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Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
In its 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech two weeks ago, Ohio State's offensive line looked lost at times, particularly in the second half.
Against the Hokies, redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett was sacked seven times — six of those coming in the fourth quarter. He was under constant pressure all evening from Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster's surprise 46 Bear defense.
The result was Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer's first regular-season loss and first loss at Ohio Stadium, leading the third-year coach to say the Buckeyes were "exposed a little bit."
Meyer had mentioned multiple times this season that Ohio State's No. 1 concern was its offensive line as the unit is trying to replace four starters. Three of those four are on active NFL rosters and two of them are starting as rookies, so it was no easy task to begin with.
The poor performance against Virginia Tech raised plenty of questions about how good this year's team could actually be if the line is not going to be able to protect the quarterback on a consistent basis.
And while it's still a huge question mark today, Ohio State may have taken a step in the right direction in its most recent game.
Saturday against Kent State, the Buckeyes did not allow a sack. However, it can't be stated enough the Golden Flashes had a significant drop off in talent from Ohio State's previous two opponents and will likely be the weakest team on this year's schedule when it's all said and done.
So, basically, Ohio State did what it was expected to do against an inferior opponent, but that might just be exactly what a young offensive line needed to gain some confidence.
"Our preparation was a little bit better, we didn’t undertake these guys by any means," Ohio State starting right guard Billy Price said. "We came in with the right attitude and with loss last week, with what happened, just kind of changed our attitudes about some things and went after it."
Against Kent State, Barrett had time to sit back in the pocket and do what he does best: distribute the football to Ohio State's plethora of young offensive options. He was 23 for 30 for 312 yards and tied a school record with six touchdown passes.
The Buckeyes also had success running the ball as Curtis Samuel became the first 100-yard rusher on the season, gaining exactly that on 15 carries. Ohio State ran for 284 yards as a team, up from 194 in the season-opener against Navy and just 108 against the Hokies — the fewest in the Meyer era.
Because of offensive performances like Barrett's, Samuel's and a strong showing from the line, the Buckeyes led 21-0 after the first quarter and 45-0 at halftime.
“It got our confidence up right away," starting left guard Pat Elflein said of the fast start. "Putting points on the board early in the game definitely helped our momentum and things kept rolling.”
Again, that success was against a winless Kent State team, so it's important to keep that in mind. Ohio State also won't see a defense as good as the Hokies' until Nov. 8 when it travels to East Lansing to take on Michigan State, so the unit has time to build on the momentum it may have gained.
But while the Buckeyes may have cruised to a 66-0 win over the Flashes, things are far from perfect. They will face a much stronger test, both offensively and defensively, next weekend when Cincinnati comes to town.
"I would by no means say things are solved, each one of us has things we have to improve on — myself included," Price said. "It’s the beginning of a string of things we can continue to improve on and take into the next game."
