Well... the wait is finally over. The question that has been plaguing the entire country - yes, the entire country, given the fact that tOSU is the reigning, defending National Champions and the unanimous #1 team in the country - who will be Ohio State's starting quarterback? I thought Chris Fowler let it slip... I don't know if anyone else caught it, but as the Captains (including J.T. Barrett) were walking out for the coin toss, Fowler made some comment about, "
Yes, Barrett is a captain even tho he won't start". I thought this was a very odd comment to make, given that up until that point I still don't think a final comment had been made on the topic by/from Meyer. I did find it interesting, however, that during the warm-ups, Ezekiel Elliott was receiving hand-offs from Jones, whereas it was a backup RB receiving the hand-offs from Barrett. Also, the announces made the comment that Jones had been receiving the bulk of the 1st team reps all week, but yet wasn't it on
Scarlet & Gray Days where we heard Barrett had been receiving the majority of the 1st team reps.
Regardless... I truly believe it as a win-win decision for Meyer. I think this team would be just fine under the direction of both Jones and Barrett.
And now for my actual thoughts on the game...
The Hokie crowd was ELECTRIC. Sitting at home watching the telecast on the TV, you could literally feel the electricity of the crowd oozing thru the TV. That crowd was hyped, and they did an excellent job of trying to set the home-field advantage for their team. Much respect.
I'm happy to finally have a kicker that can boot it deep into the endzone on kickoffs. Idk if there was much wind last night, but I thought Willoughby's opening kick, and several subsequent kicks, were pretty strong. This has been something that irritated me greatly last season, as I don't know if it was a conscious decision by Meyer to have the kicker NOT kick it deep into the endzone, or if our kicker simply didn't have the leg strength to do so. IMO, given the depth of talent on this Buckeye team, I would much prefer our chances at forcing the opposing team to drive the ball down the field 75 yards than give the opposing team the opportunity to house a kickoff. I think the risk/reward is simply too high on the risk side to not justify kicking the ball deep into the endzone.
I'm a big believe in the 1st play of the game sets the tone/pace for much (not all, but much) of the rest of the game [even the coin flip, I believe, is a big part of setting the tone/pace of the game/season; I was ecstatic when Barrett won the coin toss (#TailsNeverFails);
52% of teams to win the coin toss, win the game - I know it's only 2% points higher than 50/50, but heck... I want
as many odds in my favor as I can have/take/get]. The 1st play of the game (Michael Brewer's pass attempt to Isaiah Ford) literally could have gone almost either way. As Al Pacino famously stated in
Any Given Sunday, it's a game of
inches. About 6 inches more tot he field, and Ford comes down with a big 1st down catch, perhaps setting the pace/tone for the game. But instead, while Ford was able to get his toe down, he was NOT able to get his
heel inbounds. As explained via Pro Football Referee's
College Football Officiating 101 - Catch/No Catch, "If the Toe touches inbounds, but the Heel touches out of bounds, RULE INCOMPLETE." Thus, the CORRECT call was made. Tone set, Ohio State.
Ohio State was able to clamp down then with 2nd and long, and eventually forced the Hokies to punt.
OSU's 1st drive of the game (again, big proponent of setting the tone/pace for the game...) OSU trots out Cardale Jones, and Jones opens with a nice 6 yard run up the middle, and then hits a BEAUTIFUL strike to Michael Thomas (Thomas had a PHENOMENAL game) for 20 yards. The very next play should have been a touchdown, but unfortunately Ohio State suffered their first real impact from the suspensions/injuries of Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson, Corey Smith, Noah Brown, as Parris Campbell dropped a WIDE OPEN pass from Cardale. Campbell has to catch that pass (in a bigger game, that could be the reason for an eventual 'L'). A couple plays later, Jocoby Boren was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. I'm still scratching my head over this one. When they cut to the reply, Boren was getting his feet pulled from underneath him by a Hokie player and falling to the crown. Did Boren do something before or after this that was not caught on the replay? IMO, if there should have been ANY foul, it should have either (a) been on the Hokie player or (b) been offsetting fouls. I really thought this was going to kill OSU's drive, but a couple of plays later, Jones scrambles and finds Curtis Samuel for a 24 yard TD pass. IMO, this was the first play of the night where I can honestly say, had Meyer picked Barrett over Cardale, Barrett would NOT have been able to make this throw. This was a scramble throw and ALL upper body/arm.
