The Buckeyes moved to 4-0 on the season with Saturday’s easy peasy dismantling of Tulane on Saturday.
The game featured the return of head coach Urban Meyer to the Ohio State sidelines, and 30 good minutes of Dwayne Haskins and the Ohio State first-team offense.
It also featured 14 players who caught a pass, six rushers who carried the ball, and 20 different Buckeyes with tackles.
Four defensive reserves had sacks, and 11 different players had tackles for loss.
Saturday wasn’t the most important game, but it gave some young players their first playing time of the season, and other young players their first real taste of success.
And now the season truly begins.
But first, what did we learn from the Tulane game? Let’s talk about it.
1. If you give Dwayne Haskins time, it’s over.
In just four games, you know how I know we’ve gotten spoiled by Dwayne Haskins? On his first touchdown pass of the day to Parris Campbell, it was noticeable that the pass was a little behind Campbell and almost batted down by the defender. In other words, it wasn’t perfect and it stood out. If that’s any other quarterback, it’s just a touchdown pass. With Haskins, passes stand out when they aren’t perfect, as opposed to most quarterbacks whose passes stand out when they are perfect.
2. This was Parris Campbell’s turn.
In week one against Oregon State, Terry McLaurin caught four passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. In week two against Rutgers, it was Johnnie Dixon with four receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns. In week three against TCU, it was K.J. Hill with six receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown. Each week, somebody different from Zone 6 stepped up to lead the team, and this week against Tulane it was Parris Campbell’s turn. In one half of play, Campbell caught a career-high eight passes for a career-high 147 yards and a career-high two touchdowns. Now that the Zs (McLaurin, Dixon) have been taken care of, as have the Hs (Hill, Campbell), maybe next week it will be the Xs’ turn.
3. Jashon Cornell is a Big Ten starting defensive end.
With Nick Bosa out, every Buckeye defensive end moves up one spot, which meant that fourth-year junior Jashon Cornell moved from the No. 4 spot to No. 3. He is now going to be counted on to perform like a starter, and that’s exactly what he did against Tulane. He finished with three tackles and a tackle for loss. When Cornell is healthy, he has good strength and burst to penetrate into the backfield against the run. Watching him against Tulane, he looked like he could be starting at a number of different Big Ten programs. For the Buckeyes, he is going to be very involved next week in stopping Penn State’s running game, and after four years of waiting, he is definitely looking forward to it.
4. Dante Booker looks healthy.
Throughout camp and into the first couple of weeks, there were mentions here and there that Dante Booker was being brought along slowly in his return from an injury. On Saturday, it looked like he had finally arrived. Booker played very well, tying for the team lead with four tackles — all solo. He also tied for the team lead with a sack, but his three tackles for loss put him all by his lonesome at the top of the leaderboard for the Buckeyes. It was notable that starter Pete Werner didn’t notch a single tackle on the day. Will Booker’s play reopen the battle at Sam linebacker for Ohio State?
5. There is still a place for Demario McCall.
It was a bit of surprise to see Demario McCall on the field against Tulane, but only because we don’t normally get to see him. With freshman tailback Brian Snead still presumably in the doghouse, McCall was essentially the No. 3 running back on the day, rushing for 26 yards on four carries. He also caught two passes for 36 yards. As the No. 4 H-back, life is going to be tough for McCall, but if he is going to make plays in blowouts, then the coaches will take notice. I’d like to see him at kick returner, but he must not be executing properly in practice.
6. Baron Browning is getting better.
For the first time this season, sophomore middle linebacker Baron Browning was making plays. Maybe watching a bit more now with Tuf Borland back in the starting lineup has helped him. Browning had a sack on third down and a tackle for loss on a first-and-goal run from the OSU 1-yard line. Greg Schiano has talked about finding specific roles for the linebackers as he subs in unique packages. If he and linebacker coach Bill Davis can figure out what those roles can be, then maybe the Buckeyes will start making more plays. As an aside, which is much larger than an aside, not a single starting linebacker recorded a tackle in this game. Some of that is due to the defensive line making tackles, but not all of it. Some of it may be due to the option offense, but not all of it. Some of it may be due to the lack of playing time. Perhaps all of these reasons together spell it out better, but it still might be the first time in modern school history this has ever happened.
7. The middle linebacker spot is still a question mark.
Three middle linebackers played for the Buckeyes on Saturday. Tuf Borland got the start and didn’t record a tackle. Browning was the No. 2 and finished with three tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a sack. Justin Hilliard came in and notched a pair of tackles, including a TFL. Borland certainly had opportunities for tackles, but was knocked to the ground once and whiffed on at least one other. When I asked Urban Meyer at Big Ten Media Days how long it would take Borland to be ready to play once he was cleared, he said immediately. I think we are seeing that “being ready to play” and “mid-season form” are two very different things. The Buckeyes need Borland to be his best next week in Happy Valley.
8. Michael Jordan put in the work to get his snaps back straight.
After watching low snap after low snap from center Michael Jordan against TCU, there were no such issues Saturday against the Green Wave. According to Urban Meyer, that’s because they made it a focal point through the week and Jordan responded well. Of course, a cynic would say that the only time Jordan has had issues this season is against a defensive line that posed a problem. Saturday night in Happy Valley, there will once again be a defensive line to be concerned about. Will the concerning snaps follow?
9. The penalties have to stop.
The Buckeyes were flagged 13 times on Saturday, but only 10 of the flags were accepted. Twice there were offsetting penalties and a third time there were two flags on the same play and only one could be accepted. They were flagged 11 times in the first half, which is completely unacceptable. Ohio State is 112th in the nation in penalty yards, averaging 74.5 yards per game. They are averaging eight accepted penalties per game. Next Saturday night they will need to be smarter than they have been so far this year.
10. It’s time for the running game to stop playing possum.
The Buckeyes have had diminishing returns each week with the running game. They have gone from 375 yards against Oregon State, to 225 yards against Rutgers, to 182 yards against TCU, and then just 151 yards Saturday against Tulane. Ohio State averaged 3.97 yards per carry yesterday, which is the first time they’ve been held under four yards per carry since 31-0 against Clemson. The lack of the quarterback run is likely playing a part in some of the running game struggles, but keep in mind that in four of the past five years, the Buckeyes have been held under 200 yards rushing in two of their first four games. They eventually pick up the pace, and that’s precisely what they’d like to see happen this coming weekend against Penn State. Unless, of course, it’s just easier to throw the ball.