Yes, the defense gave up a ton of yards and a ton of big plays ... and yes, we all wish the defense would have been able to perform better.
EVEN SO ... the essence of the problem was that RU's OL COULD NOT PROTECT OR RUN BLOCK after the 1st drive of the 2nd half.
Yes, give OSU's defense and coaches respect and credit for their execution and adjustments.
But even with the defense giving up all those yards, RU SHOULD have won the game, but the OL literally could not open a hole or prevent behind the line penetration or protect the QB in the 2nd half. I do not know WHY - coaches will no doubt study the tape and figure it out and lessons learned for next season. But RU should have won the game even giving up 44 points, but could not get ANYTHING going after the 1st drive of the 2nd half.
So, think about it. After the 1st drive of the 2nd half RU had 41 points (and only ONE of their scores was on a truly short field - and that was a FG after the interception) and had gained about 400 yards in total offense: with over 170 yards rushing and over 220 yards passing and 17 1st downs. RU itself had produced 8 plays of 15 yards or more ... and just ONE (1) negative yard run, that being a sack ... and just 2 other 0-yard runs ... all in 22 rushing attempts.
From that point on RU had MINUS 10 yards rushing in 14 rush attempts, and just 35 yards passing (on 3-8 with an interception) ... Just 2 plays of 15 or more yards ... and SIX (6) rushes for negative yards - included 3 sacks, yes, but 3 other running plays of negative yards ... plus 2 QB scrambles for 0 yards each ... So, 8 of RU's 14 rushing attempts in that stretch gained 0 or negative yards, versus 3 of 22 rushing attempts gaining 0 or negative yards in the 1st half and the 1st drive of the 2nd half. And just 3 1st downs.
RU did get a TD in that stretch, but on a 4-play 18 yard drive after Dremel's 67-yard punt return to the 18 yard line. Even on that drive RU really only had the 1 good play, a 16-yard pass play to Raymond in the flat.
Schiano did not "kill" the clock. He may have had SOME conservative calls on 1st down when up 34-17. And the defense definitely had a problem with giving up big plays ... even so ... it was the OL's inability to protect AK at all in the 2nd half, and the OL's complete inability to prevent the KSU players from open, unblocked tackle attempts on RU runners behind the line of scrimmage that truly cost RU the game.
I will add, that yet another key injury probably hurt RU in the end of the game: Dixon going out for the rest of the game was tough for him, I feel so bad for him (looked bad - not sure what the final injury eas in the end). BUT ... it meant Ofurie had to play - and BOTH big plays on KSU's last go-ahead TD drive looked to me like they were with Ofurie out of position: Both a 24-yard pass to the RB (yes, Powell was trailing and out of position - but Ofurie was the nearest DB and no where to be found), and the 36-yard TD run - it looked like Ofurie was the Safety help, but no where to be found. I cannot proven this, and others may disagree, but it looked to me like Ofurie was out of position on both those plays. IThis is not meant to throw Ofurie under the bus, but to point h[out how much the endless injuries of this season have hiurt the team, with Dixon getting hurt lat in this game just the latest straw.
EVEN SO ... the essence of the problem was that RU's OL COULD NOT PROTECT OR RUN BLOCK after the 1st drive of the 2nd half.
Yes, give OSU's defense and coaches respect and credit for their execution and adjustments.
But even with the defense giving up all those yards, RU SHOULD have won the game, but the OL literally could not open a hole or prevent behind the line penetration or protect the QB in the 2nd half. I do not know WHY - coaches will no doubt study the tape and figure it out and lessons learned for next season. But RU should have won the game even giving up 44 points, but could not get ANYTHING going after the 1st drive of the 2nd half.
So, think about it. After the 1st drive of the 2nd half RU had 41 points (and only ONE of their scores was on a truly short field - and that was a FG after the interception) and had gained about 400 yards in total offense: with over 170 yards rushing and over 220 yards passing and 17 1st downs. RU itself had produced 8 plays of 15 yards or more ... and just ONE (1) negative yard run, that being a sack ... and just 2 other 0-yard runs ... all in 22 rushing attempts.
From that point on RU had MINUS 10 yards rushing in 14 rush attempts, and just 35 yards passing (on 3-8 with an interception) ... Just 2 plays of 15 or more yards ... and SIX (6) rushes for negative yards - included 3 sacks, yes, but 3 other running plays of negative yards ... plus 2 QB scrambles for 0 yards each ... So, 8 of RU's 14 rushing attempts in that stretch gained 0 or negative yards, versus 3 of 22 rushing attempts gaining 0 or negative yards in the 1st half and the 1st drive of the 2nd half. And just 3 1st downs.
RU did get a TD in that stretch, but on a 4-play 18 yard drive after Dremel's 67-yard punt return to the 18 yard line. Even on that drive RU really only had the 1 good play, a 16-yard pass play to Raymond in the flat.
Schiano did not "kill" the clock. He may have had SOME conservative calls on 1st down when up 34-17. And the defense definitely had a problem with giving up big plays ... even so ... it was the OL's inability to protect AK at all in the 2nd half, and the OL's complete inability to prevent the KSU players from open, unblocked tackle attempts on RU runners behind the line of scrimmage that truly cost RU the game.
I will add, that yet another key injury probably hurt RU in the end of the game: Dixon going out for the rest of the game was tough for him, I feel so bad for him (looked bad - not sure what the final injury eas in the end). BUT ... it meant Ofurie had to play - and BOTH big plays on KSU's last go-ahead TD drive looked to me like they were with Ofurie out of position: Both a 24-yard pass to the RB (yes, Powell was trailing and out of position - but Ofurie was the nearest DB and no where to be found), and the 36-yard TD run - it looked like Ofurie was the Safety help, but no where to be found. I cannot proven this, and others may disagree, but it looked to me like Ofurie was out of position on both those plays. IThis is not meant to throw Ofurie under the bus, but to point h[out how much the endless injuries of this season have hiurt the team, with Dixon getting hurt lat in this game just the latest straw.
