The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Five takeaways from the Buckeyes’ 31-16 loss
John Kampf: The Buckeyes need to be more committed to the run besides quarterback J.T. Barrett.
Five takeaways from Ohio State’s 31-16 loss to Oklahoma on Sept. 9:
Running game
The Buckeyes need to be more committed to the run besides quarterback J.T. Barrett.
In the season-opening win over Indiana, true freshman J.K. Dobbins carried 29 times for 181 yards. He only carried it 13 times for 72 yards against Oklahoma, while last year’s starter Mike Weber debuted with three carries for 29 yards.
When a team has two running backs as talented as Dobbins and Weber, it needs to give them the ball more than 16 times.
Barrett carried 18 times for 66 yards. His 3.7-yard average was less than Dobbins’ 5.5 and Weber’s 9.7.
OSU needs to be a team that runs the ball to set up the pass — not vice-versa.
Campbell’s touches
Parris Campbell should be more involved in the offense.
OSU’s only touchdown drive against Oklahoma was set up by Campbell’s 56-yard kickoff return to the Sooners’ 44.
Besides that, he caught three passes for 27 yards.
Barrett missed a wideopen Campbell late in the game, but the outcome of the game was already decided by then.
Aside from Dobbins, Campbell might be Ohio State’s best game-breaking offensive threat.
Whether it’s in the pass game or on jet-sweep/ pitch-passes that stretch the field side-to-side, including Campbell more might be a good idea.
Concerns with secondary
Sending 75 percent of the starting defensive backfield to each of the past two NFL drafts has hurt.
Gareon Conley, Marshon Lattimore and Malik Hooker sure would look good in Ohio State uniforms nowadays, wouldn’t they?
Alas, all three left OSU’s program after last season, foregoing their final years of eligibility.
The previous year, Vonn Bell, Eli Apple and Tyvis Powell did the same.
The youth and inexperience in the defensive backfield is evident now, after giving up 386 yards passing to Baker Mayfield.
Add in a Week 1 win over Indiana, when Richard Lagow threw for 410 yards, and the Buckeyes have given up 796 yards and six touchdowns passing through the first two weeks.
Oklahoma had wideopen receivers all night. Guys who were totally uncovered.
That is a trend that cannot continue if the Buckeyes want to succeed.
In the trenches
Ohio State’s vaunted defensive line was outplayed handily by Oklahoma’s offensive line.
Granted, the Sooners boast one of the best offensive lines in the nation. They’re big, mobile and experienced.
The Buckeyes came at Baker Mayfield in waves, rotating defensive linemen in and out to keep them fresh.
But the same five offensive linemen controlled the line of scrimmage and allowed the Sooners to rack up nearly 500 yards of offense.
In an attempt to get more pressure on Mayfield, the Buckeyes often went with a five-man front — four defensive ends (Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes and Nick Bosa) to go with tackle Dre’Mont Jones.
Nick Bosa and Sam Hubbard each had a sack, but for the most part, a position of strength was not a factor for the Buckeyes.
Big-time punter
Redshirt freshman punter Drue Chrisman is the real deal.
Chrisman punted four times and all four of them were planted inside the 20-yard line.
Then again, if a punter succeeding is your most positive takeaway from a game, that’s not a good thing.
Kampf can be reached via email at JKampf@NewsHerald.com, or on Twitter @JKBuckeyes