JWil
O-State.com S.I.D
Scouting the Buckeyes from Orange Country: Looking over the Ohio State offense
By Justin Wilmeth
O-State.com Senior Columnist
After a long break, it’s almost game time.
The 2004 Alamo Bowl is only two days away, which is a good thing for rabid OSU fans for both schools. Christmas is behind everyone and now there’s nothing in the way of the big showdown in the Lone Star State between Oklahoma State and Ohio State.
And for those Ohio State Buckeyes, their Alamo Bowl battle cry might as well be: “Remember the offensive performance against Michigan!”
A whopping 465 yards of total offense. A huge offensive outburst against its biggest rival. An exclamation point on a roller coaster season.
But most of the numbers in that stunning performance against the Wolverines came from quarterback Troy Smith, who was 13-of-23 for 241 yards and two touchdowns through the air and 150 yards and a score on 18 carries on the ground. But with his suspension from the game on Wednesday against Oklahoma State, one has to wonder exactly where the offensive production will come from.
It’s not a clear answer. The Buckeyes have one of the worst offenses in the nation statistically, ranking 100th overall in total offense, averaging only 313 yards a game. Just to give a comparison, some of the teams who had a better offense this season include: Tulsa (73rd), Southern Methodist (90th), Indiana (98th) and Kansas (99th). Not very good company for a team just two years removed from a national championship.
It’s safe to say the loss of Smith is huge for the Buckeyes. He accounted for 36 percent of the Buckeyes’ total offense in 2004. A true combo QB, he torched teams on the ground and was capable through the air.
So, short of the Buckeye defense forcing turnovers and scoring off them, Ohio State must find a way to overcome the loss of Smith in the backfield. And if they expect to win, they’ll have to count on an ineffective backup who was benched early in the season for being, well, ineffective, as well as a three-way running back tandem which didn’t do much to help the Buckeyes win games.
But let’s go in for a closer look, by breaking down the key offensive positions one at a time.
QUARTERBACK: Suspended hopes
Coming into the season, Justin Zwick was the man. Having won the starting job going into the season, the sophomore was handed the keys to Jim Tressel’s offense.
And out of the gates, it looked like he would be an okay guy to have back there, albeit not super-effective. He passed for 531 yards and four touchdowns in the first two games of the season, but countered that with four interceptions.
But after that came a nosedive similar to a Kamikaze fighter in World War II. In the next four games he started, Zwick passed for 483 yards with only one touchdown and two interceptions.
And after a fumble early in the third quarter on the road against Iowa, Zwick was yanked like a bad vaudeville act, never seeing significant playing time the rest of the season.
After the 33-7 drubbing the Hawkeyes handed the Buckeyes, Zwick was 3-3 as a starter and lost out to Troy Smith, who had a very successful season, considering his numbers came in half a season, much like Zwick’s: 896 passing yards, eight touchdowns, three interceptions and 339 rushing yards with two scores. Smith turned the Buckeyes around like a John Elway comeback, going 4-1 as a starter.
But Smith is out of the equation for this game, which spells trouble for the Ohio State offense. While Smith was a capable passer, it was his scrambling skills which gave the Buckeye offense chances to score. But all that’s out the window now, as Ohio State is left with a quarterback who hasn’t seen the field in a while and is sporadic at best. His early-season performance makes you think he could have a big day against the iffy Oklahoma State secondary, but he’s just as likely to throw a touchdown as throw a pick. Basically, it’s a 50-50 deal with him, to which Buckeye fans have to ask themselves: “Do we feel lucky? Well, do we?”
If Smith were to play, Ohio State would be dangerous offensively. Since he isn’t, it’ll be interesting to see how the Buckeyes keep up with the Cowboys if it turns into an old-fashioned, wild-West shootout. Grade: D+ … Zwick hasn’t proven he can lead the team to victory.
RUNNING BACKS: Oh man, Smith was key here as well!
It’s hard to move to the running back category without again mentioning how painful the loss of Smith will be to the Buckeyes. After all, he accounted for almost a quarter of the running attack and was second on the team in touchdowns scored on the ground. Zwick won’t replace that output here, as he only rushed for 32 yards on 39 carries with no touchdowns.
