| 24 October 2010
Just when I was ready to put the Wisconsin loss behind me the Buckeyes jump out with a win like this. Where was this team last week? We didn't need to be this good against a poor Purdue team. We could have played like we did last week and still won comfortably and this team we saw versus Purdue would have won comfortably against Wisconsin last week.
This was an old fashioned beat down. The score does not really show how baly the Buckeyes smacked around Purdue. 49-0 is pretty ugly. 42-0 at the half is where you see just how bad Purdue got kicked around.
I loved coming out and just pounding it at them. I think it sets a tone, especially coming off of a loss. Every touch makes it seem like Herron is making the position his. I like all those
younger guys but it seems to me Herron is getting better. He runs hard and shows great balance. He has a pretty nasty stiff-arm himself and I like how he finishes runs.
Pryor was in his comfort zone. When he finds his happy place he is arguably the most dangerous player in the country. I would argue the best player in the country. That seems to happen a great deal anymore as this is a very good pass protection line. The interceptions were the only bad passes he threw. Why he decided to throw those balls is beyond me. On the first one, where he tried to force the ball to Philly Brown, he has Boren swinging around just outside of Brown wide open. A flick of the wrist and Boren maybe takes it in. He had that much green in front of him. Just as the ball is about to be batted away you see Sanzenbacher breaking wide open on a corner route in the end zone. If there was pressure on Pryor I did not see it. No reason to throw the ball when he did.
Speaking of Philly Brown, it looks like he is coming alaong nicely. We are seeing him more and he is finding the soft spots more. That bodes well for this year but even moreso in the future. He is a game changer with the ball in his hands.
I really like what I am seeing from Andrew Norwell. I would go ahead and start him. He is playing as well as Shugarts. Maybe that is because Shugarts is injured. All the more reason to start Norwell. Let Shugarts get healthy.
Has Jordan Hall dropped a punt yet?
The defense was a swarming menace yesterday. There were several players who stood out for me and they were ones I was not expecting.
This was by far the best game we have gotten from Ohrian Johnson. The interception was not the only play but it stood out because he made the exact opposite read against Illinois and game up a 29-yard completion. He was around the ball and involved. I would say the biggest surprise for me was Aaron Gant. He has never earned playing time with the game on the line. I thought he was decisive. He attacked the ball and tackled really well. I have been asking for more Storm Klein. I thought he was really good yesterday. The interception was a great play but he got his hands on another ball later. I would love too have a bigger kid in there who can play the pass well. After yesterday you can be sure the coaching staff will be more comfortable having him in there on pass defense. I noticed Sol Thomas around the ball in past games but he had his best game as a Buckeye yesterday. Adam Bellamy always gets my attention when he is in there. He flies around and he is more athletic than he has been given credit for.
All in all it was the kind of win we needed to get back on track. We lost to Wisconsin. 12-0 is not going to happen. 11-1 looks pretty good once you let go of 12-0. Who knows what can happen. I thought it was a longshot to play in the national championship game but after yesterday you have to believe that anything can happen.
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