Watch: Noah Brown makes the catch of the year vs. Oklahoma
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Please enable Javascript to watch this video


Ohio State wide receiver Noah Brown caught three first half touchdowns against Oklahoma Saturday night, but not all are created equal. Brown turned in perhaps the “Catch of the Year” just before halftime, pinning the third of his four total touchdown catches between himself and a Sooners defender.

The post Watch: Noah Brown makes the catch of the year vs. Oklahoma appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Ohio State dominated both lines and took advantage of scoring opportunities
Chad Peltier via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes were incredibly efficient, maximizing their scoring opportunities and running effectively

The Buckeyes stepped up in their first huge road test of the season, running away from Oklahoma in the second quarter and then never looking back.

OSU Off OU Off
Rush success rate 66% 44%
Pass success rate 50% 39%
Rush explosive plays 7 (18%) 5 (16%)
Pass explosive plays 2 (10%) 4 (13%)
RZ TD efficiency 75% 33%
Scoring opps efficiency 83% (6.33) 60% (3.4)
Drive efficiency 60% (4) 45% (2)
Points off turnovers 17 0


In the table above, scoring opportunity efficiency looks at the percentage of scoring opportunities (drives that cross the opponents' 40 yard line) that end in a score. The number in parentheses is the average points per scoring opportunity. Drive efficiency looks at the percentage of drives that were scoring opportunities. The number in parentheses is the number of three-and-outs the offense had. I didn't include the final garbage time drive in the stats here.

The stats suggested Ohio State had to do four things to win on the road against the Sooners:


The Buckeyes did all of those things: they got touchdowns more often than not out of scoring opportunities, they ran the ball extremely effectively, the created a few big pass plays to Noah Brown, and the defense constantly pressured Baker Mayfield, leading to two sacks and two interceptions.

The offense took advantage of scoring opportunities


Maybe the single most important statistic from the game was how relatively efficient the two offenses were when they created scoring opportunities. The Ohio State offense averaged 6.33 points every time they had a drive that crossed the Sooners' 40, while the defense held the Sooners to just 3.4 points per scoring opportunity. The Buckeyes were almost twice as efficient with their scoring opportunities.

The defense allowed the Sooners to move the ball -- the total yardage difference was just 443 to 404 in favor of the Buckeyes -- but the young Buckeye defense played an incredible bend-don't-break game by limiting the Sooners to just a 33% red zone touchdown rate. A comparison between the two offenses' red zone touchdown percentages tells the same story as looking at the scoring opportunities -- the Buckeyes weren't able to be slowed down in the red zone.

The reason for the Buckeyes' and Sooners' varying degrees of success with scoring opportunities had a lot to do with how the offenses were built. The two offenses had the same number of explosive plays, but the Buckeyes were notably more efficient than the Sooners. That little bit of inconsistency for the Sooners offense often made them less reliable in the red zone, more dependant on big plays, and with significant third downs. The Sooners were just 5/13 on third downs, likely because they averaged 6.9 yards to go.

The Buckeyes consistently moved the ball on the ground


The disparity in the offenses' efficiency was because of their varying abilities to run the ball effectively. Ohio State could count on Weber and Samuel to consistently move the ball on the ground, while the Sooners were much more reliant on explosive plays.

The Sooners actually had a higher percentage of their passes go for explosive plays than the Buckeyes did (13% to 10%), but were also more reliant on those explosive plays too, because they were 11% less efficient passing and 22% less efficient running the ball. That's a huge disparity: both teams managed nine explosive plays on the other, but the Buckeyes could count on a successful run two thirds of the time, but the Sooners were effective on less than 50% of their rushing attempts.

The defense completely shut down Samaje Perine, holding him to a 29% rushing success rate. Perine was much more of a between-the-tackles, straight line runner, but the defensive line hit the backfield and the linebackers filled all gaps before Perine could get any momentum. Joe Mixon was far more effective (56% rushing success rate, 3 explosive runs), and it was surprising that the Sooners didn't try to run him more, since his agility and vision allowed him to hit the small holes that were available. The secondary makes most of the big plays so far for this defense, but the front seven really stepped up tonight (behind a seemingly endless defensive line rotation), constantly pressuring Mayfield and limiting the Sooners' rushing efficiency.

All of Ohio State's primary ball carriers were efficient: Weber had a 67% rushing success rate, Samuel had a 78% success rate, and Barrett was at 50%. This again speaks to the offensive line, which had a 58% total team rushing opportunity rate.

The passing offense was more than explosive enough for a constraint


The Buckeyes completely dictated the pace of the game, sprinting out to what would end up being an insurmountable lead in the second quarter, then controlling the pace of the game. But in only 68 total snaps, the Buckeye offense had nine plays (13%).

We said that the offense needed explosive runs on the edge and explosive passes on the perimeter. The Buckeyes delivered, along with far more explosive runs up the middle of the defense than expected. Noah Brown's huge night was obviously the highlight, as he more than proved that he can be the top receiving option. This fear of allowing Brown or Samuel to connect on explosive passes to the perimeter (along with Barrett running the ball) allowed the run game to be much more effective.

