One. More. Sleep.
That's all that's separating you from Ohio State's season opener against Indiana tomorrow afternoon in picturesque Bloomington, Indiana.
Expectations are high for an Ohio State team loaded with talent and hungry on defense while breaking in a host of new starters at key positions including quarterback and both offensive tackles.
You know this. You live, eat, sleep and drink this stuff.
That said, here's one more helping of Buckeye coverage nourishment in the form of our own Dan Hope, Kyle Jones and Josh Poloha taking their seats at this week's 11W Roundtable.
Gents, the floor is yours..
Even before the QB battle was expected to bleed into the actual season, I've felt like OSU needs, and will have, more run/pass yardage balance this year. Do you think balance matters that much these days? What kind of playcalling and yardage mix do you think we'll see on Saturday once the dust settles on a Buckeye win?
Dan: A deep stable of running backs, an offensive line that's likely to be better at run blocking than pass blocking and an inexperienced quarterback are all good reasons for Ohio State to lean more heavily on the run game this season, especially early in the season. Ultimately, I think balance is as important as a team needs it to be, and Ohio State will need more of it if it doesn't have the same elite level of quarterback play it’s had for the past five years. I don't expect the Buckeyes to suddenly become a ground-and-pound offense with Ryan Day and Brian Hartline calling the shots and a receiving corps that still includes Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. But I think it would be smart for the Buckeyes to look to establish the run game early against Indiana to take some pressure off of Kyle McCord's shoulders, though I also expect Ohio State to give McCord – and Devin Brown when he gets in the game – opportunities to open things up and show what they can do with their arms.
Kyle: Balance matters because of the constant threat it puts on the opposing defense. We’ve seen in the past what happens when an offense is good at only one thing – opponents do everything they can to take it away and force the offense to do something they aren’t comfortable with to win. Luckily, with the sheer volume of skill players who are finally healthy after a barrage of injuries last fall, the OSU offense should be able to both run and pass. While everyone knows about the threat of the passing game, I expect the Buckeyes to lean heavily on the downhill run game and build some chemistry along an O-line with three new starters.
Josh: Mixing it up matters, for sure. It keeps the defense off balance and allows the run game to open up the passing game and the air attack to open the ground game. The more equal it is, the harder it is for an opponent to find (and guess) your tendencies and it's also important to both run the ball and pass it in all formations, something that opponents seemed to find in Ryan Day's playcalling as the season went on last year. With so many weapons on offense – both at running back and receiver – Ohio State needs to take advantage of that, especially with a first-year starting quarterback. I think Day and Brian Hartline will lean on TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams and the rest of the running attack to allow Kyle McCord and/or Devin Brown to get comfortable and find their rhythm, especially early on.
Even as Kyle McCord's been named the starter versus Indiana thanks in part to consistency in practice over the last two weeks, Ryan Day has noted both guys will play this Saturday. How much stock do you put into this initial decision becoming a long-term decision? How might Day mesh both guys into the game versus Indiana? How much of a distraction do you think this could be for the rest of the offense on Saturday?
Josh: McCord will get the majority of snaps in Bloomington as long as the game is close. At least I hope that's the case because the last thing this loaded group of skill players on offense needs is a two-quarterback system, making it very tough to gel and find any rhythm. Brown will play plenty of snaps simply because I don't think the game will be close, but I just hope that Buckeye fans don't overreact when McCord inevitably makes a mistake, because all quarterbacks do, in fact, make mistakes.
I don't think it will be much of a distraction just because Day and Brian Hartline are elite at what they do and will have their guys focused and ready. It just comes down to McCord looking like QB1 and the rest of the talk will go away.
Dan: Day specifying that McCord earned the opportunity to start because of his consistency in practice over the last two weeks makes me put more stock in the initial decision than I would have otherwise. I thought McCord was likely to get the first snaps against Indiana as the more experienced quarterback, but Day’s comments indicate that this is more than just a nod to McCord’s experience. Still, the fact that Day is going into the game with a publicly stated plan to give Devin Brown “meaningful” playing time suggests this competition isn’t over yet. I think McCord is now the favorite to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback all year – which I admittedly didn’t a week ago – but I still think McCord has to go out and prove he’s the right man for the job. If he struggles, the door will be open for Brown to steal the job away.
The question of how and when Brown will get playing time is a tough one to answer since we’ve never seen a quarterback competition continue into the season since Day has been at Ohio State. Since McCord was named the starter, I think Day should commit to keeping McCord in the game for at least the first three or four possessions to give him a chance to get into a rhythm and work through mistakes. But I also don't think Ohio State should wait too long to give Brown an opportunity, because if the game stays tight into the second half – which it did last time Ohio State opened the season against Indiana on the road – it becomes riskier to start substituting quarterbacks in and out of the lineup. So my guess is we see Brown play a couple of series in the first half, then the majority of the second half if Ohio State builds a comfortable lead.
