11W, my go to site, has a good article on countering the Bear:
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2015/09/58597/film-stu...
I agree that we need to get the ball outside to take away the numerical advantage inside. If we can connect on some quick screens or hit the WR then we'll open up our running game.
As much as I think UM will come out running it would not surprise me, if you use a cover 0 look, for him to throw the ball and challenge you to stick with cover 0.
Can't wait till Monday
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I admit, I've gotten confused a few times this offseason seeing "UM" in posts around here. Are we talking about Miami? Oh wait, we have some Big Ten folks, maybe Michigan? No, this is about our game...oh, Urban Meyer!
Then I was thinking, could we come up with a better shorthand, like CFB for Coach Frank Beamer? But I realized, if we use the same acronym system, it would tread into the NSFW waters, and nobody wants that.
Was just wrestling this in my head. Thanks for clearing that up!
Haha! Honestly, I sometimes get confused with CFB, thinking it means just college football, a la r/cfb. But then again, I have a bad history with acronyms anyway...
I actually have that issue too...
"Wait, of course college football does that, because it's football...oh wait...Coach..."
I've seen UMFM (a la our very own RMFW)
With your top recievers out and as much success as Elliott and Barrett had running the ball last year there is no way UM comes out trying to win by passing. He is going to establish the run. Elliott is too talented to not run him. Plus after last years experience, our secondary is back and ready while you have inexperienced WRs (talented I'm sure but inexperienced). Maybe a first play bomb to try and set a tone from the start but other than that I think he comes out running.
We really only have 2 WR's out for your game, one suspended and one out for season with an injury. While the WR crop is not that experienced as I'd like the ones we have have some experience so they may surprise you. Your having one of the best CB tandems in CF this year means we'll have our hands full downfield. Still, I'd be willing to go 1 on 1 a few times.
The H-back is basically your slot receiver. Your #1 and #2 slot back (Marshall and Wilson) are out. Your #1 and #2 at one of your WR spots are out.
So... starters at 2 of 3 primary pass-catching positions are out. Plus the top backups at 2 of 3 primary pass-catching positions. So by that math you're missing 4 of your top 8 receivers (if you put TE as a 'top pass-catching position').
Many people considered Curtis Samuel would be the number 1 or number 2 Hback. So luckily he's been practicing there since spring. He reminds me of Davin Cook.
The only players with experience we are missing at wr would be Marshall and Smith. Still going to hurt but I don't think it's game over for our HB/WR position.
edit: Dontre Wilson still sounds injured (injured week 9 last year) and probably wouldn't have played anyway. But we are missing him as well.
Thanks for the clarification. Since Samuel moved to H-back who is going to back up Elliot at RB?
Brionte Dunn is right now. Though if Elliott got injured they'd probably move Samuel back. They just really want to get him the ball somehow.
True freshmen Mike Weber looked like he could be the number 2 with a solid camp. But guess what? He got hurt too lol.
Preaching to the choir on that one. Hopefully yall avoid the injury bug better than we did last year.
There will not be any Pearl Harbors this coming Monday night (no surprises). You may find our bear is smarter than the average bear and I am sure we will see Ohio try the air but will be stuck on the ground...
You guys are loaded. The #2-5 receivers would likely start most places. I really UM will show variation - pass vs. the man and Zeke inside and out, seeking the weak spots. Nothing black and white - but Zeke WILL get many touches.
I swear I see a smirk on his face...
Bear defense takes a break from the heat... before applying heat to OSU Monday night
Ders bears in da pool!!
Gotta love it!
If I'm CoachUM I'm going to go with Zeke Elliott until you stop him.
Thanks for posting.
It's going to be fun to watch.
I'd like to add in on this sentiment. Thank you, OSU posters, for providing great dialogue throughout the past 12+ months. It's been a pleasure debating in (mostly) a civil manner, Monday will be fun!
11W has a nice, clean feel to it.
It's layout or it's commentors?
you forgot the /s
Seriously, while I like the color scheme and the look, the functionality of that site kills me. I've been spoiled by TKP. Also, they giffed every single film clip. Just embed the dang youtube clip like our guys do.
The thing that bothered me about the gifs, which I liked because I don't have to click play but they also slow down the page, is that they were so blurry.
As someone whose work blocks youtube but not gifs, I rather enjoyed being able to see what was going on. I think SBNation does it best, where the gifs only play when you hover your mouse over them.
I actually like theirs better, it feels more modern
I think both sites look nice, they both appear to use HTML5/CSS3, especially with the NAV bar. But yeah, the 11W site seems to make better use of screen real estate (I'm using a 1200x800 res laptop). I also like how when you hover over a section on their nav bar, thumbnails of recent relevant articles show up. It's a nice touch.
