The Odds: Ohio State is a 21 point favorite against Rutgers. “But we didn’t play well tonight”.
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TIM MAY: No doubt the reinsertion of J.T. Barrett at starting quarterback was like giving the offense a vitamin b12 booster shot.
Flood said Thursday that Carroo was “moving in the right direction”.
After weeks of hand-wringing and debate over the Buckeyes’ quarterback dilemma, coach Urban Meyer conceded that J.T. Barrett’s five-touchdown performance in his first start gave him peace heading into the bye week. He scooted 39 yards with a keeper on his first carry of the game. It’s not Jones’ fault.
It was not just the quarterbacks setting the pace for Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights are 4-7 since joining the Big Ten, but the conference TV network does play in New York City now – so that’s something, I guess. As he enters the idle week having just watched Barrett take his offense to heights it hadn’t seen since last postseason, Meyer was asked if he feels more comfortable, now, with certainty at the position making a difference. But more often, he was accurate. Wide receiver Braxton Miller turned in a dynamic performance – which included an acrobatic 45-yard reception in which Miller lost it on the way down, but somehow regathered it while laying on his back and a defender on top of him – his first since a season-opening win at Virginia Tech. As a parent of a high school football player himself, Meyer said he understood the concerns, but also said “it’s the safest the game has ever been”. That 34-yarder set up a short TD run by Barrett in the second quarter, and then Barrett came back in the third quarter to throw a attractive 30-yard TD strike to Curtis Samuel while taking a fist to the facemask.
Kick coverage was good and Jalin Marshall had a 29-yard punt return. We know what’s coming down the pipe here and a few really tough games coming up. When the line is in sync, everything flows. Opponents keep throwing curveballs at the linemen, and their adjustment time keeps getting quicker and quicker.
The Buckeyes got on the board first even after Barrett fumbled the ball, scoring just before the end of the first quarter. This was the offense we knew the Buckeyes were capable of being. And now that the defense played a complete game, we can now see that the results are closer to matching the potential. Previously, Rutgers played in the Big East/AAC from 1991-2013. But the Scarlet Knights came away empty when Kyle Federico’s 29-yard field goal attempt clanged off the left upright. Absolutely. But no defense is slamming the door completely these days due to the waterfront that must be covered.
What a tape review will reinforce is this: The Buckeyes, defending national champions, are the nation’s top-ranked team for a reason.
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It doesn’t appear to be a good fit in a league where people label a whole state as nice (Minnesota), where ears of corn outnumber people (pretty much everywhere) and where children learn to dislike New York area sports teams before they’re big enough to ride in the front seat of the family SUV. (Ask Brionte Dunn and Warren Ball on the other side.) After sitting out the opener on suspension, Bosa was quiet for four weeks, but has now had a sack in each of the last three games and is setting a tone that has this unit living up to preseason acclaim as maybe the best DL in the country. With the lack of depth at cornerback because of injuries and Damon Webb’s suspension, and Conley is as important as anyone on the defense right now.