So it’s up to the trio of Maurice Hall, Lydell Ross and Antonio Pittman to give the Buckeyes yards on the ground. But none of those three proved to be anything special throughout the season, as they combined for 961 yards on 223 attempts and five touchdowns. They also make use of fullback Branden Joe at times (105 yards on 37 carries and one score).
So it’s anyone’s guess as to who they turn to here. Ross has the most touchdowns on the season (three) while Pittman has the best yards-per-carry average (5.4 a turn). Expect some sort of platoon. Grade: C- … This group seems to be like those friends of yours at the office who don’t do much but still have a job. How?
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: The cream of the offense, but does it matter?
This is the best part of the Ohio State offense. The only problem is, the Buckeye wideouts have to count on a backup who hasn’t played much down the stretch. That could be a problem for Ohio State, as they desperately need to get the ball to the wideouts with regularity if the Buckeyes expect to win.
This group is headed by standout Santonio Holmes and wonder freshman Ted Ginn, Jr. Holmes is their go-to guy here, as he caught 50 passes for 772 yards and seven touchdowns. Ginn strung together 281 yards and two scores on 19 receptions. Wideouts Roy Hall (17 receptions, 230 yards, one TD) and Bam Childress (16 receptions, 193 yards) are options at times. Ryan Hamby is the tight end and is essentially an afterthought. He only put together 174 yards on 15 receptions and zero scores.
Holmes and Ginn are legit threats to the OSU defense, which can be holier than the Pope at times. But the question remains, can Zwick be consistent enough to get them the ball and not be a liability? Grade: B+ … Holmes and Ginn could have good days if Zwick is consistent.
OFFENSIVE LINE: United or divided?
It’s hard to factor in the job an offensive line does over the course of the season, but it’s widely-known that if your line can’t pass-protect or run-block, it could be a long season. From the looks of things, this group seems to me some sort of mixture of success and failure, allowing for some big passing games (such as the 218-yard, two-TD day Holmes had against Marshall) and rushing games (Ross’ 142 yards and a score against Cincinnati) but not yielding consistent number for its money guys behind them. Led by a couple of upperclassmen (guard Mike Kne, tackle Rob Sims and center Nick Mangold), younger players (Kyle Mitchum and Kirk Barton) might be mixed in.
Luckily for them, the Oklahoma State defensive line has been nothing scary since true freshman Nathan Peterson tore up his knee earlier this season. Grade: C- … Ultimately, the lack of offense has to fall on the guys who protect the backfield.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The saving grace?
If the Buckeyes win, it will be through defensive turnovers and special teams. That’s it. Straight up, the offense won’t do it. But, if Ginn can continue his punt-return prowess (12 returns, 377 yards, long of 82 and four scores) and Maurice Hall (18 kickoff returns, 461 yards) and Santonio Holmes (8 returns, 186 give the Buckeyes decent field position on kickoffs, Ohio State could have a good evening in Texas. Grade: A- … Ohio State has five punt returns for TDs this season.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Totally offensive
Let’s not mince words here: The Ohio State offense is not very good. The Buckeyes are No. 73 in total rushing offense (139 ypg) and No. 96 in total passing offense 174 ypg). The loss of Smith will hurt Ohio State’s rushing totals, but could help its passing totals, if Zwick has a solid game. But will he? It’s tough to have to rely on this quarterback if you want to win. But the Buckeyes have no choice. Smith can’t play and, unless Tressel burns the redshirt of freshman Todd Boeckman, there’s no one else to go to. On paper, Ohio State is in a world of hurt.
The elixir could come in the form of the sketchy Cowboy defense, but that remains to be seen. Oklahoma State’s offense was able to bail out its defense several times this season, with the defense holding its own in a win against Missouri and a still-confounding loss to Texas Tech (the D held Tech to only 17 points through three quarters). The offense also came within a field goal of bringing down Oklahoma and put up a crazy lead on Texas before the defense caved to the blitzkrieg Longhorn offense. But can Ohio State put together offensive performances like OU or UT had to outscore the Cowboys? Not likely, but the Cowboys defense could keep it interesting. Final grade: C- … A bowl win falls squarely on the shoulders of defense and special teams. If they don’t contribute and the Cowboys’ offense produces, the Buckeyes are in for a long night.
