No Celebrating in Fiesta- Ohio State season concludes

There were bad calls, there were worse calls, and there were wasted opportunities, but when you take all of these factors and add them up, the end result is a bitter defeat for the Ohio State Buckeyes in a 29-23 loss to the Clemson Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.

There is plenty of controversy and one play, in particular, has already cemented itself in Buckeye infamy, but there will be far more than one play that cost Ohio State this game
even when the scoreboard says differently.

Ohio State was led in defeat by J.K Dobbins, who rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown, despite playing the second half with an injured ankle and Justin Fields, who threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown, but threw two interceptions including one in the end zone at the end of the game as the Buckeyes attempted to pull the game out.
Ohio State finishes the season at 13-1 and a Big Ten championship.
Next up for the Buckeyes will be in September as they start a new season against Bowling Green.

Olentangy Offerings

1) It wouldn't be fair to blame the poor officiating as the entire reason for the defeat of Ohio State.
There were many factors, but here is the top reason and above all- Three trips inside the Clemson eleven yard line and in each case, Ohio State settled for Blake Haubeil field goals.
J.K. Dobbins, for all of his courage and brilliance on this night, was a key party to these problems with one dropped pass in the end zone that was initially called a touchdown and was rightfully overturned and another that would have likely seen Dobbins score easily.
Score touchdowns on two of those possessions and some of the bad calls are irrelevant.
Score a touchdown on even one of those and the late drive that saw miscommunication between Justin Fields and Chris Olave end with a Clemson interception in the end zone could have been a conservative drive at that point as a Blake Haubeil field goal could have won the game.
For all that could be complained about with the officiating, the three red-zone failures are the number one reason for this loss.

2) Another play overlooked came in the first half when J.K. Dobbins broke into the open for the second of his long first-half runs.
Dobbins scored on the first, but on the second long jaunt, Dobbins was brought down at the eight-yard line.
Instead of Ohio State putting seven points up, they would settle for three.

3) J.K. Dobbins was the star of this game and another underrated reason for the defeat could be a late first-half ankle injury.
Dobbins passed Eddie George in this game to set the one season rushing record at Ohio State, so some history was made.
I give Dobbins so much credit for playing through the pain when it is very likely that he will declare for the NFL Draft shortly.
It would have been easy and some could say prudent for Dobbins to pack it in for the evening, but Dobbins gutted it out and played well despite the pain.
Still, the breakaway speed for Dobbins was understandably lacking in the second half and that was missing for the Buckeye offense.

4) Chase Young managed some hurries on Clemson passer Trevor Lawrence but didn't sack him.
Young finished his final three games (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Clemson) without a sack and he was battling double teams throughout each game, but could it be that the two-game suspension late in the season cost him sharpness and that he never returned to true elite form?
It's interesting to consider.

5) The game-ending interception was a mistake on Chris Olave's part and give Olave credit for taking the blame in the locker room.
Olave thought Justin Fields was scrambling around to make a play and Olave cut his route off to help Fields.
The problem was that Fields was not scrambling and he threw to where Olave was supposed to be and hit Clemson's Nolan Turner for the play that ended the season.

6) Now to the two calls that affected the game most and we will start with the second quarter targeting call on a blitzing Shaun Wade that cost the Buckeyes their second-best defensive back for the rest of the game and gave Clemson a first down rather than force another Tiger punt.
That was huge as that meant a 16-0 lead and the football with only a few minutes remaining in the half.
At worst, Clemson might have had one possession and let's say they score a touchdown there for a 16-7 lead.
Instead, Ohio State loses Wade, Clemson scores a touchdown on the drive rather than punt, and after a stop by Clemson, they score again for a 16-14 OSU lead at the break.
All of that as a result of a call that was not initially made on the field and one that the on-field officials did not ask to be reviewed- Yes, there was helmet contact, but let's look at physics here.
Trevor Lawrence is 6'6. Shaun Wade is 6'0.
Lawrence feels the rush and sees Wade coming in, but he doesn't have a receiver to dump the ball off to and he braces himself for the oncoming hit with a small dip as he prepares to absorb the shot.
As Wade prepares for the hit that was intended to hit Lawrence across the chest as he is supposed to, Lawrence, as noted above, dips down and the helmets do hit each other.
By the strictest (and I mean strictest) interpretation, it could be called targeting, but the referees don't call it.
Lawrence remains on the field briefly and while Lawrence is down, the officials are buzzed to say the play is being looked at and then the resulting penalty is called.
Lawrence misses one play, returns and shortly leads Clemson to their first score.
The hit was legit, but the officials see Clemson's star prone on the field and lead to a conclusion.
The game immediately swings.

7) Score when Shaun Wade leaves: 16-0 Ohio State and about to have the ball back.
Points scored after Shaun Wade leaves: 29-7.
It's a huge change in momentum of course, but it also changes what Ohio State could do with its defense without Wade.
It was without Wade that saw the few struggles that the defense had this season when he was injured and suddenly against the best team that they played on a very marginal call, Wade was gone.

8) I wrote about the targeting rule a few years ago, when it cost Joey Bosa his final game and even though the rule has been improved since then, it still needs more fine-tuning.
I still think intent needs to be added into the rule and I also still think that the player that is taking the hit and his movements needs to be considered as well.
The hit on Trevor Lawrence wasn't much different than the types that running backs take on every carry.
Want to keep the 15-yard penalty? Fine, but change the rules to two infractions before an ejection if the intent was not to make helmet to helmet contact.
If you are concerned that players won't take avoiding it seriously, change the rules to a ejection if a player has committed a certain amount of targeting penalties over a stated period of games.
It still needs work.

9) And the touchdown taken off the scoreboard was simply an awful call.
Justin Ross clearly catches the football, takes either three or four steps before Jeffrey Okudah strips the ball away and Jordan Fuller grabs the bouncing football and winds his way through traffic for a 29-yard touchdown and what would have given the Buckeyes the lead back at that time as well as made the difference in the final score.
This ridiculous "not a football move" is an ill-defined regulation that both the NCAA and NFL use needs to go away from the rulebook.
If you are shown to have possession of the football for two steps or more, that is a catch and therefore eligible to be a fumble.
How many games are being decided by these additions to rulebooks that aren't needed?
Ohio State certainly caused its own demise with the notes listed above, but they certainly deserved the luxury of a fair game being called.
I'm not buying the "ESPN" conspiracy theory that the network wanted "their" teams (ESPN owns pieces of both the ACC and SEC networks) to play each other, but it's certainly reasonable to look at the penalties and say the mistakes and importance called against Ohio State far outnumbered those of Clemson.


10)  One thing that did affect both teams was slippery grass and both teams ripped off big yardage on plays created by players slipping on the grass.
Wasn't the reason behind domed stadiums to create the fair playing conditions for the athletes and not allow the condition of the field to affect the result?
There is no reason for an indoor surface to have those problems and to have that enter into play for the most important game of the season needs to be addressed in the future.
If you want to have a game of this importance, the players deserve better.

11)  This didn't play into the result, but just as players need to play in big games to get used to playing in them, coaches need to gain experience as well.
Ryan Day made two decisions that I wonder about in the 4th quarter.
Up one after their fourth-quarter score with eleven minutes to go, Day kicks the extra point rather than try for two and if successful, go up by three points.
I get that by kicking the XP if you allow a Clemson score and two-pointer (which they did), a touchdown wins it and if you try for two and fail, a touchdown only ties it.
But you really let the critics in, if you would have lost on a field goal.

12) The other was with just over three minutes to go, Ohio State has a 4th and 4 on the Clemson 36 and Day decides to punt.
Drue Christman's punt is what Ohio State was looking for and is downed at the six, but what if Day goes for it?
Yes, a field goal beats you and you are giving them solid field position, but if you get it, at minimum, you are looking at a 49-yard field goal (assuming you don't lose yardage) and likely force Clemson to use timeouts.
I'm not saying that they should have gone for it, as I see a case for both sides, but it is something to consider.

