Boasting a perfect 8-0 record following the dismantling of Rutgers under the guidance of newly minted starting quarterback J.T. Barrett, the Buckeyes get to enjoy a bye before hosting Minnesota a week from Saturday.
Of course, there are no off days in these here parts so we're back at it with our weekly installment of the 11W roundtable featuring the insights of DJ, Eric and Michael.
Eight games into the season Ohio State has maintained their top ranking in the various irrelevant polls. If the season ended today who do you have in your four team playoff and why? Who’s just on the outside looking in and why?
DJ: They’d be in mine, but I’m biased. Objectively speaking, Ohio State has yet to beat anybody good. (The good news is that changes the last three weeks of the season.) Unless Stanford runs the table, I think the Pac-12 champion will be on the outside come selection time.
Eric: I don't think Ohio State's résumé is anywhere near the best in the country right now, but that is expected because its schedule is so backloaded. However, because the Buckeyes continue to win and put together their most complete, dominant performance Saturday at Rutgers, they're in my top-four.
If the season ended right now, though, here's how my Playoff rankings would sit: No. 1 Clemson, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 TCU.
I'm sure I'll get reamed for not having Ohio State No. 1, but Clemson has more top-10 victories than the Buckeyes (one, over a really good Notre Dame team). This is all subject to change, of course, but if the season ended today Alabama would be on the outside looking in with Baylor and Michigan State. Of course, all those teams play each other within conference play come November, so most of this will become irrelevant.
Michael: I think I’d roll with Ohio State, Clemson, LSU and TCU. These just seem like the best teams to me right now, although that could certainly change, and you did say “if the season ended today.” That leaves Baylor and Stanford on the outside, but I don’t trust Baylor since they don’t play actual competent football teams, and I suspect TCU will beat them when they meet down the road. Stanford might be the best current team but that loss to what is turning out to be a decent-but-not-great Northwestern team put them behind the eight ball. It also leaves out Sparty, which has been less impressive than I expected, but you could also say that about Ohio State, to be honest.
Ohio State has just four games left in the regular season: Minnesota, at Illinois, Michigan State and at Michigan. Of the two Michigan’s which game causes you more angst and why? Will the Buckeyes emerge from the four game stretch unbeaten?
Michael: I went through the John Cooper era, so I will always have angst about TTUN. The weird thing, though, is that a loss to Michigan State would be worse for Ohio State now that the Spartans beat the Wolverines. I like the Buckeyes’ chances at home against a team that has had key injuries better than I like a jacked-up Michigan team whipped into a berserker rage by their certifiably insane, khaki-clad coach.
DJ: I know old timers will shake their head at me, but Michigan State outside of East Lansing does not scare me. (Bold statement from my couch, I know.) Michigan is most intimidating it’s been in the 21st century, but I still have the Buckeyes pegged to run the slate.
Eric: Michigan, easily. The Spartans are really hurting with injuries to key guys on the offensive line, plus they have to pay a visit to Columbus. Urban Meyer's club appears it's getting rolling at the right time, but if it goes to Ann Arbor unbeaten, Jim Harbaugh's going to be more than ready to knock it off the Big Ten pedestal. Harbaugh had his team in position to hold just one loss before the showdown with Ohio State, but the unthinkable happened and the Wolverines lost to Michigan State in one of the craziest finishes I've ever seen. He'll have his team ready for the Buckeyes and their No. 1 ranking, though.
So much weighs in the way Ohio State looks against Minnesota and Illinois for me before I make my decisions on the final two games of the season, but I've said all season long Michigan will topple the Buckeyes in the season finale. It just sets up too perfect and Harbaugh's wizardry is truly one of a kind. Again, if Ohio State appears to continue on its upward swing with J.T. Barrett at quarterback in the next few weeks, I could change my mind. It's just, weird things happen in the rivalry, so I don't discount Harbaugh's potential to pull off an upset.
Ohio State ranks 74th in the nation in passing yards per game (218) while slotting 13th in rushing at 247 yards per game. Does OSU need to develop a more lethal passing attack to keep defenses from stacking the box? If so, can they? Or can they continue to overcome such schemes employed by better opponents by simply relying on the status quo?
