I finally got a chance to sit down and watch Ohio State’s 49-21 win over Indiana a lot more closely on Sunday, so I wanted to share some of what caught my attention. There were no replays up in the Indiana press box, so this was my first real opportunity to watch the game.
I especially wanted to get a closer look at J.T. Barrett’s performance, since I know we all have our own thoughts on how he played on Thursday. First, however, let’s start on defense.
Nobody Puts Babies in at Corner
Watching the game live, I wasn’t nearly as disappointed in the Ohio State corners as Urban Meyer was after the game. Of course, he was busy with the offense quite a bit and didn’t see every pass. He only saw the chains moving. It seemed to me that the coverage was there almost every time, but that the corners’ hands were either late, or the catches were simply fantastic.
Watching the game a second time, and I don’t feel any differently. The coverage was far from perfect, but Indiana’s receivers simply made some outstanding plays. An offense isn’t going to sustain one-handed catches over four quarters, and eventually the Hoosiers began to shrivel.
I know some people were upset that the Buckeyes weren’t bumping or weren’t looking back for the ball, but they did that at times, just not every time. Kerry Coombs doesn’t want them looking back and running because you can’t run fast looking behind you. This was the first time Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield played extensive time at corner, so an issue here or there isn’t a surprise.
The best news for the defense was that there were very little yards after the catch. That’s how you know the coverage was tight.
Jashon Cornell Impressed
Even before redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jashon Cornell’s sack and forced fumble, he flashed into the backfield twice earlier in the game. He showed great burst and quickness off the line. Dre’Mont Jones is the starter at the three tech for good reason, but Cornell being in the rotation is no fluke. His motor was impressive.
Jashon Cornell sacks the QB and forces a fumble in his first big play as a Buckeye and Tracy Sprinkle is the happiest guy on the field. pic.twitter.com/2azwyikJkK
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) September 3, 2017
Plastic Man
I’m looking at my notebook right now and it says, “Jalyn Holmes is a panther.” The dude is just so long and has a reach that can get him around the edge before his legs get there. I don’t know how to explain it, but he’s just really smooth. He can play inside or out. Heck, he can probably be an outside linebacker on a 3-4 defense in the NFL.
His reach allowed him to knock down a pair of passes as well. He also got his first career start in this game, which was cool to see.
Ridiculousness
If all you can say about this is “He was offside,” then you’re missing the point. Dre’Mont Jones is ridiculous.
Dre'Mont Jones ????? pic.twitter.com/HlyyI0PlMw
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) September 3, 2017
Issues at Right Guard?
Watching the replay, I got a chance to see what everyone on Twitter and the message boards were talking about. Branden Bowen’s first start got off to a very rocky start. He was getting blown up and put down. He couldn’t get the leverage that he needed and got pushed back because of it.
Bowen eventually got things righted and no doubt learned some lessons. At the start of the second half, left tackle Jamarco Jones was out of the game and Bowen moved to left tackle for a bit. Redshirt sophomore Matt Burrell then came in and played very well at right guard for a series.
This isn’t going to be a situation where the Buckeyes have their hands tied. Bowen is going to have to stay at the top of his game to keep the job. His first start had ups and downs, but he finished strong. The good news is that this should also be his worst start.
Cheeeeeeeeers Johnnie!
Look at how happy everyone is for Johnnie Dixon.
The Spare in the Pair
Yeah, J.K. Dobbins is great and Mike Weber is probably great too, but I was pretty impressed with Antonio Williams. Tony Alford said during camp that he dropped nearly 20 pounds, and he showed it. He rushed for 44 yards on seven carries, and did so when Indiana knew he was coming. He is more agile than he was a year ago and exhibited explosiveness through the hole. He showed nice vision as well.
Barrett’s Night
So here’s the thing, J.T. Barrett was 20-of-35 passing for 304 yards and three touchdowns, and for a lot of people it wasn’t good enough. Was he perfect? No. No quarterback is perfect. Urban Meyer was disappointed that they didn’t hit more deep shots — or any deep shots. That needs to change, clearly.
Watching the game again, I wanted to take a closer look at his 15 incompletions and see what the issues were. Here’s the breakdown of those 15 passes.
