Should the Ohio State Buckeyes Really be B1G Favorites?

Offense

We know how good Braxton Miller is at the quarterback position. Last year, in two fewer games than the year before, he upped his passing touchdown total to 24 to go along with only 7 interceptions. Combine that with the fact that he had a 1,000 yard rushing season and 12 rushing touchdowns, and I’m still trying to figure out why he hasn’t received the college hype that Meyer’s other prodigy quarterbacks, Alex Smith and Tim Tebow once had. There will be no problem for him to continue to dominate at quarterback, but what if he gets hurt again this year? Kenny Guiton was amazing in the offense last year when he stepped in, and now he’s gone. That leaves sophomore Cardale Jones and redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett to take the reigns, neither of whom threw a pass last year. With Miller healthy, there’s no question the Buckeyes should be set at quarterback. But if he’s hurt, then questions arise. That’s not to say Ohio State will be bad, but we simply don’t know.

Dec 7, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Braxton Miller (5) throws a pass during the third quarter of the 2013 Big 10 Championship game against the Michigan State Spartans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Meyer-coached running backs hardly ever put up the numbers Carlos Hyde did last year. With 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns, Hyde will be severely missed. Don’t get me wrong here, there’s plenty of talent at the position with sophomores Dontre Wilson and Ezekial Elliott and senior Rod Smith, and Elliott and Wilson were more efficient than Hyde after averaging more than 8 yards per carry each. But being able to carry the load for a full season the way Hyde did, along with Jordan Hall, who is also gone, seems to be something that’s very hard to do. It’s possible, but matching production like that is always unlikely.

As if Hyde’s departure wasn’t enough, the loss of receiver Philly Brown hurts as well. Brown was only targeted 87 times and caught 63 balls for 771 yards and 10 touchdowns in a passing game that spreads the ball around. Senior Devin Smith should do fine resuming his role after 660 yards and 8 touchdowns, and senior Evan Spencer will have a larger role after only 216 yards and 3 touchdowns last year, and luckily he has about the same speed as Brown, but he only caught half of the balls that were thrown to him, while Brown caught nearly three quarters of his targets. So in order to fully replace Brown, Spencer will have to show better hands. A big plus for this unit is the return of tight end Jeff Heuerman, who had 466 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns last year while only being targeted 36 times. Nick Vannett will provide depth as the backup tight end who can play as well. One true part of the receiving corps. is that Meyer has built up incredible depth, with nine other players on the roster and eight freshmen, seven of whom are 4-stars. The unit is deeper this year than it was last year and has many more weapons, so while the loss of Brown will hurt, overall it shouldn’t make much of a difference in Meyer’s offense.

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The offensive line alone is a reason to be seriously concerned about the team this year, though. The top four starters are gone, including All-American tackle Jack Mewhort, First Team All-Big Ten center Corey Linsley, and second team All-Big Ten guard Andrew Norwell. You can’t replace that, especially with the two most important positions being led by superstars who are now both gone. Breaking in new running backs and replacing your four best linemen who did so much for Miller the past two years is going to be hard. Although the spread is a mix of the option and the west coast offense, and the west coast offense doesn’t rely as much on a line, the option offense does. It’s particularly vital in Meyer’s spread offense with Miller’s determination to run north and south. Junior tackle Taylor Decker is the best of the bunch and has the most experience with 14 games, so he should fill Mewhort’s void, but he won’t be as good. Guards Pat Elflein, Antonio Underwood, Joel Hale, and Tommy Brown will all be in competition for those two starting spots on the line, but they all had limited action last year, and not one of them was a blue-chip recruit. Look for junior Chase Farris to push for a starting job at guard as well, and he does have the most potential. Senior Darryl Baldwin will likely be the other tackle to start, but he has no starting experience either. With junior Jacoby Boren expected to start at center, Meyer is dealing with a very inexperienced line this year that doesn’t have a lot of highly recruited players. Sophomore tackle Kyle Dodson could be in the mix, though, and despite no experience, he was highly recruited. Perhaps he’ll turn to his freshmen. There are three on the roster and all were 4-stars, but once again there’s no experience. The problem is experience is crucial for the offensive line in this system because there are so many complex schemes and read plays that they have to learn. Otherwise, it’s a recipe for consistently disastrous penalties every game. Expect this unit to be talented this year, but look for it to be the most penalized line in college football. Illegal formations, false starts, and missed blocks are simply inevitable.

Because of the hit taken on the offensive line, it’s hard to say the Buckeyes will have a better offense this year. Once again, it has to be noted that an experienced offensive line is often crucial to the success of Meyer’s spread offense, and although he could withstand the loss of a couple players, the loss of the four best and most experienced linemen will make it difficult. Luckily, there are plenty of skill players at other positions to make an impact, and if they get the ball in open space they’ll still be great. But it’s going to be much harder to get them the ball in open space this year, so a slight drop-off in offensive production should be expected.