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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 front of a record-setting crowd of 99,391 — the most to ever witness a spring football game — the Cardale Jones led Gray team defeated the Scarlet squad quarterbacked by Stephen Collier on Saturday, 17-14.
The two teams combined to throw 75 passes against just 29 runs — head coach Urban Meyer said there would be a lot of throwing to prevent injuries — and combined to rack up 525 yards.
Most of the starters — outside of Jones — played just the first two series of the game so there were a lot of fresh faces on the field for the Buckeyes. Here are three takeaways from the offensive side of the football.
Ohio State Still In The Process Of Replacing Devin Smith
It's not a secret replacing Devin Smith was one of the biggest question marks surrounding Ohio State in 2015 and Saturday's spring game didn't give a ton of answers.
It's only April, of course, but the Buckeyes need to find that deep threat who strikes fear in opposing defenses. It was there at times Saturday, but Jones specifically overthrew some deep balls on a number of occasions.
One player who did stand out for the Gray team, however, was Corey Smith, who had six catches for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He and Jones hooked up for touchdown strikes of 58 and 37 yards, respectively, and another completion that went for 48 yards, but those were the only three long completions for the Gray team on a day where Jones threw the ball downfield nearly 10 times.
Jeff Greene (five catches, 56 yards) and Parris Campbell (five catches, 38 yards, TD) also had decent days for the Scarlet team — Campbell has been mentioned as a spring standout by Meyer and Co. — and sophomore Noah Brown also had a decent showing with four catches for 44 yards.
Several Buckeyes showed flashes of being able to replace Devin Smith on Saturday, but doing it consistently is still a question going forward.
Jones, Collier With Up-And-Down Days
Neither quarterback was playing behind a contingent offensive line, but each struggled at times Saturday.
Jones was just 19 for 42 through the air — a number of those were downfield throws — for 304 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw a pair of interceptions. Collier looked troubled in the first half before settling in the second half. He finished the game 15 for 33 with two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions.
The two quarterbacks were sacked a combined five times in the game, but neither really blew the doors off, though both did play better in the second half.
Offensive Line Depth Remains Big Question
Starting center Jacoby Boren did not play and starting left tackle Taylor Decker and right guard Pat Elflein played limited snaps, but Ohio State's offensive line had trouble protecting Jones and Collier — it's probably a large reason why each was inconsistent.
Meyer said following the game he feels good about his starting five, but he's concerned about the guys after the starters. That showed Saturday as opposing defenders were consistently in the backfield applying pressure on Jones and Collier.
