Ohio State Football: Midseason Grades for Each Buckeyes Positional Unit
Ohio State entered the year as college football's first unanimous preseason No. 1 team in the AP poll, and it was expected to dominate an easy schedule en route to a second appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Seven weeks in, the Buckeyes are undefeated and still No. 1, but they haven't looked as strong as many had anticipated heading into the season.
After opening the season with an impressive-looking 42-24 victory over Virginia Tech on the road, Ohio State looked sluggish and uninspired in victories over Hawaii, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Indiana. But the Buckeyes have impressed over the last two weeks in blowout victories over Maryland and Penn State, showing flashes of the dominance that most expected in the preseason.
With things starting to click for Urban Meyer's squad, here's a look at how each unit has performed through the first seven games of the 2015 campaign.
Quarterback
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Quarterback was supposed to be a position of strength for the Buckeyes, but through the first half of the season, it's been one of the team's biggest weaknesses.
In 2014, J.T. Barrett guided Ohio State to an 11-1 regular season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury against Michigan. That's when Cardale Jones took over and ran the Buckeyes through a historic 3-0 postseason tear, setting up college football's most intriguing position battle for 2015.
Jones came out on top of that battle in the season opener against Virginia Tech and played admirably, totaling 286 yards and three touchdowns in an 18-point victory. But his play slumped from there as he struggled with his accuracy and red-zone efficiency, throwing for just three touchdowns and four interceptions in the ensuing four games.
That opened the door for Barrett, whom Urban Meyer inserted as a situational red-zone quarterback against Maryland and Penn State. The results were definitive as the Buckeyes scored 10 touchdowns in 11 trips inside the Terrapins' and Nittany Lions' 20-yard line, leading Meyer to make the switch to start Barrett over Jones.
So far, Jones and Barrett have combined to complete just 61.9 percent of their passes for 1,491 yards and 11 touchdowns against seven interceptions. But Jones' inability to run the ball took a potent element away from the offense as he ran for just 130 yards on 50 attempts. Barrett will bring that element back to the offense, as he's run for 228 yards and five scores in just 29 carries.
Grade: C-
Running Back
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Ohio State has one of the best running backs in the country in Ezekiel Elliott, and the coaching staff has leaned on him heavily as the offense works to identify its best quarterback and its identity as a whole.
Through seven games, Elliott has run for 988 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging an impressive 6.7 yards per carry. If Ohio State reaches the Big Ten title game, he's on pace to break the school record for rushing yards in a single season by the bowl game or the semifinal playoff game.
Elliott was at his best on the road against Indiana, when he erupted with second-half scoring runs of 55, 65 and 75 yards on his way to a career-high 274 rushing yards. The Buckeyes needed every bit of that production to hold off a furious Hoosiers rally and secure a 34-27 win.
The only knock on the running back position is the lack of productive depth. The No. 2 and No. 3 running backs on Ohio State's depth chart—Bri'onte Dunn and Warren Ball—have combined for just 86 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight End
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Ohio State's quarterbacks have underperformed this year, but they haven't gotten much help from their wide receiver corps.
Of course, that unit came into the season looking to fill the massive holes left by Devin Smith, who was one of the country's most lethal deep threats a season ago, and Evan Spencer, the team's MVP and best perimeter blocker.
Corey Smith was expected to emerge as one of the team's deep-ball receivers after a breakout spring game, but he was lost for the season when he broke his leg against Indiana. Noah Brown was going to be the perimeter bulldozer to replace Spencer, but he suffered a season-ending leg injury of his own during fall camp.
Even with all of those deflections and injuries, the Buckeyes have a lot of talent on the edge.
Michael Thomas has been the best wideout for the Buckeyes and leads the team in receptions (30), receiving yards (433) and receiving touchdowns (five). Jalin Marshall is starting to come into his own as a true receiver and is second on the team with 17 receptions for 284 yards. And of course, Braxton Miller's highly anticipated move to wide receiver is starting to bear fruit, as he's hauled in nine receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns over the last two games.
Tight ends Nick Vannett and Marcus Baugh aren't making much of an impact in the passing game. Vannett has nine receptions on the year for 88 yards, and Baugh hasn't caught a single pass, but the two have been paving big lanes for Ezekiel Elliott in the running game.
But Ohio State's pass-catchers need to step up for J.T. Barrett, because Meyer wants his offense to have balance. The Buckeyes didn't have that against Penn State last Saturday, when they ran the ball 50 times while throwing just 19 passes.
Grade: C
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Offensive Line
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It's been an up-and-down season for Ohio State's offensive line.