Some minor details, though:
1. Site frequently crashing (although this may be a recent development)
2. The CSS or something frequently fails on my iPhone (TKP used to do this)
3. Although it looks better, our voting system is ahead of theirs
4. Don't like the auto collapse, especially when I have to expand new comments to read them
5. Our search & navigation is better;
6. I can't tell who is replying to whom
You also don't see articles written by staff in the main forum areas. TKP is much more of a community in my book.
Yeah, the voting system here is great. I never bothered to create a profile with 11W, so I have no idea how theirs works. Before joining TKP, I wasn't even aware that having a profile would make the site (active discussion colors) look different.
Don't make me chuckle...
Although I have no doubt Bud will show the "Bear" look some throughout the game, I would bet he will retool some players' responsibilities and/or the personnel. I don't think anyone knows exactly what he will do, but I have a feeling we possibly could see 3 linebackers on the field a lot more with RVD having a bigger role. I'm sure Urban will try to make us pay for the Cover 0 Bear look as you say by trying to pass some, putting us in a "pick your poison" situation between stopping the run or pass. But I think Foster knows this. With 3 linebackers in the game, we can still load the box to stop the run, and this also frees up at least one of the safeties to drop back into coverage. Could open up the opportunity for some interesting blitzes and coverage disguises. I'm sure you will see a lot of other looks besides the Bear as well. I doubt we see a ton of 3-4 WR looks due to the relative inexperience there for OSU. I think we see a lot of "12" personnel with a TE and H-Back. I'm looking forward to this chess match unfolding.
We've been hearing that a healthy RVD can run with wr's for years so, theoretically, that should add versatility.
RVD?
The Whole Damn Show
Call me crazy, but I'll be very surprised to see RVD on the field a lot - I hope I"m wrong, but I just didn't get a sense from scrimmage footage or coach/player interviews that he has been a big factor this preseason. But I do recall how important Dinardo was in the win last year.
Especially when they run the 3-3 stack (shhhhhhhh.)
I think it will be a lot of 2 wr sets for urb and company. I imagine the offense's will look similar in what they try to do, we both will probably kill the first quarter trying to run...run...run...
A few things:
1. I'm getting a little tired of people stating that Bud's iteration of the bear is the same as Buddy Ryan's 46 defense back in the day. As French pointed out in another thread, they aren't exactly the same.
2. I agree that we'll see a lot more of Elliot and those flare passes in the flat. That's one area where it helps VT to have "undersized" and fast linebackers.
3. We may see some screens, but that's a tough blocking assignment against press coverage when your best blocking WR is hurt. There would need to be some patience from the OC in order to fake that and run a fake and go off of it a la Oregon vs. FSU.
4. As far as slants, etc. I'll refer to French's excellent article on inside leverage and note that, when sharp and healthy, this plays into the strengths of Facyson and Riley as quick, aggressive corners.
5. "Lightening in a bottle", "too much talent", etc. sigh.
6. I keep seeing OSU fans say that they're just gonna wear us down. How so? We have depth on the DL and by virtue of who we play every year we play several offenses that are faster paced than OSU. I think we lose but more because of the matchup of Elliot 1-v-1 against linebackers and those linebackers taking false steps in the read option/misdirection game.
I was wondering how much of their run game is affected by newer receivers having to block downfield? We've seen how weak blocking can change things.
Can confirm. Source: 2012 season
Regarding your first point, I personally think it's great that 11w and others don't understand Bud's scheme. I also hope that the coaches at anOSU continue to not understand it and mistake it for the 46 defense. All the better for us.
To your sigh on (5), I totally agree. I've seen mentions of gauging "talent" a ton from Ohio State fans (or Yankees fans, or Bama fans, or fans of any traditional powerhouse team) and it's just really strange to me. As if the contest is who can have the best team on paper, and the game is just there to prove your superiority. Games aren't about talent, it's a competition. If you don't win then the "talent" you possess is meaningless.
Shhhhh... Let them think that. They won't know what hit them.
Their game plan should be to get Zeke to the edge going against our edge free hitter - they are betting (and I'm hoping they are wrong) that Zeke can get around or over our edge free hitter 7 out of 10 times. To stop him, we will really need swarm tackling.
Has 11W or TKP done an analysis of the VT offense vs. the OSU Defense? This is the match up that is going to make/break the game IMO.
Between our high risk/high reward defense, and OSU's offense, they're going to score. I don't think they'll string together long drives down the field often, but I do think they'll get at least 1, likely more 20+ yard TDs. I can say with some confidence that I think our defense can hold OSU to 30ish points (we were the only team to hold them to <30 last year, PSU and Minnesota held them to 31).
My big question is can our offense put up 30+ points again? I'm not confident that Brewer can convert >50% of third downs again (that is something I would call lightening in a bottle), so we'll have to establish a running game... which we've done effectively in four games in the past two seasons.
Yes. That is the key point - can we score a lot - and maybe even more importantly - EARLY and get ahead like last year.
