Right: Terrelle “Don’t Call Me Richard” Pryor en route to an 18-yard touchdown.
AP Photo

It couldn’t have been a more ideal setting for Ohio State football on Saturday. The sun was shining down on the Horseshoe uninhibited by a single cloud but the Buckeyes froze out the Youngstown State Penguins like it was February.

The Bucks’ put forth a dominating effort yet still left some of us with a few question marks, including the health of junior running back Chris ”Beanie” Wells. I don’t know about you but my mind went straight to ankle then took a sharp left to Heisman. It also might have wandered off to Keith Byars and that damned Doug Flutie. By the time I was done wandering, I realized that his ankle was fine but this foot injury was not going to let Wells back in the game. Coach Jim Tressel stated at the press conference that at this point that no one had mentioned turf toe. Foot injury kept popping up on the Big Ten Network and across the bottom of the screen on every ESPN channel. More will be revealed throughout the week.

A few observations from a lowly blog writer/football freak if I may. 

How would you like to be the kid to have your first career start versus Ohio State on one of the nation’s largest stages? Good Luck with that.

I noticed that the Bucks’ were running a no-huddle offense when Boeckman is in. Not a hurry up. I’m curious if this was just for Youngstown State or if this is because the clock rules have changed a bit. My guess is that it was a bit of both. Youngstown State likes to crowd the box so to speak and the no huddle might just give the penguins no time to adjust to and last minute changes in the offense.

Senior captain Todd Boeckman looked stoic and fearless in the pocket. His long balls were perfectly thrown and not a single receiver had to come back to a ball. Once flushed out however, Boeckman looked as though he was a deer in the headlights. Accuracy for him goes down when he is forced to throw on the run. Hartline and Nicol were both open on a third and goal situation (one of the many) and he nervously tossed the ball out of reach. Not only does his throwing accuracy go by the wayside, it seems as if Boeckman is running in quicksand when forced to tuck and scramble. Maybe he is still looking down field and hey I wouldn’t want to be hit by those guys either but maybe that is something to work on this week. Or maybe every week.

Beanie Wells’ first touchdown looked like he was a freight train running down hill.  The poor Youngstown State defensive back was running like his life depended on it and Beanie didn’t even look his way. He was not even deserving of the classic stiff arm.

I really watched and rewatched closely Alex Boone. He made a couple huge holes and really stood his ground.

The special teams were just about as perfect as they could be. Although we didn’t get to see the punt team (oh well), the kicking crew and punt return crew were on. There were a few technical tackling errors on punt return (Schwartz made a crappy little WWF style bump tackle), but all in all I think the special teams did their job and will grade winning from the Man in the Vest.

Jermale Hines was in for Kurt Coleman while he is on the injured list and made several great plays. One being a play on third and long where Marcus Freeman had all but sacked Brandon Summers. Summers somehow got the ball off in the middle of being knocked free of his soul by Freeman. Summers completes the pass to Jabari Scott, but Hines does his best Coleman impression and hits the receiver so hard that the ball pops out. How would you like that for a one-two combo to your offense?

Were you nervous for Terrelle Pryor when he took his first snap? Because it seemed like an eternity for me between the time the ball was placed and the time it took for him to actually complete the pass. It was all slow motion for me. I can’t tell you how excited I am to watch him. His pocket presence belied his freshman status. I was very impressed with the way he handled the pressure. There were only a few moments where I thought he could have waited a moment longer to find a receiver.

The offensive line seemed very solid and thorough. I just hope that once the bigger D-lines come in that they will have the same stamina and aggression that they did against a smallish Penguin team.

I want to tell Ray Small, “NORTH AND SOUTH!” It’s OK to put your shoulder down and take a hit.  You are fast but we don’t want to see you dance.

Settling for a field goal makes me want to kick in my very expensive television. Like put a big hole in the middle with my foot. If the Bucks can’t get a touchdown in the red zone against Youngstown State…. anybody know a good TV repair man? The red zone play looked immature and impotent.

I’m so glad to be back at the Banter after a long hiatus! I love to hear from you! Banter Back! Go BUCKS!

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