Football
The Buckeye Watch
By Tony GerdemanIt’s hard to get too upset about an empty hourglass. You could see the sand running out. Are you surprised when the last grain falls?
Such is life for another Ohio State offense.
Of course in that analogy, we can just flip the hourglass and start all over again. But this team still has six games to play and I’m not sure there’s any more sand coming our way.
The offensive implosions seem to be happening more and more this year. Usually we can expect one or two per year, but now they’re a fairly regular occurrence and it doesn’t seem like Jim Tressel minds.
Actually, it’s probably too soon to say he doesn’t mind. We’ll see in the offseason whether he’s okay with his offense (which he seemingly is always very okay with for some reason).
However, it’s not too soon to say that I mind. (As if that matters.)
It’s almost as if offense is a foreign concept for Jim Tressel. It’s like watching him travel abroad and read phrases from a translating dictionary. Instead of signaling in a working offensive play for Terrelle Pryor, he is asking “Can you please show me the bathroom” in Portuguese.
And we wonder where the quarterback progression is.
How can we expect a quarterback to progress when the offensive coaches refuse to do the same?
I swear when this staff travels to see other offenses in the offseason, they do so just to prove to themselves that they’re doing it right. Like when you visit with relatives just so you can spend the drive home talking about them behind their back. (I don’t do this--even though my sister and her family give me plenty of ammo to work with.)
But eventually the frustration with this offense will subside.
As will ticket sales.
And interest from Bowl Committees.
And recruits.
And from the existing players.
It’s going to be just great.
10:29 I’m just not confident in the offense today. The Boilers are going to be focused on stopping the run, which would theoretically free up the pass, but theories get proven wrong every day. And Purdue has the 32nd-ranked pass efficiency defense in the nation, so that might be too much to overcome…for a blowout, anyway.
10:41 Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh‘s name means “House of Spears”. That’s awesome. Somewhat similarly, Shane Olivea’s name means “House of Pancakes”.
11:27 The Buck-I Guy special is airing on BTN. Awesome, the sound isn‘t working. Dang it. The sound just came back. I can’t do it anymore. I’m going to see what Desmond’s saying on ESPN instead. You know it’s bad if I’m reaching out to Desmond for some serenity now.
11:35 I switched back to BTN in time to see the studio guys talking about Nathan Williams. And if you didn’t know, Williams’ new nickname is “White Freeney”. I can’t take credit for it, it was coined by a poster on the Fan Forum. Actually, I probably could have taken credit for it given my terrific history of coining nicknames, most notably “Sanzo”. Of course, they’re not all hits. Alex Boone’s “The Champagne of Left Tackles” and Doug Datish’s “Black Caesar” were both horrible flops.
11:45 I sure hope we get the ball sometime in the third quarter this week. That would be cool.
12:01 The Buckeyes are going to receive. I hope Jon Thoma has had a chance to warm up.
12:03 Play-action. Terrelle Pryor gets wrapped up and the ball is fumbled. Purdue gets the football. Pryor was fighting to stay up and the ball got stripped. Two plays, two times he was stuffed. Not a good start. Turnovers were going to be big today, but I was thinking they’d be bigger for the Buckeyes.
12:04 Reverse pass from Keith Smith to Aaron Valentin in the endzone, but Valentin couldn’t bring it down. Great play call, but the Buckeyes held their coverage. Chimdi Chekwa was right there.
12:05 Third and nine and Joey Elliot throws a screen pass into the flats to Ralph Bolden, who picks up five yards. Not sure Purdue was even trying there. They’re playing scared. Or maybe they know three points is enough to win.
12:06 Here comes a Carson Wiggs field goal from 32-yards out…Got it. Purdue leads 3-0 and now the Buckeyes will come back with two short Brandon Saine runs before an incomplete pass on third down to DeVier Posey, which would have been three yards short of a first down even if it was complete.
12:07 Wow, I’m a hater.
12:09 Here’s the give to Saine on the first play from scrimmage and he busts it up the middle for about 20 yards. That was easy. Nice seal by Bryant Browning as well. I was expecting two short gains from Saine. I love being wrong. It’s such a rarity that I still find the novelty of it very interesting.
