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I’m torn between two loves, and it has nothing to do with my marital life.
I was born and raised in Troy.
I’ve never rooted against the Troy Trojans, my alma mater, in my life.
Then again, I was born in the state of Ohio.
I’ve never rooted against the Buckeyes in my 49-plus years of existence.
Come Saturday at noon, I have a dilemma. Troy plays Ohio State in the Horseshoe, and both teams sport scarlet and gray colors!
Problem solved as Troy is not Troy High School in southwestern Ohio. It is Troy State University of Troy, Alabama, and they wear maroon and white uniforms.
At any rate, I would’ve rooted for Ohio State against whichever Troy showed up.
Play Calling Questioned
I am a big fan of Jim Tressel.
I have met the personable Ohio State coach on a few occasions when he frequents Belmont Hills Country Club for the annual Buckeyes Boosters golf outing.
He seems like a nice man.
OK, enough of the sugar coating.
What was he thinking on some of the plays he called during last Saturday night’s debacle in the Los Angeles Coliseum?
It was reported that some USC players knew what play the Buckeyes were going to run (or pass) before the play was signaled into the OSU huddle.
Tressel’s response: “That’s easy to say after they won.”
But it’s true.
The play calling was so vanilla that I’m surprised it didn’t melt in the southern California heat. Run, run, incomplete pass or quarterback sack or penalty, then punt.
I hope something changes this week or the natural grass surface might get a little sticky.
Time for a QB Change?
Let’s not get hasty here in the ouster of Todd Boeckman. Sure, he didn’t have an exceptionally good performance against USC or Florida or LSU for that fact.
However, if last Saturday was any indication, Tressel is going to stick with his senior signal-caller through thick and thin. Last week it was thin, almost transparent.
Highly-touted freshman Terrelle Pryor has made an impact when he’s been inserted into the lineup, but is he ready to be the No. 1 guy?
I doubt it at this point in the season.
However, down the road against the likes of Penn State, Wisconsin or even Michigan, if the Buckeyes are struggling to put points on the board, Pryor has to be the man because of his versatility. Although he doesn’t have the arm strength of Boeckman just yet, his legs are a lot more mobile than the tortoise-footed Boeckman.
Quote of the Week
Tressel on the power outages around the Columbus area in the wake of a windstorm affiliated with Hurricane Ike. “I was hoping on Sunday when we got back to watch the film the power would be out, but it wasn’t.”
Buckeye Leaves
- The 35-3 butt kicking by USC was OSU’s worst loss since Penn State administered a 63-14 whipping in 1994.
- This is the first meeting between the two schools on the football field. It will also mark the first time the Buckeyes have played a Sun Belt Conference team on the gridiron.
- Crowds of more than 100,000 have seen the last 43 games at Ohio Stadium. The crowd of 93,607 at the L.A. Coliseum was the largest ever for that ancient venue.
North can be reached at knorth@timesleaderonline.com