The guys say “hi!” ;)

Urban calling him at 5:00am and asking “Wake up, man! What the Hell is going on with your defense in big games?”

I’m hoping there’s the usual fumbling Cussmeister in Happy Valley.

It certainly didn’t look good, but, as Ramzy pointed out, 7 seconds is a long time to adequately cover a top receiver, especially when there’s a top caliber QB  throwing to him. Imagine giving someone like CJ seven seconds to throw to Marvin.

Big games come, big games go. Whatever the solution is to winning them is ultimately up to Coach Day. But, in the end, it all comes down to one thing.

Notice to all Buckeye coaches. Adapt or die.

It’s certainly cruelty to Buckeyes.

“…Jim Knowles defenses never seem to be able to stop anyone when it matters most…”

It sure seems to happen against the top teams. I miss the aggressive old days.

Mr. Grinch > Mark May

Man, that would be a kick in the head. “Leave no doubt” Day being taken down by “we are not elite” Franklin.

Great assessment of the Buckeye football situation, especially the penalties and lack of discipline. As was pointed out, it’s been a very troubling trend and tough to turn around. I wish things were better but agree it is very discouraging when it comes to the hopes for the rest of the season.

Same here. Will was a definite bright spot in the game. The Buckeyes are fortunate to have a man with his talent and class.

This.

“…Howard said. “I don’t think (Oregon) necessarily beat us. I think we beat ourselves a little bit…”

I’d say more like “a lot.” Penalties, mistakes, turnovers…

And then there was the defense, or the lack of.

The Buckeye defense was exposed by Oregon. Once again in a big game, and embarrassingly so. So much for having veteran players and Knowles coaching.

All credit to Will Howard. He played a great game and glad he’s a Buckeye QB.

I hate to see the injuries. Simmons going down is a very big hit.

Watching this continual “locked-in” approach by the D is head scratching and frustrating. As in most things, adapt or die. If Day, Knowles, and Co. don’t adapt soon, they’ll become extinct sooner than later.

Ah… the fun of College Football Chaos. 

I’m glad The Buckeyes have a bye week after this gut punch in Oregon. Knowles and the defense really need to get their act together and the Simmons loss is a major hit. 

I don’t expect the Nebraska game to be a cakewalk but glad it’s in The Shoe. Happy Valley is going to be a real test for The Team and how this season is going to go.

Knowles and the defense need to do some soul searching and basically wake the hell up. And the loss of Simmons is very worrisome. The mistakes, turnovers, and penalties just add to the challenges ahead. Day has yet to really show he has what it takes to come up with a disciplined championship winning team. If they win out the rest of the Big10 schedule, especially with a win against PSU, and make it to Indianapolis, it’ll show some real resilience but, sadly, I’m not all that confident after watching the performance against the ducks. 

Heh, heh, heh. The voodoo is strong in West Lafayette. And the quackers will be waddling in confident after last night. Sounds like a good setup.

“…Against the Ducks however, Jim Knowles' crew gave up 496 yards on 7.6 yards per play after allowing the first five opponents to generate an average of 202 yards per contest on 3.6 per play…”

Freaking unbelievable but, unfortunately, not too surprising after looking at how Knowles’ D has been exposed by top teams.

“…That they missed on key third downs, made mental errors at critical points, and couldn't convert when given an advantage is more worrisome than losing a single game: it throws the whole narrative of the season out of whack…”

This. Unfortunately, this was much more than just a one point loss. 

The Buckeyes lost a lot of respect.

Yes, sir. Can you imagine this former coach allowing this to continue?

Yes. Terrible defense, mistakes, penalties… it’s amazing they only lost by 1 point.

Bad defense. Lack of discipline across the team, mistakes, turnovers. Same old, same old we’ve seen too many times before. It all goes back to the coaching. It’s unbelievable to watch this, with all the unbelievable talent on this team