Monday, November 15, 2010

Troy Smith 2 Starts 2 Victories - College Football Rankings - Buckeye Football Review


10 Things We Learned from Tressel’s Biggest Comeback
By Brandon Castel
As usual Brandon is awesome!
COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s crazy to think that 11 points was the largest comeback of the Jim Tressel era. That probably says a lot about how often the Buckeyes have played from behind in the last 10 years, but it also explains some of the losses they have had.
Ohio State failed to rally from 18 down at Wisconsin earlier in the year, and a key fourth-down stop ensured they wouldn’t have to climb that steep of a hill against Penn State.
Tressel delivered a fiery halftime speech and the Buckeyes rattled off 35 straight points in the second half for a 38-14 victory.
We take a look at 10 things we learned from the key November win.

1. Rose Bowl all but out of picture. It’s not over yet, but Saturday was not a good day for those hoping to see the Buckeyes back in Pasadena this January. In order to get there, they would need a Wisconsin loss, or somewhere find a way to jump the Badgers in the BCS standings. That’s going to be a lot harder after Wisconsin hung 83 points on Indiana. To make matters worse, Iowa suffered a huge setback at Northwestern, which means the Bucks won’t get much love in the BCS from beating the Hawkeyes next week. Ohio State even hurt itself with the ugly first half against Penn State as they lost points on Wisconsin in the BCS standings.

2. Buckeyes won the coaching battle. Early in the game it looked like the Ohio State coaches had over-thought themselves preparing for this game. With two weeks to get ready for Penn State, the Buckeyes came out trying get cute in the first half. They ran plays they had not run much, if at all, this season and they tried to let Pryor move around and make plays. When they ran the ball with Pryor in the first half, they averaged 3.0 yards per carry. When they ran it with Brandon Saine, they averaged 2.7 yards. When they actually gave it to Boom Herron, he got them 9.9 yards a pop.
The Nittany Lion coaches seemed to have their number all half, but credit the Buckeyes with staying calm. Their coaches came together at halftime and formulated a new game plan that centered around Herron running the ball, and they adjusted their defense to counter what Matt McGloin had done in the first half. Had the Penn State coaches also adjusted their plan, it might not have had the same impact. Instead, they tried to continue what they did in the first half and played right into Ohio State’s hands.

3. Tressel’s fire saved the day. That coaching job started at the top with Jim Tressel. Ohio State’s 10th-year head coach had fire in his eyes as he sprinted to the locker room at halftime. Typically, he would come in and calmly tell his team what they had done wrong and what needed to be fixed in the second half. There was nothing calm about Tressel Saturday. Whether he was yelling, screaming or just speaking with intensity, Tressel showed his players a side of him they rarely see. From the sound of it, he did everything short of ditching his sweatervest as he rallied his troops like he was possessed by Woody Hayes. It worked. The players came out with a different kind of fire in the second half and they left it all on the field for their head coach.

4. 96-yard drive set the tone for entire second half. That started with the defense getting a stop of Penn State’s first possession of the game, but the Nittany Lions pinned Ohio State inside their five-yard line with a fantastic punt. It could have been the dagger they needed to finish the Buckeyes, especially after a false start on first down. Instead, Ohio State put together an 11-play, 96-yard touchdown drive that put the pressure squarely on Penn State. The ran the ball nine times for 78 yards, with Pryor throwing key passes to Herron and DeVier Posey. Herron did the rest of the work, setting the tone for a second half where OSU would rush for 225 yards against a defense that held them to just 89 yards on the ground in the first half.

5. Boom Herron becoming a star. At the center of it all was Boom Herron. Not even expected to be a starter when the season began, Herron has quietly become the best player on the offense this season. After going over the 100-yard mark in the first half against Minnesota for his first-career 100-yard rushing game, Herron exploded for 190 yards on 21 carries against PSU. After gaining 69 yards in the first half, Herron went off for 121 yards in the second half. He was weaving in and out of traffic all day and gave a listless offense the spark it needed to put the game away. He now has 824 yards and 13 touchdowns in 10 games this season. He is on pace to rush for over 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns for a team that was primarily a passing team early in the year.

6. Offensive line back to what it does best. While Herron certainly deserves a large share of the credit for the resurgence of the Ohio State running game, it all has to start up front. Not just with the five offensive linemen, who have finally gelled to become the unit fans were expecting at the beginning of the year, but also tight end Reid Fragel and fullback Zach Boren. The Buckeyes completely controlled the line of scrimmage in the second half as they averaged 7.3 yards per carry on 43 rushing attempts. They went over the 300-yard rushing mark for the second time this season, but the first time when it mattered. Much like they did last November, the offensive line took it upon itself to win the game.

7. Buckeyes better when Pryor does less. One other reason the offense was clicking in the second half was the fact they were asking less of quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The 6-foot-6 junior has the ability to make some special plays, but he has not excelled when asked to take control of a game. He does not make crisp passes when he’s not calm and he tends to dance around instead of running hard and making guys miss. Give Pryor credit, he didn’t try to do too much in the second half, and that is the blueprint. Like last November, this team will be best served if Pryor is a facilitator who can make big plays when needed.

