Our offense was bad

[VolByBirth]

I always struggle with comparing games -- particularly college games played by kids. Sometimes it's an off game, sometimes teams just show up -- so comparing one games score to the next simply doesn't apply. Alabama beat UGA, We beat Alabama, UGA beat us, and Vandy beat Bama. Make sense of all of that.....

For me, in the end, it's just that the offense has looked off. We all know what is should/could look like (2022) and it's never resembled that since. Is it Golesh? Hooker/QB play? O-Line? Play-calling? Have Defenses figured it out? Maybe it's all of these things, but I watched it hum so smoothly in 2022 it's so easy to question '23 and '24 and I never come up with a clean answer. I don't know what the answers are, but I do know that getting to the CFP was great, a two-loss season is great, but it doesn't necessarily cure that something just seems wrong with the offense and we all know, if that was fixed, we'd be one of the Top 3 teams in the country this year. So I can be equally happy with the accomplishments of this season and equally disappointed because it feels like we could/should be a championship caliber team with an offense resembling 2022.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

I agree that Notre Dame would have been a tough game. I think we would have matched up much better with them than we did Ohio State, though. With that game being on a neutral site, I do think we would have had a decent chance to win. As for your last sentence, if you are going to use that logic, we have beaten Alabama more times in the last three seasons than Georgia has since 2008.

We've beat Alabama at home. Kirby has never played Alabama at home. Also, those 2 wins are our only wins against Bama since 2006. I think UGA also has 2 wins against Bama since 2006.

 

[Lankykong]

I agree we would have beaten SMU and Boise State, but I have no reason to think we'd certainly beat Notre Dame. They beat Georgia, whom we have not beaten since the Obama presidency.

I think we beat UGA if they played their backup QB when we played them

 

[ptgrbn]

Our QB alone is getting 8 million.

In return for all those millions we got a ton of “he’s just a true freshman” post. It’s not about the money. It’s about the piss pour offensive play calling and a QB who over threw multiple open WRS and play calling that only looked at half the field. Once DCs figured it out we had WRs running wide open on the non play all side and our offense guru coach couldn’t seem to adjust.

Has the 8 million rumor ever been verified?

 

[Lankykong]

Our offense was bad. It was bad all year. We win games because our defense held opponents to 20. OSU was just another game that our offense was bad in. These are facts. Not opinion.

OSU was by far the best team in the playoffs and likely has the best defense too. I think that’s a fact also

 

[Sudden Impact]

Our QB alone is getting 8 million.

In return for all those millions we got a ton of “he’s just a true freshman” post. It’s not about the money. It’s about the piss pour offensive play calling and a QB who over threw multiple open WRS and play calling that only looked at half the field. Once DCs figured it out we had WRs running wide open on the non play all side and our offense guru coach couldn’t seem to adjust.

Is the 20 million a per year are total roster because if it is 20 million per year then it is different.
For example is Nico's NIL set at 2 million a year That is what I think.

 

[Sudden Impact]

OSU was by far the best team in the playoffs and likely has the best defense too. I think that’s a fact also

and probably the most veteraned team as well. Especially on defense. studs with experience.

 

[TheVolsFrog]

Is the 20 million a per year are total roster because if it is 20 million per year then it is different.
For example is Nico's NIL set at 2 million a year That is what I think.

What I heard was it was $2mil a year for 4 years

 

[GulfCoasterVol]

Match NIL with the big boys, or go home and stay on the porch.

 

[Sudden Impact]

What I heard was it was $2mil a year for 4 years

My point exactly is that teams with 20 million in NIL pay is for all players getting NIL. 2 mil per year for NIL to Nico. At one time I read it was going to be 30 million per year for all sports at Tennessee to sustain all sports. That figure has probably changed.

 

[Budalicious]

Just for the sake of accuracy, Bama didn't forfeit a win, they forfeited a tie (1993 I think).

You are correct

 

[NEO]

Is the 20 million a per year are total roster because if it is 20 million per year then it is different.
For example is Nico's NIL set at 2 million a year That is what I think.

