The Ohio State football team broke the seal on the 2019 season with a comfortable win over Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic squad. It was a ambush early with some issues that will need to be ironed out as the game wore on, but a win nonetheless.
As is our tradition here on Buckeyes Wire, we give you instant analysis with five things we learned from the game.
Justin Fields can be REALLY good given time
Yeah there were some questionable decisions, and things didn’t always run like a well-oiled scarlet and gray machine, but there’s no denying the talent of quarterback Justin Fields.
He started the game off with a 51-yard run through the Owls’ defense that showcased his high-end speed and power, then showed us flashes of his live and accurate arm. The Georgia transfer finished the game with five total touchdowns (one on the ground, four through the air). He slung it around for 234 yards with zero interceptions.
He still needs to get more comfortable in the offense but there will continue to be improvement, and when things start to really click, look out.
Offensive line is still a work in progress
There were moments — especially in the first quarter — where you saw an impressive line moving people around and opening holes. But then, things began to bog down, and moving the ball against a more aggressive FAU defense proved to be more challenging.
We have to remember that this is a group that’s still coming together after replacing four starters from last year. Ohio State is going to face much more physical defenses in the coming weeks, and the production we saw after the first quarter isn’t going to cut it.
Let’s hope things are more consistent beginning next week against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
New coaching staff has to make better adjustments
Let’s first admit to not knowing everything that went on in the locker room at halftime and sidelines during the game. All we know is what we saw on the field, and it sure looked like the Ohio State coaching staff got a little out-coached after the first quarter.
Lane Kiffin and his staff started to be more aggressive on defense, and began to go with the quick passing game in space on offense. It paid dividends for FAU and Ohio State seemed either slow to adjust, or unable to know how to attack the changes that were made.
The offense was a little better in the second half from what we saw in the second quarter, but the defense struggled to cover guys and get a push up front after the first fifteen minutes of the game.
Master Teague might be the better backup
So yeah, it’s only one game and we don’t want to be knee-jerk here, but it sure appeared as though backup Master Teague was the better option behind J.K. Dobbins at running back. The perception and talk coming in is that Demario McCall would be that guy, but it seems like that might be up in the air.
In a game in which Dobbins wasn’t getting as much running room as you’d like, and with the volume of carries available, someone has to emerge as the main No. 2 guy. It might just be Teague with his power and speed. He finished with 8 carries for 49 yards (6.1 avg.) in this one and was the better option against a lot of guys in the box.
What happened to the defense?
All the talk of the defense being a much improved unit looked like a prophetic statement through the first-half. However, FAU was able to exploit matchups and holes in the defense in the second-half.
So, what looked like a promising unit now looks like one that needs to find a way to get crisp on assignments and attitude. The Owls finished with just 228 yards in the game, but almost all of that came in the second half. Granted, a lot of backups played towards the end of the game, but that wasn’t the case early in the second half.
It’s a much more simplified scheme this year, but now it’s time to go back to work and get guys to improve within the philosophy. Back to the drawing board to focus on positives, but correct those things that came to light.
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