Did the bye week help upswing Ohio State or did it hurt its growing momentum? We'll find out when the Buckeyes play Rutgers Saturday in Columbus.
Head coach Urban Meyer met with reporters Monday for his weekly press conference. Here's what he said:
- Meyer said Ohio State’s a “young team that’s getting older.” Since a demoralizing loss to Virginia Tech in early September, the Buckeyes have outscored opponents by an average of 56-17. A blowout win against Maryland last weekend was arguably the team's most-complete game of the season.
- Added Meyer: "I like our team, but we’re certainly nowhere near where we’ll end up in my opinion."
- Meyer said he voted undefeated Mississippi State as the No. 1 team in the country. The Bulldogs routed Texas A&M and Auburn in back-to-back weeks.
- For a unit that was supposed to be the strength of the team, Meyer lamented defensive line depth and said players like Chris Carter and Donovan Munger need to step up. Last week, Meyer said he was giving freshman Jalyn Holmes "a million" reps. The Buckeyes are still without star defensive end Noah Spence, who is suspended indefinitely after failing his second drug test in less than a year. Additionally, Meyer said he was pulling Joey Bosa and Michael Bennett back to give them rest during the bye week.
- In games against Cincinnati and Maryland, Ohio State's offense dropped a combined total of 102 points and more than 1,200 yards. In particular, it looked like the up-tempo, spread-the-ball Meyer and Co. unit imagined when they came to Columbus in 2012. "It’s a much different offense now than it was last year," Meyer said, adding Ohio State has a luxury of skill players on the outside and how H-backs Dontre Wilson and Jalin Marshall offer "flexibility in perimeter run game."
- The biggest different, of course, is how the offense runs with redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett and without the injured Braxton Miller. "(He) gave us the wow factor," Meyer said. "J.T., that’s not part of his game, he’s a move the chains quarterback." But that’s where Ohio State's emergence of skill players comes in, which work to fill that big-play void without Miller.
- Meyer said he doesn't put much stock into the lack of familiarity between the Buckeyes and upcoming Big Ten foe Rutgers: "I’ve never thought of it that way, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal."
- Meyer, though, said the Rutgers-Michigan game drew his attention: "To see people storm the field, that caught my eye. I was watching the end of that thing." It was the first Big Ten win for the newly-annexed Scarlet Knights.
- Meyer on freshman Sam Hubbard, who's been moved from linebacker to tight end to defensive line and so on and so forth: "A guy like that, you don’t want to just play a handful of snaps, you want him to play play."
- Meyer on Ohio State's red zone offense, which missed opportunities against Maryland: "It’s not very good, for what we expect it’s not good ... It’s not the players’ fault, it’s coaching
- Meyer on how the Buckeyes have regrouped since a loss to Virginia Tech: "This was a unique experience, an extremely young team that got in the face in training camp with injuries."
- Meyer said players who were virtual "non-factors" are having major impacts now. He cited leading wide receiver Michael Thomas and tight end Nick Vannett as examples.
- Meyer said he expects to have freshman running back Curtis Samuel healthy this weekend. Samuel missed Ohio State’s win against Maryland with a foot sprain.
- Meyer said the running backs, which include Samuel, Ezekiel Elliott, and Rod Smith, is "if that’s not the strongest unit, it’s one of them."
