2014-2015 National Champs

[Chris]

I just didn't expect Urban to be the next John Cooper.

Not quite ready to call him that yet, but if he doesn't have AT LEAST a Big 10 Title by the end of 2015...he's the new Cooper. Beats who he's supposed to (well minus Virginia Tech), recruits well, and loses every big game. Beating the bums of the Big 10 is pointless if you can't even win the goddamn conference.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy Urban is here and don't want to see him anywhere else. I still believe he will accomplish great things here. And not everything has been his fault. And no matter how well he coaches, this team is not near playoff caliber. Hopefully they can still at least compete for a conference title. But I think we all believed the program would have accomplished more by this point. If he doesn't have a conference title and/or a single bowl win by the end of 2015 it is going to be incredibly disappointing. Hell, it already is disappointing as is.

Pretty much how I feel.

Losing your star QB is an excuse to not be in title contention but not to drop out of the polls and look awful in every facet of the game.

This is OHIO FUCKING STATE and we can't even make field goals. Sorry, not acceptable. Not trying to play the "We're better than everyone else" card because it's the reason people hate OSU but when you are a top 5 program in the country not being ready to play the game and your kicker missing two gimme field goals is just absurdly inexcusable.

If the Buckeyes go on to still win 10 games, Rich, I will admit this was a bit premature. But I'm expecting 3-4 losses and in this league that just isn't acceptable, Braxton or no.

 

[AZ_]

The hyperbole and exaggeration of the Buckeyes weaknesses when they lose is such a tired act.

The're trotting out a team full of freshman and sophomores, literally 90 percent of their points have come from underclassmen. People can't wrap their head around why they're struggling. This is the nature of the business when you're in a rebuilding year, which is exactly what this became when the only established offensive player returning (and two-time B1G POY) was lost for the season.

Four new starters on the offensive line, more than 80 percent of your yards from scrimmage gone, replacing two first round picks on defense with red-shirt freshman.

I don't see them losing three conference games, but these struggles were inevitable. They'll also probably pay off next season, with or without Braxton Miller.

 

[SixPACK]

Were you wearing a Vtech shirt under your OSU jersey Saturday? Your emotions must of been all over the place.

 

[Ohio]

.

 

[Chris]

The hyperbole and exaggeration of the Buckeyes weaknesses when they lose is such a tired act.

The're trotting out a team full of freshman and sophomores, literally 90 percent of their points have come from underclassmen. People can't wrap their head around why they're struggling. This is the nature of the business when you're in a rebuilding year, which is exactly what this became when the only established offensive player returning (and two-time B1G POY) was lost for the season.

Four new starters on the offensive line, more than 80 percent of your yards from scrimmage gone, replacing two first round picks on defense with red-shirt freshman.

I don't see them losing three conference games, but these struggles were inevitable. They'll also probably pay off next season, with or without Braxton Miller.

This is a rebuilding year? Fair enough then.

This is just the first I've heard someone refer to it as one, but I can get behind your logic if that is the case.

As for losing 3 conference games...we will see. I've only seen 2 games and OSU struggled in both, against weak opponents, and lost one of them. Yikes. There are a lot of teams on the schedule that could beat OSU if they don't improve significantly over the course of the season.

 

[AZ_]

This is a rebuilding year? Fair enough then.

This is just the first I've heard someone refer to it as one, but I can get behind your logic if that is the case.

As for losing 3 conference games...we will see. I've only seen 2 games and OSU struggled in both, against weak opponents, and lost one of them. Yikes. There are a lot of teams on the schedule that could beat OSU if they don't improve significantly over the course of the season.

OSU fans sometimes like to live under the impression that they won't retool, they'll just reload.

You've got to think, they have an offense predicated around the dynamic skillset of a two-time B1G Player of the Year. You're attempting to break in four new offensive lineman into a playbook which contains an enormous amount of read-option, pulling and second level blocks required to get Miller, the H-Backs and RBs into the next level and letting their athleticism take over.

Now ten days before game one you lose that dynamic player for the season and are forced to change up your plan of attack for a kid with no collegiate experience and a completely different skillset.

