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Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — With 9 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the first half, Ohio State junior wide receiver/running back Curtis Samuel touched the ball for the first time in Saturday's game against Penn State.
It was probably a quarter-plus too late.
Samuel is the Buckeyes' most dynamic playmaker and the inconsistency with the number of touches — or sometimes lack thereof — he receives continues to be puzzling.
After Samuel's first touch Saturday night — a 15-yard reception that went for a first down — the junior from Brooklyn touched the ball nine more times for a total of 10 on the evening. He averaged 13.9 yards per touch and had a 74-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.
"Probably gotta get him more than that," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said after his team's stunning 24-21 loss.
That might be an understatement.
Eight of Samuel's touches came on passes from J.T. Barrett. Only two were designed runs. Ohio State players and coaches often discuss not forcing the ball to Samuel if he's not open, but that's in the passing game. The Buckeyes can get him the ball more if they just hand it to him.
"I can tell you that from here on out, there’s not going to be any ‘Let’s get Curtis the ball, let’s run that play,’" Barrett said following the loss. "Let’s run our plays, and if Curtis happens to get the ball, the Curtis gets the ball. That’s how our offense runs very well when that happens.
"We’re not going to start going backward that this person has to get the ball and that person has to get the ball because then you’re just predictable and that’s not how we play."
Barrett finished with 17 carries; Mike Weber had 21. Eight receptions is probably a good number for Samuel to have, but he needs more carries.
Message to the Offensive Line
If we're being honest, Ohio State's offensive line played quite poorly Saturday night. The Buckeyes surrendered six sacks and Penn State recorded 11 tackles for loss.
"We didn't get our job done," senior center Pat Elflein said. "We didn't get it done tonight."
Elflein and fellow captain Billy Price were two of the three offensive players made available to the media following the game (Barrett was the other). They were chosen to speak to reporters following a tough loss because they have experience in doing so. Granted, it's not much being that Urban Meyer now has lost a grand total of five games as the Buckeyes' head coach, but Price and Elflein know what to say after a loss.
And that's precisely the point Price wanted to get across when asked about Ohio State's struggles in pass protection, specifically on the right side of the line with sophomore right tackle Isaiah Prince.
“That’s the interesting part," Price said. "Being that we’ve been here before, I’ve been here before last year, I’ve been here before with Virginia Tech, we’ve got to come together. That’s what it comes down to. We’ve got to execute better and take care of things better in practice."
There would always be growing pains with an offensive line that replaced three starters, but by most accounts, the Buckeyes were pretty solid up front throughout the first six weeks of the season. Ohio State had no answers for the Penn State pass rush Saturday night, though, as the Nittany Lions constantly harassed Barrett when he dropped back to pass.
It's certainly an area that needs fixed and patched up quickly.
"It’s a tough loss because a lot of hard work goes into it," Price said. "I know the entire team feels that way.”
Added Elflein: "The heart and soul of this team is the O-line and right now we're letting the team down. We're going to get back to work tomorrow."
'Every Goal is Still Alive'
Hanging inside Ohio State's weight room at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center is a sign with three words written on it displaying a clear message.
"Get to Indy."
That's the goal for the Buckeyes: Win the Big Ten East and play for a conference championship at Lucas Oil Stadium. And, despite Saturday's loss to Penn State, that certainly remains a possibility for Ohio State.
"Every goal is still alive," Meyer said.
Michigan currently sits atop the Big Ten East with a 4-0 conference record while Ohio State and Penn State are both 3-1. However, should both the Buckeyes and Wolverines win out up until their Nov. 26 showdown, the winner of that game would still be the Big Ten East's representative in the conference championship game. Even if the Nittany Lions win out as well, the Ohio State–Michigan winner still gets the East's bid because overall record is the tiebreaker that would be used to determine such a scenario.
Ohio State doesn't truly control its own destiny because if Michigan were to fall prior to Nov. 26 and Penn State won out, the Buckeyes would be in trouble. But there's still a fairly strong shot Ohio State winds up with an opportunity to play itself into the Big Ten championship game with a victory over its archrival.
Things just got a little bit more difficult with Saturday's result.
"It’s not the end of our season," redshirt sophomore defensive end Sam Hubbard said. "We’re just going to get back to work and we’ve got to win out.”
