The Buckeyes got out to another blazing start, forcing a three-and-out right off the bat after electing to give Rutgers the ball after the coin toss. Then, on our very 1st drive, the Buckeyes marched down the field, capping the drive with a nice strike from J.T. Barrett to Nick Vannett (the Buckeyes have now scored a touchdown on its opening drive in 4 straight games). This was pleasantly surprising, as it appears our offense is FINALLY deciding to get our Tight Ends involved in the passing game. I've been screaming it for weeks, and it LOOKS like we're finally getting it.
Before you knew it, the Buckeyes were up 14-0, and 35-7 by halftime. The key to the early half success - like the key to most well-oiled machines - was the running game and turnovers. The Buckeyes outgained Rutgers by almost 100 yards and had forced 3 turnovers.
As each week passes and we step further-and-further away from the Virginia Tech game, it is becoming pointedly obvious that this team is NOT the same team that fell victim to the Hokies. Each passing week, this team appears to be executing better & better; and as a program, this is wonderfully exciting -- as any program's aspirations should be to be the best well-oiled machine at the end of the season, not necessarily the best at the beginning. [Sure it would be nice to piece it all together and be one great team from beginning to end, but if I can't have that choice, then my next best choice is to be a team that improves from week-to-week and is competing (or at least looks able to compete) with the best of the teams at the end of the season. And that's exactly what this Ohio State team looks to be on pace of doing.]
The 2nd Half was more of the same - Ohio State domination. The Buckeyes amassed 203 yarsd in the 3rd Quarter and 135 in the 4th (holding the Scarlet Knights to 122 amd 67 yds).
Minor concerns:
- J.T. Barrett was our rushing leader, running for 107 yards on 7 carries. I say "concern" because I'd rather Ezekiel Elliott lead the team in carries and rushes, but "minor" because J.T. only had 7 carries (which is what I want). This is certainly a good problem to have. I would be MORE concerned if Barrett was leading the way on 18+ attempts.
- Elliott. He only (and I say "only") amassed 69 yards on 12 carriers (still good enough for a 5.75 yrd average). In a perfect world, I'd love to see that average up there around 9 yards per carry, but who are we trying to kid... 5+ is still pretty damn impressive. I would say I'm concerned about the "12 carries", but I'm going to chalk the lack of carries up to the simple fact that this game was never in question, and had the game been closer, Herman & Meyer would have called more carries for Elliott (or at least so I hope).
- Doran Grant (along with Darron Lee) led the way in tackles (each netting 7). This "concerns" me a little, because I don't like the idea of our corner leading the way in tackles (especially not our 'top' corner). I'm chalking this one up to the fact that Rutgers fell behind so early & so big, so they were forced to throw more passing attempts than what would normally be considered a 'normal amount'. Another concern (and this one, IMO, is a much *bigger* concern) is, after looking 'bad/rough' the past couple weeks, Grant once again was beat pretty badly by Rutgers' Carroo, as he let Carro slip behind him for a 39-yard gain. This was terribly frustrating, as the Buckeye Defense has kinda been notorious this season for giving up the 'big play', and I felt like this was another step in that direction. HOWEVER, the GOOD news is... after this play, Grant didn't sulk & mope about the play, but he immediately bounced back, and on the very next play (1st and 10), Grant hit the truck-stick button and laid the wood to Rutgers' Justin Goodwin for a modest 4 yard gain on the play. Then, on the very next play, Grant came off the corner on a blitz and stuck Goodwin again, this time for a 1 yard gain (setting up 3rd & 5). Grant wasn't done however, as again on the very next play, he forced an incompletion thanks to some tight coverage. Essentially, after that one bad play, I caught Grant several times after laying the smackdown on his opponents and playing with raw passion. THIS was the Grant I was accustomed to seeing last season, and the Grant that has been missing from this season. Here's to hoping this might have been a 'turn of the corner' type moment, as we're certainly going to need Grant's defensive prowess later this season (note: Michigan's Devin Funchess comes to mind).