13) However, if you are going to hit Ryan Day for not going for it on the next to last drive, you have to give credit for the 4th and one play call that saw Justin Fields throw to Chris Olave and take the lead.
That call took some courage and credit to Day for making it.

14) It's a disappointing loss because the game was there to be won.
The blown fumble is infuriating, but not the only reason for the loss.
Ohio State could have done one of many things that had nothing to do with officiating and won this game.
That's why it hurts, but Ohio State erased the 31-0 loss that happened the last time they played and proved that the best of the Big Ten can play with the Clemson Tigers and re-established themselves as one of the three-five best programs in the country.
I'm not huge on moral wins, but there was something proved- the National Championship was within reach and that is far more than many thought entering the season with a first-time head coach and picked to finish behind Michigan in the conference.
I thought they'd win the division and maybe the conference, but I thought that they would lose one game as they adjusted to Ryan Day and maybe even two with a bounce the wrong way, so they exceeded my expectations for the season.

15) There will be some top-notch players lost to the NFL and although players like Chase Young, J.K. Dobbins, Jeffrey Okudah, and Shaun Wade could return, I'd be shocked if they decided to stay.
Still, Ohio State will have one of the two pre-season Heisman favorites (Justin Fields and Clemson's Trevor Lawrence) and could have the best wide receiver corps in team history on offense.
The defense will lose some key members, especially in the secondary, but they should be more than fine, but Jeff Hatley's departure to take the head coaching job at Boston College means his replacement as the co-defensive coordinator with Greg Mattison will be a key hire for Ryan Day.
I'd suspect Ohio State will be in the top three in the pre-season rankings, maybe even first depending on losses on teams such as Clemson, Alabama, etc. so this isn't an aberration- it's more of the norm.
As disappointing as this loss is, I'm not disappointed in the season.
Perhaps a loss in this game next year, I could be.

Back later with the Browns finale, Showtime's boxing card from Atlanta and I'm still catching up on the inbox.
Look for all of those in the next day or two.

Buckeyes shove aside Badgers-Rally for Big Ten Title!

After an extremely spirited first half from the Wisconsin Badgers, the Ohio State Buckeyes found themselves down at halftime 21-7 in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis and despite the likelihood of a playoff berth already clinched, Ohio State needed to turn up the intensity to win the Big Ten.

Consider the dial turned up as Ohio State turned the clipboard around, dominated the line of scrimmage and outscored the Badgers 27-0 in the second half to win the Big Ten title 34-21.
Justin Fields threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns, two of those to K.J. Hill, to earn the player of the game, while J.K. Dobbins staked a claim to the award with 172 yards rushing and a score.

The victory was the third Big Ten Championship in a row for Ohio State, but the sluggish first half would cost the Buckeyes the top playoff seed and gives them a far tougher semi-final against third seed and defending champion Clemson.
Had Ohio State hung onto the top seed overall, their opponent would have been fourth seed Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl.
The Ohio State-Clemson clash will be in the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix on Saturday, December 28th.

Olentangy Offerings

1)  I'm writing this late after a non-work Saturday that saw the day filled with boxing (recap tomorrow) and football, so after the game, I went to bed and slept for a stunning almost twelve hours!
As I worked on this, Fred Landucci called and asked if I was ever worried about the result.
I wasn't happy through much of the first half, but not worried until close to the half.
Ohio State had scored their only touchdown with under a minute to go and with Wisconsin happy to run the clock out, Ohio State allowed a big run to Jonathan Taylor and a long pass play to quickly fall behind 21-7.
At the half, I was worried until the end of the first drive of the second half.

2) In the first half, it really wasn't a bad Buckeye half as much as it was a really good Wisconsin half.
Other than the Justin Fields fumble inside the Wisconsin five, Ohio State didn't turn the football over and although they were behind, they didn't have a bunch of glaring mistakes.
It was simply a very good half of football by a top ten level opponent.

3) However, that second half...
27-0 and other than a garbage-time drive, Wisconsin was corralled for most of the half.
Jonathan Taylor finished with 142 yards rushing on the game, but (without stats to prove) Taylor might not have hit the twenty-five-yard mark in the second half.

4) The adjustment that Ohio State made was this- Wisconsin didn't run their first-half offense through Jonathan Taylor, they ran it through quarterback Jack Coan with runs (two rushing scores) and passes downfield mainly to Quintez Cephus with that success allowing Taylor to rip off his large rushes with an off-balance Ohio State defense not knowing whom to key on.
Once the Buckeyes took Cephus away, which coincided with Jeffrey Okudah returning to the game, Coan's effectiveness dipped dramatically and so did the Badgers upset chances.

5) K.J. Hill passed David Boston in the win to become the all-time leader in receptions at Ohio State.
Hill has never been the featured receiver in Columbus, but he has been the reliable receiver that can be counted as the Buckeyes own "Wes Welker'.
Hill may not be a big-play threat, but he reminds me a lot of Emmanuel Sanders and Sanders has had an excellent NFL career.

6) A very nice call, down 14-0, for Ryan Day to dial up a fake punt.
Drue Christman's pass to Luke Farrell gave the Buckeyes a first down and allowed the offense more time to get back on track.
That was the drive that Justin Fields fumbled, so the Buckeyes would not score any points from the call, but calling that play woke Ohio State and the fans up a bit.

7) Justin Fields struggled a little in the first half, missed some open receivers and with the brace on a knee for an MCL injury, seemed a less reluctant to run as often.
In the second half, Fields was much sharper and his passes were on the money except for one pass to an open Luke Farrell that would have extended a drive.
It'll be interesting to see Fields mobility against the excellent Clemson defensive line.

8) Speaking of the offensive line, they will have to improve against Clemson in protecting Justin Fields.
Fields was sacked five times against the Badgers, who sacked him ten times in the two games between the teams.
Clemson's defensive line is arguably the best in the nation and if Ohio State cannot improve their protection of Fields over their attempts versus Wisconsin, it could be a long night in Arizona.

9) J.K. Dobbins might have been behind Jonathan Taylor early in yards, but he was ahead at the end and for my money, Dobbins is the best back in the nation.
Taylor may have rushed for more yardage, but Dobbins rarely played a full game and when the stage was biggest, Dobbins didn't disappear.

10) Ohio State defeated every team by double-digits, but on the games, final play after a Hail Mary catch by Wisconsin that would have been replayed forever had it decided a game, Wisconsin had one play from the five with five seconds to go.
The stat was meaningless and the game wasn't on the line, but I still understood Wisconsin throwing the football here.
What I didn't understand was why they didn't sit Jack Coan in the pocket and just get the ball out quickly to avoid a hit.
Instead, Coan rolled out to his right and then took off for the end zone, but at the two-yard line, Josh Proctor plastered Coan and although there the camera left quickly, it looked like Coan was knocked cold.
It seemed like a needless risk to me.

11) The play of the game was the one-handed touchdown catch by tight end Jeremy Ruckert for a touchdown.
Ruckert was a highly touted recruit that was sold on being used more in the Buckeye offense and it rarely seemed to work out that way under Urban Meyer, although tight ends have been used a little more since Ryan Day's arrival.
Ruckert has the type of hands that would be a terrific option to the offense next season.

12) Finally, should the Buckeyes have kept their top seed?
Maybe, but I can understand why they weren't.
The first half issues were the likely reason along with LSU's whomping a higher rated team (Georgia's fourth-ranking to Wisconsin's eighth), but a case could have been made for the second half.
I know the road through Clemson has to be harder than Oklahoma and top seeding is important, but
I hate rooting for a certain bracket because that often backfires.
Clemson could be very good and there has been only one game where they were truly challenged (by a 6-6 North Carolina team) in an awful ACC.
Clemson's best wins were at home against a 7-5 Texas A&M and the win over 9-4 Virginia in the ACC championship game, but other than the 24-10 win over the Aggies that saw the Aggies score their only touchdown on the last offensive play of the game and the one-point win over North Carolina, they, much like Ohio State, have not had to play under pressure.
My point is that Clemson is just unknown because they have not played anyone nearly as talented as them.
That doesn't mean that they couldn't be the best team in the country, it's that the ACC is so terrible that we just don't know.
We'll know after the Fiesta Bowl just how good Clemson could be and just how far the ACC has to go before Clemson has a remote challenger from anyone in their conference.

