Cleveland Browns Progress Report: Week 11
November 22, 2016Everybody Hates Waiting for Next Year – WFNY Podcast No. 557
November 23, 2016The Ohio State Buckeyes may have been able to come away with a one-point victory over the Michigan State Spartans Saturday afternoon, but there were plenty of not-so-good things throughout the game. In the win, however, there were a handful of good things as well.
Let’s take a look:
The Good
J.T. Barrett’s legs
While it is unknown why quarterback J.T. Barrett received so many carries while running back Mike Weber and H-back Curtis Samuel had a lot less touches than they should have, the redshirt junior made the most of his running opportunities. He struggled passing the ball (as I will explain below), but Barrett’s legs were one of the main reasons why the Buckeyes offense was able to score points. He finished with 24 carries for 105 yards.
Are 24 carries a lot for a quarterback? Absolutely, especially when the running back and your top playmaker are waiting to get more touches. Head coach Urban Meyer and the rest of the coaching staff on offense must be able to give their top guys the ball more. If Barrett continues to run the ball that much, he may get hurt, or at least be too tired to try and pass the ball. The coaching staff will most likely make adjustments going forward.
Mike Weber
When it came to the ground attack, running back Mike Weber led the way. Although he received must less carries than Barrett, the redshirt freshman finished with 14 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown. He may not have received as many touches (and carries) as he should have, but, he made the most of every opportunity. For his efforts, Weber was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Curtis Samuel (yards)
I know, H-back Curtis Samuel had just 13 yards on the ground and 40 yards receiving. If it weren’t for his 53 yards and a touchdown, however, Ohio State would be sitting on their couches, waiting to see how far they fell in the rankings.
As for the amount of touches he received, that will be discussed later.
Chris Worley
Linebacker Chris Worley had his best game of the season. Not only was he tied for the team lead in tackles with seven, but he accounted for one tackle for loss and and impressive interception well.
It’s simple: The Silver Bullets bailed out Ohio State’s offense Saturday afternoon. Worley was a big reason why the defense played so well in order to beat Sparty.
Tyquan Lewis
All season long, defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis has been one of the best for the Buckeyes up front and that continued against Michigan State. Whether it was applying pressure on the opposing backfield or dropping back in coverage, he did it all. Lewis ended the game with three tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1.5 tackles for loss, the latter two either led the team or was tied for the team lead. The lineman also forced a fumble as well.
Gareon Conley
When it comes to shutdown cornerbacks this season, Gareon Conley has made it known that he is one of the best in America at his position. He has been able to shutdown the opponent’s best wide outs all season long and that continued Saturday afternoon againt the Spartans. He may have only had one tackle, but Conley had a very key interception to all but seal the victory for the Buckeyes.
Third-down defense
This is becoming a common theme, isn’t it? The Silver Bullets may have struggled at times especially when it came to defending the Spartans’ ground attack, but they bent but didn’t break and that’s all that matters. The defense played their best when it mattered most: on third-down. They allowed Michigan State to convert on just 3-of-12 third-down opportunities.
Passing defense
The Buckeyes forced Sparty to complete just 8-of-21 passes for 127 yards while hauling in two interceptions. One of those incomplete passes was on a questionable call by Michigan State to go for a two-point conversion to take the lead rather than just tie for the lead late in the game, which proved costly for Sparty. While they struggled at defending the run, the defense’s passing defense was tremendous Saturday afternoon.
The Bad
Run defense
Like I just said, Ohio State’s run defense struggled against Sparty. While it didn’t prove too costly in the end, they allowed Michigan State to run for 207 yards, including running back LJ Scott’s 160 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Saturday was the run defense’s worst game of the season and they will look to bounce back this coming weekend in The Game.
The Ugly
J.T. Barrett’s arm
Luckily for Ohio State, their ground attack was able to pick up plenty of yards on Saturday because Barrett couldn’t throw the ball much, at least for completions. Whether it was ovethrows, throwing it behind his intended target, or just flat out missing his wide receiver, the quarterback completed 10-of-22 passes for 86 yards.
Curtis Samuel’s touches
The fact that the team’s best playmaker only received eight touches in the game is something I will never understand and was probably one of the main reasons why Michigan State was able to keep it close. Samuel should be a Heisman candidate, but he isn’t because Ohio State’s offense doesn’t involving him. He should get a minimum of 15 touches every game, no excuses.
Michigan State’s decision to pass the ball for two-point conversion
With their rushing attack doing very well against the Silver Bullets, especially on their touchdown drive late in the game, MSU decided to pass the ball on the two-point conversion when they tried to take the lead late in the game rather than just tie the game at 17. The decision proved costly after the pass was intercepted by Ohio State. Keep in mind, Sparty as able to run (literally) down the length of the field, but decided to (for some reason) pass the ball in the most important play of the game. Meyer and the Buckeyes were happy, and the decision led to the scarlet and gray winning the game.
3 Comments
Come on. It’s silly to criticize them for passing for the 2pt conversion. That’s ridiculous hindsight crapola.
It was a gutsy but good gamble of a call in general when Sparty could muster no offense for 3 quarters. They had a few big runs leading to the score–true– but it’s not like they would have been running from one yard out. Passing there was the smarter call to give options to keep the play alive, even though it didn’t work.
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