It’s fair to say expectations are sky high in Columbus this season for Ohio State. It’s also fair to say those expectations put on the Buckeyes are justified.
After all, Ohio State is the defending national champion. It returned 15 starters from that 2014 team that won the first-ever College Football Playoff and was voted as the very first unanimous No. 1 team in the preseason AP poll.
And while that may be an awful lot of hype for any college football team, the Buckeyes very much fit the bill Monday night. One could even argue they have exceeded those expectations a bit in a 42-24 victory on the road at Virginia Tech, looking every bit the part of the No. 1 team in the country.
Well, to everyone but the head coach anyway.
“Little disappointed in our point of attack, both offensive and defensive line,” Urban Meyer said following the victory. “But overall, we’ll take that win against a very good team in a tough environment.”
Make no mistake about it, though: This was an impressive win.
Against the Hokies, Ohio State racked up 572 yards of total offense — 360 of that coming on the ground. After an up-and-down first half, the Buckeyes’ defense put the clamps on in the second half — although an injury to Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer certainly helped Ohio State’s cause — and limited the Hokies to just 109 total yards.
There were some things to clean up, of course, as the Buckeyes committed three turnovers, had a few costly penalties and surrendered a couple of big plays in the first half. But overall it was about as well as a team could perform to open up the season against a quality opponent in a hostile environment.
And the scary thing about all of this? Ohio State is only going to get better.
Let’s not forget the Buckeyes played this game against Virginia Tech without Joey Bosa, who is arguably the best defensive player in the country. Ohio State didn’t have versatile offensive weapons like Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson, either. Wide receiver Corey Smith was also missing as all four were suspended.
Bosa was an All-American last season and the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year as he led the Buckeyes in sacks (13.5) and tackles for loss (21). Marshall is one of Ohio State’s most versatile players, who was second on the team last year in receptions (38) for 499 yards and six touchdowns, while also serving as the Buckeyes’ primary punt returner. Wilson and Smith each had at least 20 catches a year ago, as well.
They’re all back now and that’s quite terrifying to wrap your mind around.
“I think it’s kind of scary, honestly,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said. “We were missing guys like I said and we still had so many weapons on the field today. We get some guys back next week and we all can improve on our play and we’re just very raw right now.”
The hype was warranted and Ohio State proved that Monday night with its decisive win over the Hokies. The Buckeyes are loaded with talent at nearly every position.
From here, with four of the team’s top players returning from suspension, they should only be more dangerous.
“First game of the season you can improve,” Elliott said. “I think that’s just a scary thing because we can be very dominant.”