Instead of Miller protecting a young offensive line from 5-6 man blitz looks with his arm and legs, now you've got a kid who doesn't have that same athleticism and a young offensive line with limited experience protecting blitzes.

Having a player of Miller's caliber allowed the team to help a young offensive line and skill players, now that every position on the offense is young, you don't have that security blanket.

Miller going down put them into a rebuilding year, it completely changed the dynamic of how this offense would be run and the ways they can utilize certain players on offense. The greatest coaching staff in the world isn't going to come up with a remedy to that situation in ten days before the first game.


But I'll bet you just about anything that the team we saw Saturday looks different by the time they go to East Lansing, and better than that in Happy Valley, and better than that in Columbus the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The good part about a rebuilding year is they'll continue to get better at a more rapid, noticeable pace. If they could have survived VT on Saturday and had a few warm ups before MSU, the story of the season could have been different. Maybe they'll be better off for not playing under that pressure now.

Remains to be seen.

/rant

 

[Rich]

I just didn't expect Urban to be the next John Cooper.

Not quite ready to call him that yet, but if he doesn't have AT LEAST a Big 10 Title by the end of 2015...he's the new Cooper. Beats who he's supposed to (well minus Virginia Tech), recruits well, and loses every big game. Beating the bums of the Big 10 is pointless if you can't even win the goddamn conference.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy Urban is here and don't want to see him anywhere else. I still believe he will accomplish great things here. And not everything has been his fault. And no matter how well he coaches, this team is not near playoff caliber. Hopefully they can still at least compete for a conference title. But I think we all believed the program would have accomplished more by this point. If he doesn't have a conference title and/or a single bowl win by the end of 2015 it is going to be incredibly disappointing. Hell, it already is disappointing as is.

This is what I'm talking about. This is insane. Loses every big game? He's had TWO of them. Can we at least allow more time before starting in on the "he never wins a big game" stuff? Please. And I'm simply STUNNED at how quickly people just dismiss the undefeated season, all because we were banned from the post-season. Jesus man.

But I think we all believed the program would have accomplished more by this point.

Such as? Seriously, I want to see what it is that you and anyone else believed would have been accomplished in two seasons. Because I'm under the impression that some of you thought we should have had a national title by now.

Pretty much how I feel.

Losing your star QB is an excuse to not be in title contention but not to drop out of the polls and look awful in every facet of the game.

If the Buckeyes go on to still win 10 games, Rich, I will admit this was a bit premature. But I'm expecting 3-4 losses and in this league that just isn't acceptable, Braxton or no.

Sorry, I just don't agree. I think you're way undervaluing what experience means at the QB position in big time college football. It's extremely important and hard to cover for a lack of it. I guess if we can criticize Meyer it's that one of the older guys hasn't been developed better, like Jones, putting us in this position of starting Barrett. But that's about it. It's gonna look rough early on but I do expect by the last 4 or 5 games of the season to see a real turn around, much like Troy Smith's first year (where we looked awful the first half of the season).

 

[Ohio]

This is what I'm talking about. This is insane. Loses every big game? He's had TWO of them. Can we at least allow more time before starting in on the "he never wins a big game" stuff? Please. And I'm simply STUNNED at how quickly people just dismiss the undefeated season, all because we were banned from the post-season. Jesus man.

If you actually read everything I wrote, you'd see I am more than willing to allow him more time.

Such as? Seriously, I want to see what it is that you and anyone else believed would have been accomplished in two seasons. Because I'm under the impression that some of you thought we should have had a national title by now.

How about a Big 10 Title? Is that really too much to ask for in 3 years? We seemed to win one every year under Tressel, and that was back when the Big 10 actually fielded some decent competition.

 

[Chris]

He's basically saying it's only been two years and we were ineligible one of them, whereas me and Rob I think are basically assuming there will e no B1G title this year either. Which is probably true.

 

[AZ_]

Rumors swirling that Noah Spence failed a drug test and will be booted from the team.

 

[Ohio]

Well he's a coke head, so yeah

 

[Chris]

This team.

 

[NorthCoastBias]

When it rains, it pours. Can't shake the feeling of a 2011 redux.

 

[Soda]

Well he's a coke head, so yeah

Ecstacy. Both times.

 

[Chris]

Popped a molly, he's sweatin'.