Va Tech's 2nd drive was interesting. It started off a little promising with J.C. Coleman running for 5, 4, and 3 yard (1st down run) gains. But then Hubbard's sack (and really it was Josh Perry / Darron Lee - I forget which one's - pressure that allowed Hubbard to get the sack) set the Hokies back 5 yards and was able to force the Hokies into a 2nd and long that they wouldn't be able to surmount. #Punt.
Ohio State's 2nd drive = Ezekiel Elliott. What more needs to be said about this kid?
80 yards and to the house. Love me some Eazy E. Nice run up the middle, but then demonstrates the speed to outrun the rest of the coverage. #LoveIt.
Va Tech's 3rd drive. I was kinda honestly surprised when they lined up to kick a 50 yard FG attempt. I didn't think Va Tech would have a kicker with that kind of leg. While he ultimately missed it wide right, he did have plenty of leg. Ohio State is now up 14-0 and has the ball. I'm thinking #Gameover... Right?
Ohio State's 3rd drive. Man that 'Bear defense' is really loading the box and making it tough to run. I want to keep handing the ball off to Zeke, but there's just so many guys in the box. The 1st pass and catch to Braxton Miller of the season... what a thing of beauty. Yeah Cardale could have thrown a slightly more accurate pass, but that layout/dive by Miller... and the hands... wow. That should quiet all the haters about 'does he have the hands to play the position / can he catch?' talk. Well, I think this catch answered that question, as that was a wide receive catch. (The 2nd question was 'can he avoid getting hit', and I think we saw the answer to that question later on...) Flash-forward a couple plays... the offensive holding (Billy Price) was a killer. Without that call (and before anyone gets too defensive - yes, it was the right call), OSU is in the endzone and up 21-0. For sure game over. But instead, OSU is backed up, and forced to settle for a FG. Willoughby misses a 43 yd attempt. Gahhh. Gotta have those. Maybe not against Va Tech, but against someone like Alabama, that could be a killer.
Va Tech's 4th drive. Not much to talk about here other than Sam Rogers 51 yd pass from Brewer. What a scrapper that Sam Rogers was. Gotta give the Hokie staff a lot of credit here... this was a fantastically drawn up play. I forget who the OSU DB was that Rogers made the move on at the end of the play to ultimately get into the endzone, but man that was a nice shake. I hope the 'boys' get on that DB and dog him about that. Can't be having that stuff. Again, I forget who the DB was, but I'll use this time to comment that... I thought Vonn Bell had a horrific game. Idk what it was, but he just looked like he did not have his head in the game. There were a couple of previous plays where I thought Bell was out of position and gave poor attempts.
Ohio State's 4th drive. Someone has to explain to me how Ezekiel Elliott gets flagged for a holding call, when he gets absolutely cream-tackled by the Va Tech LB on the read option. How can you hold when you're too busy getting tackled by the defense?!??! The drive ends when Cardale throws a pass and it was deflected and intercepted by Va Tech's Desmond Frye. I'm not going to pin this one on Jones. Maybe you can argue he has to throw a better/smarter pass, but the pass deflection looked to be a pretty lucky pass-breakup, and the interception catch was a helluva dive by Frye. So recapping OSU's drives so far, 2 TDs, 1 missed FG, and 1 fluke interception. Seems to me like Ohio State is pretty much having their way on offense.
Va Tech's 5th drive. After 1 st down, the Hokies have to settle for a 46 yd FG attempt (thanks to a short field). Props to their kicker, he nails a 46 yd. Score is still OSU 14 Va Tech 10.
Ohio State's 5th drive. Not sure if it was this drive, or perhaps a combination of this one and some of the earlier ones, but at this point in the game, there had been a few plays now where Cardale has ran/scrambled for a couple of yards, and I've thought to myself, 'Man... I wish we had Barrett in there... cuz with Barrett's speed over Cardale, that would have been a much bigger gain'. But to be fair, there were also a couple other plays where Jones' height/size came into advantage, where had Barrett been in there, he probably would have been tackled where Cardale was not. So at this point in the game, I'm saying it's about Jones 2, Barrett 1 on my grading scale. The drive ends with a punt. Wasn't impressed with Johnston here. Punt was only for 37 yards. We need better than that, IMO.
