Good morning and welcome to your Sunday debrief. It's everything you need to prove you're in the know. You know what they say: "Nothing in this world is free...except a Sunday debriefing."
WATER COOLER PREP (EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW…IN ONE PARAGRAPH)
This game started off strong. A three and out served up by the Buckeye D followed by an opening drive TD made it look like the early game troubles against Miami had been ironed out. Then, things started to look a little...week one. The Knights clawed back knotting it at 10-10 before Braxton Miller felt he had seen enough. Two rushing TDs and one passing score later, and the game was pretty much out of reach. That is, until UCF scored and then threatened to score again. Luckily an Orhian Johnson pick at the OSU 5 put the game on ice for good. In the end, the Bucks (Braxton) scored 4 TDs on their way to a 31-16 win and a 2-0 season start. Oh, while I've got you here...did I mention Carlos Hyde and Travis Howard ended the game in street clothes due to injury? GRRRREAT.
HEARD AT THE TAILGATE (THE TALK BEFORE THE GAME)
Did you hear what George O'Leary said about the Shoe? Not loud? Yeah, maybe not against UCF. I'll admit the Knights are a little less cupcake than Miami, but UCF isn't exactly a team I'm gonna come out of my shoes over. With that said, I can't wait to see the D-line make a little more noise than they did last game.
HEARD AT THE AFTERPARTY (THE DEETS AT THE END OF THE GAME)
I'm not really sure what I just watched. Roller coaster of emotions. Braxton Miller is disgusting (the good kind). The ballyhooed D-line is nowhere to be found. Carlos Hyde is out with an unknown ailment. Travis Howard suffers from the same disease. Is this team good enough to beat MSU or Wisconsin?
GIVE THAT MAN A BUCKEYE LEAF (PLAYER OF THE GAME)
I'm sorry, Braxton, but if you're going to keep breaking or tying records, I'm going to have to keep calling you the player of the game. Coming off a week where he broke the single game rushing record for an OSU QB, Miller became the first OSU signal caller since Art Schlichter to rush for 3 touchdowns.
The positive in this situation: Miller is a beast on the ground and this offense is tailored for him.
The negative: Miller is the offense right now. He's not Tim Tebow. If he has to consistently carry the ball 20+ times, Kenny Guiton is going to be your starting quarterback.
WEEKLY SNOT KNOCKER (BIGGEST HIT)
With about 10 minutes left in the second quarter, Braxton Miller dropped back in the pocket and then had to scramble for his life. That's when Buckeye center Corey Linsley decided to end one.
UCF defensive lineman Victor Gray was tailing Miller when Linsley determined it was time to remove him from the play, giving rise to the Linsley-Murder GIF.
DID YOU SEE THAT?! (PLAY OF THE GAMe)
It's tough to top Devin Smith's OMG DID YOU SEE THAT WTF!!!!!! moment from last week, but this'll do. On second and 8 from the UCF 12, Braxton Miller was flushed out of the pocket (a common theme in this one), eluded defenders (even one who got a paw on him), and floated a beaut over a UCF DB to find Jake Stoneburner in the back of the end zone. After the play, all of Buckeye Nation was able to say, "Oh yeah...Jake Stoneburner...remember him?" in unison.
WHEN YOU SANK INTO YOUR CHAIR (THE MOMENT BUCKEYE FOOTBALL DISGRACED YOUR FAMILY)
With 6 minutes to go in the second quarter tied 10-10, Braxton handed the ball off to Zach Boren, who was stuffed at the line and stripped of the ball. A senior captain being stripped by the University of Central Florida in a tie game. That happened. You hated it.
JIM TRESSEL'S LEAST FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE GAME
Urban Meyer goes for it on 4th and 1 at his own 47 yard line. Braxton Miller is stuffed. Jim Tressel leans back in his lazy boy, takes a sip of O'Douls and sighs "told you so" to the sky.
WHAT YOU TEXTED YOUR FRIEND AT THE END OF EACH QUARTER
1st Quarter: Braxton is a stud; Howard Island is more...peninsula.
2nd Quarter: Braxton is the entire offense. What do you know about Carlos?
3rd Quarter: Does CJ Barnett know how to wrap on a tackle? Where is John Simon?
4th Quarter: We won. I don't feel great about it.
Complete Game Coverage
IT WAS OVER WHEN
Orhian Johnson (who had a game) intercepted the ball at the Ohio State five, killing UCF's chance of pulling within one score and causing George O'Leary to lie on his resume in shame.
BONUS TWEET
8-yd TD run by Braxton Miller. By my count, now has 1,849 total yards and 14 TDs today.
— Doug Lesmerises (@PDBuckeyes) September 8, 2012
