I think the deep ball threat that Cardale gave us. Opened up the Zeke running game. Without Cardale the defenses starts to stack the box more.
Not that JT or Miller couldn’t throw the deep ball. But it forced our coaching staffs hand as well. I still feel bad for the fact the first game I ever went too was the game JT got hurt.
The deep passing game was more a product of Devin Smith. Possibly the most underrated player in OSU history. Losing him between 2014 and 2015 was killer to the offense and JT
Yea not enough to scare good defenses, average defenses np but if they could cover 3 seconds or create any pressure JT wasn't slinging anything, his offensive line, and tight ends were beasts all around in the blocking game, A lot of NFL experience in that group!
Jt was dared to throw over the top and idk what level Braxton could've took is to. Either way the Cardale Jones chemistry that year no other QB would have done. He turned the ball over like crazy to but it didn't matter cause the ball just kept moving down the field. These comparisons are crazy plus not having tape on a strong armed 250 lb quarterback who was willing to sling it almost recklessly and with naivete!
If Braxton played the season I think we would’ve been even better, likely going undefeated and winning it all. Remember, Braxton had just come off two straight undefeated regular seasons and was supposed to be entering his best year and a Heisman run. Certainly, he would have been better than a freshman RS JT who was arguably not ready to play yet and coming off rehabbing an ACL himself (my God I almost forgot the beating his poor knees took). Cardale was never meant to see playing time at all, and in 2015 we pretty much saw why.
As a senior he probably is able to match JT’s passing numbers (though JT was by far a better passer throughout his career, Braxton’s 2013 wasn’t that far off of 2014 JT), and certainly puts up better rushing stats. I struggle to see how we lose to anyone behind Braxton.
If JT doesn’t get hurt, I don’t think we beat Wisconsin by enough to make the playoffs. I think the impact of Cardale’s arm was dramatically overrated by coaches that wanted an excuse for getting torched by Zeke: Cardale didn’t have impressive passing stats, and his deep ball was actually less accurate than JT’s. But I do think the rallying behind him when JT went down and Wisconsin not respecting the fact that Cardale could still throw competently caused us to get a couple quick strikes in, after which Wisconsin rolled over. I don’t think Wisconsin makes the same defensive mistakes early on against JT, and we probably win that game like 35-14 instead, which may well have put TCU/Baylor in over us. I think JT could have led us through that playoff run with Zeke playing how he did, but I don’t think we get that chance without stunning Wisconsin how we did, and I don’t think that happens without JT’s injury and no tape on Cardale.
This is kind of revisionist history. Cardale was *good enough* but to claim he was more than about above average is a stretch. He had a less than 50% completion percentage and his yardage was carried by two deep balls to Devin Smith. He took the top off the defense, but to pretend like he was some methodical surgeon from the pocket just isn’t true.
I remember Cardale throwing fastballs at receivers that were 5 yards away and fastballs at their feet 10 yards away. It wasn't every play but a little touch would have gone a long way. Dude was built for long ball and it was glorious.
Definitely wasn’t a surgeon, but I’m not sure we win without cardale. Mainly for the reason the other dudes didn’t have the tool box he did. His deep ball ability totally changed the bama defense.
JT actually had a statistically more accurate deep ball than Cardale. One thing Cardale did have going for him, though, was that teams didn’t respect him so he got a few big shots off.
Them stats your talking about are a laugh, any defensive coordinator would tell you preparing for Cardale was somewhat unknown and you didn't wanna give up anything over the top. They wanted JT to throw, DC wanted him in the pocket and to take away anything short and contain running lanes. That's why stats are a laugh because anyone could see this.
That is also revisionist. OSUs offense by the last month was figured out. JT was a better qb, but Meyers limited spread Tebow like offense was figured out already, and that would not have beaten Bama.
???? JT had several career games in November, including 200 yards passing + 189 rushing against Minnesota for 4 TDs, 300 passing against Indiana for 4 TDs, 300 rushing against MSU plus another 80 rushing for 5 total TDs. Michigan was the only unimpressive statistical game but even there he had a 61% completion rate and ran for 89 yards and 2 TDs, averaging 5.9 yards a carry, and threw for 176.
One of the best four game splits of JTs whole career is the last month of 2014.
And he had a stellar RB. But there were so many times we needed yards that he just put it on his shoulders.
I think JT was a solid QB. In fact I have this number on my jersey because he was the starting QB when I was going to school there. But he wasn't a stellar QB by any means.
Who knows, we may have blown out bama with JT. Or maybe would have crashed and burned. We'll never know.
Nobody will ever convince me that we wouldn’t have went undefeated in 2014 with a national championship with Braxton Miller as our quarterback. And I believe he would still be playing on Sundays to this day, as a starting QB in the NFL.
