New Mexico State? Let's complain about the offense some more

Tomorrow will be Ohio State's last gimme of the 2009 season. Savor it. This week long sense of apathy? The disconcerting lack of tension? It'll pass soon. You'll be in the full-throated, brawny, broiling rage we're used to as Ohio State fans the moment "Penn State" passes the lips of some shlub BTN announcer sometime in the third quarter.  Even as a bad and humdrum as New Mexico State is, the typical coachspeak about "not overlooking/looking ahead" still applies.  NMSU, in almost every respect, is a bad, bad football team. Last in the country in total offense, 75th in total D, bottom 30 in turnover margin.... there isn't a single NMSU statistic even the most partisan of Ohio State haters can latch onto as potential vehicle for an upset. It just isn't happening, barring the mother of all disasters; one that makes Purdue look like   So, it's not all that demeaning to suggest that NMSU is a glorified scrimmage. We have work to do, especially on offense, and hopefully, NSMU will oblige.

I've never been a big believer in the "Tressel bottles things up before big games" meme, which seeks to explain away offensive inadequacy as subterfuge intended to throw off an upcoming opponent. I believe this for two reasons:

1) Jim Tressel's offense is always vanilla, excepting 2006

2) It out-vanillas itself, nearly causing disruptions in the space-time continuum, in big games

There are no trick plays waiting in the wings, no funky formations, etc. With nothing to really hide, Jim Tressel calls his regular offense in almost every game. The vanilla stuff is not a deception. It just Jim. If the game against Minnesota is any indication, it'll be Jim for about a half this weekend. Hopefully it's the second half this time around.

 I expect the offense to look a lot like it will against Penn State. Of course, it's natural for Ohio State to "spread it out" in a game like this, merely to take advantage of its vastly superior size and speed at almost every position. For a half,  OSU will go almost-exclusively four- and five-wide, excepting third-and-short situations. Even then, there's a possibility we'll see the spread-formation inside quarterback draw again, as we did against Minnesota. Using this offense in particular - the one supposedly crafted to best suit Pryor's abilities - Ohio State should be able to open up a comfortable halftime lead. At which point we calm down, yawn, check the other games, grab an adult beverage, so on and so forth.

The least interesting game in the world: stay completely satiated, my friends

[RANT] On a side note, I think we need to re-evaluate the "wrap it up" meme surrounding Jim Tressel. To me, Tressel's conservatism after having built what he calls a comfortable (read: 20+ point-) lead is really a more earnest attempt at simply not turning the ball over, rather than "not running the score up", as some have complained. I don't think Tressel likes running the score up (and I think his apparent aversion to it is kinda dumb, as I've said in the past), but I don't think he really starts "playing for the punt" until he has a 28+ point cushion, which should satiate the bloodlust of about 60 percent of the fanbase. In the first half, while the game remains competitive, I think Tressel is willing to take some chances, provided that they're "smart", and especially so when he trusts his team to not turn the ball over, or get a critical fourth down-conversion. Remember: turnovers are to our head coach what salt is to a slug; he sees them, is affected by them, and withers and dies. His offense goes with him. When it doesn't

a) turn the ball over or

b) consistently go three and out (for reasons other than schematic failure (i.e. missed blocking assignments, incomplete passes, etc.)

it can be productive enough and effective enough to salt away almost any game. It's a godsend against good teams who can't pass their way of out of a deficit (Penn State just about any year but this year and last, Michigan in '07, Texas in '06, to name a few) and it's underwhelming against the real patsies. Now, I've lamented this system's razor thin margin of error in the past, and nothing has changed. Fortunately, against New Mexico State, the margin for error is almost as wide as the damn football field, so for a half at least, I don't expect the traditional JT offense to rear its head. When it does, with its endless variations on the off-tackle with a pulling guard, we won't care, because we'll have had our fill. Games like these are the ones after which no one bitches about Tresseball for like a week.[/RANT]

Thus, I expect Tressel to take chances aplenty (for him, anyway) on Saturday - barring any more turnovers - for a half or so. It'll look pretty, it'll brighten your opinion of the offense for about five minutes, and it'll make Terrelle Pryor look like Vince redux. Think of tomorrow as a player showcase; Ohio State should not be challenged athletically in any aspect of the game, and thus, should be free to do what it wants. Should be fun. If all goes well, it'll give the staff plenty of positive impressions as to what the players can actually do in a game, and ideally they'll be able to carry the myriad successes over and adjust as best they can to Penn State's schemes.

Five predictions that will make me look foolish come Monday:

- Pryor throws for three touchdowns, as well as the customary pick, and rushes for 100 again

- He is Ohio State's only 100-yard rusher. Brandon Saine and Daniel Herron are effective in limited time, while Jordan Hall and Jermil Martin share carries for the entire second half. Overall, Ohio State accumulates more than 250 yards on the ground.

- The defense holds the Aggies under 200 yards of offense.

- Ray Small will take one to the house.

- Final Score: Ohio State 41,  New Mexico State 6