Maximizing turnovers


Finally, the defense pressured Mayfield, taking advantage of his gunslinger tendencies to create two (almost three!) interceptions. From there, the offense managed two touchdowns. But if you include the two turnovers on downs, then the offense managed to produce 17 points from turnovers. We said that the Buckeye front seven needed sacks or turnovers to win, and they only got two sacks but nevertheless constantly were chasing down Mayfield after winning their battles against the Sooners offensive line.

Continue reading...

Who's inexperienced now? Ohio State rolls past Oklahoma - 247Sports.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Who's inexperienced now? Ohio State rolls past Oklahoma
247Sports.com
Entering 2016, Brown represented the entire Buckeye team in more ways than one. Talented, yet unproven, Brown is one of 16 new starters for Ohio State. The Buckeyes impressed in their first two games, beating Bowling Green and Tulsa by a combined ...

and more »

Continue reading...

Ohio State’s Basic Defense Shuts Down Mayfield and the Sooners, Win 45-24
Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo courtesy of Eric Seger at 11W @EricSeger

After a few warm-up games under their belt, the Ohio State Buckeyes made their first road visit of the season when they traveled to Norman to face off with the Oklahoma Sooners. After an hour and a half weather delay due to lightning, the game finally kicked off around 9pm EST.

Oklahoma got the ball first after the Buckeyes won the toss and deferred to the 2nd half. The Sooners came out and had a 12 play drive that got the ball down to the 10 yard line before Austin Seibert came out to attempt the field goal. The field goal went off the left upright and the score was still knotted at 0-0. The Buckeyes took over and looked a little shaky as Billy Price got called for a false start and the Buckeyes went three and out and the Aussie Cam Johnston came out and boomed a 68 yard punt that was downed at the 11.

The Sooners took over, and they too were hit with a false start and Baker Mayfield couldn’t find any open receivers and they were forced to punt. Seibert, who doubles as the punter also, came out and punted 39 yards to the 45. The Buckeyes would start would great field position, and it didn’t take long to strike. After getting it to 4th and 1 on the 36, the Buckeyes called a timeout and decided to go for it. J.T. Barrett handed off to Samuel on sweep and he was off to the races. The Buckeyes has struck first and made it 7-0.

Oklahoma started their next drive at the 25 after a touch back, and were moving decently down the field with Mayfield finding Dede Westbrook and Geno Lewis for first downs. Then on 3rd and three, Mayfield went back to pass and was hurried by Jayln Holmes who tipped the ball, and Jerome Baker made the catch and ran it 67 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0. This was the Buckeyes 4th defensive touchdown of the season in only their 3rd game.

The celebration was short lived, as Tyler Durbin’s kickoff was fielded by Joe Mixon on the 3 and got some huge blocks and took it 97 yards for the touchdown, immediately cutting the Buckeye lead in half at 14-7. It wasn’t noticed right away, but Mixon actually dropped the ball before he crossed the goal line which should have negated the touchdown. The play wasn’t reviewed and the touchdown stood.

Ohio State didn’t let them enjoy that moment for very long. Weber started the drive with runs of 9 and 35 yards and Barrett took off for runs of 9, 6 and 12. On 1st and 10 from the 13, Mike Weber took the ball 7 yards to the six. Barrett had a two yard run to the 4, and then threw a fade route to Noah Brown who made the catch over true freshman defensive back Parrish Cobb and the lead was back up to 14 at 21-7.

Oklahoma drove down the field on an eight play 73 yard drive which included a Dede Westbrook end around that went for 35 yards, and then a Baker Mayfield pass completion to A.D. Miller for another 36. On first and goal from the three, Mayfield went back to pass and was sacked by Jayln Holmes and Malik Hooker for a loss of 13, which set up 2nd and goal from the 16. The Sooners were unable to get in the endzone, as a pass from Mayfield to Mark Andrews was dropped and then they stopped Joe Mixon after a seven yard gain on 3rd down. Seibert came out and this time converted making it 21-10 with 11:04 to go in the second quarter.

The next Buckeye drive got a first down but then a delay of game penalty cost them five yards and they weren’t able to get another first down and were forced to punt. Johnston came out and hit a 41 yarder that was fair caught by Mixon at the 14. Two plays later Mayfield avoided a sack by Nick Bosa but threw a pass that Marshon Lattimore made a great play on, intercepting it and returning it 21 yards back to the 37 yard line. The Buckeyes didn’t wait, as the first play after the turnover was again J.T. Barrett finding Noah Brown in the end zone making it 28-10.

