Ohio State Merely Mediocre Through First Quarter of Season

I’ve never been a fan of preseason rankings.  It exists, so even I do it, but without a few games to gauge how the teams are actually performing, it’s just a crapshoot.

With that thought in mind, I decided that I would wait for the first three games to be completed before I began doing any game reviews and previews.

I would say that my plan has paid off in spades, as I have a much better idea of who the 2008 Buckeyes are now than I did in late August.  Sadly, this is not a good thing.

Here is the first quarter update.

Ohio State 42, Youngstown State 0

A Pyrrhic victory that saw entirely too many field goals (what? YSU’s D is too strong to get a TD on?) and the loss of Beanie Wells to the still undiagnosed foot/toe problem.  Looking back, the writing was on the wall with this game.

Ohio State 26, Ohio 14

Without Beanie playing, the Buckeyes looked like crap on offense.  What did they have?  Six?  Seven?  Three and outs!

The defense wasn’t awful, only allowing seven points (remember a Beckers fumble in the end zone gave Ohio their other score), but they showed an inability to finish tackles.  Buckeye nation consoled themselves with the thought that the team had been looking ahead and that Beanie would be back.

USC 35, Ohio State 3

Looks like the Buckeyes hadn’t actually been looking ahead.  Soft zone defense scheming, questionable offensive play calling, and more craptastic play from ol’ Beckers (two INTs, one fumble, zero TDs) led to a smackdown.

I know many want to look at the play of Boom, Pryor vs. Beckers, and a few other items as something to build on, but the reality is that very little positive can be taken from this game.

Now looking at the quarterly roundup, you have to ask yourself, if the first ranking ballot came out this week, would Ohio State be in the top 25?  I think the answer is no.

After three games, I don’t feel we have a 2007 Michigan-style collapse on our hands, but I feel talk of 11-1 is misplaced if the Buckeyes don’t turn it around in the next two games.