8. Defense got in McGloin’s head. It’s impossible not to be impressed with the job McGloin did in the first half against the Buckeyes. He was in a nice rhythm and had no fear making some of the throws he made. Brian Rolle compared it to the job Matt Barkley did last season, but Barkley finished strong. McGloin did not. The Buckeyes changed their coverages and brought more pressure in the second half and McGloin folded like an inexperienced quarterback making his first road start. He threw as many pick-6’s in the second half as he did completions and seemed completely rattled by Jim Heacock’s gameplan.

9. Torrence totally redeemed himself. One of those pick-6’s went to cornerback Devon Torrence, who had been picked on all day in the first half. McGloin went after him on the boundary a lot in the first half and Torrence finally made him play in the second half. He said he dreamt about making a big play in this game the way Malcolm Jenkins did, and boy did he deliver. After all the plays they made in front of him, Torrence finally stepped in front of one and took it to the house.

10. Dorian Bell’s return made big difference. One thing that went largely unnoticed with all the craziness of Saturday’s game was the job Ohio State did on kick coverage. A unit that has struggled all year facing one of the fastest return men in the Big Ten seemed like a recipe for disaster, but the Buckeyes never allowed a kick return of more than 26 yards. A big part of that was the return of linebacker Dorian Bell, who is head and shoulders above the rest of the coverage team. He was the first one down almost every time and made a great play to stuff one return at the 16-yard line.






BCS Standings
1 Oregon .9753 1 1 2788 .9782 1 1457 .9878 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 .960
2 Auburn .9687 2 2 2733 .9589 2 1397 .9471 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1.000
3 TCU .8966 3 4 2583 .9063 4 1318 .8936 3 4 1 3 5 6 3 .890
4 Boise State .8634 4 3 2591 .9091 3 1329 .9010 6 5 4 6 7 12 8 .780
5 LSU .8243 5 6 2241 .7863 6 1175 .7966 3 3 5 2 4 4 4 .890
6 Stanford .7553 6 8 2118 .7432 8 1066 .7227 5 9 10 7 3 3 5 .800
7 Wisconsin .7258 7 5 2268 .7958 5 1197 .8115 12 14 9 14 11 11 11 .570
8 Nebraska .7203 8 9 1971 .6916 9 1061 .7193 8 8 7 9 8 5 6 .750
9 Ohio State .6674 9 7 2142 .7516 7 1107 .7505 13 13 11 12 16 17 13 .500
10 Oklahoma State .6601 10 12 1657 .5814 10 913 .6190 6 6 8 5 6 7 7 .780
11 Alabama .6151 12 11 1693 .5940 12 828 .5614 9 7 6 11 10 8 10 .690
12 Michigan State .6066 11 10 1753 .6151 11 892 .6047 10 10 12 8 13 13 9 .600
13 Arkansas .5133 15 13 1524 .5347 13 745 .5051 13 15 17 15 12 9 12 .500
14 Oklahoma .4728 16 14 1326 .4653 14 683 .4631 15 11 14 13 14 14 15 .490
15 Missouri .4563 17 16 1122 .3937 16 583 .3953 11 12 15 10 9 10 14 .580
16 Virginia Tech .3676 20 15 1244 .4365 15 673 .4563 20 22 16 18 25 23 20 .210
17 South Carolina .3244 23 17 969 .3400 17 521 .3532 19 16 21 19 19 19 19 .280
18 Nevada .3016 21 18 851 .2986 18 422 .2861 17 18 23 16 18 20 16 .320
19 Texas A&M .2788 25 20 636 .2232 19 359 .2434 16 17 0 17 15 15 18 .370
20 Iowa .2190 13 19 698 .2449 20 298 .2020 20 21 20 20 21 21 21 .210
21 Mississippi State .1770 19 22 331 .1161 22 184 .1247 18 19 19 23 20 16 17 .290
22 Arizona .1413 18 23 321 .1126 23 164 .1112 22 23 22 21 17 18 23 .200
23 Utah .1109 14 21 364 .1277 24 140 .0949 23 24 13 22 0 25 22 .110
24 Miami (FL) .0885 NR 24 311 .1091 21 216 .1464 28 0 0 25 0 0 25 .010
25 Florida State .0415 NR 25 187 .0656 NR 87 .0590 29 0 0 24 0 0 0 .000
768329

AP Top 25 RK TEAM RECORD PTS PVS
1 Oregon (38) 10-0 1469 1
2 Auburn (12) 11-0 1427 2
3 Boise State (9) 9-0 1377 4
4 TCU (1) 11-0 1361 3
5 LSU 9-1 1220 5
6 Wisconsin 9-1 1176 6
7 Stanford 9-1 1129 7
8 Ohio State 9-1 1073 8
9 Nebraska 9-1 1051 9
10 Alabama 8-2 916 11
11 Michigan State 9-1 910 10
12 Oklahoma State 9-1 879 12
13 Arkansas 8-2 816 14
14 Virginia Tech 8-2 671 16
15 Missouri 8-2 624 20
16 Oklahoma 8-2 611 19
17 South Carolina 7-3 520 22
18 Texas A&M 7-3 413 23
19 Nevada 9-1 412 21
20 USC 7-3 310 NR
21 Iowa 7-3 251 13
22 Mississippi State 7-3 222 17
23 Arizona 7-3 156 18
24 Miami (FL) 7-3 107 NR
25 Utah 8-2 105 15
Dropped from rankings: Florida 24, UCF 25
Others receiving votes: Northwestern 99, Florida State 69, North Carolina State 38, Northern Illinois 37, San Diego State 32, Temple 9, Michigan 4, Tulsa 2, Syracuse 2, Maryland 1, Delaware 1,





