I wanted to hear the announcers make some comment about Sprague's injury, but got nothing. From the way he hit the ground, it looked to me like a possible concussion--really slammed his facemask into the turf.

Again we had multiple injuries last night: Sprague, J Johnson, Sebastian Smith?, Trent Smart, others?

Not that it makes a huge difference but whomever Ohio plays in a bowl, Ohio will have at least 3-4 more days of rest. Unlike the vast majority of teams, Ohio's regular season is now over, so Ohio gets an extra couple days of rest (and enjoyment of Thanksgiving at home with their families). Again, it's not the biggest advantage in the world but an extra few days of rest for Ohio compared to its bowl opponent can do nothing but help.

For what this is worth, I think he will be OK.

JD tweet - https://twitter.com/jdsprague3/status/669380753298481153

I thought the wind blew the pass behind Sprague. We had the wind to our back and it was swirling a bit. The ball seemed to drift.

i thought the play calling was excellent. best since the bowl game for TT's final game. If that pass was on target, sprague walks in for a TD. i've complained for so long about horrible play calling, it was fun last night thinking we weren't always going OJUTM.

I'd agree that I have liked the play calling lately, a lot. It has seemed much more predictable, systematic, and focused lately, without the usual total randomness which sometimes make the offense seem disjointed and erratic, and makes drives hard to sustain. The plays called lately seem to make more sense, and set up other plays, and also seem to keep in mind the down and distance, with the result of more sustained drives, and better ball control.

Play-calling works a lot better when we start the right guy. Why AJ doesn't have 50-100% more carries than he has is a mystery. All he does is perform.

I think it's a mystery to most as to why you are not making half a mill or more a year coaching college football......you do so well sitting in your arm chair at home.

Yes, I said that IRons should start.

BUt if we're not going to play him or are not able to play him, then it should be...should have been...OUellette.

The article that Bcat2 pointed to basically stated that we wanted to save OUellette so that he didn't get worn down. Dumb. Watching last year, there was no evidence that he wore down. And not using our best (in the coaches minds, apparently) vs. Beefs, WMU, BG--great plan. Not that we'd've won those games, but going into the critical stretch of MACC-potential games with a plan NOT to use what OUellette does, well, I've got to think that we got thank you notes from opponent D-coordinators.

AJ should start because he averaged less than 5 yards a carry at Northern Illinois. Even though, he is slower and smaller than Irons, AJ should start. We owe it to him. We can save Irons for 2020.

Monroe, one thing I find odd is that on defense you always emphasize the importance of BIGMANZ, but for some reason overlook their importance to the offense, a place where they are even more important. BIGMANZ make up 2-4 of the eleven defensive players, about a quarter of the defense, but on offense they make up six of the eleven players, more than half, so they are twice as important to the offense.

No offense is going to succeed without some success up front. The offensive line did not get the job done against WMU or Buffalo, but they really turned thing around the last few games, and they played an outstanding game against a very good NIU defense.

To compare running backs you can't just look at yards per carry. In some plays the running back gets hit immediately, while on others he gets a 3 to 5 yard start before he reaches a defender. To compare running backs, which one gets more yards after contact? Which one evades more defenders? Those are the things that the coaches are going to rate the running backs based on, as well as on blocking, of course.

The fact is that all of Ohio's running backs were very good this year. When Ohio's running game was not working it was not because of the "wrong back", but because the offensive line was a work in process. I was extremely impressed by the progress that the line made this year between the beginning of the year and the end. I admit that I was skeptical of Johnson the way the line started, but he has turned me into a believer. He did a neck of a job this year.

Think back to the line play, not just against WMU and buffalo, but also against the likes of Akron, SLU, and Minnesota. Ohio's running game was rough even in those wins. Now compare that to the last four games, during which Ohio's running game was extremely successful, regardless of which back was in.

The dramatic improvement in line play between the start of the year and the end of it really has me looking forward to a great year next year. When the offensive line is doing its job, suddenly the play calling also looks better, too. Then the OC can undertake to systematically attack and destroy a defense, rather than just using crazy randomness to try for individual successful plays.

I think that next year is going to be really good, especially the offense. I believe it will be Solich's best offensive year at Ohio, and the key will be the BIGMANZ that make the Qb look all-MAC, the RB look like a sure NFL prospect, and the OC look like a suddenly enlightened genius.

+1

Plus Frank says he's just about the most coachable player he's ever had and is a real TEAM player.

You're the one that brought that concept, repeatedly, to football, not me. It's certainly far more applicable to the offensive side of the ball than defense, however.


This is not one of your more enlightened statements.