Oklahoma wasn’t going to lay down without a fight. Mayfield found Andrews for 20 yards then ran for another 11 before finding A.D. Miller wide open for a 35 yard touchdown pass cutting the Buckeye lead to 28-17. With a little over four minutes left in the half, the Buckeyes got the ball back with a chance to put more points on the board knowing that they would be receiving the second half kickoff as well. Barrett and the Buckeyes methodically drove down the field trying to use as much of the clock as possible before the half. Between runs by Weber and Samuel and Barrett came completions to James Clark and Terry McLaurin before the highlight reel catch of the season was made. Barrett on second a ten dropped back to pass and saw Noah Brown with one on one coverage down the left side of the field. He threw it up and with the Michiah Clark draped all over him, Brown made the catch one handed off the back of the Clark while getting both feet in bounds and securing the ball on his back. The Buckeyes had a 35-17 lead at the half, and the 35 points that they scored in the first half were the most that Oklahoma had ever allowed in the first half of a game at home in history.



The Buckeyes got the ball on the second half kick and again the Buckeyes drove down the field with relative ease and were helped by a facemask penalty on a 2nd and 15 run that Samuel was stuffed on. That put the ball inside the red zone. Samuel then had runs of eight and two before J.T. Barrett found his new favorite target Noah Brown for the 4th time that evening, tying an Ohio State record for most receiving touchdowns in a game.

Oklahoma had one more scoring drive on the night as Mayfield found Mark Andrews on a six yard pass to make it 42-24, but at that point the game was pretty much done. Mayfield looked like he had thrown another interception later that Marshon Lattimore made a great play on, however it was overturned after replay showed that the ball wasn’t controlled through the catch. It didn’t matter. Tyler Durbin added a late field goal to make the score 45-24 and that was the night.

Ohio State had stormed into Norman, Oklahoma and physically beat up the Sooners on both sides of the ball. While the Sooners were able to gain over 400 yards of offense, and score the first two touchdowns against the Buckeye defense, it never seemed like the game was even close. Barrett had total control of the offense, and when it needed to go, he made it go. Noah Brown had a coming out party and the highlight real catch of the season. Mike Weber had a great game on his 18 carries for 123 yards, and the “basic” defense played an amazing game giving Mayfield fits all night and basically bottling up Samje Perine all night limiting him to a 3.5 yard per carry average.

The Buckeyes will look to heal up this week as they are off next weekend before hosting Rutgers at home on October 1st.

The post Ohio State’s Basic Defense Shuts Down Mayfield and the Sooners, Win 45-24 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

We’re buying Noah Brown as Ohio State’s top receiver after the win at Oklahoma
Chuck McKeever via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeye wideout just couldn’t stop scoring on the Sooners.

Stroll down Tuttle Park Place on Ohio State’s pristine campus and eventually you’ll come across the building that houses the Department of Linguistics. If you pop in, you might find a few students and instructors deep in conversation about phonology, or maybe syntax. But whether their expertise is in code-breaking or in morphological construction, they’d all be able to explain the same basic linguistic tenet to you: language is fluid. It evolves over time; this is what makes Shakespeare so hard to parse and makes Beowulf the bane of every high school freshman’s existence and lets us say literally when we really mean figuratively in 2016. It’s all English, but it’s not all the same.

The language may have leapt forward a little bit further yesterday, because the following expression is pretty much the only way you can articulate what it was like to watch Noah Brown play football on Saturday night:

AGGGHHHHEFVGJGJGJHFUUUUHHHHHBJEIFNWGRGRT!!!1!!!!1!1!

Seriously. Brown, who missed all of last season with a broken leg, defied all currently possible description in his single-handed decimation of the Oklahoma Sooners. His first four(!) catches all went for touchdowns, the crown jewel of which was a grab that is unlikely to be topped in 2016. Seriously, just look at this.


Brown wasn’t the only Buckeye player to have a big day—more on those in just a bit—but his gameplay certainly made the biggest splash.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Ohio State, as you may recall. But with No. 2 Florida State getting absolutely shellacked by early Heisman favorite Lamar Jackson’s Louisville squad and No. 1 Alabama looking mighty vincible during a squeaky win over Ole Miss, the No. 3 Buckeyes were given a real chance to move even further up in the rankings. Safe to say they took it. The question now becomes not whether Urban Meyer’s team is good enough to claim the No. 2 spot, but whether or not they have a legitimate claim at stealing the No. 1 ranking from the Crimson Tide.

Let’s take a look at the #basic players responsible for vaulting the Buckeyes into such mighty company.

Blue chip stocks


Noah Brown, WR: Astonishing, really, that Brown claims the top spot here. We’ve reviewed his accomplishments above; the focus should now shift to one particular bit of praise that Brown got following his absurd highlight-reel grab.


Brown is a savage slime indeed, and looking ahead it feels as though his potential for greatness has...No Ceilings.

Curtis Samuel, H-Back: Everyone else’s accomplishments paled in comparison to Brown’s against the Sooners, but Samuel still had himself a day. Ohio State’s most versatile offensive player racked up 98 rush yards on 11 carries, including a long touchdown scamper on 4th-and-short, and he snagged two passes for another 20 yards. Brooklyn’s Finest has really come into his own this season, and that’s bad news for every team tasked with containing him.

