Ohio State travels to Oklahoma on Saturday, but ahead of that trip, Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer revealed his biggest concern Tuesday heading into that matchup with the Sooners.
"From an offensive coach's perspective, it's their defensive front," Meyer said on the Big Ten coaches weekly teleconference. "Their scheme negates the run, but their personnel holds up there. They have 300, 310-pound guys that are hard to move.
"We obviously are offensive balanced but we start with the run game and it's going to be hard to run the ball against them. I know Houston had some success in the air against them but had very little success running the ball so that's our biggest concern."
Oklahoma is allowing 83.5 rushing yards per game through two games this season. That number is good for 22nd in the country.
On the flip side, Meyer said he's yet to study Oklahoma's offense — he does that on Wednesday and Thursday — but he did meet with the Buckeyes' defensive stop regarding Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield.
"I did meet with our defensive staff and the thing they said that's interesting is that when he's at his best when he creates plays," Meyer said. "He's so strong. He's a very strong player that you can't get down. He's not very tall, but he's very strong and makes plays using his strength."
Additional Meyer notes:
- Meyer was asked for players who might have exceeded expectations thus far and he singled out the new guys in the secondary: Denzel Ward, Malik Hooker, Damon Webb and Marshon Lattimore.
- On playing a road game against a team recruiting many of the same players who will be on visits to Oklahoma this week, Meyer said it matters if Ohio State plays well. "I think it's very important, but obviously, that's not more important than when they take a visit here."
- Meyer was asked about the biggest difference in Dontre Wilson: "It's the way he's handled his body," he said. "He's a big, strong guy now."
- Meyer said starting nickel Damon Arnette left Saturday's game vs. Tulsa with a bone bruise, but is expected to play against Oklahoma. "He's fine. He's full-speed."
- On how Ohio State plans to deal with the crowd noise at Oklahoma, Meyer said, "Wednesday and Thursday we'll pump crowd noise in like we normally do."
- On the battle for J.T. Barrett during his recruitment, Meyer said, "I expected one, but there wasn't one."
The Big Ten went 9-4 during its Week 2 games as Michigan State had the rare early-season bye. The Spartans, along with Ohio State, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa all remain unbeaten.
In addition to the Buckeyes' showdown at Oklahoma, there is another pair of big-time matchups in the Big Ten this weekend as Michigan State travels to Notre Dame and Nebraska hosts Oregon.
Along with Meyer, the league's 13 other head coaches gathered Tuesday on the Big Ten coaches weekly teleconference to discuss last week's games and preview this week's matchups. Some highlights from what each coach had to say are listed below.
Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern):
- Fitzgerald on what Northwestern needs to do to have some offensive success: "It starts up front. We were very inconsistent on Saturday and it's very difficult to be successful offensively when 12 of your 18 third downs are 3rd-and-long."
Jim Harbaugh (Michigan):
- On Michigan surrendering some quarterback runs against UCF, Harbaugh said, "There were too many times when we got behind the quarterbacks and opened up the rush lanes."
- Harbaugh on quarterback Wilton Speight: "I guess that's not what I'm looking for, slowing down. I'm tracking his eye discipline, his feet, his decision making and his accuracy."
- More Harbaugh on Speight: "He's an ascending player in all regards."
- On Don Brown's impact and Michigan's defense: "So good. The technical ability they have as coaches in outstanding, but also the personality. There's great personality and they're strong guys with high moral conviction."
Paul Chryst (Wisconsin):
- Chryst on Wisconsin quarterback Bart Houston: "I've been proud of the way and it's fun to watch him compete. He approaches every day with a sense of urgency."
Mike Riley (Nebraska):
- "We've managed to win the first couple games, which is good."
- Riley was asked if he ever felt like he was in the shadows while at Oregon State. "I never really looked at it like that," he said.
- Riley was asked if he thinks schools are scheduling a big non-conference game now that we're in the CFP era. "I think you'll see more and more of that," he said.
Mark Dantonio (Michigan State):
- On Michigan State's win over Notre Dame six years ago that was won on a fake field goal: "I see it from time to time so you tend to relive it a little bit. ... That was one of those moments that's helped define our culture here."
- On starting quarterback Tyler O'Connor, Dantonio said, "I think he's done a great job in his leadership responsibilities on this football team. I think he expected to be the starter and he played like it and competed for it."
Kirk Ferentz (Iowa):
- On Saturday's blowout win over Iowa State, Ferentz said, "Really pleased with the team's performance this past weekend. The team prepared and played well and I'm very happy about that."
- Ferentz said he's well-aware Saturday's opponent, North Dakota State, is 8-3 against FBS teams in its last 11 games versus them.
Tracy Claeys (Minnesota):
- On Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner, Claeys said, "We've put a lot more things on the quarterback's plate and Mitch has done a tremendous job of preparing throughout the week."
Chris Ash (Rutgers):
- Ash: "We were very excited to get our first win and have another opportunity to play at home in front of our great fans this weekend."
Lovie Smith (Illinois):
- Smith: "We learned a lot about our ballclub" in last weekend's loss to North Carolina.
DJ Durkin (Maryland):
- Maryland plays UCF this weekend. Durkin on the UCF–Michigan game: "The biggest takeaway from that is I thought UCF did a pretty good job of eliminating the run game and creating big plays."
Darrell Hazell (Purdue):
- Hazell on Purdue's defensive play against Cincinnati: "There were probably three or four plays that you'd like to have back."
James Franklin (Penn State):
- On Penn State's plan to honor Joe Paterno this weekend, Franklin said, "I'm focused on Temple. I'm focused on the opportunity to play Temple this week."
Kevin Wilson (Indiana):
- On starting quarterback Richard Lagow, Wilson said, "For sure, he's met our expectations."
