Not too bad a start to the 2004 campaign. This young Buckeye team still has much to learn before the B10 season, though. Towards the end of the game, it was obvious that the Bucks had more depth and were able to wear down Cincy. My concern is that when playing teams in the B10, that advantage will be lost.
I thought Zwick looked Ok. I was surprised by his arm strength. Threw an out to Bam that was a frozen rope. Also displayed touch early, floating passes over lb's and in front of db's. I think he lost some touch later in the game and wondered if he injured his hand. Some of those passes looked awful and that last int cost us a touchdown (he overthrew Hamby around the Cincy 10). Happily surprised that Coach Tressel stuck with him, even after making mistakes. I think that's good for his confidence.
Didn't get to see enough of T Smith as a passer to evaluate. Thought his fade to Santonio was awesome! Can he duplicate that kind of touch on other passes? If so, then he's going to be hard to keep off the field (Hate that. Wish we had The Guy. Don't want "controversy").
Running game didn't look solid until later in the game. A sign that Cincy was tired or just better execution? I know the O line was concerned about pass blocking, but they looked pretty decent. I still didn't think the run blocking was remarkable. Still work to do. Lydell looked pretty good. Thought he ran with the same intensity he showed his freshman year. Could be a sign of good things to come. Also liked Pittman (except when he ran outta bounds! Don't ever do that again!). He's got what Mo Hall doesn't, the ability to bounce outside. Mo Hall did look good on kick returns, but still not able to run between the tackles.
Ted Ginn is the real deal. Did you see Coach Dantonio yelling and holding up seven fingers to his defense? They definitely keyed in on him. That should open it up for other guys, like Bam, who looked good! Man, is Bam small! Saw him in the huddle and thought he was somebody's little brother.
Defense looked really good. Although I wanted them to be tougher against the run. I think that will happen as they get used to playing together. The lack of a qb sack concerns me. We will miss Will Smith. I know the pressure was good, but you gotta get the qb a couple a times to really disturb his rhythm. Defensive secondary was really good. Youboty played well, as did Underwood. Salley and Everett also will be good.
Nuge! Kickoffs were awesome. Think he'll make that long FG more than he'll miss it. Good job.
Good times ahead for the Bucks if they keep getting better.
Concerned about the turnovers and letting UC hang around for three quarters before polishing them off. I would like to see a few games this year where the Bucks just blow the opposition out of the water. Also, do not like the apparent QB by committee system, a la Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine. Pick one guy and stick with him I say. Other than that, at least it was a win.
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