Yesterday played out just about what many thought: OSU with its magical transfer QB eligibility and successful appeal eligibility for Young allowed OSUs difference makers to be exactly that: the difference. On the other side, our injury game time decisions put several key players on the field at less than 100%.
Still, had Freiermuth not gotten tackled on that interception play (not a great idea to throw into triple coverage, but IMO there should have been a flag to save the day), it would have gone down to the wire. At their place, fully healthy and rested after two virtual bye weeks, I was disappointed but not surprised.
So, where are we?
Are we trending upward and may make the final step to “elite” next year, or rather have we peaked to the level just below the top half dozen programs?
IMO I see holes in the arguments spewed out in the last 20+ hours that our coaching personnel are holding us back from making the final step. No program in recent memory has recovered as dramatically as this on over a 5 year period. The coaches should be given some credit for that. Yes there were mistakes made on both sides of the ball schematically, but execution was the bigger issue, IMO. For example, the play repeatedly cited where Young almost forced a safety had a back kept in protection who got fooled and ended up blocking no one instead of chipping Young. Hard to believe that was a coaching decision. And in reality as many mistakes were made on the other side. They just had playmakers make plays.
No I don’t think coaches are holding us back after climbing the ladder to the final step to the point where one or more need jettisoned in order to finish the job.
Yes, the job is unfinished and no one should be satisfied by forcing a fourth quarter game against the most talented roster in the country, with what is demonstrably one of the younger teams in the country. The question is, will we be better next year and the year after that?
Still, had Freiermuth not gotten tackled on that interception play (not a great idea to throw into triple coverage, but IMO there should have been a flag to save the day), it would have gone down to the wire. At their place, fully healthy and rested after two virtual bye weeks, I was disappointed but not surprised.
So, where are we?
Are we trending upward and may make the final step to “elite” next year, or rather have we peaked to the level just below the top half dozen programs?
IMO I see holes in the arguments spewed out in the last 20+ hours that our coaching personnel are holding us back from making the final step. No program in recent memory has recovered as dramatically as this on over a 5 year period. The coaches should be given some credit for that. Yes there were mistakes made on both sides of the ball schematically, but execution was the bigger issue, IMO. For example, the play repeatedly cited where Young almost forced a safety had a back kept in protection who got fooled and ended up blocking no one instead of chipping Young. Hard to believe that was a coaching decision. And in reality as many mistakes were made on the other side. They just had playmakers make plays.
No I don’t think coaches are holding us back after climbing the ladder to the final step to the point where one or more need jettisoned in order to finish the job.
Yes, the job is unfinished and no one should be satisfied by forcing a fourth quarter game against the most talented roster in the country, with what is demonstrably one of the younger teams in the country. The question is, will we be better next year and the year after that?