12:10 Pryor dumps it to Saine, who makes a great grab on a throw behind him in the flats and gets it down to the six-yard line! More Saine--I like it. That was a 40-yard pick up. Keep him involved. In fact, wear him out. Two touches for Saine and he already has 60 yards of offense. I wish I was wrong more often! (But again, as I said, we could wish for candy mountains and taffy trolley cars, but that doesn’t make them appear.)
12:11 First and goal from the six-yard line. Pryor keeps it on the read option and he beats Jason Werner to the corner for the touchdown. Fantastic job on the read option. That’s what makes him the player he is. And he still has plenty of room to grow in that regard. Buckeyes lead 7-3 and the rout is on!
12:12 Now you’re seeing what a limited number of touches does to an offense in a game like last week. It only takes one play to change the field, and the Buckeyes just didn’t have enough opportunities last week. Big plays will come. Although the big play on this drive probably should have been an incompletion. Instead, I’ll choose to focus on the fact that Saine was probably Pryor’s third or fourth option. So much for him locking on a receiver, eh?
12:14 Even a deer in headlights will still total a car.
12:15 Purdue opens five wide. Joey Elliott picks up 14 yards on the short pass while Kurt Coleman is ripping at the ball like a frightened gardener trying to kill a snake with a trowel.
12:16 Five wide again. Another short pass, this one to Keith Carolos for nine yards. This is Purdue. You have to eliminate the first down gain in order to put pressure on them in second and third and long. And then wait for an incompletion.
12:17 Fumble on the handoff to Ralph Bolden and the Buckeyes land on it! Bolden never had it, then the ball got kicked around and Kurt Coleman came up with it. He’s around the ball more than the two white stripes that are LITERALLY around the ball.
12:18 Uh oh, Pryor is audibling--which means he’s changing it to a run…There it is. Two-yard loss for Saine. When Ohio State advertises that TP can’t change to a pass, you have to assume the defense knows a run is coming, no?
12:19 Fake to Lamaar Thomas…Screen to Saine for two yards. Nice thought, poor execution by Justin Boren, who gets called for holding. Will Purdue take the penalty? (Ha! “Will Purdue”!) Actually, it was a block in the back and yes, Purdue is taking it. They take the penalty because of TP’s ability to pick up third downs with his leg. That’s one of his hidden values.
12:20 Third and long. More pressure from the right side of the defensive line, forcing Pryor to get rid of it early to Jake Ballard. Pryor can’t just drop back and look downfield right now because the offensive line refuses to block.
12:21 Thoma punts…and shanks it way out of bounds. Perfect opportunity to pin the Boilers and the punt goes about 30 yards. The gunners were even down at the goal line wondering where the ball went. They were holding their arms up like “Did we fake it?”
12:26 Wide receiver screen. Valentin picks up eleven yards. That was a new one today. Purdue combats the aggressiveness…especially when Ross Homan is getting held. Uh oh. Cameron Heyward is down and in pain. This is not good. They’re looking at his left leg. I’ll guess it was a cheap shot.
12:29 Cam is walking off with a slight limp. That’s good to see, but who knows what it means. Yep, it was a cheap chop block. No surprise. Typical Tiller bull crap even with Tiller in retirement.
12:30 Swing pass to Frank Halliburton and Kurt Coleman blows him up for a four-yard loss like just Donte Whitner used to. We are Strong Safety U!
12:31 Screen again to Valentin and Homan stops it for a loss of three yards. Amazing what happens when he’s not being held.
12:32 Here comes the 52-yard field goal attempt. No wind. Wide right. The Buckeyes dodge another bullet from the Boilermakers’ derringer.
12:33 Seemed like Purdue had the ball quite a long time there. I’m hoping Jon Thoma is well-rested.
12:35 There is all kinds of personnel running around on the field right now with just eight seconds on the play clock. Timeout Pryor. I like Chinese Fire Drills as much as the next guy, but I hate them on the football field. It’s inexcusable to have players still getting the signals with under ten seconds to play and then having to run to the other side of the field while sending the far receiver all the way over to the near side. Where is the coordination to this offense?
