Joe Dexter
Guest
Ohio State Bucks the Broncos in 38-12 Victory
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
It didn’t take long for Ohio State’s offense to get it’s head above water on Saturday, as the Buckeyes finished their non-conference schedule with a 38-12 win over the Western Michigan Broncos.
All it took was 49 seconds and 3 plays for Cardale Jones and the jet tempo offense to score on their opening drive.
Michael Thomas caught a 38 yard beautiful play action pass on the near side to get things going offensively.
Jones then connected two drives later on another play action beauty to Jalin Marshall, who burned two zone defenders for a wide-open 37 yard strike down the middle of the field to Jalin Marshall.
Jones went 13/20 for 226 yards and those two touchdowns in the first half. He finished with a career-high 288 yards in the air — completing 19 of his 33 (58%) attempts.
Western Michigan kept themselves in the ball game in the first quarter by using what looked to be a very dangerous inside zone attack.
The Broncos kept afloat with 87 yards rushing in the first quarter, and moved the ball around nicely to receivers Corey Davis and Daniel Braverman early on.
It was a lack of special teams execution though that broke Western Michigan’s paddle in half.
Down 7, the Broncos marched down the field 66 yards to the Ohio State 16. After holding and false start penalties pushed them back to the 31, Zach Terrell and his receivers couldn’t regain offensive momentum.
Still in scoring position, P.J. Fleck called out his kicking unit for a 37 yard field goal attempt.
That’s when all the wind was knocked out of the WMU sails, when Tyvus Powell blocked the field goal attempt.
WMU would also miss a 47 yard attempt later in the second quarter.
While the Bronco special teams struggled, Ohio State’s kicking game shined.
Cameron Johnston put two punts inside the 10 yard line in the first half. Drew Willoughby did well on kickoffs all day and also nailed a 30 yard field goal in the second quarter.
Ezekiel Elliott extended his 100-yard rushing streak to 9 games, despite getting just six carries in the first half.
He got five carries on the opening possession of the second half though — a 14 play scoring drive that ended with him rumbling into the end zone off tackle for the score.
Ohio State’s top Heisman candidate finished with 124 yards rushing on 16 carries.
The Buckeye offense gathered 511 yards of total offense.
The Silver Bullets returned for an encore as well on Saturday. Adolphus Washington snagged a 20 yard pick six on a screen attempt in the second quarter.
Western Michigan receiver Daniel Braverman proved Urban Meyer’s theory that he is an NFL caliber player. Braverman finished with 123 yards receiving and a 55 yard touchdown in the second half.
The Silver Bullets returned for an encore as well on Saturday. Adolphus Washington snagged a 20 yard pick six on a screen attempt in the second quarter.
Overall, the Ohio State defense held Western Michigan to 169 yards passing and rushing.
The Buckeyes will open up Big Ten play on Saturday with a trip to Indiana to take on the undefeated Hoosiers.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 PM ET on ABC.
Five Quick Takeaways
1. Cardale Jones will get more comfortable as this offense continues to be molded around him. Today, we saw more empty backfield looks which sets up his big arm.
More importantly, Ohio State got back to the playaction attack that made him dangerous during Ohio State’s playoff run.
Yes, Ohio State needs a deep threat to emerge, but the truth is that execution playaction to perfection can make any receiver on the Ohio State roster a deep threat.
Dale did a much better job with progression this afternoon and though he did have a few passes that could of been turnovers, he took care of the football nicely.
Though it’s clear that he has to make better decisions and be a better pinpoint passer — especially when on the run.
2. What made this team click down the stretch last year was getting Ezekiel Elliott going early. He had only six carries in the second half and wasn’t used much as a potential slot receiver.
The game was taken out of reach at the beginning of the second half when he took over the run game.
He also proved that he needs to get the ball more on passing plays. He made a beautiful one handed catch and fought for a couple first downs on swing passes that otherwise would of been three and outs.
3. On the same note, Urban Meyer is dead on when he says he has to get Curtis Samuel the ball more often. It would be nice if those opportunities came in the run game.
Samuel had a beautiful 40 yard touchdown run with the game out of hand and every time he runs the ball, he reminds fans just how dangerous he can be running the football.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the featured back next year if Elliott decides to jump to the NFL.
4. While it might of looked like the Buckeye defense was a bit soft on Saturday, I will contend that part of that had to do with game plan. I think the defensive staff was okay with allowing the Broncos to try and run their offense through the run game and wind down the clock.
The Silver Bullets held WMU, a team that averaged 11 yards per pass coming into the game, to just 5 pass yards per play and pretty much kept deep threat Corey Davis in check throughout the whole afternoon.
There still was a lack of pressure at times, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.
5. Cameron Johnston is a very valuable player. Not only did he pin two punts inside the ten yard line, he also put another one inside the 20. He has averaged over 50 yards per punt during the last two weeks.
It’s hard to imagine where this offense would of been today if it weren’t for Johnston putting the Ohio State defense in a good place field position wise.