13) No matter the results against Clemson, this has been a successful season.
Undefeated, eighth straight win over Michigan, and for the first time, three consecutive Big Ten championships with a first-year head coach.
Those are excellent results and unless the Fiesta Bowl ends in a similar steamrolling as the last time that Ohio State played the Tigers (Clemson has won all three meetings with the Buckeyes), I would rate this as a very successful season.

Buckeyes Whoop Wolverines 56-27

The Ohio State offense rolled up huge numbers on the Michigan Wolverines defense with J.K Dobbins rushing for four touchdowns and Justin Fields throwing for four additional scores as Ohio State finished an undefeated regular season with a 56-27 win in Ann Arbor.

Justin Fields threw for 301 yards and J.K Dobbins ran for 211 to lead a Buckeye offense that finished with almost six hundred (577) yards in total offense against a Wolverine team that stayed reasonably close on the scoreboard, but wasn't able to find a way to score when they had the chance to really tighten the game.

Ohio State improved to 12-0 (9-0 Big Ten) with the victory and will now travel to Indianapolis for a rematch with the Wisconsin Badgers, who regained the Paul Bunyan Axe and won the Big Ten West yesterday with a snowy victory on the road over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
I would suspect that this win would clinch a playoff spot no matter the result against the Badgers, but to have a chance at the top overall seed in the final four, a victory is mandatory,


Olentangy Offerings

1) Have to admit when I saw Justin Fields clutching his knee in the third quarter, I saw the entire season going up in smoke.
Fields, who after the game, admitted that he has a strained MCL and will play through it for the remainder of the season.
Fields was wearing a small brace before the third quarter hit and missed a handful of plays while team doctors outfitted the knee with a larger brace.
Fields returned during the same possession and on his first play fired a 30 yard knife into the guts of the Wolverine with a touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson that took any real hope of victory out of the Ann Arbor crowd.

2) Underrated portion of the victory?
The job that was done by Ryan Day, backup quarterback Chris Chugunov and second team running back Master Teague on the drive that partially lost Fields at the helm.
Day played the drive like an undermanned gamer playing a video game by winding the play clock down before the snap, Chugunov was perfect under center in pulling the plan off without error, including a key third down conversion on an eleven yard pass to Garrett Wilson and Teague ran hard and gave the drive a chance to continue by making the conversions reasonable enough to convert.

3) Chase Young didn't finish with a sack and likely cost himself a realistic chance at the Heisman, but he was double and triple teamed all day, being held up and chip-blocked and by the pressure that the Michigan offensive line felt in having to address Young with two and three blockers, other Buckeyes were able to provide a pass rush on Shea Patterson.
Young showed that he was still in the game as twice Michigan gambled on tackle Jon Jansen blocking Young on his own and on both occasions it was Young blowing by Jansen and narrowly missing the sack.

4) Garrett Wilson caught the aforementioned touchdown pass and finished with over one hundred yards receiving on three catches, but he did muff a punt in special teams, so he's not perfect.
However, the skills that Wilson possesses and when you look at the receivers that the Buckeyes have committed in the next recruiting classes, the Ohio State passing game is only going to get better.

5) The defense did show an occasional hole in the first half as the Wolverines gained far too much yardage on short passes.
The biggest issue? Missed tackles and bad angles combined for a pretty good yards after catch average for Michigan and although this was shored up some in the second half, the bigger and more physical Wisconsin players could take advantage of similar sloppiness in Indianapolis, if it occurs.

6) Can we please retire the talk of the "legendary" Don Brown "defensive wizard" now?
Brown's an excellent defensive coordinator, but no Buddy Ryan is he and Ohio State has proved that to the tune of 111 points and over 1,100 yards in eight quarters of play.
Brown bragged before the game that he "had something special for Ohio State".
I'll take 56 points of special everytime!
Brown either refuses to change what he does with his defense or his players cannot execute outside of the "Brown Way", but it is crystal clear that Ryan Day has found the cracks in the foundation of the Don Brown System.

7) What a game for J.K. Dobbins as he bullied Michigan for 6.8 yards every time that he carried the football.
Dobbins also passed both Eddie George and Ezekiel Elliott to move into second place on the all-time Ohio State rushing list and might have staked his claim for the Doak Walker Award for the top running back in the nation.
I'm doubtful that Dobbins returns for his senior season, but with at least two and possibly three more game this season, should he decide to return, Archie Griffin's spot at the top is likely to fall.

8) Senior defensive end Jonathan Cooper announced in the week leading up to the season that he was going to redshirt and return next season, but he had one game remaining to play before the redshirt.
Cooper could play in the game of his choice and he chose this one.
Ohio State is dominating the rivalry, but with championship games arriving and yet Cooper chose this one to finish his season.
That says all that you need to know about this rivalry-lopsided or not.

9) Jim Harbaugh made a few questionable decisions in this games when it came to fourth down attempts.
Twice, I would have thought that Michigan would have tried to go for it and instead kicked field goals in the second and third quarters.
The second quarter one really made me wonder as it was close to halftime and the Buckeyes would receive the kickoff to start the second half.
Harbaugh then went for it twice in the fourth quarter deep inside their own territory in situations that were better suited for going for it in video games.
After being summarily dismissed, the Buckeyes scored two touchdowns on the very short field and blew the score out of proportion a bit.

10) Michigan scored their share (27) and that was more than any other opponent, but they were only able to kick two second half field goals against the Buckeye defensive adjustments.
The defense was missing starting defensive back Shaun Wade and that didn't help, but Amir Riep played well in his place with an interception and a deflection in the second half.

11) Perhaps the biggest play in the game happened in the first half when the teams were trading scores and Michigan looking as if it was their turn to answer on the Ohio State 12 facing a third and nine to trim a 21-13 Buckeye lead.
Shea Patterson fumbled, Robert Landers recovered for OSU and then Ohio State crunched any momentum with a 84 yard touchdown drive to move the lead to 28-13.

12) Now it's a Wisconsin rematch.
The Badgers played the Buckeyes tough into the third quarter in a downpour in Columbus before Ohio State landed a flurry filled with touchdowns in a 38-7 win.
This one will be played on a fast track inside Lucas Oil Stadium, which is an advantage to the more physically talented Buckeyes, but Wisconsin, who made up two games on Minnesota in the waning weeks of the regular season, is a physical team and they usually play the Bucks tough, with the exception of their first meeting in Indy in 2014, which saw the future national champions roll to a 59-0 win.
Their second meeting in 2017 was a closer game that Ohio State won 27-21 and is best remembered for the large chunk of field turf that was missing and needed to be repaired in the middle of the game.


13) Ohio State is likely in the playoff with a win or loss against Wisconsin, but a win might get them the top seed, while a loss could drop them to third or fourth.
In most seasons, the seeding doesn't matter as much but this season the top seed would get either Oklahoma, Utah or Baylor as the likely opponent and the second seed will play undefeated and generally untested Clemson.
There is an advantage to being number one, hopefully Ohio State can land that spot.

Back next with either Browns vs Steelers or the boxing weekend.

Buckeyes win East, punt Penn State 28-17

The Ohio State Buckeyes hadn't been challenged for four quarters all season and the Penn State Nittany Lions did test the Buckeyes as they had not been previously tested and although the Buckeyes helped keep Penn State in the game with three fumbles at inopportune times, Ohio State righted the ship after a stormy third quarter to defeat Penn State 28-17 in Columbus.

J.K Dobbins ripped through the Nittany Lions run defense for 157 yards and two touchdowns while Justin Fields threw for two touchdowns, including the 28-yard strike to a leaping Chris Olave that put the victory away for a Buckeye team that held Penn State to only 227 yards of total offense.
Chase Young finished with three more sacks to set the Ohio State record for sacks in a single season after his two-game absence from his NCAA suspension.

