A week removed from staging an 18-point comeback in a 39-38 thriller over then-No.2 Penn State in the Shoe, Ohio State takes its show on the road as the Buckeyes invade Iowa's Kinnick Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
A masterful performance by J.T. Barrett and the defensive line overshadowed another horrific day for kickoff coverage and penalties prompting Urban Meyer to change personnel on special teams.
Should we be worried about a letdown this week? Where does Barrett's outing rank in comparison to his historical Buckeye peers?
For answers to those queries and more, we're proud to welcome Buckeye great and Big Ten Network analyst James Laurinaitis to the 11W roundtable alongside staffers James Grega, Johnny Ginter and Andrew Ellis.
Now that J.T. Barrett and Ohio State safely landed the plane with a 19-3 blitz in the fourth quarter against Penn State, care to fess up to whether or not you thought it wasn’t going to end well for the home team and at what point? If not, what was it that had you believing they still had a chance down 35-20 midway through the third quarter?
James L: I didn’t think it was going well from the point of Parris Campbell’s fumble when McSorley hit Hamilton to go up 14-0. That was the worst start to a football game you could’ve asked for if you’re Ohio State. The thing that gave me hope was the fact that our offense was moving the ball well from the start. I felt if we could avoid penalties and big plays against us then we could climb back in it.
Andrew: I actually kept my composure quite well on Saturday and stayed (mostly) optimistic even when things looked gloomy. J.T. Barrett’s fumble early on in the fourth quarter was probably the darkest moment for me. There was a brief period of time when I had some doubts, but fortunately the defense stepped up and then Denzel Ward came through with the blocked punt. The reason I remained confident was because of the defensive line. They had done a great job bottling up Saquon Barkley and the fourth quarter is when that rotation really takes its toll on the opposing offense. We certainly saw that on Penn State’s final few drives.
James G: I am in charge of writing the postgame recap for us, and I swear I re-wrote and changed my headline and lede to the story at least four times. I have never covered a game with so many swings of momentum. I will admit, I thought the Buckeyes were cooked after J.T. Barrett fumbled the exchange with J.K. Dobbins already down 35-20. Lucky for Ohio State though, Penn State went into full Jim Tressel mode late and played not to lose instead of going for the throat. Give credit to Ohio State to continuing to swing until the very end.
Johnny: I thought that there was a chance, but more along the lines of a Lloyd Christmas "so you're saying there's a chance" kind of chance than a "yes this has a realistic chance of happening in what is clearly an unjust universe" kind of chance. What I think is especially funny is that Barrett's fumble actually somehow ended up helping Ohio State in the long run, because the fumble led to the blocked punt which led to everything else. I try to avoid thinking too hard about Chaos Theory and the Butterfly Effect when it comes to football because it freaks me out and eventually my line of logic leads me down a rabbit hole where football doesn't exist and we're all huge cricket enthusiasts.
But look, this was J.T.'s game. As the 4th quarter began, I made my peace with the idea that either he's one of the greatest Ohio State quarterbacks ever and was going to will the Buckeyes to victory, or he isn't and wouldn't. Well, guess what.
Barrett was simply sensational with a school-record 423 total yards and four touchdowns amid going 13 of 13 for 170 yards and three touchdowns in the 4th quarter. Was that the most spectacular effort you’ve ever seen from a Buckeye QB? What about most important? Give us two or three other OSU QB outings making up the elite of the elite performances.
Johnny: This may not have been the most important in the grand scheme of things (as of late, Cardale dumping all over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game was probably more important overall), but I can't think of a better overall performance I've been able to bear witness to than what went down on Saturday. There weren't a ton of huge bombs or anything, and yeah that lack of sexiness maybe puts it in the same league as like, John Stockton scoring like 80 points mostly through free throws and layups, but I have never seen that kind of insane perfection in the clutch when J.T. Barrett couldn't afford to be anything less than that. It was a brilliant exercise in Swiss watchmaking, except in quarterback form.
I looked up Troy Smith's games against Michigan in 2006 (29/41, 316 yards, four touchdowns) and Notre Dame the year before (19/28, 342 yards, two touchdowns and another 66 yards rushing), and while those may come close statistically, they're both left in the dust by what Barrett accomplished against Penn State.