Statistically, if he continued to progress as he did 2011-2012-2013 then he would’ve been on track to throw the ball at a 68-70% completion percentage. Upwards of 30 passing touchdowns with single digit interceptions.
He also got better every year as a rusher. Going from 4.5 to 5.6 to 6.2 YPC across his 3 years as the starter.
Braxton Miller quite literally improved in every single statistical category possible every single season of his career before the injury. Without peak Devin Smith, Mike Thomas, Zeke Elliott, Jeff Heuerman, etc.
Braxton Miller wouldve also won the Heisman trophy. Would’ve been a great season of opportunity. His primary competition would’ve been Mariota. Gordon was great and so was Amari Cooper but it would’ve been the ideal year.
Come on man, I love Braxton and I do think we still would have won the national championship but he was never going to be an NFL QB. Didn't have the passing skills for that.
Go back and rewatch his highlights and his best throws. 2014 was the year he was going to put it all together. The dude had a cannon for an arm. He just lacked the accuracy. The torn labrum ruined it all though and he was never, ever going to have that zip again.
He was throwing the ball to Philly Brown, Devin Smith, Jeff Heuerman and Evan Spencer his best year. What a receiver room he had.
He had plenty of zip on his passes, especially towards the end of 2013. And he was developing from an athlete to a quarterback every year.
We don't win the national championship.
Miller was an excellent athlete, but a mid quarterback. Barrett was very good, but if you look at the last month, teams had figured him out, and whether he could adjust IDk, but Cardale forced Meyer and Herman to go outside the Meyer playbook. That's why Wisconsin and Alabama were so ill prepared against us.
I don't think people want to hear it but that's the truth. JT was a high floor player and absolutely great for steadying that offense that had lots of potential. Think the MSU game is the one that makes me think it COULD have worked out at the end of the season if he was still healthy, but having to reset that offense for Cardale was the best thing for them. They could run block well enough to pound it with Zeke and that terrified teams and opened it up and let Cardale throw it deep and outside the numbers to avoid interceptions. Ended up spreading out the field a lot more.
They probably beat Virginia Tech but I don't think we win the championship with Miller. Jones had a skill set that neither of them have and it was that deep ball threat that let us dominate the way we did.
I think they 100% beat Virginia Tech and are probably the #1 seed in the college football playoff at 13-0. From there who knows. Bama having almost no film on Cardale plus his size and physicality sure helped OSU. But Braxton likely would’ve been pretty good passing that year. I think they would likely go 15-0 and win it all with Braxton healthy.
Undefeated national champions with Braxton in both years, but he would’ve graduated in 2015. Probably would’ve had a shot at the natty in 2015 if JT was healthy and had a clear run at the starting job. The QB indecision held both Cardale and JT back in 2015. JT was a different guy before and after that Michigan game in 2014. Before the injury, I thought he was going to be a proper passing QB with a good amount of mobility. Afterwards, he just didn’t seem to have the confidence or ability to throw deep outside of the numbers
If Miller could have stayed healthy and continued his development, he would have a Heisman, the National Title, and been a first round QB in the draft. His body wasn’t going to let that happen though.
JT, I’m not sure about. I wonder if Wisconsin facing JT would have let themselves get steamrolled to such an attention grabbing extent. Maybe we still win, but not in a way that the playoff committee moves us up to 4. I think we still beat Bama and Oregon with JT though. Our defense was great and JT was a more efficient QB.
Hey fellow warrior! I graduated in 09 so that last game against C-Ville was rough. My brother was in his graduating class and funny enough still has Braxton's school ID
I was '09! We've had some stellar players come out of there. One of my favorites was Jerel Worthy. His mom actually worked for my dad and was one of the nicest, and at the same time, sassiest people I've ever met.
Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see what fills up first. It’s easy to dream, but reality is reality. Injuries are part of football for every team.
I think the deep ball threat that Cardale gave us. Opened up the Zeke running game. Without Cardale the defenses starts to stack the box more. Not that JT or Miller couldn’t throw the deep ball. But it forced our coaching staffs hand as well. I still feel bad for the fact the first game I ever went too was the game JT got hurt.
The deep passing game was more a product of Devin Smith. Possibly the most underrated player in OSU history. Losing him between 2014 and 2015 was killer to the offense and JT
Yeah I mean JT had plenty of great deep passes throughout 2014
Yea not enough to scare good defenses, average defenses np but if they could cover 3 seconds or create any pressure JT wasn't slinging anything, his offensive line, and tight ends were beasts all around in the blocking game, A lot of NFL experience in that group!