12:37 Short completion to Ray Small on third down because J.B. Shugarts let Ryan Kerrigan run right by him. It’s hard to develop as a passer when there’s no time to sit back and actually read a defense. Thoma’s punt is downed inside the ten-yard line.
12:40 Third and four. There’s a completion to Keith Carlos but Kurt Coleman rips and rips and rips it out of Carolos’ hands and Thaddeus Gibson jumps on it! Buckeye ball! That dude is awesome. There was no whistle, so the play was still alive. Rip, rip, rip!
12:41 What?? Purdue still has the ball? Forward progress was stopped? Where was the whistle? This is bullcrap. Where’s the whistle??
12:42 The give to Bolden is good for two yards. Purdue owes us a turnover. Fortunately, they‘re good for it. But that was still a terrible call.
12:43 That’s the end of the quarter with the Buckeyes leading 7-3 and I can’t say enough about how well the Big Ten refs explained their position on that fumble. Just quality communicating right there. Great to see, eh? The refs swallow the whistles in case things like this happen, and yet they’re still allowed to mentally decide when the play was down? “I didn’t blow my whistle, but I made a ‘mental note to self’ just at the moment prior to the fumble.” Give me a break. Big Ten refs taking mental notes is like Ron Zook taking mental notes--full of scribbles and gobs of white out.
12:44 Third and eight. Bolden in motion. Two-man rush. Keith Smith gets a three-yard pass and picks up nine on the run after catch. Two-man rush? Really? Because a three-man rush is just too aggressive? Why bother rushing anybody?
12:51 Thaddeus Gibson finally gets some pressure and Elliott throws back across the field for a first down. Chris Martin says, “This is why Elliott leads the Big Ten in passing yards.” Yes Chris, but it’s also why he leads in interceptions as well.
12:52 Bolden gets the give and picks up six yards. It’s frustrating to watch an offensive line play well because I’m so used to watching a team who makes it look so difficult.
12:53 Give to the fullback Frank Halliburton and he picks up seven yards. Sneaky give to the fullback. That’s okay, we’ll just keep waiting for a turnover. The longer our defense is on the field, the more our odds increase!
12:56 Oh! Ross Homan gets the pressure and Elliott throws the ball right into Brian Rolle’s hands, and he drops it. I told you a linebacker would intercept a pass today, but there will still be opportunities.
12:57 Punt. Fair catch. Ray Small muffs it and Purdue recovers it. We’re playing Purdue’s game in Purdue’s stadium. And by “Purdue’s game”, I mean “crap”. This game is essentially “Anything thing you can screw up, I can screw up worser“. Yes, I said “worser”. Ray just flat dropped that punt. Right through his arms. Time for the defense to hold again.
12:57 Quarterback draw to Elliott picks up three yards. Gotta hold here and hope we can get a little bit of field position, which would allow Jon Thoma to pin the Boilermakers back on their next possession. Good coaches think three or four plays ahead. Just like in Connect Four.
12:59 Third and seven from the Ohio State ten-yard line. Kurt Coleman comes on the blitz and drills Elliott, who throws it incomplete to Keith Smart. Another nice stop by the defense, assuming this field goal is actually a field goal. Which it is. Wiggs nails it from 28 yards out. Buckeyes lead it 7-6.
1:05 Pryor rolls out…finds an open Sanzo, but it was too high for him to bring it in in bounds. Maybe. Might want to review that catch. He got one hand on it, then looks like he gathered it in right before he went out of bounds. No review as the Buckeyes get right back to the line. Let the reviewers look at it at least.
1:05 Pryor keeps it on the read option and picks up five yards. Purdue is watching him like a hawk, which probably explains why Saine is running free so well. (Which would be all the more reason to actually get the ball to Brandon Saine.)
1:06 Third down blitz and TP throws it to the open zone, but Sanzo couldn’t get to it. Passing the ball is for losers. I hate it. Thoma punts the ball and it’s fair caught at the nine-yard line.
1:10 The Boilermakers go three and out. Here’s the punt…Wow! Terrible shank. The Buckeyes get the ball at the Purdue 30-yard line. Don’t screw up the field goal position here, fellas!
1:11 Saine loses a yard on the inside give. Two QB runs later and we should be looking at a 56-yarder.
1:12 Another third down blitz and TP hits Posey on the slant for ten yards. Posey is pumped and there’s another completion. I’m saddened at my relief at seeing a completed pass. It’s like being an unfrozen caveman marveling at a hammer.
1:13 QB draw. One yard. The whistle blows in order to avoid any strips. I hate the QB draw. It is terrible 90% of the time, I’m guessing. We can’t block for it and we can’t run it. Just scrap it. It’s terrible. It doesn’t help anything. Especially not our field goal position!
1:14 Saine gets the give, breaks tackles and ends up in the endzone! But there’s a penalty flag down and this will be a holding on Bryant Browning. Yep, they showed the replay. He grabbed him pretty quickly, but blatantly.
1:15 Oh please, Calgon-soaking Baby Jebus please help me. There was a play-action screen that got blown up completely and TP got hit immediately by Ryan Kerrigan, and still tried to throw the ball, fumbling it in the process. Jim Tressel has never had a team that could run the screen, and yet we call it down here? Ridiculous. I refuse to believe we’re able to run screens successfully in practice. Why do the coaches think things will change during an actual game? Terrelle never had a chance, but that doesn’t excuse the fumble. This offense is depressing.
1:16 I can’t believe my joking fears of losing field goal position were validated.
1:17 Yes I can.
1:20 Another completion to Keith Smith, and this one picks up twelve yards. The defensive line has been neutralized today. Apparently offensive lines are capable of blocking. I would have thought differently.
1:22 What?! Halfback pass by Dan Dierking and Chimdi Chekwa intercepts it in the endzone. Purdue twice has gone to fluke plays in the redzone. This is what this defense does to opposing offensive coordinators. But this was just terrible. Your quarterback moves you down the field all game long and you don’t let him finish it. I thought our coaching was baffling. Purdue is actually trying to give the Buckeyes the game. It’s like trying to convince somebody to eat the last piece of a terrible cake.
1:23 Saine loses four yards on the give from TP. There are now 44 seconds to play. Purdue calls a timeout. Watching this Ohio State offense, I feel like I’m witnessing a framed house getting blown down by a slight wind.
1:24 Another incomplete pass in the vicinity of two receivers. You can’t even tell who it was actually intended for. The blitz came from the corner and it was picked up, but it’s not like TP can count on that always happening. But why didn’t we force Purdue to use their final timeout there? We’re 50 yards away from a field goal, so there’s no way Jim Tressel is thinking something can actually happen here. This better not turn into a Purdue score when they get the ball back, or these points are once again on Jim Tressel.
1:25 Third and 14 and Pryor keeps it. He runs wide and picks up twelve yards, lowering a shoulder in frustration. Purdue calls timeout with 33 seconds to play. Danny Hope couldn’t have done this any better if he was scripting a scrimmage.
1:26 Here’s the punt…and it‘s fair caught at the Purdue 31-yard line. 26 seconds to play. Will the Boilers ask Dan Dierking to pass them down the field here?
1:27 Four wide. Looking like Purdue has an interest in scoring. Elliott finds an open Smith down the middle of the field for 23 yards. This is bad. A field goal here could win it.
1:29 The Buckeyes hold and here comes Carson Wiggs to attempt a field goal from 55 yards out, into a slight wind. It’s good! Made it by a few feet. Purdue leads 9-7 at the half and there are boos being heard, no doubt from Buckeye fans booing their offense…and coaches.
1:30 I’m just trying to figure out how the Buckeyes are going to get two safeties and still keep Purdue from scoring any points against Terrelle Pryor and this offense.
