After a blowout victory in week 1, the Buckeyes came out not as explosive as the previous week. The offense failed to put up any points past their first drive in the 3rd quarter and allowed for UCF to hang in the game. The final score of 31-16 speaks in full of offensive struggles.
Even in a quiet game overall, Braxton still found a way to put up big numbers. He ran for 3 scores and went over 100 yards for the 2nd time this season, along with one stellar passing touchdown. To the pleasure of many Buckeyes, he was considerably more accurate with his throws overall. What hindered the offense's production was the inconsistency of the running backs and the failure to convert on 3rd down.
The defense as a whole played a sound game, but were surely on the field more than desired. Following their second touchdown of the game, it was evident to the near 105,000 at Ohio Stadium that the defense was worn out. However, a bit of a momentum shifter followed as special teams came through with a blocked extra point. From there, the defense held strong to secure a 31-16 victory. From a fan's perspective, it was a very slow and uneventful ballgame for this new-look Buckeyes team.
The man of scarlet and gray will take the field Saturday 9/15 at noon against the Bears Of California Berkley. The Bears will bring in PAC-12 strength and surely give the Buckeyes their greatest test of non conference play this season. I expect the Bucks to come back strong and show their true potential against Cal.
Final Prediction
OSU- 48
Cal-17
GO BUCKS!
Week 1:
Following much anticipation, the Urban era has finally kicked off in Columbus. 105,000 fans gathered in C-Bus to witness the first display of the high powered spread offense, quite contrary to the pro style offense run over the previous decades.
To the disappointment of many, the team started out uncharacteristically slow. The men of scarlet and gray struggled to muster up only a few first downs in the first quarter of play, while Miami moved the ball with little trouble, primarily through the air. They drove down the field and created 2 first and goal opportunities, but were only able to come up with 3 points (2 field goal attempts, 1 missed). Surely a 14-0 deficit would have put the crowd in shock.
As the final score indicates, the game was all OSU after the 1st quarter. Touchdown after touchdown, primarily through effective passing. Ohio State's Devin Smith made potentially the catch of the year with an incredibly athletic one handed grab in the endzone for OSU's first score. When all was said and done, and after a controversial score with 44 seconds left in the game, OSU rolled. 56-10 was the final with running up the score. Urban made his statement, that this is our conference and we will play hard football from start to finish, and made it well.
In terms of player performance, Braxton was so so. Many of his throws were flat and did not have good rotation. In blunt terms, it looked like a freak athlete with a middle school arm was on the field at many points in the game. Granted, with the athleticism of this OSU team, all most of our receivers need is a lobbed pass for them to have a good chance at making a catch. He ended up completing about 50% of his passes, but was more than efficient on the ground with 161 yards rushing.
The defense as a whole was solid. CB Christian Bryant was burned a few times early in the game, but played shut down D for 3 quarters. John Simon and the burly D line allowed for -1 rushing yards the entire game- Wow! Schaizer and Roby have great speed, this should be a fun team to watch.
The Buckeyes will take the field next 9/8 against UCF, many expect to see another blow out. Let's just hope the Bucks show up for a full 4 quarters in this one.
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