The post Ohio State Bucks the Broncos in 38-12 Victory appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
It didn’t take long for Ohio State’s offense to get it’s head above water on Saturday, as the Buckeyes finished their non-conference schedule with a 38-12 win over the Western Michigan Broncos.
All it took was 49 seconds and 3 plays for Cardale Jones and the jet tempo offense to score on their opening drive.
Michael Thomas caught a 38 yard beautiful play action pass on the near side to get things going offensively.
Jones then connected two drives later on another play action beauty to Jalin Marshall, who burned two zone defenders for a wide-open 37 yard strike down the middle of the field to Jalin Marshall.
Jones went 13/20 for 226 yards and those two touchdowns in the first half. He finished with a career-high 288 yards in the air — completing 19 of his 33 (58%) attempts.
Western Michigan kept themselves in the ball game in the first quarter by using what looked to be a very dangerous inside zone attack.
The Broncos kept afloat with 87 yards rushing in the first quarter, and moved the ball around nicely to receivers Corey Davis and Daniel Braverman early on.
It was a lack of special teams execution though that broke Western Michigan’s paddle in half.
Down 7, the Broncos marched down the field 66 yards to the Ohio State 16. After holding and false start penalties pushed them back to the 31, Zach Terrell and his receivers couldn’t regain offensive momentum.
Still in scoring position, P.J. Fleck called out his kicking unit for a 37 yard field goal attempt.
That’s when all the wind was knocked out of the WMU sails, when Tyvus Powell blocked the field goal attempt.
WMU would also miss a 47 yard attempt later in the second quarter.
While the Bronco special teams struggled, Ohio State’s kicking game shined.
Cameron Johnston put two punts inside the 10 yard line in the first half. Drew Willoughby did well on kickoffs all day and also nailed a 30 yard field goal in the second quarter.
Ezekiel Elliott extended his 100-yard rushing streak to 9 games, despite getting just six carries in the first half.
He got five carries on the opening possession of the second half though — a 14 play scoring drive that ended with him rumbling into the end zone off tackle for the score.
Ohio State’s top Heisman candidate finished with 124 yards rushing on 16 carries.
The Buckeye offense gathered 511 yards of total offense.
The Silver Bullets returned for an encore as well on Saturday. Adolphus Washington snagged a 20 yard pick six on a screen attempt in the second quarter.
Western Michigan receiver Daniel Braverman proved Urban Meyer’s theory that he is an NFL caliber player. Braverman finished with 123 yards receiving and a 55 yard touchdown in the second half.
The Silver Bullets returned for an encore as well on Saturday. Adolphus Washington snagged a 20 yard pick six on a screen attempt in the second quarter.
Overall, the Ohio State defense held Western Michigan to 169 yards passing and rushing.
The Buckeyes will open up Big Ten play on Saturday with a trip to Indiana to take on the undefeated Hoosiers.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 PM ET on ABC.
Five Quick Takeaways
1. Cardale Jones will get more comfortable as this offense continues to be molded around him. Today, we saw more empty backfield looks which sets up his big arm.
More importantly, Ohio State got back to the playaction attack that made him dangerous during Ohio State’s playoff run.
Yes, Ohio State needs a deep threat to emerge, but the truth is that execution playaction to perfection can make any receiver on the Ohio State roster a deep threat.
Dale did a much better job with progression this afternoon and though he did have a few passes that could of been turnovers, he took care of the football nicely.
Though it’s clear that he has to make better decisions and be a better pinpoint passer — especially when on the run.
2. What made this team click down the stretch last year was getting Ezekiel Elliott going early. He had only six carries in the second half and wasn’t used much as a potential slot receiver.
The game was taken out of reach at the beginning of the second half when he took over the run game.
He also proved that he needs to get the ball more on passing plays. He made a beautiful one handed catch and fought for a couple first downs on swing passes that otherwise would of been three and outs.
3. On the same note, Urban Meyer is dead on when he says he has to get Curtis Samuel the ball more often. It would be nice if those opportunities came in the run game.
Samuel had a beautiful 40 yard touchdown run with the game out of hand and every time he runs the ball, he reminds fans just how dangerous he can be running the football.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the featured back next year if Elliott decides to jump to the NFL.
4. While it might of looked like the Buckeye defense was a bit soft on Saturday, I will contend that part of that had to do with game plan. I think the defensive staff was okay with allowing the Broncos to try and run their offense through the run game and wind down the clock.
The Silver Bullets held WMU, a team that averaged 11 yards per pass coming into the game, to just 5 pass yards per play and pretty much kept deep threat Corey Davis in check throughout the whole afternoon.
There still was a lack of pressure at times, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.
5. Cameron Johnston is a very valuable player. Not only did he pin two punts inside the ten yard line, he also put another one inside the 20. He has averaged over 50 yards per punt during the last two weeks.
It’s hard to imagine where this offense would of been today if it weren’t for Johnston putting the Ohio State defense in a good place field position wise.
The post Ohio State Bucks the Broncos in 38-12 Victory appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...