Not to hate a on Terrelle Pryor because he is a great player, but being a freshman showed by the mistakes he made and the play calling of Ohio State. Yes the game was close, but Ohio State really couldn't move the ball on offense. I'd say this is because Pryor is a freshman and they weren't willing to stretch the field as often as Penn State. Even though Penn State didn't complete many long passes they were at least willing to try which opened up the running game.
Ohio State on the other hand constantly looked conservative and it showed as Chris Wells couldn't get anything going on the ground because Penn State just had to focus on him. Without Wells being able to run Ohio State was going to be in trouble.
As far as defense the game went just as I expected it would. I knew the game would be won by the defense that was able to force mistakes or slow down the other offense. I figured Penn State would give Pryor a lot of trouble because they are the best defense Ohio State has faced all year. A freshman mistake is what ultimately cost Ohio State the game. With the lead in the 4th quarter and a 3rd and 1 Pryor was expected to just sneak it up the middle and get the first down. However, he tries to bounce it outside and make the big play which he fumbled away when defensive back Mark Rubin knocked the ball loose with his left hand. This will certainly be
a mistake Pryor will learn from especially with a strong defense and the lead. As for the interception it's really not a big deal because he just threw the ball to the end zone with little time left hoping to tie the game up. Amazing that it takes desperation for Ohio State to throw the ball down field. If they did it a little more earlier the game could have turned out better for them.Overall, this game did show the nation that Penn State is for real and Ohio State has a long ways to go before it can be considered a national contender. At this rate they would lose to any SEC or Big XII team because they lack the ability to move the ball if "Beanie" Wells isn't able to get his 100 yards. They showed last night that they aren't going to spread the field and even though they have big play receivers in Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie they haven't been a factor since Pryor became the starting quarterback. This makes their offense predictable and they have to rely on their defense to score or give them good field position.
Penn State is the team to beat in the Big Ten and I couldn't be happier to finally give another team a chance to prove themselves on the national stage rather than seeing Ohio State get blown out again. I hope Penn State makes the national championship and I believe they can win it to restore faith in the Big Ten.
2 comments:
I don't think anything should be taken away from Terrelle Pryor. He is an awesome QB and I think this was the first game all season that he looked like a freshman. And he really didn't look that bad--a lot better than veteran Big Ten QB's. He was going against the defense of Penn State, which is pretty difficult.
But this was an awesome game to watch..especially the fourth quarter, I love games like those!
Completely understand that Pryor will be a great QB because he will be. But this game showed that OSU is not ready for the big time. Yes his play doesn't look back at all but the play book appears to be limited when it comes to the passing game and stretching the field so anyone with a strong run defense will be able to control the Buckeyes. It was a great game and I was happy to see Penn State win.
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