It started with a bang in the opener against Virginia Tech, when the Buckeyes bulldozed their way to 359 rushing yards and didn't surrender a sack in the convincing victory. This performance was a year removed from the stunning 35-21 upset that the Hokies sprung on Ohio State last year. In that game, the Buckeyes managed just 108 rushing yards, and J.T. Barrett was sacked seven times.
But when the Buckeyes returned home to face a trio of severely overmatched opponents, the offensive line struggled. Ohio State rushed for an average of 188 yards against Hawaii, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, and it failed to give Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett a consistently comfortable pocket to throw from. The struggles stemmed from Ohio State's inability to block "odd-man fronts" that put a defender directly over the center.
Those struggles faded as soon as conference play kicked off, though. In the last three games against Indiana, Maryland and Penn State, the offensive line has powered Ohio State to an average of 256.3 rushing yards per game, highlighted by a 315-yard performance against a top-10 Nittany Lions defense.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
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Joey Bosa became one of the most feared pass-rushers in the country during a breakout sophomore campaign last year when he ranked fifth nationally in total sacks (13.5) and tackles for loss (21). Entering his junior season in 2015, he was expected to lead Ohio State's talented defensive line and threaten to break the school's single-season sack record that Vernon Gholston set in 2007.
But Bosa missed the first game against Virginia Tech due to a suspension, and over Ohio State's last six games, he's notched just 2.5 sacks. Those look like disappointing numbers at a glance, but Bosa has been just as dominant this season—he's just making a different kind of impact. He's become largely unblockable in one-on-one matchups, so most teams have double-teamed Bosa throughout each game.
That has opened up huge opportunities for the other defensive linemen, and those players are answering the bell.
Weak-side defensive end Tyquan Lewis leads the team with 5.5 sacks, and defensive tackles Adolphus Washington and Tommy Schutt have combined for 4.5 sacks. Sam Hubbard has been a valuable reserve and boasts 2.5 sacks on the year.
The pass rush has been very good for the Buckeyes this year, but the overall run defense has struggled. Ohio State has surrendered an average of 158.7 yards per game so far, which ranks 60th nationally, and the issue seems to be compounding as Ohio State's last two opponents—Maryland and Penn State—averaged 224 yards on the ground.
It will be tough for the Buckeyes to improve here without the services of Schutt, who broke his wrist against Penn State. The timeline for Schutt's return is unclear, but he'll be out for at least a few weeks, according to Eric Seger of Eleven Warriors.
Grade: B-
Linebacker
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Ohio State returned two of the most productive linebackers in the country in Joshua Perry, who led the Buckeyes in tackles a season ago, and Darron Lee, who was college football's best-kept secret.
Perry is the vocal leader of the defense and a productive force, ranking second on the team with 52 tackles and three sacks. Lee is just as disruptive as he was last year, ranking third on the team with six tackles for loss.
But the unit has surged this year because of Raekwon McMillan's presence at middle linebacker.
As a true freshman last year, McMillan played alongside senior Curtis Grant and thrived. As the sole starter this year, he's taken a huge leap and has played very well for the Buckeyes. He leads the team and is tied for 10th nationally with 67 tackles. His ability to drop into coverage and attack the run game sets him apart in a defense that's loaded with star power.
“It’s kind of funny,” McMillan said, according to John Kampf of the News-Herald. “People ask me, ‘You’ve got Darron (Lee), you’ve got Josh (Perry), you’ve got Eli (Apple), Gareon (Conley), Vonn (Bell), Joey (Bosa) on the defensive line and Adolphus (Washington) making plays and making interceptions.’ I feel like I’m blessed to be in the middle of it all and part of this great defense.”
The linebackers share some responsibility for the recent struggles against the run, but the unit has been mostly solid so far this year.
Grade: B
Secondary
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Of all the units on the team, Ohio State's secondary has made the biggest leap from a season ago.
That's not to say the defensive backfield was bad in 2014. The unit surged down the stretch of the championship run and finished the year at No. 29 nationally in passing yards allowed. But with three starters back (cornerback Eli Apple and safeties Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell) this year, the Buckeyes have surged, ranking fourth in the country by allowing just 143.6 yards per game.
A big part of that success has been the emergence of cornerback Gareon Conley, who beat out Damon Webb for the starting spot opposite Apple. Conley has been the surprise star of the team so far with 23 tackles, one interception and three pass breakups. His strong play has been huge for the defense, because he struggled in a big way as a reserve a season ago.
“It’s all about confidence. At corner, you have to be confident to play here because you’re playing a lot of man-to-man,” Conley said, according to Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors. “Last year, I was just thinking too much. This year, I’m not really thinking I’m just playing.”
With Conley playing so well alongside Apple and the outstanding pair of safeties in Bell and Powell, Ohio State has one of the nation's strongest secondaries.
Grade: A
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