No, Ohio State’s playoff hopes aren’t dead.
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Senior quarterback and perennial Heisman contender Baker Mayfield threw 19-of-20 passing for 329 yards and three touchdowns.
In a rematch of last year’s thrashing of Oklahoma in Norman, Ohio State football hosted the Sooners on Saturday night, but this time it was a different story. “I love competing in venues like this”. He will need to play extremely well this week if Oklahoma is able to win.
Mayfield, the ultimate competitor, was the catalyst. “Our preparation was great”.
In week two, it’s back to campus, where traditional venues make the games feel even bigger and crowds are anything but neutral.
Oklahoma avenged the Buckeyes’ 45-24 loss in Norman previous year. So the win was extra sweet. “He played extremely well out there”.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Ohio State’s offense has problems. “Every little thing I can do, or anybody else on this team can do to win, we’re going to do it”. Oklahoma has to find a way to force Barrett into throwing it and having to throw it under pressure.
MARYLAND 63, TOWSON 17: In College Park, Maryland, Kasim Hill threw two touchdown passes in his starting debut, Ty Johnson ran for two long scores and the Terrapins cruised past their in-state foe.
Urban Meyer says he is not thinking about making a quarterback change despite J.T. Barrett’s poor showing on Saturday night against Oklahoma. “It’s part of the system and a group that has to get better”. They were the same kind of struggles that brought Ohio State’s season to an end with a 31-0 disappointment against Clemson in the playoff semifinal last season.
The matchup at the other end of the field looks to be more balanced, as Heisman hopeful Baker Mayfield takes on a Buckeyes pass defense that tied for the national lead in yards per pass past year (5.6). The Sooners are lead by first-year coach Lincoln Riley who took over after the retirement of longtime Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops.
DUKE 41, NORTHWESTERN 17: In Durham, North Carolina, Daniel Jones accounted for 413 total yards and four touchdowns, and the Blue Devils cruised.
He was a brutal 5-for-11 passing in the first half for 25 yards.
It burned Mayfield that Ohio State fans essentially took over OU’s stadium with the “O-H …”
Either way, Ohio State’s offense machine – with the exception of a second-half performance against inferior IN in the season-opener – has run about smoothly as a gasoline engine filled with diesel fuel. At halftime the guys really believed. Their gameplan must circle around stopping the elite Buckeyes rushing attack, led by impressive freshman J.K. Dobbins.
“That’s the story tonight – how well our defense played”, Riley said. Still, I think Georgia has enough in place to handle Notre Dame behind Fromm. He also completed his final 14 passes and did it without his most reliable target, Mark Andrews, who left in the second quarter with a knee injury and didn’t return. When OU doesn’t score 30 points, it is 0-4 with Riley.
They put away the memory of last season’s loss to Ohio State, the one that seemed to indicate a wide gap between the two programs.
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FSU coach Jimbo Fisher, an eternal optimist, has faith in his young QB. The Buckeyes had played for a national championship in 2007 and OU played Florida (which was coached by Meyer) in the 2008 BCS Championship Game.
