Not very impressive.  This could be due to a lot of reasons.  As I stated in the pre-game analysis, Navy is a very tough team for which to prepare.  They run an offense unlike any other in college football.  They also use a cut blocking scheme that takes the defensive linemen to their knees and essentially out of the play.

As I predicted, their first drive went for points.  But after that, it seemed like OSU had made the adjustment.  The next two or three Navy possessions saw them stopped for basically no gain.  The trouble with Navy’s offense is that you cannot make any mistakes.  When you are dealing in high probability 3 to 4 yards per carry, you can’t be in second and 15.

But they started moving the ball again.  True, they didn’t get anywhere during the first half, but that wasn’t due to stopping them straight up, but rather by turnovers to OSU.

It is very tricky to figure out just what Navy is going to do when it is running the ball.  The QB puts the ball into the hands of the Fullback for a split second and as a defender you don’t know whom to cover.  Sometimes the QB pulls it back and runs it, sometimes the Fullback dives for a four yard gain.

This Defensive Line for OSU was much vaunted coming into this game, but int he second half, Navy was wearing them out.  I saw hands on hips quite a bit, and some missed tackles that led to Navy points with their QB running right up the middle. 

I’m not quite so concerned about the pass defense, though Anderson Russell got burned twice.  But as a member of the secondary in a game where 80 to 90 percent of the offense is running, it might have said more about the secondary’s concentration than ability that some balls got by them.

I also was not concerned about the lack of pressure on the Navy QB.  Rushing Navy is pointless.  They make their yards on the ground, not through five and seven step drops.  You are better off staying home and covering those diving runners and looking out for the cut blocking. 

As for OSU’s offense, I was surprised that the Offensive Line was not able to get much push on the Navy defenders.  Those guys were outweighed by 30 to 40 pounds to a man and yet OSU running backs were getting hit at the line of scrimmage.  While it doesn’t do much good to get pressure on Terrelle Pryor (because he will just evade it and make a big play with his feet), Navy was able to get pressure on Bauserman while he was in there and they were quite effective.  If you can’t block Navy’s pass rush, I don’t know how you can block USC’s pash rush. 

Navy does not play a weird defense.  It is early to say it, but it sounds like our offensive line woes are not over, and won’t be over until there is a coaching change regarding the offensive line.

Terrelle Pryor played well.  He tucked it and ran only on designed plays for that purpose.  He had several passes dropped.  He was responsible for the one interception as he threw the ball high and I thought that he had done that several times but was bailed out by receivers with the ability to get up in the air.  Dane Sanzenbacher, for all his many talents, isn’t able to elevate like Jake Ballard or Devier Posey.  So throwing it high to him on Third and Long isn’t the best idea.

I was impressed with Brandon Saine.  He exhibited a refusal to go down after the first contact, often piling up four to five more yards after getting hit at the line.  He just kept his feet going and fell down for another half yard.  That impressed me.

Boom Herron had more yards than Saine (just under 80) but he had more chances as well.

The bottom line is that OSU needs to improve a hell of a lot before next week.  People who know football will tell you that a team’s greatest improvement takes place between the first and the second games.  I hope so.  It sure didn’t work that way last year.

Before this game, I had a lot of optimism going into the USC game.  At this point, I don’t see how we are going to beat them unless that freshman QB of theirs turns it over several times.

On special teams, all I can say is that we have one hell of a kicker.  I can also say that I never saw Ray Small on the field, either to catch a pass or return a punt.  Hmmm.

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