Where's a pirates favorite place to drink? A baaaaaaar!

Sorry. I'll show myself out.

Big Ten Power Rankings: Penn State bolsters case in post-Week 4 list
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

Penn State provided more evidence of its championship stock by finding a way to win against all odds at Iowa. And, it’s time to move Michigan up my latest Big Ten Power Rankings, presented by ArcelorMittal. Could the Wolverines be the best in the East? [ MORE: Week 4 video | Best of Week 4 | Week 4 predictions revisited ] See my latest list below. 1. Penn State (4-0). With Superman Saquon on their side, the Nittany Lions are going to be a tough out. Last week: 1 Up next: Indiana 2. Wisconsin (3-0). If QB Alex Hornibrook keeps

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Best of Week 4: Grades, individual honors, stock watch & numbers
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

A wild Week 4 saw Penn State pull out a magical win at Iowa that makes you think this could be another special year for the Nittany Lions. And Michigan is looking better and better, while Ohio State continues to fine-tune for bigger games to come.

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Week 4 Big Ten football game predictions revisited
Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor via Big Ten Network

Before we turn our attention to Week 5, it's time to revisit how the BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart and Big Ten fans did with their Week 4 Big Ten game predictions.

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Sandy Parrill: Lucky is the owner of a buckeye tree - Joplin Globe
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Sandy Parrill: Lucky is the owner of a buckeye tree
Joplin Globe
It was a lucky buckeye. Well I was none too sure about that, but he was my favorite uncle, and I always did believe in myths and fairy tales, so into my pocket it went along with sundry other botanical marvels, shiny rocks, marbles, bits of bones and a ...


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Ohio State's passing attack, pass defense buried UNLV
Chuck McKeever via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


From J.T. Barrett to Erick Smith, every Buckeye ate against the Rebels.

Folks, Ohio State football might be good again. Back-to-back drubbings of overmatched teams have started to air out the stink left behind by the Oklahoma game, and the Buckeyes still have a few more tune-up games left on the schedule before things get serious.

This one was fun.

Blue chip stocks


J.T. Barrett, QB: What a difference a few cupcakes can make. Barrett looks rejuvenated as a quarterback, a different guy entirely from the signal-caller who was so utterly bamboozled by everything Oklahoma threw at him two weeks ago.

In less than a half on Saturday, Barrett passed for a cool five touchdowns and over 200 yards. Granted, UNLV is hardly the caliber of defense that Barrett will have to face each week as the Buckeyes enter Big Ten play, but it's so refreshing to see him throwing bullets to receivers right on the money again.

Nick Bosa, DE: The younger Bosa looks more than ready to take up his brother's mantle as Ohio State's most terrifying edge rusher. He practically camped out in the Rebels' backfield on Saturday, recording a sack and three total tackles for loss, with a pass defensed for good measure.

The Buckeyes' pass defense has struggled at times in this young season, and repairing that starts up front by putting pressure on the quarterback. Safe to say Bosa can take some credit for the absurd numbers the Ohio State secondary put up against UNLV. (The team's 13 total tackles for loss certainly didn't hurt.)

Parris Campbell, WR/H-back: We've seen plenty of evidence of Campbell's home-run potential so far this year, and he didn't disappoint against the Rebels. Campbell got the game's scoring deluge started early, taking a pass to the flat from Barrett all the way to the house for a nice TD from 69 yards out. He caught just two more passes in the first half before heading to the bench with the rest of the starters, finishing his day with 105 yards through the air. He tacked on an 82-yard kick return that put the Buckeyes inside the red zone, too, if you're into that kind of thing.

Solid investments


C.J. Saunders, WR: There's an abundance of two-initial guys making impact plays for Ohio State's offense this season, so you'd be forgiven for not knowing just who the hell No. 80 was as you watched him tear up the UNLV defense on Saturday. C.J. Saunders, a junior wideout from Dublin, Ohio, had just one career catch for the Buckeyes, a 14-yarder in the Army game.

Not so on Saturday. Saunders reeled in six catches for 102 yards and a TD, scoring on a 28-yard reception that was barely half as long as his longest catch-and-run on the day, which went for 50. Good on the young man for bursting onto the scene in the biggest way imaginable.

(P.S.—When was the last time Ohio State had multiple 100-yard receivers in a game? Maybe the world really is ending.)

Dwayne Haskins, QB: The calls for Haskins to start after the Oklahoma game and his 4-for-4 passing performance against Army were perhaps a little premature. The true freshman showed his age at times on Saturday, throwing a pick-six, but he also showed off the tools that will make him the Buckeye QB of the future. In mop-up duty for Barrett, Haskins finished with 223 yards through the air and two TDs, as well as 20 yards on the ground.