Va Tech's 6th drive. Once again, Va Tech is only able to muster up 1st Down, and then forced to punt. Unfortunately, here's where the 2nd evidence of not having Marshall/Wilson/Smith/Brown comes into factor - Eze muffs the point, and Va Tech recovers. That's now twice Marshall/Wilson/Smith's selfish suspension is costing us. I'm starting to think... if we lose this came because of whatever boneheaded decision these guys made, I'm going to be PISSED.
Va Tech's 7th drive. With a short field, and a nice 36 yard gain to Ford (I think this was another Vonn Bell mishap - feel free to correct if wrong), Va Tech is finally able to punch another one in. The "blessing in disguise" here, however, might have been the opportunity to see our goalline defense performed. We stuffed them not once, but twice from the 0 yard line, and it took a sneaky fake-block-but-then-rollout-to-catch-a-pass-play for the Hokies to score 6. I was VERY pleased to see our defensive front 7 were up to the task of stifling the Hokies goalline, even without Bosa.
Ohio State's 6th drive ends with the half.
HALFTIME - If I'm Meyer, I gotta be pissed. My team has played/performed well, but a couple of key costly turnovers is what's currently preventing me from winning. Va Tech 17, Ohio State 14. How is this the score. Sure doesn't feel like it...
Ohio State's 7th drive. Ohio State opens right up where they left off... Jones hits Miller for a 54 yd pass. So happy for Braxton Miller on this play. This had to feel so good for Miller. Reaffirmation that he made the right/ok decision, by deciding to switch positions and sacrifice for this team, in order for the team to benefit. The 1st TD of this season was going to be BIG for Miller mentally I think, and I'm so happy it came in this 1st game, because I think this will serve as the driving motivation for Miller that he CAN do this (i.e., play WR).
Va Tech's 8th drive. Adolphus Washington absolutely destroys Brewer. Va Tech is forced to punt. We eventually learn that Washington broke Brewer's collarbone, and that Bewer will likely miss 4-8 weeks. Feel bad for the kid, but... it is a big boy sport, and when you play the Buckeyes and Washington, you best wear your big boy pants and watch out for devastating hits like this one from Diesel. It was a perfectly legal hit.
Ohio State's 8th drive. I didn't like the play-calling here. We were pinned inside our 10, so naturally the play-calling was going to be limited to begin with, but when you have one botched snap/read-option (what was up with the snaps all night... there were at least 3 'high' snaps, and a couple other questionable ones). Again, we're forced to punt, and this time, it only goes for 34 yards. #CmonAussie
Va Tech's 9th drive. So the 1st play of the drive is Motley throwing an incomplete pass. While it's only a 4 pt lead at the moment, you're feeling pretty good cuz you have the lead and now you have a backup non-passing QB leading the Hokies. Drive is a quick 3-and-out.
Ohio State's 9th drive ends in another punt. This one was a little better (45 yads), but still a little concerning now that this is essentially 3 punts now in the Buckeyes last 4 drives (not including the 1 play end of half drive).
Va Tech's 10th drive. Ends with a fumble. Forget who the LB was that ripped the ball out (either Lee, McMillan, or Perry), but I had noticed earlier that we had been ripping at the ball all night, so I was not surprised to see one finally pop. The recovery was made by Eli Apple, so like seeing his name there.
I'll use this point to drop a couple side thoughts about some of the defensive Buckeye players...
- I thought McMillan had a fantastic night. Raekingball is only a true Sophomore, but I have all the confidence in the world in saying that this kid is/will-be the next great LB in a long lineage of Buckeye greats. He has noise for the ball. He brings the wood every hit. He plays physical. He hits hard. He demonstrates an understanding for the game. I think this kid is really something special, and I'm excited to see what he can be/do next year (cuz I think he might be under-shadowed this year by the play of Darron Lee and Josh Perry - but I still expect for him to have a very solid year).
- Eli Apple. IMO, there's no question Eli Apple is our best CB. I thought Gareon Conley had an ok/decent night (considering it was his debut night), but he has a ways to go still. But I thought Apple had a quietly superb night.
- Washington. Washington did himself well by having a huge night vs. the Hokies. With talk about him being a borderline 1st Rd guy, it was nice to see him support those talks by laying a huge hit on the QB and being a disruptive force all night.
