Dear diary,
This is just a cathartic post and I don’t want to think about this weekend any more after, on to Purdue.
1) Cold & wet. It was JUST on this side of tolerable. Like it was misty —> light rain, but you never got soaked. Uncomfortable cold, but not miserable.
2) the stadium SUUUUUUCKED. The men’s bathrooms had a horrible urinal to stall ratio. Lines were outrageous.
3) stadium concessions were nice. Same vendor (I think) as we’ve got. Free refills for souvenir soft drink cups were very nice.
4) in spite of others stories and prior interactions with OSU fans in Bloomington, we didn’t run into anyone remotely rude. From the tailgate lot to the game, nothing negative to report.
5) this is our 3rd of the big 3 legacy B1G stadiums. The atmosphere was far and away the best I’ve ever experienced. The whole stadium stood the whole game. They were loud as hell. They, mostly, stayed although there was a noticeable number that left at half that I thought was very weird.
6) More than anything, this game and Michigan have demonstrated that the defense is damn good, but they wear out. If the offense can’t stay on the field we’ll lose to elite teams.
7) special teams. Yuck
8) my major surprise was running the ball after OSU went up 24 with 9 minutes to go. Considering we hadn’t passed with any success all day so I didn’t think we’d see a miracle but I did not expect Cig to phone in the final sequence and concede the loss. Particularly with everything on the line. It reminds me of the criticisms levied at CTA vs OSU last year for playing to lose close vs playing to win.
9) special teams. What a game changing disappointment.
10) Pass pro. Oof, OSU would send the house and we had no answer. Insta-sack
11) impressed with how the team played the first half until the botched punt. The prospect of a tie at half and getting the ball back with an ability to move the ball on the ground was awesome. Fell apart in a hurry.
12) Not daunted.
www.ncaa.com
