As Michael Thomas streaked wide open down the sideline and hauled in a deep pass from Cardale Jones, the crowd of 106,123 inside Ohio Stadium erupted with thunderous cheers as it watched Thomas walk into the end zone for an easy touchdown.
Those cheers were almost immediately followed with a collective sigh of relief.
You didn’t hear that, of course, but it was something that didn’t need to be heard. After a lackluster offensive performance one week prior, Thomas’s quick touchdown just 1 minute, 34 seconds into the game was exactly what Buckeye fans were hoping for.
“Offensively, it’s close,” head coach Urban Meyer said. “We played much better on the offensive line, controlled the line of scrimmage. And the receivers had a very good day.”
It wasn’t a coincidence Meyer chose those two position groups to mention first. A lot has been said regarding Ohio State’s quarterback situation, but Meyer has repeated over recent weeks he’s needed more plays from his unit up front and his receivers on the outside.
The Buckeyes racked up 511 yards of total offense in their 38-12 win over Western Michigan, 288 of which came through the air and the other 223 on the ground. Eight different Ohio State players caught a pass from Jones, who was 19 for 33 for all of those 288 yards with two touchdowns.
“We had to [prove something] as a whole,” Thomas said. “I feel like all my guys played good. They all did their job, we were going up-tempo, getting guys in and out and guys were staying fresh and I feel like we have a lot of talent in our room like I’ve been saying the whole time and we can trust those guys to go in there and move the chain.”
“It definitely was a step forward, but it’s not where we want to be. We feel like we improved significantly since last week and we’ve just gotta keep on going.”– Curtis Samuel
Thomas led Ohio State’s receivers with six catches for 80 yards and that touchdown grab on Ohio State’s first possession. Five other Buckeyes had at least a pair of catches and Ohio State probably could have reached the 50-point mark had Jones not had a handful of under throws on deep balls where Ohio State’s receivers had significant separation from the Broncos’ defensive backs.
“It’s just timing and things we have to work on,” said Jalin Marshall, who had two catches for 48 yards including a 37-yard touchdown in the second quarter. ”I think we just have to get the chemistry back and I think we’ll be all right.”
Chemistry looked like it was missing from Ohio State’s offensive line over the last two weeks, too. But against Western Michigan, the Buckeyes’ group up front looked much more comfortable as it created holes for Ezekiel Elliott and Curtis Samuel in the running game. Elliott and Samuel each had a run of over 25 yards and Samuel galloped his way to the end zone for a 40-yard score in the fourth quarter.
“What we try to say is to have a short memory,” right tackle Chase Farris said. “Take it one play at a time and if something bad happens, you’ve gotta just forget it and go onto the next one. You can’t let that hang on you.”
There’s certainly room for improvement for Ohio State, but Saturday’s performance was definitely a step in the right direction. If this offense wants to get back to what it was near the end of last season when it was nearly unstoppable, the wide receivers and offensive line are going to continue to have to play at a high level. It makes things exponentially easier for Jones in the passing game as well as Elliott on the ground.
“I think in general, we played better,” offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said. “We played with more tempo, we had more big plays. We left a few out there, but we hit a few big plays. I just think we’re starting to come around. It takes a little time with some new pieces, sorting through what we’re doing, but I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
The right direction is certainly what Ohio State fans wanted to see after the previous two weeks. But the Buckeyes still have a long way to go in their quest to capture another national title.
“It definitely was a step forward, but it’s not where we want to be,” Samuel said. “We feel like we improved significantly since last week and we’ve just gotta keep on going.”
