Dwayne Haskins

 Former Ohio State and current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was killed Saturday morning in Florida on his way to Pittsburgh to continue off-season workouts.

Haskins had abandoned his car on a south Florida highway and was walking along the road when he was hit and killed by a dump truck.

The 24-year-old Haskins was the controversial first-round (15th overall) pick by Washington in 2018 after what is perhaps the greatest passing season in Ohio State history.

Washington's front office and coaching staff were reported to have fought against the selection of Haskins but Haskins's local background won over Washington owner Dan Snyder with Snyder overruling his football people and demanding the selection of Haskins.

Haskins started in only one of his three seasons with Ohio State and beat out Joe Burrow for the starting position in 2018 and it resulted in Burrow's transfer to LSU.

Haskins responded with a season for the record books where he set twenty-eight school records and three Big Ten single-season records, including passing yards, total offensive yards, and touchdown passes.

Haskins's season earned him a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist and he would finish the year with MVP performances in both the Big Ten championship win over Northwestern (499 yards and five touchdowns) and Ohio State's Rose Bowl win over Washington ( 251 yards and three touchdowns).

Haskins was a polarizing prospect entering the 2019 draft as he only played in one season at Ohio State and even those that liked Haskins as a prospect thought that he was going to need at least a season or two of development time to be an NFL starting level quarterback.

Instead, Washington rushed Haskins into the starting lineup, starting seven games as a rookie and opening the season for a month of starts before being benched and then released later in the season.

Haskins cleared waivers and was signed by Pittsburgh after the season, where he spent the 2021 season with the Steelers but did not see action.

Pittsburgh did resign Haskins to a one-year contract for 2022 and he was expected to compete in training camp for the open Steelers starting spot with Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.

Haskins has to be considered a bust for Washington, although it doesn't take a great football mind to see that Washington did about everything opposite from giving Haskins his best chance to succeed.

Still, Haskins was reported to have been less than diligent in his preparation for games and in practice and spent more time with his friends in the area than anything football related, so it was pretty clear that even if Haskins was to have a good NFL career that his hometown was the worst place for him to play.

So, while there is loads to blame to pass around and plenty of blame for Haskins himself, just as much needs to go to Dan Snyder for insisting on the selection of Haskins considering the potential for distractions.

Dwayne Haskins was still only twenty-four years old and stranger things than Haskins turning his career have happened before in football, so he still had a chance to have a long career in the game as unlikely as it seemed after his release from Washington.

It's always sad to see potential go unfulfilled.

It's even sadder to see it end in this manner.

Buckeye win Rose Bowl- Win in Urban Meyer Finale'

The Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the Washington Huskies for three quarters and then held off the Huskies final quarter rally for a 28-23 win in the Rose Bowl in the final game for Urban Meyer as head of the Buckeye program.
Dwayne Haskins threw three touchdown passes in what may or may not be his final game with the Buckeyes to lead Ohio State to the win.

Ohio State returns to action on August 31 in Columbus as the Buckeyes will host Lane Kiffin and the Florida Atlantic Owls.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Is it possible for a quarterback to throw three touchdowns passes without an interception and still seem like he was just a bit out of sync?
Dwayne Haskins seemed that way and it can be understood as well.
The only bowl game that he will possibly play in and it's Urban Meyer's last game?
It's easy to see how that can happen and while Haskins may not have been great, he was still pretty good.

2) Dwayne Haskins would be best served to return to play another year and the track record for quarterbacks that played just one year in college is spotty at best and awful at worst (quick name one or two that was successful in the NFL) for those with that experience in the NFL.
Still, I certainly understand it as he's the top passer in the draft and the 2020 class could be loaded with talent.
Best for his playing career? I doubt it.
Best for his life and financial future? Absolutely.

3) One more QB note with the possible arrival of Justin Fields via transfer from Georgia, Tate Martell has been lobbing some Twitter bombs towards Fields that are full of bravado, but come across as somewhat insecure as my buddy Ian McArdle spoke.
I like Tate, always have, but I think his skills are better suited for the pure read option that Urban Meyer ran than the pro-style hybrid that Ryan Day will likely install.
It's a bad break for Martell, who has been nothing but a loyal Buckeye, but these things happen when coaching changes occur.

4) Parris Campbell caught eleven passes in the victory and passed David Boston for the all-time reception record as a Buckeye.
Campbell will be a second or early third-day pick in the draft, but he'll be the type of player that will be best used as a versatile player in various ways in the pros.
Think of Campbell as more like Curtis Samuel than Michael Thomas.

5) Mike Weber rushed for over ninety yards in his final game before the draft.
Weber won't be a huge star in the pro's, but he'll be a solid back for someone.

6) The Buckeyes did gain some good news following the game when linebacker Malik Harrison announced his intention to return to the team next season.
Harrison finished the season strong and his return will be a huge help to the defense.

7) Brendan White was named one of the players of the game with Haskins and White's late-season play has also been a huge asset.
White and Jeffrey Okudah, who also played very well against Washington, will be the leaders of next season's secondary.

8) The Rose Bowl win was the eighth for the program and allowed them to tie Michigan for the all-time Big Ten lead for Rose Bowl wins.

9) Ohio State started two new players along the offensive line in Joshua Alabi (1st start) and Wyatt Davis (2nd start), both acquitted themselves well and will be counted on next season.

10) I've always liked Washington coach Chris Petersen, his teams don't roll over and they always play hard as you saw with their rally down 28-3.
Petersen is on the verge of making the Huskies the premier program in the Pac 12, but the Pac 12 is clearly the weakest of the power five conferences.
Washington still has a way to go to become a national power, but Petersen has the right idea.

11) The final game under Urban Meyer was a media spectacle of course, but it was an understandable one.
Arguably the second best coach of his age, Meyer's retirement was going to be a big deal.
Urban Meyer's record for Ohio State finishes with an astounding 82-9, wins in the Cotton, Sugar, Fiesta and now Rose to go with the 2014 National Championship- not bad work for seven years time.

