“Big Stage” talk won’t hinder Bucks ability to focus.

Can the Ohio State offense catch the rhythm bug?
By Ashleigh Ignelzi, Columbus Wired

Columbus, OH- “Football is a game of pressure,” said Coach Tressel during his weekly press conference. If that’s the case the Ohio State offense should be feeling plenty of it. The pressure is on for the OSU- O, whether it be during practice, from the watchful eye of the media, or when the Buckeyes face the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, is one that will need to be made if the Buckeyes’ want to be competitive on a big stage.

With the total time of possession for the Buckeyes at a measly 17 minutes, the defense had their work cut out for them. It was a sure bet that the Bucks’ D would rise to the challenge, doing everything in their power to get a win over the Badgers.

On paper the offense had 8 first downs, 27-97 rush yards, 87 passing yards, a total of 40 plays for 184 yards, and QB Terrelle Pryor completed 5 of 13 and threw 1 interception. Dinner Saturday evening should have been on the offense.

It’s back to the drawing board. Where are the flaws? Where did they go wrong? It’s the half way point in the season and the caliber of team that Ohio State is leaves us asking the question is this where we should be at production wise? All of these questions are valid, but good luck getting a concrete answer.

For Coach Tressel it’s all about the offense being able to adjust, and against the Badgers they simply weren’t able to do so; “Where I really think we need to get better preparing from an offensive standpoint is understanding that what we study and prepare for all week long may not be what you're going to get.” Tressel went on to say, “then adjusting in the midst of the flow and that's why it's disappointing when you only get 30-some snaps, to make those adjustments and learn those lessons and so forth, but it is what it is and we've got to improve.”

The Purdue Boilermakers’ 1-5 record doesn’t do them justice. Yes, they have only won one game, but in every game they have scored more than twenty points and they’ve battled till the end. When they faced the Oregon Ducks( ranked 13 in AP, 14 in Harris) Purdue failed to complete on a two point conversion thus, giving them a 38-36 loss.

Another salty loss soon followed when the Boilermakers faced the 25th ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, and rallied from a 10 point deficit to potentially beat the Irish at 21-17. With 3:41 left in the 4th Quarter, Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen found a receiver to get the Irish a 24-21 victory.

The point being that Purdue might not create the opportunity for the Bucks’ offense to adjust and then what ? The numbers don’t lie, will 184 yards and 5 for 13 be enough? And, if it will be against opponents like the Boilermakers and Golden Gophers, how about the last leg of the season when they take on Penn State on the road, Iowa at home, and lastly, Michigan in the Big House.

Team camaraderie isn’t something the Buckeye Football team lacks. Cameron Heyward the senior defensive linemen said it best, “Sometimes you’re not going to have the best performance from your offense, but that’s when your defense has to step up and that’s happened today (referring to Wisconsin). We had great special teams, and when you have that you can always have success.”