Jacoby, a 6-foot-5, 270 pound do-it-all lineman is the second member of Ohio State’s 2019 class, as he joins fellow offensive lineman Doug Nester, a tackle from West Virginia. Jacoby is ranked by 247Sports as the 353rd best player nationally, 39th best tackle, and 10th best player in Ohio.

While his rankings aren’t super lofty right now (though they certainly aren’t anything to complain about), he’s just now growing into his frame, and could be in for a massive senior season, and a pretty big recruiting bump around November, after all of the camps and games are over.

Jacoby held offers from Oregon, West Virginia, Michigan State, Michigan, and Penn State, among others, and has received a ton of attention in the past few months after a great junior season. While the Big Ten trio of Michigan State, Penn State and Michigan certainly expressed interest in Jacoby, this was always a case of when, rather than if he would commit to the home-state Buckeyes.

Jacoby visited Columbus just a couple of weeks ago, on February 10, and knew he’d be announcing his commitment to the Buckeyes just shortly after, when given the green light by Meyer and Greg Studrawa, and apparently, today was that day.

In Jacoby, the Buckeyes are getting a versatile, impressive athlete, with good feet, and a very good core. He’s fairly inexperienced in pass protection (to be expected with high school linemen), but his ceiling is pretty much sky-high when he gets in a college weight program, and starts to learn from an extremely talented coach like Studrawa. Buckeye fans should be very excited about this newest commitment.

-Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins, via Bill Landis, Cleveland.com

Despite two games this season where the Ohio State offense has been utterly inconsistent, the offensive line has remained a high-performing unit through 10 games. Saturday, that high level of performance was apparent against a Michigan State defensive line which, previously, had allowed just 87 yards rushing per game, and had not given up a single 100-yard rusher all season. The Buckeyes, led by Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins, dropped 335 yards rushing on the Spartans, scoring four touchdowns in the process, and much of the credit for that performance has to go to the offensive line opening up gaping holes for the running backs.

The line has also played a crucial role in protecting J.T. Barrett, allowing just 15 sacks this season. Last year, the Buckeyes gave up 28 sacks over 13 games. Saturday, the line didn’t give up a single sack, and allowed just two tackles for loss.

Michigan State entered the game as the nation’s third-best rushing defense, but was completely outwitted by the combination of Jamarco Jones, Michael Jordan, Billy Price, Demetrius Knox and Isaiah Prince. The unit paved the way for Dobbins, who went past the 1,000 yard mark Saturday, matching Weber’s status from last season as a 1,000-yard rusher as a freshman.

The offensive line returned four starters heading into the 2017 season, led by center Billy Price. Only Branden Bowen, who was injured against Maryland and who was replaced by Knox, came into the season without a start. Price set a program record with his 51st-straight start Saturday, having started every game since his first game at right guard as a redshirt freshman. Earning first team All-American honors last season, Price was named to the Rimington Award watch list this year as one of the nation’s top centers--an honor taken home by former Ohio State center Pat Elflein last season.

The idea of the Miami Hurricanes football team’s newly emblazoned turnover chain was born just weeks before this season began, when cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph reached out to a local jeweler to see if he could make a rope chain for when players on his defense forced a turnover. Vince Wilfork happened to intervene, and recommended a Cuban link with an enormous “U” pendant. The finished product weighs in at 2.5 kg and is emblazoned with no less than 900 sapphires which make up the pendant. And the chain seems to have worked. Through eight games, Miami has forced 23 turnovers, including four Saturday against Notre Dame.

As it turns out, the Ohio State Buckeyes men’s wrestling team, which kicked off its season last week, has some bling of its own which, in many ways, is akin to the Hurricanes’ turnover chain--at least according to senior wrestler Kyle Snyder. The “pin chain” was referenced by Snyder in a tweet Sunday following the Buckeyes’ home opener versus No. 11 Arizona State, and appears to be a thick chain with a large scarlet and grey “O” pendant at the end. Snyder had just pinned the Sun Devil’s Austyn Harris to win the heavyweight match and cap off Ohio State’s win when the chain was broken out. Like Miami’s chain, Ohio State’s pin chain was designed by an assistant coach as a motivational tool to encourage more pins in matches.

The Buckeyes, who entered the season ranked No. 2 nationally won the opener by a 31-12 overall mark, earning wins on seven of 10 matches. Snyder is widely considered the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the country, and is seeking a third-straight NCAA championship in his senior season in Columbus. The Maryland native made waves when he became the youngest World and Olympic champion in US wrestling history.

“This is one you want to burn, and you don’t want it to be indicative of how you play all the time.”

-Mark Dantonio, via Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press

It seems that all the top teams in the Big Ten have had an inexplicable loss this season that they simply want to forget about: Iowa trampling Ohio State at Kinnick; Penn State collapsing against the Buckeyes; Michigan getting blown out by Penn State (okay, maybe not everyone wants to forget that one). Now, Michigan State can add their own blowout defeat to the list. After clawing their way back into relevancy after losses to Notre Dame and Northwestern, the Spartans found themselves in control of their own destiny in the Big Ten East. All they had to do was beat Ohio State in Columbus in November as heavy underdogs. As dire as the situation sounds, it was one Sparty had been in before, and, on several occasions, come out on top.

Saturday was a different story, though, and Michigan State wound up on the receiving end of a severe beat-down from Ohio State following the Buckeyes’ loss to Iowa the week prior. It was the worst loss of Dantonio’s career at Michigan State, as the Spartans gave up 524 yards of total offense while themselves not even hitting the 200 yard mark.

On offense, the Buckeyes did an outstanding job defensively of outmaneuvering the Michigan State offensive line, pressuring quarterback Brian Lewerke and forcing inaccurate passes while hindering the running game. On the other side of the ball, the Spartan defense couldn’t seem to get lined up against a fast-paced Buckeye offense.

The loss didn’t look any better on tape, according to Dantonio, acknowledging that it was “one you want to burn.” The coach said that “everything seems like a scramble” when things are going against you, but that the team has to be ready to move forward and control what they can control in order to get to eight wins.

STICK TO SPORTS

-Alex Kirshner, SB Nation

Despite what the record books say about the past six times Ohio State and Michigan State have squared off, there’s reason to believe that this year’s matchup will break with tradition. Typically, whichever team is on the road leaves with the win, but coming off a big loss to Iowa last week, the Buckeyes will be filled with all sorts of anger when they take the field in Columbus.

Kirshner argues in the article above that Ohio State’s talent simply overrides that of the Mark Dantonio-led team — and Urban Meyer doesn’t lose back-to-back games. It’s rare for Meyer to lose two games in a season (not including the bowl game), but now that we’ve crossed that bridge, here’s hoping his record coming off a loss doesn’t take a hit too.

After a complete shock to the system last week in Iowa, it’s no wonder that fans and pundits are hedging their bet on what opened as a 15.5 point matchup tilting in favor of the Buckeyes. A blowout would be great, but it’d also be silly to doubt Michigan State’s potential — especially with the momentum coming off a big win over Penn State. The Spartans might not be Ohio State’s bitter rival, but as we say -- we don’t give a damn for the whole state of Michigan.

