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Urban Meyer coaching rumors won't end anytime soon: Ohio State Buckeyes Skull Session
11/19/2011 10:45 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Urban Meyer was in Michigan on Saturday getting asked about Ohio State. Those questions won't end soon.
While broadcasting Michigan's win over Nebraska for ESPN, the former Florida coach was asked if he'd accepted the Ohio State head coaching job. Meyer said there was "no truth to that" and added: "I know it's that time of year. I've not been offered any job, and I've certainly not accepted any job."
And everyone throws in the "yet" right here.
This is the way coaching searches work. There are ways to make contact, ways to gauge feelings, ways to do things without exactly making or accepting offers. We know, according to sources involved with Ohio State's coaching search, that there is mutual interest from both parties. And we know the 47-year-old Ashtabula native, who grew up revering Woody Hayes and counts another former OSU coach, Earle Bruce, among the most important people in his life, makes a lot of sense for the Buckeyes. No matter what Luke Fickell would have done with the Buckeyes this season, a resume featuring two national titles would have been hard for Ohio State to pass on.
It's unlikely Ohio State would announce anything about its coaching future before the end of the regular season. So it will go on. And Meyer will remain the most logical, and very possible, man for the job. And the Buckeyes will remain as focused on Michigan as possible. Coach talk didn't explain the loss Saturday, and it wouldn't explain a poor effort next week.
Buckeyes leaves
The Ohio State defense once again had trouble stopping the run on Saturday. Penn State rushed for 239 yards, one shy of a season high for a Buckeyes' opponent. Miami shredded them for 240 yards in their 24-6 loss to the Hurricanes. It marked the third time this season the Buckeyes allowed at least 225 yards on the ground. . . . Penn State entered the game with just one rush of more than 30 yards this season. Against the Buckeyes they had three runs of at least 38 yards. . . . Nittany Lions coach Tom Bradley said he never thought about kicking a field goal in the third quarter when they had the ball inside the Ohio State 3-yardline with a six-point lead. They were stopped on four consecutive running plays and turned the ball over on downs. Bradley said under normal circumstances he would have taken a field goal, but he had challenged his players to rise above the adversity facing the program. "I wanted them to go to the wall for me," Bradley said. "And I was going to go to the wall for them." . . . How much have the Buckeyes missed suspended wideout Devier Posey? His first reception carried for 39 yards, the second-longest for an OSU receiver this season. . . . Posey finished the game with four receptions for 66 yards. "It felt normal to be out there, to be with the guys," Posey said. "I was excited. I just hope the young guys learned a lot tonight." Jake Stoneburner's second-quarter touchdown marked his first reception since the Illinois game (Oct. 29). Stoneburner had eight catches in the first two games and just five in the last nine games. OSU band director Jon Woods' run of 28 years ended Saturday. He is the longest tenured director in the program's 133-year history. The 72-year-old Woods dotted the "i" in Script Ohio at halftime.
Next for Ohio State
Saturday at Michigan, noon: The Buckeyes have won the previous six meetings, not counting the vacated victory last season. They have won eight of the past nine times. Michigan still leads the all-time series, 57-43-6.
"If you don't turn the TV on, you don't listen, you don't pay attention to those things, you stay focused on your guys," Fickell said. "You give them everything you've got."
Wildcat woes: Both teams ran the wildcat formation on Saturday, sending direct shotgun snaps to their running backs, and the effect doomed the Buckeyes both ways.
Penn State ran the formation for the first time this season after running it a lot with their scout teams to prepare for opposing defenses. OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said it didn't surprise the Buckeyes because they'd worked it so much while prepping for Purdue the week before. It sure did work for the Nittany Lions, though.
The Nittany Lions ran it about 12 times during the game, with their first four efforts netting more than 90 yards. The first touchdown on the game, a 39-yard run by Stephfon Green, went right up the middle and worked because Ohio State linebackers Ryan Shazier and Storm Klein were frozen by the wildcat and a step late to the play. Green shot between them and was gone.
"They caught us out of position when they ran the wildcat," Shazier said. "And they ran it where we weren't."
Meanwhile, Ohio State's insistence on running the formation, when quarterback Braxton Miller might be the most dangerous runner on the team, was more than confusing. Usually, the running back takes the snap and goes. But what may have been the worst Ohio State play of the season was running back Jordan Hall taking a Wildcat snap and attempting to hand it off on a zone-read play to running back Dan Herron from Ohio State's own 16-yard line. To no one's surprise, the two running backs muffed the exchange and Penn State recovered. The defense then bailed out the Buckeyes with a goal-line stand.
"It was a little read play and obviously we didn't get the handoff," Herron said. "We didn't communicate very well on that play, and we have to go back on film and see what actually happened on that play. We worked on it a little in practice. Obviously we need to work on it more."
Or less. Without a passing game, the Buckeyes are left to try to create new things for their offense. Miller was 7-of-17 passing for 83 yards and ran 18 times for 105 yards, and OSU coach Luke Fickell said it was a way to take some of those hits away from Miller.
"You gotta have some self-preservation for the quarterback," Fickell said. "You have a bunch of guys back there you think can handle the football, and you find ways to get the ball in their hands. And that was one of the ideas for us."
Not one of the best ones.
Not a snap: Senior center Mike Brewster continued to struggle with his shotgun snaps on Saturday, an issue that has cropped up at other times this season. Ohio State's first drive ended when Brewster rolled a snap to Miller on third-and-5 that the quarterback was forced to fall on.
Brewster has worn gloves all season, unlike many other centers, and realizes that may have to change.