Erick Smith, S: One of the more underrated members of Ohio State's secondary, the junior safety had a solid day against the Rebels, recording a team-high five tackles, including three solo efforts and 0.5 tackles for loss. Smith was a huge contributor to a defensive effort that held UNLV (and their talented QB Armani Rogers) to just 88 yards passing.

Junk bonds


Penalties, penalties, penalties. The Buckeyes were flagged eight times for 85 yards against UNLV, too many of which happened while the experienced guys were on the field, not the scrubs. The most egregious sequence saw the Rebels extend a drive twice on failed third downs thanks to Ohio State penalties. (One of those calls was prooooobably really bad, but still.) It didn't hurt them much against a team with as many problems as UNLV has, but when Penn State weekend rolls around, it will have to be a different story.

Kickoffs. My kingdom for a kicker who can reliably put the ball in bounds or into the end zone.

Buy/Sell


BUY: Former defensive linemen putting on the moves and finding paydirt.


SELL: Fumbling on the one yard line twice in one game. No one who reads this website gambles for anything more than recreational purposes, and certainly no money is ever involved, but it must still be hard to watch Ohio State fail to cover by turning the ball over twice in spitting distance of the end zone.

BUY: The dude who showed up to our alumni tailgate with a bag full of Chick-fil-A chicken biscuits. The nearest franchise location to the brewery where the Seattle OSU alumni meet is 12.5 miles away, and some guy showed up with food from there for the 9 a.m. kickoff's whole crowd. He was gone by halftime, but his legacy will live forever. MVP-caliber stuff.

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This field goal was kicked *twice* on the same play. It counted. It shouldn’t have.

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Entire article: https://www.sbnation.com/college-fo...ld-goal-rules-ncaa-double-kick-texas-lutheran

Tom Archdeacon: Walk-on steals the show in Ohio State rout - MyDaytonDailyNews
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Tom Archdeacon: Walk-on steals the show in Ohio State rout
MyDaytonDailyNews
With 1:32 left in the first half, the Ohio State junior had just caught a 28-yard TD pass over the middle and in traffic from Buckeyes quarterback Dwayne Haskins. The score and ensuing point after put the Bucks up 44-7 on UNLV. “It was an unreal ...

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MililaniBuckeye said:

Not quite as bad as someone still using WP, but our phone billing section downstairs uses a jerry-rigged system that was piecemealed together using multiple (about 20) Access databases and Excel spreadsheets, designed back in 1998. Then, when they finally get done manually importing monthly billing data via CD from the phone vendor and hand-massaging about 20,000 records, they upload a zip file containing several Access databases and an Excel spreadsheet to a timed job on the server, which was written by some dude who had just got his PhD who decided to write the entire function into several .ddl files and an .exe file with absolutely zero documentation. So, when one of the billers downstairs invariably fat-fingers a data input and then the timed job on the server errors out, they freak the fuck out and ask our section (me) to troubleshoot what they did wrong. Our section chief has told them for about a year and a half now that our section (I) can do a complete rewrite from the ground up which would take about 6-8 months but would permanently resolve their issues (they haven't been able to bill customers for about eight months now), and all they need to do is come up with a requirements document, they just can't seem to find the time.

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What? No floppy disks? No AOL email? What about a corporate MySpace account?

Late PK Lifts No. 25 Buckeyes to 1-0 Win - 13abc Action News
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Late PK Lifts No. 25 Buckeyes to 1-0 Win
13abc Action News
Ohio State was awarded a penalty kick with just over 10 minutes remaining in the second half, and that PK goal lifted the No. 25 Buckeyes to a 1-0 win over the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team Friday night (Sept. 22). The non-conference ...


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QB on Buckeyes' board commits to Michigan State - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


QB on Buckeyes' board commits to Michigan State
247Sports
The Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to several 2019 quarterbacks with Michael Johnson, Bo Nix and Grant Tisdale being the three big names at this point. The Buckeyes had not offered a scholarship to Belleville (Mich.) Oak Park 2019 quarterback Dwan ...

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Buckeyes backup QB has pointed words on Ohio State's $1.5 billion valuation - NBCSports.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes backup QB has pointed words on Ohio State's $1.5 billion valuation
NBCSports.com
NCAA rules still won't allow student-athletes to be compensated for the millions of dollars they make for the university nor do they allow them to profit off their likenesses or images — even as the universities do just that. One member of the Ohio ...

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UNLV vs. Ohio State RECAP, score and stats - NJ.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


UNLV vs. Ohio State RECAP, score and stats
NJ.com
The University of Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels, led by running back Lexington Thomas, met the 10th ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1), led by quarterback J.T. Barrett, on Saturday, September 23, 2017, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Check the ...

