HitsRus;1651496 wrote:With all the problems elsewhere, it should be noted our place kicking most certainly needs some improvement... We sure could have used those two earlier missed field goals and the kick out of bounds at such a critical point of a game did not help.
That said, the play of the defensive secondary as well as the and offensive line was absolutely horrifying.... With particular emphasis on the offense of line that could neither open holes for the running game nor protect the quarterback. The receiving corps could not shake single man-to-man coverage .
Sooooo many things wrong where do you even begin to start?
Yeah, there were a laundry list of things that went wrong.
The score would have been closer over the first three quarters if not for two missed kicks, one being a bunny. Also, the shanked punt and the kick out of bounds. Special teams blew.
The OL is the worst I've ever seen at Ohio State. Freshman QB making his second start in college just got completely overwhelmed to where he was way too jittery by the fourth quarter in that "OMG! I gotta throw this before I get crunched again!" way when they needed clutch play. He also was the closest thing to a consistent running threat because the backs regularly got stuffed (both EZE and Samuel had one good carry and averaged about 2.5 for the rest of them, of which neither got many to begin with). And in the early parts of the game, when Barrett was getting some time, the receivers dropped a ton of balls that SHOULD have been caught when you're talking about major-level college players. The offense blew.
The defense had moments, but was horrible at getting off the field on third down. They played soft at key times and, after the game got tied at 21, immediately gave up a touchdown to kill the momentum. Barrett only had nine completions, but had 20 more yards than the VT QB had in 23 completions because the Bucks let them dink and dunk their way down, just taking what they were given, killing any momentum or excitement. 3rd and 6? Here's an easy 8-yard completion! The defense blew.
And that's the game in summary.