+ Throwaway on the run with nobody open
+ Corner route to Marcus Baugh that isn’t really close
+ Wheel route to J.K. Dobbins that hits him in the hands but gets blown up by the safety
+ Drop by Johnnie Dixon
+ Throwaway
+ Fade route in end zone to Austin Mack
+ Throw to Marcus Baugh in end zone, no holding is called
+ Pressured, incomplete to Baugh on corner route
+ Incomplete to diving Binjimen Victor, putting the ball only where his receiver could catch it
+ Thrown just wide of Parris Campbell on a crossing route
+ Drop by Parris Campbell
+ Drop by Parris Campbell
+ Incomplete on deep throw to Marcus Baugh
+ Errant throw while being pressured
+ Throwaway
So in those 15 incompletions there are three throwaways and three drops. The four incompletions to Baugh were bad, but we might want to keep in mind that Baugh had no spring football and very little fall camp. The fact that they haven’t locked in on each other yet isn’t a huge surprise. It’s good to see the Buckeyes trying to utilize the tight end so much, however.
Outside of the throwaways, there were only three passes to wide receivers that weren’t catchable.
When you add those three to the three drops and the three throwaways and the four passes to Baugh that probably need more work, the incompletions add up quickly.
What you will also want to see, however, are the completions.
Namely, once Indiana took a 21-20 lead late in the third quarter, Barrett would go on to complete his final eight pass attempts.
When the game was on the line, Barrett was on the mark, and that’s how you measure a quarterback.
No, the short game won’t beat Alabama, and nowhere in my words above did I say that. Things will need to get better, but they weren’t nearly as bad as some may wish them to be.
JTB is going to criticized no matter what he does. So he may as well be more aggressive with his passes. Instead of waiting for his receivers to get open, anticipate the play and throw to where they should be open. He is too afraid of making mistakes. And it will cost the team a championship.
Breaking down the receptions would be helpful as well. Particularly yards after catch vs true yards through the air.
Why, so people can hold yards after the catch against Barrett too? No other OSU quarterback has ever had to have the YAC taken off of their numbers. Not sure why Barrett would. He needs to hit some deep passes. We all know this. Let’s not be critical of him for putting a pass where it needs to be so that OSU’s athletes can then turn and be athletic with the ball.
The breakdown of the incompletions is very misleading. 3 throwaways, well anybody can throw the ball away. But take a look at the throw away on their first drive when they kicked a FG. Austin Mack was wide open in the end zone, horrible play by Barrett. Then you said on some he got pressure. Thats what being a QB is all about. You are going to get pressure, you have to be able to deal with it.
He also completed passes under pressure.
Gerd, your simple and very witty response has me laughing ?
What I took away from the game is the defensive front is as good as they come, and deeper than anyone else in the Country talking abo0ut seamless rotations.
Linebackers contained well but need to amp up their cover ability. In the first half the corners were taken apart. Whether that was because of bad technique, great plays by the receivers or a combination of both doesn’t really matter. They have to get better. In the second half Coach Schiano rolled a safety over the top and I think it confused Lagow more than anything. The Buckeyes played man but gave the appearance of zone. The stupid pace the Indiana was trying finally took some of the gas out of their receivers but the rotation of corners and a safety kept the Buckeyes fresh to the end.
240 yards after receptions says the Buckeyes have playmakers at receiver. I personally believe that’s been the case since Coach Meyer came to Ohio State. As you pointed out however, dink and dunk passes aren’t going to be something to count on when the level of competition and athletes evens out. I watched the Michigan defense. They would have taken the entire offense away from Barrett and the staff. Also as you pointed out. STILL no deep passing game. Roberto Duran isn’t the answer on deep routes and neither is having KJ Hill as an H-Back. He needs to be a slot receiver doing intermediate routes. He’s too good a player to minimalize where his strengths are. He doesn’t have the immediate speed an H needs and he sure isn’t good as a running back. I realize that with EGW out of the program the options are slim, but, D-Mac is still there and I think everyone already knows that he’s elite in the open field.
It wasn’t just RG that was getting shoved around in the 1st half. It was every position at different times. Yeah, Indiana is elite with experience blah blah blah blah blah. There are 4 returning starters and another guy who has been in the program a couple years for the Buckeyes. Getting shoved around for a half of football by the Indiana’s of the college football world shouldn’t happen. They played better in the second half, but, it also coincided with the Buckeyes returning to more of the offense we saw last year.
Dobbins was terrific. If he remains healthy this time next year his name is going to be seriously in the Heisman race. 2 spectacular jump cuts on the same play. Pretty amazing to watch, and just as amazing to watch when run back in slow motion. The defenders never stood a chance.
Pleased with the work Williams did. He’s a 4 star level player again and reps need to be found for him. His work between the tackles was very good.
We’ll see what happens in the passing game. The lack of intermediate and deep passes right now is what will cost this team a shot at the National title.
Not quite the legendary Buckeye Watch, but good info. Thanks, Gerd.
Thanks Gerd, well done. I most liked the breakdown of the incompletions. I too liked what I saw at CB but who can stop hot/lucky/great? Indiana was all of those things in the first half.