Solid investments


Cameron Johnston, P: Ohio State’s Aussie specialist was called upon five times against the Sooners, probably because Noah Brown was getting tired of scoring touchdowns. One of Johnston’s punts was a season-high 68 yards; the Buckeye gunners pounced on it and pinned Oklahoma deep in their own end. Johnston averaged more than 50 yards per punt on Saturday. Dude can kick a ball.

Marshon Lattimore, CB: Look, we could probably put all 11 defensive starters in this category, and a few rotation guys to boot. The Buckeye defense, which has been absolutely stifling this season, completely shut down a) the NCAA single-game rushing yards leader and b) a quarterback who led his team to the College Football Playoff last season. Lattimore, who has been an integral part of the unit’s success, added yet another interception to his total in this game. (He’s got three in as many contests.) Lattimore was at fault for one of Oklahoma’s rare scores, falling down on a deep ball that allowed Baker Mayfield to connect with his receiver from 35 yards out, but his record has otherwise been unimpeachable in this young season. Lattimore himself seems ready to move past the mistake:

Junk bonds


Buckeye discipline: It’s hard to be overly critical of a team that just soundly beat a ranked foe in a hostile road environment, but hey, there’s always room for improvement. Ohio State racked up 11 penalties in this contest, and while those infractions only cost them a total of 75 yards, that’s still an area that Urban Meyer is going to have to address with his young and hungry team. 11 penalties didn’t matter much against Oklahoma, but the end result could be far less kind if they give that many free yards to, say, Alabama.

Replay, or lack thereof: Ask any person older than 40 what their biggest gripe about the younger generation is and you’ll quite likely hear some variation on what I like to call “the selfie stick problem”: there are cameras everywhere and young people—from their nieces to the Kardashian clan to D’Angelo Russell—use them too often. Given this sort of nightmarish 1984-style scenario...how in the hell does a refereeing crew screw up a chance like the one they got tonight? Cameras showed Sooner punt returner Joe Mixon (himself a human junk bond) dropping the ball a full yard before he crossed the goal line on a 97-yard punt return that was called a touchdown. To be fair, the Buckeye coaching staff seemed somehow to miss it as well, and didn’t call a timeout to ask for the play to be reviewed. Puzzling all around from a fan’s standpoint, one of those strange instances that occur as a result of human fallibility.

Buy/Sell:


BUY: Wet Urban Meyer. For the second straight week, the Buckeyes have had their game delayed by nigh-apocalyptic weather patterns; for the second straight week, the Buckeyes have scored 45 points or more on their opponents. We can’t rule out Coach Meyer being some sort of ancient weather god, sent to wreak havoc on mere mortals. Actually, screw that. Urban Meyer is college football’s Gremlin—give him some water and he’s going to cause you a world full of hurt.


SELL: Trash-talking the Buckeyes. Oklahoma backup quarterback Austin Kendall had some choice words for the Buckeye defense in the days leading up to the game. That, uhhh, didn’t work out so hot for him.

BUY: Ohio State’s playoff chances. At this point it feels like the only person that can score on the Buckeye defense is Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, and let’s be real, that dude could put up points against a naval blockade. If Ohio State can make it out of the coming bye week without losing too much momentum, the rest of this season is gonna be fun.

Continue reading...

Buckeyes make statement with dominating win at Sooners - Comcast SportsNet Chicago
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes make statement with dominating win at Sooners
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
If there was any doubt that the youthful Buckeyes were ready for primetime, consider that doubt erased. In a massive non-conference showdown with Oklahoma that's been circled on college football fans' calendars for months, Ohio State put on a ...

and more »

Continue reading...

Game Recap: The Ohio State Buckeyes vs The Oklahoma Sooners
Richard Tongohan via our good friends at Men of the Scarlet and Gray
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here



Revenge is a dish best served cold. Coming into the game the Buckeyes lack of experience was the biggest question mark, but most if not all questions were answered after a 42-21 throttling from Ohio State. J.T. Barrett and company showed up and did their part for the majority of the game. The biggest slight came from a Backup Quarterback Kendall Austin, who was once a Buckeye target, who stated that the Buckeye defense played a “basic” defense and that Baker Mayfield would light them up. He even had the audacity to say that if he had the chance, he would likely do the same. I guess you should “say less” as most Buckeye defenders had stated. I hoped that you had the opportunity to showcase your skills against our “basic” defense, but you never got the opportunity. Even if you did, Raekwon McMillan and the Silver Bullets would’ve feasted on your soul and in the land of the wolves, you cannot stop the pack.

Zone 6 member Noah Brown torched every Defensive Back that attempted to cover him en route to his stellar performance. Brown, who returned after suffering a severe leg injury, came back with authority. Brown was always a good player, but tonight he took a step toward greatness as he caught 5 passes for 72 yards and 4 highlight reel touchdowns. He looked unstoppable. He caught passes over helpless Defensive Backs and around them too. Literally! He was destroying the opposing defenders and although he only caught 5 passes, the damage had been done and you could see the dejection in their eyes. The crowd that was once filled with energy lacked the spark that made their home field one of the most intimidating and nasty road environments.

