Buckeye Recap - Minnesota
By Chris Lauderback
NOWHERE TO RUN
As hot as the passing has been, the running game has been hot.. doodoo.
The trend continued yesterday as the Buckeyes were held below 100 yards rushing for the first time this season and just the third time since Urban Meyer arrived in Columbus.
Yesterday's stinker saw the trio of Mike Weber, J.K. Dobbins and Haskins average a season-low 2.9 yards per carry and for the first time this year, the Buckeyes failed to record a rushing touchdown.
| OPPONENT | RUSH ATT | RUSH YARDS | YARDS PER CARRY | TOUCHDOWNS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OREGON STATE | 53 | 375 | 7.1 | 5 |
| RUTGERS | 40 | 225 | 5.6 | 2 |
| TCU | 42 | 182 | 4.3 | 1 |
| TULANE | 38 | 151 | 4.0 | 2 |
| PENN STATE | 37 | 119 | 3.2 | 1 |
| INDIANA | 48 | 154 | 3.2 | 1 |
| MINNESOTA | 32 | 92 | 2.9 | 0 |
Behind an offensive line featuring subpar showings from Demetrius Knox, Michael Jordan and Isaiah Prince in particular, the combo of Dobbins and Weber saw 39% of their rushing attempts (9 of 23) go for two yards or less. That's even worse than last week when 31% of their attempts (12 of 39) failed to generate more than two yards.
Dobbins in particular has been bottled up averaging 4.6 yards per carry this year after nearly setting the school's single-season mark last season with 7.2 yards per tote. Dobbins has lost 10 yards this year amid his 109 attempts. Last season, Dobbins lost nine yards on 194 attempts.
Similarly, Weber lost only 14 total yards last year on 101 attempts but through seven games this season, he's already lost 25 yards on only 87 attempts.
The reality is Ohio State's rushing attack looks lost without the option of leaning on the quarterback run and the offensive line hasn't generated a consistent push in over a month.
J.K. Dobbins is averaging 4.6 yards per carry thus far in 2018 after averaging 7.2 last season.
TALE OF TWO HALVES
If your glass is half-full, you're thrilled Greg Schiano and company have consistently made adjustments at halftime that have proved fruitful in the second half. If your glass is half empty, you're puzzled at how Ohio State's defense continues to give up a high volume of chunk plays both on the ground and through the air.
The Jekyll and Hyde defense was on full display yesterday as it surrendered 14 points, 238 total yards, 128 rushing yards on 6.4 per carry and a 67% completion rate while failing to register a sack with just two tackles-for-loss in the opening half. But after regrouping at intermission, the Buckeyes came out and held the Gophers to zero points, 150 total yards, 50 rushing on 3.8 per carry and a 45% completion rate while tallying two sacks, three tackles-for-loss and four pass breakups over the final two quarters.
You'll recall the same thing happened last week as Indiana put up 20 points and 317 total yards including 7.8 yards per carry in first half only to muster just six points, 89 total yards and 0.5 yards per carry in the second.
Look, there are a ton of things wrong with this defense but if you're searching for a positive, it rests on the unit's ability to tighten the screws in the second half. And of course that its poor first half showings haven't cost the team a game yet.
K.J. THRILL
Another week, another career-day from a Buckeye receiver as K.J. Hill took his turn with a spectacular nine-catch, 187-yard day on 10 targets featuring two touchdowns including a highlight reel one-hander for six.
The 187 yards set a new personal best for the redshirt junior and tied him for the seventh-best single-game receiving performance in school history while the nine receptions were the second-most of his career (12 vs. PSU last year).
Hill's ridiculous one-handed stab was incredible but he made plays all day including a 42-yard reception leading to an OSU field goal on its opening possession, a 4th-and-3 catch extending a drive, a 20-yard catch to convert a third down and a 27-yard touchdown providing the game's final score.
Through seven games, Hill is second on the squad with 40 receptions and 551 yards. Both stats compare quite favorably to his strong 2017 season in which he hauled in 56 balls for 549 yards.
