Urban Meyer felt good about his team's chances to beat Bowling Green in its season opener. He didn't, however, expect the game to be a 67-point thrashing of the program that gave him his first ever head coaching job.
"If you go back, and sometimes I hate when I see that score, where that's not what our intent was," Meyer said after Ohio State destroyed the Falcons 77-10.
A score like that isn't the norm in college football and Meyer knows it is unwise to assume it will happen each week. Bowling Green lost its quarterback, two best wide receivers, top running back and best offensive lineman from a team that won the MAC a year ago. Understandably, its offense is going to go through some growing pains. But that isn't the case with Ohio State's Week 2 opponent, Tulsa. And Meyer knows it.
"We've got a tough one coming up this week, a team that beat San Jose soundly from the get-go," Meyer said, noting the Golden Hurricane's 45-10 victory. "And very talented receivers, two NFL prospects at wide receiver, a returning veteran at quarterback."
Tulsa ran for more than 300 yards against the Spartans on Saturday. San Jose State isn't a world beater — it lost seven games last season and is consistently a mid-level program. But that rushing total means something to Meyer and the Buckeyes, especially because they know how much Tulsa likes to throw the ball with an experienced quarterback named Dane Evans calling the shots in former Baylor offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery's offense.
“Watching some of the film from Tulsa, I know they have an experienced quarterback so we’ve got to get ready for that. It’s also a faster tempo than Bowling Green.”– Gareon Conley
"When you look at Baylor and then Tulsa, they're very balanced, more balanced than people think," Meyer said. "And so I think it's somewhat similar. But there are different fundamental differences to it."
Baylor led the nation in scoring and total offense each of Montgomery's final two seasons in Waco. The talent difference between what Tulsa has to work with compared to Baylor is evident but the Golden Hurricane averaged 37.2 points and more than 500 yards per game in 2015, Montgomery's first season as head coach.
"They like to run the football and then throw it, which is very different," Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson said Monday. "I think their offensive line is very good, very athletic."
Tulsa's offensive line returns three starters, a number that can actually be seen as four with the return of Blake Belcher. He tore his ACL in the 2015 opener and missed the rest of the season but is healthy now.
Evans holds the key to it all, however. He has a quick release and a knack for getting the ball to wide receivers Keevan Lucas and Josh Atkinson — the two NFL prospects Meyer mentioned — in addition to do-it-all running back D'Angelo Brewer. Brewer ran for 164 yards on just 22 carries and scored three times against San Jose State. Evans, Lucas and Atkinson are also seniors, while Brewer is a junior. All are in their second year working in Montgomery's offense.
"We’re not going to talk down on our opponents, but next week I feel like we’re going to get more experienced people because I know a lot of guys left from Bowling Green," Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley said. "Watching some of the film from Tulsa, I know they have an experienced quarterback so we’ve got to get ready for that. It’s also a faster tempo than Bowling Green."
Tulsa ran 83 plays in its win against San Jose State, while Bowling Green managed 72 in Ohio Stadium. That total is more a result of Ohio State scoring 11 touchdowns against the Falcons and the Buckeyes constantly giving the Falcons the ball back. Bowling Green only earned 16 first downs, while Tulsa moved the chains 28 times and recorded four plays of more than 30 yards.
Yes, Tulsa's competition in Week 1 is not what it will see when it visits Ohio Stadium at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and the Buckeyes should still win handily because the talent disparity between the two clubs is significant. But make no mistake: There are veteran players on the Golden Hurricane offense that can make plays.
"They like throwing the ball around and everything so we’re just going to get in the lab and take a look at what they’re doing," Conley said. "We’ll try to go out there and hopefully, make a lot of plays like we did last week."
Added Johnson: "They'll take some shots downfield, but they get the ball out fast. They play at a very fast pace. Their tempo is really fast. It'll be interesting."