The victory clinched the Big Ten East division title as the Buckeyes improved to 11-0 (8-0 Big Ten) and stamped their ticket to Indianapolis in two weeks for the Big Ten championship against the winner of next Saturday's Wisconsin-Minnesota game in Minneapolis.
Ohio State will travel to Ann Arbor next Saturday for The Game against the resurgent Wolverines with a perfect regular season on the line.

Olentangy Offerings

1) While I'm happy for the success that former Buckeye Joe Burrow is having for the LSU Tigers and I think that Burrow is likely going to win the Heisman Trophy.
None of that changes the fact- Chase Young is the best football player in this country.
Young finished with three sacks, nine tackles with four of those for losses, against a top ten team and is the type of disruptive presence that can swing games against even the best teams.
I hope the suspension doesn't cost Young votes, Young wouldn't have played more than a half against either Rutgers or Maryland and it shouldn't cost him consideration.

2) Give Penn State plenty of credit for making this game close.
Penn State hit hard and when Ohio State scored quickly to start the second half at 21-0, Penn State could have folded their tent but instead drove for a touchdown in their only long drive of the day.
I wasn't seriously concerned even when Penn State closed to within four points in the third quarter, but James Franklin's bunch made a game out of what easily could have been a blowout.

3) Take all of that into consideration, but this game was close because of what the Buckeyes didn't do rather than what Penn State did to control the Ohio State offense.
What they didn't do was hold onto the football and turning the football over kept Penn State in the game.
Justin Fields first-quarter fumble just before he crossed the goal line cost seven points right there and while J.K. Dobbins' fumble in the third could have been credited to the second half rain and the third-quarter fumble by Justin Fields might not have been (Fields knee looked to be down, but I understood why the call wasn't overturned, it was close and calls that close usually stay with the original whistle)
a fumble, Ohio State gave Penn State two possessions on a short field and ten points.
That's on them and as the games gain in importance, the ball security will need to improve.

4) It was clear that Penn State's one offensive skill player that could have made a difference wasn't near full speed.
K.J. Hamler was a game-time decision to play at all and the Buckeyes were able to keep the hampered Hamler under control with only four catches for forty-five yards.
Hamler's targets were shorter than usual and his injury might have caused him to be more cautious in the return game as he might have gambled on a kickoff return in better health rather than down the ball in the end zone.

5) Another play that swung things for Penn State was the third quarter hit that drove Penn State's starting quarterback Sean Clifford from the game.
George Allen once said that one of the worst things that can happen to a team defensively is knocking a quarterback out of the game because your preparation isn't for the backup quarterback.
In this game, Allen's idiom came true as redshirt freshman Will Levis entered the game and completed the first scoring drive of the day for Penn State, would take advantage of turnovers for two more scoring drives and Levis finished the game as Penn State's more effective quarterback.

6) What Will Levis did well was blast up the middle for chunks of yardage in what could best be described as a Tim Tebowesque offense.
Levis may have finished with only thirty-four yards rushing, but that number is because in college football sack yardage is taken off the rushing total of the quarterback.
Ohio State did make some adjustments to stop Levis and the final few drives controlled the Levis running plays, but one thing is for sure the Michigan Wolverines will notice that success and Ohio State will need to be prepared for Michigan to try some similar calls next Saturday.

7) Justin Fields did fumble on two runs, but without losses (as noted above with Levis) would have finished with 103 yards rushing (actual final number 68).
I still hold my breath with each run with the lack of depth at quarterback, but it's the time of year that you do what you need to win.

8) Considering that, I'm not sure why Justin Fields was taking a hit on a fourth down late in the game that saw Fields checked out after the play.
I understood with an eleven-point lead why Ryan Day didn't want to risk a blocked punt, but considering the depth issue at quarterback, Ohio State might have run the ball instead of passing as Fields was sacked on the play) and risking injury.

9) The Buckeye linebackers played well in not allowing the Penn State short passing game to gain yards after the catch.
Pete Warner finished with eight solo tackles and knocked down two passes and Baron Browning finished with four solo tackles, two and a half of those for loss and a sack and a half.
Penn State's longest completion of the day was the twenty-two yarder to K.J. Hamler and even though tight end Pat Freiermuth caught six passes as the dependable checkdown outlet, Friermuth finished with only forty yards.

10) Another linebacker was the feel-good story when linebacker Justin Hilliard intercepted a Will Levis throw at the Buckeye 20 to snuff out what looked to be the Penn State answer to the Chris Olave touchdown catch.
Hilliard has been plagued with injuries during his career in Columbus, so much so that he has applied for the sixth year of eligibility as a medical redshirt and it was good to see the former five star recruit make a big play.

11) Loved Chris Olave leaping over a Nittany Lion for the fourth-quarter touchdown that gave Ohio State some insurance.
Olave had dropped what looked to be a catchable long ball that would have been a touchdown on a drive that would not produce points near the end of the first half.
Olave has been the main deep threat this season and making a key catch such as that one should keep the confidence high.

12) Now the season gets interesting.
The home schedule, senior day and the division title are completed and the game against Michigan is here.
Before the season, the media selected Michigan as the winners of the Big Ten East with the Buckeyes second with many stating that with a freshman quarterback and first-year head coach that Ohio  State was ripe for the picking.
That turned out to be false for the division title, but Michigan has played well in their last three games and appears to have their offense running as well as it has under Jim Harbaugh.
Michigan can ruin this season, put themselves back on the map in the rivalry, and jeopardize Ohio State's national title hopes with one visit to Ann Arbor.
That said, there is pressure on Michigan too as a loss means a third loss this year, potential frustration with Jim Harbaugh and would be their eighth loss in a row to Ohio State.
If you take away the Luke Fickell year ( a 2011 40-34 win over a 6-6 OSU team), Ohio State hasn't lost to Michigan since 2003, so Michigan has the weight of past failures as well.

The Junior Varsity "rivals" have been dispatched per usual (Penn State has one non-Fickell win over OSU since 2009 and Michigan State has two non-Fickell wins, but what wins they were! since 2000) and with Michigan, the Big 10 title against Wisconsin or Minnesota and then with some luck, the playoffs.
In many ways, the season starts Saturday in Ann Arbor and as Jim Ross used to scream in Mid-South Wrestling- Business is about to pick up.

I'll be back later with Browns-Dolphins or the Wilder-Ortiz battle with the other going up tomorrow.

Chased out of town- Buckeyes crush Badgers 38-7

This Saturday was supposed to be the day where someone stepped up to test the Ohio State Buckeyes.
It turned out that the test would come from the weather and a downpour throughout the game kept the game close for two quarters and more, as the Wisconsin Badgers played the Buckeyes close before being blown away by a wave of offense in another lopsided win for Ohio State.
The 38-7 victory might have seen the possibility of a defensive player making his move for at least a chance for making a trip to the Heisman ceremony as Chase Young trampled the Wisconsin offense as he finished with five tackles for loss and four sacks.
J.K Dobbins rushed for two touchdowns, and Justin Fields rushed for one and threw for two others, both to Chris Olave to lead the offense for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State improved to 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten) and will have next week off before hosting 3-5 Maryland in two weeks.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Chase Young is an unstoppable force and despite the bias towards defensive players that only play defense (The only defensive winner, Charles Woodson received votes for playing offense, averaging eight yards a catch and caught one touchdown.), might wind up bullying his way to the front of the line even with those obstacles.
A four sack performance with a forced fumble as well as running over offensive linemen on national television can catapult a player into contention.

2) Chase Young is the best player in this country whether he wins the Heisman award or not.
I'd imagine that he is just about a lock for the Outland and before 2016 the Lombardi awards for the best lineman in the nation.
I'd also think that he'll be the best player available in the 2020 Draft, but like Nick Bosa in the 2019 draft, some team will reach for a quarterback and leave the best player for someone else.
Half the battle of building a winning team at any level is taking advantage of the mistakes that other teams make and there will be someone there that will be happy to have Chase Young fall into their lap.