What's maybe most impressive about Hill's 2018 season is that his yards per catch is up to 13.8 which is a full four yards better than last season's 9.8 mark. He is also averaging twice as many receiving yards per game this year (78.7) compared to last (39.2) and his four touchdowns just past the midway point of the 2018 regular season are one better than his tally over 14 games a year ago.
TIGHT, TIGHT, TIGHT, YEAH!
As someone who manually tracks individual penalties because they infuriate me, I'm here to tell you Ohio State's tight ends – Rashod Berry and Luke Farrell – committed zero penalties for the first time since the Rutgers game.
Not only that, the duo combined for four catches on four targets for 57 yards.
Farrell recorded both of his catches in the fourth quarter hauling in a 24-yarder on a key drive that ended in a field goal pushing Ohio State's lead to 23-14 before recording a 13-yard grab on a 3rd-and-2 snap, paving the way for Hill's 27-yard touchdown two plays later to cap the scoring.
Berry's two catches were his first since the season opener, one of which extended a drive on a 3rd-and-2.
The pair hasn't been all that great run blocking this season and Berry's five penalties are tied for the team lead with Malcolm Pridgeon but it was nice to see some signs of life on Saturday.
INVALID IP
Ohio State has more than one problem within the back seven and the linebackers were obviously not great yesterday which wasn't helped by Malik Harrison's medical DNP but this might also be the worst safety situation Meyer has had since he's been here.
First-year starter and true sophomore Isaiah Pryor has taken lumps pretty consistently this season and yesterday was another tough outing despite a gift interception late when he stepped in front of a duck from Gophers true freshman walk-on quarterback Zack Annexstad who stared down his receiver, refusing to look off Pryor, before underthrowing and directing a ball towards converging traffic.
Pryor dropped an interception on Minnesota's second possession of the game which led to a touchdown run where Pryor was bowled over at the goal line giving the Gophers a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter.
After the Buckeye offense answered with a touchdown of its own, Pryor had another tough series giving up a sideline catch to Tyler Johnson for about 10 yards before whiffing badly on a tackle attempt, springing what became a 29-yard gash. Four plays later, he got beat again by Johnson, this time on a slant for 13 yards and a first down at the Buckeye 18 yard line. Five plays later, Minnesota found the end zone for a 14-10 lead.
I'm really not trying to pile on the kid but I do wonder how much improvement is realistic to expect this season if the issues with poor run pursuit angles and coverage skills are still so prevalent through seven games. There just isn't a ton of time in-season to attack fundamentals amid prepping for the next opponent.
I'll also can't help but wonder how much of Jordan Fuller's drop off in effectiveness so far this season can be attributed to being forced to play both safety spots at times, in conjunction with concerns over not having a dependable sidekick anchoring the last line of defense.
Pryor came in as a four-star, Top-100 player and he's a cerebral kid taboot so hopefully there's more in-season maturation to come but for now, it would be unreasonable to not be extremely worried about the back line of the Buckeye defense.
by Tony Gerdeman
1. Things are not trending well.
Let’s go ahead and couch this statement by reminding you that this is just October and October frequently has its share of stinkers. September is for pretenders, November is for contenders, and October is just a means to an end. That being said, the Buckeyes are not getting better, and if you’re not getting better, then by football definition you are getting worse.
2. This is probably K.J. Hill’s last season as a Buckeye.
K.J. Hill told me either at the Cotton Bowl last year or the preseason this winter that he was treating this season as his last. As a fourth-year junior, he has another year of eligibility available to him, but as we know, fifth years are fairly rare at the Ohio State skill positions. Plus, it will be difficult for him to stick around with Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, and Johnnie Dixon all leaving. Right now, Hill and Campbell are both on pace for 1,000-yard seasons, which would give the Buckeyes a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time since 2002. If they both get there, it would be the first time in school history that Ohio State had two 1,000-yard pass catchers. With his nine catches for 187 yards and two scores on Saturday, Hill showed that he can do more than move the chains over the middle.
3. The defense looks outnumbered badly at times.
I tweeted this during the game, but so often Ohio State’s defense looks like it’s playing at least a man-and-a-half down. Like it’s 11 guys on offense against 9.5 on defense. There are entire segments of the field completely empty, which makes it look like the guy who was supposed to be there was still on the sideline. This may simply be a matter of unfortunate play calling, but then the question becomes why offenses continue to have success when they do. Other defenses — like Michigan — look like they have 13 defenders out there. That’s rarely been the case for OSU this season.
