Recap: #2 Ohio State VS Indiana

And just like that, the offseason is officially over.  The 2017 CFB season has begun and Ohio State opens up against an Indiana Hoosiers team that is looking for an upset win at home.  Mike Weber did not make the start because he is banged up, but his replacement, J.K. Dobbins will become the second true freshman to start for the Buckeyes.

First Half

With the game underway, the Buckeyes started off hot, but the offense is still a work in progress. J.T. Barrett, on his first drive, took the ball 66 yards and the drive ended with a 27-yard FG to put the Buckeyes up 3-0.

Richard Lagow wasted no time to respond as they took the ball 87-yards for a TD by Ian Thomas. The highlight of the drive was a one-handed toss to Simmie Cobbs.

The Buckeye offense struggled mightily, with a lack of separation by the WR’s from the Hoosier DB’s.  O-Line play was decent during the first half, but there is some room for improvement in that department and there is a lot more to be desired.

Simmie Cobbs continued to light up the next generation of Buckeye Defensive Backs as he snagged another one-handed TD pass against Denzel Ward.  The Buckeyes should have been down 21-3, but because of a tipped pass by Kendall Sheffield, it resulted in an interception by Jordan Fuller.

The Buckeyes should have been down 21-3, but because of a tipped pass by Kendall Sheffield, it resulted in an interception by Jordan Fuller.

J.K. Dobbins was the star in the making for the Buckeyes in the first half registering 15 carries for 107 yards.  Dobbins shows the burst and the promise to become the next feature back at Ohio State.

The Rushmen are also doing their job as well as they have registered 3 sacks in the first half, keeping the Hoosier offense at bay.  Tyquan Lewis, Nick Bosa and Sam Hubbard have one a piece, but let us see if they can keep the pressure on in the second half.

Second Half

In 2016-esque fashion, the Silver Bullet placed the clamps on the Hoosier offense and Barrett turns on the offensive lightbulb as their talent and big-play abilities began to show.

Indiana started the second half only to be shut down in back-to-back drives.  Barrett’s stalled in a single drive and turned the ball over on downs before scampering into the end zone for their first lead of the game.

Lagow answered with another touchdown to his TE, but Barrett outdid Lagow with 2 touchdowns for 74-yard and 59-yard by Parris Campbell and Johnnie Dixon.  Both passes were short, but with the excellent downfield blocking and RAC ability, they both took it to the house.

With their third stringers on the Defensive Line spelling their starters, Jashon Cornell got Lagow for a strip sack and it was recovered by Jonathan Cooper.  The second turnover was important because Barrett found Binjimen Victor for an 11-yard score.

On the next offensive drive, Lagow made quite the drive, but he was then picked off by Denzel Ward for his second pick of the game, third overall.

Barrett and Ohio State piece together another scoring drive while grinding away at the clock. Antonio Williams rushes for his second score of the game to put the Buckeyes up 49-21.  Prior to the Williams touchdown, a hilarious moment was captured on National Television, as J.K. Dobbins was seen begging for that elusive TD only to get shut down by Coach Alford.

This was a measuring stick to see how far the team has come after the way things ended last season.  The offense and defense will continue to work out the kinks in the mean time.  Ohio State will prepare for another potent offense in Oklahoma.

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Jimmy Wiggians says

    Scarry when u consider a Oklahoma would of buried them in that first half as Indiana would have except for that deflected pass. Turns out the B1G now projected to give the Bucks 2-3 conference losses. Appears Barrett may not end the season as the Buckeye QB.

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