The crowd noise died as J.T. Barrett hit them with the silencer, the hammer to silence their critics. Curtis Samuel had another good showing. He racked up 118 offensive yards and a touchdown on a 36-yard scamper on 4th and 1. That was a bold move that swung the momentum in the Buckeyes favor. The Buckeyes ground game wore the Sooner defense down as they were pushed around for most of the game, but they would occasionally make a play to halt the Buckeyes offensive attack. Mike Weber churned out another 100-yard performance rushing for 123 rushing yards. The Buckeyes were moving the ball at will, but the Sooner defense stood their ground and forced the punt.
The Sooner got the ball back and attempted to convert on 4th and 3, but the “basic” defense stiffened up and forced another turnover to take the 14-0 lead courtesy of Jerome Baker who filled in for banged-up Dante Booker. It is getting fun seeing what forgotten recruit steps up and makes an impact whenever their number is called. The Buckeye defense lost their most experienced player in Gareon Conley, but his replacement Redshirt Freshman Damon Arnette filled in just fine. Like I had previously stated, the Buckeyes are deep at just about every position, on both sides of the ball. The talent is definitely in place and the future looks brighter and brighter as the season goes on as the Buckeyes added two additional forced turnovers for the season, which now stands at +9 and they have gathered their 4th pick-6 of the year. They held Oklahoma to just 226 yards passing and 178 yards on the ground which is below their average after two games. “Basic” stuff.



The first true road test for the young Buckeyes had gone as quickly as it gone and Buckeye Nation is happily sipping their tea. This comes as a pleasant surprise as I thought it would be much closer than it ended up becoming and for that, I am thankful. I am glad that the Buckeyes used their visit to Norman as an audition for the College Football Playoff Committee and upstaged and outright embarrassed the home team on their own turf. I would recommend not throwing stones from your glass house at a sleeping giant. I hope the Playoff Committee was paying attention because these Buckeyes are the real deal. They are building great recruiting classes to make up for the players that will leave or that are bound to leave. Speaking of recruiting #1 Safety Jeffrey Okudah was on deck for an official visit, but he used it to preview both teams and how they run their defenses. I think it is another resounding win as the defense stifled Oklahoma throughout the game. Sure the Sooner scored two offensive scores, but the game was already in hand. Okudah will likely announce around signing day, but I think the Buckeyes helped their cause.












Continue reading...

Young Buckeyes steamroll Oklahoma to send playoff statement - ESPN (blog)
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Young Buckeyes steamroll Oklahoma to send playoff statement
ESPN (blog)
The too-fast, too-furious Buckeyes harassed Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, who most certainly didn't light them up. Instead, Ohio State's basic but dominant defense picked off Mayfield twice, with Jerome Baker returning the first off a Jalyn ...
Ohio State vs. Oklahoma: Live Score, Highlights for Buckeyes vs. SoonersBleacher Report
No growing pains for young Buckeyes as Ohio State proves it's a legit contenderCBS sports.com (blog)
Buckeyes beat Oklahoma, 45-24Toledo Blade
Columbus Dispatch -cleveland.com -Muskogee Daily Phoenix
all 311 news articles »

Continue reading...

Author of seven books on college football - ESPN
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Author of seven books on college football
ESPN
The Buckeyes are 19-0 in road games under coach Urban Meyer, and they've won five consecutive road games against ranked foes. After losing nine underclassmen to the NFL draft, the Buckeyes were supposed to be a year away from challenging for one of ...

and more »

Continue reading...

Buckeyes thwart Sooners - Muskogee Daily Phoenix
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes thwart Sooners
Muskogee Daily Phoenix
3 Buckeyes rolled past No. 14 Oklahoma 45-24 on Saturday night. Brown caught five passes for 72 yards. On his best grab, he reached around Michiah Quick and held onto Quick and the ball while falling out of bounds for a 21-yard touchdown reception with ...
No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 14 Oklahoma observations: Difference between Sooners, Buckeyes vastTulsa World

all 1 news articles »

Continue reading...

Ohio State responds to Oklahoma backup’s ‘basic’ comment after easy win
Harry Lyles Jr. via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Don’t anger the Bucks.

Ohio State got some easy bulletin board material this week when Oklahoma freshman quarterback Austin Kendall said the Buckeyes had a “basic” defense. The comment was made on a Sooners’ pregame show during the week leading up to the game, and garnered a lot of attention for obvious reasons.

Well, that trash talk apparently did nothing but ignite a fire into the Silver Bullets, who had a pretty dang good game Saturday night, as they rolled past the Sooners 42-24 in Norman.

Please believe, the Buckeyes were not quiet after the game.

One of the defensive leaders, Raekwon McMillan got his hands on a great sign:

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

It looked like Jalyn Holmes was ready to take that thing home:


Redshirt freshman Dre’Mont Jones chimed in:


Cardale Jones, like many of us, wanted to see Kendall get some snaps:


Don’t be surprised if teams are silent the week before they play the Buckeyes from here on out this season.

Stay “basic”, Bucks.

Continue reading...

