A bunch of kids from Ohio State that had never gotten on an airplane before traveled to Norman Saturday to take on one of the most storied programs in the history of college football. Rather than shrink under the pressure, those same kids took a step towards making history of their own.
Here are five things we learned from Ohio State’s impressive victory over the Sooners:
5. Noah Brown, welcome to the big time
In case you were in bed because of the weather delay at Owen Field, or were hiding under a Maize and Blue rock somewhere, let me fill you in to what one Mr. Brown can do for you at Ohio State. It’s no secret that the Buckeyes were missing a big-play threat in the passing game last year, meaning that same question was in need of answering coming into 2016.
Consider it answered big time.
Brown caught five passes for 72 yards and four touchdowns, often in the midst of more traffic than a New York City rush hour. And in case you missed it, one play in particular will be an early candidate for play of the year.
There are still plenty of offensive weapons for quarterback JT Barrett to choose from, but with the big play threat of the 6-2, 218 lb. Brown coming of age, defenses will have to remain honest and refrain from keying in on the likes of Curtis Samuel, Barrett, and Mike Weber on the ground. Opposing defensive coordinators have been put on notice.
4. The secondary is playing at a very high level
There was an awful lot to replace on the back-end for OSU, but so far at least, it looks like the competition there has resulted in a deep and talented core of cornerbacks and safeties that might be the best opportunistic group in the country.
Safety Malik Hooker has already flashed his brilliance as the center-fielder on the defense, but others like Gareon Conley, Marshon Lattimore and others have played lock-down pass-defense and been a ball-hawking group that has now accounted for four pick-sixes already on the young year.
They are still young, and there’s sure to be some inconsistent moments, but you’ll live with that the way they are reading, reacting, covering and taking the ball away from opposing offenses right now.
3. Mike Weber is starting to break-out
http://gty.im/607369180
We’ve already seen JT Barrett running the point and making all the right reads so far this year, and Curtis Samuel is turning heads, but lost in the shuffle is the job the guy responsible for replacing one of the most talented running backs in recent memory at Ohio State is doing.
Mike Weber was a highly touted recruit out of Detroit Cass Tech, and had to get over a nagging injury early in his career, but things could be a lot worse than sitting and learning from a pretty good back last year. He’s not quite to the level of an Ezekiel Elliott yet, but we are starting to see flashes of the talent the coaches were excited about beginning to take hold. In fact, Weber is farther ahead of Elliott at this stage. In Elliott’s first three games as the No. 1 guy, he had just 141 yards on 27 carries (5.2 ypc), while Weber has carried the ball 54 times for 351 yards (6.5 ypc).
Of course Elliott had a monster back-end of 2014.
The hesitancy of hitting the hole, and an ability to break tackles and burst into and through the second level of defenders is becoming more apparent each weekfor the kid that got away from Michigan.
2. Ohio State’s defensive line is improving
Gone are the Bosas and Washingtons that were explosive play-makers on the defensive line. And while there might be a noticeable drop off in pressure and push into the offensive backfield so far, there is improvement.
Against Oklahoma, the Ohio State defensive line was able to get substantially more pressure on Sooner quarterback Baker Mayfield, and the interior of the line often squashed any running lanes between the tackles. There’s still a need to get off blocks and pinch things more towards the middle of the field when things go outside, but things are headed in the right direction.
1. Curtis Samuel is a game changer
When Samuel first got on campus, Urban Meyer was quick to spread praise about his athletic ability and speed. For the first couple years of his development however, there have been some health issues, but also far too many toys to play with at Meyer’s disposal.
With Braxton Miller at H-back last year, Samuel was again lost in the mix on a team loaded with talent, but not any longer. We can now all see why the 5-11, 197 lb. junior from Brooklyn was thought of so highly. He’s got a quick first step with top-end speed to burn, and can make anyone in the country miss in space.
He broke a few big runs against the Sooner defense, including a flash of a dash around end for a 34-yard scamper where he simply outran everyone to the corner and turned on the jets.
4th and 1? No problem.
Curtis Samuel takes off for the @OhioStateFB Touchdown! #OSUvsOU https://t.co/3AZ5LtpaHm
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2016
Above all, he is a dual-threat catching passes as well as on the ground with a very balanced 259 yards and two touchdowns receiving, and 260 yards and two touchdowns rushing.
Defenses will have their hands full with No. 4 the remainder of the year.
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Phil Harrison is a frequent contributor to The Student Section. He is also a featured contributor to collegefootballews.com, and talking10.com. You can follow him on twitter @PhilHarrisonCFB or email him at pharrison28@gmail.com. If that doesn’t work, you can find him in the doghouse at home.