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5 things we learned from Ohio State’s 54-21 win against UNLV
Geoff Hammersley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Two things we learned: J.T. Barrett was slinging passes, and Zone 6 was making catches.

[in the soothing voice of Jim Nantz, like the one he uses when calling The Masters.]

Hello, friends.

Another Saturday afternoon has passed, which means one thing: Ohio State football completed another game. As the victory bell rings throughout campus, the Buckeyes captured their third win of the season, beating the UNLV Rebels, 54-21, behind an explosive offense, stout defense and spectacular punting game. Even in the blowout win, there were things to learn.

Let’s take a look at the five biggest ones.

How J.T. got his groove back


Since the loss at home to the Oklahoma Sooners, criticism has been raining down on all aspects of the team. Since the sport we’re dealing with is football, the brunt of the blame goes, by default, to the quarterback.

J.T. Barrett is that quarterback, and he silenced some of the haters last week in the win against Army. Against UNLV, Barrett had himself a first half to remember. It all began with the (very nice) 69-yard touchdown to wide out Parris Campbell on the Buckeyes second play from scrimmage.


It seemed that the first few weeks of the season showcased the growing pains of Barrett and the receiving corps. There didn’t seem to be any growing pains against the UNLV defense—granted, it was against UNLV, who lost to Howard in Week 1 after being 40-plus point favorites.

The play calling for OSU’s passing attack was way too predictable in the first few weeks. It was either a read-option, or a bubble screen; the same cookie-cutter, everyone-in-the-stadium-knows-what-is-coming designs that have hampered the Buckeyes in big games. There was almost a fear of throwing the ball downfield.

Fear of throwing downfield wasn’t evident against the Rebels, as Barrett was making throws down the heart of the UNLV defense, and threw precision passes to his receivers. A couple of his TD passes were absolute gems. One went to Binjimen Victor in a jump-ball scenario, and the other went to Terry McLaurin, who caught the ball in the northwest corner of the end zone. That second throw was right on the money. Here it is below:


McLaurin ran a corner route, and caught the ball at the only place he was able to catch it. That’s only possible if Barrett makes the perfect throw. J.T. only played in the first half, but his statline was extraordinary: 12-of-17, 209 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs.

At one point in the first half, Barrett was on fire—he connected on eight straight passes. The lateral throwing is still there, but the Buckeye offense is taking chances down the field, and connecting on them. By the time his afternoon was done, Barrett was responsible for seven “chunk” passing plays.

When the offense kept throwing screens and read-options, opposing defenses knew that the deep ball was out of the question for Ohio State. Now that the passes are going beyond the line of scrimmage and are being caught, the defense doesn’t really know what to expect.

This is the kind of offense we were expecting all along from OSU. This was the kind of passing performance that, two years ago, would’ve been covered on TV with the headline, “Is J.T. Barrett a Heisman contender.”

This was the game that got J.T. Barrett his groove back.

Zone 6 has entered the playing field


Ohio State’s receiving corps, also billed as Zone 6, was riding the struggle bus in the early going of the season. Things like dropped passes and a disconnect with Barrett proved to be costly, as that problem essentially took out OSU’s deep-ball passing game.

It was also a reason for the ineffective passing attack against Oklahoma.

They got a redeemer on Saturday with UNLV, as seven (!!!) different receivers caught touchdown passes. That’s a school and a Big Ten record.

Parris Campbell was the ringleader, catching three passes for 104 yards and a TD. Campbell’s 69-yard score on the second play of the game highlighted his specialty: getting to open space in a hurry. However, he did fumble the ball at the goal line later in the game. Right after that fumble, Campbell took a kickoff 82 yards deep into Rebel territory. While he still makes mistakes, Campbell is definitely the No. 1 guy for the Buckeyes’ receiving and kickoff unit.

While there is still a search for the No. 2 receiver on the team, a new contender entered in the second quarter. Walk-on C.J. Saunders played brilliantly when Dwayne Haskins came in and quarterbacked the team. Saunders caught a line-drive touchdown pass from Haskins—which was arguably the pass of the game.

Take a look below:


Saunders ended the game with six receptions for 102 yards. By having Campbell and Saunders eclipse the 100-yard receiving mark, it was the first time a Buckeye duo did that since Ted Ginn Jr. and Santonio Holmes did it against Notre Dame in 2005.

It looks as if the QBs and WRs are both gelling after four games; this couldn’t come at a better time. The humbling against Oklahoma got this team on the right path, and they are becoming because of it. In the 60 minutes against UNLV, 13 different receivers caught a total of 31 passes for 474 yards and seven TDs.

Yes, you can make the case that this was against a non-Power 5 conference team, but this same unit struggled finding traction in the first three games of the season.

