To very loosely paraphrase William Shakespeare, Tresselball by any other name would smell just as bad as that mess yesterday.
1. Let's begin by addressing the 275-pound quarterback in the room. Cardale Jones first signed with Ohio State as part of the 2011 recruiting class; after a post-grad year at a prep school, he re-signed as part of the class of 2012. In reviewing both classes, I picked Cardale as the player least likely to succeed at Ohio State. With Cardale's Twitter indiscretions and the emergence of J.T. Barrett, it appeared that I would be right and Jones would be a career bench warmer. But Cardale proved his doubters wrong with his historic run through the 2014 playoffs. Or did he?
Cardale took over the Buckeye offense in the fourth quarter of the Michigan game after J.T. Barrett suffered a season-ending injury. With Cardale at the helm, running back Ezekiel Elliott began to put up some record-setting numbers:
Wide receiver Devin Smith was the premier deep threat in college football last season, and he was able to bail out Cardale on several passes that we would have called "arm punts" if a certain Michigan quarterback had thrown them:
Cardale certainly played a major role in the Buckeyes' championship run, but the team doesn't take home the title without absolutely insane performances from Ezekiel Elliott and Devin Smith.
Cardale Jones hit the low point of his career yesterday when he completed just four of nine passes for 36 yards and two interceptions. It's pretty clear that the magic is gone, that Cardale's carriage has turned back into a pumpkin. I think that it's time to give the reins back to J.T. Barrett, who last season set team records for total yards (3,772) and total touchdowns (45)….
2. Except that Barrett hasn't exactly looked great, either. Yesterday he was better than Cardale, but that's not exactly a ringing endorsement. Barrett was 11 for 19 for 97 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw a pick and had a couple other errant passes that could have also been intercepted. While Jones looked like a third-string quarterback, Barrett merely looked rusty. At least I hope that's the only problem with Barrett because he really has to step up his game for the Buckeyes to have any chance to repeat as champions of the college football world.
3. Ezekiel Elliott has now rushed for over 100 yards in eight straight games. In the first six of those games, Elliott created quite a highlight reel for himself. He had eight runs of 30+ yards, with at least one such run in each game. Over the past two games, Elliott's longest run is just 13 yards. If Elliott wants to remain in the Heisman race, then he will need to post some more memorable runs and huge numbers in the next three weeks against defenses that are suspect at best (Western Michigan, Indiana, and Maryland).
4. You can probably scratch Braxton Miller's name off the list of legitimate Heisman candidates. After a Player of the Week performance against Virginia Tech (140 yards, 53-yard TD rush, 54-yard TD reception), Miller has just 83 total yards and no touchdowns in the last two contests combined.
5. The offense in general has played poorly over the last two weeks. After scoring 42 points and putting up 572 yards against Virginia Tech in week one, the offense has posted just 44 points and 661 yards in the last two games combined.
6. The running game in particular has been weak these past two games, with the team rushing 86 times for 344 yards, which works out to an average of 172.0 yards per game and 4.00 yards per carry. Last season, the team averaged 264.5 yards per game and 5.75 yards per carry.
7. The Buckeyes have proven that they can survive turnovers and win big (two against Alabama, four against Oregon in last year's playoffs). The offense already has eight turnovers this year including three against Virginia Tech and five against Northern Illinois. The Buckeye defense has surrendered only 37 points on the year, 27 of them coming after a miscue by the offense. In the only game that the offense did not surrender a turnover (Hawaii), the defense pitched a shutout.
8. The defense on the other hand has been stellar. In the last two games, the defense has held their opponents to a combined 355 yards while forcing 6 turnovers and 8 sacks and scoring a pair of touchdowns.
9. Speaking of the defense, Darron Lee recorded his third career touchdown with a 41-yard pick six. Last season, Lee had a pair of scoop sixes: 61 yards against Navy; 33 yards against Michigan.
10. Joey Bosa had a big game yesterday, with 6 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 0.5 sacks, and 3 QB hurries. Bosa now has 37.0 TFLs (14th place) and 21.5 sacks (7th place) for his Buckeye career.
11. Urban Meyer has three national championships to his credit (2006, 2008, 2014). In each of those years, Meyer's team lost one game during the first half of the season. On the other hand, we have seen many Ohio State teams play perfect football until the final week of the season and then fall apart with a championship on the line (1969, 1970, 1975, 1979, 2006). Does this Buckeye team need to lose a game early so that it can regroup, relieve some pressure, and then peak during a championship run?
The problem with that line of reasoning is the schedule itself: the next three opponents (Western Michigan, Indiana, and Maryland) are so weak that a loss to any one of them would be catastrophic. The tougher remaining opponents (Penn State, Minnesota, Michigan State, and Michigan) come during the second half of the regular season slate, at which point it might be too late to overcome even a good loss. So it looks like the Buckeyes will have to play perfect football from here on out if they want to make a return to the playoffs.
To more closely paraphrase Gertrude Stein, A win is a win is a win. And that's about all I can say about yesterday's game.
