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After decimating two straight instate foes, Ohio State eyes the Terps in the quest to make “Maryland, My Maryland” in its Big Ten opener.
In the polls
The Buckeyes jumped up two spots in the Amway coaches poll to 18th; they moved up two spots in the Associated Press media poll to No. 20. In the coaches poll, Alabama moved over Florida State to No. 1, with Oklahoma No. 3. In the AP poll, Florida State stayed No. 1, followed by Oregon and Alabama. As for the Big Ten members, the coaches have Michigan State 10th, Wisconsin 16th, Nebraska 17th. AP has Michigan State 10th, Wisconsin 17th, Nebraska 19th.
Who’s hot?
J.T. Barrett, who just seems to be warming up. The redshirt freshman is eighth nationally in passing efficiency (176.6 rating) and second in the Big Ten to Michigan State’s Connor Cook (192.3), who is third in the nation. In his first four college starts, Barrett has passed for 1,087 yards with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions, completing 70 of 110 throws. He also has rushed for 205 yards, thus sitting 19th in the nation in total offense (323.0 average).
What’s not hot?
Giving up long, sometimes arching, sometimes grab-andrun pass plays for touchdowns. Throw in that bogus offensive pass interference call against Cincinnati (it should have been pass interference or at least holding on OSU cornerback Eli Apple), and it was not a statement night from the overhauled pass defense. Coach Urban Meyer said they are going back under the hood of the co-coordinator Chris Ash design this week, perhaps to change some parts. Meyer said the passing defense is still the weak link on an otherwise rising team.
What went right?
Coordinator Tom Herman and his fellow offensive coaches turned an inferior defense inside out for a second straight game. Against Cincinnati, that meant 380 yards rushing, 330 passing and 710 total, 8 short of the school record set in an all-rushing win over Mount Union in 1930. On Saturday, Devin Smith caught two TD passes, Ezekiel Elliott ran for a career-high 182 yards and a TD while catching five passes for 51 yards, and Dontre Wilson caught a career-high six passes for 71 yards and a TD.
Back to the drawing board
We’ve covered the pass defense woes, but they qualify for a double dip. As for that 12th man thing, a student running onto the field clearly was drawn up on the fly. But former OSU linebacker Anthony Schlegel, now an assistant strength and conditioning coach, was the big eraser.
Catch that?
Hybrid back Jalin Marshall said last week that the Buckeyes had run some plays in practice that had him taking direct snaps in the wildcat formation. On Saturday night, he ran it two plays in a row late in the first quarter, the first time gaining 12 yards, the second time just 1.
Up next
A trip to Maryland, which has been looking forward to its first Big Ten home game for more than a year. Byrd Stadium likely will be packed, and not just because the Buckeyes are coming to town. The Terps are a surprising 4-1, and the loss was 40-37 in a shootout with West Virginia. They are coming off a 37-15, Big Tenopening win at Indiana, which upset Missouri the week before. Starting quarterback C.J. Brown suffered a left wrist sprain in that game, but backup Caleb Rowe kept the chains moving. Brown’s status for Saturday won’t be known until game time, according to coach Randy Edsall.
This week’s challenge
Fix the big play vulnerability of the pass defense, because the Terps and dangerous receiver Stefon Diggs are going to challenge it for sure. Cincinnati averaged 60 yards on its four TD pass plays, and one of them was a mere 19yarder. This is a momentous game for the Terps, and they can be expected to fire away.