uncle leo

September 13th, 2017 at 12:39 PM ^

They lost the game. 

Let's stop blaming the refs. How about Michigan doesn't throw out of their end zone with a QB that has a busted shoulder? OR, how about you contain a guy on 3rd and 13 or whatever the hell it was and don't let him scramble for 12?

Squash34

September 13th, 2017 at 1:08 PM ^

Yes, and despite all that, OSU still needed home cooking from the refs. Two of which were noted OSU fans that where not allowed to officiate the game in the past because of they were OSU fans.
You are going to make mistakes against top tier teams, OSU made a boat-load too. Yet, they were bailed out the whole game. You simple need to be much better than the team you are facing to make up for such over the top one-sided officiating.

Qmatic

September 13th, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^

Barrett looked like he was going to win a Heisman at some point in his career when he was RS FR. He was actually an overall improvement to Braxton Miller which no one expected. Then came the injury, the Cardale Jones experience, and the loss of Tom Herman. Meyer messed up big time in 15 with how he handled the QB situation. That alone I think is the reason they did not make the playoffs. They were the most talented team in the country that year; more talented than the team that won the Championship the year prior.

By the time last year rolled around Barrett hadn't been a "full-time starter" in 2 years, and was on another new OC and had lost downfield threats like Smith, Thomas, Spencer, and Marshall. All of those factors combined with the fact that he never was an incredible downfield thrower (he was much more accurate as a freshman however) have led to what we are seeing now.

Compare OSU's offense this year to the one they had 2 or 3 years ago? He was working with Devin Smith, Michael Thomas, Evan Spencer, Jaylin Marshall, and Ezekiel Elliott. Dobbins looks good, but he's not at some of those guys level yet and even a healthy Weber is at best a poor-mans Zeke.

Squash34

September 13th, 2017 at 1:16 PM ^

I think it come down to two things. First, he list confidence since that freshman year. Not sure if it was the injury or the lose of the OC or the players no longer there. However, it's most-likely a combo of all 3.
Secondly, I think he is noticably slower as a runner from all the hits he has taken running that offense. In one of the OSU meltdown threads a OSU fan compared Barrett to a 28 year old RB in the NFL that has lost some of his speed because of all the hits he has taken. This seems pretty accurate.

Perkis-Size Me

September 13th, 2017 at 10:44 AM ^

Isn't too difficult to understand why he was a Heisman candidate coming into the season. Wasn't too long ago when he lit the world on fire as a RS Freshman, and even though his downfield passing has been pretty awful in recent years, there was reason to believe that Kevin Wilson could come in and help him fix that. Or at least make him a passable downfield threat. 

I don't think he's going to get invited to NY, much less win the damn thing. If Ezekiel Elliott couldn't even get invited, there's no way in hell that he'll be. But it's also ludicrous for anyone to assume that he won't improve over the course of the year. I'm going to assume he'll play his best game against us, and even if he doesn't, the guys OSU has waiting in the wings will likely be far better passers than Barrett ever was. 

The team OSU was on Saturday night will not be the same team that comes to Ann Arbor on November 25th. 

Wolverine 73

September 13th, 2017 at 10:56 AM ^

Veteran starter has not played as expected. Solution is to start a redshirt freshman who has never started a game. Maybe, but interesting that both Harbaugh and Meyer have yet to reach that conclusion.

OwenGoBlue

September 13th, 2017 at 11:33 AM ^

Barrett is a good player with limitations; the bigger issue is Urban isn't scheming around those to help him out and hasn't really adapted all that much. Hopefully his ego gets in the way of turning the offense over to an OC.

Read option as the HS offense du juor doesn't help matters either.

gbdub

September 13th, 2017 at 12:33 PM ^

It kind of sounds like Meyer might be Rich Rod++? He developed a "one weird trick" offense that was revolutionary, but has kind of peaked and his system hasn't kept up with defensive counters?

Of course, all of this is a pretty big overreaction until the OSU "slump" goes on for more than a few games (a few games against legitimately very good competition, at that).  

snarling wolverine

September 13th, 2017 at 11:36 AM ^

Urban Meyer's offense will put up big numbers on overmatched (and/or Durkined) opponents, leading to impressive season statistics for his QBs.  We know it's often a mirage, but the national media may not.

kehnonymous

September 13th, 2017 at 11:42 AM ^

Still kind of boggles my mind how Elliott never got a serious sniff for the Heisman.  I mean, I'm not sad he didn't get it since he's an unlikeable douchenozzle upon whom I wish nothing but misery, and there were many aggravating factors in 2015 (only some of which were his fault)

But we all had the distinct displeasure of watching him over 2.5 years and the eye test doesn't lie.  The threat of him in the backfield might make even me look like a solid spread option QB.

socalwolverine1

September 13th, 2017 at 1:10 PM ^

My layman take on Barrett, and for that matter Speight, to some extent, is that their style of playing the QB position, which translates into their successes and failures on the field, are the product of all the college-level coaching they have received, for better or worse.  

For worse in the case of Barrett, who early on at OSU was suprisingly effective because he was playing unrefined, instinctive football, similar to Denard, except coming out of high school Barrett was a more talented passer.  Now I'm watching Barrett and he looks robotic out there, where I can imagine a million coaching do's and don'ts in terms of proper technique and tactics are going through his head as he assesses his options and progressions. His instincts have been throttled (coached out) and the result is a diminished QB in terms of his instinctive explosiveness and effectiveness (information overload translating into delayed decision making). 

For better in the case of Speight, who was a raw pro-style prospect coming out of high school. Obviously he has greatly benefitted from Coach Harbaugh's QB-whisperings, although the question we're all asking is, has he reached his glass ceiling (aka the Peter Principle) relative to his talent level? That's a relevant question given that there are absolutely one or two other guys on the bench with higher ceilings; and I concede that it's perfectly reasonable for those guys to wait their turn. But given that Speight has two more years of eligibility, the question is how long should the higher ceiling guys have to wait? If Speight is plateau'd out relative to his talent level, then the coaches need to decide whether Speight continues to start after this year, because he is not the kind of instinctive player who has the intangibles to win the biggest games of the year, in my opinion. Watch Mayfield or Darnold, those are the kind of players who make plays when the pressure is extreme.  

lebriarjr

September 13th, 2017 at 8:14 PM ^

I hate everything about BLOsu, I was so happy to see them get crushed by OU. Hopefully by Nov 25 Wilton can stop making bone head mistakes. I still think UofM making a mistake not staring Peters. The bottom line is UofM will be on every game because of their D, Peters will learn how to command the huddle in the game, I'm sorry Wilton's an average college QB.

fksljj

September 13th, 2017 at 8:38 PM ^

Speight was also a pre-season Heisman candidate according to some writers. He was also available at the books as opposed to the field. Although Barrett was a 7/1 favorite and Speight I believe was 75/1. Neither has a snowballs chance in hell of winning.