I got a reprieve this week. My bout with the flu prevented me from being grilled by friends, co-workers, etc. about what happened last Saturday at Savage Stadium. About how or why Oberlin could have possibly been sliced and diced by Case Western Reserve to the tune of 37-15 in one of those 'the score doesn't really tell you how bad it was' type of games.
The truth is, had I been asked, I really wouldn't have had an answer. I'm still trying to figure out what I saw Saturday. Was Oberlin just guilty of having a bad day? Or is there something deeper going on?
The numbers themselves are just plain ugly. The Yeomen were outgained to the tune of 403-181 with four turnovers. They were just 2 of 13 in third down conversions and were dominated in the field position battle. R.V. Carroll was held to just 38 yards on 17 carries while Greg Mangan probably had his poorest outing as a collegiate quarterback.
Defensively, the Yeomen seemed to know what was coming from the Spartans...but couldn't stop them anyway. Mike Evans provided the only excitement of the day with a 60 yard interception return for a score. That was pretty much it. The rest of the day was spent trying to find a way to slow down Cory Checkan or to get to Dan Whalen.
I give the defense a break because they had two new starters at linebacker in Austin Richards and Max Helzberg and lost three year starter Clayton Thurmer early in the game to a torn knee ligament. The senior safety from Cleveland Heights will unfortunately be out for the rest of the season.
But even without Thurmer, what happened on Saturday...frankly can't happen.
This is a better team than that. What we saw on Saturday resembled the rebuilding 1-9 team from three years ago. Or the Yeomen teams prior to the end of the 44 game losing streak.
Speaking of losing streaks, Oberlin's opponent this Saturday is in the middle of a BIG one.
The Heidelberg Student Princes of the Ohio Athletic Conference have not won a game going back to October 4th of 2003. If you're scoring at home, that means they have gone 36 in a row without a "W."
Somewhere in Tiffin, new head coach Mike Hallet has circled this game down as THE ONE. This is the one that in their minds could finally end the drought. Because the 'Berg sure isn't going to beat Mount Union, or Capital, or John Carroll, Baldwin Wallace, or Ohio Northern for that matter. But they can play with the Yeomen as evidenced by last year's 48-34 shootout at Savage Stadium that Oberlin didn't really wrap up until the fourth quarter.
So now the focus shifts back to Oberlin. Can they get the offense untracked? Can some of the youngsters on defense grow up in a hurry? And can Jeff Ramsey get this season back on course?
Lots of questions. Let's hope we have some answers come Saturday!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Your supposed to be a supporter of the Yeoman. Going into the the Case game you had nothing to say but how great the returning offense was and the potential for this year. Now you say that they have almost no chance, can barely beat heidleberg? Jeff Ramesey has built that team up from nothing and you try to compare this team to the losing teams of the 90's. How absurd. Perhaps everyone had such high expectiations, such hope for this team that we all asummed they would run over everyone without a hitch. At this point it's clear that isn't the case, but that does not mean that the season is over. Or that this loss is comparible to teams in th past. Your career as a radio host based on your opinion but perspective is just as important. The community as a whole is disapointed with Saturday's preformance but unlike Oberlin teams of the current group of players knows how to win and leasders like Schubert and Pissani will not allow this team to wallow in a loss. I think we can count on them to come out strong and ready to play a less than skilled team Tiffin.
We are NOT the team we were last year. With seasoned players undisciplined off the field and thus not returning or sitting out games as a punishment, OC is missing a few key players. Our dissapointment should sit on their shoulders as well. We are all dissapointed with last weeks results but, it is time to move on. Let's look forward to the games of the future and support our Yeomen....regardless of the outcomes.
OK, so I guess I'll chime in, too. If you believe for a moment that what we witnessed last week represented a quality performance, I would recommend taking up a new hobby...crocheting perhaps. This ain't rocket science: there's no way that OC can continue to play like last Saturday and consider themselves to be successful. RV, Chase, Greg, and company need to meet the expectations. Man up. There's simply no alternative. If not the comparison's to prior teams won't refer to just one game. And if you think that this is a little harsh, ask your favorite Yeoman how they feel.
How can this team be 0-2??? Wasn't this supposed to be THE YEAR and THE TEAM??
Giving Heiedelberg their first win in 37 games???
For heaven's sake...50% on PATs and 41 yds avg kickoffs. The field position battle is lost from the get go. High school teams have stronger special teams play! Thank goodness for Schubert's return game. He 'da man among boys.
It won't get any easier against W&J, men (boys??) Time for the leaders of the OC team to step up and focus.
Post a Comment