A little bit.... http://www.thekeyplay.com/virginia-tech-football/2015/09/10127/cracking-...
Being the undisputed #1 team, defending national champs, and one of the "so called" best teams that ever played the game of football, they are sure taking a lot of precautions. Are we that big of a threat to the holy ones, that beat the Badgers, the Tide, and the Ducks to become the best in the country? I read BR power rankings and we are somewhere in the 30's(yea, I know it's BR). My simple point is this. If they are that good, and they are that confident in their team, why is there so much hype in this game? Vegas, ESPN, 11W, the mailman all have them winning by more than 2 scores. So what is it about us that makes them scared? Cause we beat them last year? Shoot I sat through 4Q of the JMU loss in the freakin rain, do I want to go back to JMU the next year and "get my revenge"? Do I want to trott down to WF and play them the next year? Nope! I think all this hype is because people really think we can knock the champs down. And I do believe that somewhere in the back of every OSU fans head, they are thinking the same thing. Going to be a great game, anyone who says otherwise, doesn't know Bud.
GO HOKIES!!!
You hit the nail on the head there.
It's because we did something last year that nobody else could do, we beat them. And it wasn't by a fluky play either, we never trailed in the game. Others tried to replicate what we did, but had little to no success. And there's part of the mystery. Was it because of all the reasons 11W and some homer fans are saying? Or was our scheme that good? And are we that bad of a match-up for them? Everyone wants to know what really happened last year, and can it happen again. I think that is the reason for all the hype around this game. And the fact is we all want to know the answer to that question.
Personally, I think that we can win this game, I was optimistic going into last year because I knew their situation, (new qb and line). I'm optimistic this year because I think, like you said, we're now in their heads. They've got to be questioning what we did to them, how we did it, and what are we going to show them this year. Either way, it's gonna be a HELL of a game. I'm gonna be there dressed in orange from head to toe!
GO HOKIES!!
Bud has had his bad days at the office too. I'm sure he'll have a good game plan but Urban is no slouch of a coach. I'm expecting OSU to score plenty of points in this game so the onus is on our offense to move the ball, maintain possession, and score some damn touchdowns.
The match-up that nobody is talking about but I think will determine the outcome of this game is the VT offense vs the OSU defense. Will Brewer be able to replicate the miracle-performance he had against them last year? Will the OC be able to call a great game without getting too cute? Will the Offensive Line show any improvement in run blocking? Is Shane going to rotate 17 different running backs into the game or stick with a simple 2-3 guy rotation to let guys hit a rhythm? Are the receivers and tight ends going to be as good as everyone expects/hopes them to be?
If VT can't move the ball offensively this game is going to be ugly. This offense will need to score 4 touchdowns AT A MINIMUM if VT wants to sniff a chance at victory in this game.
I agree, with so much emphasis placed on their offense vs. our defense, we seem to be forgetting that we have lost many games that our defense kept us in because our offense was too inept to take advantage. If we don't play well on offense, we won't win this game. I've watched too many games where our D played lights out until finally, under some combination of being on the field too much and having lost hope because the offense failed to take advantage of any of the opportunities the defense gave them, we end up falling apart late. Understandably too, it must be frustrating to play championship caliber defense for 4 quarters while watching an FCS level offense trip over themselves all game.
Quintessential VT Football right there.
I thought we were only rotating 16 this season? I LOL'd so hard.
Touche Sir!!!
Throwing the ball to guys who are open is hardly a miracle... Scheme had a large part in it- later teams were able to take away our strengths and highlight our weaknesses on offense.
Of course you can knock the champ down. Most of the realistic Ohio State fans I know almost give yall a 50/50 chance. I was probably 70/30 before the OSU suspensions, but now I'm down to 50/50 as well. It was already a bad matchup for Ohio State, and now it is even worse. I think the experts who really follow football know that this game is going to come down to the wire. The people predicting a route are the same blowhards who only look at recruiting ratings and don't know anything about football schemes. Plus the media always puts way too much stock into the results of the previous season. Its a new year, with a new team, and Ohio State hasn't proved jack squat. So of course yall are a threat. We are not the national champions or a great team. We are a team with a
0-0 record just like you guys. Only the fringe OSU homers think we are going to roll over VT and I apologize on their behalf.
You sir, are my hero.
I seriously doubt that Foster runs the EXACT same defense from last year. It seems like he comes up with a brilliant way to counter unique offenses every time. Look at what he did to Georgia Tech in 2013.....
On the flips side, I think the matchup problem for the OSU defense is going to be what we do with our hybrid TE/FB position with Mallack/Hodges/Cline/Rogers and what that will do to open up a more vertical passing game for Ford/Phillips and for what it might do for our rushing game.
I just hope that Loeffler doesn't try to out scheme himself.
I'm beyond amazed that they haven't mentioned Dadi or Luther One. Damn.Time. I mean c'mon guys, they're all over the highlight video from last year.