12) The Buckeyes are reportedly adding Mike Yurcich from Oklahoma State as the new offensive coordinator to work with Kevin Wilson in the position that Ryan Day previously held. Yurcich and the Cowboys averaged over 500 yards a game this season.
Yurcich is a Euclid, Ohio native, but started his career as the offensive coordinator at nearby Shippensburg PA university.

13) So another season ends for the Buckeyes with another dominating win over the rival, a major bowl victory, perhaps being a better team than teams that made the playoff and still on the outside looking in.
At the current time, the only programs that can be said to be stronger at this time are Alabama, Clemson and arguably Oklahoma, but there are hurdles to be leaped- mainly avoiding an inexplicable loss on the road to a lesser opponent that keeps them out of the system.

14) And there isn't Urban Meyer anymore and as high as we are on Ryan Day from his offense and three game cameo that more than likely was the seed to the eventual retirement of Urban Meyer, we still have questions.
2019 starts answering those questions.

I have the weekend in boxing next and without Browns, Buckeyes or anything else other than boxing in two weeks, I'll have plenty of time to do some year in reviews for the two teams and the one that I had forgotten on the Hagerstown Suns with a surprise or two.
Back tomorrow or maybe sooner.

Buckeyes defend Big Ten Title-Unlikely to make playoffs

Dwayne Haskins threw five touchdowns and finished with 499 yards passing as the Ohio State Buckeyes won their second straight Big Ten title with a 45-24 win over the Northwestern Wildcats in Indianapolis.

Johnnie Dixon caught seven of those Haskins passes for 129 yards and a touchdown as the leading performer on a balanced Buckeye offense that finished with over 600 yards of total offense.

The 12-1 Big Ten champs will likely not be selected for the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row, due to their second year in a row terrible road loss, so they appear headed to the Rose Bowl where their likely opponent will be the Washington Huskies.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Dealing with the big issue right off the bat.
I have either stated or written after the Maryland game that if you gave me wins over Michigan and the Big 10 title game that I would not complain about OSU not getting in.
I won't.
However, this does continue my claims that I think that the playoff should consist of eight teams.

2) Looking at things objectively, I wouldn't have a problem with the Buckeyes being in or out.
Case for being in: Two top ten wins- one on the road.
Playing as well as anyone offensively currently.

3) Case for being out: One inexplicable loss.

4) Oklahoma's loss was a close loss on a neutral field to a better team.
I don't have to love Oklahoma over Ohio State, but it's understandable.
Notre Dame's undefeated, albeit with several schedule advantages, so I won't even complain there, although, with the exceptions of Michigan and surprising Syracuse, their undefeated mark isn't that more worthy than undefeated Central Florida.
I personally hope Georgia jumps them both so everyone can raise hell about THREE conference champions being left out and get to eight teams which is what this damn thing needed to start with.

5) To the actual game- Dwayne Haskins won't win the Heisman and he likely shouldn't but he clearly deserves consideration and should be in the top three with the invite to the ceremony.
Haskins will likely be playing his last game in Pasadena and even though I think he could use another season to prepare for the NFL, I understand his reasons for leaving as he'll be the best of an expected weaker quarterback crop.

6) Ohio State may have had better individual receivers than the current bunch, but it's been rare that the Buckeyes have had the number of solid players that can all step up from week to week to be the standout.
It was Johnnie Dixon and Terry McLaurin in this one, but it has been different players in different games.
A group with talent, yet not dependent on one star.

7) Loved the spirit of Demetrius Knox, who was injured at the end of the Michigan game and needed surgery, but put that off in order to attend this game.

8) Five Buckeye sacks, three by Chase Young- kept the Wildcats on their heels for most of this game.
Chase Young will be a top ten pick in the 2020 draft- mark it down.

9) Urban Meyer keeps deflecting questions about his future.
He's doing it in a humorous way, but I'm still intrigued..

10) I realize this is a little light, but I have to be honest, I did a lot of channel flipping as Boise State was playing in the snow and Adonis Stevenson-Oleksandr Gvozsdyk was on Showtime (That will be coming soon), still a fun game to watch.

11) 12-1, Big 10 title, defeating Michigan again and overcoming the Zach Smith drama.
A good season, not great, but all things considered very good.
See you from Pasadena, when I can use all my Jan and Dean puns.

Buckeyes cancel Revenge Tour- Wallop Michigan 62-39!

Jim Harbaugh brought what was said to be Michigan's best team in years if not ever to Columbus and was favored to defeat Ohio State even in their own "Horseshoe".

What seemed like a cast of thousands ranging from Urban Meyer to Dwayne Haskins to Chris Olave and more ranging all the way to Brutus Buckeye slammed the Wolverines without mercy until the kneeldowns inside the Michigan 10  at game's end as the Buckeyes crushed the hope of the blue with a record performance of 62 scored points in a 62-39 victory!
Dwayne Haskins fired five touchdowns, two of those to Chris Olave, Olave also blocked a punt that was scooped and scored by Sevyn Banks and Parris Campbell scored on a rush of 78 yards and caught a touchdown pass as well to pace what seemed to be even more than 62 points scored.

The victory gives the Big Ten Eastern Division title to the now 11-1 (8-1 Big Ten) Buckeyes and a trip to Indianapolis for the second year in a row to play the West champions, with a new defender of the West as its Pat Fitzgerald's Northwestern Wildcats winning the title for the first time.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Honestly, NO ONE saw this coming.
Now, when I was asked about the game this week, I thought it was a pick 'em game and that home field for Ohio State made it that way with home field being worth three points to the oddsmakers.
Still, I picked Ohio State because I thought that Ohio Stadium would be a help after two weeks on the road and because when Urban Meyer's teams (at Florida and Ohio State) are thought to be the underdog, that's when Meyer has performed best.

2) Of all the boxes to check as when you evaluate the reasons for this win- number one goes to the work of the offensive line.
Against Chase Winovich and Rashan Gary, the often-maligned offensive line came through with its best game of the season as the vaunted Wolverine defense came up empty in rushing Dwayne Haskins as they finished the game without sacking Haskins and rarely putting pressure on Haskins to rush his passes.

