One thing I observed in Q3 and spilling into Q4. Here's YSU's stats against their defense:
1. 11 plays 40 yards 7:36 interception
2. 3 plays 7 yards 2:21 Punt
3. 6 plays 28 yards 4:08 Punt
In Q4 Ohio State took the ball on a 13 play 81 yard drive and YSU forced them to turn it over on downs.
YSU responded with a 10 play 89 yard drive that ended in downs.
While they did have the QB rotation going on, we played them even in Q4. That's saying a lot because they really didn't take their starters out.
You don't ever expect an FCS team to be competitive late in the game, but we were competitive and didn't look fatigued. Part of that was how the coaching staff used the new clock rule to their advantage, shortening the game. But on the flip side of that, we were nearly 60 plays into the game and still holding up. We played a lot of players and there wasn't a big drop off. So we saw kids in good shape for the season and some depth we haven't had in a long time. This is super exciting, because we have a lot of promise/potential this year. I can see it.
If you went back and watched the Appalachian State upset if Michigan, you would see how exhausted the players were on App State.....they were making shoestring low probability plays and willing their way to a win toward the end of the game.
YSU didn't look tired against Ohio State. YSU didn't look like they were in the same kind of struggle App State was in late in the game. In fact we look like we belonged there to a large degree. Whoever is training and physically developing these kids is doing a great job. That coach needs to be highlighted at some point. The Penguins didn't look fatigued and they were converting 3rd-N- medium and 3rd-N- short on the ground, up the middle and off tackle in Q4.
Ohio State wanted to get us off the field to cover the spread and they couldn't. Ryan Day is taking heat over this game by the fan base. They were expecting a Major blowout. Think about this for a moment: OHIO STATE's defense couldn't get YSU off the field in Q3 and especially Q4..
YSU's secondary won't see that caliber of receivers the remainder of the season. That being said, we need to fix the blown coverage issues in the secondary.
I am happy with how well we moved Ohio State's DL. The OL gets the game ball to me.
By the way, isn't this how the old Tressel teams won games? Remember the OL in comparison to our level of competition at the time? The road graders would help us get those "championship drives" late in games where we had to possess the ball. We may have that kind of OL this year. With our skill at receiver and our RB room. We will be dangerous this year.
But we have to stop the penalties. It cost us drives against Ohio State