Everything I read is different. At one point spyre was paying the most and we had an advantage. After the OSU loss it changed to we can’t compete. Rumor is we are 15 million and they are at 20 a year. But oddly we looked like crap against AR too and their NIL is nil.

 

[NEO]

Has the 8 million rumor ever been verified?

Has any NIL amount been verified? Being serious here.

 

[Sudden Impact]

Everything I read is different. At one point spyre was paying the most and we had an advantage. After the OSU loss it changed to we can’t compete. Rumor is we are 15 million and they are at 20 a year. But oddly we looked like crap against AR too and their NIL is nil.

It is just going to take us a little longer to recover from the Pruitt years that most of us realize. Hence, CJH is trying to build a team with this class and will not get the results that he wants for 2 more years. We may catch lightning in a bottle with what we got but building a foundation is going to be more long term than short. Scholarship limits are screwy as well even though it is two a year.

It will become more difficult with the NCAA indecisiveness as to 5th year eligibility, NIL, and the portal in/out door slams. It is a mess and no one really has the ability to say stop the madness and get this under control. As a result good coaches are leaving.
IOW, a basic lack of Adult supervision has turned this into a piss poor boring porn video with nobody in charge.

 

[ptgrbn]

Has any NIL amount been verified? Being serious here.

So be serious! I asked you an honest question about something you’ve based your entire argument on. The least I can expect is some kind of factual reinforcement. Back up your argument-or back off your stance

 

[NEO]

So be serious! I asked you an honest question about something you’ve based your entire argument on. The least I can expect is some kind of factual reinforcement. Back up your argument-or back off your stance

You needs to calm down a bit. It’s just a forum man. Everyone is using 20 million OSU NIL as reasons why they curb stomped us. No one mentions Sampson set out to prevent getting injured or our DC called very few blitzes or the OC called a horrible game. The speculation is we are at 15 million and they are at 20. These are the numbers being thrown out by major major sports sites. Whether they are true or not is speculative.

What is true is OSU called a horrible game against Michigan and lost and made changes. We have not made changes and since Golesh has left the Offense has gotten worse every year.

Our offense was also bad prior to Milton getting benched and Hooker taking over.

It’s looking like Hooker was his Dobbs. Time will tell.

 

[NEO]

It is just going to take us a little longer to recover from the Pruitt years that most of us realize. Hence, CJH is trying to build a team with this class and will not get the results that he wants for 2 more years. We may catch lightning in a bottle with what we got but building a foundation is going to be more long term than short. Scholarship limits are screwy as well even though it is two a year.

It will become more difficult with the NCAA indecisiveness as to 5th year eligibility, NIL, and the portal in/out door slams. It is a mess and no one really has the ability to say stop the madness and get this under control. As a result good coaches are leaving.
IOW, a basic lack of Adult supervision has turned this into a piss poor boring porn video with nobody in charge.

Offense onky has looked good under Hooker. Not the games before him and not the games after him. I don’t think CJH can adjust. His QB must be lights out accurate and quick or his offense is stagnant. Time will tell if I’m wrong. I hope I am.

 

[Tnphil]

Our offense the past 2 seasons with a so called offensive guru as our HC is concerning.

 

[xpsyclonex2002]

We got beat by the best team in the country this year. I was embarrassed. Now that I've seen them play a couple more games, I get it. They had us beat at almost every position on the field. It's not that we were bad. They were just that good and peaking after the Mich loss. Oregon faired about as good as we did. Texas was good enough to beat them but just didn't on that night. OHST would beat Texas 2 out of 3 times on a neutral field. They probably would beat us 4 out of 5 times. We need a deeper roster. We need about 5 years of top 5 recruiting classes backed with some portal winners. We don't even have the NIL money to compete like that. You need about $20M to join the VIP lounge. Right now, we just made it in the club trying to talk our way into the VIP lounge without enough money to get past the bouncer.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

I always struggle with comparing games -- particularly college games played by kids. Sometimes it's an off game, sometimes teams just show up -- so comparing one games score to the next simply doesn't apply. Alabama beat UGA, We beat Alabama, UGA beat us, and Vandy beat Bama. Make sense of all of that.....

