Ohio St. v. Alabama observations
3 min readJan 12, 2021
- This was a blowout and really spiraled out of control in the 2nd quarter. Alabama is just a really good team, but Ohio St. did themselves no favors with their schemes or lack thereof on both offense and defense.
- I am not sure what the Buckeyes wanted to accomplish on defense but that was pathetic on all fronts. No one was looking for them to shut down the Tide but to let the Heisman winner run freely without any deterrent is a recipe for disaster. This reminded me of the Sammy Watkins game, Ohio St v. Clemson back in 2013, where the Buckeyes just played off him and never covered him. He torched the Bucks all game, and of course they lost.
- This game was one of those where the Buckeyes looked intimidated in all facets. Hadn't seen that since Clemson 2016 (31–0 final) and Michigan St Big 10 championship in 2013 season. The Bucks don’t get intimidated often, but when they do, its never good. There are very few teams who will intimidate this football program, and Alabama is once in a generation club that will join the all time greats, so I’m not too worried about that factor, just something to point out.
- It really looked like Ohio St. also let Alabama do whatever it wanted, when it wanted. There was nothing Ohio St. did on either side of the ball that was really sticking to their identity. At times it felt they were going against what worked and really shut down after Trey Sermon’s injury. Always felt the Buckeyes just needed to stick to their script and if they lose in a shootout, so what, at least they tried. It didn’t look like they tried in this game especially the back end of the defense.
- Those who cover the Buckeyes rant and rave on annual basis about the 4-star and 5-star recruits they get in bundles. However, they really couldn't find a better secondary or linebacker corps than what they had? They found no recruit who was going to develop to being better than Pete Werner or Tuf Borland? I mean it’s one thing to hype up incoming talent, but if they really had that talent, those guys would be playing, and not two slow white dudes at most athletic position on defense.
- It was apparent that no matter who Alabama plugged in things worked. Not sure the Buckeyes can do that outside of inferior teams. Sorta did it against Clemson, but not really, they stuck to their guns against the Tigers and dominated.
- Speaking of Clemson, really believe, that game was the ‘de-facto’ national championship for the Buckeyes. The over the top celebration from the players. I honestly think that was the main goal and if they got a ‘real’ national title after that, fantastic! It just seemed like Ohio St knew what they were facing and it wasn’t pretty, especially with more key guys out in this game.
- A lot of talent will be leaving this team for the draft, most likely. Gotta replace Justin Fields, replacements on offensive line. Possibly a tight end or two. Sermon is gone, Teague may come back. Linebacker corps could all be gone, depending on if you view Browning as going pro or coming back. The secondary again will be young and inexperienced. Be a very interesting 2021 season on top of this crazy 2020 season.
- I wasn’t sure a college football season would be played, and quite frankly didn’t think playing amateur sports during a pandemic was a bright idea. While it was enjoyable watching the Buckeyes this year, there are bigger things out there. Hoping for full recovery and healthy citizens as 2021 moves on. Congrats on another Big Ten title and getting a playoff victory and national championship appearance!! GO BUCKEYES!!!
