Josh Gattis comments

Nah - I did not write clearly enough. I'm making observations and assessing the opponent's prior capabilities and results, weaknesses, and where UM spent an entire year dedicated to exploiting them. Where is the OSU fanboi frame of reference? Analyzing our favorite team is not the same as drinking the Kool-Aid - Not the same as making excuses for OSU. Stroud is weak. Compounded with no running threat because OSU was not tough on the OL nor on the DL, exacerbated by the weather where OSU could not just air it out on a fast track and make up for their weaknesses by outscoring their opponent. UM would not let them out of that phone booth, and inside that phone booth is where this fight happened.

The OSU good weather BIG XII offense and defense was a mask to a.) their overall lack of toughness, and b.) their lack of toughness made them a one-dimensional pass-first team. That is the same pass-first team the weak non-tough OSU defense practiced against all year, BTW.

So when it came time to play The Game, OSU had zero ideas about what UM was going to hit them with, how hard they were going to be hit, and the depth and pervasiveness of the impact in all phases of The Game. OSU was like the green replacement units thrown into the Ardennes in the Battle of The Bulge. The weather and the fight came straight at the favored, comfortable team, and there was a panicked retreat, just like during The Game in November. The OSU defense was weak in personnel and in capabilities and scheme, particularly weak in mental toughness. Their QB is a thrower, not a Leader. The weather merely uncovered his weakness as a Leader.

The weather was a catalyst to expose how Gattis could exploit their weaknesses. Gattis and UM took advantage of that. Better weather conditions or an indoor track showed that Gattis did not have an absolutely weatherproof game plan. The CFP and Georgia shone a bright light on his Tier II OC capabilities. OSU was listed as Tier I in 2021. They were Tier II. Tier II met Tier I, and The Team - the more brutal, more dedicated Team - won The Game.

OSU wanted no part of UM's physicality. Your QB sets the tone for the team. He has to be tough and a leader first - throwing capabilities come after leadership and toughness. UM had a rugged pair of QBs (finally) who could win this fight. OSU had tough QBs that were leaders on the field in the past. They wanted to fight. Had the will to find a way to win. Stroud is not tough - Not as a QB, nor as a football player, nor as a person, and he is not a leader. And he was afraid of the cold. 

A lot of talk coming from Columbus about payback next year, etc. They have an entirely new Defensive staff and a new OL coach. Remains to see if they will be any tougher. Talk is talk.

Stroud will not be any tougher next year, no matter where they play. If it is a clean day weather-wise, OSU will have an advantage in the air. Gattis was no genius and did not scheme a way to beat OSU. UM was tougher, and UM dedicated themselves to beating OSU, and that toughness was what won this game in each hand-to-hand fight. OSU folded. The weather made it a rout. Gattis performed at an average level. Post-game, he ran his mouth because he had never been 'here' before. Upon exiting a program, his immaturity (again) clearly shows he is not ready for the next level. His success in The Game was more him being along for the ride than devising a strategy and fight plan and executing on it.

Gattis is neither innovative nor a Tier I OC. He is not a Tier I recruiter. Two strikes against him before Gattis even walks onto the practice field in Coral Gables. Who will he compete for, and what rivals is he set up to defeat as an OC at Miami? Will he out recruit Alabama? Georgia? From a Tier II team sitting in the Tier II seats in the ACC? His Tier II overall game will shine - Dimly - again.

You want to sustain the next 20 years of The Game like you lived to see in 2021, as opposed to the prior 20 years back to 2001? Take off your Maize-colored glasses. I am no OSU shill. UM won this in 2021. It is a start. Period. It is not a return to parity. What happens next is up to the Players and the ability of the new DC and OC and their staff to develop the Team as competitors who have a scheme they can win with.

But, whatever they do - They need to be prepared to fight in a phone booth and keep that door slammed shut for 60 minutes. Gattis would never grow into the OC role and emerge as the HC. He would never be the one who built the culture + scheme to bring that to the fight year-over-year, no matter what happened in 2021. Gattis appears to be more a defused Zach Smith than a Lincoln Riley. The next OC will be HC ready in scheme, development, and emotional and mental toughness.

Take the win in 2021. As Coach said - It is a start, a beginning. UM dodged a short round by having Gattis move on. If Coach is still here that long, the new OC and DC will also be candidates to replace Coach within three years. 

I'm not a homer - not an OSU fanboi. But, I assessed who is on this Team, who the leadership is and how they performed. To chart a course to win The Game in 2022. - and more than any other thing, win The Game every year. And then start over and do it again the next day for the entirety of the next 364 days. That is it. Everything else is secondary.