Sooners struggle to contain Buckeyes' Barrett in loss - NewsOK.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Sooners struggle to contain Buckeyes' Barrett in loss
NewsOK.com
DThe Sooners in the first half had first-and-10 at the Ohio State 11-yard line and first-and-goal at the Buckeye 3-yard line. OU came away with three total points on those drives. Austin Seibert missed a 27-yard field goal on the opening drive, then ...

and more »

Continue reading...

Ohio State vs. Oklahoma 2016 final score, with 3 things to know from OSU’s 45-24 win
Ian Cuevas via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Despite storms delaying the game in Norman, the Buckeyes rolled to an emphatic win over the Sooners.

The second consecutive week in which Ohio State was a part of a delay for its game due to the weather. This time, against Oklahoma, the Buckeyes didn’t start until an hour and a half later than its original start time, but that wouldn’t stop Urban Meyer’s squad.

The Sooners would start things off on offense, coming out swinging by attacking the Buckeyes through the air early and often with play action. In the redzone, Ohio State’s defense would tighten up to hold Oklahoma to a field goal attempt, which would clang off the right goalpost. Buckeyes wouldn’t do much better on their first drive as the Sooners would force a punt after a false start penalty sent them back. On its next possession, facing a fourth and one, the Buckeyes would hand it to Curtis Samuel who would turn the corner past the defense for a touchdown. Ohio State would get on the board first, 7-0.

Oklahoma would develop another nice drive until Baker Mayfield’s pass on fourth down was tipped and then intercepted by linebacker Jerome Baker. Baker would end up returning 68 yards for another score, putting the Buckeyes up 14-0. It wouldn’t take long for a response. On the ensuing kickoff, Sooners’ running back Joe Mixon would house the return for a touchdown to cut the lead to 14-7. Mike Weber would get his first carries of the game on the next drive for Ohio State, with a nine-yard run and a 35-yard scamper, respectively. J.T. Barrett would do it himself on the next couple of carries gaining a couple of first downs on third down runs. A few plays later, Barrett would find Noah Brown in the endzone for another touchdown to put the Buckeyes up 21-7 on the four-yard reception.

The Sooners would threaten again with another good drive, but yet again, Ohio State’s defense would stiffen in the red zone, holding Oklahoma to a field goal to cut the lead to 21-10. After a failed drive by Ohio State, Baker Mayfield would throw an interception, which was picked off by Marshon Lattimore. On the first play of the next drive, J.T. Barrett would strike deep to Noah Brown for 37 yards for a touchdown to put the Buckeyes up 28-10 late in the first half. Mayfield would redeem himself on the next drive with another nice drive, resulting in a touchdown pass to A.D. Miller, putting the score at 28-17.

Noah Brown would then come up with one of the greatest catches you’ll ever see, a one-handed grab with the ball pinned against the defender’s back for a touchdown. Barrett’s 21-yard pass put the Buckeyes up 35-17 at the half.

Ohio State would be back to business in the second half, as the Buckeyes took their first drive and J.T. Barrett would find (guess who) Noah Brown in the endzone to put the Buckeyes up 42-17. Oklahoma would finally get a response late in the third quarter, as Mayfield would engineer a drive all the way into the endzone as he found his target for a touchdown making it a 42-24 game.

Just as it looked like the Sooners were building some momentum for a comeback, the Buckeye defense stood strong and sacked Baker Mayfield on fourth down to take over on offense. Ohio State would take advantage of the turnover on downs, answering with a field goal by Tyler Durbin to put the Buckeyes up 45-24. With Oklahoma pressing for a score, the Buckeyes defense would again stand tall, forcing another turnover on downs to essentially put the game on ice.

Here are three things we learned from Ohio State's 45-24 win.

3 things we learned:


1. Give Curtis Samuel the ball and get out of his way. There have been many players to play for Urban Meyer that have been given the “Percy Harvin” role but none have quite given it the same life like Harvin did at Florida. That may change with the way Curtis Samuel has played this season. Early on, Samuel’s name was called on often both as a receiver and ball carrier, and delivered right away, giving Ohio State its first points of the evening. In the first half, Samuel had 69 yards rushing on six carries with one touchdown and two receptions for 20 yards, making J.T. Barrett’s job much easier against a solid Oklahoma defense.

Mike Weber had his moments against the Sooners with several key rushes on scoring drives, but Samuel seems to be the true playmaker that the Buckeyes go to when they need a big play or score. It’s been a long time coming, as Samuel played behind Ezekiel Elliott and he’s done an excellent job of channeling it into his performance on the field this season. Oklahoma seemingly had no answer to stop No. 4 both in the air and on the ground.

Samuel’s usage against Tulsa was surprisingly much lower than it was against Bowling Green, but his his performance against the Sooners showed the trust that the coaching staff has in the H-back’s ability to make things happen. Samuel finished the night with 11 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown.

2. The defense is exceeding expectations and more. Ohio State’s defense continued its ball-hawking Silver Bullet’s style of defensive play, suffocating Baker Mayfield for much of the night. In the first half, Jerome Baker would intercept a pass and take it all the way back for a touchdown while Marshon Lattimore added to his total interception count with one of his own.