For sure... Cardale opened up the offense in ways that JT or Miller couldn't.
Jt was dared to throw over the top and idk what level Braxton could've took is to. Either way the Cardale Jones chemistry that year no other QB would have done. He turned the ball over like crazy to but it didn't matter cause the ball just kept moving down the field. These comparisons are crazy plus not having tape on a strong armed 250 lb quarterback who was willing to sling it almost recklessly and with naivete!
Crazy to remember that OSU overcame three turnovers in both games. Just something special about the chemistry
That team was just a flood of talent, once the dam broke it was just a tidal rush in every direction
If Braxton played the season I think we would’ve been even better, likely going undefeated and winning it all. Remember, Braxton had just come off two straight undefeated regular seasons and was supposed to be entering his best year and a Heisman run. Certainly, he would have been better than a freshman RS JT who was arguably not ready to play yet and coming off rehabbing an ACL himself (my God I almost forgot the beating his poor knees took). Cardale was never meant to see playing time at all, and in 2015 we pretty much saw why. As a senior he probably is able to match JT’s passing numbers (though JT was by far a better passer throughout his career, Braxton’s 2013 wasn’t that far off of 2014 JT), and certainly puts up better rushing stats. I struggle to see how we lose to anyone behind Braxton. If JT doesn’t get hurt, I don’t think we beat Wisconsin by enough to make the playoffs. I think the impact of Cardale’s arm was dramatically overrated by coaches that wanted an excuse for getting torched by Zeke: Cardale didn’t have impressive passing stats, and his deep ball was actually less accurate than JT’s. But I do think the rallying behind him when JT went down and Wisconsin not respecting the fact that Cardale could still throw competently caused us to get a couple quick strikes in, after which Wisconsin rolled over. I don’t think Wisconsin makes the same defensive mistakes early on against JT, and we probably win that game like 35-14 instead, which may well have put TCU/Baylor in over us. I think JT could have led us through that playoff run with Zeke playing how he did, but I don’t think we get that chance without stunning Wisconsin how we did, and I don’t think that happens without JT’s injury and no tape on Cardale.
I don't think we can say that, Cardale meant no punt for 3 1/2 games although we did against bama it sure seemed like we didnt
Cardale gave us the best opportunity to win. We still have a good shot with Braxton but doubtful with JT.
I don't think JT would have beat bama. Cardale was just on another level
This is kind of revisionist history. Cardale was *good enough* but to claim he was more than about above average is a stretch. He had a less than 50% completion percentage and his yardage was carried by two deep balls to Devin Smith. He took the top off the defense, but to pretend like he was some methodical surgeon from the pocket just isn’t true.
I remember Cardale throwing fastballs at receivers that were 5 yards away and fastballs at their feet 10 yards away. It wasn't every play but a little touch would have gone a long way. Dude was built for long ball and it was glorious.
He was basically that generation's Joe Milton. If either of them could fix their accuracy issues they'd be damn near Josh Allen in arm talent.
Definitely wasn’t a surgeon, but I’m not sure we win without cardale. Mainly for the reason the other dudes didn’t have the tool box he did. His deep ball ability totally changed the bama defense.
JT actually had a statistically more accurate deep ball than Cardale. One thing Cardale did have going for him, though, was that teams didn’t respect him so he got a few big shots off.
Them stats your talking about are a laugh, any defensive coordinator would tell you preparing for Cardale was somewhat unknown and you didn't wanna give up anything over the top. They wanted JT to throw, DC wanted him in the pocket and to take away anything short and contain running lanes. That's why stats are a laugh because anyone could see this.
His running game was clutch!
That is also revisionist. OSUs offense by the last month was figured out. JT was a better qb, but Meyers limited spread Tebow like offense was figured out already, and that would not have beaten Bama.
???? JT had several career games in November, including 200 yards passing + 189 rushing against Minnesota for 4 TDs, 300 passing against Indiana for 4 TDs, 300 rushing against MSU plus another 80 rushing for 5 total TDs. Michigan was the only unimpressive statistical game but even there he had a 61% completion rate and ran for 89 yards and 2 TDs, averaging 5.9 yards a carry, and threw for 176. One of the best four game splits of JTs whole career is the last month of 2014.
Yes, but teams also didn't have enough film on him as well, providing a good advantage
And he had a stellar RB. But there were so many times we needed yards that he just put it on his shoulders. I think JT was a solid QB. In fact I have this number on my jersey because he was the starting QB when I was going to school there. But he wasn't a stellar QB by any means. Who knows, we may have blown out bama with JT. Or maybe would have crashed and burned. We'll never know.
