Mike Jinks is not a betting man, so don't expect him sifting through websites from Las Vegas oddsmakers to see what his chances are at tumbling Ohio State in his first game as Bowling Green head coach.
"I really wouldn’t care one way or another," Jinks said Monday. "I’ve been an underdog my whole life."
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| BOWLING GREEN FALCONS |
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0-0 ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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NOON – SATURDAY, SEPT. 3 OHIO STADIUM COLUMBUS, OHIO |
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BTN BTN2GO |
Bowling Green's visit to Ohio Stadium on Saturday not only marks the start of the 2016 season for both programs — and their first meeting since 2006 — but it's Jinks' first appearance as a college football head coach. He spent the last three seasons at Texas Tech coaching the Red Raider running backs and serving as associate head coach in 2015. Before 2013, he made his name in Texas as an offensive coordinator and later high school head coach.
When Dino Babers left the Falcons for Syracuse after amassing 18 wins in two seasons, Bowling Green's administration decided to give Jinks a shot. But his shot begins against Urban Meyer and Ohio State, a program that endured transition from housing 12 NFL Draft picks a year ago to now seeing 44 players with freshmen eligibility on its roster. A horde of new faces is set to play key roles for the Buckeyes for the first time in their careers.
"How (will) the players react to the environment of 110,000, 108,000, whatever it is?" Meyer said Monday. "The loud, crowd, I'm sure it's going to be hot. And how they react, not Pat Elflein and J.T. (Barrett), but how the Austin Macks of the world and Malik Hooker is going to do respond because they've done really well the last few weeks."
Meyer got his coaching start at Bowling Green 15 years ago, a place and team he remains close with to this day.
"I love that school," Meyer said.
But Saturday is a different animal. Boasting the most inexperienced roster in the nation, the young players are slated to see receiver first opportunity to show what they can do for the Scarlet and Gray after sitting behind Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott, Vonn Bell, Eli Apple, Darron Lee and others.
The 2015 Buckeyes failed to exceed the absurd expectations placed before them. Saturday represents the first step in a journey to get back to the zenith of the sport, albeit with a ton of new blood.
"I'm trying to hold down the excitement because I really am," Meyer said. "I can't wait to watch them play."
Bowling Green Breakdown
The Falcons posted one of the more ridiculous offensive statistical seasons in not only program history last year — but also the country. Only Baylor and Western Kentucky scored more points than Bowling Green did, as the Falcons racked up 591 in 14 games. They also won the Mid-American Conference Championship with a 34-14 defeat of Northern Illinois.
There is just one problem: The vast majority of guys responsible for all of those points are no longer at Bowling Green. Quarterback Matt Johnson is gone, as are leading receivers Roger Lewis and Gehrig Dieter. Top running back Travis Greene graduated and Babers took a new job. Still, Jinks is a stellar offensive mind and served as an integral part of Texas Tech's Air Raid offense, one that averaged 45.1 points per game in 2015.
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| OFFENSE | ||||
| 35.7 | 28th | POINTS FOR | 42.2 | 6th |
| 245.2 | 11th | RUSHING OFFENSE | 180.0 | 52nd |
| 188.8 | 100th | PASSING OFFENSE | 366.8 | 5th |
| 434.1 | 41st | TOTAL OFFENSE | 546.8 | 4th |
| .407 | 58th | 3rd DOWNS | .502 | 5th |
| .825 | 81st | RED ZONE | .831 | 74th |
| DEFENSE | ||||
| 15.1 | 2nd | POINTS ALLOWED | 28.9 | 78th |
| 126.8 | 22nd | RUSH DEFENSE | 182.4 | 79th |
| 184.5 | 16th | PASS DEFENSE | 235.4 | 78th |
| 104.8 | 6th | PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE | 119.8 | 40th |
| 311.3 | 9th | TOTAL DEFENSE | 417.8 | 86th |
| .349 | 29th | 3rd DOWNS | .408 | 82nd |
| .806 | 46th | RED ZONE | .833 | 62nd |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||
| 13.1 | 18th | PUNT RETURN | 6.4 | 89th |
| 24.1 | 27th | KICKOFF RETURN | 16.7 | 124th |
| 40.3 | 15th | NET PUNTING | 39.5 | 24th |
| MISCELLANEOUS | ||||
| + 0.2 | 48th | TURNOVER MARGIN | + 0.9 | 9th |
| 5.9 | 58th | PENALTIES | 8.8 | 125th |
| 12 | EDGE | 6 | ||
"It might have been a little different, it was a little more of a Baylor as opposed to Texas Tech but they still spread the field, high emphasis on throwing the ball and a lot of receivers," Meyer said on Wednesday when asked about Jinks' work and its similarities to Babers.