“Urban Meyer freaks out on the sideline and that’s probably not the best way to go about it when dealing with 20 year old kids.”

-James W Snyder, Off Tackle Empire

There have been a lot of comparisons between Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer, but one of the rarer hot takes I’ve come across this season is the comparison between their sideline demeanor. Granted, neither of the two ever really compared to the Brian Kelly’s of the world, but Meyer certainly is more colorful than Tressel was.

That’s not to say that’s a problem though. Meyer isn’t just screaming to scream. He isn’t throwing players under the bus. And sometimes you do need to yell at 19- and 20-year olds to get them to start paying attention.

More so than yelling out of anger, Meyer has to be disappointed in the wasted potential of this year’s Buckeye squad. What started out questionable, turned into a run with serious potential for the College Football Playoff, only for the team to see it squandered by a completely out of sync game with only three weeks to play.

There are a lot of very valid arguments and comparisons to be made between Ohio State teams under Tressel and under Meyer, but their sideline demeanor is not really one of them.

"This particular class represents seven states and some of the very best high school programs in the country. We look forward to getting these men in the Scarlet and Gray next year and following them all this spring as they compete for championships."

-Ohio State men’s lacrosse head coach Nick Myers, via Ohio State

College basketball’s early signing day may have been earlier this week, but there was another Buckeye squad who picked up a lot of future talent. The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team saw 12 future Buckeyes sign their National Letters of Intent to continue their careers in Columbus.

Of the 12 incoming players, they’ve added four midfielders, three attackmen, two goalies, two defensemen and one face off specialist. Three of the 12 hail from Ohio, Anthony Ameo of Painesville, and Skylar Wahlund and Johnny Wiseman both from Powell. The rest of the class includes: Alec Cerasoli, Matt Clibanoff, Mike Clibanoff, Buchanan Dunavant, Brandon Fisher, T.J. Hendricks, Zach Ludd, George Walsh, and Scott White.

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-Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com

As blasphemous as it might seem when looking at the totality of Meyer’s time in Columbus, this blazing hot take has been scorching up the interwebs since Ohio State’s historic, embarrassing 55-24 drubbing by the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday.

However, before you chug your Skip Bayless Haterade™, remember that Meyer is less than three seasons removed from winning a national title, and that his overall record as the Buckeye head man is still 68-8 (.895%).

There is no doubt that things are a little rocky right now for the Buckeyes, and that the team hasn’t consistently looked the same since the dream 2014 season, but to say that Meyer is degrading as a coach because he is now “a 53-year-old grandfather,” and that he is moving to the hands-off, CEO model of coaching is antithetical to what is actually going on, and to the thesis of Lesmerises’ article as a whole.

In his piece, Lesmerises says that Meyer is a “culture coach,” and that he mostly leaves the Xs and Os to his assistants. But, that isn’t something that is new, Meyer has always been the big picture guy who was great at getting the most out of his players. Therefore, how does that lead to the softening of his “edge”?

If the problem is with the coaches who are directly working with the players, perhaps you could say that Meyer missed on some coaching hires, but again, given the individual coaches’ resumes, that seems like a stretch (although, Lesmerises did expand on this idea in another article, specifically pointing a finger at former NFL defensive coordinator and OSU’s new linebacker coach Bill Davis).

Could it be that it has taken longer for the program’s new coaches and players to gel than was originally anticipated? Absolutely. But, to say that this is somehow indicative of Meyer losing his edge, even temporarily, is extremely short-sighted and solely of the moment.

In fact, in addition to the admitted truth that the coaching staff still has not found its footing as a cohesive unit, I would argue that Meyer’s “edge” might actually be the thing that is leading to the recent rash of disappointing results for the Buckeyes.

As Lesmerises says, Meyer can just about get any recruit that he wants to come to Columbus, meaning that it is incumbent upon him to go and get the best players for his team, whether they be from Pickerington, Miami, Dallas, or San Diego. The down side to getting the best talent from around the country is that they don’t have the inherent buy-in to the distinct, Ohio State culture and tradition that most of the team’s fans do. Eventually that can have an impact, especially on a team that is lacking in experience.

And that is where the other side of Meyer’s dangerous success comes into play. The Buckeyes have had 19 players drafted into the NFL in the last two seasons alone, not to mention a handful of other players signed as undrafted free agents, many of them leaving before exhausting their collegiate eligibility. At some point, competing with an inexperienced, albeit talented, roster is going to lead to some roadbumps, but I think most people would prefer those roadbumps to the ones suffered by teams who are excited to have one or two players drafted every year.

The point is that the Ohio State football team is nowhere near functioning at its max potential right now, and laying that at the feet of the head coach is perfectly acceptable, given that the buck stops at the top. But, to question if Urban Meyer, a man who has won nearly 90% of his games in Columbus, has all of a sudden lost his ability to coach, or even manage, his team is ludicrous, even in this age of click-bait sports commentary.

“Momentum is building in Ohio for a college basketball event similar to Indiana’s Crossroads Classic.”

-David Jablonski, Dayton Daily News

For years under Thad Matta, and long before, it was the stance of the Ohio State men’s basketball team to avoid scheduling games against other in-state, DI programs. As the state’s flagship school, and the only one in a major college conference, that was certainly in OSU’s prerogative.

The thought was that no matter the result of the game, there was no upside for the Buckeyes. If they beat Dayton, or Xavier, or Cincinnati, then it was expected for the big dog to dominate. However, if say Dayton was to beat OSU 60-59, like in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, it would be seen as a black eye for the Buckeyes, letting one of their “little brothers” beat them up.

However, it appears that those concerns are now all but being ignored as new Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann has openly discussed the idea of putting together an Ohio version of the Crossroads Classic held in Indiana every year. Remember that Holtmann comes to Columbus from Indiana’s fourth(?) biggest basketball program in Butler.

According to Jablonski’s article, discussions have already begun. Ohio State previously announced that they will open up each of the next two seasons with a home-and-home against the Bearcats. While it likely won’t happen any time in the next few seasons, these are promising developments in a state whose basketball prowess shouldn’t have to take a backseat to anyone.

“The upsets in the Big Ten East were the biggest playoff plotlines from Week 10, as the stock of the entire conference dropped as a result.”

-Heather Dinich, ESPN.com

I’m not telling you anything that you don’t already know, but things ain’t looking good for the Big Ten to get a team into the College Football Playoff. With both Ohio State and Penn State losing their second games of the season this past weekend, unless all holy-hell breaks loose, they aren’t getting in. Meaning that the B1G’s best option might be the still undefeated Wisconsin Badgers, who, as of the first playoff rankings, were sitting at ninth.

Now, certainly, they will move up a spot or two with their conference brethren taking a tumble, but there is also the potential for an undefeated No. 10 Miami to jump the Badgers after a decisive win against No. 13 Virginia Tech.