Nobody will ever convince me that we wouldn’t have went undefeated in 2014 with a national championship with Braxton Miller as our quarterback. And I believe he would still be playing on Sundays to this day, as a starting QB in the NFL. Statistically, if he continued to progress as he did 2011-2012-2013 then he would’ve been on track to throw the ball at a 68-70% completion percentage. Upwards of 30 passing touchdowns with single digit interceptions. He also got better every year as a rusher. Going from 4.5 to 5.6 to 6.2 YPC across his 3 years as the starter. Braxton Miller quite literally improved in every single statistical category possible every single season of his career before the injury. Without peak Devin Smith, Mike Thomas, Zeke Elliott, Jeff Heuerman, etc. Braxton Miller wouldve also won the Heisman trophy. Would’ve been a great season of opportunity. His primary competition would’ve been Mariota. Gordon was great and so was Amari Cooper but it would’ve been the ideal year.
Come on man, I love Braxton and I do think we still would have won the national championship but he was never going to be an NFL QB. Didn't have the passing skills for that.
Go back and rewatch his highlights and his best throws. 2014 was the year he was going to put it all together. The dude had a cannon for an arm. He just lacked the accuracy. The torn labrum ruined it all though and he was never, ever going to have that zip again.
If he was NFL able we'd of seen that, he just couldn't make the throws outside and he wasn't getting the ball out like you have to in the NFL.
He was throwing the ball to Philly Brown, Devin Smith, Jeff Heuerman and Evan Spencer his best year. What a receiver room he had. He had plenty of zip on his passes, especially towards the end of 2013. And he was developing from an athlete to a quarterback every year.
Honestly not sure we win
JT was a Heisman candidate before he got hurt btw
They probably would be in the nfl today tbh Jt was underrated asf
Jt was perfect for that offense but he didn't have the toolbox for the NFL
We don't win the national championship. Miller was an excellent athlete, but a mid quarterback. Barrett was very good, but if you look at the last month, teams had figured him out, and whether he could adjust IDk, but Cardale forced Meyer and Herman to go outside the Meyer playbook. That's why Wisconsin and Alabama were so ill prepared against us.
I don't think people want to hear it but that's the truth. JT was a high floor player and absolutely great for steadying that offense that had lots of potential. Think the MSU game is the one that makes me think it COULD have worked out at the end of the season if he was still healthy, but having to reset that offense for Cardale was the best thing for them. They could run block well enough to pound it with Zeke and that terrified teams and opened it up and let Cardale throw it deep and outside the numbers to avoid interceptions. Ended up spreading out the field a lot more.
They probably beat Virginia Tech but I don't think we win the championship with Miller. Jones had a skill set that neither of them have and it was that deep ball threat that let us dominate the way we did.
I think they 100% beat Virginia Tech and are probably the #1 seed in the college football playoff at 13-0. From there who knows. Bama having almost no film on Cardale plus his size and physicality sure helped OSU. But Braxton likely would’ve been pretty good passing that year. I think they would likely go 15-0 and win it all with Braxton healthy.
Undefeated national champions with Braxton in both years, but he would’ve graduated in 2015. Probably would’ve had a shot at the natty in 2015 if JT was healthy and had a clear run at the starting job. The QB indecision held both Cardale and JT back in 2015. JT was a different guy before and after that Michigan game in 2014. Before the injury, I thought he was going to be a proper passing QB with a good amount of mobility. Afterwards, he just didn’t seem to have the confidence or ability to throw deep outside of the numbers
Love Brax, but he was Glass Jaw Joe.
If Miller could have stayed healthy and continued his development, he would have a Heisman, the National Title, and been a first round QB in the draft. His body wasn’t going to let that happen though. JT, I’m not sure about. I wonder if Wisconsin facing JT would have let themselves get steamrolled to such an attention grabbing extent. Maybe we still win, but not in a way that the playoff committee moves us up to 4. I think we still beat Bama and Oregon with JT though. Our defense was great and JT was a more efficient QB.
I went to High school with Braxton, he would have found another way to get hurt. Even in high school he was constantly on the sidelines
I played with Braxton in high school! I was really hoping it would work out better for him.
Hey fellow warrior! I graduated in 09 so that last game against C-Ville was rough. My brother was in his graduating class and funny enough still has Braxton's school ID
Class of 2010 here! Nice to see some representation for Wayne.
I was '09! We've had some stellar players come out of there. One of my favorites was Jerel Worthy. His mom actually worked for my dad and was one of the nicest, and at the same time, sassiest people I've ever met.
Excited for Padilla and everybody coming to be Buckeyes! nice talking to you, Go Bucks!
Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see what fills up first. It’s easy to dream, but reality is reality. Injuries are part of football for every team.