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Ohio State Football: Talk about a bad time to face Army

By Charlie Lockhart

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes watches the action during the second half of the 2016 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl against the Clemson Tigers at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes watches the action during the second half of the 2016 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl against the Clemson Tigers at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Following the Oklahoma loss, Army isn’t the ideal opponent for Ohio State.

One of the most difficult things for college coaching staffs to deal with during the regular season is how to correct flaws in their units while preparing for the upcoming game. With limited practice time during the week, the best case scenario is the team they are playing enables them to do both, and then see if any improvement is made during the game. That definitely is not the case this week as Ohio State takes on Army.

The Buckeyes’ two glaring weaknesses at the moment are in the passing game, on each side of the ball. After playing the Black Knights, there is a real possibility there will still be more questions than answers concerning Ohio State’s ability to throw the ball or defend the pass.

First of all, Army’s head coach Jeff Monken appears to dislike the forward pass about as much as Urban Meyer does kicking a field in the red zone. The Black Knights run an option offense which piles up rushing yards but doesn’t exactly test the defense in the passing game.

Army is ranked No. 2 in the country in rushing at 417.5 yards per game but are at the bottom in the FBS in passing offense with only 17 yards throwing the football in the first two games.

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Army is ranked at No. 68 in pass defense giving up 216.5 yards per game. And that was against Fordham and Buffalo. Even if J.T. Barrett has a 300 yard passing game, how much can the coaching staff take from that.

Also, you know Urban Meyer would love to let the dogs loose following the bad loss to Oklahoma. He won’t do that against Army. No coach in America has more respect for the military and the Service Academies than coach Meyer.

Yes, he will attempt to get a big early lead and get reps for the backups. But if that happens he won’t run an up tempo offense and the Buckeyes won’t be working on their passing game.

You can expect handoffs to running backs and the quarterback milking the clock. The last thing Urban Meyer wants to be known for is the coach who intentionally ran the score up on Army.

Next: The Buckeyes' 31-16 loss to Oklahoma was needed

Not much will be learned from Saturday’s game in the two areas I mentioned. In fact, there may be very little to take away except for how the Buckeyes responded from their loss to the Sooners.

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