Here’s the “honor roll” from Saturday’s 49-7 loss to Ohio State.
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Ezekiel Elliott struggled in the first half, with only 15 yards.
But the passing game needs work.
“We’ll watch the film and we’ll see if there are a few individual performances and players that performed well”, head coach Kyle Flood said. “But when you pressure, you’re going to put stress on the corners”. Clemson (7-0) climbed three spots to No. 3 and has six first-place votes. Wide receiver Michael Thomas caught five passes for 103 yards and that 50-yard touchdown. “They were loading the box”.
“Anybody can take shots and that’s kind of what we did earlier in the year”.
The Knights continued to slow Elliott down and seemed to get a handle on Barrett, at least briefly.
While Week 8 provided a few memorable finishes, most notably Georgia Tech’s thrilling last-second blocked field goal returned for a game-winning touchdown – a moment that can be relived here (along with the spectacular radio call), there was very little shake up in the AP Top 25.
When your special teams basically get a night off, you’ve had a pretty good game.
Miller took a direct snap and ran 16 yards on the next play, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by J.T. Barrett that gave the Buckeyes a 21-0 lead.
Barrett complete 14 of 18 passes for 223 yards and threw touchdowns, while running for 101 yards on 13 carries with another two scores.
Junior weak side linebacker Steve Longa did his best to explain the difference between Elliott’s production in the two halves. “You watch him mature”, said left tackle Keith Lumpkin. “We had a lack of swarm”. The prime time, nationally televised game was exactly what Rutgers hoped for when it joined the Big Ten a couple years ago. He was replaced by freshman Ronnie James, who was making his first career start…. Rutgers gained just 20 yards of field position, Ohio State took over at its 20 and scored four plays later to open the flood gates.
Rutgers (3-4 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) hinted at throwing a quick scare into the Buckeyes by moving 64 yards on its opening drive.
The theme was similar on defense for Rutgers.
Ohio State will have a bye week this upcoming week and will have a great chance to get ready for the stretch run that includes Michigan State and Michigan. Although replays appeared to reveal the tailback was stopped short of the line to gain at the two-yard line, official review upheld the spot.
Braxton Miller made an astonishing catch Saturday vs. the Scarlet Knights.
The Buckeyes came out of the gate in the second half strong.
It might culminate in bigger margins of victory for the Buckeyes and begin to silence a few of the critics who have emerged over the past month. “We were getting there, but we weren’t finishing”. Ohio State recorded five tackles for a loss. “We always count on those guys to make a lot of plays”.
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Barrett led an offensive effort that matched the Buckeyes’ highest point total of the season and produced 528 total yards. Despite his statline, Longa feels he could have done more. I’m not playing along that Athletic Director Julie Hermann has much say at this point, Barchi has intentionally put her on the sidelines.