3) The hype before this game was about the running back matchup between J.K. Dobbins and Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor and who was the superior back.
Taylor was mentioned as a top Heisman contender entering the game, while Dobbins shared support with Justin Fields ( Fields, Dobbins, and now Chase Young could cost one of them the Heisman by dividing the Buckeye votes) for Ohio State's candidate.
Well, the debate might be over after this game as each player received twenty carries,
Dobbins rushed for 163 yards and two scores, while Taylor ran for 52 yards for an average of 2.4 yards.
Dobbins might have won the Doak Walker award yesterday in Columbus.

4) With those 163 yards, J.K. Dobbins hit two more milestones- Dobbins passed the thousand-yard mark for the season, which placed Dobbins with Archie Griffin as the only Buckeyes with three one thousand yard seasons and the only one to accomplish the feat as a freshman, sophomore and junior.
Dobbins also moved past Tim Spencer into the fourth slot on the all-time rushing list and is under 200 yards behind Eddie George for the third spot.
With the Buckeyes next two games against weak sisters Maryland and Rutgers, the question is this, barring injury, does Dobbins pass George in one game or two?

5) Justin Fields ran for a touchdown but took a shot crossing the goal line that saw him make a trip to the medical tent but returned to the game.
Fields reported some back pain, but about the only thing that I can criticize Ryan Day for this season is that he leaves Fields in way too long.
This game was 38-7 in the fourth quarter and Fields is still in a lopsided game with some discomfort.
Ohio State has no one close to Fields in talent or even style behind him and an injury could turn this season upside down.
I'd hate to see someone (and it only takes one) frustrated from being blown out and take a cheap shot on Fields that knocks him out of the lineup,

6) Ohio State played very cautiously in the rain in the first quarter and kept the ball on the ground.
Safe football isn't always fun to watch football, but the weather played to Wisconsin's strengths and I can see playing close to the vest football.
Wisconsin's best chance to win was run the ball, keep the Buckeyes offense off the field, and try to force turnovers and the rain could have helped the Badgers in those areas.

7) It was that caution that kept this game close, only one touchdown scored in the first half on a Justin Fields to Chris Olave strike and a 10-0 game at the half is certainly no slaughter.
And what might be forgotten in this win was that Wisconsin scored first in the second half on a short drive after a bad punt by Drue Christman to cut the lead to 10-7.
It looked like the test that Ohio State had not passed yet was about to be given.
If that was the test and there will be others, Ohio State passed with flying colors as the Buckeyes marched down the field, scored a touchdown to immediately swing momentum and that score would be the first of four touchdowns in a row in the second half.

8) I watched most of this game on mute or low volume for two reasons.
First of all, two hours in, I was watching the World Boxing Super Series from London on the live stream, but the main one, which I'm sure you can guess, was Gus Johnson on the call.
The reason that I mention this is that when you watch a game without sound, you notice things and what I noticed for much of the first half was the broadcast kept watching a Badger coach on the sideline and it was rarely head coach Paul Chryst, it was former Brown and Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonard.
Leonard was on the broadcast often in the first half, not so often in the second half when Ohio State was moving up and down the field.

9) The Wisconsin score was set up by what was called a blocked punt, but to me the replay was inconclusive.
I thought the 13-yard punt by Drue Christman was missed by a charging Alex Smith, but Smith's rush and near-miss disrupted the mechanics of Christman enough that he caught very little of the football.
In any event, the Badgers had their best field position of the game at the Ohio State 30 yard line and would take only three plays to score.

10) I thought that the pass from Wisconsin's Jack Coan to A.J. Taylor, for the Badgers only touchdown, was about as good or as lucky as you could get as the pass was delivered exactly where it had to be to avoid Shaun Wade and Jeffrey Okudah (I think it was Okudah from my notes), both in good coverage.
What was fortunate for the Badgers was that the ball didn't go over Taylor, just a little bit longer and the pass would have been considered to be intended for another Badger receiver.
Had that been the case, the play may not have stood as he clearly grabbed a Buckeye defender before the ball arrived,
Still, no complaints on the play because the ball didn't carry far enough to get that call.

11) K.J. Hill didn't have the big game that Chris Olave did, with only one catch for eleven yards, but that catch moved Hill over 2,000 yards receiving for his OSU career.
Hill is the ninth Buckeye to reach that level.

12) I know the Buckeyes trolled the Badgers a bit with their playing of "Jump Around" and although I didn't think it was as bad as Illinois blaring it after their game-winning field goal on the last play of the game, but I still wouldn't have done it.
It was kind of funny, but I can understand why Badger fans would have been annoyed.
I like that the fans at Camp Randall do that, and I think it's a pretty cool tradition,.
Even though the Buckeyes won't play Wisconsin again until 2022 (unless in the Big Ten title game) and won't visit Camp Randall until 2023, that's the type of thing that won't be forgotten- ask Baker Mayfield.

13) Now the word will be that Penn State will be the test and a suddenly resurgent Michigan after blowing away Notre Dame will be crowing a bit as well.
We'll see about that and I don't take either team lightly at all.
Maryland is the next team on the schedule, and I don't think Ohio State has forgotten about last year's game where Maryland took the Buckeyes to overtime and almost won, if not for a stop on a two-point conversion.
Plus that game is a recruiting asset for recruits in the Washington area, where they plucked Chase Young from, so Ryan Day will have the team ready.
Rutgers should be a squash match, but you still have to play the game and that will bring forward Penn State and Michigan.
Win both those games and this truly may be a special squad.

Back later with the weekend in boxing.

Ohio State continues to roll- Crushes Northwestern 52-3

The Ohio State train kept rolling in Evanston, Illinois as the Buckeyes crushed Northwestern 52-3 as the Buckeyes scored 24 points in the second period to cruise to a win.

Justin Fields threw four touchdowns, two of those to Chris Olave and J.K Dobbins ran for 121 yards including a 68-yard score.
Master Teague added a 73 yard run for a touchdown in garbage time for Ohio State, who moved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten with the victory.

Ohio State should finally receive a test next week against fellow unbeaten Wisconsin, who also has crushed all opposition without response.
Next week's game in the Horseshoe should be a good one.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Northwestern had often given the Buckeyes all they wanted through the years under Pat Fitzgerald, but it was clear from the first possession that this Wildcat team wasn't doing that.
Ohio State marched down the field and scored a touchdown to start the game and after the teams exchanged punts, Northwestern made their only sustained drive of the night and moved to the Buckeye fifteen-yard line.
On fourth down and three, Northwestern had a choice and took the three points.
It would be their only points of the game, but it essentially ended the game- If you want to beat this Buckeye team, you better be ready to throw caution to the wind and gamble on every scoring situation.
Touchdowns and lots of them are going to be the way of beating them because there won't be defensive struggles.

2) My high point was the 55-yard thump by Blake Haubeil at the end of the first half to place an exclamation point on a 24 point second quarter.
It made little impact on the result, but the fact that if the Buckeyes ever need a long field goal, Haubeil has established that at least he has the leg for it.

3) J.K. Dobbins continues to pass players on the all-time rushing list with his 121 yards against Northwestern moving him two rungs up the ladder.
Dobbins passed Braxton Miller and Beanie Wells and enters the top five runners at Ohio State.
Dobbins needs 151 yards to pass Tim Spencer for 4th and 365 yards to move by Eddie George for 3rd.
I would imagine that 151 yards against the tough Badger defense next week would be a tough go, but with Rutgers and Maryland after the Badgers, I would be surprised if Dobbins isn't sitting in third before the final two games against Penn State and Michigan.

4) That Wisconsin game might have Heisman ramifications as three candidates are playing in the game.
Ohio State's Dobbins and Justin Fields combined with Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor are the Big Ten's top hopes and even though all three will have a rough time winning the Heisman, a huge game could vault one into contention.
In any event, whoever has the better game between Taylor and Dobbins is likely to be the favorite for the Doak Walker award for the nation's top running back.

5) Is it just me or is Ryan Field little more than a larger high school field?
Between the long grass and the setting, the place really comes across as a facility not befitting the Big Ten and has to be the worst in the conference.
I suppose this is coming to mind because of the ridiculous idea of Major League Baseball to revamp the minor leagues, which I'll write about on another day, but still not a great place to visit.

