Lloyd and Clear

It's getting HOT in Lloyd's kitchen!

Let's simply put it this way, in his last 8 meetings against OSU and ND, Lloyd is 3-7. That's 3 losses to Jim Tressell, 2 to Ty Willingham, and 1 to, both, Charlie Weiss and Bob Davies. Lloyd has a tremendous record, but his glaring brain farts in non-conference games (at UCLA, at Washington, at Oregon) and games against BIG TIME coaches 28-14 against Pete Caroll and a nail-bighting 10-7 win over Urban's Utes at the big house, are becoming an annual trend.

Yes, Lloyd has a Nat'l Champ ring. Yes, Lloyd has 2 straight Big Ten titles. Yes, Lloyd has lead Blue to 3 BCS games in 7 seven years. But it's getting hard to envision Lloyd getting over the hump and returning Blue to glory.

We see Lloyd's bread and butter, the run up the middle. And after running that play OVER AND OVER AGAIN isn't it time to adapt? The "supposed Best O in the NCAA" should be opened up, right? Granted, injuries to the starting HB, TE and OL hurt, but where is that resilient intangible that National Champion contenders have? Where is the will that they force on their opponent?

It's across the side line, that's where. And frankly, Lloyd, something needs to happen. It seems that this off-season we did something far worse than fumble on the goal line. We let an off-season in which Urban, Weiss and Spurrier were available, slip through our hands.

Is this the turning or the breaking point?

(btw, Texas vs. OSU. What a game? I mean, no way could Blue play with those two. But my main beef is, why did Musberger spend the entire game sucking up to the OSU D when the Texas D was better? Did I miss a memo anywhere?)

-JG