Eric: Developing a better passing game is essential for Ohio State's success moving forward, in my opinion. We've seen teams win in the past with a ridiculous rushing attack (see 2013 Ohio State) but you've got to be able to keep teams honest. I think J.T. Barrett took a big step forward Saturday at Rutgers in the throw game, but it helps having talent like Michael Thomas and Braxton Miller making plays for you on the outside. He did make good reads and solid throws, though, which is I think what Meyer, Ed Warinner and Tim Beck wanted to see from him. Ohio State's running game would win them most games if that's what it had to hang its hat on, but a more prolific passing attack wins closer contests against better competition. Barrett can do it, as he showed Saturday, but he must show it against stouter defenses. Stay tuned.
Michael: The Buckeyes are certainly capable of passing the football in terms of quarterback and protection. Can these receivers get open? Sometimes they seem unable to get separation, with the exception of Michael Thomas, who usually draws the other team’s best cover corner. The receiving corps has thinned out considerably due to injuries, but if Parris Campbell returns to health, he could give them a dimension they’ve not yet had. I’m confident J.T. Barrett can get the job done. He was very accurate at Rutgers in his first start, and the more game reps he gets, the better I like his chances of finding the open man and delivering a good ball. They will need to throw against the two Michigan schools and whoever they might face in the postseason.
DJ: As long as Mike Thomas/Braxton Miller/Curtis Samuel/Jalin Marshall can get separation vs. man coverage (and what secondary in America can consistently play all four of those men on islands over the course of a game?), then I think Ohio State will be fine rolling 2013 bully style.
Ezekiel Elliott currently sits fifth in the nation with 141.3 rushing yards per game. Leonard Fournette leads the pack at 193.1 and Dalvin Cook is next at 148.1. At quarterback, TCU’s Trevone Boykin is throwing for 362.7 yards per game which is good for fifth in the country. Derrick Henry has also been a boss for Alabama (130.5 ypg) and Deshaun Watson is doing work for Clemson. Handicap the Heisman race. What’s your current top four look like? Who do you think ultimately takes the trophy and why?
DJ: I don’t watch enough national football to handicap the Heisman race, but Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, DeShaun Watson, and Connor Cook should be in some order. The Cook nod might surprise some, but that could be a three-loss team without him. I think Ezekiel Elliott rides two big weeks against Michigan State and Michigan to the title. The fly in the ointment would be if either or both of them make J.T. Barrett win the game (bold strategy).
Michael: The favorites right now have to be Fournette, Henry and Boykin. I’m not sure if Cook’s brush with the law before the season and the subsequent kangaroo court exoneration he received will hurt him with voters or not. I think Watson or Elliott could be that fourth guy. But right now the country seems to be having a love affair with Fournette so it’s his trophy to lose right now. That could all change because I think LSU could lose at least one game.
Eric: Leonard Fournette is far and away my favorite to win the award, which I think is a pretty wide consensus across the country. The dude's a monster and his stats and importance to LSU backs that up. Behind him I'd have Trevone Boykin, then Ezekiel Elliott and finally Derrick Henry. Elliott and Henry's numbers are eerily similar and their teams leaned on them to win close games earlier this year. Boykin is a special talent in his own right, but until TCU plays Baylor I'm not really making any judgements on him. That game will define both team's seasons.
I like Fournette to win it. His numbers will be too much to look past, especially if he can lead LSU to a victory at Alabama Nov. 7.
Since midway through his sophomore season, I’ve felt Vonn Bell is the surest Buckeye tackler at any position since Mike Doss. Earlier this week, Bell was tabbed a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award. Based on his current resume where does Bell slot in your list of all-time great Buckeye safeties and why?
Eric: Man, that's a tough question. Due to my youth, I'd still have to give the nod to Doss over Bell as best Ohio State safety I've ever seen. Doss was three-time All-American and national champion and whenever the Buckeye defense absolutely needed a big play, he made it.
That's not to discredit what Bell's done in his two-plus seasons in Columbus. He's definitely a playmaker and an excellent tackler, like you said. He's still got some time left in his career to surpass Doss, but it'll be really tough to do.
DJ: Hard for me to rank all-timers at Ohio State, since I’m only 28 and not about to pretend I’m a young Jack Park. I will say Bell is the best safety I’ve seen in my lifetime, and that includes Mike Doss (who should’ve lost to Marion Harding in the 1998 OHSAA playoffs, by the way).
I’m sure some in the NFL will knock him for his size, but Bell will be in the NFL long enough to make at least 10 million dollars, which isn’t a bad bit of business for somebody under 30.