3) Dwayne Haskins threw short, medium, deep with accuracy against the nation's top-rated defenses (by the numbers anyway) and it seemed like no matter where he wanted to throw, he hit his man.
19 of 30 seemed to be worse than I would have thought as it seemed that Haskins completed more passes than that.
Still, the coolness of Haskins set the tone to keep the Buckeyes at an emotional peak without being so hyped that they are making mistakes by being out of control.

4) Parris Campbell is the game breaker that might make an NFL team very happy as one of those "Swiss Army Knife" type players that is the rage when describing a versatile player.
Campbell doesn't get caught from behind and when he took a short pitch around the tackle and sprinted 78 yards for a score, mere seconds after Michigan cut the lead to 16 and had mild hopes of a comeback- that was the pin that popped the Wolverine balloon.
Campbell might not be a day one pick and we'll see if he is a day two, but he is going to be a player that can make a real impact if used properly in special situations.

5) Freshman Chris Olave has been a player that has been discussed by Urban Meyer, the coaching staff and some media as a player that is sitting on a breakout.
That breakout came on Saturday with not only the game's first touchdown and another later in the game, but in the second half when Olave burst through the Michigan punting unit to reject the boot of Will Hart, sending the ball careening toward Sevyn Banks who cruised into the end zone for six OSU points.
Olave's talents as a receiver have been often noted, but plays such as his block have been characteristic of the Buckeye receiver this season on special teams with Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon often making big plays with the coverage units.

6) There really was just one time that I wondered about this game- the DeMario McCall muff of a kickoff after a Michigan score with under a minute to play in the half.
Michigan quickly scored and went for two points afterward for the tie, which failed.
Michigan had cut the lead from 21-6 to 21-19 within seconds.
They would never be that close again.

7) Michigan runner Karan Higdon had promised a victory but wasn't a factor in finishing with 78 yards rushing.
Now some of those numbers could be waved off as Michigan needing to throw the football for most of the second half, if not the game, but other than one run of 24 yards, Higdon was unable to make a real impact.

8) Now, even in defeat, I have to say Michigan has two excellent pass catchers in Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Both of these sophomores are going to be top notch players next year (they already are) and I'm not looking forward to watching the Buckeyes corners cover them next year in Ann Arbor.

9) One of the main points made by so many this week for a Michigan win was the defense and its coordinator Don Brown.
Brown had been seemingly crowned as the best defensive mind since Buddy Ryan, with his unit allowing only 13 points a game and 238 yards of offenses, but his team and Michigan's recruiting learned very quickly that the difference between these two teams is speed.
Ohio State was simply faster and no matter what one thinks of Brown, it's that speed that overmatched his defense.

10) Urban Meyer is now 7-0 vs Michigan.
Add to that Jim Tressel's 8-1 and the loss by the 6-6 team by interim coach Luke Fickel in 2011 and the Buckeyes have lost two times (with one being a flukey year in 2011 and still almost won before losing 40-34 in Ann Arbor) since 2001.
15-2 is the greatest run in the modern history of this series.
I don't take this for granted, things don't last forever, but this game had the feeling going into it for Michigan supporters that "if we don't get them this year, when will we"?
They didn't and I'm not sure that malaise is not beginning to set into their program.
A loss in Ann Arbor next year might truly signal a resignation of "We just aren't at that level anymore".

11) The difference between the Buckeyes since Urban Meyer's arrival-Speed.
As mentioned above Ohio State was simply faster than Michigan and when Meyer's Florida Gators ran past Jim Tressel's Buckeyes for a national title- Urban Meter noticed and remembered that needed upgrading in recruiting.
That is typical of almost every Buckeye recruit and slow turtles may not apply.

12) What a game by the Buckeye linebackers, who have been wondered about all season under Bill Davis.
Malik Harrison and Tuf Borland seemed to be in on every play, made plays upon impact and weren't dragged for extra yardage- the type of linebacker that I complain about often with the Browns.

13) I made a statement a week or two ago that if the Buckeyes beat Michigan and won in the Big 10 title game, I would not complain if they didn't get into to the playoff.
I won't, if the 4th team is Oklahoma, I'll live with it.
Some one-loss team has to sit out, Oklahoma's loss to Texas is certainly more excusable than the Buckeyes loss to a 6-6 Purdue team and against Oklahoma, OK.
However, if Georgia upsets Alabama and the SEC gets two teams in again, I think this sets the stage for the needed move to a eight-team playoff.
No one can argue against undefeated Alabama, Clemson, and Notre Dame getting in, but IF both Oklahoma AND Ohio State miss out for two SEC teams for the second year in a row- the snowball for eight begins to roll.

14) So, what do we know about Northwestern?
The Wildcats might have completed the strangest path to a major conference title game ever.
8-4 Northwestern won each of their eight games in conference, went winless out of conference and one of those losses came to an eventual likely 4-8 (they play at South Carolina next weekend) Akron team at home in Ryan Field!
Northwestern started 1-3, but have won seven of their last eight and their only loss was by ten points to undefeated Notre Dame.
The numbers and the visuals favor Ohio State, but I am a big fan of Pat Fitzgerald, he knows Northwestern will have very few chances to win the Big Ten and the Wildcats will be well prepared.
Don't take them lightly.

15) What a win.
Every time OSU wins this game, my weekend is a good one, but this one is really special because for one of the few times over the streak, I wondered about this one.
I just want to hear from Desmond Howard, noted Wolverine, COUGH, impartial football observer, who picks Michigan to win this game every year and every year proclaims Michigan is back.
Wonder what that homer, ERR impartial football observer has to say?

See you from Indianapolis and later tonight with Browns and Boxing Challenge!

Buckeyes survive College Park, Defeats Maryland in OT

Ohio State's inability to stop Maryland running back Anthony McFarland came in the first quarter, followed for the remainder of the game and finished with one final run that brought Maryland to within one play of a stunning upset.

Fortunately for Ohio State and my mental health, Maryland and interim coach Matt Canada decided to go for the win then and there and when Maryland quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome's pass fell incomplete, only then could Buckeye fans breathe with a 52-51 victory,

Dwayne Haskins threw for 405 yards, threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more and for what proved to be the game winner in overtime, while Haskins had plenty of help as J.K. Dobbins ran for 203 and both Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon finished with over 100 receiving yards.

