Behind Enemy Lines
J.T. Barrett leads the Buckeyes this weekend against the Hawkeyes.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
The Hawkeyes and the Buckeyes haven't met on the football field since 2013. That streak will end on Saturday when Ohio State comes to Kinnick Stadium for the first time since 2010. We go Behind Enemy Lines with Kevin Noon from BuckeyeGrove.com to get the latest on the Ohio State football team.
1. After what was a slow start to the season, Ohio State has been rolling, scoring at least 38 points in every game since the loss to Oklahoma. The obvious question is what changed following the home loss to the Sooners and what really got this team clicking in the last six games?
NOON: There is just much more chemistry between Barrett and the receivers and the offense with the new offensive coaching staff. Let's not forget that Ohio State brought in two new offensive coaches with Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day and while this is Urban Meyer's offense, the two are playing big roles in breathing some much-needed life into an offense that floundered at times since the departure of Tom Herman.
The thing that often gets lost is that Oklahoma played a tremendous game against Ohio State in that week two game. Ohio State played poorly but a lot of that was also dictated by what Oklahoma was doing against them. But since then, Ohio State has just not tried to overcomplicate things and is just doing the little things well. From there, Ohio State has been able to build off of that and add more wrinkles back into the offense and in turn more of a downfield passing game than the short pass/long run offense.
Not going to ignore the fact that Ohio State also had a stretch of opponents that just really were put in impossible situations against the Buckeyes in terms of talent disparity and Ohio State capitalized and in turn was able to build confidence that led all the way into the Penn State game where the Buckeyes were able to turn it on in the 4th quarter and pull the game out of the fire.
2. J.T. Barrett has really turned his season around in a big way. He came into the year as a Heisman Trophy candidate and then after two weeks, he completely fell off that radar. Now, he’s back in the race and one of the top quarterbacks in the country. What changed and was it related to a new offensive coordinator?
NOON: Barrett has had some bad games over his career but he really only had one bad game this season and that was Oklahoma. The Indiana game was not his sharpest in terms of completion percentage (57-percent) but he threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns in that game. The game against the Sooners was the real outlier of the group with a 19-35 night for 183 yards and zero touchdowns. Since that game, Barrett has been at 65-percent or above in terms of completions for every single game and has not thrown an interception.
But people are going to remember the struggles at the end of 2016, a 31-0 loss to Clemson in the CFP Semis and a game against Michigan that went to 2OT because the Buckeyes could not muster much offense in the first 60 minutes of the game.
Fans and talking heads all called for a change at quarterback in Columbus but Urban Meyer and the coaching staff knew what Barrett was capable of and everyone just kept working and the schedule set up nicely for the Buckeyes with some games that allowed the Buckeyes to get that much-needed confidence re-instilled in their leader and it obviously worked.
It all came together in the 4th quarter against Penn State when Barrett finished the quarter a perfect 13-13 throwing the ball in Ohio State's 39-38 comeback win over the Nittany Lions and the confidence in the offense is sky high going into Ohio State's final four games of the regular season.
3. What’s the workload share at running back between J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber? Who are some of the top receiver targets that have emerged this season?
NOON: The coaches don't really go into the games with a defined split between the two running backs in terms of who gets how many touches or series. Early in the season, Weber was nursing a hamstring injury that was much worse than anyone was led to believe. Dobbins saw most of the action at that point as Weber either played very little or was not used at all.
Weber is healthy now and has seen more action even if Dobbins may be the quicker back in space. Dobbins was part of an Ohio State fumble in the 1st quarter against Penn State and his carries were limited down the stretch as Meyer and company decided to ride the legs of Weber, a back who has shown an ability to hold on to the ball.
Ohio State's leading receiver in terms of yards is Parris Campbell but he has been slowed by injury and has seen almost no action over the last two games and is listed as questionable for the Iowa game as of Urban Meyer's early injury report.
KJ Hill has emerged as a major threat as of late and now leads the team with 40 receptions after a big game against Penn State. Johnnie Dixon had a pair of touchdowns against Penn State and has been used more in the absence of Campbell in the lineup. The thing about Ohio State's passing game is that there really is not one or two guys that can be focused on, there are eight players sitting with more than a dozen catches on the season and 10 players have had least one touchdown through the throw game.
4. Ohio State’s defense has started to come on strong as the season progressed. Who are some of the key players to watch and which players are really emerging this year for the Buckeyes?
NOON: This defense really starts up front of the defensive line. They are so deep on the line that most people who don't watch the tape thing that the praises are an exaggeration. But in most games players like Nick Bosa, Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes and Tyquan Lewis may only see 30 snaps, at most, because Ohio State can roll wave after wave out there to keep fresh linemen on the field. The Buckeyes also got a major shot in the arm with the return of Michael Hill after a six-game suspension earlier in the season.
The secondary is where Ohio State was tested early and is still the spot where people watch this team with great interest. Denzel Ward is an all-league level player and Jordan Fuller at safety has really emerged as a playmaker as well. The tandem of Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield is where Ohio State has been tested and they have both been playing much better than earlier in the year but they still need to clean up some technique as the calendar rolls over into November.
