PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Even Urban Meyer had to admit it. His Ohio State team is rounding into form, and it surely helps to have the quarterback situation ironed out.
"It really does. I don’t want to admit that, but," Meyer said after coaching the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes to a 49-7 drubbing of Rutgers Saturday at High Point Solutions Stadium. "I think we’ve improved every week; I think we’re playing at a very high level right now."
Ever since Meyer hoisted the College Football Playoff trophy in Dallas in the wee hours of Jan. 13, the onus was on the man who's 46-3 at Ohio State to pick between two worthwhile starters at the game's most important position: J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones. That, of course, came after two-time Big Ten Player of the Year Braxton Miller elected to switch positions.
Jones started the first seven games of the 2015, but Barrett played in all but one, before the sophomore captain jerked away the starting reins with a four-touchdown performance in a 38-10 victory against Penn State Oct. 17. The job became his, and Saturday night he and the offense showed the birthplace of college football why it was the smart move.
"I think just getting comfortable, getting an identity," Barrett said. "The offense, we definitely know we want to run the ball, get our offensive line going and moving the line of scrimmage. Then, play-action pass, pitch and catch from the quarterback to the receiver."
Barrett carved up a porous Rutgers defense with both his arm and legs Saturday, accounting for 223 passing and 101 rushing yards to go with five touchdowns. The unit as a whole finished with 528 yards, continuing to hum even after Jones entered in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes didn't commit a penalty, ran the ball effectively with Barrett and Ezekiel Elliott in the second half — who finished with 142 yards and two scores on 19 carries — and set up play fakes and tosses to Michael Thomas, Miller and others.
"That's what we do on offense and I think we're just trying to get back to what we did last year and what we do well on offense," Barrett said.
The Scarlet Knights may serve as part of the Big Ten’s east coast money stamp, but Saturday, they did nothing but fulfill the role of Ohio State punching bag.
It was just like old times: Barrett running, Barrett throwing, Barrett leading, and Ohio State scoring.
"By far for offense, it’s the best game we’ve played," said H-back Jalin Marshall, who caught four passes for 17 yards and a touchdown. "I think the scoreboard, the yards and everything like that, it proved that it is. It was probably our best game, we can get better though."
Added Meyer: "They were loading the box and you have to take shots down the field. I should rephrase that, you have to complete shots down the field. Anybody can take shots, that’s kind of what we did earlier in the year. Now we’re completing them and there’s some conflict on the defense. You want to take away Zeke, you’re gonna see some guys singled up. Curtis (Samuel), Braxton and Mike Thomas all had big hits down the field for us."
Elliott tallied just 15 yards on nine carries in the first 30 minutes, but Ohio State lead 21-0 at intermission behind Barrett's stellar decision-making, an overarching wealth of offensive talent and hapless Rutgers defense.
“It’s definitely what we’ve been waiting for; Coach Meyer has been talking about cracking the rock. Kind of just playing at the potential we should be playing at and I think we made a very big step to that.”– Ezekiel Elliott
"It’s definitely what we’ve been waiting for; Coach Meyer has been talking about cracking the rock," Elliott said. "Kind of just playing at the potential we should be playing at and I think we made a very big step to that."
It was what Ohio State envisioned when the year began: A power rushing attack spearheaded by Elliott and now Barrett, quick passes to Thomas and deep balls off play-action fakes to Miller, Samuel and also Thomas.
Barrett got the ball out of his hands when he was supposed to, then the talent shined through.
"Just getting to what we do well, playing fast. Being quick offensively, make sharp decisions," Barrett said. "Get the ball in my hands and get it to the players that we have and I think today we saw a little bit of it. We just keep getting better, but it was good today."
Barrett's now accounted for 50 total touchdowns in the 13 starts of his young career, an astounding number without even considering the nine other scores he tallied in the first seven games of 2015 in relief of Jones.
After all, there's a reason the guy finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting last season. He's the catalyst needed to ignite what at times was a dormant fire in Ohio State's offense as it slugged through consecutive underwhelming performances in September.
"It was real great. The offense moved, it felt smooth, it felt fast. We weren’t on the field too long because the drives went quick and we scored quick," Marshall said. "That’s what we liked to do and we’re going to keep it going."
A week ago, Ohio State scourged Penn State's stout rush defense for 315 yards in a four-score victory. Meyer wanted more balance this time around, and got it against the Scarlet Knights. The crippling turnovers present during victories against Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Indiana are dying off and the power train that was the 2014 offense seems to be back for Round 2.
"We won the field position battle. The thing you’re not seeing: You’re not seeing the self-destructive stuff. The turnovers, interceptions or penalties," said Meyer, who won his 150th game as a head coach. "That was a loud environment and to not have any penalties, someone just told me that as I was leaving the locker room, that might be the most impressive thing. That’s how locked in they were."
Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood predicted this week the environment Saturday to be "the best in all of college football," but by the time Samuel snagged a 30-yard dart from Barrett and the quarterback scampered in from 10 yards out to push the Buckeyes out in front 35-0 midway through the third quarter, the only fans that remained donned scarlet and gray.
"We picking things up, slowly but surely," said Miller, who had 71 total yards on three touches. "The run game was excellent last week and now the pass game was great today. Just try to keep it moving forward and keep the momentum on the offensive side of the ball."
"We were just continuing to try and get better. We're not worrying about all the outside clamor and noise," offensive coordinator Ed Warinner added. "All we're worrying about is getting better and doing what we do well. Each week we keep building and building and doing more."
The expectation and desire for more and even better execution from a unit that tallied its highest offensive output from a yardage standpoint since the season opener at Virginia Tech was a common theme from those who dropped 49 points on Rutgers. Ohio State once scored on six straight possessions if you exclude the two plays Barrett kneeled down to run out the first half clock.
Heading to a bye week to get healthy and sit atop of the Big Ten East unscathed before hosting Minnesota Nov. 7, that could be a scary thought for those not part of the nation's top-ranked college football squad.
"As long we have a great team win and we do our job and come out and execute, that felt good but I feel like that's what we expect at Ohio State," Thomas said.
Added Meyer, who still has yet to lose a regular season Big Ten contest as Ohio State's head coach: "There’s a good mindset in there. We’ve gotta continue to get better; we know what’s coming down the pipe here with some really tough games coming up. Some teams get better, some don’t, we’re getting better right now."