1:36 I expected a pretty poor offensive performance today, because, after all, this is Jim Tressel’s team. But there’s a difference between a poor offensive performance and an embarrassing offensive performance. This offense, save for Brandon Saine, looks like it just started playing football on Wednesday. Jim Tressel talks about how he wants his teams to get better as the season goes on, but why does that never apply to his offense? Or his coaching? Opposing defensive coordinators have to laugh at themselves when they prepare to play his teams. All they have to worry about is individuals making individual plays. You never hear them talking about schemes, you just hear them talking about how big Terrelle Pryor is. It’s never about the positions the coaches put him in, or his ability to beat them with his arm. It’s essentially about making sure that when the Tressel-designed play breaks down, Pryor doesn’t beat you. That’s ridiculous. The only time a defense has to worry about this offense is when the play goes away from what Tressel intended. How backwards is that? Meanwhile, when an offensive line can’t contain Purdue’s defensive line, what can you expect Pryor to do? All a defense has to do is rush four, maybe bring one blitzer and keep the other two linebackers on the edges waiting for Pryor to come to them. Ohio State’s only hope is for a long play to do most of their work for them. Just like Saine’s 40-yard catch and run. It’s unacceptable for an offense to look this bad for this many years. And yet, if the Buckeyes win, Tressel will just talk about having to get better and how they can’t keep putting the defense in bad positions. But all Tressel’s offense DOES is put his defenses in bad positions. How can you want something from your offense and not realize that the way you do things directly leads to the thing you don’t want it to lead to.
1:37 We can’t let the offense put the defense in a bad position. And yet here we are. Like always. Maybe do something about it instead of just talking about it. Terrible.
1:46 ESPN says Purdue has 19 minutes of possession, but ESPN says 23:23. Purdue has 47 plays to our 24. How is this putting your defense in the absolute best position? How? In what jaded mind is the offense that Jim Tressel puts out on the field every week in any conceivable way good for the defense? Please, explain it to me. I want to learn. I want to believe.
1:50 Troy Smith must have been the best damned quarterback in college football history.
1:51 And it’s not even like we can hope for offensive adjustments. There’s no such thing. We just have to hope somebody makes some plays.
1:52 Kickoff to Purdue. Get the defense on the field, baby. Jim Tressel attributes the struggles to turnovers. Yes, that’s the easy answer.
1:51 Kickoff to the six-yard line. Purdue returns it out to the 27-yard line. Flag on the play. Sideline infraction on Ohio State. More coaching expertise!
1:52 Play-action rollout pass to Halliburton out to the 38-yard line and Chimdi took him down with a belly-to-belly suplex. Just stay away from the Robert Reynolds choke slam.
1:54 Danny Hope is asked “How do you turn those field goals into touchdowns?” Talk about an unnecessary alchemy. How can we turn this gold into some type of “super gold”?!?
1:57 When Ohio State gets the ball back--assuming they get it back--I just have this feeling like Jim Tressel has no idea what to do in order to move the ball. At least not with Terrelle Pryor. But of course that falls back to coaching again.
2:00 Hey, great! Touchdown Aaron Valentin over Devon Torrence. And the rout is on. Purdue leads 16-7. I have no idea how we are going to be able to move the ball well enough to score twice, let alone three times.
2:01 Time to answer. Please. Here’s the kickoff…pooch. Small at the 21-yard line, breaks out and fights to the 37-yard line. Nice job by Ray and he was close to breaking loose. I’m guessing Ray was standing on the 20-yard line because there was a sneaky reverse planned.
2.02 Speed option and the pitch is off and Saine jumps on it after a loss of about six yards. Is the correct term “inauspicious” or “auspicious”? Or do they both mean flammable? I can never remember.
2:03 TP finds Small for three yards on second and long. I hate it when people talk about bringing in the backup quarterback, but if the passing game is nonexistent, eventually something has to be done.
2:04 Pryor is sacked for a loss of two yards on third and 13. The blitz got picked up, but TP stepped up into the waiting arms of Jason Werner. Linebackers just wait for him to come to them because they have nothing else to worry about. It’s like a sobriety checkpoint. They just put their hands up in the “Halt!“ position and the whole offense comes crashing down. The punt is fair caught at the 21-yard line.
2:05 I hope the defense had a chance to get some Gatorade. It actually makes me sad to watch this offense. Football is supposed to be an escape, not a reminder that your life continues to suck even on the weekends.
2:09 Purdue goes three and out. Time to block a punt…nope…Small is stopped immediately, but at least he caught it--which is the important part.
2:10 False start. Mike Adams. Can’t go an entire game without it. It’s like a catch phrase on a sitcom. Imagine Fronzie without the “ayyyy”.
