Following Saturday night's evisceration of Oklahoma – on the road no less – triggering a jump to No. 2 in the polls Ohio State takes the weekend off before hosting Rutgers a week from tomorrow.
With the Buckeyes set to enjoy a well-earned rest, our crack staff takes no days off.
As such, the weekly roundtable rolls on with your esteemed guests Ramzy, Kyle and Zach set to do the heavy lifting.
Drop that knowledge fellas.
After Saturday’s thrashing of Oklahoma the Buckeyes stand at a perfect 3-0 heading into the bye week. Through this small sample size, who has been the most pleasantly surprising player and why? At the other end of the spectrum which player has been the most disappointing and why?
Ramzy: It would be easy to say Noah Brown because of Saturday, but Mike Weber has been a ferocious pass blocker and hits the holes with speed, power and decisiveness that I was not expecting to see right away. At the other end there's Damon Webb. All of the gushing praise for the secondary has gone to Lattimore, Hooker and Conley.
Kyle: Young DBs Malik Hooker and Marshon Lattimore have been great, as have the three new starters on the offensive line, but Dre'Mont Jones' performance against Oklahoma earned him my title of 'most pleasantly surprising.' As a guy who wasn't supposed to start until Tracy Sprinkle's injury in week one, he dominated the OU interior and was constantly disrupting the Sooner running game, continuing a pattern he began the week before.
I wasn't alone in worrying about how the Buckeyes would replace the efforts of Adolphus Washington this fall, but Jones and his backup, Davon Hamilton, seem to be filling that void nicely. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the injuries to Corey Smith have kept a player I expected to see (finally) blossom from filling his potential. Hopefully an extra week to heal will lead to his inclusion in the passing attack as a counter to Noah Brown and Curtis Samuel.
Zach: Most surprising player for me has been Marshon Lattimore. I've loved his ball hawking ability and stepping up to the plate as the lead corner when Gareon Conley went out against Oklahoma. On the other end of the spectrum, Corey Smith Jr. has been most disappointing for me. I was expecting big things from him this season.
Along that same line of thought let’s talk about position groups. Which position group still has the biggest questions to answer and/or causes you the greatest cause for pause? Why?
Kyle: Overall, the tight ends have been underwhelming, and the consistent use of four-receiver sets shows that. I don't say this because Marcus Baugh and A.J. Alexander haven't been targeted in the passing game, as that spot has rarely ever been prioritized, but more for some blocking inconsistencies. Baugh gave up a sack on a missed blitz pick-up against the Sooners and spent large amounts of time on the sideline during the second half of the Tulsa game as the offense finally picked up steam. The latter point had plenty to do with scheme, but since we're nitpicking a team that has looked dominant through three games, someone unfortunately had to be highlighted here.
Zach: It's hard to really nitpick any part of this team with how well they have played, but I would like to see the defensive line get more pressure, even though they dominated Oklahoma. I hope to see more sacks and TFL going forward for the Buckeyes front line.
Ramzy: The wide receivers. Noah Brown has great hands and wins 50/50 balls which is wonderful - would like to see some YAC from him, unless he's just going to be Ohio State's endzone threat - which is important, but there's an unmet need in the unpainted parts of the field. The rest of his group is still graded on potential, not performance or consistency. The most dangerous receiving threat the Buckeyes have is still Curtis Samuel.
Noah Brown is only true wide receiver that’s done squat so far. Will a sidekick emerge? If so, who and why?
Zach: While not a technical wide receiver, I think Curtis Samuel will continue to put up big numbers. I'm looking for him and Dontre Wilson to keep emerging.
Ramzy: Brown, Samuel and Wilson have 33 of Ohio State's 55 receptions. No other wide receiver has more than three through three games. I do not think a sidekick will emerge. It's going to be Brown, the H-backs/running backs and Marcus Baugh accounting for volume this season with the other wide receivers fighting each other for the scraps.
