OSU analysis: Fix the Buckeyes? It's possible, in five not-so-easy steps

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on September 16, 2008 at 9:56 PM, updated September 16, 2008 at 10:29 PM

"I think everyone in America, as they looked at our schedule, said the most dangerous game on Ohio State's schedule is Troy," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday.

Actually, the most dangerous game was USC. But Troy has the talent to trip a team making the same old mistakes. So here are five suggestions for the Buckeyes as they attempt to bounce back from a 32-point loss that was the worst of the Tressel era.

1. Handle the quarterbacks with care: Interceptions are like arsenic to Tressel. Interceptions returned for touchdowns? Don't go there.

During OSU scrimmages, the defense earns 12 points for taking a turnover all the way back, because Tressel sees them as doubly valuable. So Todd Boeckman hitting Rey Maualuga in the chest with a pass that turned into 6 for USC and a 21-3 Trojan lead Saturday has obviously affected Tressel's view on his QB situation.

Sure, the OSU fan base is screaming for more time for freshman QB Terrelle Pryor. They'll get it, too, against Troy on Saturday. But what happens when the new guy throws an interception or two?
That included not naming a starter for Saturday, when something like "Todd is our guy, but Terrelle will play," was the expected Tressel response. Instead, Pryor will get two-thirds of the practice reps this week to get ready and half the snaps in the game. He took 39 percent of the snaps against USC.

"We said if we had a game last night with what we were planning to do, that we envisioned that it would be 50/50," Tressel said Tuesday of a proposed quarterback split, "but it will be affected by what we do in practice and obviously what occurs during the course of the game."

But the Buckeyes shouldn't give up on Boeckman just yet. Not because of any fears over a senior revolt, a theory trotted out by some Tuesday. You know what seniors want to do? They want to win. And they've seen some of Boeckman's mistakes, how he seems to have regressed since his peak against Penn State last year.

But Pryor, he of the 11-for-17 career passing numbers, is going to throw an interception someday, too. He still hasn't completed a deep ball or seen a defense adjust, re-adjust, then adjust again over the course of a full game.

Todd Boeckman has struggled this season, but he's the only quarterback on the team who has won a Big Ten title, and Tressel isn't likely to forget that any time soon.
Some say if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterback at all. But this rotation could work, given the right massaging and the right messages. Define your rotation plan, explain it to the offense, but crack the window to stick with a hot hand. Reassure Boeckman about his past and Pryor about his future and guide them with a strong hand in a quarterback room that has sometimes been uncertain as Nick Siciliano assists while quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels continues his cancer battle.

Pryor has wowed in practice since the preseason, and though the protection hasn't been great and a misalignment by one OSU player on the Maualuga interception threw off the play, Boeckman should have known to chuck it out of bounds. But he's still 13-3 as a starter, and he's won Big Ten primetime games on the road. If Pryor gets rattled at Wisconsin, you need a second option. The future is coming, but there's no reason to ignore the recent past.

2. Be open to O line options: Left guard Steve Rehring was walking between meetings with a protective boot on his left foot Tuesday, and Tressel has ruled him out for Saturday. The replacement options include sophomore Andy Miller, freshman Mike Brewster or moving Bryant Browning to guard and sliding in freshman J.B. Shugarts at right tackle.

The guess is that the Shugarts model will be the choice, and the injury is actually a perfect excuse for experimentation. Between guys getting beat and missed assignments springing unblocked Trojans, Saturday wasn't a night the line will remember fondly. No jobs are in danger, yet, but with freshmen like Shugarts, Brewster and Mike Adams in the wings, there's no reason some starters shouldn't be on notice.

Injury will remove Steve Rehring (left) from the offensive line this week. That means Alex Boone (right) and the rest of a reshuffled lineup must find answers for an ineffective running game.
Tressel said left Alex Boone, who isn't going anywhere, was OK, right guard Ben Person played better than he did in the first two games, though he still obviously had issues, and center Jim Cordle had a tough assignment against USC's nose tackle, made some mistakes and "got thrown around a play or two where he wasn't able to stay on and sustain."

But the coach appreciated the idea of sharing some blame.

"It's a little bit uplifting to hear someone say that there's something that we ought to be talking about other than who the quarterback should be," Tressel said, "because it isn't that simple in this world."

Consider that a warning.

3. Set the linebackers free: USC's linebackers played downhill, attacking the line at the snap mostly unfettered. Ohio State's played side-to-side, constantly facing USC linemen who were reaching the second level and blocking them. Expect a shift that allows the linebackers to attack a little more this week.

"If you look back on it, we maybe weren't as aggressive as we could have been," OSU linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "The whole defense didn't play as good as it's capable of playing."

The defense can't do that if the linebackers aren't getting to the ballcarrier until he's six yards downfield.

4. Throw it open on special teams: Put 11 new guys out there on kick return if you must. A year after special teams were a major problem, the Buckeyes missed two blocks on the opening kickoff against USC and nearly saw Dan Herron get split in half on the tackle.

"You can't have missed assignments," Tressel said. "If I was Boom, I might have got up and hit those two guys [who missed the blocks]."

5. Toughen up: Boone questioned his teammates after he saw them hanging their heads at halftime. There are other internal concerns about a team that, despite two national title losses, has received a lot of praise while dominating the Big Ten for three years. The coaches have been riding the players harder during what have been reported as two good days of practice.

If that doesn't take hold this week, Troy could win.