Fact or Fiction: Week 5 Edition

Drew Thurman (12:45 pm)

I once again have taken some trends I have seen on the forums, and decided to insert some of my own opinion. Time for fact or fiction...

Trend in Opinion #1: Ohio State's defense has gotten worse in the tackling department instead of better.

My Opinion: Fact. Just go back and watch Jernigan's 45 yard touchdown grab this last week, and the answer to this is easy. I do not know if it is passion, coaching, or what, but the defense has looked terrible trying to wrap people up. The only guy that looked really good in this department against Troy was Jermale Hines. He seemed to be around the ball all day long, and really lowered his shoulder to make the hit. Besides that, the tackling for the defense graded out at a C at best.

Trend in Opinion #2: Jim Tressel does not know how to use Terrelle Pryor's skills.

My Opinion: Fiction. It is pretty hard to base Tressel's game plan for Pryor based off of a few games. Besides that, he is a true freshman! Florida did not open all the playbook for Tebow at the beginning of his freshman year, and neither is Tressel. Believe me, Tressel has a lot up his sleeve for Pryor. This should be evident by looking at Tressel's history. Look at Troy Smith's career for instance, Tressel opened the playbook more and more as Troy got more experience under his belt. The same will be true with Pryor. It is easy to get anxious because of his extreme talent, but just be patient. Tressel has big things in store for Pryor!

Trend in Opinion #3: The Buckeyes this year are plagued with "senoritis."

My Opinion: Fact. This offseason Buckeye fans rejoiced that the Buckeyes were returning so many starters. Now four games in, it seems that has hindered us more than helped. Michigan last year faced a similar problem, and now the Buckeyes are dealing with it. Think about it, this senior class has been through a lot together, and have seen some highs and lows. After already being beaten badly in two National Championships, this team looked like they gave up in the second half against USC. I am hoping that this is not a trend for when the Buckeyes face difficult times this season, but you have to wonder how much fight these seniors have left in them.

The most encouraging thing for fans had to be the excitement of the youngsters in the Troy game. They seem to be adding a spark that has been missing since Beanie's injury, and I hope we see some more of guys like Posey, Thomas, Williams, and Sabino. They all seem to be more motived, and playing them could help this team find its stride again.

Trend in Opinion #4: The Buckeyes will lose two more games before the season ends.

My Opinion: Fact, but I say that with reservation. There are a lot of question marks for the Buckeyes, and if those get answered who knows how good this team could be. The first one has to be Beanie's health. If Beanie is healthy we become a very scary team, but without him we will struggle in a few upcoming games. The second question mark has to be our defense, and in particular our defensive line. The Buckeyes have shuffled things around a little bit this week, and they needed too! This team has to get more production from the defensive tackles or it could get ugly, especially against Wisconsin. The last big question mark is Terrelle Pryor's play. Yes he looked great against Troy, but how does he handle the Big Ten schedule as a freshmen? If he can keep mistakes to a minimum and continue to look to pass first, this team will continue to perform.

Even with all that said though, if the run defense does not improve this will be a long year. Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Penn State will all throw different kinds of rushing attacks at us. If we perform the way we have on defense so far, two more losses is not out of the question at all!