So, even if Wisconsin moves up to No. 8 this week, they still would have two SEC teams, two Big XII teams, two ACC teams (assuming Miami move up), and independent Notre Dame ahead of them. Because there is a likelihood that the conference foes will eventually meet up, if they do, only one is likely to drop out of contention with a loss, leaving at least three teams and the Irish ahead of Wisconsin, who still has no guarantee to remain undefeated.

So, if you are banking on the B1G continuing its streak of playoff participants, you might want to start rooting for 2007 levels of chaos.

STICK TO SPORTS

Highlights of fans storming onto the field, as well as the locker room speech from coach Mick Marotti on how the team will prevail against the Nittany Lions made the final cut for the trailer.

Additionally, this week’s trailer focused on the game-changing plays against PSU. Denzel Ward’s blocked punt, J.T. Barrett’s touchdown passes in the closing minutes of the game, and Sam Hubbard’s double tackle of Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Saquon Barkley were shown, before the phrase “This is Ohio State” splashes onto the screen in-between more highlight clips.

Ohio State takes on Iowa at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

-Ohio State wide receiver Terry McLaurin, via Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland.com

The Ohio State Buckeyes took all 60 minutes to prove that they were the better team against a very worthy adversary in Penn State. The Buckeyes, who boast some of the greatest talent in the nation and consistently better recruiting classes than the Nittany Lions, trailed for the duration of the game until quarterback J.T. Barrett found tight end Marcus Baugh in the end zone for the touchdown that put Ohio State up one point with 1:48 remaining in the fourth quarter.

How the Buckeyes got so far behind to start--by as much as 18--however, was as much a factor of mistakes on the part of the Buckeyes as it was great plays by Penn State. The Ohio State defense, for their part, did extraordinarily well, holding Heisman frontrunner Saquon Barkley to 44 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Trace McSorley, who had four total touchdowns against Michigan last week, had just 192 yards passing on the day. Still, two crucial pass interference penalties--including one on a potential interception in the end zone--turned the tide in favor of Penn State early.

Special teams continued to be flawed throughout the game, especially at the start as Barkley ran the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown. Later in the first half, after cutting Penn State’s lead to 11, Ohio State was penalized for being offsides on the ensuing kickoff. Even later in the game, punter Drue Chrisman dropped the snap and, mercifully, managed to still get the punt away. K.J. Hill managed to hang on after his own blunder after he muffed a punt from the Nittany Lions.

However, the most egregious, and consistent, errors seemed to come from the offense. Fumbles by Parris Campbell and Barrett were both recovered by Penn State, while one by Binjimen Victor was thankfully called back due to holding on the Nittany Lions. Both Hill and Baugh dropped crucial passes from Barrett, and members of the offensive line kept committing false starts at critical times.

Despite their mistakes, the team pulled together when it counted. Barrett was laser focused in the fourth quarter, the defense proved utterly dominant and starters made their way to special teams. It doesn’t help to have so many errors setting the team back, but managing to overcome them--against one of the best teams in the country--speaks volumes about the unit and their resilience.

“It’s no secret. The Ohio State Buckeyes always bring the ratings for TV networks, but especially when they’re lined up against another big-named foe.”

-D.J. Byrnes, Eleven Warriors

Despite a heavy slate of 3:30 p.m. games Saturday, including Notre Dame’s win over NC State, Iowa State’s knocking off of TCU and Northwestern’s upset of then-No. 16 Michigan State, Ohio State’s win over Penn State proved to be the most-watched game of the entire weekend, and the second-most-watched game of the season (Alabama’s win over Florida State in week one earned a 7.3 mark). FOX Sports PR announced Sunday that the top-10 matchup drew a 6.4 overnight metered market rating, with the audience peaking at a 9.0 rating from 7 p.m.-7:15 p.m. during the Buckeyes’ epic comeback. The rating is FOX’s best ever for a regular season college football game.

Of course, the Buckeyes tend to draw a crowd, whether in-person or on TV. Last year’s matchup against Michigan--a noon game on ABC--had a 10.4 overnight rating. That viewership was the highest for a noon kickoff ever. It was also the most-watched game of the 2016 regular season. This season, the Buckeyes’ opener versus Indiana had a rating of 3.6, which made the game the most-watched Thursday opener ever. Ohio State’s matchup with Oklahoma the following week drew more than 8.2 million live viewers and a rating of 5.3.

In addition, millions of people have watched Michigan versus Florida, Michigan State and Penn State. All three matchups, the latter two of which were featured night games on ABC, rank in the top-10 most-watched games this season.

So far this season, Saturday Night Football on ABC has proven to be the dominant force in the television football landscape, and the ESPN family of networks (including ABC) have aired the majority of the most-watched games so far this season.

Ratings for NFL games, while still higher than for college games, have begun to dwindle, while growth for college games has remained steady.

After an exit in round of 16 the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament last season, the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes women’s basketball team is set to open up regular season play Nov. 10 against No. 9 Stanford. Over the weekend, however, the Buckeyes had a strong showing in an exhibition game against the Ashland Eagles, defeating the Division II champs of 2017 110-80 at the Schottenstein Center. Senior forward Stephanie Mavunga and senior guard, and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, Kelsey Mitchell led the Buckeyes in scoring with 28 points a piece. Mavinga also added 23 rebounds and four assists to cap her performance. Three other Buckeyes scored in double digits on the day.

The Buckeyes are considered one of the top teams in the nation headed into the season, especially with Mitchell’s decision to forego the WNBA Draft and return to Columbus for her senior season. Mitchell began making waves as a freshman when she became the first freshman ever to lead the country in scoring with 24.9 points per game. She broke the single-season scoring records for both Ohio State and the Big Ten with 873 points on the year, and broke the NCAA record for three-pointers made in a season with 127. She continued her dominant performance throughout her sophomore and junior seasons, earning first team All-Big Ten honors both years, and is expected to be one of the top players in the conference this season.

Next up, the women are scheduled to face Urbana on Sunday, Nov. 5 before tipping off regular season play.

The men’s team meanwhile, under the direction of first-year head coach Chris Holtmann, looks to be off to an auspicious start in the pre-season as well, earning a victory in a closed scrimmage against Xavier over the weekend. Xavier is widely considered a top-20 team, so even a win in a scrimmage is worthwhile considering the Buckeyes have now been left out of the NCAA Tournament for two-straight seasons.

STICK TO SPORTS

Despite trailing by 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive with their miraculous 39-38 win over No. 2 Penn State, and in the process put the rest of the sport on notice. While everyone had a hand in the comeback (even special teams did something good!), J.T. Barrett and the Ohio State defensive line went above and beyond in carrying the Buckeyes to an improbable win.

You probably already know J.T.’s 4th quarter stats by heart: 13/13, 170 yards, and three touchdowns, including the beautifully designed and executed game-winner to Marcus Baugh:

Not bad for a guy people said couldn’t win a big game.

