LGHL Ohio State went conservative against USC in J.T. Barrett’s final game

[Christopher Jason]

Ohio State went conservative against USC in J.T. Barrett’s final game
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Urban Meyer and Kevin Wilson decided to go vanilla in the Cotton Bowl.

Ohio State won the 2017 Cotton Bowl by suffocating Sam Darnold and forcing numerous turnovers. The offense took advantage of these turnovers on a short field, but ultimately, they brought a very, very vanilla game plan to Dallas. The passing game was non-existent, with J.T. Barrett only attempting 16 passes, and the running game was invisible, with both JK Dobbins and Mike Weber both averaging under 3.6 yards per carry. There was very little rhythm and tempo, which led the offense to only 55 total plays — which had to be the lowest of the season. One could argue that they went conservative because of the scoreboard, but they didn’t even stick to the run.

A win is a win, and it was a dominant one on the defensive side of the ball, but the offensive game plan was very perplexing to say the least.


*Tap passes do not count as an attempt

• As noted, it’s pretty wild that they designed 11 quarterback runs for Barrett, while only dropping him back 22 times. Out of those 22 dropbacks, he only threw the ball 16 times. If you add the number of designed runs with scrambles, Barrett only threw the ball three more times than he ran it.
• It looked like Austin Mack was the only perimeter receiver who could get any separation on the outside. KJ Hill, Parris Campbell (outside the handoffs), Johnnie Dixon and Binjimen Victor were completely invisible and were barely targeted as a whole. Although we’re waiting on Campbell and Dixon to make a decision regarding their futures, we’re looking at the return of #Zone6, and they should be one of the better positional groups on next year’s squad.
• Below, Barrett made an NFL-type throw to Mack, when he rifled a 15-yard laser to the sticks. If you aren’t hyped about the possibility of Dwayne Haskins and Mack next season, you don’t have a pulse.

• The weird play calling was confirmed when Marcus Baugh was Barrett’s most targeted pass-catcher on the afternoon with five targets. It seems as though Kevin Wilson saw a matchup with his tight end that he really liked, and Baugh benefited. Speaking of Baugh, he’s going to be a pretty good TE2 in the NFL for a long time. He possesses good athleticism, is a solid blocker and has reliable hands.
• Barrett’s legs and his decision making in the read option will be the greatest difference between Barrett and whoever starts at quarterback in the future. I’ve chronicled for years how much the game slows down for him in the read option, as he makes the right decision just about every single time. Below, Barrett was able to make the quick decision with a defender bearing down on him, broke the tackle, read his blockers and turned on the jets for six. Buckeye fans are really, really going to miss Barrett in the QB run game.

• Defensive side note: Typically during the long bowl layoff where the team has a month of practices, a young guy makes a leap, balls out in the bowl game and locks up a spot for the upcoming season. We’ve seen Vonn Bell and Noah Brown do it in the past, and this year it was Kendall Sheffield. Sheffield was all over the field making plays in the passing game and made a statement by picking off Sam Darnold and taking it to the house. Denzel Ward sitting out of the bowl game allowed Sheffield and Jeffrey Okudah to step up and get more playing time, which will only make them better next season. I think Sheffield makes the biggest jump in 2018.

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[MililaniBuckeye]

Sheffield was all over the field making plays in the passing game and made a statement by picking off Sam Darnold and taking it to the house.

Uh, that wasn't Sheffield...