Is Zone 6 back? For one day, it sure looked like it. Next week they get Rutgers on the road. It’ll be a little more challenging than UNLV, but if the same confidence is brought to New Brunswick, N.J., then it wouldn’t be too far out of the realm of possibility to believe that Zone 6 will have a feast on primetime television.

Laundry on the field


We talked about two good things already. Now, it’s time to pivot to a bad thing. Ohio State has once again found a way to make the referees throw laundry out onto the field.

Penalties again were a problem for the Scarlet and Gray, and this time around, it caused points to be scored.

In one instance, a Buckeye pass interference on 4th-and-9 caused UNLV to get the ball back with a fresh set of downs, which led to a TD. Another instance was a roughing the kicker penalty on a 4th-and-4, which led to UNLV getting new life, and scoring on a 55-yard rush from Lexington Thomas.

There was also an offensive holding call that somehow still led to Barrett getting sacked; the ball getting kicked out of bounds by the kicker, Blake Haubeil; and the all-too-familiar false start.

A total of eight penalties were called on OSU and they totaled 85 yards.

If this were an anomaly, it’s not too concerning. But bad penalties keep happening to this team. Last week, it was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for headbutting an Army player on a kickoff. While nothing like that happened this week, the theme of racking up penalty yardage continued.

Against Penn State, Iowa or Michigan, these penalties will be the difference maker. There is still time to iron out the kinks. But with this trend still happening, keep expecting to see 6+ flags being thrown on the Buckeyes in each game.

Were they really Running Rebels?


Entering Saturday, UNLV put together performances that saw them run for an average of 350.5 yards per contest. They got nowhere near that number against Ohio State. The Buckeye defense held the Rebels to 176 total yards on the ground, and held the visitors to just 55 yards rushing in the first half.

It’s worth focusing on that 55-yard first half performance, as that’s when we saw both teams with their first-stringers on the field. Running back Lexington Thomas had a whopping 11 yards of rushing on eight carries in the first 30 minutes, before busting open the 55-yard TD in the second half. It’s safe to say that the first-string Buckeye defense was no joke.

Overall, the Rebels ended with 264 total yards of offense. Quarterback Armani Rogers was basically running for his life in the pocket. He got sacked four times, and was knocked down, pressured and hurried all afternoon. Oh, and he threw two picks on consecutive drives in the first half.

Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
We Can’t Stop Here, We’re In Buckeye Country: Ohio State clamped down on the UNLV offense, holding them to four “chunk” plays in the first half.

Star wide receiver Devonte Boyd was contained, only getting three receptions for 48 yards. Normally, Boyd picks up over 100 yards per game—and that’s a big reason for why he’s considered the best receiver in the Mountain West.

The first-team OSU defense manhandled a UNLV offense that has been known to put up points. If there was one component of this Buckeye team that you shouldn’t be concerned about, it would be the defensive line. For real, if you found the most pessimistic person on the Earth, and showed them film from the first half of OSU-UNLV, he/she would probably say, “they look fine.” (Now, if you showed film of the OSU secondary to that same person, they may start to sweat and pace around the room, mumbling stuff about how the Buckeye pass defense is gonna get torched by Trace McSorley).

Teams that rely on the run will have a bad time when playing Ohio State. The Buckeyes proved that notion on Saturday.

Drue Chrisman is a man of his word


A while back, I wrote about punter Drue Chrisman and his water bottle flipping skills. A couple weeks back, Chrisman talked after practice about how he was focusing on “flipping the field.”

It’s evident now that Chrisman is two things: 1) a water bottle flipping legend, and 2) a man of his word.

Since Cameron Johnston left, the new face of Ohio State punting has kept up the consistency of his predecessors. Twice against UNLV, the Buckeyes called upon Chrisman for his services—and he delivered. Both kicks went inside the 20-yard line, and one punt went beyond 50 yards to get there. Entering the Rebels contest, Chrisman had seven straight punts downed at or within the opposition’s 15-yard line.

Flipping the field is no joke. By having quality punts, the opposing team’s offense gets caught in a pickle by not having a lot of field (and momentum) to work with.

Totally expect the redshirt freshman to keep up the good work. If the man can make insane water bottle flips, then he can totally down a punt within the 20, as 100,000-plus people are screaming.

He’s got ice water in his veins.