Kyle: Brown has emerged in a role almost identical to Michael Thomas' over the previous two seasons, meaning there is still a need for a true deep threat to show up. While there obviously isn't a Devin Smith waiting to see the field, there have been noticeably few throws downfield to anyone other than Brown or Samuel so far this season. I expect that to change over the next few weeks as Meyer and Warinner look to identify a true deep threat before the schedule gets much more difficult in November.
Redshirt freshman Mike Weber tallied 351 rushing yards, averaging 117 per contest on 18 carries, in his first three outings. What’s your take on his all-inclusive performance versus your expectations (rusher, blocker, and receiver)? Are you comfortable with his volume of touches per game? Can we expect any sizable shifts up or down in his yards and carries per game?
Kyle: I think the 18 number is just about right for him given the other weapons of offense. Samuel should get about 8-10 carries per game and Dontre Wilson will likely eat into the touches of both assuming he stays healthy. While J.T. Barrett would ideally only need to carry the ball a handful of times against lesser competition, his ability to pick up yards with his legs is a fundamental piece of Meyer's offense, and one that was absent with Cardale Jones early last fall. Given the number of options back there, I think Weber is holding up his part of the bargain by being a very efficient runner between the tackles, but I also don't expect the offense to completely fall onto his shoulders anytime soon.
Ramzy: He's far better than I expected and carrying the perfect workload. You never know what's going to happen when the weather eventually turns or when an opponent puts up a real fight; remember Urban tends to lean hard on his QB when he gets antsy. Weber's 18 carries per game is a recipe for longevity but I hope he (and Samuel) don't get ignored in favor of QB runs, once again, when a game is on the line late.
Zach: I've been really impressed with Mike. He runs the ball hard, hits his holes quickly and is not opposed to contact. I am satisfied with the volume of touches he's been getting and I expect him to put up big numbers these next few conference games.
Switching to defense, assuming a healthy Dante Booker, who are your three starting linebackers and why did you select this trio?
Ramzy: Raekwon McMillan and Chris Worley, then Jerome Baker if they go with three LBs (they had three linemen and five DBs on the field a lot against OU). Either Dante gets Wally Pipp'd or he rotates in? Baker appears to be squeezing hard on the spot he wants and frankly he's looked very good in it.
Zach: I'm going with Chris Worley, Raekwon McMillan and Jerome Baker. I really liked what I saw out of Baker against Oklahoma and like the versatility and play-making ability that he brings. Those three are Ohio State's best trio in my opinion.
Kyle: McMillan and Worley have been excellent thus far and have clearly earned two of the spots as the team leaders in tackles. Baker is an outstanding athlete that looked very comfortable in the WILL linebacker spot vacated by Booker after his injury, but Baker seemed to get lost in pass coverage on occasions against the Sooners' speedy backs, which isn't a recipe for success against some of the shifty backs coming up on the schedule like Saquan Barkley or Devine Redding. However, I will hedge on this question and, assuming Booker is healthy by next week, I would swap the two players at that spot on every other drive, letting the film speak for itself over the next two weeks and declare a full-time starter before heading to Madison.
Let’s move on to some rankings. List the four best teams you’ve seen so far this year. Which of them will make the CFP?
Zach: 1. Ohio State 2. Alabama 3. Louisville 4. Houston. I see OSU, Bama and Louisville making the CFP.
Kyle: Alabama and Ohio State have looked strong in their first three games, and while both have each had a bad half, they've looked like the two most physically impressive teams in the nation, and appear to have the clearest paths to the playoff as of now. The Tide once again look like they'll manhandle every team they face this fall while the Buckeyes looked noticeably faster at every position than did Oklahoma, a team with plenty of talent of its own.
While they haven't been as crisp, Clemson is also incredibly talented, although they have a tough path with Florida State and Louisville still to come. Along those lines, Louisville has looked very good, but I believe Clemson won't be caught off-guard by Lamar Jackson when he and the Cardinals come to town next weekend. While Houston's Cinderella story would be a lot of fun, I have questions about their offensive line after they failed to establish the run against the same Oklahoma defense that gave up nearly 300 yards to Ohio State. So, with one spot still left to fill, we'll see Stanfordquietly dominate an unimpressive Pac 12 and earn a place in the playoff on the back of Christian McCaffrey and an excellent run defense.
