2015 Season

    

                    

                              When the 2014 season ended, with Coach Meyer, Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa and others raising the national championship trophy over their heads in triumph, it was assumed that'd happen again this year with many of the same faces around for another go.  Unfortunately, the Buckeyes dropped an ugly game in its home finale against Michigan State, 17-14, falling on a last-second field goal in horrid weather conditions. The loss helped extinguish Ohio State's wishes of even getting back to the Big Ten Championship Game, instead left with a consolation prize in the Fiesta Bowl.  The Buckeyes throttled rival Michigan, 42-13, the week after losing to the Spartans and then beat Notre Dame despite losing three key starters on defense. The final victory marked a remarkable 50-4 run over four years, a win tally that's only been duplicated once in history, by Boise State. 

                                It seemed that the expectations surrounding the 2015 Buckeyes were doomed to not be met.  The 2015 team garnered comparisons to the greatest Buckeye editions of all time before playing a single game in its title defense.  Great teams generally show up unannounced.  The 1967 team started the season 2-3 with a 41-6 loss at home. The 2001 team went 7-5. When Ohio State lost to Virginia Tech in early 2014 the Buckeyes had lost three of their past four games.  Nobody was getting a jump on crowning the 1968 or 2002 teams. They crowned themselves.

                                The opening game win at Virginia Tech was impressive, but served to mask the problems on the offensive side of the ball that started to become apparent in a lackluster 20-13 win over Northern Illinois.  Some would say the loss of assistant coach Tom Herman (who became head coach at University of Houston) was the reason for the disjointed play-calling and lack of offensive production, while others speculated that Coach Urban Meyer should’ve gone with J.T. Barrett at starting QB from the get-go.  The play-calling issues came to a head and were clearly the reason for the loss to Michigan State.  Then, for the Michigan game, Coach Meyer made a change by moving offensive coordinator Ed Warinner from the sidelines to the press box, calling plays alongside quarterbacks coach Tim Beck.  The Ohio State offense destroyed a top-ten Michigan team and racked up 44 points against Notre Dame.  Save the lackluster Michigan State game, Ezekiel Elliott was a beast all year, finishing with over 1800 yards and 23 touchdowns.  Although not quite the deep threat provided by Devin Smith, Michael Thomas proved adept at running routes all over the field, hauling in 56 receptions for 781 yards and nine touchdowns.  Taylor Decker led a solid offensive line, while Pat Elflein showed improvement from start to finish.

                                The Ohio State defense was solid all year, and even in the ill-fated game against the Spartans, it wasn’t until the very end of the game that they got a little tired from being left out on the field too long due to the lack of offensive production.  But, in all the other games, save Indiana, they shined.  MLB Raekwon McMillan was the leading tackler with 119 tackles, followed by Joshua Perry with 105.  Tyvis Powell was the most productive member of the secondary, with 71 tackles to go along with his team-leading three interceptions.  Although Joey Bosa’s sack totals were down (he only garnered five), Bosa still managed 16 tackles for loss, an interception, and four pass breakups to go along with his 51 tackles.

                                The departure of so much talent leaving for the NFL will pose challenges for 2016, but with a top recruiting class, it gives new meaning to the phrase, “the Buckeyes don’t rebuild, they reload”.

                                My next post will be in March at the start of spring drills.  Until then, enjoy the off-season.

2015 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (12-1)(7-1)                                2016 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

42           at Virginia Tech                 24                                           S3           Bowling Green

38           Hawaii                                0                                          S10         Tulsa

20           Northern Illinois                 13                                           S17         at Oklahoma

38           Western Michigan             12                                            S24

34           at Indiana                         27                                            O1          Rutgers

49           Maryland                         28                                           O8          Indiana

38           Penn State                        10                                           O15        at Wisconsin

49           at Rutgers                          7                                           O22        at Penn State

28           Minnesota                        14                                          O29        Northwestern

28           at Illinois                             3                                          N5          Nebraska

14           Michigan State                  17                                           N12        at Maryland

42           at Michigan                       13                                         N19        at Michigan State

44           Notre Dame                      28                                         N26        Michigan

                (Fiesta Bowl)

LEADING RUSHER: (15) Ezekiel Elliott 289/1821  23 TD  LG 80

LEADING PASSER: (12) Cardale Jones 176/110/5  1460 yards  8 TD

LEADING RECEIVER: (3) Michael Thomas 56/781  9 TD

KICKING: (98) Jack Willoughby 7/11 FG, 45/45 PAT  LG 39

PUNTING: (95) Cameron Johnston 58/43.9  LG 67

DEFENSE: (5) Raekwon McMillan 119 tackles, 4 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 4 pbu, 1 fr