Justin Wilmeth is the senior columnist for O-State.com. He can be reached via email at [email protected]
By Justin Wilmeth
O-State.com Senior Columnist
After a long break, it’s almost game time.
The 2004 Alamo Bowl is only two days away, which is a good thing for rabid OSU fans for both schools. Christmas is behind everyone and now there’s nothing in the way of the big showdown in the Lone Star State between Oklahoma State and Ohio State.
And for those Ohio State Buckeyes, their Alamo Bowl battle cry might as well be: “Remember the offensive performance against Michigan!”
A whopping 465 yards of total offense. A huge offensive outburst against its biggest rival. An exclamation point on a roller coaster season.
But most of the numbers in that stunning performance against the Wolverines came from quarterback Troy Smith, who was 13-of-23 for 241 yards and two touchdowns through the air and 150 yards and a score on 18 carries on the ground. But with his suspension from the game on Wednesday against Oklahoma State, one has to wonder exactly where the offensive production will come from.
It’s not a clear answer. The Buckeyes have one of the worst offenses in the nation statistically, ranking 100th overall in total offense, averaging only 313 yards a game. Just to give a comparison, some of the teams who had a better offense this season include: Tulsa (73rd), Southern Methodist (90th), Indiana (98th) and Kansas (99th). Not very good company for a team just two years removed from a national championship.
It’s safe to say the loss of Smith is huge for the Buckeyes. He accounted for 36 percent of the Buckeyes’ total offense in 2004. A true combo QB, he torched teams on the ground and was capable through the air.
So, short of the Buckeye defense forcing turnovers and scoring off them, Ohio State must find a way to overcome the loss of Smith in the backfield. And if they expect to win, they’ll have to count on an ineffective backup who was benched early in the season for being, well, ineffective, as well as a three-way running back tandem which didn’t do much to help the Buckeyes win games.
But let’s go in for a closer look, by breaking down the key offensive positions one at a time.
QUARTERBACK: Suspended hopes
Coming into the season, Justin Zwick was the man. Having won the starting job going into the season, the sophomore was handed the keys to Jim Tressel’s offense.
And out of the gates, it looked like he would be an okay guy to have back there, albeit not super-effective. He passed for 531 yards and four touchdowns in the first two games of the season, but countered that with four interceptions.
But after that came a nosedive similar to a Kamikaze fighter in World War II. In the next four games he started, Zwick passed for 483 yards with only one touchdown and two interceptions.
And after a fumble early in the third quarter on the road against Iowa, Zwick was yanked like a bad vaudeville act, never seeing significant playing time the rest of the season.
After the 33-7 drubbing the Hawkeyes handed the Buckeyes, Zwick was 3-3 as a starter and lost out to Troy Smith, who had a very successful season, considering his numbers came in half a season, much like Zwick’s: 896 passing yards, eight touchdowns, three interceptions and 339 rushing yards with two scores. Smith turned the Buckeyes around like a John Elway comeback, going 4-1 as a starter.
But Smith is out of the equation for this game, which spells trouble for the Ohio State offense. While Smith was a capable passer, it was his scrambling skills which gave the Buckeye offense chances to score. But all that’s out the window now, as Ohio State is left with a quarterback who hasn’t seen the field in a while and is sporadic at best. His early-season performance makes you think he could have a big day against the iffy Oklahoma State secondary, but he’s just as likely to throw a touchdown as throw a pick. Basically, it’s a 50-50 deal with him, to which Buckeye fans have to ask themselves: “Do we feel lucky? Well, do we?”
If Smith were to play, Ohio State would be dangerous offensively. Since he isn’t, it’ll be interesting to see how the Buckeyes keep up with the Cowboys if it turns into an old-fashioned, wild-West shootout. Grade: D+ … Zwick hasn’t proven he can lead the team to victory.
RUNNING BACKS: Oh man, Smith was key here as well!
It’s hard to move to the running back category without again mentioning how painful the loss of Smith will be to the Buckeyes. After all, he accounted for almost a quarter of the running attack and was second on the team in touchdowns scored on the ground. Zwick won’t replace that output here, as he only rushed for 32 yards on 39 carries with no touchdowns.
