Ohio State 36
Miami 24
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Ohio State FG: Devin Barclay 24 yards
Miami TD: Lamar Miller returned kickoff for 88 yards
Second Quarter
Miami FG: Matt Bosher 51 yards
Ohio State TD: Terrelle Pryor Pass to Brandon Saine for 18 yards
Ohio State FG: Devin Barclay 41 yards
Ohio State TD: Daniel Herron rushed for 4 yards
Miami TD: Travis Benjamin returned punt for 79 yards
Ohio State FG: Devin Barclay 21 yards
Ohio State FG: Devin Barclay 24 yards
Third Quarter
Ohio State TD: Terrelle Pryor rushed for 13 yards
Ohio State FG: Devin Barclay 24 yards
Fourth Quarter
Miami TD: Jacory Harris pass to Chase Ford for 9 yards.
Important Player Stats
Terrelle Pryor 12-27, 233 yards, 1TD, 20 rush, 113 yards, 1 TD
Daniel Herron 14 rush, 66 yards, 1 TD
DeVier Posey: 4 receptions, 105 yards
Devin Barclay 5-6 FG
Chimdi Chekwa 2 INTs
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After this game, I was surprised by how disappointed I felt in Ohio State's performance. I mean they did beat the team that was ranked 12th* in the Nation. A win is a win and I'll certainly take it, but this game proved that things that had been questions marks may be this team's undoing. So, I'm going to apologize for bitching so much after a victory.
I'm going to start off with the Special teams. Yesterday's performance on covering kickoffs and punts was pathetic. Whether or not Miami has good return men, they shouldn't have been allowed to return anything for a touchdown. Kickoff and punt coverage is all about discipline and fundamentals and allowing long returns is almost always due to a mistake or lack of discipline by the coverage team. Ohio State was even lining up in a spread out Punt formation to make lanes easier to keep and still blew it.
It wasn't all bad with the special teams though. The kickoff return team looked very good with two long returns that were nearly touchdowns. Also, the field goal team seemed to be much improved over last week. The line held well and Barclay went 5-6 on Field Goals. Also a Miami filed goal was blocked, which is a nice performance for that unit.
The defense performed very well in the first half. They only allowed 3 points and totally shut down the Miami offense; particularly against their running game. In the second half, they didn't really stop Miami at all. They did do a nice job of creating turnovers.
I think I was most disappointed in the offense's performance in the redzone. Five times Ohio State got into the redzone and had to attempt Field Goals. That's very poor. Scoring a touchdowns inside the redzone is important and failing to do so will lose games. Ohio State left so many points and there and it's fortunate it didn't matter in the end.
Finally, Terrelle Pryor didn't look great yesterday. His stats were pretty damn impressive, but his performance was not. He didn't complete 50 percent of his passes. He reverted back to bad Terrelle Pryor frequently. He didn't throw any interceptions, but that wasn't for lack of trying. Miami had numerous chances at picking off his passes. He did look good while running the football though.
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Ohio University
Where: Athens, Ohio
Mascot: Bobcat
Enrollment: 22,000 approx.
Conference: MAC
Record Last Year: 9-5
Head Coach: Frank Solich
Last Game: 13-20 L Toledo
Ohio won the MAC East last season. They did give Ohio State a scare in the 2008 season. In that game Theo Scott was Ohio's starting quarterback, but had to be replaced by Boo Jackson due to injury. Now, Boo Jackson is sharing the starting role with Phil Bates at Ohio. Bates was injured in Ohio's opening game against Wofford and it is unclear whether he will play this weekend. Either way the Ohio passing game is not a strong suit for Ohio this season. Well, neither is their rushing game. Ohio's offense isn't very good is what I'm trying to say.
Ohio's defense forced a lot of turnovers last season. They have started off fast with five forced turnovers in their first two games. The defense did lose several starters particularly in the secondary. The Ohio defensive line is still largely intact from a year ago. If they are able to pressure Pryor, the ball-hawking secondary of OU may be able to pick off some of Pryor's ill-advised passes.
Prediction
Ohio State 41
Ohio 0
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Thanks for reading and please comment. Let me know what you think will happen on Saturday.
-Michael
*I personally thought they were overrated.
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