Following practice on Tuesday, Ohio State assistant coaches Kevin Wilson and Kerry Coombs spoke with the media, as did players J.K. Dobbins, Mike Weber, Jamarco Jones, Tyquan Lewis, Jerome Baker, Denzel Ward, and Sam Hubbard. You can see most of what each of these players and coaches had to say in the videos below.
As Tom Orr pointed out this week, the team that runs the ball better in this game is the team that generally wins, and when it comes down to where I see the Ohio State offense’s best chances at success in this game, it is their running game. The Buckeyes have the best running game in the Big Ten — averaging 252.6 yards per game…
Saturday was Mark Dantonio’s 142nd game as the head coach at Michigan State. It was not a notable number for Dantonio, but the Buckeyes decided to honor him anyway by rushing for more yards than any other team has in his nearly 11 years at Michigan State. Ohio State ran the ball 42 times for 335 yards, setting a record against…
After being taught a lesson by Iowa last week, No. 13 Ohio State studied its notes, prepared and then administered a similar beatdown to 12th-ranked Michigan State in Ohio Stadium Saturday. It wasn’t even midway through the second quarter when the Buckeyes had more than 300 total yards and 35 points on the board.
Certainly the thing that jumps off the page is Dobbins’ average per carry. He’s a special back. You can easily make an argument for why he should get the ball more. Your eyes tell you that too. But let’s look at J.T.’s numbers for a moment–taking sacks out of the equation. Barrett is an effective runner and more importantly an efficient runner.
Despite OSU’s defense giving up 48 points to Iowa last week, so much of the talk coming into Saturday’s game against Michigan State centers on Ohio State’s offense. The Spartans will bring the Big Ten’s best run defense into Ohio Stadium. Generally, in order to run against a defense like this, an offense will need to utilize the pass to loosen things up.
In his Ohio State debut, freshman running back J.K. Dobbins had 29 carries for a season-high 181 yards rushing. Since that game, however, the most carries he’s had in any single game is just 14. The topic of his touches has been ongoing this season, and ramped up even more after carrying the ball just six times in last Saturday’s loss at Iowa.
During the second quarter of Saturday’s game, the most common question being asked by those watching was, “Where is J.K. Dobbins?” Dobbins sat for at least three series and didn’t reappear until the second half. Urban Meyer has talked about wanting to get Dobbins more touches, but the freshman had just four in the first half.