6) The Ohio State defense held Northwestern to under 200 yards in offense and kept their string of keeping offenses under 300 yards intact at seven or every game that they have.
Wisconsin will likely break that string and if they don't, then the Buckeyes have had a terrific game against the Badgers.

7) The play of the game was Justin Fields dodging Wildcat pass rushers, stumbling around the field, but managing to keep himself upright before finding K.J. Hill for a first down on a third and fifteen.
Fields may not have the speed of a Braxton Miller, but Fields is the type of athlete that combines size and speed that Ohio State hasn't seen at quarterback since Terrelle Pryor and I like Fields arm better than Pryor.


8) With the victory, Ohio State officially avoids the upset road loss to a Western division team that bit them the last two seasons.
Northwestern is the final road game against the West and even though Wisconsin visits the Buckeyes, I would not call that an upset and if so only a mild one since the game is in Columbus.

Finishing a little early on this one as I need to work on the Beterbiev-Gvozdyk unification tilt, which was as good as I had hoped for!

Editor's Note: What the hell was with Northwestern's uniforms?
They don't have gold in their colors at all, so I'm guessing this was an attempted psych out attempt since black and gold are the colors of both Purdue and Iowa for their past upsets.
Looked really bad to me.

Ohio State defrosts Nebraska 48-7

Entering this season, it seemed like the game that many writers and observers of both the Ohio State scene, as well as the national one, thought that the Buckeyes visit to Lincoln would end in defeat to the Nebraska Cornhuskers with more than one of those stating that that game would be the first "signature win of the Scott Frost era".
Some of that had died down just a bit after the dominant start by the Buckeyes and Nebraska's loss to Colorado and escape from lowly Illinois last week.
That was about as close as Nebraska's hopes for victory would come as Ohio State scored the first 48 points of the game until Nebraska scored a touchdown in garbage time to avoid the shutout as the Buckeyes took a 48-7 win in Lincoln.
Justin Fields threw for three touchdowns, Master Teague ran for two scores and J.K, Dobbins ran for 177 yards to lead the Ohio State attack.
Ohio State (5-0 2-0 Big Ten) will play another night game next Saturday night in Columbus against 25th ranked Michigan State (4-1 2-0 Big Ten).

Olentangy Offerings

1) The most impressive item in the win has to be the offensive line.
I know Justin Fields was sacked three times, but in all three cases, Fields held the football too long as he tried to make a play and on the ground, Ohio State looked more like the famous road graders from Wisconsin or Nebraska in the Huskers glory days as they just pushed the Nebraska defense aside with little opposition.

2) Justin Fields still has his occasional moments where he should just flick the ball aside, which as explained above can result in sacks.
That's a minor thing in blowouts, but it could be a problem when the inevitable game arrives that the opponent battles back.

3) The offensive line may have made the holes, but the backs still need to find them and J.K. Dobbins and Master Teague certainly found them to the tune of 254 yards between them.
Dobbins definitely added strength in the offseason as he is breaking tackles as never before and Teague powers through smaller holes and keeps driving upfield.
These two backs might be the best help that Justin Fields could have wished for in his first season as a starter.

4) The play that essentially ended the game showed up on Nebraska's third drive as the Huskers drove down the field already down 14-0, but moving the football Taylor Martinez's pass was high and the receiver tipped it- directly to a prone Jeffrey Okudah, who intercepted it with virtually one hand before securing the ball.
Replays showed a wincing Martinez as he saw the interception and the deflating of the Cornhuskers and their sellout crowd was complete.
Nebraska wouldn't threaten to score again until their only touchdown against the Buckeyes second unit in the fourth quarter.

5) J.K Dobbins reached two milestones in his career in this walkover in Lincoln.
Dobbins moved over the three thousand rushing yard mark for his career and moved into the Buckeyes top ten rushers of all-time passing Pepe Pearson for the tenth spot.
Should Dobbins rush for over 100 yards against Michigan State, Dobbins would move into 8th place by passing Carlos Hyde and Keith Byars and should he run for 150 plus yards, he would move into 7th past J.T. Barrett.
Looking at the career numbers and games left to play (at least seven regular-season games, a bowl game and possible Big Ten title game), It is likely that Dobbins could finish the season second only to Archie Griffin in career rushing yards and should Dobbins decide to return to Columbus for a senior season, which I would think is unlikely, but one never knows, Griffin's reign at the top could be shaky.

6) Ohio State may have only outsacked Nebraska 4-3 in this game, but the defensive line was seemingly in on Taylor Martinez on every play and Martinez had little time to throw along with being punished like an overmatched boxer all night.
Martinez's stats look less than strong, but you have to give the young man a break as the Buckeye defense simply overwhelmed the Huskers and he had next to no chance to succeed.

7) Jeffrey Okudah is going to be a top ten draft pick.
Okudah hadn't intercepted a pass in his career until last week against Miami, Ohio, but added two more against Nebraska and his most impressive pick was not the one that he grabbed lying on his back.
Okudah's interception of Taylor Martinez on Nebraska's first drive was perfect coverage as he stepped in front of his man and made the diving grab.
At the college level, that's a tough play to make and usually winds up being called for pass interference, but Okudah's instincts and body control made a hard play look easy and he'll be the first cornerback taken in next year's draft.
If Okudah isn't? Someone made a huge mistake.

8) I might have taken Justin Fields out of this one earlier than Ryan Day did, mainly because Fields was still taking hits like one big one as he faked a keeper while giving the ball to J.K. Dobbins.
Fields wasn't hurt after being blasted (it was a legal hit because of the fake), but being up 48-7 at the time, I would have taken him out far earlier.
Nebraska's only touchdown late in the third quarter against the second-team defense seemed to make Day decide to keep Fields in the game longer.
Against a good Michigan State defense next week, Fields will likely face a stern test that may see him play the entire game.

9) Ohio State scored on every possession of the first half except the final one, where they allowed time to expire to head to the locker room and outgained Nebraska 378-76.
To put that number in perspective, no opponent has come close to gaining 378 yards against Ohio State this season for an entire game.
The Buckeyes would punt once in the second half.

10) Baron Browning and Malik Harrison seemed to be all over the field in this game, which in Browning's case was very encouraging.
Pete Werner has been the apple of the defensive coaches eye in early season play, but the senior Harrison and the redshirt sophomore Browning have been the standouts in my opinion at linebacker.
Browning, in particular, seemed to be a player that needed to be on the field more often and his seven tackles and half-sack will hopefully give him the additional playing time that he seems to deserve.

11) Finally, this game was the media-hyped game during the offseason.
Nebraska looked to be improved, possessed a good young quarterback and with the Buckeyes laying eggs in road games in each of the previous two seasons against inferior opponents (2017 Iowa and 2018 Purdue), I could see how others may look at it that way.
I really didn't see it that way.
With so many unanswered questions entering the season with a new coach and quarterback, the games that I saw as possible trip-ups (other than the usual tough games) were Cincinnati (if the transition took a little bit to become smooth), Northwestern (Ryan Field on one of those cash grab Friday games) and maybe even Maryland (scored a ton of points on them last season and returned a lot on the offensive side), but I didn't think Nebraska because they would be the first road test and Ryan Day would make sure all the I's were dotted and T's were crossed on that trip to take care of business.

12) Now the schedule begins to get somewhat interesting.
Michigan State brings a very good defense to the Horseshoe but does struggle to score points when they have the ball.
Sparty does have a history of ruining great seasons for the Buckeyes, so they need to be taken seriously.
After an off week, it's Northwestern on the road on Cash Grab Friday and despite a slow start (Northwestern lost to Michigan State Saturday), Pat Fitzgerald will have the Wildcats prepped and ready for Ohio State's visit.
Ohio State will have an extra day of rest/preparation before the biggest home game of the season with Wisconsin and their tremendous running back Jonathan Taylor to conclude October's slate.
All three have their reasons to trouble a Buckeye team that hasn't face adversity to date, don't take any of them lightly as October should be far more competitive than September.