5. While Urban Meyer was certainly happy with the win on Saturday over Penn State, he wasn’t too happy with his special teams play. What are the concerns with that unit and how has the kicking and return game performed this season?
NOON: Can someone kick the ball straight and far? There may be some doubts in his statement that nobody can kick the ball out of the back of the end zone but we know that nobody can kick it deep and into the corner the way that he would like as he tries to pin teams deep (or at least in worse position than the 25-yard-line). Really the only weak spot of the special teams is the kickoff team. Punt return has not been robust this year but a four-yard average and fielding every punt cleanly beats the alternative of putting a few on the ground.
Ohio State's kick return game is among the best in the nation and Ohio State has been pretty solid in field goals, for the most part.
It just really comes down to the kickoff, especially for a team like Ohio State that scores as much as it does and has to kick off multiple times a game. It almost cost Ohio State the Penn State game and while there may not be many more returners like Saquon Barkley left on Ohio State's schedule, it is a problem that will haunt the Buckeyes if they cannot get it rectified.
6. Ohio State is a heavy road favorite in this game. Iowa fans might be hanging their hat on a potential letdown from the Buckeyes after a huge home win. Do you sense there’s any letdown potential this week? What are the keys for Ohio State this week if they want to pick up another win in conference play?
NOON: Yes, the Buckeyes are coming off of an emotional win and have Michigan State, a team that has had success against Urban Meyer at Ohio State on the other side of this one. But nobody on this team has played at Iowa before so it is not a case of familiarity breeding complacency for this team. It might be hard to get 'as up' as they were for the Penn State game after having to exhaust so much personal capital for that game, but the Buckeyes are not going to come into this game looking past the Hawkeyes.
The Buckeyes just need to play their game. Continue with the same type of offense that has afforded them a six-game winning streak, play a swarming type of defense without getting out of assignments and playing hero ball. Bottle up a running game for Iowa that has not been breaking big plays and then force the Hawkeyes to try and go up top to beat them. Ohio State is going to score points. Yes, Iowa has not allowed more than 21 points in league play all season long but the Buckeyes offense is much more robust than any team that Iowa has faced this season.
Clean up mistakes on special teams, don't let the rowdy Iowa fans get into the game and don't look ahead to Michigan State and Michigan (sorry Illinois, nobody is really paying attention to you for good reason). I understand you have to go back to the 2013 Wisconsin game for what would be considered a 'blowout' home loss for the Hawkeyes, but this game has all the makings of one.
J.T. Barrett leads the Buckeyes this weekend against the Hawkeyes.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
The Hawkeyes and the Buckeyes haven't met on the football field since 2013. That streak will end on Saturday when Ohio State comes to Kinnick Stadium for the first time since 2010. We go Behind Enemy Lines with Kevin Noon from BuckeyeGrove.com to get the latest on the Ohio State football team.
1. After what was a slow start to the season, Ohio State has been rolling, scoring at least 38 points in every game since the loss to Oklahoma. The obvious question is what changed following the home loss to the Sooners and what really got this team clicking in the last six games?
NOON: There is just much more chemistry between Barrett and the receivers and the offense with the new offensive coaching staff. Let's not forget that Ohio State brought in two new offensive coaches with Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day and while this is Urban Meyer's offense, the two are playing big roles in breathing some much-needed life into an offense that floundered at times since the departure of Tom Herman.
The thing that often gets lost is that Oklahoma played a tremendous game against Ohio State in that week two game. Ohio State played poorly but a lot of that was also dictated by what Oklahoma was doing against them. But since then, Ohio State has just not tried to overcomplicate things and is just doing the little things well. From there, Ohio State has been able to build off of that and add more wrinkles back into the offense and in turn more of a downfield passing game than the short pass/long run offense.
Not going to ignore the fact that Ohio State also had a stretch of opponents that just really were put in impossible situations against the Buckeyes in terms of talent disparity and Ohio State capitalized and in turn was able to build confidence that led all the way into the Penn State game where the Buckeyes were able to turn it on in the 4th quarter and pull the game out of the fire.
2. J.T. Barrett has really turned his season around in a big way. He came into the year as a Heisman Trophy candidate and then after two weeks, he completely fell off that radar. Now, he’s back in the race and one of the top quarterbacks in the country. What changed and was it related to a new offensive coordinator?
NOON: Barrett has had some bad games over his career but he really only had one bad game this season and that was Oklahoma. The Indiana game was not his sharpest in terms of completion percentage (57-percent) but he threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns in that game. The game against the Sooners was the real outlier of the group with a 19-35 night for 183 yards and zero touchdowns. Since that game, Barrett has been at 65-percent or above in terms of completions for every single game and has not thrown an interception.
But people are going to remember the struggles at the end of 2016, a 31-0 loss to Clemson in the CFP Semis and a game against Michigan that went to 2OT because the Buckeyes could not muster much offense in the first 60 minutes of the game.