4. It’s not just Bill Davis’ fault.
Linebackers coach Bill Davis has been a popular punching bag among the fans and media, but you cannot have gigantic voids in the defense as mentioned above and blame it on a position coach. That’s a defensive system or call that is rendering linebackers moot, not coaching or playing. That’s not meant to dismiss the times when the players and coach deserve criticism, but it’s not just the linebackers or their coach’s fault that the defense isn’t right.
5. Sustained drives are worse than big hits.
When a guy goes 93 yards, you can chalk it up to one guy not doing his part. When a team goes 75 yards on 11 plays and then another 75 yards on nine plays, that’s not because of one guy — it’s because of 11. That’s what Minnesota did on their two touchdown drives. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, those were the only two touchdown drives of the game. There used to be a gigantic percentage of OSU’s yards allowed coming via big plays. Against Minnesota, they did a lot more consistent moving of the ball than other teams have done. That’s not a great sign.
6. The Buckeyes found another kicker.
Due to a “minor strain” of some part of his body, starting kicker Sean Nuernberger was out for the Minnesota game. In his place, Blake Haubeil hit three PATs, three field goals, and only allowed one return on his seven kickoffs. The biggest moment of his game, however, came when he hit a 47-yarder straight and true midway through the third quarter to extend Ohio State’s lead to 20-14. With questions about Sean Nuernberger’s accuracy on longer field goals, this has to be good for Urban Meyer to see.
7. The secondary can make plays.
Both Kendall Sheffield and Isaiah Pryor covered a ton of ground to make red-zone interceptions against Minnesota quarterback Zach Annexstad. The throws weren’t necessary, but the Buckeyes were happy to have them. Those two interceptions basically kept this from being a much closer game than it could have been. The interception by Pryor was what he needs to be able to do as the post safety. That’s two weeks in a row he has shown good range in defending a pass.
8. It might be time to move Michael Jordan back to left guard.
Fifth-year senior center Brady Taylor has been hurt and didn’t dress again last week, and there is certainly some trepidation about switching to redshirt freshman Josh Myers at center, but I can’t help but wonder if the running game is missing Michael Jordan at left guard. We talked in the preseason about OSU’s desire to put the best five offensive linemen on the field and weighed that against a lineup that maybe keeps its best players where they can be most effective. I asked offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson after the game if there were possible personnel changes coming, but he said no.
9. There are too many injuries not to be noticeable.
Nick Bosa went down early in the third quarter of the TCU game, but the entire defensive line responded well and won that game for the Buckeyes. At the time it was a great story, but also one that we knew couldn’t be sustained. Eventually, the bills are going to come due. Then defensive tackles Dre’Mont Jones and Robert Landers got hurt. Landers missed a game, but Jones has played hurt for weeks now. Last week, starting defensive end Jonathon Cooper missed the game due to a concussion he suffered the week before. Middle linebacker Tuf Borland said he’s good to go, but we’ve seen that he wasn’t 100% just a couple of weeks ago. Starting Will linebacker Malik Harrison missed the Minnesota game with a concussion as well. Cornerback Damon Arnette went down early in the game. Basically, this is a depleted Ohio State defense right now, so difficulties should expect to be occurring. That being said, there were also difficulties when all of those players were healthy. Can everyone get healthy in time to also fix those problems that were occurring before they all got hurt? Maybe.
10. The offensive line needs a change in attitude.
I’ll write about this a bit more after this, but Kevin Wilson said after the game that when it comes to the running game, the offense needs something to hang its hat on. They can do so many different things with formations and play calling, but when we’re talking about running the ball, the offensive line simply has to have the mentality that it doesn’t matter how many defenders are lined up on the other side of the ball, they are going to move them backwards. I asked him if it was about mentality rather than physicality and he told me, “No doubt.” So he believes this group is capable, they just now to need to turn on whichever switch engages the proper determined mindset. If they can’t find that switch, good luck finding a running game.
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