COLUMBUS – While Army possessed the ball for nearly 14 minutes more than Ohio State in Saturday’s game at Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes were still able to dominate the scoreboard thanks to their efficiency on the offensive side of the ball.
The Buckeyes scored on six of their first eight offensive possessions in Saturday’s game – and drove 75 yards before kneeling to run out the clock on their ninth and final possession – in their 38-7 win over the Black Knights in the Horseshoe.
That was a big improvement over last week, when the Buckeyes scored on only four of their 12 possessions in their 31-16 loss to Oklahoma.
Considering the competition in Saturday’s game – Army isn’t nearly as talented as Oklahoma, nor the teams the Buckeyes will have to beat to make a College Football Playoff – it shouldn’t be said that the Buckeyes’ offensive issues are fixed. That’s something that will have to be proved in time. But Ohio State’s offensive efficiency was more than enough for the Buckeyes to win comfortably on Saturday, and the Buckeyes believe they made the steps they needed to move in the right direction.
"You have to be very balanced," said Ohio State coach Urban Meyer. "And I thought we were very balanced today."
In the days leading up to Saturday’s game, Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said the Buckeyes had to “get [their] offensive rhythm back.” Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett, whose performance against Oklahoma was met with heavy criticism, felt that’s what the Buckeyes did.
"Just playing fast, having our O-line control the line of scrimmage … myself getting the ball out there to our playmakers on the perimeter," Barrett said. "Just getting back to who we are. I think last week we were trying to be perfect each and every play, and understand that if you play football like that, a lot of times you don’t get the results."
Ohio State coaches often preach a desire to gain 250 yards passing and 250 yards rushing in each game, and the Buckeyes hit both of those goals against Army. The Buckeyes ran for 270 yards on the ground – 11 more yards than Army, even though the Black Knights ran the ball on 58 of their 66 offensive plays – and passed the ball for 316, while gaining an average of 8.5 yards per play.
“You have to be very balanced. And I thought we were very balanced today.”– Urban Meyer
The Buckeyes still didn’t do much from a deep passing standpoint in Saturday’s game, but they didn’t need to against Army. Barrett was consistent, completing 25 of his 33 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 32 yards and one touchdown. Freshman running back J.K. Dobbins led the Buckeyes’ running game with 172 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries. The Buckeyes’ 586 total yards came on just 23 minutes and three seconds of possession.
One reason why the Buckeyes were able to do that was that they started to play with the tempo that was promised when Wilson became offensive coordinator.
"Coming in, we had to get our momentum going early because of the style that Army plays," said Ohio State wide receiver K.J. Hill. "We wanted to go as fast as we could. Our tempo was quick the entire game and that’s what our main focus was."
Efficiency was all Ohio State needed from its offense on a day where the Buckeyes’ defense held Army to just 278 total yards of offense. Outside of an 18-play, 99-yard, nine-minute and 37-second touchdown drive early in the second quarter, the Buckeyes’ defense never allowed the Black Knights to drive into their red zone on any of their other eight possessions.
Against a vaunted triple option offense that is often successful in grinding out its opponents and the clock, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was pleased with the way his defense got the job done.
"It was a pain in the rear end," Meyer said. "They just wear you out. Coach Schiano and the defensive staff did a great job."
Redshirt freshman Tuf Borland, who replaced Chris Worley at middle linebacker after Worley left the game with a sprained foot, led the Buckeyes with 12 tackles in his first-ever game playing defense at the collegiate level. Safeties Damon Webb and Erick Smith and linebacker Jerome Baker each had nine tackles.
Beating Army doesn’t necessarily mean that Ohio State is "back." There’s a long way to go in the season and tougher games to come on the schedule. Nonetheless, getting back in the win column – and doing so in convincing fashion in front of their home crowd – was an important confidence-booster for the Buckeyes after last week’s embarrassing defeat.
"Our mindset changed a lot just from being hit in the mouth last week here at home," said Ohio State wide receiver Parris Campbell. "We kind of just came back an angry football team and an angry offense, and I think that’s what drove us."