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Ohio State Buckeyes 2017: Seven receivers score TDs as Buckeyes romp, 54-21: Bill Livingston (photos) - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State Buckeyes 2017: Seven receivers score TDs as Buckeyes romp, 54-21: Bill Livingston (photos)
cleveland.com
The Buckeyes punished UNLV the way the stupid blue field at the Rebels' Mountain West conference brethren, the Boise State Broncos, oppresses the eyeballs of cable television viewers. Las Vegas oddsmakers favored Ohio State by 40.5 points.
PHOTOS: Ohio State Buckeyes roll over UNLV Rebels 54-21NBC4i.com
Ohio State 54, UNLV 21: No. 10 Buckeyes takes care of businessAkron Beacon Journal
JK Dobbins has Buckeyes thinking about new looks in the backfieldESPN (blog)
Landof10.com -247Sports
all 269 news articles »

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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
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

The Good:

The most impressive phase of the game came from the playmakers from Zone 6 and TE Rashod Berry. In the first time in a while, the Buckeyes found 7 different receivers for scores, setting a new Big Ten record.

J.T. Barrett was taken out just before halftime, but he was very close to the team record for passing yards. Barrett was 14 yards short of the 10,000-yard mark, which he will break when he travels to Piscataway, New Jersey to face a familiar face in Coach Ash. The Rutgers head man will most likely have a few tricks up his sleeve, because of his familiarity of the Buckeye playmakers.

Dwayne Haskins had himself an up and down game. He finished 15 for 23 for 228 yards and two touchdowns, but he did not finish without any errors. He forced a pass to a well-covered receiver and he watched as the defender took it 65-yards to the house.

Joey Burrow made his debut after being cleared by the team doctors and he picked up where he left off. Prior to coming out, he hit Trevon Grimes for a pair of 6-yarders before finishing off by hitting C.J. Saunders for a huge gain. This makes the future bright and if Ohio State manages to hold onto the commitment of Emory Jones, their Quarterback room will be filled with talented playmakers that includes Tate Martell.

The Bad:

I know that this is not Buckeye related directly, but if you follow recruiting, you know that Florida State has been neck and neck with the Buckeyes for top tier, blue-chippers year after year. Yes, the ACC won the last CFB Championship and they are pretty darn good, but this might open some doors for the Buckeyes.

With this loss, the Seminoles fall to 0-2 for the first time since 1989, where they rebounded and finished the season 10-2 and with a Fiesta Bowl victory. While teams can falter early and still make the playoffs (Ohio State loss to Virginia Tech in 2014), this might hurt the Noles on the recruiting trail, which would benefit Ohio State.

The Ugly:

Kendell Sheffield needs to get better, and fast. It is like clockwork, he constantly gets beat week after week, and he is often the guilty party on defense as he is responsible for multiple PI and holding penalties that extend their opponents drives.

He needs to get better and with Sheffield being the starter at the nickel, he will always be scrutinized for being a part of the BIA. It will get harder as the season gets further into conference play as the talent they will face will be better than what they have faced so far, minus the ones from the Indiana and Oklahoma games.






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Ohio State threw for a school record 474 yards against UNLV
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State improved their passing attack in a record setting way

There’s been a lot of handwringing about the state of Ohio State’s passing attack this season, but on Saturday, the Buckeyes got things going in a major way.

Ohio State’s quarterbacks combined to throw for a whopping 474 yards against UNLV in a 54-21 blowout win over the Rebels. That’s the most passing yards Ohio State has ever thrown for in a game, breaking the previous record of 459 against Penn State way back in 1997.

Additionally, seven different Buckeyes caught a touchdown pass, breaking the previous school record of five, and tying the Big Ten mark.

J.T. Barrett was excellent, turning in a nearly perfect performance. Barrett finished 12-17 for 209 yards and a whopping five touchdowns, and ran for 15 more yards, hitting players in stride both horizontally and vertically. Barrett could have thrown for far more, but didn’t play for the entire second half, as the game was already out of reach.

Dwayne Haskins finished 15-23 for 228 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick-six, while Joe Burrow added a perfect 4-4 for 37 yards late in the 4th quarter.

Ohio State’s passing problems likely aren’t totally solved, as UNLV may have one of the worst defenses in all of FBS, but running up huge numbers on even overmatched competition is still a positive development. A ton of Buckeyes got playing time and experience, and perhaps that confidence will carry on deeper into the season.

If Ohio State can throw the ball just a fraction as well as they did against the Rebels, this offense will be tough to stop.

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At 99, oldest Buckeyes band alum takes the field for Script Ohio - NBC4i.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


At 99, oldest Buckeyes band alum takes the field for Script Ohio
NBC4i.com
The 99-year-old did not get to march last year because of an injury, but attended anyway. This year, the trumpet player was back on the field at The Shoe. Violi joined more than 800 of his fellow TBDBITL alumni before the Buckeyes played UNLV. Next ...


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No. 10 Ohio State takes care of business, swamps UNLV 54-21
Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor via Big Ten Network

J.T. Barrett threw touchdown passes to five different receivers in the first half, and No. 10 Ohio State cruised to a 54-21 win over Nevada-Las Vegas on Saturday.