Meanwhile, the defensive line continued to show why it might be the best position group in the country. The unit racked up 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, held all-world running back Saquon Barkley to just 44 yards on 21 carries, and closed the game out by absolutely mauling the Penn State offensive line on four straight plays:

On this episode of The Hangout in the Holy Land, Colton Denning and Patrick Mayhorn are effusive in their praise of Barrett and the line, and talk about everything that happened in Ohio State’s wild win, including:

• Barrett’s status as the best quarterback in school history.
• Why they think the coaches nearly bungled the game with their kickoff strategy, and wondering what was up with forgetting about J.K. Dobbins, plus the swing passes to Mike Weber.
• Discussing where the game was at its bleakest, but why they always thought Ohio State had a chance to win.
• Giving props to the Austin Mack, Jordan Fuller, and the offensive line, plus looking ahead to the last four games of the season, and more!

You can find the podcast on our iTunes page, and we encourage reviews, comments, criticisms, etc. to help us deliver the best possible audio product. The more we hear from you, the better we can make it. We’re also on Soundcloud, and you can subscribe via RSS on your Android and Windows Phone devices here.

On this episode of The Hangout in the Holy Land, Colton Denning and Patrick Mayhorn talk Ohio State’s improvement over the last month, and what they think of the Buckeyes taking over the No. 1 spot of the new S&P+ rankings. They also break down everything about Ohio State’s 62-14 win over Maryland, including:

• What impressed them most about J.T. Barrett’s game versus the Terps.
• Binjimen Victor’s growth, and whether he’s taken the leap to being the Buckeyes’ go-to receiver.
• Replacing Branden Bowen on the offensive line after his season ending injury.
• Giving props to the defense, talking up Chase Young, Jalyn Holmes, and Nick Bosa, plus a celebration of Jerome Baker’s breakthrough game.
• Wondering what the hell happened on special teams, and why that’s the biggest concern for the team moving forward, and more!

The guys also take a look at what happened around college football this week, make fun of Michigan’s loss to Michigan State, and talk about why you shouldn’t worry about Oklahoma’s loss to Iowa State.

You can find the podcast on our iTunes page, and we encourage reviews, comments, criticisms, etc. to help us deliver the best possible audio product. The more we hear from you, the better we can make it. We’re also on Soundcloud, and you can subscribe via RSS on your Android and Windows Phone devices here.

-Ohio State linebacker Dante Booker, via Tim Bielik, Cleveland.com

By comparison, it took a long time for the Ohio State Buckeyes defense to get their first defensive touchdown of the season. Perhaps it’s because, in 2016, the secondary collectively had three Pick-6’s in the first two games of the season. Or perhaps it seems a long time coming, since defensive tackle Robert Landers appeared to have a fumble return for a touchdown in the team’s opener against Indiana, which was ultimately called back.

While the unit has done a good job of forcing turnovers this season, taking away 12 through six games, including two against Maryland, they hadn’t managed to find the end zone until the first quarter Saturday. Sophomore defensive end Nick Bosa got to Maryland’s Max Bortenschlager for the sack, forcing a fumble by the quarterback. Junior linebacker Jerome Baker did the rest, scooping the ball up and returning it 20 yards for the touchdown.

The defensive touchdown was indicative of the way the unit played as a whole against Maryland. Though formidable against previous opponents, including Rutgers, against whom they pitched a shutout, the defense utterly shut Maryland down in every category Saturday. The secondary emerged in earnest, holding the Terps to just 16 yards passing on three completed passes. Overall, the defense held Maryland to 66 total yards of offense to the Buckeyes’ 584--the fewest yards allowed against a Big Ten opponent since 1960. Five sacks on the day further eroded Maryland’s rushing numbers as the defensive front seven showed their aptitude up front. Moreover, J.T. Barrett, Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins individually had more rushing yards than the whole of Maryland’s offense. And when it counted, Maryland was not able to convert first downs, going just 1-for-15 on third downs. The Terps had just six first downs on the day to Ohio State’s 33.

“If I’m evaluating this play, I’m telling my on-field officials that this is not targeting, and certainly if it goes to replay, we want to overturn this and keep the player in the game.”

-Dean Blandino, FOX Sports

The 107,000-plus folks at the Horseshoe collectively (vehemently) disagreed with the targeting call made against junior quarterback Denzel Ward in the first quarter against Maryland Saturday. Ward made contact after Maryland receiver Taivon Jacobs turned to run after catching a pass from quarterback Max Bortenschlager. It was certainly a juggernaut of a hit, flipping Jacobs on his back and knocking the ball loose. Ward picked up the ball and began to return the ball for what would have been the Buckeyes’ second defensive touchdown of the game and season, but officials ruled the pass as incomplete, and called targeting on Ward.

The NCAA has an expansive definition and description of targeting, and yet the penalty manages to remain ambiguous. While defined as a player taking “aim at an opponent for the purpose of attacking with forcible contact that goes beyond making a legal tackle or a legal block or playing the ball,” notes also reference launching, thrusting and leading with the helmet, shoulder forearm, fist, hand or elbow. This definition, naturally, expands beyond helmet-to-helmet contact specifically when there is a dangerous hit to a player’s head.

All targeting fouls go to the booth for review. If enforced, the offending player is ejected and that player’s team charged a 15-yard penalty. If overturned, there are no such consequences. Ward’s call managed to be called on the field and upheld in review, which indicated that some part of the hit met some component of the NCAA’s definition of targeting. Even so, rules analyst Dean Blandino did not think that Ward’s tackle met the mark for the penalty, given that he led with his shoulder into the receiver’s upper chest.

Fans can appreciate the need to make the game safer for players, but in order for the targeting rule to effectively contribute to that effort, it needs to be enforced consistently.

“I don’t fumble that much so it kind of got to me a little bit. I knew I had to make up for it for my teammates.”

-Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins, via Ryan McGlade, Buckeye Sports

It is expected that freshmen will make mistakes, which is why it is a rare thing to see a true freshman earning serious playing time as a starter. For any other freshman, perhaps, it would not be shocking to commit a turnover. For true freshman running back J.K. Dobbins, however, that sort of mistake is utterly out of character.

After fumbling in the second quarter Saturday, Dobbins estimated that he had only ever lost the ball a handful of times his entire playing career, dating back to peewee football.

In many ways, it’s lucky that Dobbins saw the field at all again after his turnover versus Maryland. Urban Meyer is not one to forgive and forget such on-field atrocities so quickly, often sitting players for the remainder of the game after coughing the ball up. While sophomore running back Mike Weber took the next series, Dobbins was back in before the end of the half, and eventually ran in a three-yard touchdown in the third quarter. At the end of the day, Dobbins finished with a team-high 96 yards rushing.

Weber himself ended the day with 59 rushing yards and a touchdown of his own. Sophomore Antonio Williams also got in on the action, racking up 22 yards and yet another touchdown. With such wealth at running back (and that’s not including Demario McCall, who has been steadily recovering from a groin injury) and a massive lead, Meyer could have kept Dobbins on the bench for the rest of the day without any adverse effects for the rest of the team.

Instead, Dobbins showed that he would make up for his mistakes as quickly as he could. “I know Coach Meyer has a lot of trust in me so I kind of let him down with that fumble,” said the freshman. “But I made sure I would make up for it.”