Some positives:
- Darron Lee and Raeckwon McMillan look to be the real deal. Lee I felt like was getting targeted early on in the game, but the guy plays on a whole nother gear-level that I feel like most offenses can't handle. And McMillan... WOW! This kid gets it. In fact, he's the exact opposite of Curtis Grant (a guy who just simply *doesn't* get it). It felt like McMillan was making every single tackle, and if he wasn't, he was there right in the midst of the play. I was surprised to see that McMillan wasn't the leader in tackles this week. The future definitely looks bright with these young two talents.
- Joey Bosa was once again Joey Bosa. I've said it before and I'll say it again... this kid is already ready for the NFL. We haven't had an animal on defense like this since James Laurinaitis (no pun intended).
- The Weapons. Man o' man does this team have the weapons. Look at the breakdown... our top 4 leading receivers accounted for 22%, 21%, 16%, and 15% of the receiving yards (not even 75% of the receiving yards combined). This just goes to show that Herman & co. are getting lots of players involved, and there's lots of balance. The same can practically be said for the rushing game as well.
- Back to 'minor concern' again... As I've stated previously, while the plethora of talent is exciting & proves that the future is bright, I would like to focus, however, on getting the ball to handful of playmakers. I'm concerned that Dontre Wilson only had 21 yards rushing, and did not have a single receiving yard. It's nice knowing that we have the depth of Curtis Samuel, Corey Smith, and Evan Spencer... but I would rather see those touches go to Dontre Wilson, Michael Thomas, Devin Smith, and Jalin Marshall. Same can be said for Tight End. While it's nice we have two stud TE's (Heuerman & Vannett), I would prefer to see the their touches go to one instead of split among the two (unless we're running a double tight formation)
- J.T. Barrett. Wow. What can I say. Another outstanding performance. 585 total yards and 5 touchdowns (which makes it 4 straight games that Barrett has had a hand in at least 4 TDs) in only his sixth career start. Watching this young talent grow has been such a pleasure. It's laughable to think how much he's grown in just 8 simple short weeks, and then to stop and think about the lack of development (heck... the reverse development) Brady Hoke & co. have done with Devin Gardner and Shane Morris. I don't want to get too carried away, because I'm honestly not sure how much of it is Barrett and how much of it is Herman/Meyer and/or 'the schedule' (but the maturity he's demonstrated appears beyond his years, as he's consistently running thru his progressions & finding the open man and making all the right reads in the read-option run), but boy has Barrett made Ohio State fans quickly forget about Braxton Miller (side-note: It really irks me beyond my irk-levels when the camera cuts to Braxton Miller on the sideline, and never once have I seen him 'plugged into the game' or 'mentoring/tuitoring' J.T. Barrett. I know, I know... he's not the social-type, whatever... But it's like he's completely checked-out/not-present in these games. How many times does ESPN and these other media outlets cut to other guys standing on the sideline (Winston when he was out/suspended) and they're plugged in. I'm just not seeing it with Miller, and I'm not trying to dog/downplay him, but it's just frustrating to me that we have this great, talented asset and he seems to be unplugged from the game!)
- J.T.'s case for the Heisman...
- The Defense appears to improving with each week. In the 1st half (which is really the only half that actually mattered, since the game was out of reach by halftime), the defense surrendered just seven (7) points, while repeatedly handing the offense solid field position (tho, the Rutgers punter helped a good amount as well)
- After looking like a high school offensive line against Virginia Tech (giving up 7 sacks), the O-Line looks to be clicking again and showing shades of last season's great O-Line. A statistic that perhaps maybe most people might not have realized... Rutgers entered this game leading the nation with 24 sacks; and our O-Line gave up exactly zero sacks, while managing to open wide holes for the Buckeyes to run thru.
This Rutgers team was a team that Michigan struggled against profusely and ultimately lost to. OSU chopped them up & spit them out like they were chop liver. Ohio State and Michigan appear to be such opposite franchises at the moment, it's not even funny (or is it?).
Bonus material:
The Ohio State University Marching Band Rocks Out, Smashing Guitar in Halftime Show
Oh... and Ohio State landed their 3rd commitment for the Class of 2016... Kierre Hawkins.
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