Kyle: I doubt it’s much of a distraction simply because of the gap between these two teams. While it is a conference game on the road, Indiana took a big step backward last year before then losing some key defensive pieces in the offseason. The gap in talent between these two units is significant, and whoever is lining up under center should have reason to feel comfortable. I wouldn’t be surprised if both guys spend most of the day handing the ball off, anyway.
Outside of the quarterbacks, which position group or position battle will you be focused on most and why?
Kyle: It’s less of a battle, but how Jim Knowles will use the many safeties he seems intent on playing this weekend fascinates me. Last year, it seemed as though he only trusted his three starters, but now has a wide array of different talents at his disposal, with Styles, Carter, Proctor, Carter, Hartford, and Ransom all bringing something different to the table. Dime, Big Nickel, and Dollar packages can bring entirely different looks to disrupt both the run and the pass, and keep opposing QBs on their heels.
Josh: I feel like the offensive line and defensive backfield will be the majority of answers here (for staff and fans alike), so I'll go with WR3. Julian Fleming has the experience, but Carnell Tate becoming the third wide receiver behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka could very well happen sooner rather than later. Multiple coaches and players have had very high praise for the true freshman throughout camp and Tate in the slot while the defense focuses on Harrison and Egbuka could be a match made in heaven. Then again, OSU's wide receiver room is so loaded that any receiver in that position could very well dominate, no matter who it is. Keep in mind, Fleming is one of the highest-rated OSU players in the modern recruiting era, so none of this is a shot at him, it's just that Tate is already that good. It's incredible just how stacked Hartline's unit truly is.
Dan: The offensive line. With Josh Simmons, Carson Hinzman and Josh Fryar all being unproven as new starters, the offensive line is the biggest question-mark position outside of quarterback on this team by far, and to me it's the greater concern given Day’s track record of successful quarterback play. Playing Indiana in the season opener isn't going to fully answer those questions, as the Hoosiers are expected to be one of the Big Ten's weakest defensive teams, but a strong start would show that Day’s recent praise of the unit wasn’t just coachspeak – while any struggles could exacerbate the already-existing concerns.
Knowing Indiana is a weak opponent it will likely be tough to draw conclusions about a Buckeye defense that didn't really have issues against bad opponents last year. That said, anything specific you're looking for from the defense on Saturday to gain more confidence in it as Ohio State moves forward?
Dan: Giving up no big plays – or at least only a couple – would certainly be a good place to start. While I don’t believe we’ll be able to make a true assessment of this defense until it plays a couple of games against more prolific offenses, the big plays that ruined Ohio State’s season showed their head throughout the year before the dam burst in the final two games. After entering last year with a "five explosive plays or less per game" philosophy, Jim Knowles needs to show that he's successfully adjusted his defense to allow as few big plays as possible, while the players need to tackle better in space to avoid letting 10-20 yard plays become long touchdowns. Indiana won't be the toughest test for Ohio State's defense, but it does have some big-play threats, including running back Jaylin Lucas (two kickoff return touchdowns in 2022) and Cam Camper (seven catches of 20-plus yards in only seven games last year).
Kyle: As I alluded to in my last answer, by mixing and matching different alignments and personnel packages, the Buckeye defense could look totally different than it did a year ago. The unit returns a ton of experience across all three levels, and everyone in the two-deep should be far more comfortable in the system now, allowing them to be expand greatly upon what they did schematically in 2022.
Josh: Shut out or at least don't allow a touchdown with the first-team defense in the game and show Buckeye Nation how comfortable the defense is in the second year of Jim Knowle's' defense. I'm just excited to see how all of these guys mesh together, especially Sonny Styles. That kid is a stud and I can't wait to see how Knowles utilizes his size, skill set and versatility.
Ohio State heads to Bloomington as a hefty 30-point favorite. Do the Buckeyes cover? Give us your final score and game MVP.
Josh: Ohio State starts 1-0 overall and 1-0 ATS. Buckeyes win in Bloomington, 45-10.
Dan: Although I expect some season-opener bumpiness out of the gates – Ohio State trailed at halftime each of the last two times it's opened the season against a Big Ten opponent on the road (Indiana in 2017, Minnesota in 2021) – I believe the Buckeyes will eventually pull away from their inferior opponent and cover the spread. I have the Buckeyes covering 45-13 with TreVeyon Henderson announcing his return in a big way by rushing for more than 100 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
Kyle: OSU wins easily, 42-7 with TreVeyon Henderson looking like the player we expected a year ago as he dominates the Hoosiers.
