This week’s edition of 4th & Short provides an in-depth analysis of questions from fans regarding Ohio State football, the Big Ten, and college football.
The Ohio State football team survived a first forty-minute scare and later took control to beat a talented and extremely fast TCU team. Top performances from Dwayne Haskins and the Buckeye defensive line were all keys to victory Saturday night.
Urban Meyer is now officially back full-time from his suspension which means the intensity within the program is going to take an even greater step forward, especially with a trip to State College in two weeks.
Ryan Day and the rest of the coaching staff did a phenomenal job keeping the Buckeyes focused and not skipping beat during Meyer’s absence. Day had no fear with the offensive play calling in the three games he served as acting head coach which put the rest of college football on notice as Dwayne Haskins raw talent was unleashed.
Let us take a look at this week’s questions in the latest edition of 4th & Short.
Q: What’s your Top 10?
A: My Top 10 up to this point in the season is as follows:
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Clemson
5. Oklahoma
6. LSU
7. Notre Dame
8. Stanford
9. Penn State
10. Washington
Q: What excites you the most about what you saw from Ohio State ? And on the flip side, what scares you the most?
A: I was most excited to watch Dwayne Haskins start a marquee matchup with the whole country watching. I was very pleased with his performance, nevertheless, heading into Happy Valley in two weeks will really show what he is made of.
I was also extremely thrilled to see the defensive line step up and make crucial plays to pick up the slack from the offenses’ slow start. In part, the sluggish start points wise was due to dropped passes by Austin Mack.
The Buckeyes kept swinging and fighting and eventually overtook the game in the third quarter with twenty points in a four-minute span.
On the contrary, the linebackers inability to play in space when facing elite speed is still an issue. Shawn Robinson and Darius Anderson torched the back seven of the Buckeyes on multiple occasions.
Ohio State has not given up consistent big plays since fixing their 2013 defense which ended that year in shambles. This is a serious cause of concern especially because Ohio State has to endure Trace McSorley and a whiteout crowd in two weeks, so Bill Davis and company must work at warp speed to fix this ongoing issue.
Now for more questions concerning the Big Ten.