"Most centers don't wear gloves and maybe at the next level I'll have to change that up," Brewster said. "I put that on myself. I'm not the type of person to make excuses. I wish I could have a few of those back."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dlesmerises@plaind.com, 216-999-4479
Urban Meyer coaching rumors won't end anytime soon: Ohio State Buckeyes Skull Session
11/19/2011 10:45 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Urban Meyer was in Michigan on Saturday getting asked about Ohio State. Those questions won't end soon.
While broadcasting Michigan's win over Nebraska for ESPN, the former Florida coach was asked if he'd accepted the Ohio State head coaching job. Meyer said there was "no truth to that" and added: "I know it's that time of year. I've not been offered any job, and I've certainly not accepted any job."
And everyone throws in the "yet" right here.
This is the way coaching searches work. There are ways to make contact, ways to gauge feelings, ways to do things without exactly making or accepting offers. We know, according to sources involved with Ohio State's coaching search, that there is mutual interest from both parties. And we know the 47-year-old Ashtabula native, who grew up revering Woody Hayes and counts another former OSU coach, Earle Bruce, among the most important people in his life, makes a lot of sense for the Buckeyes. No matter what Luke Fickell would have done with the Buckeyes this season, a resume featuring two national titles would have been hard for Ohio State to pass on.
It's unlikely Ohio State would announce anything about its coaching future before the end of the regular season. So it will go on. And Meyer will remain the most logical, and very possible, man for the job. And the Buckeyes will remain as focused on Michigan as possible. Coach talk didn't explain the loss Saturday, and it wouldn't explain a poor effort next week.
Buckeyes leaves
The Ohio State defense once again had trouble stopping the run on Saturday. Penn State rushed for 239 yards, one shy of a season high for a Buckeyes' opponent. Miami shredded them for 240 yards in their 24-6 loss to the Hurricanes. It marked the third time this season the Buckeyes allowed at least 225 yards on the ground. . . . Penn State entered the game with just one rush of more than 30 yards this season. Against the Buckeyes they had three runs of at least 38 yards. . . . Nittany Lions coach Tom Bradley said he never thought about kicking a field goal in the third quarter when they had the ball inside the Ohio State 3-yardline with a six-point lead. They were stopped on four consecutive running plays and turned the ball over on downs. Bradley said under normal circumstances he would have taken a field goal, but he had challenged his players to rise above the adversity facing the program. "I wanted them to go to the wall for me," Bradley said. "And I was going to go to the wall for them." . . . How much have the Buckeyes missed suspended wideout Devier Posey? His first reception carried for 39 yards, the second-longest for an OSU receiver this season. . . . Posey finished the game with four receptions for 66 yards. "It felt normal to be out there, to be with the guys," Posey said. "I was excited. I just hope the young guys learned a lot tonight." Jake Stoneburner's second-quarter touchdown marked his first reception since the Illinois game (Oct. 29). Stoneburner had eight catches in the first two games and just five in the last nine games. OSU band director Jon Woods' run of 28 years ended Saturday. He is the longest tenured director in the program's 133-year history. The 72-year-old Woods dotted the "i" in Script Ohio at halftime.
Next for Ohio State
Saturday at Michigan, noon: The Buckeyes have won the previous six meetings, not counting the vacated victory last season. They have won eight of the past nine times. Michigan still leads the all-time series, 57-43-6.
"If you don't turn the TV on, you don't listen, you don't pay attention to those things, you stay focused on your guys," Fickell said. "You give them everything you've got."
Wildcat woes: Both teams ran the wildcat formation on Saturday, sending direct shotgun snaps to their running backs, and the effect doomed the Buckeyes both ways.
Penn State ran the formation for the first time this season after running it a lot with their scout teams to prepare for opposing defenses. OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said it didn't surprise the Buckeyes because they'd worked it so much while prepping for Purdue the week before. It sure did work for the Nittany Lions, though.
The Nittany Lions ran it about 12 times during the game, with their first four efforts netting more than 90 yards. The first touchdown on the game, a 39-yard run by Stephfon Green, went right up the middle and worked because Ohio State linebackers Ryan Shazier and Storm Klein were frozen by the wildcat and a step late to the play. Green shot between them and was gone.
"They caught us out of position when they ran the wildcat," Shazier said. "And they ran it where we weren't."
Meanwhile, Ohio State's insistence on running the formation, when quarterback Braxton Miller might be the most dangerous runner on the team, was more than confusing. Usually, the running back takes the snap and goes. But what may have been the worst Ohio State play of the season was running back Jordan Hall taking a Wildcat snap and attempting to hand it off on a zone-read play to running back Dan Herron from Ohio State's own 16-yard line. To no one's surprise, the two running backs muffed the exchange and Penn State recovered. The defense then bailed out the Buckeyes with a goal-line stand.
"It was a little read play and obviously we didn't get the handoff," Herron said. "We didn't communicate very well on that play, and we have to go back on film and see what actually happened on that play. We worked on it a little in practice. Obviously we need to work on it more."
Or less. Without a passing game, the Buckeyes are left to try to create new things for their offense. Miller was 7-of-17 passing for 83 yards and ran 18 times for 105 yards, and OSU coach Luke Fickell said it was a way to take some of those hits away from Miller.
"You gotta have some self-preservation for the quarterback," Fickell said. "You have a bunch of guys back there you think can handle the football, and you find ways to get the ball in their hands. And that was one of the ideas for us."
Not one of the best ones.
Not a snap: Senior center Mike Brewster continued to struggle with his shotgun snaps on Saturday, an issue that has cropped up at other times this season. Ohio State's first drive ended when Brewster rolled a snap to Miller on third-and-5 that the quarterback was forced to fall on.
Brewster has worn gloves all season, unlike many other centers, and realizes that may have to change.
"Most centers don't wear gloves and maybe at the next level I'll have to change that up," Brewster said. "I put that on myself. I'm not the type of person to make excuses. I wish I could have a few of those back."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dlesmerises@plaind.com, 216-999-4479
