Ohio State Game 6: #3 Ohio State 40, #15 Northwestern 30 (Final)

FIFY

 

For those interested:

I've watched the game 4 times now since Saturday, and have broken down all 11 of our offensive drives... Before I begin, I'd just like to say that our DEFENSE and SPECIAL TEAMS won this game... Our passing offense was absolutely atrocious, and we need to pull it together if we're going to run the table... I would say that it was a good defensive strategy by NW, but we had players open all night, and we weren't hitting them.

1ST DRIVE:
Best passing drive of the night. B Miller has 3 passing first downs, but under throws C. Hyde on a wheel-route inside the redzone with a lineman trailing in cvg could have gone for a TD, but we settle for a FG.

OSU 3 - NW 0

[Defense holds NW to punt. Touchback. Ohio State gets ball on Own 20 yd line]

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2ND DRIVE
B. Miller fumble recovered by NW lineman on Ohio St. 20 yd line. Northwestern drives 20 yds for game's 1st TD.

OSU 3 - NW 7

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3RD DRIVE:
Ohio State gains no passing first downs, but several 1st downs running. C. Hyde warms up, but drive results in a PUNT, which is downed at the 1 yd line.

Defense holds NW to a 3 & Out, then blocks/recovers punt in the endzone for a TD.

OSU 10 - NW 7

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NW drives the field for a TD.

OSU 10 - NW 14

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4TH DRIVE
B. Miller's overthrows E. Spencer on long pass, which sails out of endzone. However, OSU run game finds its stride and gets us into the redzone. We have one passing first down on this drive.

With 1ST AND GOAL, we:
1st: Rush to the 5 yd line
2nd: Rush (option) to the 4 yd line
3rd: Pass: B. Miller overthrows a wide open C. Fields on a corner route.
4th: FIELD GOAL GOOD

OSU 13 - NW 14

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*2nd Quarter @ 4:00: Since 1st drive, B. Miller is 1 of 5 for 27 yds 1 fumble 1 sack

NW drives down 68 yds down field, and scores a FG

OSU 13 - NW 17

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5TH DRIVE

3 AND OUT... B. Miller forces a pass to Heuerman with C. Hyde open in the flats (nobody within 20 yds).

Urban Meyer calls a FAKE PUNT, which is stopped and leaves our defense on to defend from our own 30 YARD LINE. Defense holds NW to a FG.

OSU 13 - NW 20

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6TH DRIVE

After advancing the ball to midfield with 31 seconds on the clock and two timeouts, B. Miller underthrows C. Hyde in the flat (ball in the grass) on 1st down, and throws a deep ball which is tipped @ the line and intercepted by the defense to end the half.

HALFTIME SCORE: OSU 13 - NW 20.

 

2ND HALF:

NW receives the ball to open the 2nd half, and drives 60 yds on 12 plays. However, they have to settle for a FIELD GOAL.

OSU 13 - NW 23

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7TH DRIVE
With the passing offense still sputtering (2 passes for 6 yds each on the drive) Ohio St. offense drives 58 yds on 7 plays, but cannot convert as B. Miller FUMBLES on the 7 YARD LINE.

OSU 13 - NW 23

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URBAN MEYER HAS GUITON WARM UP, BUT THE DEFENSE COMES UP BIG WITH A 3 & OUT, WHICH IS CAPPED BY A CLUTCH TACKLE BY CJ BARNETT ON 3RD AND 1

To cap it off, a penalty on the kick cvg team gives Ohio State the ball at the NORTHWESTERN 36 YD LINE.

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8TH DRIVE
Braxton enters the field rather than Guiton, and the offense marches 36 yds to a C. Hyde TD. On the drive, Braxton attempts 1 pass to D. Smith for 14 yds.

FIRST OFFENSIVE TD OF THE GAME COMES WITH 3:54 LEFT IN THE 3RD QUARTER

OSU 20 - NW 23

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Defense holds. NW Punt.

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9TH DRIVE

B. Miller misses deep pass to C. Brown, C. Hyde Rushes for 5 yds, B. Miller hits Hyde in the flat (FINALLY) for a 1ST DOWN.

END OF THIRD QUARTER

B. Miller misreads a zone-read option, and hands it to C. Hyde for NO GAIN... If kept, I still think that it would have gone the distance (or at least a big gain). B. Miller throws an incomplete pass to C. Hyde after avoiding a sack.

PUNT

OSU 20 - NW 23

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DEFENSIVE INTERCEPTION: OHIO STATE BALL AT THE 15 YD LINE

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10TH DRIVE
From the 15 yd line, C. Hyde rushes twice for the TD. No passes are completed on the drive.

OSU 27 - NW 23

NOTE: BOTH 2ND HALF TDS DRIVES HAVE STARTED IN NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY... WE ALSO PASSED JUST ONCE ON A 14 YD CURL TO D. SMITH... OUR DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS PUT OUR OFFENSE IN GREAT POSITION, AND OUR COACHES RELIED ON THE RUN. THEY WERE TAKING THE BALL OUT OF BRAXTON'S HANDS

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Northwestern response with an 80 yd TD (67 of which was provided on an AMAZING pass between two defenders -- Barnett & Roby). THIS WAS THE ONLY NORTHWESTERN TD OF THE 2ND HALF

OSU 27 - NW 30

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11TH DRIVE (GAME WINNING)

Begins on OSU 19 Yd Line:

1st: (Hyde) 2 yd run
2nd: (Hyde) 4 yd run
3rd: Swing Pass (Hyde) 5 yds FIRST DOWN

1st: 7-yd curl route (C. Brown)
2nd: B. Miller tip toes the Line of Scrimmage, and connects with C. Brown for a completion on the sideline. C. Brown tip toes to the NW 22. FIRST DOWN

1st: (Miller) 4 yd run
2nd: Swing Pass (Hyde) 10 yards FIRST AND GOAL

1st: (Hyde) RUSH TD

OHIO STATE DRIVES 81 YARDS IN 8 PLAYS FOR THE GO-AHEAD SCORE

On the drive, B. Miller completes 4/4 passes for 64 yards (2 swing passes, and 2 curl routes). He didn't do anything spectacular or game-changing, but he made good decisions, which I'll obviously take. At this point in the game, Hyde was operating on all cylinders, and our O-Line simply wasn't going to be stopped.

OSU 34 - NW 30

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Defense allows a 1st down, then STOPS NW ON 4TH AND 1

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12TH DRIVE

Ohio State gains one FIRST DOWN, but has to PUNT when B. Miller rushes for -4 yds on 3RD AND 5.

OSU 34 - NW 30

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With :21 left on the clock, J. BOSA sacks the NW QB on 1st down, then falls on a fumble in the endzone as time runs out.

FINAL SCORE:

OSU 40 - NW 30

 

that's a keeper

 

Pat is a great football coach and I hope N’Western can keep him.

 

Look downfield on replays, and watch hyde coming out of the backfield.

Most big 3rd downs go to replay from a different angle...

 

In other words, watching TV.:biggrin:

 

Yep. Didn't notice it live. Saw Hyde open the 2nd time watching, and really watched closely the 3rd and 4th times I watched (the last time, I just skipped defense to watch the offense).

Everything I saw is documented above, if you care to read it. Or, just watch the game on www.watchespn.com, and see it for yourself.

CBS Sports' online cvg has a really great feature that I wish ESPN would incorporate. They have different camera angles, and one is called "all 22." If you switch to that, you can really watch the entire play develop, as the camera is overhead and shows all 22 players (hence the name).

I would love to get my hands on that, and break down our performances. As a former QB myself, I geek out on that kind of stuff.

 

That really irritates my ear.

 

Yes, that is essentially what it is. They just branded it with their own title.

What's your point?

 

How ****ing dare you!!!!

 

To that point, I wish they would go to the "sky cam" as the primary camera for normal play footage.... You can see so much more down field.

Overall, I buy AZ's arguments. Our defense looked pretty bad, but it was only because our offense put them in bad situations by turning it over and not moving the ball.

Urban preaches to his offense that they need to play good defense. By that he means, don't turn the ball over, and get at least 2 first downs every drive. The offense struggled to get that done on Saturday. As it was pointed out, one of their TD's may not have been on the board if Braxton doesn't fumble, and the game would have been 40-23.

 

Fake punt also gave NW the ball on the 30 yd line, which contributed to a FG.

Now it's 40-23 with three of our TD's being served on a platter by our defense... (punt block, interception @ 15, and a 3 & out in NW territory that gave us the ball inside the NW 40). We scored on both of those 2nd drives without passing IIRC.

Now, if Braxton can hit Carlos in the corner on our first drive (granted, a difficult pass, but one that he should make), and C. Fields on the 2nd, we're talking about a 48-20 win... And that doesn't even touch the fumble on the goal line.

A Sky-cam/Coach-cam/"All 22" cam would be glorious.

 

or the more obscure name...game film LOL