MY THOUGHTS.....TULSA

After a sluggish start and a rain delay that extended halftime by an hour, the Buckeyes shook off their offensive doldrums with four second-half touchdowns in route to a 48-3 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurrricanes.

            For most of the first half, Tulsa was the better team in the trenches and I thought the offensive play-calling was a bit conservative.  The offense made no attempt to throw deep downfield, even in the first quarter before the wind and rain became a factor.  The offensive line was, more often than not, simply out worked by Tulsa’s defensive front.  As a result, although Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel managed a couple of impressive gains, for the most part, Tulsa held them in check.  They were also playing the short and medium pass routes well.  The Tulsa offense also managed a couple of decent third down runs and Hurricane quarterback Dane Evans was having a decent day throughout most of the first half.  That abruptly changed in the final three minutes of the first half.  The game turned when Malik Hooker read Dane Evans' eyes and stepped in front of a pass before essentially walking into the end zone untouched.  A major gaffe by Evans resulted in another pick-six by Marshon Lattimore, which was the play that broke Tulsa’s back.  The Buckeyes ran through the rain and into the locker room for halftime with just eight first downs (Tulsa had nine), 158 total yards and a meager 89 rushing yards on 20 carries, yet led 20-3.  The offense adjusted to the Tulsa defensive schemes, with 300 yards of total offense in the second half and 28 points, eventually wearing down the Tulsa front seven.  The “tale of two halves” was definitely on display here as both Ohio State and Tulsa looked like different teams in the second half.  Ohio State continued to pound away on the ground, resulting in rushing touchdowns by Barrett (2), Curtis Samuel, and Mike Weber.  

The defense, once again, played lights out and deserves all the credit in the world for holding Tulsa at bay while the offense struggled in the first half.  The Buckeyes won the turnover battle 6-1 and the ball hawks defense again showed a nose for finding the football. Malik Hooker now has three picks on the year, and Marshon Lattimore has two. Gareon Conley added one for good measure late in the third quarter when the Buckeyes led 34-3. Once the weather became difficult to navigate and Ohio State prevented Tulsa from establishing any sort of a ground game, the Golden Hurricanes had no chance. Tulsa gained only 85 yards of total offense after the first quarter.

Next up for the Buckeyes is a truly tough test in every sense; a trip to Norman to face the Sooners of Oklahoma.  It goes without saying the Buckeyes can’t afford the malaise on offense starting out in Norman like we saw on Saturday in the first half and Oklahoma’s offense will be a test for this young, talented defense.  Stay tuned.