STICK TO SPORTS

-Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer on defensive end Nick Bosa via Mitch Stacy, Associated Press

If it was possible, Urban Meyer would love to make a whole defensive line consisting of Bosas. Not only did Joey Bosa make a huge impact at Ohio State, and has impressed in his short time in the NFL, but his younger brother Nick is poised to create chaos in the backfield of opponents for the Buckeyes. While Joey made an almost immediate impact for the Buckeyes as a freshman, it took Nick a little longer because of a torn ACL he suffered during his senior year in high school. Even while dealing with recovery from the knee injury, Bosa still was able to register five sacks for the Buckeyes as a true freshman.

Nick Bosa will also have to deal with a little more competition on the defensive line than his older brother did. With guys like Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes, and Sam Hubbard at defensive end, snaps will be a little harder to come by for Bosa. While the younger Bosa might not be able to pile up the stats that his older brother did, it doesn’t mean he won’t be able to make as big of an impact for Ohio State. If anything, the rotation Ohio State will employ at defensive end will likely help Bosa since it’ll keep him fresher against offensive linemen who will be worn down from trying to deal with the Buckeyes’ depth on the defensive line.

What has Bosa really excited for this year is the change in scheme the Buckeye defensive line will employ under Greg Schiano. Last year under Luke Fickell, the Buckeye defensive line had to tie up the offensive line to allow for the linebackers to make plays. Under Schiano, the defensive line can now focus more on creating pressure in the backfield. After outstanding production from the defensive line last year, it’s scary they could be even better this year.

“We have some decisions to make. I don’t know the answer to that. We’re going to sit down and talk after tomorrow and formulate a plan.”

-Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano via Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch

With the kickoff to Ohio State’s 2017 season just a week away, there are still a few decisions to make about who will take the field for the Buckeyes. On the defensive side of the football, there are still questions about who will be lining up at safety opposite Damon Webb. The safety battle has been narrowed to Jordan Fuller and Erick Smith, with defensive coordinator Greg Schiano seeing upside with both. Fuller brings size to the table, while Smith has speed that has impressed so far. It is possible that both safeties rotate until one is able to grab a firm hold on the position.

On offense, there is a three-way battle between Matthew Burrell, Branden Bowen, and Malcolm Pridgeon to take the right guard slot which was vacated when Billy Price moved to center. Unlike at safety, a rotation at guard is less than preferred, but offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson didn’t rule out the possibility. Each of the three guards have had moments where they have looked like they would take hold of the job, only to have their competition close the gap. Wilson is hoping the practices leading up to next week’s game will see one of the guards stand out and make the decision for Wilson easier, and if not they’ll entertain the option of a committee at guard.

“Coach (Urban) Meyer always says it’s a rotating program, when guys leave, guys have to step up. If we don’t have anybody that’s of the same talent, if not better, we lose. The guy that’s in that room has to step up, has to make plays, has to be that guy.”

-Ohio State H-back Parris Campbell via Colin Hass-Hill, The Lantern

It is no small task in replacing a player like Curtis Samuel, but Ohio State is hoping Parris Campbell can be that guy. Campbell is a gifted athlete who has impressed since he was a freshman in high school with not only his speed but also with his agility. While many speedsters have mainly straight-line speed, Campbell is able to change directions, which makes him dangerous on the football field when he gets going.

For the most part, Campbell’s career at Ohio State has gotten off to a slow start, hauling in just 13 catches for 121 yards and no touchdowns. One area where Campbell was able to impress was as a kick returner, averaging 27.8 yards per return, which was 11th-best in the country. With Campbell stepping into Samuel’s spot he should be able to get the football in his hands more and showcase the speed which helped to bring him to Ohio State.

STICK TO SPORTS

- Ian Boyd, SBNation

In this wonderfully data-rich article, Boyd outlines a pretty convincing case for how Wilson will change the Buckeyes’ offense from fairly focused on a small group of weapons to being able to utilize all of the immensely talented skill position players that Urban Meyer and company have recruited in recent years.

As Boyd lays out, one of the main differences between how OSU’s offense has looked under previous offensive coordinators and how Wilson’s offenses traditionally work is that at Northwestern, Oklahoma and Indiana, Wilson liked to have his teams line up in a small set of standard formations, and then run or pass based on what the defense did. Conversely, the Buckeyes have tended to change up their formations and groupings fairly regularly in an effort to keep the defense off balance.

Last year, Wilson’s strategy allowed a larger number of players to receive substantial targets and yardage at IU compared to OSU, especially in terms of wide receivers. Last season, H-back Curtis Samuel was OSU’s leading receiver with 97 targets for 865 yards. While IU’s Mitchell Paige had the same 97 targets, those only amounted for 646 yards. Ricky Jones, however, had 94 targets for 848 yards, and Nick Westbrook had 92 targets that collected 945 yards for the Hoosiers.

For the Buckeyes, the second and third receivers, Noah Brown and tight end Marcus Baugh, had 52 and 48 targets respectively, accounting for just 402 and 269 yards a piece.

The other main difference that Wilson is already bringing to the Buckeye offense is his version of playing with tempo. As Boyd points out, the fact that Ohio State has a talented, experienced offensive line should allow the offense to play at a rate that maximizes their playmakers’ skills.

The key, as Boyd suggests, is to how well the coordinator, Wilson, and head coach, Meyer, are able to marry their offensive philosophies.

“There's no such thing as fair in sports and this injury to Burrow will almost certainly give Haskins a chance to prove himself, but maybe that's ultimately just.”

- Patrick Murphy, BuckNuts

With the disappointing news coming out of the Woody Hayes Center this morning that backup quarterback Joe Burrow will be out indefinitely following surgery to repair a broken hand, the focus of what was a compelling battle behind for the spot behind J.T. Barrett turns squarely onto redshirt-freshman Dwayne Haskins.

While both QBs played well in April’s spring game, it looked fairly certain that Burrow had the upper-hand when it came to backing up the incumbent starter. That idea had been born out since the scrimmage inside The Shoe; while Meyer refused to name an official backup, word of Burrow’s strong grip of the offense seemed to give him the advantage.

However, now that Haskins will be QB2, at least to start the season, he will have the opportunity to catch up to, or even surpass, Burrow. However, as Burrow is expected to return at some point during this season, the unusual early season schedule might end up minimizing Haskins’ on-field ability to shine.

Opening up against a conference foe (Indiana), then playing a highly ranked opponent in Week 2 (Oklahoma), and then having a triple-option based service academy the following week (Army), could mean that Barrett will be seeing more playing time early in the season than OSU starters normally do.

“Now it’s (Parris) Campbell’s turn, and I think he’s ready. It doesn’t hurt that he’s spent the last couple years developing as a wide receiver, either.”

- Ryan Ginn, Land of 10

One of the biggest surprises to come out of Ohio State’s spring practices was that former wide receiver Parris Campbell had made the move to H-back. It seemed odd, especially given the success that Curtis Samuel had in the position as more of a run-first H-back. While Campbell has displayed occasional bursts during his OSU career, they have mostly been as a returner.