Niners knock off Rams in OT as Troy Smith explodes for 356 yards passing
SAN FRANCISCO -- After getting back into the NFC West race with two gutsy performances by their new starting quarterback, the San Francisco 49ers think they've finally found the right Smith for the job.
Joe Nedney kicked a 29-yard field goal with 9:38 left in overtime, and Troy Smith passed for 356 yards while leading two late scoring drives in the 49ers' 23-20 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.
Smith earned his second straight victory as a starter for the 49ers (3-6), throwing a go-ahead 16-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree with 2:10 left in regulation before leading the winning drive in OT.
Although he realizes he won't remind anybody of Joe Montana or Steve Young just yet, Ohio State's former Heisman Trophy winner is thriving in place of Alex Smith, who's out with a separated left shoulder.
"When you're part of a team that has nothing but a winning tradition, you want to keep that going as a quarterback," Troy Smith said, overlooking the 49ers' current seven-year absence from the playoffs. "There's too many tremendous athletes here to not share, for everybody to not have the opportunity to make a play. It's on me for distribution."
With agility, mental resilience and a knack for making on-the-move throws into St. Louis' porous secondary, Smith started slowly but went 17 for 28. He also outplayed Rams rookie Sam Bradford in the first NFL meeting of Heisman-winning quarterbacks since Carson Palmer and Vinny Testaverde faced off six years ago.
Nobody will get any trophies after this often-ugly game -- but thanks to their division's profound mediocrity, San Francisco is back in the chase for its first playoff berth since 2002, just two games behind leader Seattle. St. Louis fell a game back of first place after losing on the road for the 20th time in 22 games.
"Somehow we've got to find that killer instinct," said Bradford, who went 30 of 42 for 251 yards and a touchdown in his fourth road loss. "We have to be able to put teams away when the game is on the line."

Fast Facts
• San Francisco has won five straight against St. Louis.

• The Rams fell to 0-4 on the road this season and have alternated wins and losses over their last six games.

• The 49ers have won three straight home games and three of their last four overall.

• With a career-best 356 passing yards, San Francisco's Troy Smith became the first 49ers quarterback to have a 350-yard passing day since Tim Rattay's 417-yard performance in a 2004 game against Arizona.


The 49ers overcame 14 penalties -- including two that wiped out fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Crabtree and Vernon Davis -- and the late loss of starting left tackle Joe Staley to a broken leg with outstanding drives on their final two possessions. St. Louis couldn't stop Smith from leading a 76-yard march for Crabtree's catch, followed by a 55-yard drive for Nedney's winner.
Coach Mike Singletary wouldn't pick his starter for next week, but it's fairly clear Troy Smith energizes his teammates in ways Alex Smith hasn't mastered.
"When we go out there, it's just like we're little kids," said Gore, who rushed for 87 yards and caught three passes for 67 more, including a pivotal fourth-down reception during the final regulation drive. "It feels good, because going back to the first eight games, something was always going wrong for us."
After Bradford and Steven Jackson led the Rams (4-5) back for Josh Brown's 33-yard field goal on the final snap of regulation, St. Louis couldn't get a first down after winning the overtime coin toss.
Smith swiftly moved the 49ers 55 yards, converting on third down for the first time in the game when St. Louis' Oshiomogho Atogwe was called for a 22-yard pass interference penalty.
Nedney then made his third field goal despite injuring his leg on the opening kickoff of San Francisco's fifth straight win over St. Louis.
Danny Amendola caught an early TD pass for St. Louis, which went ahead 17-10 late in the third quarter on Jackson's 13-yard TD run through traffic. Jackson rushed for 81 yards and made a tough 25-yard catch to set up the tying field goal for the Rams, who have lost seven straight road games.
"Stick together. Everyone stick together," Jackson said. "Everyone trust in what we're trying to get done, what we're trying to establish here. We have seven games to go. Although this is a tough one to swallow ... we're still in the middle of things."
Gore caught two big passes on the 49ers' 76-yard go-ahead drive in the final minutes of regulation, including an inexplicably wide-open 23-yard reception on fourth-and-18 when a stop would have finished it for St. Louis.
"Nothing more frustrating," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. "You never relax, but a good quarterback got it to a good back twice. There's no excuse for that. Really, that can't happen."

Game notes
Staley was on crutches after the game. He broke his left fibula. ... A first-quarter penalty also erased a long interception return by San Francisco CB Nate Clements. ... St. Louis also lost LT Rodger Saffold to an ankle injury in the first half, but Spagnuolo didn't think the injury would be a long-term problem.

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