No Land For Old QBs....Will THE Scarlet & Gray Bounce Byke? It's Up in the Air I'm just Sayin: 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes Thread

[OSUBaneBrowns]

Next man up but after the season, Day really needs to determine if Frye is the guy because OL depth is the weakness of this team .

 

[Regular_P]

O line just getting decimated. fukk

Upset of the year in 11 days.

 

[MustafaSTL]

Upset of the year in 11 days.

The only upset is if we win by less than 28.

 

[Trav]

JK vision & cuts >>>

Next man up but after the season, Day really needs to determine if Frye is the guy because OL depth is the weakness of this team .

Wonder if the wear & tear from our turk got anything to do wit it too smh.

 

[MustafaSTL]

Reading on some of the message boards that the staff might think Padilla is a better OL than Siereveld. If that’s the case, just move him up to take over center and keep everything else the same. All depends on if he is ready.

Either way, Buckeyes by 20.

Edit: well never mind

 

[MustafaSTL]

 

[smitty22]

 

[Trav]

Lie Down Brutus & Tell Us What U See On This Rourkeschach Test | #5 Indiana Hoosiers @ #2 The Ohio State Buckeyes

www.thecoli.com

We live

They could never make me forget you, El Guapo---may we recreate this in your honor (we defend)

 

[MustafaSTL]

Kyle Jones (@kylejones32.bsky.social)

In advance of the top-5 match up with Ohio State tomorrow, let’s talk some Indiana football! 🧵 First, the run game is VERY RPO-based. Heavy on zone concepts (like ‘insert’ here) but threat of pass removes 2nd level defenders to lighten box numbers.

bsky.app

Good thread breaking down Indiana

 

[MustafaSTL]

From Gleitman

1. Spirit of the team after the McLaughlin injury is very positive. Obviously sucks to lose Seth but team is really rallying around the next man up mantra from what I’m told. Seth has been very leaned in and a vocal leader to rally the guys this week.

2. Think the center position in this offense is just too important, and the number of reps under the belt of Hinzman and Siereveld in this big of a game led to the decision to with those two over Padilla. I am told Padilla has really come on the last few weeks since Hinzman moved to OG and there’s a lot of confidence in his future at Ohio State.

3. Seems like Will Kacmarek will go this week and I was told not to undervalue his presence in the blocking game against an Indiana team that leads the conference in sacks and TFL.

4. Hoosiers defensive front has been outstanding this year but it’s not as much a talent thing as they’re outscheming people with stunts and slants to get their athletes space to get in the backfield. Going to need Chip Kelly to put scheme the Hoosers.

5. Told there is a “quiet confidence” right now, similar to what I heard before PSU, in OSU being able to execute some things they think will work. Also told the new look line/offense has looked good the last couple of days

6. On defense, defending the RPO and back shoulder throws/downfield passing game is critical and that will be a scheme thing on Knowles.

7. Feeling is OSU HAS to be able to run the ball the next 2-3 games. I wouldn’t be surprised if they incorporate the QB run creatively more if the new line isn’t having success straight up. Not giving away anything planned just a hunch based on some people I’ve spoken to who have forgotten more football than I know

 

[Schadenfreude]

The fact that Indiana is playing this well with a QB from a MAC school that's under 2 hours from Columbus is wild.

Maybe OSU needs to take a look at Ohio's roster since their teams are usually solid (Solich got that program straight before he retired).

 

[Trav]

Kyle Jones (@kylejones32.bsky.social)

In advance of the top-5 match up with Ohio State tomorrow, let’s talk some Indiana football! 🧵 First, the run game is VERY RPO-based. Heavy on zone concepts (like ‘insert’ here) but threat of pass removes 2nd level defenders to lighten box numbers.

bsky.app

Good thread breaking down Indiana

So basically, Knowles better keep scheming his ass off like he's been doing since the Oregon game. Sawyer & JT better get fuccin' home. Maybe they listen to Hicks just this one game & let him play 3rd down specialist on the Edge lol. And Burke better keep workin' in practice on the back shoulder throws like they say him & Igbinosun been doing


It's interesting cuz Urban defines what they do as PRO instead of traditional RPO as in they're lookin' to pass 1st & the run is the option instead of the other way around.

 

[Trav]

About Knowles changing the def after Oregon:

Spoiler

The 59-year-old has been one of the best coordinators in the country dating to his time at Duke, where he helped the Blue Devils reconfigure their defense under coach Dave Cutcliffe during one of the most successful periods in program history. At Oklahoma State, he built a defense that shut down high-powered Big 12 offenses and finished in the top 10 in points allowed in 2021. Over three years at Ohio State, Knowles’ defenses rank first in the FBS in yards and points allowed per game.

Despite all of that success, Knowles has had his share of moments when things haven’t gone his way or when he’s been forced to change. That’s what the Oregon loss was: a chance for him to adapt. The base defense might look similar on the surface, but it’s changing tendencies and looks week to week. In some ways, it’s showing Knowles at his best.

“He is the mad professor,” Cutcliffe said. “He would get in the meeting room, and if he got on that board, he’d fill it up.”

Spoiler

In the four games since the loss, Ohio State has given up just two touchdowns and 4.1 yards per play. Through the Oregon game, the Buckeyes had the nation’s 61st-highest blitz rate (28.2 percent), per TruMedia; since then, they’ve had the fourth highest (45.8 percent). They’ve also risen from 61st in percent of man-to-man defense played to 14th.