However, with Wilson’s high-tempo offense in place, and new co-coordinator and quarterback coach Ryan Day saying that Barrett will be looking to spread the field horizontally as much as vertically, he will need a reliable playmaker at the H-back position.

So, a lot of Ohio State’s offensive success could depend on how well Campbell acclimates to his new position. So, for everyone’s sake, I hope that Ginn is right that Campbell is the Buckeye on the brink of having an offensive breakout season.

STICK TO SPORTS

And a round of applause for the outgunned Silver Bullets.

For any number of reasons, 2016 was seemingly tough on the human race. People were mad online 24/7. Tumult was everywhere. Numerous real celebrities bit the dust, many of whom had varying degrees of impact on a great number of people. And, of course, Ohio State was humiliated by Clemson in the College Football Playoff. Admittedly, the author looks back on 2016 and owns not-great-Bob thoughts about the past 365 days.

But, 2017 is here. Allow me to make the case for sanity.

Before reaching for hate, remember that we all inhabit this planet together. We need each other. We need to open doors for one another and to come home to smiling faces. We need warmth to triumph over cruelty.

Now, having said all that, I’ll probably still ring in the new year by watching The Godfather tonight.

Cheers, y’all. Let’s rank stuff.

1. (Maybe) Browns fans

After Deshaun Watson’s third straight monster showing (316 total yards, 3 TDs) in a College Football Playoff game — last season, Watson racked up 332 total yards and 2 TDs vs. Oklahoma, and 478 yards and 4 TDs vs. Alabama — the Browns surely can’t pass up Watson with the (presumed) No. 1 overall pick, can they?

2. Perspective

Matt did a great job out of outlining the positives from Ohio State’s 2016 season here, but I harbor many of the same sentiments. The most inexperienced team in the nation overachieved by tallying two incredible road victories, beating the best Michigan team since Bush Jr.’s first term, and overcoming some clear recruiting misfires on the offensive line and wide receiver. The sting of last night will linger for awhile, but 2016 was a triumph for the Buckeyes.

3. The returnees

Offensive guard Billy Price and defensive end Sam Hubbard are both on record saying they are returning to Columbus, with the former on the Elflein Plan and moving to center.

The Buckeyes are going to lose more studs (Marshon Lattimore, Malik Hooker, etc.) to the NFL draft than the public (and perhaps even the program) anticipated entering the season, but bringing back Price and Hubbard will add a nice veteran touch to what will be a still-young outfit in 2017.

4. Deshaun Watson, troll

I can appreciate a well-played heel move as much as anyone. Nicely done, sir.

5. The defense

Yours truly is as big of a numbers guy as any, but in this case, the fact that Clemson racked up 31 points and 470 yards of offense fails to illustrate the solid job the Silver Bullets did on Saturday night.

On seven first half drives, but the Buckeyes defense did its job, keeping the Tigers’ vaunted offense to 17 points and notching a pair of interceptions. Ohio State’s D also limited Clemson to 49 yards and three points on its first three possessions post-intermission.

Before running out of gas late in the game thanks to a non-existent offense, the Buckeyes defense mostly bottled up Clemson’s run game and kept Watson from going completely crazy — which is all any reasonable Ohio State fan could have asked of a unit going up against an offense with the potential first pick in the NFL draft and future skill position pros everywhere.

As Larry Bird once told this writer, “Sometimes, shit just doesn’t work out.”

6. Jadar Johnson, keepin’ it real

Johnson, a Clemson safety, didn’t exactly dog J.T. Barrett with his comments on Ohio State’s quarterback earlier in the week...but he didn’t exactly not dog Barrett, either.

Which is fine. And great.

Johnson told us what he thought. And deep down, Reasonable Ohio State fan knew Johnson was right about his Barrett-is-a-good-college-QB-but point of view. If Barrett and the Buckeyes used Johnson’s words as bulletin board material, more power to them.

But Johnson backed up whatever intentions he may have had with his words, as his defense blanked the Buckeyes and limited them to under four yards per carry and under four yards per pass.

7. J.T. Barrett and that bad taste in your mouth

I’m in the camp that believes Ohio State can win a national championship with Barrett as its quarterback, but he’s going to have to help himself more, while also receiving more assistance from his supporting cast — players and coaches included.

Barrett’s raw numbers were awful last night: 19-of-33 for 127 yards and two interceptions plus minus-2 rushing yards on 11 carries. He’s a better player than that.

Over two years ago, I sat high up in Spartan Stadium and watched Barrett, then a freshman, toss the rock around the yard and carve up a good Michigan State pass defense. Barrett finished with 300 yards passing, but it could’ve easily been 450 yards. He was that good. I’m not naive enough to think that Barrett hasn’t regressed, and that in 2014 he was was aided by throwing to Devin Smith, Michael Thomas, and Jalin Marshall, and that he had the supreme privilege of handing off to Ezekiel Elliott, who might be the best running back on the planet.

But with better/new coaching, improved options at receiver, and an actual commitment to offensive balance against good teams, I’m convinced 2014 Barrett (or at least, say 75 percent of that guy) is waiting to be unfrozen out of carbonite.

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Just about nobody saw it coming: 31-0 Clemson was a result that was seemingly barely on the table at all.

The boxplot of performance volatility I posted in the advanced stats preview doesn’t even really capture the offensive performance we saw on New Year’s Eve — Ohio State’s worst bowl loss since 1920 and Urban Meyer’s largest margin of defeat ever as a head coach. In many ways it felt similar to the 2006/7 41-14 National Championship loss to Meyer’s Gators (I’d argue that was worse, but that’s another story) in terms of embarrassment on a national stage.

But now it’s 2017, and Ohio State has the opportunity to dig in to what went wrong against Clemson, make the necessary adjustments, reel in a top-3 recruiting class, and prepare for another shot at the playoff for 2017.

In the table above, scoring opportunity efficiency looks at the average points scored per scoring opportunity -- drives with a first down past the opponents' 40 yard line. Drive efficiency looks at the percentage of drives that were scoring opportunities. The number in parentheses is the number of three-and-outs the offense had. Rushing opportunity rate is the % of runs that gained 5 or more yards. Rushing stuff rate is the % of runs that were for no gain or a loss. Explosive plays are 12+ yard runs and 20+ yard passes here. This table only includes non-garbage time numbers, and I set garbage time at Clemson’s final touchdown with 8:51 left in the game, following OSU’s last interception.

In the advanced stats preview we noted that four advanced stats would matter most:

Rushing opportunity rate. Ohio State has to maintain its biggest offensive advantage — efficient rushing. Without an efficient run game, Ohio State will be forced into obvious passing situations, heavily benefiting Clemson.

Ohio State’s sacks allowed. The biggest mismatch for the Ohio State offense -- outside of the passing game overall — will be the offensive line in pass protection against Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins. It’s unlikely that Ohio State will win allowing 6+ sacks again.

