I have a cluster of thoughts on the game. First, OSU's OL sort of sucks. Their offensive play calling is pretty unimaginative as well. I think that most do not know that Kliff has been trying to get a running game at Tech since he has been there. His first year was pretty good in that aspect due to having the players to do it. Right now the OL is playing probably the best since 2008, that is making all of the difference in the world for the team IMO. Good OL make make coach look brilliant or stupid on a regular basis. Having really good backs sure doesn't hurt either...
Also, the hiring of Kevin Johns cannot be understated. Kliff went way out of the box to hire a guy who had absolutely zero connections to anything that Tech has done in the last 20 years. If you go back and look at what his concepts were about at Western Michigan you will see a very sound running game deployed.
Kliff is still a really damn good offensive designer. He doesn't really run the air raid at this point. Most of his stuff comes from Belichick, Sean Payton and a collection of other stuff. Kliff tends to adapt really really well but sometimes out smarts himself. What he has done with what he has had to work with has been nothing short of amazing at times. At other times you walk away wondering if he has completely outsmarted himself.
The defense is good enough to win. They are athletic, play hard and generally play smart. You can ignore the stats because teams will get some yards. IMO you can't measure a Big 12 defense on stats alone. The main deal is that the run defense can be really good at times and that makes all of the difference. The secondary is wildly different with Johnson back there. Again, they have some good athletes back there...what worries me is if we face a WR/QB combo that is really in sync. When that happens some big plays will be given up. I expect that to happen next week against WVU. Tech is most like WVU in all phases of the game. Obviously WVU is a more stable program with more proven success, so the challenge will be pretty big.
If Tech finds a way to beat WVU then we just might be onto something. I am very much cautious about being too optimistic right now. The game last night was a really impressive performance for a few reasons but I wonder if OSU is any good this year.
My biggest take away is that Cotton was so very wrong about the QBs on this team and the running game. At this point it is stupid to go into a season announcing that the offense will be bad. You'd think that people would learn this lesson by now. Kliff has produced with total garbage many times before. That is not his problem in the least. Like I said, bitching about the wrong thing concerning Kliff. I'll wait here for an apology.