Buckeyes take the bloom off Hoosiers 51-10

The Ohio State ground game chewed up and spit out the Indian Hoosiers to the tune of 306 yards, 190 of them by J.K. Dobbins as the Buckeyes grabbed their Big Ten opener 51-10 in front of Hep's Rock in Bloomington.

Justin Fields threw for three touchdowns with J.K. Dobbins running for one and catching a Fields pass for another for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes improve to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten.
Ohio State will host Miami, Ohio next Saturday.

Olentangy Offerings

1) The Buckeye ground game never allowed the Hoosiers a chance to settle in and make this one close.
J.K. Dobbins showed some of the running ability that made him such an impact back as a freshman,
averaging almost nine yards a carry with a touchdown run of 26 yards.
Against this level of competition this season, Dobbins is breaking tackles as he runs between the tackles and seems a cut above his sophomore season.

2) However, the back that I really like is sophomore Master Teague, who isn't afraid to put his shoulder down and run over someone and yet his speed is more than enough to avoid tacklers as well.
Teague ran ten times over one hundred yards and ripped off a forty-yard touchdown run.
If Dobbins goes pro next season, Teague is going to be more than replacement level at running back.

3) Justin Fields impresses me more each week as he shows the discipline to not run.
Fields has seen many opportunities to put the ball down and run and yet he doesn't, which makes me think that he's been coached well enough and is smart enough to not take chances of injury in games that are decided.

4) Ohio State locked everything down in the final quarter, being happy to just run the clock out and avoid injury which is why they didn't score any added points.
Content to allow things to play out can be the smart decision over the long season.

5) Of all the plays in the victory, the play of the day was the final touchdown as Damon Arnette grabbed a Peyton Ramsey pass and took it 96 yards for the score.
Arnette broke up passes earlier in the drive and showed the ability to be a high draft pick next season.
Consistency has always been the issue with Arnette, never his talent.

6) Chris Olave continues to be a breakout level player on several levels.
Olave caught a 37-yard pass from Justin Fields for a score and blocked a punt that bounced through the end zone for a safety,
Combine that with Olave's return ability and you have someone with the skills to influence the game in several manners.

7) The Buckeyes did receive some bad news when Tyreke Smith left the game after the first half.
Smith was getting his first career start after a terrific game against Cincinnati and spent the second half in street clothes.
No word on how much time Smith could miss.

8) One takeaway from the defense was this- when teams can only score using gimmick plays, you could have a very good defense.
The only Indiana touchdown was scored on a 49-yard option pass from Donovan Hale to Peyton Hendershot and the other threats were snuffed out.
When teams have to go to that measure to be able to score, that shows that opponents have begun to believe that they are going to have severe issues scoring straight up.

9) One mild surprise to me has been the naming of Chris Chugunov over Gunnar Hoak.
I would have figured the depth chart would be the other way around, but Chugunov's system familiarity is the likely edge for him over Hoak.
I still think in the event of a Justin Fields injury, it would be Hoak getting the nod.

10)  When the worst thing that you can say about a game is that you got caught by an option pass once and your kicker (Blake Haubeil) missed a field goal, it is a solid outing.
Granted it's Indiana, who has defeated Ohio State twice in MY lifetime, but still, it's the type of performance that you like to see against teams like this for the future, but the competition will be tougher as we progress- but I'm hopeful.

Buckeyes tame Bearcats 42-0

Photo Credit: Cleveland Plain Dealer

The Cincinnati Bearcats came into Ohio Stadium as an underdog, but one that the smart money was betting on to cover the spread and give the home team all that they wanted.

Instead, Ohio State used some breaks in the first half and added some solid defense to keep Cincinnati off the scoreboard and pick up a 42-0 victory.
J.K. Dobbins rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to victory, while Justin Fields threw for two touchdowns and ran for two additional scores.
The now 2-0 Buckeyes will host 2-0 Indiana next Saturday in their Big Ten opener.

Olentangy Offerings

1) It was great to see signs of the freshman version of J.K, Dobbins, who showed power and slashed his way through the Bearcat defense,
Dobbins ran hard and his 60-yard scoring run showed the speed that he didn't always seem to have in 2018.

2) Dobbins didn't receive one carry in the second half and was out of the game by the fourth quarter.
Dobbins still was at the top of his game though as his block in the third quarter allowed Justin Fields to saunter into the end zone for a score.

3) Justin Fields showed the type of poise and growth from one game to the next that you have to be thrilled in watching his four touchdown afternoon.
Fields completed 20 of 25 passes, but what I liked best was some of the five incomplete throws as he showed the patience to throw the ball away.
Fields' calmness and composure in the pocket seems unusual for a player that is getting his first run as a starter and should he continue to grow in that area, Ohio State should receive two pretty special seasons from their young star.

4) For a game that ended 42-0, this game could have been far closer. but Ohio State made a few plays that caused the Bearcats spirits to sag,
The first came with the score 7-0 and Cincinnati driving immediately after stopping Fields on fourth and short to give the ball over on downs.
The Bearcats entered the red zone and Tyreke Smith arrived with a first down sack and third-down stop to force a 32-yard field goal attempt by Sam Crosa.
Crosa's kick was rejected by Chase Young and the game shifted a bit.

5) With the score still 7-0, Ohio State is moving downfield and play stopped for several minutes as Cincinnati safety Kyriq McDonald was down on the grass and suffered a seizure.
McDonald was eventually cleared as fine, although he did not return to the game, but I wrote Ian McArdle, my usual Buckeye "watching buddy" that the delay would hurt Cincinnati as their players likely would lose some concentration due to concern for their teammate.
Sure enough, Justin Fields hit Chris Olave for a 21 yard gain which set up the next play, a four-yard scoring run by J.K. Dobbins.

6) Chris Olave caught two passes for 60 yards, K.J. Hill caught the most passes (8) and Binjimen Victor finished with the most yards (69), but the receiver that caught my eye most was freshman Garrett Wilson.
Wilson caught just one pass for nine yards, but it was quite a pass and showed why Wilson is very likely to be the next great OSU pass catcher.
Wilson leaped into the air to grab the ball, but he then had to pull it down (and almost through) the Cincinnati defender while falling backward and staying in bounds.


7) I mentioned Chase Young's blocked field goal, but Young also finished with a sack and a half and was constantly in the face of Desmond Ridder throughout the game.
Young was the dominant player on the field whenever he stepped into the lineup, although he did drop an interception that would have been a certain pick-six.
While Ryan Day won't be using Chase Young as a tight end anytime soon, he'll be satisfied with one of the best pass rushers in the country.

8) The Buckeye defense finished with a shutout, but not without two threats in the second half that Ohio State managed to make a big play and keep the zero on the board.
The first threat ended with Tuf Borland's interception off a Shaun Wade tipped passed inside the red zone and the second ended late in the game as the second team stopped UC cold when a hustling Dallas Gant hit and stripped Tavion Thomas, who was on his way into the end zone, of the football.
The ball bounced into the end zone to be recovered by Marcus Williamson for the touchback.

9) Shaun Wade did more than deflect the pass that Borland caught for a pick as Wade forced a fumble, batted down another pass and even was used as a blitzer, just missing a sack of Desmond Ridder.
It's interesting that Wade seems to be the player of the three corners (Damon Arnette and Jeffrey Okudah) that gets the least attention and notice but is being used as the disruptive force of the three.
I wonder if this continues to be Wade or will it change on a week to week basis?

10) Was very impressed with this win.
Many observers thought Cincinnati could be the favorite to win the AAC and dethrone Central Florida as champion.
Should the team do that, they would have an excellent chance to be the Group of Five representative in the New Years Day bowls as other than Boise State from the Mountain West, the AAC champion usually has a leg up on that bid.
I thought this would be close and with a break or two, it could have been.
Give the Buckeyes full credit for simply not allowing those plays that could have changed the game to occur.
A complete team victory and the Buckeyes are playing better early than I expected.
If the growth can continue, Ohio State is talented enough to be very good and by very good, perhaps a final four berth.
It's a long season and adversity awaits, but the potential is there to reach that level.

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.

Buckeyes grind out Nebraska,but are they back?

 Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Photo Editor The Lantern

 J.K Dobbins rushed for 163 yards and three touchdowns in a renewed commitment to the rushing games as the Ohio State Buckeyes returned to the win column with a 36-31 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Horseshoe in Columbus.
Dwayne Haskins threw for two more scores with an interception mixed in the victory that saw Nebraska lead at the half.
The now 8-1 Buckeyes (5-1 Big Ten) will travel to East Lansing next week for a tough game against the erratic, but more than capable Spartans.

Olentangy Offerings

1) And indeed there was more of a ground game attack against the Huskers as J.K. Dobbins ran his way to those 163 yards at a seven yards per carry clip.
Dobbins ran with confidence and looked like the back of last season.
A return of that back to the lineup would be welcomed during the homestretch of the season.

2) How did the Buckeyes help Dobbins bounce back as well as Mike Weber, who ran for 91 yards on nine carries?
Using more beef on the offensive line to give the Buckeyes more push off the line and even using backup guard Wyatt Davis at tight end for extra bulk.
I know this will tip off defenses on a run/pass preference, but if that is what it takes to re-establish a running presence, I'm fine with that.

3) Dwayne Haskins didn't exactly struggle in the win, but nor did he dazzle in the win either.
Haskins only threw one interception,(He lost a fumble as well) but his accuracy seemed a bit off.
Not sure if it was the protection to be certain, but Haskins could have been simply adjusting to the differences in the line play.
It'll be interesting to see if this is a factor in East Lansing next Saturday.

4) The player of the game might have been a player that wasn't expected to play much if any as Brendan White entered the game when Jordan Fuller was ejected in the second quarter for everyone's favorite penalty-targeting.
White finished the game with eight solo tackles with two of those for loss.
Fuller will return for the Michigan State game, but White has certainly earned more playing time.

5) The defense gave its share of points up, but with one notable exception, it managed to keep the Men of Corn off the scoreboard and only on that drive, did they give up those big plays with large chunks of yardage to go with it.
It may have been a small step forward, but I'm hoping that it was a step forward.

6) It was only worth two points, but it was a good sign for the special teams when Keandre Davis rushed through in the first half to block a punt through the back of the end zone.
Quality special teams haven't always been a given for Urban Meyer's team despite his having a hand in them, so I take anything that I can get!

7) Dwayne Haskins may only have completed seventeen passes, but he set another Ohio State record as he broke the record for completions in a season.
That record was set by J.T. Barrett last season and I don't remember that record being set, nor do I remember Barrett throwing the ball all that often.
Considering that Haskins has at least three games to go, with the potential for as many as six (In case the Buckeyes go to the Big Ten title game and two playoff games), that record is going to be placed out of reach for a while.

8) Three turnovers inside Nebraska territory brings good news and bad news.
The good news is that the Buckeyes could have won this in a romp and that the offense was clicking, so with a little bit of improved ball control, OSU could be back in form.
The bad news is that is fundamental football and it is not always that easy, especially next week in a hostile East Lansing.

9) J.K. Dobbins moved over 2,000 yards for his career and with Mike Weber already past that mile marker, that gives the pair a notable achievement in Buckeye lore.
Dobbins and Weber are now the first set of teammates in Ohio State history to gain that amount of rushing yardage.

10) Michigan looked very impressive in dispatching Penn State 42-7 and they are playing quite well.
Las Vegas placed Michigan as a three-point favorite over Ohio State if they played tomorrow.
Keep in mind that home field is worth three points so oddsmakers would make Michigan a six-point favorite on a neutral field.
I don't think Ohio State is "back to normal", but I'm not sure Michigan hasn't peaked and with the game at Columbus, I'd rate it as an even matchup.

11) Michigan State is 6-3 and the Spartans always worry me.
The Spartans running game will test Ohio State, but they haven't scored more than 24 points in over a month.
If this becomes a shootout, it's Ohio State's game to win.
At this point, every game is important, I have a feeling "the Big Game Gambler" Mark Dantonio is going to be ready and have more than just one trick ready to go.

Buckeyes handle Indiana in opener 49-21

For one half,the underdog Indiana Hoosiers had the Ohio State Buckeyes on their heels and in a tough battle.
However,the always important adjustments were made on both sides of the ball and the Buckeyes controlled the second half on their way to a 49-21 win in Bloomington.
The offensive star was true freshman
J.K.Dobbins,who set an Ohio State record for most rushing yards in a debut performance with 181 yards.
J.T.Barrett threw three second half touchdown passes and finished with over three hundred yards passing.
Ohio State (1-0 1-0 Big 10) hosts Oklahoma next Saturday night in Columbus....

Olentangy Offerings

1) OK,the Buckeyes didn't impress in the first half,but give credit to both coordinators,Kevin Wilson and Greg Schiano for developing plans to deal with what Indiana was doing (especially Schiano) and generally dominating the second half.

2) Those adjustments on defense were as simple as not giving the Hoosiers,who were using a speeded up offense, as many checkdowns and short passes.
When the Hoosiers were shown some different looks,they didn't make the proper adjustment to those and the game swung the Buckeyes way for good.

3) On offense,the adjustments were made to use running back J.K.Dobbins more and to allow J.T. Barrett to do what he does best-run and occasionally throw on the run.
Using that strategy,the smaller Hoosiers were outpowered and the Buckeyes slowly pulled away.

4) Indiana's final touchdown late in the third quarter gave them a 21-20 lead and the stadium was smelling a close finish.
To the point of Hoosier fans beginning a chant of "Overrated".
J.T.Barrett then hit Parris Campbell on a short pass that Campbell turned into a 74 yard touchdown to regain the lead.
After the Overrated chant,Ohio State outscored Indiana 29-0,so thanks.

5) Parris Campbell redeemed himself with his long touchdown catch after earlier in the game dropping probably the best pass that J.T. Barrett threw all day..
Campbell is explosive,but his hands still have questions to me...

6) J.T. Barrett's numbers look nice,but the issues with accuracy that have followed his career are still there.
Barrett just doesn't throw the deep ball or even the medium ball well and its been proven that Barrett's passing stats are completely reliant on getting the ball out and allowing his receivers to make plays in space.

7) Mike Weber missed the game with an injury and I wrote in the Buckeye preview that the coaches were pleased with J.K. Dobbins.
Buckeye fans were as well with his record setting evening.
Robbins runs hard and has breakaway speed.
To be honest and it's only from one game-Mike Weber is a very nice back,J.K.Dobbins has the ability to be the next Buckeye great running back.

8) Indiana wide receiver Simmie Cobbs had a huge game (11 for 149 and a score) against Denzel Ward,but Ward won his battles as well.
It seems a little silly to say that Ward played well with the numbers that Cobbs put up,but he broke up some passes and yes,I'd say he played well.

9) Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow played well (especially in the first half),but few teams are going to beat Ohio State throwing the ball 68 times (65 from Lagow).
Inexperienced secondary or not,that isn't happening.but give Indiana credit-they were playing for the win.
I've commented often that big underdogs have two choices to play for the win-throw caution to the wind or play very safe and hope to play perfectly.

10) I thought Indiana lost some momentum in the first half when they replaced Richard Lagow with their running QB Peyton Ramsey.
I hate when teams use their quarterback that way-it just advertises what play calling is going to be coming.
Might as well put a board on :RUNNING QB NOW IN GAME-HE CANNOT PASS!!!

11) I really like Binjimen Victor as the red zone receiver.
Victor caught just one ball,but it was for a score-I think it'll be Victor that becomes the end zone target as the season goes by..

12) Next week against Oklahoma looks like a tough game.
You have to think that the Sooners were watching and Baker Mayfield and company aren't afraid to throw the ball around against the OSU secondary..
The advantage is that this will be new head coach Lincoln Riley's first road game and the Sooners looked to be stronger last year in Norman with the Buckeyes winning anyway.
Ohio State might be able to take advantage of the Sooners defense,which isn't exactly sturdy playing in the porous Big 12,which is the football equivalent of Loyola Marymount basketball under Paul Westhead...