Interception margin. Deshaun Watson will find some success passing -- he’s too good not to, no matter what secondary he’s facing — but the key will be creating at least one interception. Malik Hooker, Marshon Lattimore, and Gareon Conley have to play their absolute best against this loaded Clemson passing offense.

Wayne Gallman’s rushing success rate. For Ohio State to slow the Clemson offense down, they’ll need to completely remove Gallman from the offensive gameplan. As good as Watson is, stopping the run should be the first goal. Ohio State has to force Clemson to doubt whether they can rely on Gallman to pick up critical short yardage -- and as it is they’re 86th in power success rate.

Ohio State defense: Stopping Gallman and forcing turnovers

Key stats:

• Defensive stuff rate 24% (41% including 1-yard gains)
• Defensive explosive play rate allowed: 12%
• Third down %: 47%
• Gallman rushing success rate: 44% overall, 22% in the first half
• Overall explosive play ratio: 9:2, in favor of Clemson

Probably the biggest key I saw was stopping Gallman, making Clemson one-dimensional, and then forcing turnovers. Those three things were all interrelated based on Clemson’s worst performances this year — while Deshaun Watson is obviously prolific, I wasn’t confident in the Tigers’ ability to consistently move the ball without an efficient ground game.

For a quarter and a half -- until Clemson started their 8-play, 83-yard drive with 6 minutes left in the first half — the Ohio State defense stayed on script. They’d forced two interceptions out of Watson, including one on his first throw of the game, and Wayne Gallman even ended the half with just 22 yards on 9 carries (2.4 yards per carry) with only 3 carries of 5 or more yards. If you add stops for just 1-yard gains, the Ohio State defense had a 41% stuff rate, which is even higher than the Buckeyes’ country-leading average. Until the game was essentially decided, the Clemson run game was held in check.

But then two things changed that ended up leading to all of Clemson’s four touchdowns. First, the Tigers had two touchdown drives that began in Ohio State territory (and another that ended in a missed field goal). Clemson had about a 5-yard field position advantage over the course of the (non-garbage time) game. The reasons for Ohio State’s field position disadvantage were varied — sometimes they were due to turnovers (like following Van Smith’s 86-yard interception return) and sometimes they were due to poor offensive drives that simply failed to move the ball down the field.

Second, Deshaun Watson and his limitless supply of elite receivers created explosive plays. Clemson’s opening field goal was spurred by a 37-yard Mike Williams catch-and-run. Their first touchdown included a 26-yard Williams reception too. Their second touchdown had a 33-yard Watson run as well as a 30-yard wheel route touchdown. Their third quarter touchdown drive, which started at the Ohio State 40, had a 17-yard Watson run followed by a quick 12-yard run by Gallman. Their final touchdown drive started at the Ohio State 7-yard line, so an explosive play wasn’t even possible.

The 2016 Ohio State defense was excellent — probably the best in recent memory — and the Fiesta Bowl was their first time allowing over 30 points in a game this season. The field position issues certainly weren’t on the defense. But while we expected a certain number of explosive plays allowed — after all, Clemson averaged an explosive play in one of every four snaps this season and Ohio State — we couldn’t have really expected the Tigers to essentially maintain their explosiveness with a 21% explosiveness rate.

Ohio State offense: Negative plays and turnovers

Key stats:

• Rushing stuff rate: 31%
• Rushing success and opportunity rates: 50%
• Overall negative play rate: 22%
• 3rd down rate: 17%
• 3rd down average yards to go: 8.25 yards
• Scoring opportunities/total drives: 4/12
• Three-and-outs/total drives: 4/12

Anyone who follows college football could’ve told you that Ohio State’s passing game could’ve been a liability against Clemson. Ohio State had the 54th-ranked passing attack by passing S&P+ and was 90th in passing success rate entering the game. But I thought sacks allowed and overall interception margin between Watson and Barrett would be the two keys, along with maintaining their seemingly decisive advantage in efficient running. Ohio State went 0/3 in these three metrics.

First, both Watson and Barrett threw two interceptions. Watson’s first came on his first throw, giving the Buckeyes the ball on the Clemson 33-yard line for their first scoring opportunity of the night (which ended in a missed field goal). His second came in Ohio State territory on a 3rd-and-7 just inside the scoring opportunity range. Essentially the only costs to those turnovers were missed opportunities for the Clemson offense.

Both of Barrett’s second-half interceptions came inside a scoring opportunity. One was on the Clemson 27 and the other was a 4th-and-27 on the Clemson 33. While the second pick came on a play with a low probability of success anyway, it resulted in the 86-yard return and resulting score, which ended up icing the game for Clemson. While the score sheet shows a push on interception margin, it’s easy to make the case that Ohio State’s interceptions were more costly than Clemson’s.

Second, and third, Ohio State allowed an absurd number of negative plays. We expected this for the passing game. Clemson ranked 4th in both overall havoc rate and adjusted sack rate, while Ohio State ranked 79th in adjusted sack rate on offense. The right side of the line in particular was prone to allowing pressure on passing downs. But while pressure on J.T. was a problem, Clemson only managed three sacks on the night. Going by Ohio State’s other season-long offensive trends, that wouldn’t be enough to sink the offense.

Instead, the real problem was that the offense allowed an absurd number of tackles for loss in the run game. All told, 10 of Ohio State’s 45 non-garbage time snaps were for a loss and nearly ¹⁄₃ of their rushing plays were for no-gain or a loss. That’s completely counter to season trends for both teams — and the biggest surprise factor that cost the Buckeyes the game. During Ohio State’s regular season, which included games against tough defenses like Michigan and Wisconsin, Ohio State was third in the country in stuff rate allowed, at just 12.6% of runs. They were second in opportunity rate (5+ yard runs) at 47.8%. Clemson, meanwhile was just 39th in stuff rate at 21.2% and 12th in opportunity rate at 32.5%. So in the Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State’s stuff rate was 146% worse and Clemson’s was 46% better than their season averages.

Rushing efficiency overall wasn’t the problem — it was inconsistent line play and play calling that led to the disastrous rushing performance. Looking at the overall rushing success rate (which looks at progress towards first downs: 50% on 1st, 80% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd) and opportunity rate, Ohio State averaged 50% efficiency in both stats. That’s a little below their average rushing success rate and a little above their average rushing opportunity rate on the season. But negative plays and the early deficit led to just 21 runs the entire game, and only 5 for Mike Weber. On standard downs, the Buckeyes typically run 64.7% of the time — against Clemson, they ran just 39% of the time total.

As a result, the Buckeye offense was behind the chains and behind the scoreboard nearly the entire night. In non-garbage time, they averaged 8.25 yards to go on third down. Even if you take out two outliers due to penalties (of 17 and 18 yards to go), they still averaged 6.4 yards to go on third down. Ohio State is not built to convert third and longs — they ranked 74th in passing downs success rate — which is why rushing and standard downs efficiency was so important. But when 9 of 12 third down attempts were with 5 or more yards to go, this offense didn’t really stand a chance.

