Knowing issues and questions surround his football program, Urban Meyer isn't about to discount leading Ohio State to yet another victory. Even if it came in very unexciting, unimpressive and non-explosive fashion, the Buckeyes took care of Northwestern on Saturday.
They don't look like the same team that ran roughshod over Oklahoma earlier in the season but Meyer isn't about to let that ruin his evening.
“We're going to continue to get better,” Meyer said Saturday minutes after his No. 6 Buckeyes outlasted the Wildcats 24-20 at Ohio Stadium. “Is this team whatever everybody wants them to be? Probably not yet, but they're working very hard to get to that point.”
Even though it took the majority of the game to decide if Ohio State would come out on top against Northwestern, Meyer and the Buckeyes did just enough in the end to do so. Quarterback J.T. Barrett and the offense took over with 3:30 remaining on the clock following a Jack Mitchell 33-yard field goal, as Pat Fitzgerald elected to kick with three timeouts in his back pocket with the belief his defense could get the ball back.
It never happened.
Barrett ripped a pass to Noah Brown for 16 yards to convert a 3rd-and-8. Three plays later, he scampered 34 yards down the sideline on 3rd-and-10 to effectively put the game out of reach. To quote Meyer, his team "nutted up" when it had to in order to win.
Barrett threw for 223 yards and the Buckeyes ran for 208, though the quarterback was not responsible for a touchdown for the first game in ages. It wasn't sexy against a more than game Northwestern squad, which entered on a three-game winning streak. It certainly wasn't anywhere near the offensive display we saw as the Buckeyes raced out of the gate in the non-conference part of their schedule.
And it wasn't all that much more exciting (especially on offense) than what happened a week ago in a stunning 24-21 loss to Penn State.
But above all, it was a win, and another chapter in the book titled "2016 Ohio State Buckeyes" that hardly reads easily.
“Our team went on the road to play in three ridiculous, really tough environments. They grew up. They got tougher,” Meyer said. “They went and played a team that just beat Michigan State, Indiana and Iowa, two of them on the road and they were in a street fight and they end up winning. Very proud of them. I love these guys. They're very young. That's fine. That's no more excuses about that.”
Ohio State replaced 16 starters and 12 NFL Draft picks from its 2015 squad. A blistering 3-0 start, with points flowing and a statement win at Oklahoma brought with it a No 2 ranking and conversation of a College Football Playoff berth.
Then came Big Ten play and issues like a lack of a deep threat, receivers that don't always create separation and an offensive line getting its feet under it popped up in a non-explosive victory against Indiana, a gutty win at Wisconsin led by Barrett and the 24-21 stunning setback against Penn State.
Those issues were still apparent against Northwestern, as outsiders continued to grumble with Barrett's willingness to check down to short throws or play calls designed to hit on swing patterns to Mike Weber or Curtis Samuel. The quarterback claims he is taking what the defense gives him, which is true more times than not.
It wasn't until the deciding drive of the game the Buckeyes completed a pass down the field—a 34-yarder to K.J. Hill on a wheel route where Northwestern defenders jumped the flat and left the redshirt freshman wide open behind them. Samuel punched it in from 3 yards out a few plays later.
Not many plays that make you go "wow." But a win nonetheless.
“We're 7-1,” center and captain Pat Elflein said. “A really young team, we're playing hard, we're eager to get better so I think this team has a bright future.”
Barrett feels the same way. So does Meyer. It resonates throughout the program—little things like completing blocks on punt and field goal team led to the loss last weekend at Penn State. Elflein said they also brought back a sense of tenacity this week in practice, the only way to combat the pressure of playing at a place like Ohio State.
“You had very balanced, ran for 200 and threw for 230. Most places that's a pretty good day. I understand here it's a little off a little bit. We've got to get that 500 number, I guess. But I'm very happy with it. I'll enjoy myself tonight.”– Urban Meyer
“We got a little wake-up call last week,” Elflein said. “They walked into a very good program and we addressed last week what it took for us older guys and players before us to get the program where it's at. We locked into that and just gotta keep grinding and doing more in practice and getting better. I think we'll have a really good team when it comes down to it.”
Added redshirt junior linebacker Chris Worley: “Each team is America is going to have some speed bumps coming down the stretch in conference play. It just so happens that we're having it right now. I have trust that we'll figure it out and get back going.”
Clayton Thorson threw for 256 yards—158 of them to Austin Carr—and a touchdown, as the Wildcats continued to exploit the middle of the field against Damon Arnette and Damon Webb. The Buckeyes didn't change personnel or scheme and still won. That isn't new.
Meyer trusts his team will figure out how to win in the end. It didn't last week. It did on Saturday.
“We're kind of a dogfight team, I guess. That's fine. It builds a little character, I guess,” Meyer said. “Age is your coach, builds character for your players.”
Northwestern scored on drives of 75, 84 and 82 yards. It racked up more than 400 yards of offense and converted 50 percent of its 3rd down tries. In large part, the Buckeyes and Wildcats played toe-to-toe.
Yet the Buckeyes remain in the same spot they were at the start of play Saturday in the Big Ten East race, due to Michigan's win at Michigan State and Penn State's at Purdue. Should all three teams win out, the annual battle between the Buckeyes and Wolverines will decide who heads to Indianapolis and the Big Ten Championship Game.
No matter how Ohio State looked on Saturday, nothing changed in that respect. Even though it is difficult to see if this team is the one that whipped Oklahoma or struggled last week at Beaver Stadium, all of its goals remain in front of it.
“I think that now that we have lost a game, just take it one day at a time and just win the day,” Barrett said. “When you do that, I think we're going to be successful.”
A more than game Northwestern squad—and its terrific quarterback, Clayton Thorson—pushed the envelope and threatened to thrash Ohio State's chances of being a national threat. But it didn't happen. With a young team at his disposal, Meyer is fine with that, though there is plenty of issues that still plague his football team.
“You had very balanced, ran for 200 and threw for 230. Most places that's a pretty good day. I understand here it's a little off a little bit,” Meyer said. “We've got to get that 500 number, I guess. But I'm very happy with it. I'll enjoy myself tonight.”