So it’s up to the trio of Maurice Hall, Lydell Ross and Antonio Pittman to give the Buckeyes yards on the ground. But none of those three proved to be anything special throughout the season, as they combined for 961 yards on 223 attempts and five touchdowns. They also make use of fullback Branden Joe at times (105 yards on 37 carries and one score).
So it’s anyone’s guess as to who they turn to here. Ross has the most touchdowns on the season (three) while Pittman has the best yards-per-carry average (5.4 a turn). Expect some sort of platoon. Grade: C- … This group seems to be like those friends of yours at the office who don’t do much but still have a job. How?
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: The cream of the offense, but does it matter?
This is the best part of the Ohio State offense. The only problem is, the Buckeye wideouts have to count on a backup who hasn’t played much down the stretch. That could be a problem for Ohio State, as they desperately need to get the ball to the wideouts with regularity if the Buckeyes expect to win.
This group is headed by standout Santonio Holmes and wonder freshman Ted Ginn, Jr. Holmes is their go-to guy here, as he caught 50 passes for 772 yards and seven touchdowns. Ginn strung together 281 yards and two scores on 19 receptions. Wideouts Roy Hall (17 receptions, 230 yards, one TD) and Bam Childress (16 receptions, 193 yards) are options at times. Ryan Hamby is the tight end and is essentially an afterthought. He only put together 174 yards on 15 receptions and zero scores.
Holmes and Ginn are legit threats to the OSU defense, which can be holier than the Pope at times. But the question remains, can Zwick be consistent enough to get them the ball and not be a liability? Grade: B+ … Holmes and Ginn could have good days if Zwick is consistent.
OFFENSIVE LINE: United or divided?
It’s hard to factor in the job an offensive line does over the course of the season, but it’s widely-known that if your line can’t pass-protect or run-block, it could be a long season. From the looks of things, this group seems to me some sort of mixture of success and failure, allowing for some big passing games (such as the 218-yard, two-TD day Holmes had against Marshall) and rushing games (Ross’ 142 yards and a score against Cincinnati) but not yielding consistent number for its money guys behind them. Led by a couple of upperclassmen (guard Mike Kne, tackle Rob Sims and center Nick Mangold), younger players (Kyle Mitchum and Kirk Barton) might be mixed in.
Luckily for them, the Oklahoma State defensive line has been nothing scary since true freshman Nathan Peterson tore up his knee earlier this season. Grade: C- … Ultimately, the lack of offense has to fall on the guys who protect the backfield.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The saving grace?
If the Buckeyes win, it will be through defensive turnovers and special teams. That’s it. Straight up, the offense won’t do it. But, if Ginn can continue his punt-return prowess (12 returns, 377 yards, long of 82 and four scores) and Maurice Hall (18 kickoff returns, 461 yards) and Santonio Holmes (8 returns, 186 give the Buckeyes decent field position on kickoffs, Ohio State could have a good evening in Texas. Grade: A- … Ohio State has five punt returns for TDs this season.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Totally offensive
Let’s not mince words here: The Ohio State offense is not very good. The Buckeyes are No. 73 in total rushing offense (139 ypg) and No. 96 in total passing offense 174 ypg). The loss of Smith will hurt Ohio State’s rushing totals, but could help its passing totals, if Zwick has a solid game. But will he? It’s tough to have to rely on this quarterback if you want to win. But the Buckeyes have no choice. Smith can’t play and, unless Tressel burns the redshirt of freshman Todd Boeckman, there’s no one else to go to. On paper, Ohio State is in a world of hurt.
The elixir could come in the form of the sketchy Cowboy defense, but that remains to be seen. Oklahoma State’s offense was able to bail out its defense several times this season, with the defense holding its own in a win against Missouri and a still-confounding loss to Texas Tech (the D held Tech to only 17 points through three quarters). The offense also came within a field goal of bringing down Oklahoma and put up a crazy lead on Texas before the defense caved to the blitzkrieg Longhorn offense. But can Ohio State put together offensive performances like OU or UT had to outscore the Cowboys? Not likely, but the Cowboys defense could keep it interesting. Final grade: C- … A bowl win falls squarely on the shoulders of defense and special teams. If they don’t contribute and the Cowboys’ offense produces, the Buckeyes are in for a long night.
Justin Wilmeth is the senior columnist for O-State.com. He can be reached via email at [email protected]
