I noticed the offensive play-calling changed a bit; offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson had quarterback J.T. Barrett run more run-pass option plays, playing to one of Barrett’s strengths. Barrett repeatedly made the right decision on run calls, helping both he and J.K. Dobbins find space and, despite some nagging inconsistency, made some good throws, especially off run fakes and the receivers like Terry McLaurin and Austin Mack were able to make decent yards after the catch. Although, he amassed 270 passing yards and two touchdowns, effectiveness throwing down the field remained an issue. There were only six throws made more than 20 yards, with two completions, one of them the 20-yarder that McLaurin hauled in for a touchdown. To be fair, of the four incompletions, two of them were well-defended by Army and Barrett made only two bad throws I saw all day. J.K. Dobbins is the next stud running back at Ohio State, rushing for 172 yards and two touchdowns on a mere 13 carries. Dobbins has been nearly impossible to tackle in space. I was also happy to see redshirt freshman quarterback Dwayne Haskins first appearance and he didn’t disappoint. Haskins completed all four of his throws for 46 yards. I was impressed with the zip he put on the ball and the pinpoint accuracy. Freshman WR Trevon Grimes got some playing time as well and collected his first career catch and walk-on WR C.J. Saunders also made his first career catch. Considering the competition in Saturday’s game – Army isn’t nearly as talented as Oklahoma, nor the teams the Buckeyes will have to beat to make a College Football Playoff – it shouldn’t be said that the Buckeyes’ offensive issues are fixed. That’s something that will have to be proved in time. But Ohio State’s offensive efficiency was more than enough for the Buckeyes to win comfortably on Saturday.
Aside from allowing an 18-play, 99 yard touchdown drive to Army in the second quarter, the Ohio State defense largely kept the unique triple option offense of the Black Knights in check. Erick Smith thrust himself into the role of playmaker, as the defensive back made two touchdown-saving plays and finished with nine tackles. Also looking very impressive was redshirt freshman linebacker Tuf Borland. Filling in when Chris Worley left in the first half with an injury, Borland collected 12 tackles including one for loss.
Although pushed around a bit, the Ohio State defensive line played better in the second half, limiting Army to 278 yards of total offense and outside of the 18-play, 99-yard, nine-minute and 37-second touchdown drive early in the second quarter, there was only one other drive where Army mounted any kind of serious threat, which resulted in a missed field goal. Army’s triple option and their offensive game plan and blocking schemes will push around many defensive units and I thought some good adjustments were made at halftime Getting a win over Army doesn’t mean Ohio State is back. There’s still quite a way to go and tougher games on the schedule. Nevertheless, getting back in the win column was an important confidence booster for the Buckeyes after last week.
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