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Tuesday Afternoon Notes: Penn State, Bye Week Effect and Little Jimmy
David ThurmanNov 9, 2010
Dave Thurman (4:30 pm)
Coach Jim Tressel had his usual Tuesday press conference and a number of interesting tidbits came out of it:
1) Penn State is playing their best football of the year. JT would have probably said this anyway, but this time I don't think it is just coachspeak. He pointed out that PSU is a young team that now has 10 weeks under their belts and has improved.
1) Penn State is playing their best football of the year. JT would have probably said this anyway, but this time I don't think it is just coachspeak. He pointed out that PSU is a young team that now has 10 weeks under their belts and has improved.
He also noted that they are healthier than they were earlier in the year, and that includes Evan Royster who seems to have "hit it into gear." Of Royster, Tressel went on to say, "I think at the beginning of the year he probably wasn't himself and as the year has gone on, just like most tough backs do, he got himself back to where he'd like to be..."
Interestingly, Tressel didn't say anything about the impact of sophomore Matt McGloin, who has been much more effective than freshman Rob Bolden, and who seems to have been a big part of why Penn State has improved in recent weeks.
Tressel did, however, make mention of return specialist Devon Smith, who he referred to as "number 20," mentioning that he is reported to be the fastest guy in college football. Not exactly news we wanted to hear!
2) The dreaded bye week curse. Tressel was asked if there is any explanation as to why his teams are 2-4 after coming off of a bye week. He responded:
"It's probably irrelevant if we become 3-4. It becomes a big deal if we become 2-5 like most things. I guess part of it, we were talking earlier with a group, I forget who it was, that we said probably the most impactful thing about bye weeks is who you play after the bye...if there was a formula as to how to do your bye week, we'd all use it, but it's according to where you are health-wise, where you are development-wise, but it's probably most impacted by who are you playing after the bye and so we're playing a pretty good team after the bye."
Interestingly, Tressel didn't say anything about the impact of sophomore Matt McGloin, who has been much more effective than freshman Rob Bolden, and who seems to have been a big part of why Penn State has improved in recent weeks.
Tressel did, however, make mention of return specialist Devon Smith, who he referred to as "number 20," mentioning that he is reported to be the fastest guy in college football. Not exactly news we wanted to hear!
2) The dreaded bye week curse. Tressel was asked if there is any explanation as to why his teams are 2-4 after coming off of a bye week. He responded:
"It's probably irrelevant if we become 3-4. It becomes a big deal if we become 2-5 like most things. I guess part of it, we were talking earlier with a group, I forget who it was, that we said probably the most impactful thing about bye weeks is who you play after the bye...if there was a formula as to how to do your bye week, we'd all use it, but it's according to where you are health-wise, where you are development-wise, but it's probably most impacted by who are you playing after the bye and so we're playing a pretty good team after the bye."
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
3) The influx of Pennsylvania talent on the Ohio State roster. One reporter asked the head coach how he would explain all the success the team has had recruiting Pennsylvania, and in classic Tressel humility he mentioned it all started with Joe Daniels, going on to mention that Joe is in the hospital right now and should be kept in prayer.
It is pretty interesting how one class kind of turned it around when Kyle Mitchum, Rory Nichol, and Devon Lyons all signed with the Buckeyes. Consider that the present roster includes the following talent from the Keystone State: Terrelle Pryor, Dorian Bell, Corey "Pittsburgh" Brown, Corey "Philadelphia" Brown, Evan Blankenship, Chad Hagan, Jordan Hall and Andrew Sweat. That's quite a haul!
4) Will November be a return to Tresselball? It was mentioned that last November the Buckeyes were run-heavy, which Tressel acknowledged. He basically said it was a combination of November weather and the fact that Pryor was banged up, which I'm not sure is accurate. I think Tress just wanted to avoid turnovers after the Purdue nightmare. Anyway, I do think we will see more balance this year.
5) Little Jimmy Tressel. I have been anxiously waiting for this reference to appear, since Joe Paterno did refer to JT in that fashion a few years ago, and it has become a standard part of the pregame between OSU and PSU. Sure enough there were at least three references to this nickname at the press conference and you can be sure more will follow. However, not nearly as many references as there will be to the fact that Joe now has 400 wins!
4) Will November be a return to Tresselball? It was mentioned that last November the Buckeyes were run-heavy, which Tressel acknowledged. He basically said it was a combination of November weather and the fact that Pryor was banged up, which I'm not sure is accurate. I think Tress just wanted to avoid turnovers after the Purdue nightmare. Anyway, I do think we will see more balance this year.
5) Little Jimmy Tressel. I have been anxiously waiting for this reference to appear, since Joe Paterno did refer to JT in that fashion a few years ago, and it has become a standard part of the pregame between OSU and PSU. Sure enough there were at least three references to this nickname at the press conference and you can be sure more will follow. However, not nearly as many references as there will be to the fact that Joe now has 400 wins!
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.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