Ohio State improved to 10-1 (7-1 Big Ten) as they return home to conclude the season against that team up North with the Big Ten East title on the line, a slot in the Big Ten title game against Northwestern in Indianapolis and keep any playoff hopes alive.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Ohio State never led until their score in overtime in this game, so despite all of their issues and they are many, the grumbling about the lack of heart shown in West Lafayette should stop, no matter the results next week against Michigan.
The Buckeyes had every opportunity to pack this in and they kept scrapping back.

2) I'm not sure what the issue is that so many have with Urban Meyer on the sideline.
In the Purdue and Michigan State games, the complaint was that Meyer seemed pained and distant.
Yesterday, in the first quarter, I counted three times that the ESPN crew dropped comments about Meyer being "angry" and "that his out of control demeanor could carry over to his team".
One week it is one thing and then the opposite.
Does this team have problems and could Urban Meyer be part of those?
Sure? But ever since Brett McMurphy started his campaign in the summer, ESPN has taken every jab that they could take- time to man up.

3) Dwayne Haskins seemed to take personally the comments by Urban Meyer and some of the Buckeye media about his reluctance to run with the football/
Haskins tucked the ball down and ran fifteen times for 59 yards, which must have those doubters happy and will give Michigan something to think about when watching next weeks film.

4) Had it not been for the day on the ground by Maryland's Anthony McFarland (298 yards and looked to be the next coming of Gale Sayers), the talk of the day might have been J.K. Dobbins ,who may not have had the flashy long jaunts of McFarland, but rushed for 203 yards himself on 37 carries.
Dobbins allowed the Buckeyes to keep Maryland's defense honest against the pass despite being down on the scoreboard all game, which paid off in the passing game.

5) The passing game changed too with Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon going over 100 yards on the day.
Because Maryland had to respect J.K. Dobbins, which was not always the case earlier this season, Dwayne Haskins was able to throw more passes downfield instead of having to use screens and dump offs to replace the running game.
Sometimes, the answer to one problem can be traced to another.

6) There was only one time that I thought that Ohio State might not win this game.
Mind you, that wasn't arrogance on my part, I was checking in on the game when I had an extra second, but Ohio State continued to battle back and with minutes remaining, the Buckeyes had managed to tie the game at 38 but had just allowed another of what seemed to be about 50 big plays over the course of the game to put the Terrapins inside the one with Maryland poised to lead.
The Buckeye defense stepped up for one of the few times on the day and punched the ball loose from quarterback Tyrelle Pigrome and the ball bounced forward into the end zone.
When it was Maryland that fell on the football for a touchdown and the lead, for the first time, I moved from worried and concerned to Oh, No.

7) Dwayne Haskins, as most of you know, was an Ohio State flip from a Maryland commitment and would likely be starting his only game in front of his home crowd, so he was heavily motivated for this game and the drive that tied the game with one minute might be the legacy that he leaves at Ohio State.
Calm, cool and the bullet that he fired to Binjimen Victor from three yards away was as good of a short yardage touchdown pass as you'll see.
Add in that in what might be his only year as the full-time quarterback at Ohio State, Haskins set season records for yards and touchdown passes yesterday in the win.
Haskins might not have been Urban Meyer's idea of a quarterback, but he sure fits mine.

8) But that defense.
It seems like every Anthony McFarland run was straight out of the old Tecmo Bowl video game where you as the defense call pass at the top of the screen and the offense calls a pitch run to the bottom and chaos ensues.
I mean, these plays weren't even close- no breaking tackles, just a run call and run straight to daylight.
Just terrible.

9) Maryland and Matt Canada showed guts in attempting to win the game at the end of the overtime.
In these situations, the less talented team's chances of winning decreases with each overtime period.
And the play call worked-the receiver was open as the Buckeyes wound up sticking two players on one receiver, it's just that the throw anticipated the receiver going one way and he went the other.
The call was good and they just didn't make the play.
I'm usually a little dubious of interim head coaches that get promoted in-season getting the full-time position, especially if they have never been a head coach before.
However, considering Maryland's current problems and yet the effort that they showed, I'd seriously consider scrapping a head coach search and tabbing Matt Canada for the job.


10) Now, next week and the rival for all the marbles.
The Michigan defense is among the best in the nation, but I think they can score on them, although not the type of points as in some games.
Shea Patterson gives them their best passer in years and their offense must be respected.
However, they struggled against Indiana at home yesterday and this game is in Columbus.
I rate Michigan a narrow favorite no more than a field goal.
I think this is a close game and if Michigan cannot get this one against a flawed Buckeye team, I'm not sure when they can.

Purdue Rolls Over Ohio State 49-20

It may have been West Lafayette Indiana in 2018, but it felt a hell of a lot like Iowa City Iowa one year ago as the Ohio State Buckeyes weaknesses became glaringly exposed in a game that they could never get off track in before a fourth quarter that their defense looked like they were trying to catch rain with a fork in a 49-20 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers.
Dwayne Haskins set several passing records in the loss, which was the only hairline positive that I could find.
The now 7-1 (4-1 Big Ten) Buckeyes have a bye week to try to pull some of this together before returning against Nebraska at home.

Olentangy Offerings

1) I'm going to start with the one positive before I go rogue and seem like an ingrate for the Buckeyes daring to lose a football game.
Dwayne Haskins set team records for passes (73), completions (49) and for yards (470).
Haskins threw two four-quarter touchdowns and just one interception, although it could have easily been a few more as some ham-handed Boilermakers dropped a few would-be picks.
Did Haskins play great? No, but he's one of the few that I'm going to go a little easy on.

2) A few plays that made you think this was not the Buckeyes night.
A first-half bomb to a wide-open Terry McLaurin that Haskins overthrew by five yards made me think a little, but there were two plays that were key in setting the stage.
Late in the first half with the score just 7-3, Ohio State seemed to have held the Boilers to a field goal attempt, Jeff Brohm pulled off a fake that caught Ohio State sleeping, got the first down and Purdue would then score a touchdown to lead 14-3 at the half.