James L: This was the best Buckeye QB performance I’ve seen since 2006 when Troy Smith had a day against Michigan in the Shoe. J.T. was remarkable and I’m glad he had that kind of day in that moment. The other game I can remember is Troy in Austin when we beat Texas in 2006 as well. Those days might not compare statistically to what J.T. and Urban have done together but Troy was great those games.
James G: In my lifetime (I am only 24) the only effort I could compare that game to was Troy Smith's fourth quarter performance against Michigan in 2005, leading Ohio State back from two scores in the Big House to knock off the Wolverines. Smith's effort against Michigan in the 2006 chapter of that rivalry might have even topped that. What made Barrett's so special though was that he was perfect. Smith's performance in the 2006 Michigan game will forever be tainted because of how he played against Florida in the title game, but if Barrett keeps Ohio State rolling and at the very least gets them into the playoff, that game will stand out as one of the best ever by a Buckeye QB.
Andrew: I have never seen an Ohio State quarterback “in the zone” the way that J.T. Barrett was late in that game. He was picking apart the Penn State defense, and I just knew they were going to score every time the offense took the field. It was the biggest game of the season and the Buckeyes are now in line for a B1G Championship appearance and in the thick of the playoff picture. I can’t think of a more important performance by an Ohio State quarterback.
Another one that comes to mind would be Troy Smith against Michigan in 2006. It was the same story back then. He had complete command of the offense and I think everyone knew the Buckeyes were going to score just about every time he took the field. This one doesn’t compare in terms of magnitude, but how about Kenny Guiton’s performance at California in 2013? Pretty sure he had thrown for about 150 yards and two long touchdowns when there was still about 12 minutes left in the first quarter.
With Zone Six stepping up big (25 rec, 301 yds, 3 TD vs. PSU), Demetrius Knox and Isaiah Prince in particular holding up and the back seven holding Trace McSorley well below his passing yards per game average, the three non-special teams areas typically under the microscope all fared pretty well against Penn State. That said, what is your chief non-special teams concern at the moment and why?
Andrew: I admit that I’ve never had a ton of confidence in Demetrius Knox, and I was very concerned when he was named the starter after Branden Bowen went down. I have to give him credit for stepping up and surprising me. He has played very well and hasn’t made too many mistakes. That being said, this is still my biggest concern moving forward.
Michigan and Michigan State both have really good defenses as the Wolverines are No. 4 in the country and the Spartans are sitting at No. 8. Assuming the Buckeyes get to face off against Wisconsin, the Badgers check in at No. 5. The next several games aren’t going to be easy, and the line’s ability to block players like Maurice Hurst will be of paramount importance. Knox and the rest of the line will need to continue their strong play.
Johnny: Zone Six actually being consistent. I think it's great that K.J. Hill balled out against the Nittany Lions, but now it's on him and the rest of the receiving corps to prove that this wasn't a one-off event. Everyone was positive that Noah Brown would be The Answer after tearing up Oklahoma last season, but... nope. He fell back to earth pretty hard. Hill and company need to be good and they need to start proving it now, because the end of the season is going to be a gauntlet. I'm also still a tad nervous about the linebackers in coverage, but luckily they've got possibly two months to figure all of that out.
James G: For me, it is Ohio State's corners not named Denzel Ward. Yes, McSorley was held in check for the most part, but you can just tell that teams are throwing away from Ward as much as they can because the weakness is on the other side. Damon Arnette looks like he is continuing to improve, but Kendall Sheffield has remained a major question mark in Ohio State's secondary. While the Buckeyes aren't going to face an elite QB until the playoff if they get there, it is still a weakness that even average QBs can exploit (see Richard Lagow).
James L: My concern non special teams, if I had to list one would be the back seven still. They played a great game and I believe they’re vastly improved, however still two deep TD catches that were very well covered and contested. I would like to see our guys come down with those balls. On the bright side the coverage was very good and their run support versus Barkley was great!
