It might be too early to expect Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins to share a backfield with any consistency after Urban Meyer teased the concept in this week's B1G teleconference.
"We’re working on maybe playing them both at one time," Meyer said Tuesday on the Big Ten teleconference. "They’re that quality of players. When you put your best 11 on the board, those two names surface. So our obligation is to play the best players."
That said, today's weather forecast calls for 15-18 mph winds with gusts up to 24 mph and we all know how Ohio State's passing game (and playcalling) has performed in breezy conditions over the last few years.
Even if the two-back set doesn't become reality later this afternoon, we could still be in for a dose of run-heavy offense meaning quarterback J.T. Barrett could see his name called in the run game more than we've seen so far this year, along with busy afternoons for Dobbins and Weber.
Barrett carried the rock 13 times for 61 yards against Indiana and then 18 times for 66 yards versus Oklahoma. Since then, Barrett is averaging just seven carries a game over the last three outings.
While we wait to see if/how Ohio State's offensive attack evolves in the face of potentially windy conditions, here's a look at each time since Meyer arrived in 2012 the Buckeyes have recorded two 100-yard rushers in the same game:
| YEAR | OPPONENT | RUSHER 1 | RUSHER 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | AT MICHIGAN STATE | MIKE WEBER 111 | J.T. BARRETT 105 |
| 2015 | AT MICHIGAN | EZEKIEL ELLIOTT 214 | J.T. BARRETT 139 |
| 2015 | AT RUTGERS | EZEKIEL ELLIOTT 142 | J.T. BARRETT 101 |
| 2015 | PENN STATE | EZEKIEL ELLIOTT 153 | J.T. BARRETT 102 |
| 2013 | MICHIGAN STATE | BRAXTON MILLER 142 | CARLOS HYDE 118 |
| 2013 | MICHIGAN | CARLOS HYDE 226 | BRAXTON MILLER 153 |
| 2013 | INDIANA | BRAXTON MILLER 144 | CARLOS HYDE117 |
| 2013 | ILLINOIS | CARLOS HYDE 246 | BRAXTON MILLER 184 |
| 2013 | IOWA | CARLOS HYDE 149 | BRAXTON MILLER 102 |
| 2012 | NEBRASKA | BRAXTON MILLER 186 | CARLOS HYDE 140 |
| 2012 | INDIANA | CARLOS HYDE 156 | BRAXTON MILLER 149 |
As you can see, Ohio State hasn't accomplished the feat with two running backs under Meyer.
In fact, the last time Ohio State had two running backs go for 100+ yards rushing in the same game occurred during Luke Fickell's 2011 season when Boom Herron (141) and Carlos Hyde (105) did work.
Interestingly, Braxton Miller also went over 100 that afternoon (105) marking the first time in school history the Buckeyes had three different guys eclipse the century mark.
