While some coaches are worrying about visitor’s locker rooms, or demonstrations, or their basketball team’s connection to Adidas, Urban Meyer’s worries at the moment remain on his football team.
Meyer likes to talk of the Ohio State football bubble that he lives in, but there are a couple of things right now that could end up bursting said bubble.
“Pass defense continues to be No. 1 on the hit parade,” Meyer said during Tuesday’s Big Ten coaches teleconference. “We had three pass interference penalties last week. Other than that, we played well. But that’s number one where we need to improve.”
The Buckeyes only gave up 88 yards passing to UNLV on Saturday, but that statistic is a bit deceptive considering the three aforementioned pass interference penalties.
Ohio State has played an aggressive brand of pass defense since the 2014 season, and that is Meyer’s preference. However, when the passing yards pile up and so do the penalties, the players are obviously doing something wrong.
“Yes, they are,” Meyer admitted. “And I think [defensive coordinator Greg] Schiano is a good one [to ask] — because I don’t want to act like I’m expert on that — I have my opinions and we share them. PI’s are — kickoff return, the front line of kickoff return, we have to turn and retreat and block people; the transition of pass/rush from run to sacking the quarterback; and bump-and-run coverage are the three hardest skill sets, in my mind, that you teach.”
Right now, the coverage of his cornerbacks is the biggest concern, and they are working on getting it fixed. The bottom line, however, is that it is up to the players to play better.
“We have conversations about it, and when we get a PI they didn’t do it right,” he said.
The Buckeyes will have another opportunity to get better on defense with Rutgers on the schedule. How much of an opportunity, however, is debatable as the Scarlet Knights are dead last in a number of passing categories in the Big Ten.
The other area that Meyer is concerned about centers around his offense.
“Number two is consistency on offense,” he said. “Especially when you start to get into conference play and face the better defenses, you have to play much better.”
Ohio State currently leads the Big Ten in total offense by a wide margin. They are averaging 549 yards per game. The next closest team is Wisconsin at 511 yards.
For the Buckeye coaches and fans, however, the only total offense number that matters is the 350 yards they managed against Oklahoma. Meyer himself has said that while big yards against lesser teams are nice, he wants to see it happen against the best opponents that Ohio State faces.
He believes that the offense is progressing in the proper direction, and credits the development of the players who didn’t have as much experience last season. The more comfortable they get in this offense, the better the offense will become.
“We had a somewhat experienced team coming back, but a lot of new players on some key positions,” he said. “I think we’re doing pretty good. The normal development that you have with young players is taking place, so this week’s a big one to continue to get better.”