Ohio State at Indiana · Oct 17

Nitpicking in Bloomington

Five snaps. Tap a chip. It sits beside the player, not on him. Chalk is the answer. Scarlet is the miss.

SNAP 01

Richard, 7 yards, over at the line

Seven Indiana hats on the ball, four for Ohio State. Hoover is not even in conflict.

  • 2nd & goal
  • OSU 7
  • 2nd · 13:54
  • Shotgun · rush middle
Pre-snap, camera behind Indiana’s shotgun, Ohio State in a light box at the goal line

Pre-snap · behind the quarterback

Richard #1He is still five yards deep. The touchdown is already blocked in front of him.

Mesh point, Richard with the ball, the playside edge getting reached

Mesh · already a touchdown

Ball to RichardHe has the ball at the wall. The numbers already won. This is an easy touchdown.

Richard number 1 with the ball at the line, the wall in front of him

At the wall · easy touchdown

Richard at the wallNumber 1 has the ball right here, at the wall. The hole is in front of him. Easy touchdown. It was over at the line.

Count the line. Indiana has seven hats on the ball: #85 and six bigs down. #8 is flexed off it. Ohio State has four on the ball: the left edge, two down linemen, and the apex inside #8. #26 and #4 are standing off, in the endzone. Add them and it is still seven to six.

The RPO is how Hoover equates the numbers and makes an easy read. One defender is in conflict. If he fits the run, Hoover throws. If he expands, Hoover gives. Here Ohio State never gives him that man. Indiana already has more hats. No conflict. He hands it to Richard.

SNAP 02

Smith, the decoy

Jeremiah Smith is a great decoy. Numbers stack on his side, so the eyes go to the other side first.

  • 4th & goal
  • IND 2
  • 2nd · 0:10
  • Shotgun · empty
Fourth and goal, Ohio State empty, the far-side grass empty while the numbers sit on Smith’s side

The set · stack on Smith, grass on the other side

This guyHe is the other side. The numbers are on Jeremiah. Once Sayin sees that stack, his eyes come here first.

Sayin has thrown to Jackson in the flat while Smith is covered on the boundary

The throw · Smith draws them, Jackson is the read

Smith, the decoyJeremiah Smith, white #4, on the boundary. The numbers are on him. He is a great decoy.

Jeremiah Smith is a great decoy. Indiana stacks the numbers on his side.

The Buckeyes can expand what a decoy means. Once Sayin sees that stack, his eyes go to the other side first. That grass is open.

This snap he still makes the right read, Jackson under the stem. The open side is the one to take next.

SNAP 03

3rd & 4 · back shoulder to Innis

The back is open at the yellow line. Sayin forces a back-shoulder touchdown to #0 Innis.

  • 3rd & 4
  • IND 11
  • 3rd · 11:57
  • Up 10–7
Third and four at the Indiana 11, receivers in the end zone, checkdown outlet nearer the line

3rd & 4 · yellow line or the back shoulder

Yellow line · first downThe yellow line on the field is the sticks. Four yards. Everything short of a touchdown that gets here is a new set of downs.

The yellow line is the first down. Four yards. The running back is open on it. That is the checkdown, and it is a new set of downs inside the 10.

Sayin does not take it. He forces a touchdown, back shoulder, to #0 Innis on the outside. Not the middle.

Incomplete. The drive becomes a 29-yard field goal.

SNAP 04

The screen he doesn’t throw

The wall is already downfield. He keeps it, and he doesn’t throw it away.

  • 1st & 10
  • IND 43
  • 2nd · 2:17
  • Sack · −10
Sayin still has the ball on the right while the screen wall has released to the left

1st & 10 · screen is drawn, ball stays

Screen wallOffensive linemen are downfield with the back behind them. That is the RB screen, and it is already set.

Down 7–3. The call is an RB screen. You can see it: the offensive line has released to the left and the back is behind that wall. Linemen that far downfield only happen if the screen is the play.

Sayin is on the right with the ball tucked, body turned to run, not a throwing platform. He does not flip it to the back. Once he is flushed he also does not throw it away.

Osunsanmi (#12) drops him for ten, back to the Ohio State 47. Either the screen or a throwaway is better than a first-down sack in a one-score game. The drive survives later. This snap does not.

SNAP 05

The lineman on the ball

Secure it. Sayin is out for weeks. Miss it and you are down a quarterback and a second loss.

  • Midfield
  • IU logo
  • One-score game
Loose ball at the Indiana logo, an Ohio State lineman next to it, Indiana 18 sprinting away

Live ball · the man already there

Ball on the groundLive, at the logo. The man next to it has to end this.

The ball is live at the logo. Sayin is in the pile, still on his feet. The lineman already next to the ball is the recovery. Indiana’s #18 is sprinting the other way.

Sayin is out for multiple weeks. If that lineman does not secure the fumble, Ohio State is without QB1 and a two-loss team. He has to go to the ground.