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| Braxton Miller rushed for another two scores vs. UAB. |
An imperfect team, with a perfect record. It's starting to sound like a broken record. Saturday's game wasn't what anyone thought it would be. The Buckeyes (4-0), again played another sub-par game vs. a lower-opponent UAB (0-3) and still have several question marks, heading into their Big Ten Conference opener vs. Michigan State (3-1). The line was set at 37 points! Gosh, the Buckeyes didn't even reach 37 points, let alone come anywhere close to winning by 37 points. At one point, the Buckeyes saw themselves down 9 to 0, before they finally showed some sign of life in the final 7 minutes in the 2nd quarter. For it to be a 21 to 15 score with 5 minutes to go, is just unacceptable. The Buckeyes were again, lucky that the Blazers won't able to make a couple plays/catches here or there or things could of really went wrong in this one. Again, its a win, but this non-conference slate of games where tougher then I (the rest of Buckeye Nation) expected. Better tighten your chain-strap, cause things get a whole lot tougher, in the next couple of weeks with games @ Michigan State & vs. Nebraska (October 6th). An imperfect team, with a perfect record. Hey, I'll say that for eight more games if I have to, haha.
It was a omen the rest of the day, after the first play of scrimmage for the Buckeyes. Braxton again overthrew a wide-open WR Devin Smith. Who knows, if Smith catches the pass and scores, maybe it's a different story for this game. It was another slow-start for this offense as they continue to work in Urban's spread attack. Braxton had a total of 207 yards of offense with two more rushing scores. Jordan Hall had a career-high 105 yards on the ground, and continues to get back into game-shape after missing the first two games of the season. Rod Smith was a pleasant surprise scoring the Buckeyes first touchdown on the day, and had a couple nice runs to get the offense going. Hopefully, Carlos Hyde is back this week, because this offense is in need of a bruising running-back, heading into the Big Ten slate of games. Michigan State's defense is one of the best in the land, and basically shutout the Buckeyes a season ago. Let's hope Braxton & Co. can come up with some explosive plays early and often, because so far this season they have been inconsistent. Inconsistent, not going to get it down vs. Sparty.
Defense:
On paper this defense, with its depth & names, sounds like a typical Buckeye "Silver Bullet" Defensive unit. However, games are not played on paper, and this defense is no where close to being a traditional Buckeye defense. Playing without two starters in the defensive backfield (Barnett & Roby), the Buckeyes D unit, again missed several tackles and let one of the worst offenses in the nation rack up 403 yards of total offense against them. No pressure against the QB, and dropping 8 in coverage is becoming very frustrating to watch. This unit looks a lot like last season, when they were gashed for big plays & surrendering yardage. They were able to keep the Blazers out of the end zone, holding them to 3 out 4 FG's. The bright side, the Spartans haven't looked very good on offense this season, with the expectation of RB Le'Veon Bell. I'm sure, the focus this week in practice will be again, TACKLING, which is a critical aspect of defense and slowing down Bell in this weeks game. I can only hope this defense improves as they head into the Big Ten schedule, fingers-crossed. Where's the Juice?
Next Week:
The Buckeyes (4-0) go on the road for the first time this season. The Scarlet & Grey travel up to East Lansing, MI for their Big Ten opener vs. Michigan State (3-1). The game preview will be in this weeks installment of Urban Renewal.
