Written by Mike Furlan

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The delicate psyche of a Cleveland fan is a frustrating thing. The Buckeyes home loss to a Ron Zook coached Illinois team was a terrible thing to behold, that is certain, but what is even more frustrating to Furls is reading the second guessing and “told you so’s” from Buckeye fans.  Furls recaps yesterday's crushing loss, and the reaction from The Buckeye Nation.

The delicate psyche of a Cleveland fan is a frustrating thing. The Buckeyes home loss to a Ron Zook coached Illinois team was a terrible thing to behold, that is certain, but what is even more frustrating is reading the second guessing and “told you so’s” from Buckeye fans. To read the message boards here (or anywhere else for that matter) you would think that Ohio State may be the worst one loss team in the history of college football, a team so bad that it is pointless to even tune in the de facto Big Ten championship game next week. I guess we should all go and book our fights for the Outback Bowl.

Disappointment is a tricky thing, and the gut-wretching emotion that comes with a close brush with championships causes people to write and say ridiculous things. Remember, this Ohio State team, like the Indians and the Cavs, was not really supposed to compete this year. All of these teams were built for next year, but a close brush with winning it all ahead of schedule has not invited any type of leeway.

Rewind three months; had I told you that the Buckeyes would be tied for first with Michigan (wearing a 10-1 overall record) going into The Game, with a shot at an outright Big Ten Title with a win, what would have been your response? To a man, I would have to guess that everyone would have been pleased with that position. Factor in that this has been a very disappointing year for Michigan, making The Game (even on the road) even more winnable, and it would be a very good year indeed.

But this is not the case, at least, not if you listen to the fans. Why? The answer is obvious. Expectations, or more appropriately as Alan Greenspan used to put it, “Irrational Exuberance.” The Buckeyes win and win and win and expectations and dreams grow with each, but in the end, this is a young team (starting one senior on each side of the ball), a team that was truly built for next year. It is the same team that our rational expectations at the beginning of the season had hopefully just competing for the Big Ten Title.

Watching the Buckeyes lose yesterday was particularly frustrating because they were clearly the better, more talented team on the field. They were also the most mismanaged team on the field. The coaching staff did not put superior players in positions to make plays and win the game, there was no coherence in the offensive game plan, and the defensive game plan just did not make sense. In spite of this, the Buckeyes competed and fell short, and as a result, they will compete next week for a trip to a Rose Bowl. Not a bad consolation prize.

So if you find yourself standing on the ledge screaming in disappointment, put yesterday’s game in perspective (it is not like the Buckeyes lost Appalachian State or Stanford) look ahead to the greatest game in sport next week and step back from the ledge. If you cannot, spare us all, and jump. I am sure we will see you back on the bandwagon next year, or you could become a Philadelphia fan where this type of home-team loathing is not only encouraged, but is actually expected.

Now to the Game….

I will give mad props to anyone that can give me a rational explanation of what the game plan was on either side of the ball. The Buckeyes dropped into zone defense while the league’s lowest rated passer was obviously trying to run the clock out. On 4^th and one the Buckeyes only had four linemen within four yards of the line of scrimmage and on 3^rd and seven the Buckeyes did not have anyone covering A-Gap. They surrendered all this ground at the line of scrimmage to the league’s lowest rated passer?

Offensively there was no coherence. I suppose you could give the offense a bit of a pass due to Beanie Wells’ injury, but there was no alternate plan? The Buckeyes never really capitalized, nor tried to, against the 81^st pass defense in the country, instead preferring to run into the 22^nd run defense in the country. The offense was predictable to say the least. As I watched the game, I correctly predicted the play call and outcome on several occasions with shocking accuracy (ezample: Draw play to Maurice Wells, he will make 3 cuts in the backfield before losing three yards).

The game was eerily reminiscent of the National Championship game, the only reason the score was not 41-14 was because the Buckeyes held such a sizable talent advantage.

Grading the Positions:

Quarterback: F. Sorry Todd, you were not good. The difference in the game: Todd Boeckman three ints, Juice Williams four TDs. The normally composed Boeckman was constantly scrambling in a well-established pocket and his throws were off the money.

Running backs: I. It is hard to grade a position when I have no idea how they were trying to be used. I guess based on the stats, the grade would not have been good.

Offensive Line: B. Aside from some penalties on Kirk Barton the line did pretty well. I am not going to fault them for not effectively running the ball when everyone in the stadium knew they were going to run it. Watch the film, there were plays where Illinois had eight in the box which is pretty normal, but what was not normal is that nine and ten were very close to the box.

Wide Receivers: I. Boeckman’s play makes it impossible to grade these guys out. I didn’t see many drops so they weren’t the problem.

The entire defense gets an I all though they did not look particularly good defending out of position. How do you grade a defense that it is put in positions where it is impossible to make plays? When the scheme is that flawed, it is impossible to grade the players.

Coaching. F. The game plan on both sides of the ball sucked. Again, why were the Buckeyes so worried about the league’s worst rated passer making plays with his arm? Where was the spy? Where was the timeout to question/challenge the obvious fumble at the beginning of the game? Why did the coaching staff keep the team in zone defense with 4 on the line while Illinois is obviously trying to run the clock out? Where were the offensive adjustments? What was the offensive game plan? I have now seen much of the game several times, and I have no answers.

Grading the Grader:

I suck.

Props to the Prognosticator of the week:

No one.

Next week: THE GAME!

If you cannot get over this weeks loss to get excited about the game, then I really need to question your Buckeye credentials. For the true fan, the season really only revolves around one game (ask John Cooper) and it is rapidly approaching.

Guess what, the time is now 8:53 EST, on Sunday November 11^th, and MICHIGAN STILL SUCKS! At least we didn’t lose to Appalachian State!