3) The other came in the third quarter after Ohio State used their opening drive to cut the lead to 14-6 and stopped Purdue's first drive of the half to force a punt.
Ohio State would then rough the punter to give Purdue a new set of downs and they would score a touchdown.
I would never feel like the Buckeyes would win after that.

4) Much will be written about the lack of success in the red zone and it's justified.
Dwayne Haskins had three passes hit his receivers in the end zone, only to have them drop them or bobble them enough to allow the Purdue defender to stick his hand in there and bat the ball away.
Even still, that was not the main issue.

5) That was the running game, which had zero holes to run through.
Otherwise, explain to me why a team with JK Dobbins and Mike Weber combined for just 67 yards on twenty carries.
That is all on the offensive line with Isaiah Prince, who has been really bad (I'll try to be nice) in the last two games and the badly miscast center Michael Jordan, who for some reason was taken away from guard, where he was excellent in 2017.

6) And then there is the inability to defend against the pass with Purdue's David Blough throwing for 378 yards and the very scary Rondale Moore finishing with two scores and 170 yards.
The pass defense hasn't made any progression, they have gotten worse.
Safeties leaving receivers alone, a pair of overrated corners (Damon Arnette did not play in this game due to injury) that some think have a chance to be first rounders (those people must not watch games) and linebackers that take not only poor angles to get to the pass catcher, they tend to bounce off them when they do.
Much of that is on defensive coordinator Greg Schiano, but don't let secondary coach Taver Johnson off the hook- it's his bunch that looks worse by the week.

7) Even still, if you didn't watch the game, you would look at 49-20 and say it was an Iowa type rear end whipping.
It was a little different, even though I didn't feel great about it, the points that made it ugly came late in garbage time.
Against Iowa, those points came a bit differently, but the ending was the same.

8) Ohio State committed ten penalties, many at awful times- a roughing the passer in the second half by Dre'Mont Jones stands out as especially bad.
This is the most penalized Buckeye team in the Urban era with just under NINE a game.

9) As bad as this loss is- Ohio State controls its own destiny- win out over Nebraska and Michigan at home and on the road against Maryland and Michigan State and they are going to the playoff with a win in Indianapolis against Wisconsin or Iowa, the likely representative from the other division.
It won't be easy, but at least it's on them and without having to rely on others.

10) I had been talking for a few weeks that this game concerned me.
Unlike the Iowa loss last season, which caught me by surprise, I feared this game.
A road, night game against a team that likes to throw and a young and fearless head coach.
Purdue was the "trap game" that wondered about from the time that it seemed that Benny Beaver from Oregon State was grabbing slant patterns for fifty-yard gains-Purdue was the game that I thought could bite OSU.
You expect the two Michigan's and Penn State to be tough games and those can easily go against you, but when you look at the schedule for the unlikely loss, this is the one that stood out.
When Purdue started 0-3, some wondered, I didn't as those three losses were by a combined eight points and when they trashed a then ranked Boston College, you could see them coming together.
If I could see it, you would like to think our football people could as well.

11) Finally, let's talk Urban Meyer, who not only has lots of things to fix, but he might want to look into the mirror.
I'm not going to be one of the guys screaming for his head, but for the second year in a row. Meyer has brought a heavily favored team to a town with a middle of the pack team waiting for them and was ripped to shreds.
Iowa played a perfect game and Purdue didn't make mistakes either, but Iowa never found that level again last season and even though Jeff Brohm seems to have Purdue on the rise, they aren't likely to play this very often.
In these situations, you have to look at being prepared and that goes to the head man.
It's not unfair to at least consider Urban Meyer as one of the problems in the loss.

Buckeyes ground Gophers 30-13

Dwayne Haskins threw three touchdown passes and for over 400 yards and K.J. Hill caught nine of his passes for 187 yards and two of Haskins touchdown passes as Ohio State defeated Minnesota in Columbus 30-13.

Ohio State moved to 7-0 (4-0 Big Ten) and clinched a winning record with the win.
Ohio State will travel to West Lafayette, Indiana next Saturday night to meet Purdue, who has overcome a 0-3 start to even its record at 3-3 on the season.

This will be a shorter recap than usual because I had a wedding to attend yesterday, therefore, I missed some of the fourth quarter and had things to do to prepare, so the usual focus wasn't quite there.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Dwayne Haskins played well and didn't throw an interception.
Haskins didn't break the passing game record that we've heard so much about for the last week, but he did break 400 yards and that made him the first Ohio State quarterback to throw for over 400 yards twice.

2) K.J. Hill's career day came at just the right time with his being the star target of the day.
The former walk-on has become quite a force in the Ohio State passing game.
Hill has begun to make the routine catch as well as the spectacular as he showed with his one handed catch/backward stroll into the end zone for one of his scores.

3) Have some worries about the running game though as the Buckeyes rushed for less than 100 yards on the day and averaged less than three yards a carry,
Mike Weber led Ohio State with 51 yards, but between Weber and J.K. Dobbins neither broke a run of longer than 12 yards.

4) Still concerned about the back seven.
Teams are still throwing the ball against the Buckeyes and even though the team has managed to make some big plays on defense, the big plays still continue to happen.

5) Blake Haubeil was three for three on field goals, including a 47 yarder after Sean Nurenburger missed the game with a mild strain
Haubeil seems to have a plenty strong leg and the kicking game looks to be in safe hands after Nurenberger leaves at the end of the season.

6) What's the boat oar on the Minnesota helmet?
I know P.J. Fleck has the "Row the Boat" thing trademarked so it can follow him to any coaching job he pursues, but it looks ridiculous on the helmet.
Fleck is lucky that he coaches the usually middle of the pack Gophers and has Jim Harbaugh and James Franklin in the league or he'd do much better than the bronze in the most annoying coach in the Big Ten derby.

Sorry, that's all for this week.
Until the paychecks start rolling in, sometimes the outside world calls!
Back later with Browns and the boxing challenge.

