Cleveland Browns Progress Report: Week 5
October 11, 2016Are you ready for the CelebriCavs?
October 11, 2016The Ohio State Buckeyes may have beat the Indiana Hoosiers by three touchdowns, but there were plenty of good things, bad things, and just straight ugly things that happened Saturday afternoon.
Let’s look closer into the final box score.
The Good
J.T. Barrett’s legs
J.T. Barrett may have ran the ball too many times (career high 26 carries), but it proved to be effective for head coach Urban Meyer and the rest of coaching staff on offense. While the gunslinger’s arm may have struggled against the Hoosiers, he made up for it with his legs, finishing with 137 rushing yards and a touchdown.
As stated, 26 carries is too many for a quarterback. That cannot continue if Barrett wants to stay healthy, especially against a much better defense. But the redshirt junior relied on his legs instead of his arm Saturday afternoon and it was a wise decision because he did not throw the ball well whatsoever against Indiana.
Curtis Samuel
Barrett may have ran the ball too much, which could be one of the many reasons why Curtis Samuel didn’t get as many touches as he should have. With just nine carries for 82 yards and not a single catch, many were surprised about how little the playmaker was used Saturday afternoon, especially because Barrett couldn’t complete many passes and the Buckeyes relied heavily on their run game.
Ohio State’s most versatile player on offense, Samuel can be used either in the backfield or out wide, which is why he has done so well so far this season. No matter where No. 4 has the ball, he makes plays with his feet. Following the game, head coach Urban Meyer admitted that Samuel didn’t have the amount of touches that he should have.
“Curtis needs to touch the ball earlier in the game, and J.T. had too many carries. So we have to fix it.”
Expect Meyer to learn from this and use his top playmaker on offense much more in every game the rest of the season.
Mike Weber
Who would have thought that after Ezekiel Elliott left to achieve his dream of playing in the NFL, a redshirt freshman running back would be able to come in and play this well? Mike Weber has done just that, and he continued to impress against the Hoosiers, running for 71 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries to go along with three catches for 10 yards.
Weber not only runs with plenty of power (and even a truck stick at times), but he also has some speed and breakaway ability as well.
Run offense
As previously mentioned, Barrett’s arm did not have a good day on Saturday. Luckily for he and the Buckeyes offense, the running game did well enough to keep the offense afloat and score enough points to beat Indiana. Barrett (137 rushing yards), Samuel (82), and Weber (71) were able to carry the Ohio State offense.
Obviously, the gunslinger will most likely never struggle that much again through the air, but it’s satisfying to see that the running game will be able to carry the Buckeyes if it happens again.
Red zone offense
So far this season, J.T. Barrett and the rest of the Ohio State offense has dominated in the red-zone. In 29 opportunities inside the 20-yard line, the Buckeyes have converted 26 times, 21 of which were touchdowns. That dominance continued Saturday afternoon against Indiana, when they converted 5-of-6 red-zone opportunities, four of which were touchdowns.
If the offense can continue to convert opportunities like this that are that close to the endzone, they will be a hard team to beat, no matter who their opponent is.
Jerome Baker
Ever since Jerome Baker took over for Dante Booker, who has been out the past few weeks due to an injury, Baker has been very impressive on Ohio State’s defense. On Saturday, he had the best game of his career so far, with 11 tackles and two tackles for loss.
He has played so well that it may even be tough for Booker to get his starting spot back once he’s healthy, honestly. The linebacker is one of the many reasons why the Silver Bullets have dominated so far this season, especially defending the run game.
Tyquan Lewis
He may not be a household name on college football Saturdays, but Tyquan Lewis has been a good defensive lineman on the Buckeyes defense since even last season. Against Indiana, he totaled five tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble, which was the Hoosiers only turnover of the game.
Lewis and the front-seven have continued to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, which is part of the reason why the defensive backs have been so dominant so far in 2016.
Nick Bosa
It really is amazing how much Nick Bosa not even looks like his brother (including the fact that Joey also wore No. 97 at Ohio State), but he even runs like him and does all the same motions on the field as well.
Bosa looked much like his brother during his freshman season Saturday afternoon, recording four tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss while coming in as a reserve.
The true freshman admitted that he was excited to get on the field and help his team.
“I was excited to get on the field and make a play for my team. They put the people in on goal line for a reason, and I knocked them back, and made the tackle-for-loss.”
Robert Landers
After not getting much playing time to start the season, Landers has been impressive over the last couple games, to say the least. He may not get many tackles every game, but he clogs up holes inside and also takes on blockers in order to free up his teammates. Against Indiana, he finished with three tackles and two tackles for loss.
Malik Hooker
If it weren’t for a chop block penalty, Malik Hooker would have had yet another pick-six. Ever since Week 1 this season, the safety made it known to the college football world that he is one of the best defensive backs in the country. And just think, he is only going to get better as the season goes on and he gains more experience.
On Saturday, the junior had four tackles and an interception (team-high four interceptions on the season). The safety has an eye for the ball and he has proven it in every game so far this season.
Marshon Lattimore
Like Hooker has at safety, Lattimore is quickly making a name for himself in college football. Not only is he considered by some to be the best cornerback in the country, but he is one of the main reasons why Ohio State has one of the best secondaries in the country.
While shutting down Indiana’s top receiver, at least for the majority of the game, Hooker totaled four tackles and that one interception that should have been a touchdown.
Lattimore realizes that as a defense and as an individual, there are still things that he can improve on, which is truly scary considering how good they already are.
“I still don’t have any doubt in our defense. They tell us all the time that we have to be our best at the end of the season. I try to work on little things and try to progress each week, little technique things.”
Fourth quarter defense
Including the game against the Hoosiers, the Silver Bullets have yet to allow a single point in the final quarter of all five games thus far. No matter who is in the game, whether it be the second-string players due to a blowout or the starters if it’s a closer game, the defense seems to know that they are shutting out their opponents in the fourth quarter.
Obviously, this most likely won’t continue all the way through the season, but the fact that the Silver Bullets have been able to do it through five games is remarkable, in all
Cameron Johnston
Week in and week out, Cameron Johnston continues to dominate. Arguably the best punter in college football, he helps change the field position for the defense. Against Indiana, he had six punts for an average of 49.2 yards per punt, three of which landed inside the 20-yard line.
The Bad
Third-down offense
Ohio State’s struggles on third down were partially due to the fact that they couldn’t throw the ball, but against a better opponent, they must do better. On Saturday, they converted just 5-of-14 third-downs. Let’s just blame this one on the fact that Barrett couldn’t find a way to complete many passes for some reason and it will be much better next week.
The Ugly
J.T. Barrett’s arm
Saturday’s game could go down as J.T. Barrett’s worst throwing game since arriving in Columbus. The junior not only couldn’t find a way to complete many passes, but he also overthrew wide open teammates down field as well. If he was accurate, the redshirt junior could have easily had another couple touchdowns. He completed just 9-of-21 passes for one touchdown and one interception against the Hoosiers. But, hopefully this game was just a fluke and Barrett will bounce back next week.