2. Lack of explosiveness:
Baker Mayfield threw for 386 yards and three touch- downs as No. 5 Oklahoma pulled ahead in the second half to give first-year head coach Lincoln Riley an early signature victory.
True freshman J.K. Dobbins again was a bright spot for the Buckeyes, rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown, but quarterback J.T. Barrett couldn’t hit the big passes when he needed them to extend drives.
Kelly Bryant ran for two touchdowns after getting knocked hard to the ground and defensive end Austin Bryant had four of Clemson’s 11 sacks, including two on Auburn’s final two plays of the game.
Steven Mitchell and Deontay Burnett caught two touchdown passes apiece from Sam Darnold, and USC extended its winning streak to 11 games with a bruising victory. Dar- nold went 21 of 26 with 316 yards passing for the Trojans (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12), who snapped their three-game losing streak in this rivalry.
Dante Pettis weaved his way 67 yards for the seventh punt return touchdown of his career, and Jake Browning threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns.
Ty Isaac ran for a career-high 133 yards and Wilton Spei- ght threw two touchdown passes to help Michigan pull away and beat Cincinnati. The Wolverines (2-0) led by just three points early in the second half before scoring 19 straight points to turn a closely contested game into a lopsided one.
Cincinnati’s Hayden Moore was 15 of 40 for 132 yards with a TD pass to Kahlil Lewis while Speight completed 17 of 29 passes for 221 yards for the Wolverines.
Current and COLUMBUS — former Ohio State Buckeyes tried to put their best spin on the 31-16 loss Saturday to Oklahoma, even as their fans woke up Sunday morning hoping it was all a bad dream.
“Buckeye fans, y’all kill me sometimes,” former line- backer Joshua Perry wrote on Twitter. “It’s one game. One loss. It’s not over. It’s still early. We’re good. Trust me.”
“I remember l osing a home game week two and then winning the rest of the games and getting rings,” wrote Centerville grad and former defensive linemen Michael Bennett, “and it all worked out in the end, so don’t panic.”
“Buckeyes never quit,” kicker Sean Nuernberger wrote.
It’s too early to write off the Buckeyes, but it’s not too early to wonder what’s wrong with them. No. 5 Okla- homa didn’t just beat No. 2 Ohio State, it dominated the game from start to finish. Ohio State’s revamped passing game showed the same problems that plagued it in the 31-0 loss to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.
A frustrating night ended with Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield planting the Oklahoma flag in the mid- dle of the Block O at midfield, creating the most last- ing image on a night to forget for the second-largest crowd (109,088) in Ohio Stadium history. Here are three reasons the Buckeyes lost:
He set a career high for passing yards (386) against a top-25 opponent. He improved to 10-0 in true road games as a starter. In those games, he has completed 70.1 percent of his passes. He completed 77.1 percent (27 of 35) in this game, including 16 of 17 in the second half.
After the victory, Mayfield explained his celebration. He was motivated by watching Ohio State sing “Carmen Ohio” after beating the Soon- ers 45-24 in Norman, Okla., last season. “It was embar- rassing for them to sing their fight song on our field,” he said. “They’re probably feel- ing the same way right now.”
1. Mayfield:
The Buckeyes talked all off- season about the need to complete more deep passes. They turned short passes into big gains in the 49-21 victory over Indiana but had neither deep passes nor big gains against Oklahoma.
J.T. Barrett completed 19 of 35 passes for 183 yards. His longest completion was to Austin Mack for 31 yards. Barrett and J.K. Dobbins each had runs of 16 yards. Those were the longest rushes.
“There will not be radical changes, but we do have to play in rhythm,” offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. “We do have to play in sync. We do have to play collectively together because J.T. Barrett is a really good quarterback when his surrounding parts are well. That includes the coaches, and the game planning and the structure of practice to give those guys a great chance. We own it. I own it. A very poor job. A lot of work to do, but not radical work. We’ve got a bunch of great players. We were out of whack tonight, and we’re going to get it back on track.”
3. Issues in secondary:
Ohio State kept Oklahoma out of the end zone for the first 34minutes. ThenOklahoma scored touchdowns on four of its next five drives. Oklahoma dominated time of possession, controlling the ball for 35 minutes, 17 seconds.
For the second straight game, Ohio State’s secondary proved to be a problem. Indiana threw for 420 yards against Ohio State. The Buckeyes rank last out of 130 teams in the Football Bowl Division in pass defense (403 yards per game).
“Our problems in the secondary tonight were different than the other night,” defensive coordinator Greg Schiano said. “There wasn’t as much man-on-man coverage. We need to do a better job coaching them.”
Buckeyes fall to eighth:
Oklahoma moved up to No. 2 in the AP poll behind Alabama on Sunday and the Buckeyes fell from No. 2 to eighth. Clemson held its spot at No. 3 after beating Auburn.