Ramzy: Oklahoma, Tulsa, Bowling Green and Ohio State are clearly the four best teams in college football, but since Ohio State eliminated three of them from playoff contention let's slide Alabama, Louisville and Washington into their postseason slots. Yes, Washington. Don't @ me. Houston, Stanford, Texas A&M and Clemson - once it shakes off the 2015 Ohio Stateness plaguing it - are right there.
Rank top four offensive weapons during Meyer era excluding QBs. Briefly defend your list.
Ramzy: Ezekiel Elliott, Carlos Hyde, Devin Smith, Michael Thomas. My defense of this list is the sound of me laughing uncontrollably at your suggestions to replace anyone on it.
Kyle: 1. Ezekiel Elliott - an easy answer here, given his place as the second-leading rusher in school history.
2. Devin Smith - I'll go to my grave screaming about how valuable he was to the 2014 team, and while the rest of the team was largely the same the following year, not replacing him largely led to the Michigan State defense killing any chance of a repeat National Championship.
3. Carlos Hyde - Zeke's predecessor and Meyer's first 1,000-yard rusher laid the groundwork (literally) for what was to come from Buckeye running backs.
4. Michael Thomas - Thomas became a safety blanket for both J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones, using his massive size and great hands to give his team a guaranteed first down if they could get him the ball on target
Zach: 1. Ezekiel Elliott - See 2014 title run. 2. Carlos Hyde - Dominant runner. Very physical. Still pains me that he didn't get enough touches against MSU in 2013. 3. Devin Smith - Deep ball machine. His ability to stretch the field helped Zeke run all over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon. 4. Mike Thomas - Incredible route runner. Sure hands. That catch vs. Bama is one of my favorite plays in OSU history.
The B1G East is getting a lot of love right now. Which team scares you the most – Sparty or Michigan – and why?
Kyle: Overall, the Wolverines have more talent than the Spartans and for the first time in a long time, the winged helmets scare me more than their in-state rivals, although just slightly. Michigan State seems to be more vanilla than ever on offense without a true replacement for Aaron Burbridge, and I expect the Buckeye defense to swallow up the Spartan offense thanks to a massive speed advantage. But though the Wolverines are still very good on defense, and their offensive line seems to be playing up to expectations for the first time in years, not a single offensive skill player besides Jake Butt would start for the Buckeyes right now. The talent gap between them and the OSU back seven is abundantly clear as of now.
Zach: Michigan. They seem to be playing with a lot of confidence and swagger and I think their defense is going to improve. I expect them to be really good in November.
Ramzy: I don't give a damn for that whole state. Scared? Right now there's exactly one scary team in the B1G East, plus two very good ones.
Since I can’t ask for a Buckeye game prediction, let’s look at the B1G matchup this weekend. Michigan State is a 5.5-point favorite at home against Wisconsin (12:00 EDT, BTN). Who wins and who covers? Bonus: Purdue is somehow a 4.5-point favorite at home against Nevada. Who covers in that clash of titans?
Ramzy: Wisconsin's long march to Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl begins Saturday with a narrow loss to Sparty. Purdue beats Nevada by a late touchdown from...I cannot name a single Purdue player. But he's the hero.
Kyle: While the Spartans may be vanilla on offense, it doesn't mean they're incompetent (like LSU). I expect MSU to win an extremely boring game featuring many punts, somewhere to the tune of 24-14. As for Purdue-Nevada, both teams have shown some offensive firepower, so expect a surprising shootout with the Boilermakers coming out winners at home by a touchdown.
Zach: I'm going with the home Spartans in a slugfest, 17-14. Wisconsin covers. And in the game of the week across the country, I have Purdue putting some points on the board and beating Nevada 42-21. I should probably never write about football again after that, but such is life.