So all in all, the Buckeyes managed just 45 non-garbage time plays. 10 of those plays, or 22%, were for a loss. They had 12 offensive possessions in that time — four were scoring opportunities (which went: missed field goal, missed field goal, interception, interception), and four were three-and-outs.

What now?

The offensive staff has a lot to think about over the offseason. The passing game has had two years of regression — from second in passing S&P+ in 2014 to 26th last season, to 54th this season before averaging 3.8 yards per attempt against Clemson. The offensive line has replaced multiple starters in each of the last three years but has still been a strength of the team, but couldn’t handle elite pass rushers this season. Wide receivers often failed to get separation despite their elite speed. And the team was overly reliant on efficient running, without the ability to quickly come back from a deficit or effectively generate explosive plays.

But there is a lot of reason for optimism, too — certainly enough for Buckeye fans to be optimistic heading in to 2017. The Buckeyes are likely going to have a senior starting quarterback. The offensive line will be largely intact, and buoyed by a few key recruits and healthy players. They’ll actually return some experience at wide receiver (the Buckeyes had the lowest returning experience of any Power-5 team this season). The secondary might lose a number of players early, but will at least get an infusion of freshman talent on signing day. So there are strong reasons to like the Buckeyes’ chances of a repeat playoff appearance next season too — and hopefully with better results this time around.

The Bucks are in good shape.

Ohio State had a tough time with Michigan State on Saturday, coming away with a 17-16 victory in less than ideal conditions in East Lansing.

After that result, the Buckeyes come in at No. 2 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings as we come down the stretch. They remain behind Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide, just as the rest of the country has all season.

The Buckeyes will have one final test in the regular season against the Michigan Wolverines. A win there would help the Buckeyes in fulfilling their College Football Playoff hopes moving forward, whether that turns into a Big Ten Championship game appearance or not.

Navy and Houston were newcomers to the rankings at No. 25 and No. 20 respectively. The Big Ten was represented well in the top 10 with Michigan at No. 3, Wisconsin at No. 6, and Penn State at No. 7 to go along with the Bucks at No. 2.

Here are your entire College Football Playoff rankings:

Assuming MSU doesn’t shock the world, the young back should be fun to watch on Saturday.

After showing impressive potential against Bowling Green and Rutgers early in the season, freshman running back Demario McCall was left on the sideline as the going got tough for the Buckeyes during the four-game stretch in October. However, with Ohio State’s back-to-back 62-3 victories over Nebraska and Maryland, the North Ridgeville grad has again struck the fancy of the Buckeye faithful. With H-back Curtis Samuel on pace to have a record-setting season, many have already penciled him into the 2017 NFL Draft. If that’s the case, McCall just might be the next explosive playmaker for OSU.

While recent memory is more than enough to remind Buckeye fans of Michigan State’s ability to spoil the Scarlet and Grey’s postseason hopes, S&P+ rankings forecast a comfortable 30-point victory for Ohio State. While fans shouldn’t count their victories before their hatched, if that is in fact what happens, this could be an opportunity to see what McCall is able to do against a tough-nosed defense that head coach Urban Meyer says on film still looks as tough as ever.

With their season almost certainly over after their game against Penn State a week from Saturday, there should be no underestimating the motivation of a proud team looking to play spoiler after figuring out how to win, beating Rutgers 49-0 last weekend. So, just keep in mind that whether is was 1998 or 2015, the Spartans have a knack for upending the Buckeyes’ postseason plans.

So, for the curiosity and entertainment value of seeing how the young back does against the Spartans, McCall is the offensive player to watching against Michigan State this weekend.

The stats

Name: Demario McCall
Number: 30
Position: Running Back
Year: Freshman
Height: 5’9
Weight: 182 lbs.
Rushing: 273 yards, 3 TDs
Receiving: 84 yards, 1 TD

In his limited playing time this season, most long after the game has been decided, McCall has proven that he has the speed and elusiveness to be a difference-maker at the collegiate level.

Coming out of high school, he is a little undersized for the pounding of a full Big Ten schedule, but strength coach Mickey Marotti will certainly work to improve that, and as a recruit, McCall was clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.54 seconds. Needless to say, this back has the makings of a special player.

As evidenced in the above highlight, he has both the speed to run away from defenders, the fast-twitch muscles to move laterally, and the vision and decision-making to find holes.

Opposition research

Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

There is no doubt that since former OSU defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio took over as the head coach in East Lansing in 2007, the Michigan State Spartans have been one of college football’s best defensive units, finishing in the Top-10 nationally in Total Defense in four of the last five years. However, this season has not been nearly as positive, having given up 30 points or more in five games, the most since 2009.

The decline in productivity is especially startling when comparing the 2015 team to this year’s. Last year, MSU ranked 12^th in Defensive Passing S&P+ and 15^th in Rushing. Through 10 games in 2016, they currently rank 105^th and 63^rd.

On both sides of the ball, Dantonio has been forced to rely on unproven players more than he has with his traditionally veteran-laden teams of the past, and that has led to an uncharacteristically high number of penalties; 67 flags accounting for 641 yards in 10 games, which ranks as 106^th in the country out of 128 teams. While the inexperienced squad has caused both penalty and productivity issues for the Spartans this season, it could set them up nicely to rebound next year.

This season, junior linebacker Chris Fry leads the team in tackles with 57, and senior LB Riley Bullough, who missed time with injury earlier this season, has turned in double-digit tackles in three of the five Big Ten games that he’s played in, Northwestern (12), Michigan (14), and Illinois (11). With the Spartans all but eliminated from bowl consideration, certainly the All-Big Ten performer would like to make his mark in one of his last high-profile games.

What to watch for

If this Saturday’s game is anything like the last two (which there is no guarantee that it will be), McCall should start seeing playing time at some point late in the second quarter or early in the third. After the Nebraska game, Meyer said that in addition to a lack of physical strength and experience, the one thing keeping the freshman from the field more often is a lack of ball security in practice.

However, the coach noted that he is already seeing improvements on that front. “He's a very want-to guy,” Meyer said. “He's not defiant. So he will play. He's earning the right to play around here.”

On the first offensive play after halftime against Maryland, McCall took a swing pass from quarterback J.T. Barrett, and turned it into a 32-yard gain. While he was racing past defenders on the sideline, it is noticeable that he was keeping the ball high and tight, but in his exposed right arm. While the technique was sound, switching the ball to his outside arm might have prevented a turnover had the tackle knocked the ball loose. Correcting small things like this could get McCall more touches in the season’s home-stretch.

If McCall continues to work on taking care of the ball, there’s no doubt that he has the potential to contribute to future Buckeye squads, but also to this one as a possible playoff berth unfolds. With senior Dontre Wilson leaving the Maryland game due to injury, and still struggling to figure out how to be most productive, McCall’s speed and escapability could prove to be valuable against teams who haven’t yet considered him one of the team’s major weapons.

Ohio State will take on the Michigan State Spartans this Saturday at 12 p.m. from East Lansing. The game will air on ESPN, and Land-Grant Holy Land will have all of your coverage before, during, and after the game.