1. Let's begin by addressing the 275-pound quarterback in the room. Cardale Jones first signed with Ohio State as part of the 2011 recruiting class; after a post-grad year at a prep school, he re-signed as part of the class of 2012. In reviewing both classes, I picked Cardale as the player least likely to succeed at Ohio State. With Cardale's Twitter indiscretions and the emergence of J.T. Barrett, it appeared that I would be right and Jones would be a career bench warmer. But Cardale proved his doubters wrong with his historic run through the 2014 playoffs. Or did he?
Cardale took over the Buckeye offense in the fourth quarter of the Michigan game after J.T. Barrett suffered a season-ending injury. With Cardale at the helm, running back Ezekiel Elliott began to put up some record-setting numbers:
| Opponent | Rush Atts | Rush Yds | Rush Avg | Rush TDs | 30+ Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 3 | 50 | 16.67 | 1 | 44 |
| Wisconsin | 20 | 220 | 11.00 | 2 | 60, 81 |
| Alabama | 20 | 230 | 11.50 | 2 | 54, 85 |
| Oregon | 36 | 246 | 6.83 | 4 | 33 |
| Totals | 79 | 746 | 9.44 | 9 | 6 runs |
| Opponent | Receptions | Rec Yds | Rec Avg | Rec TDs | 30+ Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | none |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 137 | 34.25 | 3 | 39, 42, 44 |
| Alabama | 2 | 87 | 43.50 | 1 | 40, 47 |
| Oregon | 1 | 45 | 45.00 | 0 | 45 |
| Totals | 7 | 269 | 38.43 | 4 | 6 recs |
Cardale Jones hit the low point of his career yesterday when he completed just four of nine passes for 36 yards and two interceptions. It's pretty clear that the magic is gone, that Cardale's carriage has turned back into a pumpkin. I think that it's time to give the reins back to J.T. Barrett, who last season set team records for total yards (3,772) and total touchdowns (45)….
2. Except that Barrett hasn't exactly looked great, either. Yesterday he was better than Cardale, but that's not exactly a ringing endorsement. Barrett was 11 for 19 for 97 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw a pick and had a couple other errant passes that could have also been intercepted. While Jones looked like a third-string quarterback, Barrett merely looked rusty. At least I hope that's the only problem with Barrett because he really has to step up his game for the Buckeyes to have any chance to repeat as champions of the college football world.
3. Ezekiel Elliott has now rushed for over 100 yards in eight straight games. In the first six of those games, Elliott created quite a highlight reel for himself. He had eight runs of 30+ yards, with at least one such run in each game. Over the past two games, Elliott's longest run is just 13 yards. If Elliott wants to remain in the Heisman race, then he will need to post some more memorable runs and huge numbers in the next three weeks against defenses that are suspect at best (Western Michigan, Indiana, and Maryland).
4. You can probably scratch Braxton Miller's name off the list of legitimate Heisman candidates. After a Player of the Week performance against Virginia Tech (140 yards, 53-yard TD rush, 54-yard TD reception), Miller has just 83 total yards and no touchdowns in the last two contests combined.
5. The offense in general has played poorly over the last two weeks. After scoring 42 points and putting up 572 yards against Virginia Tech in week one, the offense has posted just 44 points and 661 yards in the last two games combined.
6. The running game in particular has been weak these past two games, with the team rushing 86 times for 344 yards, which works out to an average of 172.0 yards per game and 4.00 yards per carry. Last season, the team averaged 264.5 yards per game and 5.75 yards per carry.
7. The Buckeyes have proven that they can survive turnovers and win big (two against Alabama, four against Oregon in last year's playoffs). The offense already has eight turnovers this year including three against Virginia Tech and five against Northern Illinois. The Buckeye defense has surrendered only 37 points on the year, 27 of them coming after a miscue by the offense. In the only game that the offense did not surrender a turnover (Hawaii), the defense pitched a shutout.
8. The defense on the other hand has been stellar. In the last two games, the defense has held their opponents to a combined 355 yards while forcing 6 turnovers and 8 sacks and scoring a pair of touchdowns.
9. Speaking of the defense, Darron Lee recorded his third career touchdown with a 41-yard pick six. Last season, Lee had a pair of scoop sixes: 61 yards against Navy; 33 yards against Michigan.
10. Joey Bosa had a big game yesterday, with 6 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 0.5 sacks, and 3 QB hurries. Bosa now has 37.0 TFLs (14th place) and 21.5 sacks (7th place) for his Buckeye career.
11. Urban Meyer has three national championships to his credit (2006, 2008, 2014). In each of those years, Meyer's team lost one game during the first half of the season. On the other hand, we have seen many Ohio State teams play perfect football until the final week of the season and then fall apart with a championship on the line (1969, 1970, 1975, 1979, 2006). Does this Buckeye team need to lose a game early so that it can regroup, relieve some pressure, and then peak during a championship run?
The problem with that line of reasoning is the schedule itself: the next three opponents (Western Michigan, Indiana, and Maryland) are so weak that a loss to any one of them would be catastrophic. The tougher remaining opponents (Penn State, Minnesota, Michigan State, and Michigan) come during the second half of the regular season slate, at which point it might be too late to overcome even a good loss. So it looks like the Buckeyes will have to play perfect football from here on out if they want to make a return to the playoffs.
To more closely paraphrase Gertrude Stein, A win is a win is a win. And that's about all I can say about yesterday's game.
Last edited: