The Recent History of Ohio State

The Product of Those Around You

The more I think about how this season ended and what we face in the new, I become a realist. Not a pessimist or optimist, but a realist. If there is anything that Urban and this team has shown, it is expectations can be harmful. What do I mean by that? If we go into recent history, the only time we have won it all is when no one thought we would. The first year that Urban came here we went undefeated and had a bowl ban. The second year we lost the Big Ten Championship and to Clemson. The third year we won it all. The fourth year we beat Notre Dame. The fifth year we lost to Clemson, and the sixth we beat USC. 

The reason I am a realist is that Urban has always said a quarterback is a product of those around him, but history has shown the quarterback and those around him create an atmosphere of either winning or losing. It has been beaten into Buckeye Nation heads that JT is this supreme football leader and his work ethic is amazing. His read option skills are second to none and his deep threat passing practice numbers are amazing. I ask how relevant practice numbers are in a real game scenario? I respect JT and he holds every record imaginable in the Big Ten, but he is not a product of those around him, he is a product of his own instincts.

If JT is a product of those around him than why does he take so long to release the ball and why is he so inaccurate with deep passes? I hope that 2018 is a season where we go back to the basics, running and throwing. I contend the biggest hurdle JT has had during his tenure at Ohio State has been how often offensive coaches change. Yes, we get the hottest coaches but what matter is that when they stay here long enough to get a head coaching job somewhere else. Tom Herman is the perfect example, since his departure this offense has done nothing. After that we had the disaster of Tim Beck and Ed Warriner followed by Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day.

I contend the biggest detriment to a players and teams development is the constant threat of coaching changes. Would it not be a better business model for assistant coaches to be under contract similar to head coaches? The first con would be coaches like Tim Beck, in which two years at Ohio State was too long. Could there not be a contract that takes into account a coaches performance versus under-performance? Urban Meyer is very lucky to have the fan base that he does because Buckeye Nation could easily turn on him and not support if the offense keeps sputtering because he can’t find a coach to develop the talent that we have. 

Every year Buckeye Nation is told the Big Ten is the deepest and best conference in college football, yet we have one time that has a National Championship in the Playoff era? How much longer is the media going to label us as such? This title game we have two SEC teams from a conference that just fired the majority of it’s coaches and schedules much easier than other conferences. So what is the point of being a deep conference if we are not in the Title game every year. It’s all media hype. Sooner or later the Big Ten will go back to being told we are a mediocre conference and we deserve nothing. Maybe that is what we need. 

If that does not make sense to you…. let me say it this way…… does it matter if a conference is perceived to be weak or strong? The SEC is supposedly weak this year, yet two teams from the conference are playing for all the chips tonight and the “strongest” conference is on the sideline so does perception really matter? Hell, Dabo is telling recruits that Urban is getting ready to retire. I think the situation we have in Columbus calls for a different approach to coaching contracts. This year we saw Greg leave and come back in a matter of minutes with Tenneesee. Is there not a way to keep coaching staffs together longer than just 2 years.? 

Buckeye Deja Vu

I don't think it's time to freak out about this team just yet for a couple reasons. First and foremost, the year we won the Title we lost our second game to Virginia Tech and yes, that still leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Secondly, We are only going into Week 3 against an Army team, which basically serves as a rebound for the loss. Third, I don't think the issue is JT, but instead the coaching staff. When we signed Urban and he became our coach, Ohio State fans saw National Championships on the horizon because that is what Urban is known for. I think Urban's offense has been figured out, meaning the QB Option and QB runs are easy to diagnose so the plays are not successful anymore.

I want to draw attention to how Ohio State beat Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon; Cardale sat back and threw the ball downfield or handed it off to Elliot and we all know what happened than. Herman sat back and called traditional plays. There was very little option or trickery so-to-speak. It was old-fashioned football and we beat everyone with it. Every time JT runs the ball I cringe because we have two great running backs in Dobbins and Webber. Both received the ball against Oklahome and broke some pretty good runs, but for whatever reason we threw the ball afterwards.

I don't think our offense has an identity because it seems like every game we take what the defense gives us and a way we go. We don't impose our will on people. After the game Cardale Jones tweeted about how the last time we lost our second game we won the National Championship. I won't go that far in labeling this season for what it is, a mystery. I say it is a mystery because even with the coaching changes and supposed change in philosphy JT seems to have slipped back into second guessing himself.

I won't say that we won't get a Title this year, but JT has to stop thinking too much. It took Herman three years to get JT where he was. Are we to suspect it's going to take that long for another Coordinator to get him back there. News flash, JT is gone after this year.

I think the coming years will show Ohio State much as they are now, not understanding what kind of football team they are. Jim Tressel was famous for "pounding the rock" and we saw a lot of success with that philosophy. However, Urban came in and it became a "spread option - we are going to open things up" When he said that, that is when we lost our identity because the spread option is not a one size fits all formula. I will say it again, we won the National Championship with Cardale sitting in the pocket and throwing the ball or handing it off to Elliott. That's what we did, without the gimmicks of the spread.

In the years to come Urban has to decide what we are and stick with it or we will continue to have let downs like we did with Oklahoma.