from this game are: a) Bauserman is not very accurate or mobile (and seemed to lose confidence as the game went on), and without an elite running back behind him the offense will have some problems and b) the defense was fine minus a few big plays. In short, nothing to see here and ALL IS WELL. Well, not quite, particularly if Fickell sticks with Bauserman (which is a mistake in my opinion, both for his own chances at throwing off the interim label and OSU's chances at winning the conference), but OSU has been here before (e.g., 2009 Navy) and been just fine. Nevertheless, next week will be interesting.