Larry Johnson’s defensive line led by Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes, Dre’Mont Jones, Bobby Landers and others helped bottle up Saquon Barkley and generally dominated Penn State’s offensive line. If you had to create an All-Urban Era defensive line who would be your four starters? I’ll let you give one alternate too, since there are so many studs dating back to 2012 of which to choose from.
James L: Joey Bosa. John Simon. Tyquan Lewis. Sam Hubbard. Nick Bosa.
James G: Give me Joey Bosa, Johnathan Hankins, Dre'Mont Jones and Tyquan Lewis with Sam Hubbard off the bench. Nick Bosa would be right up there as well, but I am still curious to see how he plays when he has to be in there for as many snaps as his brother was when he was taking on double and triple teams every single play.
Andrew: Oh my. That is a tough one. Let’s go with Joey Bosa, Adolphus Washington, Johnathan Hankins, and Tyquan Lewis. I’d probably roll with Nick Rosa as the alternate even though he may end up being the most talented one of the entire group. That means guys like Noah Spence and Sam Hubbard wouldn’t even be on this particular team. That goes to show just how ridiculous the defensive line has been since Meyer’s arrival.
Johnny: I would combine them all into one mega-player, Voltron-style, and then they'd unleash some kind of laser cannon and just blow literal holes through the chests of offensive linemen. Barring that, Joey Bosa, Tyquan Lewis, Michael Bennett, and John Simon should suffice, and damn, Little Bear Nick Bosa sneaks in there above Sam Hubbard. Law-abiding Noah Spence might make a run at it, too.
Urban talked big about how the kickoff coverage team had righted the ship during the bye week only to see the ship sunk 10 seconds into the game with other follies thereafter. You’re now in charge of kickoff coverage. Are you (A) kicking it out of bounds every time and settling on giving the opponent possession at the 35, (B) holding open tryouts hoping one of the 45,831 students can kick it into the end zone every single time, (C) continuing to practice the angled kick placement and appropriate coverage in response, or (D) something else?
Johnny: D, which is really A, except Urban isn't aware that both Das Boot and Blake Haubeil are just alternating back and forth with who's responsible for getting yelled at by him for "accidentally" kicking the ball out of bounds every time. I can't possibly believe that there is no one on the Ohio State football team capable of kicking the ball out of the end zone on every kickoff. If Blake and Das Boot are both truly not able to do this generally pretty easy ask, then fine, the kickoff team is screwed and they just have to live with the consequences. But in the more likely scenario that Urban is just being stubborn as hell for no damn reason, at least it'll be kind of fun watching him lose his mind every time his ridiculous insistence on a kickoff strategy that is clearly not working ends up costing Ohio State either points or field position.
James L: D) something else and that’s putting some veterans on kickoff to ensure things get fixed. The young talent isn’t getting it. You can’t do the same stuff over and over and expect different results.
Andrew: This has been beyond frustrating to watch, and that’s really unfortunate because I usually love watching those guys storm down the field on kickoffs. I never used to have an issue with the angled corner kicks, but it clearly isn’t working right now. One of Ohio State’s kickers HAS to be able to kick the football into or beyond the end zone. My solution would be to simply figure out who can kick it the furthest and then let them do just that. Don’t worry about kicking into the corners or anywhere specific. Just kick the ball as far as you can and hopefully profit. This may be one of those things that Urban is a little bit too picky about.
James G: Kick it out of the end zone. I generally believe Urban Meyer when he speaks, but I am not buying for a second that Sean Nuernberger or Blake Haubeil simply don't have the leg to get it out of the end zone. They wouldn't be Buckeyes if they couldn't, plain and simple. If you continue to try and corner kick it like they have, you are just being ignorant to the fact you don't have the personnel to do that right now. You play to your players strengths. If Tom Brady is your quarterback, you probably aren't running RPOs at opposing defenses. If you don't have a kicker that can consistently drop it near the sideline like you want, change. Play to your personnel.
If you had to vote for B1G Coach of the Year right now would you vote for (A) Kirk Ferentz or (B) Kirk Ferentz? On the off chance you wouldn’t cast your vote for Ferentz, who would you select instead and why?
James G: The fact that Urban Meyer didn't win it in 2014 is something I will never fully understand. Anyway, I think this is still an open competition. It looked early like Jeff Brohm would be a candidate but Purdue has slipped. If Mark Dantonio runs the table and pulls the upset in Columbus in a week (which I do not see happening), then he becomes the front runner.