Buckeyes drop Indiana 49-26

It might not look like the score was all that close on the scoreboard, but the Indiana Hoosiers managed to hang around enough to keep the Ohio State Buckeyes first-stringers on the field throughout the game but lacked the type of juice to worry Buckeye fan seriously as Ohio State pulled away in the fourth quarter in a 49-26 win in Columbus.

Dwayne Haskins tossed six more touchdown passes and finished with 455 yards on the day, second in Ohio State history with Parris Campbell being the main target with nine catches for 142 yards and two of the Haskins touchdowns.

Ohio State moved to 6-0 (3-0 Big Ten) on the season and clinched bowl eligibility with the triumph.
The Buckeyes will host Minnesota next Saturday.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Dwayne Haskins played the entire game against a weaker opponent ( Indiana entered the game 4-1) and when things such as that happen, there is a chance at a record.
Haskins made a run at the all-time record for passing yards in a game for a Buckeye before settling for second by just three yards.
Most Buckeye fans root for Haskins (or any other Buckeye QB for that matter) to set a new record to erase the name Art "The Gambler" Schlichter from the Ohio State record book.
Schlichter's problems hit the public well after leaving Columbus, but he still carries a bit of a stain and it would be nice to have someone else atop the passing list.

2) Haskins was intercepted twice in the game, but both times the picks weren't bad decision making as Haskins was hit in the act of throwing on each of the two throws.
When you watch those types of plays with the quarterback being popped in the pocket, it almost always results in these floating soft pop flies that again almost always results in some linebacker or safety all alone on the field grabbing an easy interception.
Don't want to see those?
Protect your quarterback better.

3) The worries about the secondary (and the entire back seven for that matter)  continue as the Hoosiers threw for over 300 yards, three touchdown and three big-play passes of over thirty yards.
On paper, there are plenty of four and five-star prospects and they look the part, but the production doesn't arrive on the field.
Most of the back seven seem to lack either the speed or athleticism to make plays and I don't care about their speed numbers in shorts and cleats.
I care about their speed in pads and in gameplay and so far more often than not, it hasn't been there.

4) I was disappointed in the running game in which J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber combined for 152 yards, but did so averaging just over three yards a carry and Dobbins (I think) was stopped on fourth and short.
I expect more from these talented backs and from the offensive line in making holes for them against a weaker opponent with a smaller and depth-challenged defensive line.

5) It's been a long time since I've seen a Buckeye team that tackles this poorly and especially in space.
Way WAY too many broken tackles and guys missing tackles in space that look like guys trying to guard Pete Maravich in 1974!

I'm going to go ahead and stop here for now.
I may come back and add a few points, if I have the time to watch the game closer.
Back tonight with the Browns hosting Baltimore.

We are OHIO State-Buckeyes stun Penn State 27-26

K.J. Hill sped into the end zone for a touchdown from 24 yards after catching a Dwayne Haskins screen pass for the second of the two fourth-quarter Haskins touchdown passes with two minutes remaining to erase a 12 point deficit and stun a sellout in State College for a 27-26 Ohio State victory over Penn State.
Dwayne Haskins finished with 270 yards with three touchdowns and an interception on a tipped ball, but the true star of the game was defensive end Chase Young, who finished with two sacks, a batted down pass on a key Penn State fourth down and the stuffed running back on the fourth down carry by Miles Sanders that clinched the game for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State moves to 5-0 (2-0 Big Ten) and will host 4-1 Indiana next week for Homecoming.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Even though the Buckeyes struggled often during this game, only when Penn State scored midway through the fourth quarter to move ahead by twelve points did I begin to become really discouraged.
I actually felt better at halftime with so much going Penn State's way as far moving the football to be only down 13-7.

2) The game swung a bit late in the first half when Ohio State forced a fumble that Dre'Mont Jones recovered in Penn State territory.
The short field allowed the sputtering Ohio State offense to score their only points of the half when Dwayne Haskins beat the blitz on a short pass to J.K. Dobbins, who then raced twenty-six yards into the end zone for the score.
Up to the point, Ohio State had not seriously threatened and the touchdown allowed me to feel better as I mentioned above at the half.

3) The Buckeyes took another hit to their defensive line as Dre'Mont Jones left the game with an injured ankle, but he would return to play late in the game.
However, Jones left the locker room in a walking boot according to Eleven Warriors and is questionable for Indiana next Saturday.

4) Isaiah Pryor was ejected in the fourth quarter for a targeting penalty that knocked K.J. Hamler from the game.
Pryor's contact was to the head of Hamler and with the shoulder, not head to head, but by the rule, the call was a fair one.
The issue with the targeting call is not about trying to avoid contact with the head, it is the lack of consistency with the rule itself.
The rule would be easier to take if they kept the helmet to helmet portion, but eliminated the other types of contact and added intent to injure for the requirements for the call.

5) Ohio State lost three points in the third quarter when Luke Farrell was called for a facemask as Sean Nuernberger connected from 33 yards away.
The penalty (which I didn't see as I was driving to work) forced the points off the board and Nuernberger's resulting attempt from 48 yards was no good.

6) I'll end the negatives with this note- Penn State did an excellent job in rushing Dwayne Haskins and forcing him to get rid of the ball early, but I was disappointed in the passing game not taking more shots downfield.
It seemed to me that the playcalling was stuck in the J.T. Barrett age and didn't take advantage of the different skills of Haskins, but it does seem that there is something about playing at Penn State that turns Urban Meyer into Woody Hayes.
Trips to Happy Valley usually results into the offense playing things very close to the vest and conservative and often that can get you beaten against a lesser team in a loud stadium.

7) Dwayne Haskins showed on the final drive why he is going to receive Heisman consideration and why he is likely to leave at the end of the season.
Poised in the pocket and throws that had both steam and touch as well as accuracy, Haskins shows the skills that will make him a high draft pick. although returning next year would be better for his development.

8) I noted above that the star of the game was Chase Young, who dominated in the absence of Nick
Young was strong in rushing Trace McSorley (two sacks), wasn't afraid to drop back in coverage (a key fourth-down pass was knocked down by Young) and finished the game off strong against the run when he stuffed Miles Sanders to finish off the game.
Bosa and was the best player on the field.
While Nick Bosa has a chance to be the first pick in the 2019 draft (depending on the need of the team selecting first), don't be surprised if Chase Young is in the same situation in the 2020 draft.
Entering next season, the Buckeye that everyone will be talking about will be Chase Young.
He's going to be that good...