- Josh Perry. I don't know what it is about this guy, but he continues to lead the team in tackles. He's not the flashy guy. He's not the name you're going to hear, see, or remember, but every.single.time. this guy's name either tops or is near the top of the leading tackler list.
- Darron Lee had a quiet night (and not in a good way). I'm not concerned/worried (he'll be fine), but I was hoping/expecting to see a bigger night from him.
- Tyquan Lewis was kind of a ghost, IMO. This is a bit disappointing, as seeing how I was hoping to see how Lewis and Holmes would hold up in the absence of Bosa. I think the one saving grace, however, might have been the fact that Va Tech simply didn't have the ball that much to be able to evaluate these guys long enough. The return of Bosa will be a HUGE shot to the arm.
- I thought Tyvis Powell had a solid night. The interception was huge (see next drive). As great as Powell was tho, I thought Vonn Bell was very uncharacteristically awful.
Back to the drives...
Ohio State's 10th drive. O.M.G. Braxton hits the "O" button on 'em.
#XBrax360 #XbraxOne is back. In 2 plays in 1 night, Miller answered 'can he catch' and 'can he avoid getting hit' (as evident by this beautiful spin play). As much talent as Ohio State has... and considering Braxton "lost" the starting QB job... it's unbelievable to think that Braxton just might still possibly be this team's best option/weapon. The speed... the moves... the talent. All demonstrated on this play. This season could be very special...
At this point, the game is OSU 28, VT 17. Ohio State has a 2 score lead, and VT's starting QB is out of the game. Starting to feel pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty confident now (in best Larry David impersonation voice).
Va Tech's 11th drive. Motley heaves one up and it's intercepted by Tyvis Powell. I really love Powell. It goes back to this kid's recruitment. He was one of the guys that stuck with the program and committed during the turmoil we went thru with the whole Tat 5. The kid just gets it. He puts Ohio State above everything else. He hustles. He's just such an awesome guy. Love this kid. Can't say enough great things about him.
Ohio State's 11th drive. We see a Johnnie Dixon sighting. Again, this is a play that Cardale Jones and only Cardale Jones makes. If JT Barrett was in there, there's no 29 yard connection to Dixon. Only Jones had the upperbody-arm strength to pull up and heeve one downfield like that to Dixon. Score: Cardale 3, JT 2 (I say 2, because I think by now in the game, there had been another scramble or 2 where it would have benefits to have JT in there over Cardale). But at this point, I'm starting to really feel/believe that Cardale IS the better choice over Barrett. he's just able to make more passing plays that Barrett (and to be fair, practically anyone else in the country) just can't simply make. On 3rd and 3, Fuller is flagged for PI against Thomas. On 3rd and 10, Va Tech Edmunds is flagged for a 2nd PI against Thomas. Michael Thomas is just having his way with the Va Tech secondary, which is a pretty nice secondary - Fuller might be one of the best CB's in the country, but not tonight... not guarding Michael Thomas.
Va Tech's 12th drive. 3 and out. ends in a punt. Score is OSU 35, VT 17. Time is dwindling. At this point, the game is pretty much in the bag.
Ohio State's 12th drive. JT Barrett is in now. Happy to see Barrett get some time, and not total garbage time either at that. JT hits Michael Thomas on a 26 yard pass, where Thomas OWNED Fuller and served official notice to the country that Thomas is here as arguably one of the top receivers in the country. Thomas gave Fuller fits all night, and for good reason. To be fair, however, I think CBS Radio's Kevin Kiley made a very good point... To be fair, Fuller was asked to do A LOT last night. Not only did he have to guard Thomas (arguably one of the best receivers in the country), but he had to protect against guys like Eze, XBraxOne, Jones, Samuel, etc. There's just soooooo much talent on this team this year, it's kinda pick your poison. And unfortunately, Fuller is just one man and can't do it all. But that move that Thomas put on Fuller was an NFL type receiver move. That was crazy. I literally rewound it 5x to watch the pure beauty of that move.
#CornerbackLivesMatter #Zone6
The game is now OSU 42, VT 17. Game is over for all intents and purposes.
Va Tech's 13th drive results in more-or-less the par for the night - a punt.
