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Yahoo Sports...
Buckeyes fall from
grace
Ohio State, a program that has been the dominant force in the Big Ten
for the past decade, has stumbled into some new and very unfamiliar
territory. The Buckeyes’ 24-6 loss at Miami knocked them out of the
national rankings for the first time in almost seven years, thus ending
the nation’s longest streak of appearances in the Top 25 at 103
straight weeks.
Of bigger concern for Ohio State, however, is what has brought them to
this position.
The inept performance against the Hurricanes was akin to being stripped
down and exposed in front of a national audience. If Ohio State did not
look vulnerable before, with all of the turmoil and chaos and
suspensions and resignations, the Buckeyes sure look that way now.
Ohio State came out of the loss to Miami as clearly a one-dimensional
team on offense. That affliction had allowed the Hurricanes to swarm
all over the line of scrimmage and smother the Buckeyes’ running
attack, and there is little doubt that is what Colorado plans to do
when it visits Ohio Stadium this week.
Neither senior QB Joe Bauserman nor freshman QB Braxton Miller could
connect with their receivers. The Buckeyes had four completions on the
night, for 35 whole yards.
First-year Ohio State head coach Luke Fickell was not sure where to
take his team next, in terms of its quarterback play. With the Big Ten
schedule looming after his game against Colorado, the clock is
approaching midnight on making that decision.
“We don’t know what the plan is just yet,” Fickell said as he prepared
the Buckeyes for the Buffaloes. “We’re going to have these guys
compete. Until we see them compete in practice, and see how guys handle
situations and roles and different things like that, we’re not going to
make a complete judgment just yet.”
Since the clumsy exit of former head coach Jim Tressel, the
play-calling and personnel decisions have been made by committee,
Fickell acknowledged. He will convene that group in marathon sessions
as the Ohio State staff tries to work out of this predicament, knowing
that showdowns with Michigan State and Nebraska are just around the
corner.
“We had a hard time throwing the football. We know we need to get
better,” Fickell said. “Our focus is on ourselves, how do we get
better. I think that’s the thing that we’re going to continue to talk
about as a team.”
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