Ohio State went on the road for the first time, but the results were much the same as the Buckeyes throttled the Indiana Hoosiers in front of their home crowd 51-10 Saturday.
It was another dominant performance on both sides of the ball, and another game for us to dissect what happened within the flow of the game. In retrospect, we’re able to come to some conclusions on the performance after week three.
Here’s five things we learned after the beat-down in Bloomington.
The Ohio State secondary is one of the best in the country
Take last year and throw it out with last week’s meatloaf. This Ohio State defense — most notably the secondary — is full of a bunch of playmakers. Not only is the entire unit fast, but it each seems to have great cover skills, closing ability, and ball-hawking skills in the air.
Of course teams are going to make plays through the air this year, but we won’t see the same big plays that plagued the Buckeyes last season. With the secondary locking things down, it’ll allow the linebackers and defensive line to plug gaps and run to the ball.
Next … The workhorse is starting to plow away
J.K. Dobbins is getting warmed up
We saw flashes of it last week, and it ramped up even more Saturday. Dobbins will to continue to get fed in the running game, and his confidence and effectiveness seems to be growing.
After falling just shy of 100 yards for the game against FAU, Dobbins went for 141 yards last week, and broke the Indiana defense with 175 yards in the first-half this week. All told, he finished with 193 yards in this one, and would have gone well over 200 yards if not for being pulled because the game was out of hand.
Heck, he might have gotten over 200 yards too if he didn’t get wrapped up by a zebra at the end of the second-quarter.
Next … The Hoosiers still aren’t a football school
Indiana is still, well — Indiana
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. The Indiana Hoosiers do well in the non-conference then get knocked silly into reality once conference season comes around. Look, the Hoosiers ran into a Scarlet and Gray buzz saw today, but it’s clear they just don’t have the skill necessary to hang with those teams that have elite talent.
Ohio State is one of those teams. Indiana has played teams like the Buckeyes close in recent years, but it’s still trying to get over the hump. It wasn’t a hump today, but a Mount Everest sized mountain that has to have head coach Tom Allen questioning where things go from here.
Next … Superheroes not needed
Ohio State doesn’t need Justin Fields to be Superman
Justin Fields has been fantastic, but he hasn’t had to put the team on his back. It’s becoming increasingly clear that this Ohio State team has plenty of weapons that can take some pressure off the quarterback position.
And that’s a good thing. The defense is going to give opposing teams all sorts of issues this year, the wide-receivers can make plays from any position, and Dobbins and Teague are turning into a pretty good one-two punch when needed.
Fields has the ability, and there will probably be a game, or two — or three that he’ll have to pull out of the fire, but he won’t have to shoot lighting bolts out of his rear-end for this team to go far.
Next … The sky is the limit
Ohio State should have national title aspirations
It’s been three weeks now, and there will certainly be some speed-bumps and bigger fish to fry this year, but I feel comfortable in saying it now. The 2019 version of the Ohio State football squad has the talent, coaching, and ability to go the the College Football Playoff and win the whole thing.
Of course you need some breaks and a little luck to make that all happen (just ask the 2014 and 2015 teams), but there is a slew of NFL types running around in Columbus.
The offense and special teams are great, but it might be the defense that ends up being the difference-making unit for this squad. It’s next-level good right now, and the remaining units are better than just adequate to make this team one with very few holes.
Stay tuned …
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