Michael: He’s top-10, for sure. Great tackler and awesome ball skills, but he’s also had his lapses, like the long pass at the start of the Maryland game, which probably keeps him out of the running for one of the top spots. With Ohio State, you have to talk about Doss, Jack Tatum, etc., so it’s difficult to gauge Bell’s exact landing spot, but I would certainly keep Tatum and Doss above him in the conversation. I’m old school, so I also remember guys like Ray Griffin, Tim Fox and, a bit more recently, Damon Moore, among others, who were very good.
Probably the biggest factor in Ohio State finally taking down the big boys last year was the fact they had finally closed the gap on the SEC when it comes to fielding dominating offensive and defensive lines. That said, this year’s squad seems to have a hole at nose guard while the offensive line, despite recent improvement, is still a little shaky at right tackle and collectively in pass protection. How concerned are you with any of these deficiencies? Are any of them big enough to prove fatal? Why or why not?
Michael: I may be in the minority, but I felt like Tommy Schutt was doing a pretty good job at nose tackle. I was more concerned about the way the linebackers were filling, and I’m not as confident in Schutt’s replacements, although there is upside there and they might develop with more game reps now. Right tackle is more of a concern, but I think Ohio State’s pass protection can be fine if they give Chase Farris some help with particularly tough rush ends. College football is a funny game, so any of these weaknesses could be fatal, but honestly, for me, the season comes down to Ohio State eliminating turnovers and excelling in the red zone.
Eric: Absolutely. The hole at nose guard is the biggest concern for me, especially with Tommy Schutt's wrist injury. If he misses significant time (he shouldn't) or hurts it again down the stretch, that part of the defensive line is in big trouble. Pass protection isn't where it needs to be right now, but Ed Warinner's done more with less in his career. I think he'll get it figured out. That's not a knock on Larry Johnson, but I just don't think the Buckeyes have the depth on the interior defensive line like they do a defensive end.
DJ: The coaches obviously trust the line more in the run game than protection. That much is evident. That said, I’m more concerned with the interior defensive line. But if Ohio State’s offense is clicking and they’e not getting ripped for 70-yarders consistently, then I think they’ll be ready to bang with anybody come the playoffs.
If you could bring back one guy from last year’s team to plug a hole on the current roster, who would it be and why?
DJ: Michael Bennett, with an honorable mention to Evan Spencer. Adolphus and Bennett would go along way to shoring up the interior defense.
Eric: Michael Bennett. Dovetailing off what I said before — and what I said during the preseason — he's the biggest loss for the defense. The way he and Adolphus Washington came together and performed at the end of 2014 was crucial to their stoning of Melvin Gordon and victories in the College Football Playoff. He is missed dearly.
Michael: This is a toss up for me, because I think I’d equally love to see Devin Smith, Michael Bennett, Doran Grant and Evan Spencer back. Heck, even Darryl Baldwin, for that matter. If I can only choose one, I’m going to go with Bennett because defense, as they say, wins championships. I think if they brought Grant back, they’d end up sitting Conley, who has been (IMO) better than Apple. Smith might tempt Meyer to put Cardale back in and I still think the team operates more efficiently with Barrett. Spencer would help in the run game while Baldwin would help more in pass protection. Bennett would make the defensive line better, although he’d force Washington back to nose tackle. I doubt you’d see teams be able to run on that front four, though.
Finally, this is a horrid week for the Buckeyes to be on a bye because the rest of the college football slate is largely awful with just one game pitting Top 25 teams against each other as No. 9 Notre Dame visits No. 21 Temple. Is there an upset to be had in this game or any other? Call your upset shot. Winner gets the ultimate prize - Internet bragging rights.
Michael: I love when Ohio State is off and I can just sit back and root for chaos. I don’t see a lot of wacky upsets happening this week, however, I’m going to give unranked Georgia a puncher’s chance to upset No. 11 Florida at the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party. I don’t know why. Just a feeling. Or that could just be my breakfast revolting against me.
Eric: Yeah, this weekend's slate leaves a lot to be desired with so many teams off and the lack of matchups between ranked teams. For an upset I'll pick Georgia over Florida. The point spread isn't that large (Florida -3), but the Bulldogs winning without Nick Chubb would be impressive.
DJ: Yeah, this week’s slate is garbage. Yet, I picked Temple to beat Penn State, and I’m doing the same Saturday night. Go Owls, baby!