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Recap: UNLV at #10 Ohio State
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



First Half:

After pounding Army into the dirt, the Buckeyes begin their quest to add another convincing win to their resume. UNLV isn’t a team that scares top tier teams like Ohio State, but you never know in College Football.

UNLV won the toss and elected to receive, but their initial drive fell short of expectation. During the opening kickoff, the crowd immediately got into it as one of their players on Special Teams delivered a huge hit to incite the crowd.

After receiving the punt, J.T. Barrett immediately went to work with a 2-play, 77-yard drive where he found Campbell on a swing pass, where Campbell took it 69-yards to the house. Although it wasn’t a downfield pass, the initial drive took a mere 29 seconds, which is a vast improvement for this offense although it is against inferior competition.

On the ensuing UNLV drive, they stalled once again as they attempted a 52-yard FG which was sent away and blocked by Dre’Mont Jones. After Barrett took over, he went 65-yards and found Johnnie Dixon for a 16-yard score pushing the lead to 14-0.

The Rebels then had the ball and took it 20-yards prior to punting the ball again, but as soon as the Buckeyes began to threaten again, Campbell took a huge hit and he fumbled the ball inside of the 2-yard line for their first turnover of the game. The momentum stayed in the Buckeyes corner as Dre’Mont Jones stuffed the run and got to the ball carrier for a safety to push the lead 16-0.

With the momentum clearly in the Buckeyes favor, they went 3 for 3 on 4th down for short touchdowns to Victor, McLaurin and Hill. The set-up for each of these touchdowns came courtesy of BIA Damon Arnette and Damon Webb even though they’ve had a rough day penalty wise. The penalties incurred have cost the Buckeyes their shutout as Lexington Thomas put it in the end zone.

Barrett finished his day with 12 for 17 for 209 yards and 5 touchdowns falling 14 yards short of 10,000 yards before giving way to Dwayne Haskins who threw a dart to former walk-on C.J. Saunders for a 28-yard score in traffic.

Second Half:

Once again plagued by costly penalties, this time with a roughing the punter penalty, Ohio State surrendered their second rushing touchdown of the day to Thomas as he took it 55-yards to the end zone.

After a punt the Haskins threw another score to former DL Rashod Berry for a 38-yard score to push their lead to 54-14. The key stat of the day? The Buckeyes have found 7 different receivers for a score, which is a new BIG 10 record.

The Silver Bullets have been all over the UNLV backfield. Time and time again, they have played with their hair on fire, and for their effort, they have racked up 12 tackles for losses.

In the 4th, Haskins made his first major mistake as a Buckeye as he forced the ball to a blanketed receiver, which resulted in a 65-yard interception return for UNLV to make the score 54-21. This will be looked at as a valuable lesson in a game that has already been decided, but he will do nothing but grow from here on out.

With the backup linemen in the game, the Buckeyes stalled after giving up a sack and now they have their second punt of the game. Drue Chrisman has been a weapon for the Buckeyes after he pinned UNLV on their 15-yard line.

Jeffrey Okudah made an appearance during mop-up duty as he batted down a pass after pressure was put on the UNLV QB. They failed to convert on 3rd and long and they lined up for another FG attempt, which sailed wide right.

The Buckeyes drove into the red zone once again, but unfortunately, Berry was stripped once again for their second fumble inside of the 5-yard line. This turnover resulted in no points after the defense clamped down to force a punt.

With the Buckeyes tying their team record, they give Joe Burrow a few reps after being cleared from an injury to his throwing hand. He was 4-4 for 37 yards with two passes to Trevon Grimes and one to C.J. Saunders before Haskins came out for the victory formation.

An impressive win over another inferior non-conference foe, but they are continuing to build their confidence prior to heading into conference play.






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J.T. Barrett, strong defense lead Ohio State past UNLV, 54-21
Geoff Hammersley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes had over 600 yards on offense and forced two turnovers, overwhelming the Rebels.

This might’ve been the return of the old J.T. Barrett, as the Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback had a half to remember in OSU’s 54-21 win against the UNLV Rebels inside the friendly confines of Ohio Stadium.

Barrett went 12-of-19 for 209 yards and five touchdowns on the afternoon. On his first throw of the game, the Buckeye QB hit wideout Parris Campbell, who proceed to run down the sideline for a 69-yard TD. Barrett also rattled off eight-straight completions in the first half.

The 106,187 people in attendance also saw some Buckeye history get made, too. Barrett only needed 94 yards to propel him above Bobby Hoying for second all-time in Ohio State passing. The only three-time captain for OSU football has thrown for a career total of 7,351 yards. In order to pass Art Schlichter for No. 1 all-time in the school history books, Barrett needs 197 more yards. On top of that, seven different receivers caught TD passes—a school and Big Ten record.

