Care to walk into the locker room on the first day of practice for the bowl game and say that to the faces of the coaches and players?  Sometimes things just don't work out but to question the integrity of the coaches and players in playing the game is a bit of a stretch for a guy who prides himself on being the tailgater of the game.

It's obvious that the last 30 minutes were not played with the same intensity and desire as the first 30.  I don't think 695 comments are a stretch at all. The play calling changed, the jump in the step was gone, head scratching penalties(both personal fouls) that happened at the worst possible moments.  The team somehow lost the fire that was needed to complete this Championship run.

As far as the tailgater of the game comment, you can't control the outcome of the game but you can control the party before hand.

Okay, well the answer is you may not want to add more plays to the game when you're up 20.  I can see the argument for going for more points there, though, but it's highly debatable.  Frank may have misunderstood the details of that question but probably his answer would have been about the same regardless.

   695,  We were definately watching the same game.  Ohio 2nd half bore no resemlance to Ohio 1st half. For this I fault the coaches.  Ohio jacked for 1st half, credit the Ohio staff,  NIU jacked for the 2nd half, credit to NIU.  I don't fault the play calling. Ohio had the personnel to execute every play called, but, it seems some other team came out for the second half.  Coach Solich's record when leading after 3 is very good, though, the whole team failed to respect NIU in the second half and sadly a game well won was lost.  In a loss like this, a team effort, I hope the team will resolve to never let it happen again.  The season does not have to end on this note.  Last season NIU lost in Detroit and then won the Humanitarian Bowl 40-17 vs Fresno State.  In two weeks they can put the Debacle In Detroit (v. 2011) out of their minds with a bowl win. 

We went away from our identity in the 2nd half when we got so very conservative.  As it didn't work and NIU caught up and gained momentum, it snowballed and our spirit was killed.  That self-check which destroyed our confidence was the key.  CONFIDENCE is so important.

But, NOW, who cares.

O H I O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's time to get pumped up for OUr bowl game!!!

Having two sleeps, and some alone time on the roof (wife didn't want me putting up Christmas lights in my current state, but I did anyway.) has helped a little.

The Grunkemeyer shot was worse.

Not to say this was not suckitude to the seventh power. Just that I've taken worse.

Sorry Mr. Stone, in the context of your post I did and I stand by my original post.  You questioned whether the team and coaches played till the end.  That in my opinion is questioning their integrity.  This team hasn't quit all year and didn't quit Friday night.  

Regardless, the game looked like a tale of two teams.  Team first half played great, team second half didn't.  

As for Putnam's "credentials"comment  - not sure where that came from.  We're all free to comment on/question anything that we want.  I will agree with him that the local sports reporting crew often throws softballs or in some cases nerf balls.  On the flip side, I don't necessarily need to know what coach X had for breakfast.

Last year's bowl game vs. Troy.  Outplayed from the get-go, with no enthusiasm for the entire game.  I can see getting pumped up to start a game, taking an unexpected big lead into halftime and leaving all your emotion in the locker room.  But it was obvious last year that OU's enthusiasm was back in the hotel or somewhere out on Bourbon Street.

Good list, but let me add . . . Georgia Tech (basketball) 1959-60.  The Yellowjackets were ranked #13 and Ohio had a 20 point lead at halftime.  We lost 57-54 . . . as the rambling wrecks just cut the lead little by little in the second half until they finally took the lead themselves in the final minute or so of the game.  I felt very much after this game like I do now after the Friday fiasco.  This was a second-round NCAA game.  We had beaten Notre Dame in the first round.  After losing to GT, we were so down emotionally that we got creamed in the consolation game by WKU. I hope that's not what happens in the Spud Bowl.  [For the record, I was a sophomore at Athens High School at the time and listened to this game on WOUB.  I never thought a school nickname -- rambling wrecks -- ever fit a team better as they slowly rambled to a lead and wrecked the Bobcat train.]

Edit: To make sure that I remembered this correctly, I just looked up the 1959-60 Ohio record and found an amazing fact that should be posted on the basketball board.  The game before we beat Notre Dame in the NCAA tourney we played an away game at Marietta College.  We lost that game 74-66, which was the exact same score that we beat ND by six days later.  We had beaten Marietta at home earlier that season 89-72.  I have no explanation for that Marietta loss -- maybe Gentleman Jim played his second string so as not to have any unnecessary injuries prior to the tourney, since we'd already clinched the birth.  

All great points....my worst loss is the next year getting shut out by Northeastern, who has since dropped football. When it comes to AD malfeasance, Boeh's firing Pat Hill pales in comparison to him retaining Knorr for 4 full football seasons.