There doesn’t seem to be a clear weak spot on this defense, as the defensive front shut down a lot of what Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine had to give on the ground, while the secondary of Malik Hooker and company patrolled the air. Mixon provided most of the scare from a defensive standpoint, but overall this looks like a championship caliber defense so far.

The defense gave up its first touchdown of the season late in the second quarter as Mayfield finally was able to find a receiver in the endzone, but a lot of bending and not breaking tipped the scales in the Buckeyes favor, waiting for Mayfield to make mistakes.

The second half provided plenty of highlights as well, with big hits coming from Denzel Ward and several Buckeyes forcing their will on the Sooners offense. Ohio State would also force several turnover on downs when Oklahoma was facing four-down territory, and didn’t give up one of them.

3. There’s *that* Noah Brown Ohio State was hyped about. Are you kidding me, Noah Brown? How about three first half touchdowns for the wide receiver. The Ohio State camp has done nothing but hype up Brown’s ability and his tendency to be “unguardable” in multiple fall camps. After breaking his leg before the start of last season, the Buckeyes wouldn’t get to see Brown in action until this year.

He had a strong showing against Bowling Green and Tulsa, but Oklahoma is no doubt his declaration that he’s arrived. In the first half alone, Brown hauled in three receptions for 62 yards, all three of those receptions going for touchdowns.

His third touchdown of the night would provide one of the best catches of the year which we described above. If you still haven’t had the chance to see it, we’ve got you fully covered. A lot of questions on offense this season was about the wide receivers and if they’d be able to step up with such a young roster. The answer so far has been yes, and Brown has lead the way, especially when it comes in the redzone.

The second half would be much of the same. On the first drive of the half, J.T. Barrett would find Brown in the endzone yet again for his fourth touchdown of the night, upping his total to four receptions for 70 yards. Brown would finish with five receptions for 72 yards and four touchdowns.


Be sure not to miss our Ohio State-Oklahoma postgame show:


Continue reading...

PHOTOS: The University of Oklahoma Sooners fall to Ohio State Buckeyes 45-24 - kjrh.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


PHOTOS: The University of Oklahoma Sooners fall to Ohio State Buckeyes 45-24
kjrh.com
NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 17: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners is tackled by Jerome Baker #17 of the Ohio State Buckeyes at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Scott ...
For 2nd week in a row, OSU delayed by weatherToledo Blade
Ohio State WR pulls in 4 TD passes (including one you can't believe) as Buckeyes roll OU Sooners 45-24Dallas Morning News

all 1 news articles »

Continue reading...

Cardale Jones had the most savage rebuttal possible for Oklahoma’s ‘basic’ trash talk
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


DON’T HURT EM, CARDALE.

This week spawned one of the sillier bits of pregame bulletin board material in recent memory.

Oklahoma freshman quarterback Austin Kendall referred to the Ohio State defense as “basic” in a regrettable moment on a Sooners’ pregame show earlier during the week also stating that Sooners starting QB Baker Mayfield would “light ‘em up”.

With Ohio State leading 42-17 early in the third quarter and Buckeyes receiver Noah Brown finding himself on the receiving end of four touchdowns — including arguably the catch of the year -- former Buckeye QB Cardale Jones weighed in on the controversy as only he can:


It is proven absolutely.

Continue reading...

College football | Top-25 highlights: Louisville pours it on against Florida State - Columbus Dispatch
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


College football | Top-25 highlights: Louisville pours it on against Florida State
Columbus Dispatch
Tim May and Bill Rabinowitz talk about this weekend's Ohio State-Oklahoma game, projected as the first real test of the year for the Buckeyes. Buckeyes turn up the heat in opener. Tim May and Bill Rabinowitz talk about Ohio State's record-setting ...
Ohio State-Oklahoma, Florida State-Louisville highlight CFB Week 3Dayton Daily News

all 723 news articles »

Continue reading...

Watch Ohio State WR Noah Brown’s insane TD catch at Oklahoma
Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor via Big Ten Network

Ohio State's Noah Brown hauled in what currently is, and could end up being, the catch of 2016. Watch the highlight-reel grab in this post.

Continue reading...

Ohio State’s Noah Brown caught a touchdown on an Oklahoma player’s dang back
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

Ohio State coaches talked up Noah Brown this offseason, and he figured to be a major part of the offense. But prior to tonight, Brown’s numbers were modest, compared to others like Curtis Samuel or Mike Weber.

Well, Ohio State found Noah Brown tonight. And his third touchdown catch was his best, by far.

With the Buckeye driving right before halftime, looking to push the margin to three scores, J.T. Barrett threw the ball up in the end zone. And Brown leapt up, and managed to catch this absolutely bananas catch:


I mean seriously, how did he come up with that?

Oklahoma doesn’t have an answer for the size that Noah Brown has in the red zone, and if the Buckeyes can keep picking on the Sooners there, this offense will have no signs of slowing down.

Ohio State’s secondary has shown it can score a few points, but their wideouts, especially this Noah Brown guy, can make plays of their own.