“You have to be able to look at yourself, that’s the biggest thing,” Knowles said. “Hopefully young coaches can learn that, you have to be able to look at yourself. A good carpenter never complains about his tools. It happens in life when coaches blame players, but it always leads to better solutions if from the top you accept accountability and accept answers.”

Spoiler

Cutcliffe knew exactly whom he wanted when hiring a new defensive coordinator in 2010.

Knowles had been on his staff at Ole Miss in 2003 before leaving to be the coach at his alma mater, Cornell. After posting a 26-34 record there, Knowles resigned. Cutcliffe wanted him back.

“I knew he would understand the challenges, having been at an Ivy League school, that we faced at Duke,” Cutcliffe said. “You have to be somewhat creative — but he’s not somewhat creative, he’s very creative.”

Cutcliffe also knew Knowles had a knack for teaching. He connected with people well, made staff meetings fun and balanced his creativity with keeping the scheme simple enough so players knew what they were doing.

“That’s the challenge of creativity,” Cutcliffe said. “You want to have wrinkles, Jim made it all systematic. It can be something they haven’t seen or you haven’t done, but it has to fit the system.”

Up-tempo, no-huddle offenses took over college football during Knowles’ time at Duke. So Cutcliffe went to his defensive coordinator with a challenge: Fast-paced offenses use one-word calls, so why couldn’t defenses?

 

[Trav]

Knowles cont:

Spoiler

It took them one offseason to install the changes Cutcliffe wanted to see.

“Great coaches don’t teach how and what; they teach players why they do this,” Cutcliffe said. “In this system, the ‘why’ was critical because they had to get the call, get lined up, get their eyes in the right place, and man did we get lined up quickly and players rarely made mistakes on formation calls.”

He’s still the same at Ohio State. Though many don’t see it, his energy still shows itself on the field or in the locker room. His viral dance moves after the win at Penn State are a good example of that. Even more importantly, his teaching skills continue to impress.

Spoiler

Knowles’ objective as a coach is simple: teach the players what they’re supposed to do, show them how on the field and make sure they know why they are doing what they’re doing so they can think on their feet on the field.

“If you can show people why something happened, people aren’t walking around like, ‘Why the hell did this happen?'” Knowles said. “You can show them what happened. Even games we win by a lot, I always show them the negative plays and here’s what happened.

“They are used to getting answers and making corrections, but when you lose a game like (Oregon), it kind of hits you right in the face, kind of like a wake-up call.”

Spoiler

Re-engineering” Ohio State’s defense, in the words of coach Ryan Day, didn’t happen just because coaches showed film and corrected the on-field mistakes.

The first key for Knowles is self-evaluation. Figure out what you’re doing wrong and have the answers to adapt. Taking accountability and collaborating to find solutions can earn respect from the locker room and coaching staff.

“He’s open to our questions, we can put our thoughts into it and he’ll take it and use it,” Ohio State defensive lineman Caden Curry said.

The answer at Ohio State was to mix what Knowles does best with what Ohio State has been known for with its four-down front. Ohio State came out of the bye week moving its defensive linemen around in the pass game and against the run. It’s blitzing more, but it’s also mixing in some coverage concepts that Knowles had success with at Oklahoma State.

Spoiler

After the loss to Oregon, Ohio State came up with two late defensive stops to hold off Nebraska, held a top-five Penn State team without an offensive touchdown and allowed a total of 7 points to overmatched Purdue and Northwestern. The Oregon game remains the only one in which an opponent has exceeded 275 total yards against Ohio State.


The increased presence in the defensive meeting rooms of Day — who relinquished offensive play calling — has been a big help, as well.

“It’s one thing to be a boss and point at the problems, but he has that football acumen where he can offer solutions and ideas,” Knowles said. “It’s a big deal having that resource who can say, ‘Here’s how I see it from an offensive perspective.'”

The defense can never be perfect, but it now has more in its toolbox than ever before. And it is finding the balance Knowles has been searching for.

No. 2 Ohio State enters Saturday’s unexpected top-five showdown with No. 5 Indiana as a double-digit favorite, aiming for another shot at Oregon in the Big Ten title game. For Ohio State to get to this point, the “mad professor” had to have a day like the Sunday after the Oregon loss in October.

When the story of the 2024 Ohio State season is written, the hope is that the heartbreak in Eugene is viewed as a turning point rather than an ominous setback.

“Life throws you different curveballs, and if you hit them out of the park with a bad swing, well, the issues are still there,” Knowles said. “But when you lose, people kind of wake up and see it.”

Bonus:

 

[smitty22]

So basically, Knowles better keep scheming his ass off like he's been doing since the Oregon game. Sawyer & JT better get fuccin' home. Maybe they listen to Hicks just this one game & let him play 3rd down specialist on the Edge lol. And Burke better keep workin' in practice on the back shoulder throws like they say him & Igbinosun been doing


It's interesting cuz Urban defines what they do as PRO instead of traditional RPO as in they're lookin' to pass 1st & the run is the option instead of the other way around.

Jim Knowles Thinks C.J. Hicks’ Future Will Include “A Lot More” Rushing Off of the Edge

Jim Knowles says he expects C.J. Hicks’ future to include “a lot more” rushing off the edge after the junior linebacker got in on two sacks last week vs. Northwestern.

www.elevenwarriors.com