For me, in the end, it's just that the offense has looked off. We all know what is should/could look like (2022) and it's never resembled that since. Is it Golesh? Hooker/QB play? O-Line? Play-calling? Have Defenses figured it out? Maybe it's all of these things, but I watched it hum so smoothly in 2022 it's so easy to question '23 and '24 and I never come up with a clean answer. I don't know what the answers are, but I do know that getting to the CFP was great, a two-loss season is great, but it doesn't necessarily cure that something just seems wrong with the offense and we all know, if that was fixed, we'd be one of the Top 3 teams in the country this year. So I can be equally happy with the accomplishments of this season and equally disappointed because it feels like we could/should be a championship caliber team with an offense resembling 2022.

Regardless, of what offense you run, you still have to have players who can throw the ball to an open receiver, an offensive line that can block pass rushers and defensive linemen to run the ball, WrRs that can separate from defensive backs and catch a ball, a center who can read defenses and call assignments, and coaches who can teach players to play the offensive scheme the head coach runs. It is that simple. If you have a weakness in any of these area, you will have trouble scoring points. All of this starts with the AD who is responsible for all of the above.

 

[sjt18]

Ohio State had some breaks but really IMO it came down to two factors. First, they're a talented, well-coached team. Second, they hit their peak at the right time- play and injuries.

I believe that latter point will play as much of a factor as anything else in the future and especially when the playoff is expanded again... which it most likely will be. I'm guessing at least 16 teams which IMO is where they should have started.


All the handwringing over UT's O is off base IMO. Nico needs to develop and become a "veteran". He will stop staring down receivers. He will start making better post-snap reads. As for WRs, it is great to have those elite guys but there are lots of programs who had a better passing game than UT whose WRs were pretty mediocre. However they ran good routes, played within their system, and caught the ball when thrown their way. We make a lot of this way more complicated than it is.

 

[Delmar]

Ohio State had some breaks but really IMO it came down to two factors. First, they're a talented, well-coached team. Second, they hit their peak at the right time- play and injuries.

I believe that latter point will play as much of a factor as anything else in the future and especially when the playoff is expanded again... which it most likely will be. I'm guessing at least 16 teams which IMO is where they should have started.


All the handwringing over UT's O is off base IMO. Nico needs to develop and become a "veteran". He will stop staring down receivers. He will start making better post-snap reads. As for WRs, it is great to have those elite guys but there are lots of programs who had a better passing game than UT whose WRs were pretty mediocre. However they ran good routes, played within their system, and caught the ball when thrown their way. We make a lot of this way more complicated than it is.

I agree. I think Hendon Hooker didn’t become a really good QB until his 4th year in college and got in the right system. (He sure didn’t show those skills at Va Tech.) His skill set fit Heupel’s system really well but I think Nico can be as good as Hooker with some more experience and a better OLine to protect him. Too many folks thought Nico would be Patrick Mahomes right out of the gate.

 

[aRmo]

Losing to Michigan I believe OSU needed.... lighting a fire under everyone. A different team post that loss I believe. Now they are playing like Burt's dudes... inmates...who just want to obliterate the dude across.

Yep, this OSU team is Michigan built.

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

So was Oregon's
So was Texas's

I say that tongue in cheek for perspective. Ohio State had multiple NFL dudes who decided to come back for this year. They came alive during the playoff.

Had we played Penn state's schedule, we would have been in the national championship.

Dunno. Notre Dame has been a tough out lately. They are well coached, balanced, a QB that is a good runner, great die is teams, timely truck plays. And...they beat Penn State.

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

I agree. I think Hendon Hooker didn’t become a really good QB until his 4th year in college and got in the right system. (He sure didn’t show those skills at Va Tech.) His skill set fit Heupel’s system really well but I think Nico can be as good as Hooker with some more experience and a better OLine to protect him. Too many folks thought Nico would be Patrick Mahomes right out of the gate.

Especially with a better OL.