Preparing for a team with a system that differs slightly from the one it ran last year with personnel that isn't even there anymore can be a significant challenge defensively. But the same is said about Bowling Green's defense behind coordinator Perry Eliano, who last worked at Texas-San Antonio.
"Kind of think the back end is not going to change much from what he did there but honestly we're not sure," Barrett said Wednesday. "We're trying to prepare for everything."
Ohio State's defense is too, though Meyer said Tuesday on the Big Ten teleconference his top concern is how new linebackers Chris Worley and Dante Booker in addition to essentially a brand new secondary outside of Gareon Conley react to the bevy of quick screens the Falcons will utilize. He reiterated that on Wednesday.
"A lot of their game, a lot of spread offenses are they're going to hand the ball off and read the second level defender and if the second level defender is involved in the run game that's when you see the quick screens," Meyer said. "Sometimes those aren't called, most of the time they're not. Very similar to what we do as well. I anticipate they throw more than they run but they're going to run the ball."
Jinks likes to move his skill guys around in order to create distractions and to hopefully get defenses out of position, plus he is excellent at installing run-pass options that result in quick reads for his quarterbacks. As outlined by our Kyle Jones in his scouting report of the Falcons, both Bowling Green last year and Texas Tech under Jinks like to run shorter patterns that get the ball to playmakers in space.
Fifth-year quarterback James Knapke won the starting job in camp over redshirt freshman James Morgan. He has senior Ronnie Moore back in the fold at receiver, who is terrific at making people miss. Moore nearly reached the 1,000-yard mark a year ago and running back Fred Coppet will start after averaging 5.7 yards per carry and tallying 825 yards last season.
Knapke can sling it too — he led Bowling Green to a division title in 2013 when Johnson missed 13 games with a hip injury. He knows what he's doing, even though things are slightly different with Jinks at the helm and not Babers.
"You see a lot of the jet motions, the fly motions and different things. They kind of call it eye candy, they’re trying to mess with you," Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell said Wednesday. "The tempos and things, all they’re trying to do is get you out of position. I think defensively sometimes you have to be a little simpler. We’ve got great players, we’ve got to let them play."
On the other side of the ball, quarterback turned stud linebacker Austin Valdez leads a unit that struggled to stop people consistently last season. Bowling Green allowed 452 rushing yards to Georgia Southern in its 58-27 loss to the Eagles in the GoDaddy Bowl.
Valdez runs around the field with great speed and ferocity and tied for the team lead with 11 tackles for loss in 2015. His 144 total stops easily led the Falcon defense and Valdez also broke up five passes.
Still, as good as Valdez is, his team wins games because it can put points up in a hurry and wear down opponents. That plays well in the MAC, but the chances of that happening against Ohio State, a deep and very talented team, are minimal. As a result, the Falcons are 28-point underdogs against their in-state counterparts.
"It’s motivation," Knapke said of the point spread. "I think that’s the whole thing with this team this year, that’s what we have is a lot of motivation from a lot of different sources."
Added safety Ben Hale, a Columbus native that grew up an Ohio State fan, "That’s why this is such a big game. Not only for me and my teammates but also for everybody to go out there and go against all odds, work every day and do the impossible."
Buckeye Breakdown
After relocating offensive coordinator Ed Warinner to the press box for the final two games of last season, Meyer saw his rushing attack steamroll both Michigan and Notre Dame. It helped that he had the future No. 4 pick in the NFL Draft Ezekiel Elliott and All-American left tackle Taylor Decker, too.
New faces surround Barrett at the start of 2016.
Those guys are gone, replaced with Jamarco Jones and Mike Weber. Barrett returns as a redshirt junior, his first season as the unquestioned starter throughout spring, summer and training camp. With a crowd of receivers that haven't produced much at Ohio State in addition to an unproven tailback, Meyer hopes to achieve more balance to an offense that leaned heavily on Elliott last season. Meyer calls a perfect game 250 yards rushing and the 250 yards passing. He sees that potential ahead of the 2016 season.