While Barrett paced the Buckeyes to a big lead earlier, that allowed for Dwayne Haskins to see extensive time on the field. The Buckeye backup, who moved up the depth chart after the injury to Joe Burrow, threw for two TDs. One of which was a bullet pass to wide receiver C.J. Saunders from 28 yards out. Haskins threw for 228 yards on the afternoon.

UNLV didn’t really get much momentum going on the road. Rebels QB Armani Rogers was sacked four times in the blazing heat inside The ‘Shoe, and threw two interceptions in the first half—and on consecutive passes no less. Those two picks were translated into 14 points for OSU, and by halftime, the Scarlet and Gray led 44-7.

On offense, the Buckeyes dominated. Urban Meyer’s squad had 664 total yards on offense, including 190 yards in the air and 474 on the ground. Breakout running back J.K. Dobbins averaged 6.8 yards per carry, and ended the afternoon with 95 yards on 14 attempts. Campbell led all Buckeye receivers with 105 yards and a score on three receptions.

Below is a full recap of the game:


UNLV got the opening kickoff, but could only bring it back to their own 13-yard line, as the Buckeyes special teams closed in a hurry. Quarterback Armani Rogers took a drilling on the first drive, as he was hurried, sacked and thrown around in the pocket by the Buckeye defense. The Rebels star receiver Devonte Boyd, who was leading the Mountain West in yards, was bottled up by the OSU defense. Boyd ended the game with three receptions for 48 yards.

The Rebels opening drive went for six plays and nine yards, before punting away. After a Dobbins rush to the left for eight, Barrett hit Parris Campbell on a screen for a very nice 69-yard touchdown. This wasn’t the first time Campbell found the house from a long way away—he scored from 74 yards out against the Indiana Hoosiers in Week 1.


Rogers went back to conduct the Rebels offense; this time around, they moved the ball (well, they had some help). On a 3rd-and-5 pass intended for Boyd, a defensive holding penalty was called on cornerback Kendall Sheffield. A little later on the drive, on 3rd-and-11, Rogers led his receiver, Kendal Keys, too far to make the catch. However, Sheffield wrapped his arm, albeit weakly, around the side of Keys’ head—drawing a pass interference flag.

Two OSU penalties on the drive kept UNLV’s hopes of getting points on the board. Ultimately, the Rebels had to settle for a 52-yard field goal attempt. While the kick was within the posts, it was too low, too short—and may have been tipped at the line.

Back on the move, Barrett drove the Buckeyes’ offense on their second series of the hot afternoon in Columbus. Mark Finau’s sack of Barrett was the Rebels highlight of the drive, as Dobbins and Barrett wasted little time getting into the end zone. K.J Hill caught two passes in the middle of field; one went for 20 yards, while the other went just a tad further for 22. Six plays into the series, the Buckeyes moved from their own 35 to the UNLV 16. The seventh play wasn’t as much luck as skill, as Barrett zinged the ball to Johnnie Dixon just yards away from the end zone. Dixon, who can create space and fight for yards did just that, as he dove into the scarlet end zone for the Bucks’ second TD of the quarter.

At the 5:11 mark in the first quarter, Ohio State led UNLV, 14-0.

Now needing points, the Rebels had to move down the field and come up with something. After Rogers evaded Buckeye defenders and gained 11 yards, the drive quickly stalled after two rushes and an incompletion. Once again, the Buckeyes got the ball back via punt.

Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
A Runnin’ Rebel: Armani Rogers was pressured all afternoon by the Buckeyes

Barrett went back to work, and was 4-for-4 on the ensuing drive. A third passing touchdown was basically penciled in, however, Campbell lost the handle of the ball at the UNLV 2 as defenders crashed in around him. The turnover allowed the Rebels to get the ball back at their own two, but that proved to be a curse disguised as a gift. Lexington Thomas got the ball on the first play, and proceeded to get stopped at the goal line by Dre’Mont Jones. Originally, the refs ruled Thomas down at around the 1/2 yard line. But after a review, the call was reversed and OSU was awarded a safety (so, technically, Campbell helped the Buckeyes get those two points).

On the ensuing kickoff, the terrible day for UNLV just kept getting worse, as Campbell redeemed himself with an 82-yard kickoff return to the Rebels’ 8. The first quarter would come to a close with the Buckeyes up 16-0, and starting the new quarter with a 4th-and-goal from the three.

Field goals are something that this OSU team has done when deep in opposing territory; that mold wasn’t pressed on this offense on Saturday. Meyer went for it on fourth and short, and the play dialed up? A jump-ball to wideout Binjimen Victor in the corner of the end zone.

Another TD, and the score was 23-0 with 14:50 left in the second frame.