Fans and talking heads all called for a change at quarterback in Columbus but Urban Meyer and the coaching staff knew what Barrett was capable of and everyone just kept working and the schedule set up nicely for the Buckeyes with some games that allowed the Buckeyes to get that much-needed confidence re-instilled in their leader and it obviously worked.
It all came together in the 4th quarter against Penn State when Barrett finished the quarter a perfect 13-13 throwing the ball in Ohio State's 39-38 comeback win over the Nittany Lions and the confidence in the offense is sky high going into Ohio State's final four games of the regular season.
3. What’s the workload share at running back between J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber? Who are some of the top receiver targets that have emerged this season?
NOON: The coaches don't really go into the games with a defined split between the two running backs in terms of who gets how many touches or series. Early in the season, Weber was nursing a hamstring injury that was much worse than anyone was led to believe. Dobbins saw most of the action at that point as Weber either played very little or was not used at all.
Weber is healthy now and has seen more action even if Dobbins may be the quicker back in space. Dobbins was part of an Ohio State fumble in the 1st quarter against Penn State and his carries were limited down the stretch as Meyer and company decided to ride the legs of Weber, a back who has shown an ability to hold on to the ball.
Ohio State's leading receiver in terms of yards is Parris Campbell but he has been slowed by injury and has seen almost no action over the last two games and is listed as questionable for the Iowa game as of Urban Meyer's early injury report.
KJ Hill has emerged as a major threat as of late and now leads the team with 40 receptions after a big game against Penn State. Johnnie Dixon had a pair of touchdowns against Penn State and has been used more in the absence of Campbell in the lineup. The thing about Ohio State's passing game is that there really is not one or two guys that can be focused on, there are eight players sitting with more than a dozen catches on the season and 10 players have had least one touchdown through the throw game.
4. Ohio State’s defense has started to come on strong as the season progressed. Who are some of the key players to watch and which players are really emerging this year for the Buckeyes?
NOON: This defense really starts up front of the defensive line. They are so deep on the line that most people who don't watch the tape thing that the praises are an exaggeration. But in most games players like Nick Bosa, Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes and Tyquan Lewis may only see 30 snaps, at most, because Ohio State can roll wave after wave out there to keep fresh linemen on the field. The Buckeyes also got a major shot in the arm with the return of Michael Hill after a six-game suspension earlier in the season.
The secondary is where Ohio State was tested early and is still the spot where people watch this team with great interest. Denzel Ward is an all-league level player and Jordan Fuller at safety has really emerged as a playmaker as well. The tandem of Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield is where Ohio State has been tested and they have both been playing much better than earlier in the year but they still need to clean up some technique as the calendar rolls over into November.
5. While Urban Meyer was certainly happy with the win on Saturday over Penn State, he wasn’t too happy with his special teams play. What are the concerns with that unit and how has the kicking and return game performed this season?
NOON: Can someone kick the ball straight and far? There may be some doubts in his statement that nobody can kick the ball out of the back of the end zone but we know that nobody can kick it deep and into the corner the way that he would like as he tries to pin teams deep (or at least in worse position than the 25-yard-line). Really the only weak spot of the special teams is the kickoff team. Punt return has not been robust this year but a four-yard average and fielding every punt cleanly beats the alternative of putting a few on the ground.
Ohio State's kick return game is among the best in the nation and Ohio State has been pretty solid in field goals, for the most part.
It just really comes down to the kickoff, especially for a team like Ohio State that scores as much as it does and has to kick off multiple times a game. It almost cost Ohio State the Penn State game and while there may not be many more returners like Saquon Barkley left on Ohio State's schedule, it is a problem that will haunt the Buckeyes if they cannot get it rectified.
6. Ohio State is a heavy road favorite in this game. Iowa fans might be hanging their hat on a potential letdown from the Buckeyes after a huge home win. Do you sense there’s any letdown potential this week? What are the keys for Ohio State this week if they want to pick up another win in conference play?
NOON: Yes, the Buckeyes are coming off of an emotional win and have Michigan State, a team that has had success against Urban Meyer at Ohio State on the other side of this one. But nobody on this team has played at Iowa before so it is not a case of familiarity breeding complacency for this team. It might be hard to get 'as up' as they were for the Penn State game after having to exhaust so much personal capital for that game, but the Buckeyes are not going to come into this game looking past the Hawkeyes.
The Buckeyes just need to play their game. Continue with the same type of offense that has afforded them a six-game winning streak, play a swarming type of defense without getting out of assignments and playing hero ball. Bottle up a running game for Iowa that has not been breaking big plays and then force the Hawkeyes to try and go up top to beat them. Ohio State is going to score points. Yes, Iowa has not allowed more than 21 points in league play all season long but the Buckeyes offense is much more robust than any team that Iowa has faced this season.
Clean up mistakes on special teams, don't let the rowdy Iowa fans get into the game and don't look ahead to Michigan State and Michigan (sorry Illinois, nobody is really paying attention to you for good reason). I understand you have to go back to the 2013 Wisconsin game for what would be considered a 'blowout' home loss for the Hawkeyes, but this game has all the makings of one.
