Five Things: Buckeyes Whip That Ash

They don't call them Butgers for nothing. 

Freshly charged from a bye week situated after the primetime spanking of Oklahoma, Ohio State beat up on Chris Ash's Rutgers squad posting a 58-0 shutout win on homecoming day in the Shoe. 

The Buckeyes dominated virtually every statistical category, most notably posting a 669-116 advantage in total yards, in a game in which the Rutgers offense ran exactly three plays in Ohio State territory. 

The win improved Ohio State to a perfect 4-0 on the young season, moved Urban Meyer to 15-0 in October games at OSU and the Buckeyes remained the only FBS team yet to allow a rushing touchdown this season. 

Before we turn our attention to next week's clash against an Indiana squad that took down Sparty in overtime we look back at Five Things from yesterday's beatdown.

THE THIN (SCARLET) LINE

Coming into the season the offensive line was one of the biggest question marks on the team. 

Through four games the Slobs have been largely dominant though due to the nature of the position they don't get as much love as they deserve. 

Yesterday the group was dominant helping the Buckeyes rack up 410 rushing yards on 7.7 yards per carry while affording J.T. Barrett plenty of time to shred the Rutgers secondary. 

Maybe my favorite stat from yesterday, on 1st down plays Ohio State dialed up 18 rushes for 185 yards – that's a ridiculous 10.3 yards per carry – behind a charged up pack of Slobs.

After left tackle Jamarco Jones turned in another standout performance, center Pat Elflein teamed with left guard Michael Jordan to open gaping holes up the middle and right guard Billy Price appeared to have his best day so far this year (check out that pull and finish on Mike Weber's 46-yard touchdown), the starters are clicking. Yes, Isaiah Price is still finding his way but even he has improved over the first four games at right tackle. 

The real problem up front is the lack of a depth – an issue that only got worse this week with the loss of Demetrius Knox to foot surgery. Already without Malcolm Pridgeon, the line is low on depth and experience, so much so that while obviously losing Barrett at quarterback would be the biggest injury the team could face, losing Elflien or Jones in particular or frankly just about any other starting slob to injury could sink Ohio State's title hopes. 

Here's to hoping the line not only keeps progressing but stays healthy. 

INSIDE VOICE

Sticking to the trenches, let's talk interior defensive line play for a second. 

Loaded at defensive end and with pass rush specialists specifically, the question along the defensive front was how the Buckeyes could replace last year's interior run stopper Adolphus Washington and to a lesser degree Tommy Schutt especially after injury claimed Tracy Sprinkle in the season opener and blood clots ended the career of Donovan Munger back in April. 

Michael Hill continues to start at one defensive tackle spot and has been decent but his backup Robert Landers grabbed my attention with a big game against Tulsa and yesterday not only did Landers again step up, his strong play was complemented by the other starter at defensive tackle, Dre'Mont Jones. 

Jones, a redshirt freshman out of Cleveland St. Ignatius was Ohio State's 2nd-leading tackler yesterday as he flashed not just a run stopping ability up the gut but also slid down the line on a few occasions beating his blocker to the spot. It was frankly the first time this year Jones jumped out at me multiple times in a game – not that I'm pretending to be a D-line scout. 

For his part, Landers logged another two TFL, one a sack on a 2nd and 8 play in the 1st quarter leading to a Rutgers punt and two series later he made a spectacular play on 2nd and 11, bull rushing his man into the backfield before quickly throwing himself laterally right to bring down quarterback Chris Laviano for a 1-yard loss. 

Bigger challenges are obviously yet to come so the jury is still out but I'm optimistic about what we're seeing from the youth along the defensive interior. 

SWEET SIXTEEN

I don't mean to look ahead but OMG what if J.T. Barrett comes back next year? 

Anyway, what a performance yesterday from the captain. In the midst of him breaking the school record for career touchdown passes what continues to impress me most about Barrett isn't his physical talent but instead his mental approach to the game along with the incredible leadership he provides. 

The dude is basically Derek Jeter in shoulder pads. Now, even if you're a Yankee hater, I hope you're smart enough to understand just how big a compliment it is to say that. 

Did you see Barrett accept the game ball in the locker room after the game? Jeter-ish. 

How about the calm and controlled way he led the Buckeyes to a touchdown right before the half via a textbook 2-minute drill? Reminded me of Jeter in his heyday - controlling the tempo and tenor of things while keenly aware of everything happening around him. 

He quickly yet calmly directed the offense, lining everyone up and spiking the ball when he had to while in between carving up the Rutgers defense with three completions to Curtis Samuel and a 17-yard run to put Ohio State up 30-0 at the break. 

The guy looks like a man on a mission out there playing with just the right balance of urgency and control. 

DIRTY THIRTY

If you follow 11W, you know we're all in on Demario McCall. I touched on his talents and how Ohio State will lean on him in coming years after the Bowling Green game when he ran for 6.8 per carry and added a 36-yard touchdown reception and he was back at it yesterday. 

With Ohio State able to empty the bench early McCall received a career-high 10 carries and he responded in kind with a career-high 85 yards including 20-yard touchdown run and a 39-yard flash and dash that ended just shy of the goal line. 

The dude has amazing speed, easily getting to the edge and once he turns up field he's a nightmare for anyone attempting to make an open-field tackle. 

If you aren't yet on the bandwagon, jump on now before it's too late. With all the talent around him it will be hard to a legit factor in 2016 but the Demario McCall Experience will be in full effect in 2017 and you'll want to be very clear about how bullish you were on him before it happens. 

Just imagine how fast he'll look if decides to switch from a meh number like 30 to a single-digit next year. (Maybe I'm just scarred from the Lydell Ross days.)

MINDING THEIR BUSINESS

I wasn't expecting such a lopsided game yesterday. I thought something more like 49-17 and while I was obviously way off, it wasn't because I didn't know the game was a total talent mismatch. 

The reality is that I thought there could be a chance Ohio State came out a little bored to play a noon game against a bad team (former coach or not) recently crushed by injuries following a bye week on the heels of an emotion road win versus Oklahoma. 

Instead, though the Buckeyes did start a little slow, they came out with intensity and purpose – something last year's star-studded roster sometimes struggled to do. 

Yes, this team is loaded with young guys still needing to prove themselves but I thought the overwhelming success realized in the first three games could still end up triggering a bit of complacency. 

As such, props to the staff and players. They do look way more hungry and excited to play than we saw at times from the 2015 crew. The joy in winning appears to be back in spades and it is fun to watch.