MARVELOUS
The Arizona Cardinals select Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
The numbers weren't pretty on either side of the ball in Ohio State's 31-16 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday night.
The ugliest numbers might have belonged to Ohio State's passing offense, as J.T. Barrett completed only 19 of 35 passes for 183 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. At the time of his interception, with the Buckeyes already trailing 24-13, Barrett was just 10 of 21 for 84 yards, before padding his stats on the final two drives with the game's outcome already well in hand.
Since we already covered the struggles of the passing offense in detail, we take a look at three other key stats from Saturday's game:
Ohio State scores three points off turnovers
While winning the turnover battle often leads to winning the game, winning the turnover battle doesn't matter much if the team who gains those turnovers fails to take advantage.
Ohio State won the turnover battle in Saturday night's game, two to one, but only scored three points combined off of those turnovers. Oklahoma, meanwhile, scored a touchdown after its only takeaway (the aforementioned interception of Barrett made by Sooners cornerback Parnell Motley).
The Buckeyes recovered fumbles on back-to-back possessions in the first quarter. The first fumble recovery came at their own 25-yard line, and they were only able to move the ball 26 yards in eight plays, resulting in a punt. The Buckeyes recovered a fumble at Oklahoma's 49-yard line on their next defensive series, but the Buckeyes were forced to settle a field goal inside the 10-yard line.
18 carries for J.T. Barrett, 16 carries for running backs
After riding running backs J.K. Dobbins and Antonio Williams for 36 total carries in their season-opening win at Indiana, Ohio State handed the ball off to their tailbacks only 16 times in Saturday's game.
That might have been a mistake, as both running backs performed well in limited action. Dobbins had a quiet first half, rushing for only seven yards on three carries before the break, but was excellent on Ohio State's first two possessions of the second half, as he gained 67 yards on six carries. But he only ran the ball four more times the rest of the game.
Mike Weber returned to action Saturday after missing the season opener with a hamstring injury, but only carried the ball three times. He looked good on those three carries, though, gaining 29 combined yards.
Williams did not see any carries in Saturday's game.
Oklahoma passes for 386 yards
As our Johnny Ginter detailed in his story, Ohio State's passing defense struggled Saturday for its second consecutive game to start the season. After giving up 420 passing yards to Indiana in the season opener, the Buckeyes gave up 386 passing yards to Baker Mayfield and the Sooners on Saturday night.
The Buckeyes' rushing defense was solid again, allowing only 104 yards on 37 carries (an average of 2.8 yards per carry), but their inability to limit big plays in the passing game proved costly in the 15-point loss.
Coming into the season, Ohio State had not allowed 386 or more passing yards in a game since 2013 against Michigan. The Buckeyes have now allowed that to happen two games in a row.