2:11 Play-action. Pryor is looking downfield, nothing there…looking again and throws it to Brandon King who intercepts it with Duron Carter watching it happen. And King returns it past midfield and Terrelle Pryor is upset. He should have just run that ball up the middle. There was plenty of room to run. Whoa. How about a pass interference on that one. Carter couldn’t keep running towards the ball because King stopped him dead in his tracks.
2:12 Interception! Devon Torrence on a bad pass by Joey Elliott that actually saw some defensive line pressure. Now do something with this! Purdue will always give you a chance. Suckabout is fair play. Just do something with it this time please.
2:14 What a horrible game to have to watch. I feel like a victim. Don‘t be surprised if there‘s a class-action lawsuit after being subjected to this game. Pryor‘s going downfield again…Posey has to stop for it and Purdue nearly intercepts it again. The crowd boos. TP didn’t even step into the throw. Posey is frustrated.
2:16 Unbelievable. Another interception by Brandon King on a short out route. It’s time to sit Pryor before you destroy him mentally. Let him watch a bit. Five turnovers now. And Pryor sits alone on the bench. I’m sure the coaching is coming via telepathy.
2:17 I already feel like the game is over because I just don’t expect the offense to suddenly look like an offense.
2:18 Jim Tressel is fond of saying “If it ain’t broke, break it.” Well don’t worry, Coach, Purdue did that for you. Freaking PURDUE!
2:20 Five wide. Screen to Valentin. Touchdown through no man’s land. Terrific play, nice throw, better run. Perfect blocking. Hines missed the tackle, but Valentin did a tremendous job of finding his way. Purdue leads 23-7 with 3:35 to play in the third quarter.
2:21 What’s the saying about doing something repeatedly that you know doesn’t work? I think it’s “The journey of a thousand miles begins by first walking through a solid brick wall somehow”.
2:24 TP still in. Sack. The offensive line just caves in after a second. Nobody to throw to. No time to throw. At what point does this become pointless?
2:26 Third and long. The pass falls incomplete. Receivers aren’t even looking for the ball. And again, for about the fourth time today, there was a pass where there were two receivers in the same area and there’s no telling who the pass was actually intended for. The Buckeyes punt.
2:27 No help from his receivers, his offensive line or his coaches. And he needs it from all three to be a legitimate quarterback. This is almost surreal. Like watching somebody grasping to the edge of a cliff, but you see their fingers slipping off one by one.
2:30 Two straight runs for Purdue brings us to the end of the quarter and Danny Hope is basically telling Jim Tressel straight to his face that he has no fear, no respect, no regard and no concern about the Ohio State offense. Purdue leads by an insurmountable 23-7 score.
2:32 At least we’ve had plenty of time today to accept the impending loss. It takes some of the sting off. And it allows me to get back to my “Bring Gus Malzahn to Columbus” campaign.
2:34 Oh jeez! The punt just barely bounced into the endzone. Being pinned on the one-yard line would not have been good. One quarter to play, 16 points to go. Half a pack of smokes, sunglasses at night, handcuffed to a radiator of an offense, etc, etc, etc.
2:34 Play-action bootleg…going deep to Small…it’s complete! That’s a 38-yard gain down to the Purdue 42-yard line. The double move got it done, and it was still a near interception.
2:36 Speed option and Pryor takes it down to the one-yard line with those long, beautiful, frustrating strides. Terrific read by TP there. The ball will be at the 1.5 yard line.
2:37 Check that. The ball will be at the three-yard line. That was a terrible spot after the long run. Doesn’t seem like the Big Ten is reviewing anything today and there have been several reviewable plays. Pryor picks up a yard on the quarterback power run that made Troy Smith famous.
2:38 Third and goal from the two-yard line. Give me two quarterback sneaks. Nope. Shotgun. TP keeps the option for no gain. I’m okay with kicking a field goal here. Expecting two perfect drives and two two-point conversions is a bit much--especially after we just went 0-3 from basically the same spot the two-point conversions would come from. Here comes Pettrey. Bad angle though. Not feeling good here. Delay of game. This moves them back a bit.
