Ohio State regrouped last week with a 38-7 win over Army in which the offense appeared to get into a groove, especially in the second half.
That said, there are still plenty of questions surrounding the Buckeyes as they head into Week 4, including their backup quarterback and pass defense. Without any further delay, it is time to answer your questions in our UNLV-week mailbag.
Who gets in the game first - Joe Burrow or Dwayne Haskins? - Dweinz
It all depends on the situation. If there is an injury to J.T. Barrett and he has to come out of the game, I think you see Burrow get the chance because of his experience at the position and within Ohio State's offense. If it's garbage time and Urban Meyer is putting in the entire second-team offense, then I think Haskins would get the call.
I truly believe that both Burrow and Haskins are neck-and-neck in the competition for the No. 2 quarterback job, and I think Haskins would get the nod in mop-up duty so that there will be more tape for coaches to evaluate off of. Burrow played in six games last season and threw 28 passes, so coaches have a small sample size on him, but they only have 10 plays on Haskins. That said, if Barrett goes down and Burrow is healthy enough to play, he will be the first off the bench.
Has Joshua Alabi worked at all at right tackle? I think Isaiah Prince is playing better this year but he seems to really get gassed at times and then is easily beaten. - NHBuckeye
I'm sure Alabi has worked at both spots, but you mentioned that Prince is playing better, and he has. I don't think a rotation is coming up front any time soon, and I don't think it is needed either.
Should Ohio State feel the need to replace Prince or should he get hurt, I would imagine Branden Bowen would slide over to tackle and Matt Burrell (if healthy) or Malcolm Pridgeon would go in at right guard. I also think Thayer Munford would also be considered in that spot. I don't think Alabi, who is a converted defensive lineman, has enough experience yet to pay meaningful reps.
Who do you see starting to separate from the pack at the receiver position? Will Johnnie Dixon be a go this week? Or do they wait for Big Ten play? - KansasBuckeye
I was really high on Binjimen Victor early in the season and I still am, but to answer your first question, I think Austin Mack is the receiver that is going to start turning some heads as the season goes on. He might be the best route runner on the roster right now. The coaching staff and Barrett have been targeting him more and more each game. I think his big catch against Oklahoma opened some eyes in the coaches' office, and I think it will become harder and harder to keep him off the field as long as he stays healthy.
As for Dixon, I don't think there is any need to play him against a UNLV defense that has struggled immensely so far this season. I would hold him out until Big Ten play starts and let some of the younger receivers such as Trevon Grimes and Jaylen Harris get some time.
Offensive approach Saturday - hit them hard with what's been working so far, or start to unveil/implement new wrinkles? - Hovenaut
Meyer acknowledged this week that Ohio State isn't good enough yet to start implementing new schemes or wrinkles, and I think he is right. The pass offense and pass defense still need a lot of work, so I expect the Buckeyes to iron out their issues in both of those areas against the Rebels.
That said, I do think we will see more of the run-pass option scheme, and some deep passes that will result on a few pump-and-go kind of plays. That could be a slightly different wrinkle to put on film for Big Ten teams to prepare for, but I don't expect any drastic changes from last week.
How good is UNLV's QB/RB tandem? Their numbers through the first three weeks are pretty impressive, even though as a team, they're 1-1. Do you see their offense giving our defense any problems early? - RunEddieRun1983
We are going to find out this week how good the Ohio State corners and linebackers are at getting off of blocks on the perimeter. The Rebels are going to try and get to the edge a lot early on, as their starting running back is lightning-quick but not very big in stature.
Their quarterback, Armani Rogers, has also shown flashes of brilliance and has great size (6-foot-5, 225 pounds). I think UNLV tries to get to the perimeter and take a few shots downfield early in this game, and I think they might even hit on a few, especially to wide receiver Devonte Boyd, who is a future NFL prospect. I think UNLV will find the end zone once or twice, but ultimately they won't be able to score nearly enough to remain competitive.
Kickoffs - is Blake Haubeil riding the pine all weekend? Has Das Boot (Sean Nuernberger) officially taken over all kicking duties? - 1MechEng
Nuernberger has been practicing kickoffs this week and I am willing to say that at the first sign of trouble (a poor kick from Haubeil), Nuernberger will be called on to replace the true freshman. Haubeil will get a second chance, but if another one flies out of bounds, he might lose his kickoff privileges.
Do you see Tate Martell getting any playing time since he played in Las Vegas? - Keze
I really do not see this happening. I've thought that Martell was a redshirt candidate from the moment he stepped on campus this season, especially with the development of Haskins. You know Martell would love the opportunity to play against his former head coach, and you also have to know he will be in the coaching staff's ear to get in if the game is in hand late, but I don't see it happening. I think Martell redshirts this season and Haskins/Burrow get plenty of reps on Saturday.
Will Parris Campbell line up behind J.T. after motioning into the backfield and take a handoff or be the option on an inside zone read / speed option? - BuckeyeCrusdader
I don't think you will see Campbell line up behind Barrett a lot as a traditional running back, but I do expect him to line up beside him and get carries on sweeps and zone reads more and more as the season goes on. The speed he displayed on his run that was called back against Army was very impressive. I think the Ohio State coaching staff realizes that he needs to touch the ball more out of the backfield.
At this point, what seems to be the biggest contributing factor to OSU's lack of a passing offense, even with the great weapons at our disposal? - Isaacl2118
It's not a downfield attack, but I thought last week Ohio State did a good job of game planning for its players' strengths. It wasn't always flashy, but it was effective, and I think it provided a good base for the Buckeyes to go off of moving forward.
Even with that, though, this team does need to hit on a few deep balls before Big Ten season to at least give conference opponents something to think about in their weekly game prep. So how do you do that? For starters, stop running the quarterback so much.
In 2014, most of the deep passes Ohio State hit were off of play action fakes. The Buckeyes continue to run play action fakes, but teams aren't going to bite on those when you continue to run QB Power Left, QB Power Right on every possession. The first step is to turn and hand to J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber and let them set up your play action passes. Once the safeties begin to honor the run, then Ohio State will be able to hit on some long passes. But if they continue to run the quarterback more than the running back, the play action plays become ineffective.
Who gets tapped to spell Antonio Williams in the 4th quarter? - Jgarverick
Jordan Leasure? The reality is, Weber needs some carries to get back into a rhythm. I think, if he is healthy, he might get more carries than Dobbins this week, just because he needs them.
Once Big Ten play hits, they will need both of these guys to play well. Weber visibly slowed down at the end of last season, partially because they had no one spelling him. Dobbins and Weber can be the best one-two punch in the country if they are both operating at full strength and the Ohio State coaches can find a way to use them both, maybe even at the same time.
Once again facing a more conventional spread offense, is this the game where we finally see our inexperienced secondary turn the corner? Or will the 2017 version of the Buckeye defense just always be slightly lacking in the back end? - GVerrilli92
This secondary will not be able to live up to the expectations that last year's secondary set. It's almost impossible to send three first-rounders from one position group to the league in the same year. Fans, coaches and media all need to realize that.
That said, I think you will see the Ohio State secondary be improved after watching the Oklahoma film. I also think you will see the Rebels test them deep a few times. As I said earlier, the Buckeyes will give up a few plays in the secondary, but overall, the UNLV offense won't be able to score enough to keep up in this one. My final score prediction is 52-17 Buckeyes.