9) I know Penn State had a sizable lead in offensive yardage. (492-389) and the difference was the inability to stop Trace McSorley do the one thing that makes him a dangerous QB- run draws and moving away from the pass rush.
Tuf Borland was mentioned early in the game as being assigned to "spy" on McSorely and make sure that he didn't do what it turned out that he would do effectively and either Ohio State decided to get away from that idea or Borland (who did cause the second quarter fumble that led to the first Buckeye score) was caught up in space as he was when McSorley ran for a 51 yard gain in the first half.
It feels like the boss or parent that says "I just asked you to do one thing"!
I've been critical of McSorley through the years and particularly for his "chuck it up and pray" passing style, but he was tremendous on this evening and deserves Heisman consideration should Penn State win out and he can maintain this level of play.

10) I loved the TD pass and run by Binjamin Victor that quieted the Penn State crowd and turned the game into a one-score battle.
Victor could have easily gone down on contact or even stepped out of bounds at one point, but instead, he kept moving, extended the play, made some Lion defenders miss and turned what could have been a modest catch for a first down and turned it into six points.
I've always thought that of his particular recruiting class that Victor is the one with the highest potential to be a star.

11) J.K. Dobbins scored twice (one rushing and one receiving), but his 57 yards (3.4 average) doesn't seem all that impressive.
Don't be fooled and read beyond the scoresheet, Dobbins ran very well in the second half, wasn't afraid to put his shoulder down and run with power.
Until the final two drives, you could make a real argument that Dobbins was keeping Ohio State in the game on the scoring drive in the third quarter, the drive that resulted in the missed field goal and moving the chains otherwise.

12) I've been concerned about the secondary all season and the school record 93 yard touchdown toss and run from Trace McSorley to K.J. Hamler showed why when Hamler just blew by the defenders (give credit to someone, who chased Hamler all the way down the field and his dive just missed him, I can't name him because I've not rewatched the game yet), but it could have been worse.
The one handed catch by Juwan Johnson was just one of those great plays that happen as Damon Arnette couldn't have had better coverage and other than that the Buckeyes managed to avoid giving up the huge yardage plays that had haunted them at times against lesser competition.

13) Penn State fans have some reason to be upset with the coaching staff and James Franklin.
Yes, the final draw play was a weak call, but there were other mistakes during the game that have to have Nittany Lions fans wondering.
Franklin passed on a long, but makeable field goal (41 yds) in the third quarter to go for it (this was the Chase Young batted pass play), and burning timeouts before that final running play, so the Penn State defense would not have to make Ohio State make a first down to end the game-BUT that wasn't all as Franklin tried to go after a critical Penn State fan after the game, delivered a bizarre press conference in which he claimed Penn State "was great and satisfied being great" while Ohio State was "elite" which is where he is going to be or drive everyone crazy trying.
That wasn't even all as Franklin then threaded his players lack of commitment to "Going to class consistently so coaches don't have to babysit them".
Franklin might have had a span of time that ranked with the worst at Penn State going back to you know what and I wonder how Penn State deals with this if this leads to a lesser season that their fans expect.

14) Finally, the most difficult road game is over and the Buckeyes escape with a win.
Yes, the November road trip to East Lansing will be difficult and after last year's Iowa debacle, no one should take any team lightly, no matter their record ( I can say that because OSU has already played Rutgers).
4-1 Indiana is next at home, but their best win is over Virginia and struggled to a seven-point win over Rutgers yesterday- the same Rutgers that had allowed 97 points the previous two weeks in losses to Kansas and Buffalo.
3-1 Minnesota is next, but they lost their last game to Maryland in a blowout and will visit Columbus coming off a rivalry game vs Iowa.
If you are looking for a trap game, try at 2-3 Purdue under an innovative head coach in Jeff Brohm, Purdue Pete blew out ranked Boston College and then Nebraska in their last two and their three losses are by combined seven points.
The Purdue game leads to a bye week to end October so one would think, although guarantee nothing that Ohio State will hit November's four games at 8-0.
That's a number that few of us would have thought was likely with seven minutes to go at State College- I'll take it...

Buckeyes drown Oregon State 77-31

The turmoil ended for a few hours and even longer than expected with a weather delay, but the Ohio State Buckeyes ripped, roared and rolled over the visiting Oregon State Beavers 77-31 at the Horseshoe in Columbus.

Dwayne Haskins threw for over 300 yards and five touchdowns, while Mike Weber ran for 186 yards and three touchdowns in the romp to lead the offense.

The now 1-0 Buckeyes host Rutgers next week in an early conference game.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Dwayne Haskins became the first Buckeye quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and set a record for TD passes in his first start/
Haskins did throw an interception that he would have been better suited throwing away, so it wasn't a perfect day, but it was pretty close for a player in his first start.

2) Mike Weber was the ground star with 20 carries, but J.K. Dobbins carried 15 times as well.
Weber is back at full health, which he was not last season and opened the door for Dobbins to star in 2017.
It'll be interesting to see how long the pair truly shares carries or will one or the other take command?

3) Terry McLaurin finished with two catches for touchdowns including a 75-yard catch and run.
What Dwayne Haskins might bring to the offense along with the ability to throw deep, is an accurate ball that receivers will be able to catch in stride easier than the passes thrown by J.T. Barrett.
Those are the type of throws that can be turned into big plays off short passes.

4) Lightning and pouring rain caused a halftime respite of well over an hour.
Sadly for the visitors from Corvallis, they would have to still play the second half.

5) The final two scores were tallied from two freshman backs in Brian Snead and Master Teague with Teague's score being very impressive on a 33 yard run that saw him pinball off several Beaver defenders.

6) The defense wasn't perfect, after all, they did allow 31 points, which in many games could cause a loss.
Lots of things to refine, but the tackling will need to be sharpened after two Oregon State touchdowns resulted off broken tackles against Artavis Pearce of 78 and 80 yards.

