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Ten Things We Learned from Ohio State’s 54-21 Win Over UNLV

Tony Gerdeman
Urban Meyer Ohio State Football Team

There is only so much you can take away from a spring game.

Of course, Ohio State’s 54-21 win over UNLV on Saturday wasn’t a spring game, but that’s sort of what it felt like — though a fourth quarter in the spring game usually features more fans in the stadium.

The game wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated, as it also featured two OSU fumbles inside the UNLV 2-yard line.

The good news for the Buckeyes is that even in an easy win, they still made plenty of mistakes to work on throughout the week.

The offense wasn’t as powerful running the ball inside as they can be, and the deep ball still hasn’t happened. The secondary was as grabby as ever, and UNLV hit some big plays both running and throwing.

So what did we learn from a glorified scrimmage?

1. Dwayne Haskins isn’t ready yet…

Haskins completed 15-of-23 passes (65.2%) for 228 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in about one half of play. The good was very good when he was in there, but the bad also stuck out. Haskins trusts his arm more than he does his eyes right now, which caused him to be a little late on some throws. He double clutched on his first couple of passes — including his touchdown pass to C.J. Saunders, but he has the arm to get away with it. His pick six was a poor read and throw, but it was also a play that he checked into after being fooled by the defense. One of the reasons that J.T. Barrett is the starter is because he checks into good situations. Getting these opportunities to make mistakes, however, will help Haskins the next time he’s on the field.

2. …But he could be pretty soon.

When Dwayne Haskins throws the ball, it’s just different than anybody else on the roster. He has a Cardale Jones-like arm, but he doesn’t have Cardale’s windup. He has a very quick release. On his 50-yard completion to C.J. Saunders, he stepped into an easy throw and sent it 44 yards through the air, hitting Saunders perfectly in stride. When he’s rolling right, he puts the ball in a position for his receivers to continue running without breaking stride. When Ohio State won a national title, they did it with a guy who could fit the ball into a window and through double-paned glass. Haskins has that ability, as well as the confidence. All that is missing now is the experience.

3. Rashod Berry earned more playing time.

Are you kidding me? Rashod Berry’s 38-yard touchdown catch-and-run looked like a Madden cheat code. He broke four tackles, and would have broken a fifth if he hadn’t pulled away from a linebacker with his speed. His athleticism has never been in question, but as Urban Meyer said, his fumble at the 1-yard line is an example of needing to build consistency. I say let him build that consistency with the ball in his hands. At least in the first three quarters.

4. Demario McCall isn’t right yet.

Urban Meyer wasn’t sure if Demario McCall would play this weekend, but we saw him late in the game both on offense and in the return game. Based on what I saw from him in this game, he isn’t yet ready to be the Demario McCall we saw last year. He looked hesitant and careful. He also didn’t look nearly as agile and explosive as he did last year. Part of me thinks that after seeing J.K. Dobbins, everyone is going to look a little more human, but I just don’t think McCall is right yet. He is clearly still working his way back from sports hernia surgery in the spring and still feeling out his body. But at least we know now that there are no plans to redshirt him this year. At least not yet.

5. Receivers are finally helping out on the scramble play.

For the first time this season, the Buckeye receivers actually turned and ran on scramble plays. Unfortunately for J.T. Barrett, they only did it for Dwayne Haskins. This has been one missing piece to a very large puzzle, but if they can keep it up, you’ll be seeing fewer throws out of bounds on scrambles and more big plays down the field.

6. The pass defense is still a work in progress.

I think we have learned this in three of Ohio State’s four games now. In game one, the Hoosiers went after Kendall Sheffield repeatedly. Against Oklahoma, it was Damon Arnette getting targeted. This week against UNLV, it was Sheffield once again getting picked on. He gave up three receptions, was called for pass interference twice and holding once. Denzel Ward was also called for interference. Half of OSU’s eight penalties were on Sheffield and Ward. All three corners should continue to improve, but you do have to wonder if Jeff Okudah or Marcus Williamson can start to work their way into the rotation.

7. The linebackers are far from settled.

In the second half of this game, it seemed as if Malik Harrison is now ahead of Dante Booker. Harrison was out of the game late, while Booker was still in. I have no idea if Harrison has actually passed Booker, or if Bill Davis just wanted to get the fourth-year junior some more time at the end of the game since he missed the season last year. Harrison was quite productive while he was in, however, leading the Buckeyes with five tackles. The starters didn’t play much in this one — Tuf Borland finished with three tackles and Jerome Baker just two. It will be interesting to see how Borland graded out with new assignments this week. Currently, the Buckeyes have five linebackers who could be starting, but most of those five have been far from perfect this season.

8. Parris Campbell cannot touch the ball enough.

Get this man the ball in as many different ways as you can because it’s fun to watch him run. I don’t know if the Buckeyes have had a stride like Parris Campbell’s since Ted Ginn. People can say the bubble screens won’t work against good teams, but athletes like Campbell work against all teams if you try hard enough.

9. Austin Mack is starting to flash.

Two weeks ago, Urban Meyer said the Ohio State receivers had no Mike Thomas, but added that somebody would emerge. While Austin Mack doesn’t have big numbers — just eight receptions this season — he has done something in each of the last three games that looked very Michael Thomas-like. Against Oklahoma, it was the amazing 31-yard reception. Against Army, it was the comeback in the end zone for his first career touchdown. On Saturday, it was a simple catch, turn, and run down the sideline for 15 yards. All three of these plays have been done previously by Thomas — and usually in the same game, but we’re finally starting to get glimpses of it from Austin Mack.

10. C.J. Saunders is no hood ornament.

In 2013, Urban Meyer signed Dontre Wilson to play H-back, but couldn’t play him as much as he wanted because he wasn’t able to block. He said back then that players can’t just be hood ornaments and stand around, they have to do be able to block when the play isn’t designed for them. Wilson wasn’t strong enough to block like Meyer wanted, but he still saw quite a bit of time. On Saturday, redshirt sophomore H-back C.J. Saunders caught six passes for 102 yards and impressed everyone in the stadium. After the game, Meyer said the same thing — Saunders has to be able to block, or else he can’t play him as much as he’d like. He still needs to get stronger, and is working hard to get that done. I don’t know how much time Saunders will see in regular games. I suspect it may be a play here or there, but I don’t expect him to become the seventh guy in the rotation. Having a third H-back that the Buckeyes can count on is huge, however, because it would allow them to play Parris Campbell and K.J. Hill at the same time and not be short-handed when one of them — or both of them — get tired.

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