OSU's 13th drive ends with a Bri'onte Dunn fumble. #Goodbye. I'm officially done with Dunn, and I think Meyer might be too. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE... you FINALLY break into the game. Granted it's mop op duty/minutes, but you mean to tell me your 1st carry is going to be a cough-up fumble on a SOFT hit. No, I'm done with you. There's simply too much talent and too many other guys/weapons to spend time on, then spend time on this guy. This is a mental thing. HANG.ON.TO THE FOOTBALL. I was happy to see Meyer not give the ball to Dunn again, but instead roll with Ball. I don't have a preference one way or the other with Dunn/Ball, but it grinds my gears (and I bet ya it grinded Meyer's too) when you FINALLY get your chance, and your first attempt ends up in a "fumble".
Va Tech basically gets luck and scores a late TD. Score is now OSU 42, VT 24. I'm thinking 'Oh god... I wonder if that was the one to beat the line' and thinking of all those poor souls in Vegas who might have lost $$$ on Bri'onte's fumble. Buckeyes win by 18 and the line was like 13 or so I believe, so didn't end up affecting the line that much.
Thoughts on the offensive side:
- It only took 1 game, but I'm convinced Urban made the right choice. While I think both guys would have success leading this team, I think last night's game proved there's just more things Cardale can do that JT can't, and not enough things that JT can do that Cardale can't.
- XBraxOne is the real deal at WR. He might not be an NFL receiver, but he's a talent and he's a college threat. The possibilities are titillating this season with Miller in the mix. Braxton became the 1st Ohio State player with a 50+-yard TD run & 50+-yard TD catch in a single game since Ted Ginn Jr vs. Notre Dame in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. It's nice to see XBraxOne has already been blessed with the Big Ten's 'Offensive Player of the Week' award. Also... Braxton's 2 scores give him the school-record of 86 career TDs.
- Samuel had a quietly nice night. He filled in very nicely for Marshall and Wilson. But I think there's no question, Marshall is the best guy for the H-back position when Miller is out.
- We really missed Marshall at punt return. Zeke did a nice fill-in job, but I hate the idea of having our starting RB back there, and I just feel more comfortable/confident with having Marshall back there.
- Disappointed in Paris Campbell (and Terry McLaurin to an extent - mostly cuz he didn't play, or at least not that I saw). Paris can't be dropping those wide open looks. Unacceptable. The loss of Brown and Smith really hurt tonight and was felt. Given a better team (Alabama), I'm not sure we come out unscathed with that type of performance at our #2 WR spot.
- Michael Thomas. Wow. What a talent. What.A.Talent. This kid is special, and will be a fine NFL wide receiver some day. Thomas abused Fuller all night, and Fuller is no slough.
OHIO STATE'S EXPLOSIVE PLAYS VERSUS VIRGINIA TECH
| HALF | POSS | PLAY DESCRIPTION | DRIVE OUTCOME |
|---|
| 1ST | 1 | JONES 20 YD PASS TO M. THOMAS | TD (OSU 7, VA TECH 0) |
| 1ST | 1 | JONES 16 YD RUN | TD (OSU 7, VA TECH 0) |
| 1ST | 1 | JONES 24 YD TOUCHDOWN PASS TO C. SAMUEL | TD (OSU 7, VA TECH 0) |
| 1ST | 2 | ELLIOTT 80 YD TOUCHDOWN RUN | TD (OSU 14, VA TECH 0) |
| 1ST | 3 | JONES 24 YD PASS TO B. MILLER | MISSED FG |
| 1ST | 4 | JONES 14 YD RUN | INTERCEPTION |
| 1ST | 5 | JONES 19 YD RUN | PUNT |
| 2ND | 1 | JONES 20 YD RUN | TD (OSU 21, VA TECH 17) |
| 2ND | 1 | JONES 54 YD PASS TO B. MILLER | TD (OSU 21, VA TECH 17) |
| 2ND | 4 | MILLER 53 YD TOUCHDOWN RUN | TD (OSU 28, VA TECH 17) |
| 2ND | 5 | JONES 29 YD PASS TO J. DIXON | TD (OSU 35, VA TECH 17) |
| 2ND | 6 | BARRETT 40 YD RUN | TD (OSU 42, VA TECH 24) |
| 2ND | 6 | BARRETT 26 YD TOUCHDOWN PASS TO M. THOMAS | TD (OSU 42, VA TECH 24) |
