OSU 41, Troy 38: Thoughts and observations
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
Follow me on Twitter @BChatmon
–Bottom line: It was a win. This game had the feel of the type of game OSU would have let get away in the past but they didn’t, so give the Cowboys credit for that.
–If you turn the ball over it is tough to win. Also, water is wet.
–12 penalties for 139 yards? That’s almost what I would have expected last week with so many young players on the field. Penalties cancelled a Kendall Hunter kick return for a touchdown, a Justin Gilbert interception
–In looking at the numbers, I don’t really think OSU played that bad on either side of the ball. They just made a ton of mistakes: Penalties, turnovers, poor decision making, etc… but they moved the ball on offense and played good defense, especially in the second half.
–The defense had every right to be annoyed, yet they just kept going back out there and making plays. OSU turned it over five times, the Cowboys defense forced four turnovers.
–Troy scored 24 of their 38 points in the second quarter. In that quarter the Trojans average starting position was OSU’s 45-yard line. That speaks to how well the defense played despite the 38 points Troy scored.
–Brandon Weeden had solid numbers 29 of 39 for 348 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also had three fumbles (two lost) and two interceptions. One interception was tipped, the other was a poor decision (or at least that’s what it looked like to me). The fumbles stemmed from Weeden being caught off guard by a couple blitzes. Those are the type of plays he will see on film and learn from. Like Dana Holgorsen always says “He just needs reps, he took a five-year vacation (from football)” Better to get those mistakes out of the way now before Big 12 play.
