Following Ohio State's stunning come-from-behind victory Saturday night in Happy Valley, head coach Urban Meyer met Monday with the assembled media to recap the game and offer a very brief look-ahead to Saturday's home matchup with Indiana.
While the Buckeyes are a 25.5-point favorite, Meyer knows his team was in a dogfight with the Hoosiers in last year's season opener, trailing 21-20 with five minutes left in the third quarter before closing the game on a 29-0 run to win 49-21.
The cast of characters executing the Hoosier offense will look very different this time around but the early returns from Meyer indicate a great amount of respect for Indiana signal-caller Peyton Ramsey.
Q. When you look at Indiana, what jumped out at you from a defensive standpoint?
COACH MEYER: They played very well. Their scheme is outstanding, I think they're very well coached. And they have answers for everything. That's -- we're just knee deep in it now, that's fine, initial reaction.
Q. Do you expect teams to attack your defense on the edge? They came out last year. Do you expect that to continue?COACH MEYER: Depends on the quarterback. They (Indiana) have a guy that's a dual in (Peyton) Ramsey, he's a gutsy player, man, and he's one of those guys that creates something out of nothing. Depends on what you're facing. Last year's quarterback that they started, he was dropping seeds on people. This has the other element.
In Wednesday's Big Ten Coaches teleconference, Meyer took it a bit further comparing Ramsey to Penn State's Trace McSorley, who shredded Ohio State's defense last Saturday night with 461 total yards including 175 on the ground.
(McSorley) is one of the best we've gone against. I see a lot of that in Ramsey. The extension of plays, the ruggedness, the get the first down, move the chains type of guy.
Ohio State defensive end Chase Young backed up the comparison after Tuesday's practice offering, "He reminds me of Trace McSorley the way he can move. But we're just going to play him like we did Trace McSorley and try to keep him contained and close the pocket on him."
Knowing Meyer's penchant for hyperbole is the best I've ever been around, it's hard to know what he truly thinks of Ramsey but the stats, especially over the last two games, indicate just how important the kid is to Indiana's offense.
| OPPONENT | COMP | ATT | PASS YDS | RUSH ATT | RUSH YDS | TEAM TOTAL OFFENSE | RAMSEY % OF TOT OFFENSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| @FLA INT'L | 20 | 27 | 156 | 8 | 36 | 465 | 41.2% |
| VIRGINIA | 16 | 22 | 150 | 9 | 27 | 387 | 45.8% |
| BALL ST. | 20 | 27 | 173 | 6 | 43 | 457 | 47.2% |
| MICHIGAN ST. | 32 | 46 | 272 | 18 | 13 | 301 | 94.7% |
| @RUTGERS | 27 | 40 | 288 | 10 | 51 | 451 | 75.2% |
In a 35-21 loss to Michigan State, Ramsey accounted for nearly 95% of the offense's output including two touchdown passes though he did toss two interceptions as the Hoosiers aired it out 46 times against 32 rushes; the result of playing from behind all day long.
A week later against a bad Rutgers squad, Ramsey's stat-line was even better throwing for 288 yards with a touchdown and a pick while adding another 51 yards and a touchdown on the ground as the Hoosiers scored on their first four possessions in the way to a 24-17 decision.
On the season, Ramsey (207.8) averages just two less passing yards per game than McSorley (209.8) but in total offense, McSorley is a much different beast (291.8) thanks to his superior effectiveness as a runner though Ramsey is his team's second-leading rusher at a modest 34.0 yards per game bringing his total offense to 241.8 per outing.
Ramsey does boast the best completion percentage in the conference among passers averaging at least 15 attempts per game at 71.0%. Despite his accuracy, Ramsey does have five interceptions which tired with Michigan State's Brian Lewerke for the worst mark in the league.
Look, there's little reason to believe this will be a close game unless you're all-in on the notion Ohio State is ripe for a letdown after an emotional roadie last weekend. That said, if the Hoosiers do have a chance to keep it close against the Buckeyes, it'll more than likely be because Ramsey is playing out of his mind.
