That’s an actual headline from the New York Times on August 12, 1906. It was that year that college football underwent significant rule changes. The game was shortened to 60 minutes instead of 70. Teams now had to gain ten yards in three downs to maintain possession instead of five. Six men were mandated to have been on the line of scrimmage. Kneeing and kicking opponents were outlawed, as was forbidding a defensive player from striking a ballcarrier in the face with the heel of his hand. Evidently that was a problem in those days.
Unfortunately for the 2011 Ohio State Buckeyes, the forward pass was also instituted to open up the game. This was the most radical and unpredictable change to the game of football in 1906. Little did they know what horrors would come thanks to the forward pass 38,388 days later in Miami, Florida.
Ohio State’s passing numbers against the Miami Hurricanes in a 24-6 were as follows:
Braxton Miller: 2/4, 22 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT
Joe Bauserman: 2/14, 13 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs
Total: 4/18, 35 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, 1.9 yards per attempt.
If you consider Braxton Miller’s two completions came on checkdowns in the final minute of garbage time, the team numbers for the Buckeyes looked like this:
2/16, 13 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, 0.8 yards per attempt.
Those numbers were produced by the 17th ranked team in the country. If it’s actually humanly possible, the story of the Ohio State passing game Saturday night was worse than those numbers. Actually, those numbers don’t do it justice. This was The Human Centipede of passing performances. The Buckeyes completed zero passes to wide receivers or tight ends. Several hundred young Buckeye fans have now adopted rugby as their sport of choice, forever scarred by what they saw from the evils of the forward pass.
This wasn’t three yards and a cloud of dust. No, this was like going back in time and watching a football game played in a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie.
But before we make this all about Ohio State’s issues, let me take a break from this dark comedy to give credit to sharp-dressed Al Golden and the ‘Canes. Miami could have easily rolled over and quit after their offseason turmoil. However, they played determined tonight. The players were into the game and so was the Miami crowd (who would’ve thunk it). Lamar Miller was immense with 184 yards on 26 carries. Allen Hurns caught 2 TDs from Jacory Harris and the defense did a good enough job stopping the run (holding Ohio State to 4.7 yards per carry) that the Buckeyes were forced to do the last thing they wanted – throw the football.
In the grand scheme of the Ineligi-Bowl, we learned something very important. Ohio State will be more affected by the suspensions and TatGate in the short term. With the looming hammer still yet to fall on Miami, they may inded be more affected in the long term. Nevertheless, Golden must be given a ton of props for circling the wagons and getting his team to produce when it would be much easier to give in. This Miami team is still talented, and they can still certainly make noise in the ACC this year. A win over a Top 25 team, no matter how inept their offense, is a statement victory.
Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that Ohio State went unpunished by the NCAA in the midst of their own scandal. Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor, Boom Herron, and Devier Posey win that game easily tonight. OSU’s defense certainly played well enough to win. Although Miami showed some heart, Jacory Harris was underwhelming – 16/23, 123 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs. But with the play of Buckeye quarterbacks, those numbers made him look like Andrew Luck. ou think Buckeye fans don’t want No. 2 back under center right now?
Ohio State’s receivers and quarterback were vastly outplayed by Toledo last week. After last night’s rotten egg, what hope do they have in the Big Ten? This team will be lucky to score any sort of offensive touchdown in conference play. Any time Ohio State went to throw, it ended in complete and utter failure. Joe Bauserman’s two best plays were: 1) throwing the ball away; and 2) putting his head down in the face of the oncoming rush. Any throw actually attempted downfield landed somewhere in Havana.
Other times, receivers weren’t open and Bauserman was forced to “improvise” with his feet. That sound you hear is cars still being overturned in Columbus at that thought. Andre the Giant had more mobility. There is no way Bauserman should be the starting QB for a Big Ten team (or a MAC team for that matter), let alone one of the perennial powerhouses in the nation. The times freshman Braxton Miller did see the field, there were flashes of ability… but a dropped handoff, an interception, and a fumble didn’t exactly do his immediate playing time any favors. Consider the lack of time he got when Joe Bauserman went TWO FOR FOURTEEN and you’ll see that he is truly nowhere close to being ready for primetime either.
And yet, that might have not even been the most disturbing element to take out of this game for Ohio State. Luke Fickell was badly outcoached by Al Golden. The inability for Fickell to call a single timeout on Miami’s final drive was simultaneously waiving a white flag and requesting applications for the next OSU head coach in one swoop. For all the horrors of throwing the football, that deer-in-headlights look on Fickell’s face in the last few minutes may be more significant. In fact, it may be the beginning of the end of his tenure as OSU head coach.
For all the talk of Terrelle Pryor’s immaturity, the complaints about his quarterbacking ability, the frustration of Tressel Ball, and the struggles against the SEC, Ohio State is a middle of the pack Big Ten team without TP and Coach T.
What’s that saying about not knowing what you have until it’s gone. Ohio State now realizes the full extent of their transgressions at the moment. Only time will tell how that plays out in Miami.
