I often feel like the coroner in these situations.
I've been doing Film Study pieces in some form or another for 11 seasons now, and this particular flavor of post-game review is almost always the most read, commented on, and shared. Unsurprisingly, many Buckeye fans look for clarity and even a little hope following a regular season loss (especially if we're talking about the final regular season game).
Officially declaring the cause of death for Buckeye championship aspirations has never brought me joy. Luckily, however, this week's review of what turned into a back-and-forth, heavyweight bout was very entertaining, even if I found myself screaming at the screen in hopes of just one stunt, twist, or slant along the OSU defensive line.
Given the amount of content this game produced, this will be a two-part series. This week, we'll only focus on diagnosis, identifying specific things that worked (Hey Chip!), and some things that didn't (Jim, Larry - please have a seat) in a game I'll be happy to watch again and again, despite the outcome.
Here's what we go over in this week's video breakdown:
- Ohio State ran the ball well in a big game, even in short-yardage
- Dressing up the Spread/Y-Cross concept in a variety of ways to attack Oregon's Quarters coverage
- Oregon's ability to manipulate a defense in man-coverage
- Will Stein emptied his bag of tricks with formation, motion, options, and tempo
Next week, we'll talk more about what Ohio State can do with all this information ahead of the regular season's stretch run, and what changes they might make to ensure a trip to Indianapolis and a potential rematch with the Ducks.
As always, click the header photo above to watch the video here on the site, or head straight to YouTube.