2:40 Here’s Pettrey’s field goal…Got it. Finally, the special teams are on the board. Give me a break, Special Teams, we need more than that from you! 23-10.
2:43 Kickoff…squib…Al-Terek McBurse gets it out at the 20-yard line and returns it to the 45-yard line. Love the squib. Good ol’ squib. Trusty squib. Never lets us down.
2:48 Third and fifteen. Watch the screen! Elliott scrambles, finds some room, but will be three yards short at the 32-yard line. Purdue has a huge field goal coming here. And a fake would probably be devastating.
2:49 Wiggs nails it. Purdue leads 26-10 with 10:06 to play. Back to insurmountability.
2:50 It’s pretty clear that we’re going to need to have TP roll out more and heave prayers downfield that hopefully don’t get intercepted. Then he’ll also need to break off a 40-yard run or two, but this time he MUST, MUST, MUST get into the endzone.
2:54 The Buckeyes are dinking and dunking right now. There’s four more for Posey. Purdue will allow this for now. Though a blitz would probably end it.
2:57 Pryor drops back…dances…gets pressured, reverses field and throws it up for grabs…Touchdown DeVier Posey! Pryor threw it up and Posey went up and got it! Wait, there are flags down…should be pass interference on Sanzo‘s guy. Yep, the touchdown stands! Both he and Sanzo were open on that prayer. A little reminiscent of Troy Smith against PSU in 2006.
2:58 Here comes the two-point conversion. The Buckeyes come out five wide. TP rolls out and will walk in for the two-point conversion. Buckeyes trail 26-18 with 7:14 to play!
2:59 I finally see some determination on this Buckeye team. They are not ready to go quietly into that good night. Or afternoon…I guess. But the defense needs a stop here. If only the squib kick wouldn’t have happened on the last drive and Purdue didn‘t have field goal position almost immediately. How often do we say that about squib kicks? When was the last time we said “We should have squib kicked there?”
3:04 Third and long and there’s immediate pressure by Nathan Williams and Kurt Coleman gets the sack. Very nice. Plenty of time to make something happen with 5:22 to play. The punt is downed at the 39-yard line.
3:09 Third and five at the Purdue 29-yard line with 2:37 to play. Pryor gets sacked for a loss of ten yards. Awesome. He had very little time, but I guess he should be used to that by now. Buckeyes call a timeout with 2:24 to play. Even with the quick passes, Pryor still didn’t have time to get the throw away. Two timeouts left. And we may need them.
3:10 If the Buckeyes have a hook and lateral play in the playbook, they may want to break it out here with a fourth and 14.
3:11 Pryor is chased, rolls out and throws it downfield to a Purdue defender who bats it down. Purdue ball with 2:16 to play.
3:12 We need three quick stops and we’ll get the ball back with a minute to play. Bolden gets a yard. Timeout Buckeyes. 2:10 to play.
3:14 Elliot rolls out and slides down at the 39-yard line. Timeout with 2:04 to play. Everything is going according to plan. FINALLY.
3:16 Third and nine. There’s a screen to Valentin and Doug Worthington just ended the game with a facemask penalty. Ball game. He knew it and tried to pull his hand off. Can’t help but feel for him.
3:17 Purdue comes out in the Victory formation.
3:18 Let’s just call it ballgame. 26-18. Welcome to the worst loss of the Jim Tressel era. Props to Purdue for doing the inevitable, though.
3:19 It’s awesome to see such excitement from a head coach. Props to the Boilers. They deserved this one. And now Danny Hope is down there shaking hands with the fans.
3:22 Tresselball is to comebacks what four packs a day is to cancer prevention.
3:30 It’s hard to really be mad this late in the day, so if you were expecting some angry postgame rant, it’s just not going to happen. This is what we have. This is what we are. And it’s not going to change this year. All we can do is be glad we play in a terrible conference with average players and hope we’re just a little bit more above average than the teams we play.
3:31 But I have no idea how we’re going to score against Penn State and Iowa. Or anybody except for New Mexico State. And now you’re starting to get me angry and there was really nothing about this game that’s worth any more of my emotion. I’m done. I’m going to go watch Charlie Weis and wish we were so schematically advantaged. Seriously.
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