Ohio State faced IU for their 4th game of the season, Alabama faced Ole Miss in their 3rd, so not much of a difference there. However, a fan base that will not be named (kidding, it's us) has decided that we have no shot at a National Championship.
I'm not going to sit here and say that we were anything resembling a perfect team. We made a lot of mistakes today, a lot, and still beat a Top 10 team. Anyway, while we are all having a mental breakdown, let's compare these two games. Remember, one was against a top 10 opponent (IU), the other an unranked opponent (Ole Miss).
First: The Offense
| Stat | Ohio State vs Indiana | Alabama vs Ole Miss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points Scored | 42 | 63 | |
| Passing Yards | 300 | 417 | |
| Rushing Yards | 307 | 306 | |
| Total Yards | 607 | 723 | |
| Penalties (OFF/DEF) | 3/35 | 8/76 |
The Takeaway:
The Good:
Penalties were a huge bonus today. We played clean the entire game, which is a big step forward from last week. Also, the Roughness on Wyatt was soft. Our rushing game was phenomenal today and kept pace with a great Alabama backfield. No trash talk on the RBs will be accepted today. Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave are still the best duo in America, nice.
The Bad:
Meh, we left a lot of points on the board and Fields turned in over three times. Look, Fields' will not play this way for the rest of the season lol. He had a bad day and we still managed to win, speaks volumes. Failed to finish. Offense didn't score a TD after the first drive of the 2nd half.
Second: The Defense
| Stat | Ohio State vs Indiana | Alabama vs Ole Miss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points Allowed | 35 | 48 | |
| Passing Allowed | 491 | 379 | |
| Rushing Allowed | -1 | 268 | |
| Total Allowed | 490 | 647 | |
| Turnovers Forced | 4 (Counting on Downs) | 0 |
The Good:
We completely stopped any type of a run game that IU was trying to establish, more than Alabama can say in their game. Alabama allowed almost 200 more total yards in their game against an unranked Ole Miss, that's bad. Our D-line, I thought, had a decent game. Wasn't great, but occasionally got pressure and stopped the run. Rude awakening everyone, we don't have a game-breaking DE, get over it. Also, Linebackers had another really good game.
The Bad:
Almost 500 passing yard allowed, big yikes. Look, I think our corners can be serviceable. Maybe not first round talents like we're accustomed to, but still good enough to get the job done. Hooker is not the move. I'm sorry, but he has gotten beat way too many times this season. It might just have to be something we struggle with for now. Until the secondary gets worked out, people will score. First half defense continues to be very strong though, keeps dying in the second.
Overall, it's the same story as the rest of the season. We get a big lead in the first half, and we lose focus in the second. If we can learn to finish games, we'll be good. If people want to have a reasonable discussion over our faults, go for it, but don't complain like the world is over. We are currently looking at another B10 championship season and people are acting like we're 0-5 (Hello Penn State:). If we want to win a playoff game, it might have to be a shootout, but I trust our offense. Alabama struggled early, now we are, it happens. We have 3 weeks to tune things up and test some younger players out if we can finish games and put the younger ones in the game.
Please, we beat a top 10 team, albeit not prettily, but RELAX all. Day is about to go 23-0 in the regular season.
