Offsides penalties will remain etched in Bosa’s memory
Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa said the offsides calls against him on Saturday in a loss to Michigan State will resonate for a while. But with Michigan this week, he said he didn’t have a lot of time to review a bad memory.
“I haven’t watched the film,” Bosa said on Monday. “I’m not going to watch the film. I’m going to try to move on and worry about our opponent.”
Considering the loss not only snapped a 23-game winning streak and likely ruined any chances of the Buckeyes defending their national championship, and because several of the calls against him helped Michigan State in its upset, Bosa said he has wrestled with it.
“Obviously, going against a center like we did (in Jack Allen), a veteran who knows what he’s doing, knows how to make people jump, knows that every snap I’m thinking to get off the ball as fast as I can to get after the quarterback, they’re going to use that against me,” Bosa said. “It was a really big mistake, and I’m still not completely over it.”
Michigan coaches likely will take note, as well. What they will see, Bosa said, was a ploy used by Allen to take advantage of defensive linemen taught to fire out at the first movement they see of the football.
“He would point the ball up, then put it down right before he snaps, and I’m trained every single day of my life to move when the ball moves,” Bosa said. “So I see the tiniest little bit of movement and I’m getting off the ball. But I’ve just got to be more disciplined and not let that happen again.”
Kindling for the fire
Middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan was asked whether the loss would make it easier for the Buckeyes to focus on the Wolverines, considering what two straight losses would mean to their season.
“I don’t think it makes it much easier because what happened last week was devastating to all of us,” McMilllan said. “But no matter what the opponent is, you’ve got to come in this week knowing that you’ve got to work toward not letting the same thing happen this week.”
McMillan advances
McMillan is among the five finalists announced for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s top linebacker.
The sophomore, who leads the Buckeyes in tackles, joined Leonard Floyd of Georgia, Deion Jones of LSU, Reggie Ragland of Alabama and Jaylon Smith of Notre Dame.
“It’s a great individual accolade, but I am more into the team-type thing,” McMillan said. “It is great to be on the finalists’ list; I won it in high school (2013 at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Ga.). But I’d rather be 11-0 right now.”