Johnny: I would clearly pick Kirk Ferentz, but it's possible that my ballot would get lost in the mail and someone would assume that I voted for James Franklin. Although Chris Ash just flipped a quarterback from Miami, so he'll probably win.
James L: I would vote Ferentz or Pat Fitzgerald. Both men do more with less than any other coach in Big Ten. Pat has no offensive line and still is finding a way to win games.
Andrew: It’s difficult to give this award to anyone other than Ferentz, but if I were forced to do so then I suppose (at this point) I’d give it to Paul Chryst. Wisconsin hasn’t played anyone so I’m hesitant to go with him, but they’re one of the few unbeaten teams in the country and that running game and defense are both legit. The toughest part of Chryst’s schedule is still in front of him, so if you ask me this question again in December then I will likely have a different answer.
It’s early so it doesn’t matter much yet but first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings came out Tuesday with the top six as Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State. Did the committee get it right? How would you slot things differently at this point?
Andrew: Eh. I think the committee mostly got it right, but I really don’t get the hype surrounding Clemson. The ACC is not a good conference and the Tigers lost to a Syracuse team that is currently 4-4. I get that Kelly Bryant missed part of the game and the committee has acknowledged that, but what else has Dabo really done this season? The win at Virginia Tech was a good one, but other than that their resume doesn’t really impress me. I was thinking Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma in the top four with the Buckeyes at No. 5 and then Clemson at No. 6. This will all sort itself out, but right now my main issue is with Clemson at No. 4.
James G: I probably would have had the Buckeyes at four, because their loss to Oklahoma is a lot better than Clemson's loss to Syracuse, but I understand why they are where they are. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. If they win out, they are in. Plain and simple. There is no need to freak out over this, so I am not going to.
Johnny: The rankings are fine, and it's really hard for me to bring myself to care too much about them at this point. As long as Ohio State is within the top six-ish at the end of November, they're in if they win, which is all anyone can really ask for. If there ends up being some stupidity in the rankings as committee members freak out about too many teams with similar records, then I might muster the effort to have Feelings About Rankings, but for now... meh!
James L: I think the committee got it right. I expected Notre Dame to be high, and Clemson and Oklahoma to be ahead of Ohio State. Craziness will happen as the year plays out. OSU just needs to keep winning and everything will work out.
Finally, Ohio State enters Kinnick Stadium as 17-point favorites. Will the Buckeyes cover? Give us your final score and player to watch.
James L: I think they’ll cover 17. I don’t expect Iowa to score more than 10 and their defense can’t match up all 11. Josey Jewel is a nice player as is Joshua Jackson but Ohio State has too many weapons. Pay attention to Damon Webb and Jordan Fuller at safety, they’ll be challenged with the play action shot attempts to Noah Fant. Ohio State 31, Iowa 6.
Johnny: Ohio State will cover, and I'll go 42-20 on this one. They've just got too much momentum and really do appear to have things figured out on offense (especially in the passing game). With that said, I think J.K. Dobbins has a monster game as Kevin Wilson and company look for things to force defensive coordinators to worry about for the entire month of November.
James G: I have the Buckeyes winning this one, 41-17. I am watching Ohio State's linebackers in this one. Iowa is a pro-style football team and like to run the ball first, but they also have some athletic tight ends who can catch the ball up the seam. The Buckeye linebackers will not only have to be run-stoppers, but play well in coverage as well. They got better last week against Penn State in both areas, and I want to see if they can build on that this week.
Andrew: I was worried about this game at one point. In fact, I previously picked this to be Ohio State’s lone loss of the season. A lot has changed in the last few months, and Iowa really doesn’t scare me right now. Though I will admit that I’m glad this isn’t a night game.
Give me the Buckeyes by a score of 41-20. The Hawkeyes are slightly better against the run than they are against the pass, but I look for Ohio State to have a fairly balanced attack. K.J. Hill is my player to watch. He’s coming off a 12-reception performance, and while I don’t expect that type of volume, I can see him finding the end zone multiple times.