7) Pearce finished with 168 yards on the ground on 15 carries.
That means Pearce rushed for 158 yards on two carries and 10 yards on his other thirteen rushes.
Still, that's two huge scoring plays and Ohio State will need to be much better than this for their future games against better competition than Oregon State.

8) I also wondered why DeMario McCall didn't appear until the second half as the returner.
McCall was listed as the top returner on the depth chart, so why would he not appear until the game was in the bag?

9) Ryan Day's head coaching debut went smoothly as Day stayed on the sideline and fellow offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson remained in the press box.
Day is going to be a head coach somewhere soon, hopefully, that will not be in the Big 10.

10) The defense did struggle in the middle of the field in coverage, so both the linebackers and safeties are going to have to pick their game up against the pass.
Simply too many catch and runs down the seams from Oregon State and that will need to be addressed.

I still have to talk more baseball trades, the road trip continues, Browns cuts and additions going into the league opener as I pick the pace up here at TRS!

Cameragate! Buckeyes Hand Harbaugh another loss 31-20

Photo Credit:Detroit News

The Ohio State Buckeyes battled back from a 14-0 deficit to outscore Michigan 31-6 the rest of the way to earn a 31-20 win in Ann Arbor.
J.K. Dobbins rushed for 101 yards and was one of three Buckeyes (J.T. Barrett and Mike Weber) to score touchdowns on the ground.
Dwayne Haskins came off the bench to complete six of seven passes including the play that might have saved the day-a 27 yard bullet to Austin Mack on a key third and long.
Ohio State finished the regular season at 10-2 and their 8-1 record wins the Big 10 Eastern Division outright.
The Buckeyes are on their way to Indianapolis next Saturday night to face the unbeaten Wisconsin Badgers for what might be for Ohio State and definitely would be for Wisconsin for a trip to the college playoffs...

Olentangy Offerings

1) The big issue in the postgame was the pregame injury to J.T. Barrett that drove him from the game in the third quarter.
It turns out the reason was that a cameraman had collided with Barrett on the field before the game and aggravated a meniscus injury.
Urban Meyer was beside himself about this and if this is true, I can understand why, but until I know more I'm not sure what actually happened.

2) Dwayne Haskins cemented himself as the quarterback for next season and if Joe Burrow, Tate Martell or anyone doesn't like that fact then they need to come to camp loaded for bear and ready to go.
The throw that Haskins made to Austin Mack was the type of throw that big-time passers make by putting the football right where only Mack can catch between two defenders and the type of throw that J.T. Barrett isn't capable of making consistently downfield.

3) That's not as much of a knock on Barrett as it is how high I am on Haskins-Ohio State hasn't had a quarterback like this in a long time and no, Cardale Jones does not count.
There may similarities in size and arm, but Haskins is, even more mobile than Jones.

4) Michigan's quarterback play let them down.
I was discussing the game as it was played with my buddy Ian McArdle and as the game progressed into the second half, we both felt O'Korn would make a mistake that would make a difference.
O'korn did with the interception to Jordan Fuller that was simply an awful throw far away from his receiver Zach Gentry.
Gentry was open-O'Korn just missed him.
Ohio State's quarterback depth saved this day.Michigan's lack of it (two injuries this season) doomed it for them.

5) J.T.Barrett did start slowly with the Buckeyes going three and out on their first three possessions before erasing the lead on the next two Ohio State turns with the football.
A Barrett scoring run from 26 yards was followed by the only passing touchdown of the day as Barrett hit Marcus Baugh for a 25-yard score.

6) A play that might be forgotten about, but swung the game was Denzel Ward's blocked extra point in the third quarter off the edge after Michigan's score to break a tie and move ahead 20-14.
That play loomed larger in the mind of all as the game progressed, first on the J.K. Dobbins score that gave OSU a one point lead rather than a tie and made Michigan play for a touchdown rather than a field goal after Sean Nuernburger drilled a field goal from 44 yards and a 24-20 lead.
Ward's block did all of that.

7) Sam Hubbard finished with two and a half sacks on the day and was the most consistent pass rusher against the Wolverines.
Hubbard participated in Senior Tackle before traveling to Ann Arbor, which makes it pretty clear that Hubbard, who is eligible for the NFL Draft, but not a senior, will be declaring for the draft.

8) The one play that Michigan wishes hadn't gotten away was Josh Metellus dropping a Barrett pass right in his hands in the second quarter.
The score was 14-0 at the time and the Buckeyes would take advantage of the gift with the Barrett touchdown run for the first OSU score of the day.

9) We (among so many others) say it all the time and yet things never change-Ohio State wins when the running game sets up the run/pass from the quarterback.
Ohio State ran J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber a combined seven carries in the first half and twenty in the second.
J.T. Barrett ran eleven times in the first half with Barrett and Dwayne Haskins ran a combined seven in the second half and that's not counting passes by Barrett in the opening half.

10) Lots of complaining about the alternate Nike uniforms.
I'm torn.
I liked them better than the uniforms worn against Penn State, but still not a stitch or line of red on them.
Editor's Note: The aforementioned Mr.McArdle sent me a picture of the jersey-there is some red on it-A small O around the V-Neck.
Hard to see that on television-but it is there!
They would have been great if they were the Oakland Raiders.
I like the black helmets with red buckeyes far better than the matte finish w/o buckeyes worn in last year's win, but still couldn't we wear these things against teams other than Michigan?
For all that I dislike about the Wolverines, it is that school up North that is sticking to tradition.

11) On to Indianapolis (and I will be there or in Detroit next Saturday for the MAC title game) and the undefeated Wisconsin Badgers.
The Badgers in many ways are the toughest conference for over the last twenty years.
Wisconsin has been far more consistent than the Michigan schools or Penn State over that period of time and this team is typical of those squads.
Big, physical and run oriented-this team is going to be a test for the often inconsistent Buckeyes.
I'll either be in Indianapolis or be watching from some place in Ohio on the way from Detroit after watching Toledo vs Akron.
Ohio State is playing with house money at this point, I'll take it..