Continue reading...

Can Ohio State football take next step with win over Oklahoma? Buckeyes Breakfast Gameday - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Can Ohio State football take next step with win over Oklahoma? Buckeyes Breakfast Gameday
cleveland.com
NORMAN, Okla. -- Ohio State travels to Oklahoma on Saturday night for the Buckeyes first road game of the season. GAME INFORMATION. Who: No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0) at No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners (1-1). When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.. Where: Gaylord ...
Gameday+ | Across the ball: Stoops getting defense ratcheted up for BuckeyesColumbus Dispatch
Ohio State Buckeyes Vs. Oklahoma Sooners Previews And PredictionsThe Inquisitr
Sooners backup QB Austin Kendall: Ohio State's defense 'very basic'ESPN
FOXSports.com -NewsOK.com
all 1,027 news articles »

Continue reading...

Noah Brown caught his 2nd TD from J.T. Barrett to give Ohio State some wiggle room vs Oklahoma
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


You wouldn’t like these Buckeyes when they’re angry.

Maybe Oklahoma freshman quarterback Austin Kendall is regretting calling the Ohio State defense “basic” right about now.

Immediately after the Buckeyes’ second interception of the night of OU quarterback Baker Mayfield, J.T. Barrett went deep to Noah Brown, finding the redshirt sophomore in the end zone for the second time on the evening.

While the No. 3 vs No. 14 matchup my have had a late start due to inclement weather, there hasn’t been anything late about the Buckeyes’ offenses or defense through one half:


Can the Sooners adjust in the second half? Stay tuned.

Continue reading...

Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley leaves game with apparent shoulder injury
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Here’s hoping it isn’t serious.

Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes are an exceptionally young team, without too many veteran players. One of their few is star defensive back (and captain) Gareon Conley, and it looks like Ohio State might be without him indefinitely.

After a tackle early in the second quarter, Conley looked to favor his shoulder, and had to be helped off the field. Later, Conley would leave the game and head for the locker room. His current condition is unknown, and he was replaced in the game by Denzel Ward.

Cornerback is one position where Ohio State doesn’t have a ton of depth, and Conley is a legitimate NFL prospect (one who had impressive pass breakups early in the game already). Losing Conley would undoubtedly be a very significant injury for Ohio State.

Hopefully, the injury isn’t serious, and Conley is able to return to the game, or could use Ohio State’s upcoming bye week to get healthy and prepared for Big Ten play.

Continue reading...

Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon’s kickoff return touchdown vs Ohio State shouldn’t have counted
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


How did they miss this?

One of college football’s 2016’s team’s earlier marquee matchup’s more than lived up to the billing in the early goings.

After each team struggled to feel the other out, the Buckeyes exploded for a pair of scores, the first a 30+ yard run on 4th-and-1 for 6 and the second a pick 6 on the very next drive.

But with OU set to look to keep things from getting out of hand, on the ensuing kickoff, Sooners running back Joe Mixon ran what looked like a game changing kick return all the way to the house.

But did Mixon make a monumental mistake prior to crossing the goal line?



There’s indisputable video evidence he did.


Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, nobody recovered the fumble in real time and the mistake was never noticed by the replay officials.

The call stood, and the Sooners were right back in the contest, down 14-7.

We’ll see how influential the officiating mistake ultimately proves.

Continue reading...

Watch Ohio State’s Jerome Baker score yet another pick 6 touchdown
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Scoring defensive touchdowns is good.

Scoring one touchdown on defense isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Scoring FOUR touchdowns on defense over three games, especially when that last one comes at night, in prime time, against Oklahoma, to help expand an early lead.

Luckily, that’s exactly what happened for Ohio State. With Oklahoma driving again, threatening to tie the game at 7 in the first quarter, a deflection ended up in the hands of Jerome Baker, and well, you know how this story ends.


The Buckeyes now have 10 takeaways this season, leading the entire country, and if there were any questions about how effective this secondary could be, they’re getting answered right now.

Of course, Oklahoma stormed right back with a Joe Mixon kickoff return for a touchdown, so if the Buckeyes have any more secondary magic left in them, they might just need it tonight.

Continue reading...

Watch: Buckeyes arrive at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Watch: Buckeyes arrive at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
247Sports
You might say Ohio State was cutting it close by waiting inside two hours before gametime to arrive at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. But there is inclement weather arriving in the area and the start of the game could be delayed. Stay tuned for more.

and more »

Continue reading...

Watch Curtis Samuel break a 4th-and-1 to the house for Ohio State vs Oklahoma
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Brooklyn’s finest.

Ohio State-Oklahoma’s lived up to the early billing so far.

Despite a 90 minute weather delay that saw kickoff delayed until 9 p.m. ET, the Buckeyes and Sooners have traded blows back and forth in the early goings.

Leave it to perhaps the most natural successor to Percy Harvin in Urban Meyer’s offense, former highly touted recruit Curtis Samuel to break open the proceedings:


OSU strikes first but it surely won’t be the last explosive play we see tonight.

Continue reading...