Ohio State Football: Highlights Outweigh Mistakes

Ohio State's new look offense produced no look points after the first quarter. The Buckeyes trailed 3-0 with a measly 48 total yards and two first downs.

The fervor of 105,039 fans, Urban Meyer's highly-anticipated debut, and the razzle-dazzle of Braxton Miller, all faded into the overcast skies.

But then, Devin Smith saved the day. He leaped a tall defender in a single bound and snatched the ball from sailing out of bounds for a fantabulous TD reception.

That excited the Buckeye Nation and ignited Miller as Ohio State tacked on 49 more points. Meyer's offense looked like the Florida days of thunder.

Ohio State defeated Miami (Ohio) 56-10 in an emotionally charged season-opener.

Meyer is 4-0 in debut games for Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and OSU.

No doubt, the Buckeyes have work to do before they become the juggernaut that Meyer has envisioned. But overall, the positives trump the negatives.

Without further ado, much ado about everything.

Braxton Miller Is No One-Trick Pony

It was a sluggish start for the amped-up Braxton Miller. Season-opening jitters have a tendency to do that to sophomore quarterbacks. Remember, the kid is 19-years-old.

Miller seemed out of sync, throwing off the wrong foot and delivering passes a split-second late. His indecisiveness (should I pass or should I go) resulted in a 1-of-7 start for 26 yards.

However, the acrobatic catch by Devin Smith released the pressure and Miller found his comfort zone, dodging defenders for 161 yards on the ground and 207 yards via the air.

Miller threw for two TDs with zippo interceptions and scored another on a nifty 65-yard run.

He accounted for 368 of Ohio State's 538 total yards.

In addition, Miller established a record-setting performance for an OSU quarterback with his 161 yards rushing. The previous record was 146 yards by Cornelius Green against Wisconsin in 1974.

Miller showcased his talents, running (9.5 yards per carry) and passing (58 percent completion rate), but it was his leadership abilities during a rocky start that should impress onlookers.

No. 5 is no one-trick pony. How about future Heisman candidate? 

Pass Rush on Heels

Miami QB Zac Dysert had his way, completing 31-of-53 passes for 303 yards and one TD. It seemed John Simon, Garrett Goebel, Jonathan Hankins and J.T. Moore couldn't muster any penetration.

The starting front four of Ohio State recorded zero sacks and zero TFLs, allowing Dysert all day to throw.

The leading tackler was a linebacker. Sophomore Ryan Shazier tallied eight take-downs. 

The good news, the defense held the RedHawks to minus-1 yard rushing.

Another bright spot was the play of reserve linemen Adolphus Washington and Noah Spence. The two combined for three TFLs, totaling minus-28 yards. Both are freshmen.

For whatever reason, starting DE Michael Bennett didn't play.

The Buckeyes have plenty of depth on the D-Line with 20 players. There should be plenty of competition this week for playing time against Central Florida.

The Scales of Justice: A Balanced Offense

Cha-ching.

The Buckeye offense rolled the last three quarters to finish the game with 538 total yards. More impressive, it was an intricate balance between the run and pass games.

Ohio State gained 294 yards on the ground and 244 yards in the air.

RB Carlos Hyde battered for a tough 82 yards on 17 carries and two TDs. Hyde replaced Jordan Hall who is week to week with a knee injury.

As the game progressed Miller and Co. were able to gain huge chunks of yardage, keeping a strain on the Miami defense.

The receiving corps contributed to the strain. Seven players caught passes, including Corey Brown with seven catches for 82 yards and one score and Evan Spencer with three catches for 54 yards.

Balance is the key to Meyer's version of the spread attack and option running game. In order to win big games against Wisconsin, Michigan State and Michigan (bad example), the Buckeyes need a consistent ground attack.

More Production from the Running Backs

The good news, Ohio State rushed for 294 yards and five TDs.

That's deceptive, though, because Braxton Miller accounted for 161 of those yards. The rest of the running backs totaled 141 yards in 30 attempts for a lowly 4.7 average.

Obviously, senior RB Jordan Hall was sorely missed (no pun intended).

Aside from Carlos Hyde's 82 yards (4.8 avg.) and two TDs, freshman Bri'onte Dunn added 31 yards (4.4 avg.) and one score.

Zach Boren ran for 10 yards on two carries, including a two-yard TD plunge.

Sledge hammer Rod Smith averaged 5.3 yards per carry and finished with 16 yards.

The backfield needs to step up, but it won't be easy behind a young and inexperienced O-Line.  

Secondary Produces Big Plays

The secondary bended, but it didn't break, keeping most of Zac Dysert's yardage underneath.

Travis Howard led the way with two critical interceptions to halt Miami scoring drives. He showed tremendous leaping ability.

Sophomore Bradley Roby paced the secondary with six tackles and scored a TD on a 1-yard fumble recovery.

Christian Bryant added to the fray with five tackles.

Overall, this close-knit group responded to the overload of pass attempts and kept Miami out of the endzone most of the afternoon.