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September 26, 2015Bode Plots: Lindor aging like a fine wine
September 26, 2015Ohio State may have only scored 38 points – 31 from the offense, but the offense looked much better against the Broncos of Western Michigan than they did last week. With a stifling defense, 38 points is a likely win most weeks for this Buckeye team.
And, the defense helped out with the scoring. The Silver Bullets Adolphus Washington did the honors this weekend with an interception for a touchdown. The Ohio State defense has now scored a touchdown in three consecutive games.
Outside of time of possession and turnover differential, the Buckeyes dominated almost all other statistical categories, including passing yards (288-to-169) and rushing yards (223-to-169).
Quarter by Quarter
First Quarter
- 13:26 – First-and-10 – Cardale Jones finds a wide-open Michael Thomas who ran into the end zone for an easy 38-yard touchdown on the third play of Ohio State’s first drive. Thomas surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in his career with the touchdown pass. (7-0)
- 10:21 – Fourth-and-1 – Jarvion Franklin converts a risky Fourth-and-1 call by Western Michigan from their own 41-yard line.
- 5:39 – Fourth-and-14 – After a touchdown was called back due to a penalty, the Broncos Andrew Haldeman’s 37-yard field goal attempt is blocked by Tyvis Powell.
First Quarter Analysis
Ohio State scored on their third play of the game with an easy touchdown, but the defense struggled. They didn’t allow a point, because of a touchdown that was called back for a penalty and a blocked field goal, but the Silver Bullets allowed Western Michigan to obtain 67 yards through the air and 87 yards on the ground.
The Broncos racked up 154 yards, while the Buckeyes had just 82 yards in the opening quarter, and, thus, Western Michigan held the ball for 12:40 of the opening 15 minutes. Yet it was the Buckeyes with the 7-to-0 lead after the first quarter.
Second Quarter
- 13:09 – Fourth-and-16 – Another field goal attempt and another miss for Western Michigan (47-yard attempt).
- 10:35 – First-and-10 – Cardale Jones connects with Jalin Marshall for (another) easy touchdown pass (37 yards). A great play with plenty of options for Jones. (14-0)
- 8:19 – Third-and-11 – Zach Terrell finds a wide open Daniel Braveman for a 55-yard touchdown to opening the scoring for Western Michigan. But, after already missing two field goals, Andrew Haldeman’s extra-point try hits off the post. (14-6)
- 7:04 – Fourth-and-3 – After a 55-yard punt in his first kick of the game, Cameron Johnston’s 67-yard punt, that for some reason was not caught by the returner, was downed at the 1-yard line.
- 4:14 – Fourth-and-goal – Jack Willoughby makes a chip shot 30-yard field goal in his first attempt of the game. (17-6)
- 4:02 – First-and-10 – On the first play following Willoughby’s field goal, Adolphus Washington picks off the Zach Terrell pass and runs 25 yards for a pick-six. (24-6)
Second Quarter Analysis
The first half had a weird ending with a questionable intentional grounding call on Cardale Jones. The result was a 10-second run-off to finish the half when Ohio State had the ball on Western Michigan’s 15-yard line. The Buckeyes took a 24-6 lead into the half.
Jones had an impressive first half (something that he hadn’t done in the previous two games). The defense and special teams played well for the most part as well. With an 18-point lead after 30 minutes, there wasn’t much to complain about at halftime.
Actually, wait, there is one thing: Ezekiel Elliott only had six carries (for 44 yards) in the first half, something that must change when the Buckeyes enter conference play.
Third Quarter
- 10:50 – First-and-goal – Ezekiel Elliott caps off the first drive of the second half with a 6-yard touchdown run. After having just six carries in the first half (for 44 yards), he had five carries in the opening drive of the second half (for 29 yards). (31-6)
- 4:26 – Third-and-goal – Zach Terrell finds a wide-open Jeremiah Mullinax for an easy touchdown pass from the 1-yard line. Western Michigan missed the two-point conversion. (31-12)
- 3:24 – Second-and-3 – Cardale Jones under-throws Jalin Marshall in the endzone, leading to an interception by Darius Phillips, Ohio State’s first turnover of the game.
Third Quarter Analysis
After not being used much in the first half, Elliott played well in the third quarter, including his first touchdown of the game. Zeke reached 100 rushing yards during the third quarter, which is the ninth consecutive game that he has ran for over 100 yards.
Fourth Quarter
- 8:24 – First-and-10 – Curtis Samuel takes the carry, jukes a defender out of his shoes, and runs it for a 40-yard touchdown. (38-12)
*With the game basically in-hand, Urban Meyer decided to replace Cardale Jones with J.T. Barrett with 6:34 remaining and a 38-12.
- 5:36 – Second-and-5 – In his first drive of the game, J.T. Barrett under throws a pass to Curtis Samuel that was intercepted by Darius Phillips.
Fourth Quarter Analysis
Outside of Samuel’s long touchdown run (included an awesome juke), it was a pretty boring quarter, honestly.
In limited time in the final six or so minutes, Barrett struggled.
Top Performers
Cardale Jones – 19-of-33, 288 yards, two touchdowns, one interception; 10 carries, 32 yards
Ezekiel Elliott – 16 carries, 124 yards, one touchdown; three catches, 29 yards
Curtis Samuel – two carries, 55 yards, one touchdown; two catches, 49 yards
Michael Thomas – six catches, 80 yards, one touchdown
Jalin Marshall – two catches, 48 yards, one touchdown
Raekwon McMillan – 16 tackles, one sack, one tackle
Josh Perry – 13 tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss
Eli Apple – six tackles, one tackle for loss
Tyvis Powell – five tackles, one punt block
Adolphus Washington – three tackles, one interception, one touchdown
Final Thoughts
The Buckeyes only had 38 points, but their offense looked better than it has looked in the previous two games.
I think it’s safe to say that for the first time this season, it is clear that Cardale Jones will be the starting quarterback next week. He not only played well (with a few mistakes), but J.T. Barrett did not look good in his limited time in the fourth quarter.
Even with 38 points, Jones had three key under throws on would-be touchdowns; one of which was an interception and the other two were incompletions. They didn’t cost him this week against Western Michigan, but basically leaving 21 points off the board could cost him later in the season against a much more difficult opponent.
Ezekiel Elliott once again proved that he is among the best running backs in the country. He eclipsed 100 yards for the ninth consecutive game, along with a touchdown.
Even with Jones three over-throws, the Buckeyes still looked much better on offense and can take that into next week. Maybe with the quarterback competition virtually over (at least for now), it will take some stress off Jones and let him play like how he is used to, including in practice.