The Ohio State Buckeyes survived a serious scare against the unranked Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday, winning by just a touchdown. That might not be everyones philosophy and thats OK.. It is the one part of the team that is playing as well or better than it did in last year’s postseason wins over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon.
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Jones threw two interceptions before he was replaced early in the second quarter by Barrett, who threw another interception.
Cardale Jones started and threw two interceptions, J.T. Barrett finished and was not much better, but linebacker Darron Lee and Ohio State’s defense bailed out the struggling offense and the top-ranked Buckeyes beat Northern Illinois 20-13 on Saturday. There were stretches of very good play and stretches of uninspired play by Ohio State. He has eight tackles for Ohio State and figured to play a lot against the Huskies. Again, fortunately we’ve got enough talent on each side of the ball that we can overcome those.
In the following two games Ohio State’s longest play was Jones passing 25 yards to Michael Thomas against Northern Illinois.
That’s true because the Buckeyes’ offense hasn’t moved the ball well.
Barrett became Ohio State’s starter in August 2014, when Braxton Miller was sidelined by a shoulder injury.
What Meyer may have underestimated, however, was the impact the transition on his staff would have on his team.
The Ohio State head football coach has dealt with this dilemma for months, supposed to make a decision on which of the two highly qualified guys would be the team’s signal-caller back before the season started.
So much so, in fact, that Meyer has considered shifting more of the play-calling duties onto Beck’s plate. Three-point wins against Colorado State and Kent State isn’t going to get it done.
Meyer pointed out OSU is turning the ball over at an alarming rate, including four interceptions and four lost fumbles through three games. Its not like its a demotion or something like that.
Asked to chime in on the quarterback situation, Elliott wisely took a pass, saying: “That’s something I’m not too anxious about”.
“We’re not quite there yet”.
But through three weeks, Meyer has clearly seen something in the inner workings of his offensive staff that has required extra attention. The more disruptive he is, the easier it his for his teammates to make plays.
Barrett started the second half and led a steady drive that stalled in the red zone, but Jack Willoughby booted a 23-yard field goal to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the day at 13-10. The Spartans also accomplished the feat three years in a row from 1951-53 (No. 2 in 1951, No. 1 in 1952, No. 3 in 1953). On fourth-and-one from the NIU 44, Boomer Mays forced Ezekiel Elliott to fumble and Folliard recovered for the Huskies.
Meyer refused to lay all the blame for the Buckeyes’ struggles on his quarterbacks, noting that the offensive line and the entire offensive unit’s execution needs improvement.
Northern Illinois had beaten the last three Big Ten teams it has faced.
On none of Ohio State’s next six possessions did the Buckeyes gain more than 20 yards.
The answer turned out to be Jones, but Meyer insisted both guys would play and they did in the first two games. “I’m anxious to-I wish we were playing tomorrow”.
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For all of the excitement that OSU’s offense generated this past offseason, the defense is pulling more than it’s fair share of weight this season. Howard, the Big Ten’s leading rusher entering the game, had 31 carries. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand.
