Ohio State was never going to replace Carlos Hyde.
A running back who last season ran for over 1,500 yards and had 15 touchdowns, Hyde was the focal point of the Buckeyes' record-setting offense.
He had such a successful season a year ago, Hyde was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. In his first career NFL game Sunday, the Naples, Fla. native ran for 50 yards on seven carries and scored his first of many NFL touchdowns.
It's not as simple as "next man up" to replace that kind of production, but what the Buckeyes hoped was their stable of talented, but unproven running backs could fill in on sort of a by committee basis this year.
The only problem is, they haven't had much of a chance to show anything yet.
"Well, we had two weeks that were very unique. We were just talking about that. We haven't run a base offense set yet," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said Monday. "Against Navy, it was all the 3‑4, back-and-forth game. We haven't faced a 4‑3 defense yet and that is traditionally what you're going to see for most of the year. That is what most of our base offense is premised on is 4‑3 defense."
The Buckeyes knew going into the season-opener against the Midshipmen they would see a 3-4 defense, but they thought in Saturday's contest with Virginia Tech they would see a more traditional 4-3 look.
It didn't happen that way, however, as the Hokies crowded the box with a 46 Bear defense, putting eight or nine guys at the line of scrimmage to take away the run game and dared redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett to beat them with his arm.
The plan worked to perfection as Virginia Tech pulled out a 35-21 win.
“Any time you feel one-dimensional in a game like that, it’s very frustrating," Ohio State running backs coach Stan Drayton said. "It doesn’t mean that the game stops because you’re frustrated, we just gotta find the rhythm against a defense like that which what that defense did was really forced us to beat man coverage out on the perimeter. Our quarterback had to play well, our receivers had to play well and it really forced some single blocks up front on the offensive line and they did a great job of holding us back in the backfield in those pass situations where it really eliminated the outlets that the quarterback had when things broke down downfield."
Against the Hokies, Ohio State ran for just 108 yards as a team — the lowest total since Meyer became head coach.
Barrett had 70 of those on 24 carries, but running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Curtis Samuel were limited to just 58 combined yards on 13 carries. Against Navy, Elliott ran for 53 yards, Samuel had 45 and Dontre Wilson racked up 44.
More balance among the backs, for sure, but perhaps still not what Meyer and Co. want out of the offense.
"We've had zero snaps at 4‑3 defense and think about it, we're two games into it," Meyer said. "Our offensive identity would be last year with a little more balance and throwing the ball is who we'd like to be. That's kind of what we're built for schematically."
"We don't have a Carlos Hyde, but we have pretty good backs. We have a little more perimeter run game than we've had in the past, but it wasn't there because they're not going to give it to us and their style of defense."
While the Buckeyes have plenty of other offensive concerns at quarterback, wide receiver and offensive line, they're hopeful this weekend's game against Kent State will get the running backs going.
“My room understands defense, they understand the system of defense," Drayton said. "That’s what they’re taught from the moment they walk in the door and they understand if a defense lines up a certain way that they’re designed to take away the run game, they have to be patient in that respect."
"Actually, it’s a compliment to what we’ve done here in the past in the run game, the way people are lining up against us right now. Their time will come. There’s value in their play when the ball’s not in their hands and they understand that."