"We'll know more obviously Saturday but we have depth at receiver," Meyer said. "We have a returning quarterback that understands what we're trying to do."
Barrett's shoulders carry most of the load, but he teams up with center Pat Elflein and right guard Billy Price to lead the other new starters on offense. The Buckeyes are also starting a true freshman at left guard named Michael Jordan — the first man to earn that distinction from a season's outset since some guy named Orlando Pace.
"I remember in the spring game, it was kind of those things, a 100,000 people, I remember seeing him look up a couple times. I was like, 'Yeah, they're here. They're not going away, relax,'" Barrett said of Jordan. "With that, I just want to see how he goes out there. I think he's going to be good."
The Buckeyes are set to depend on Noah Brown as their No. 1 receiving target, though he missed all of last season with a broken leg. Barrett's other options are old faces like Terry McLaurin, Parris Campbell, James Clark, Johnnie Dixon and Corey Smith. But there are new ones in the form of Austin Mack, Binjimen Victor and K.J. Hill, freshmen who either redshirted or came in as part of Ohio State's most recent recruiting class. Torrance Gibson showed flashes of excitement during the spring game when he caught two touchdown passes, but the university suspended him this week for autumn semester after he violated the student code of conduct.
Fans can also expect to see a heavy dose of H-back Curtis Samuel, who Meyer called his No. 1 playmaker on offense near the camp. And don't count out Dontre Wilson either, a senior that is finally healthy after a nagging foot injury essentially cost him his junior season.
"Being that Mike Weber is in the backfield, Curtis is getting back there, Dontre is getting back there getting some good reps," Barrett said. "So they can definitely get the run game going."
Barrett said the onus is on him to get the ball out of his hands quickly, which is what made Ohio State's offense so lethal when it won the 2014 national championship. He needs to do that well and with accuracy if Ohio State wishes to reach that level, but Meyer is not shying away from making the comparisons between that team and the group he has right now.
"I made a comment, a young team that's not very talented is — but this is a talented team and good guys," Meyer said. "This has been a good camp. Good people to work with."
Ohio State lost nine starters on defense as well, but feels its depth on the defensive line and secondary will allow for a rotation of fresh, fast bodies to keep up with not only the Falcons but other spread offenses in the country. Larry Johnson said he feels comfortable with up to 12 players on the defensive line — one of them being true freshman Nick Bosa — while Kerry Coombs expects four cornerbacks to split time.
Whether or not that actually happens will come to fruition Saturday.
"We’ve got great personnel, but it’s not always about the 11 best, it’s about the best 11," Fickell said. "Those guys that work together, play together, fit together. Those are the things you want to see. When they get put out there in those situations, how do they handle things and how do they work together. We can get them straight on the sidelines, but what do they really do on the field at the times when it counts most?"
How It Plays Out
Frieda and Freddy Falcon via Sage Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports.
Ohio State is a four-touchdown favorite for a reason and many believe the Buckeyes and Meyer will weave their way back to Indianapolis and the Big Ten Championship in December and eventually College Football Playoff. A top-10 ranking is indicative to this team's glaring potential due to consecutive dynamite recruiting classes and the fact J.T. Barrett is the man in the center of it all.
We sit three months away from seeing what four teams get the chance to play for national supremacy, but how Ohio State handles what can be a pesky bunch of Falcons will allow the nation to see if, in fact, it is as talented as it appears and primed for another title run. After all, the Buckeyes squeaked by Northern Illinois, another MAC opponent, last season.
"Scrappy. Very, very scrappy. NIU was a very good opponent and we expect the same thing," Billy Price said. "You cannot take any opponent lightly at all. Whatever conference, whatever team it is so we’re going in there respecting them just as much as we did Alabama or just as much as we did Oregon or whoever it is."
Ohio State is without a doubt the better team on paper and it should eventually overwhelm Bowling Green in the latter portions of the game with its size and depth. However, so many new starters and a wide range of guys who haven't played a snap of college football leave questions everywhere for the Buckeyes.
"I challenge our staff and our players, that's something they can grab a hold of. Are they game ready or not?" Meyer said. "So we had probably a two-hour meeting (Wednesday) morning at 7 a.m. with the coaches. Every guy went through their physical, mental and are they ready to go? And do they trust them? They give a 1-10 grade and if they're an A+, you're going to play in the game."
Saturday provides an answer.
ELEVEN WARRIORS STAFF PREDICTION: Ohio State 41, Bowling Green 14