As the Rebels tried and tried again to get something to work, a sweep by receiver Brandon Presley gave the Henderson, Nev. program a 13-yard play—bringing a sliver of hope. That sliver of hope was quickly closed, as defensive end Nick Bosa tipped a Rogers pass that went right into the hands of a waiting Damon Arnette. Arnette ran the pick down from the UNLV 36 to the UNLV 7. Once again, another deep drive for OSU nearly stalled. However, Barrett proved to be the man of the hour again with another perfect pass on fourth down. From the four, Barrett operated out the shotgun formation, stepped around the pocket, and threw a floater right to the northeast corner of the end zone to Terry McLaurin—who just had enough space and time to tap his feet onto the end zone.

30-0 Buckeyes at the 12:32 mark before halftime.

The first play of the Rebels next drive was a deep ball that was thrown into double coverage. After crashing into a teammate, Buckeye defensive back Damon Webb came up with the football for the team’s second interception of the half. That interception was converted in another Buckeye TD, as Barrett threw his fifth score of the half.

With the game out of hand, UNLV still didn’t give up on their quest to try and get some points. Down 37-0, the team went for it on 4th-and-9 down the far sideline. The pass came up incomplete, but another Buckeye penalty—this time on Denzel Ward for pass interference— kept the Rebels’ hopes alive.

By the tip of the football on the pylon, the points came to Tony Sanchez’s squad. Lexington Thomas took the ball to the right side from the two, shook a Buckeye defender, and dove toward the pylon. As the ball went flying out of his hands into the white dotted-line where the media has to stand behind, the referees conferred with each other before signaling, “touchdown.”

UNLV got on the board with 3:32 left in the half, but trailed 37-7.

That deficit was about to get seven points worse, as back-up quarterback Dwayne Haskins showed off what he could do. Haskins hit his first four receivers, and ended the drive with a bullet pass to (a covered) receiver C.J. Saunders from 28 yards out. The TD pass was Haskins’ first as a Buckeye.


At halftime, the Buckeyes had held the Rebels to 118 yards of total offense. OSU set school history in the half, too. It was the first time OSU had six different receivers catch a TD. Barrett threw for 209 yards and five touchdowns on 12-of-17 throwing, helping the Bucks get to a 44-7 lead at the break.

After “The Best Damn Band in the Land” completed Script Ohio (they did four of them as it was also Alumni Band day), the third quarter came and went with little fanfare. UNLV scored another touchdown, and Haskins continued to move the ball for OSU—helping put 10 points on the board.

By the fourth quarter, fans were filing out of Ohio Stadium, as this game was in the bag. There was some action happening on the field, though (and it wasn’t all that good for OSU).

Driving down the field with about 13:00 left in the game. Haskins was picked off by linebacker Javin White on the far side of the field, who then proceeded to take off down the sideline for a 65-yard TD.

The pick made the Rebels deficit 33, as the Bucks got the ball back with a 54-21 lead and 12:52 left in regulation. That score would be how the game would end.

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Ohio State Buckeyes vs. UNLV Rebels live score, updates - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State Buckeyes vs. UNLV Rebels live score, updates
cleveland.com
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Buckeye QB commit Emory Jones lights it up, huge passing night - 247Sports
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Buckeye QB commit Emory Jones lights it up, huge passing night
247Sports
What's next for the Buckeyes? Make sure you're in the loop -- take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Buckeyes newsletter now! The 6-foot-2 and 193-pound Jones is a 4-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite. He is the country's No. 36 overall ...

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Dwayne Haskins connects on his first touchdown at Ohio State
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Haskins’ dart found former walk-on C.J. Saunders for the score.

With a little more than a minute and a half left in the first half of Ohio State’s game against UNLV, redshirt-freshman quarterback Dwayne Haskins hooked up with former walk-on wide receiver C.J. Saunders for the first touchdown in each’s collegiate career.


The 28-yard TD pass was a dart that was just passed the outstretched hand of a Rebel defender and put OSU up 44-7. The score marked the first in Ohio State history that six different receivers had caught touchdown passes in a game.

On Haskins’ first drive of the game, he went 2-for-3 for 37 yards through the air. The freshman finished the first half for the Buckeyes after starter J.T. Barrett went 12-for-17 for 209 yards and five touchdowns in the first half.

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OSU CB Shaun Wade, LB Chris Worley will not play against UNLV - Landof10.com
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OSU CB Shaun Wade, LB Chris Worley will not play against UNLV
Landof10.com
The Buckeyes are still heavy favorites in the game, even without Worley or Wade. According to mybookie.ag, they are 41-point favorites. Backup defensive tackle Robert Landers is also in a walking boot and will be out for the contest as well. With ...


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