OU Gets Ready for Ohio State By Remembering Last Year’s Loss

VIDEO: Baker Mayfield talks to media following last year’s 45-24 loss to Ohio State in Norman. Ironically, Norvell was also at that game. Yet Mayfield and Barrett play for schools on the short list of teams expected to win every single game – and mean it.

Andrews is in the mold of the athletic tight ends you see putting up huge numbers in the NFL. Both coaches opened the season with lopsided victories.

Is it me or you or has J.T. Barrett been a Buckeye for like a decade now?

What: No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. MI is 6-2 SU and ATS in its last eight games in Week 1.

But in the second half, Ohio State made a series of adjustments that limited the damage the Hoosiers did through the air.

“Ohio State put it on us and there’s no other way to put it”.

The stakes rise a bit in Week 2, headlined, of course, by a visit from Oklahoma to face Ohio State on Saturday night (7:30 ET, ABC) and rivalries are rekindled in Pennsylvania and Iowa. Baker Mayfield ranks first in completion percentage, yards per attempt and touchdown percentage on throws outside the hashes, but I think Ohio State is going to learn from the first game and win this game against Oklahoma. Does that help them going into the Horseshoe?

Feeling the flames: Issues with air quality created by ongoing wildfires in OR may have an impact on games this weekend involving Nebraska and Minnesota.

Sure, they won the Sugar Bowl, they’ll arrive in Columbus with the nation’s longest win streak, but last season’s loss to Ohio State was a wrong that was never righted. Hopefully, we’ll see less petty trolling from the two teams on Twitter and more action on the field. “Quite frankly, it’s just embarrassing”. IN led the Buckeyes 14-13 at the half, with Cobbs making several acrobatic receptions that allowed IN to retain possession.

Let me get down to the brass tax in this one. “That will be our main focus”.

During Tuesday’s Big Ten teleconference, Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck called it “a very, very scary situation” and said his program was willing to make whatever adjustments were requested.

Oklahoma got plenty of production from their pass catchers in their easy win over the Miners on Saturday. The only players to finish in the top five three times are Doc Blanchard, Glenn Davis, Doak Walker, Archie Griffin, Herschel Walker and Tim Tebow, a who’s who of all-time college football greats.

Fifteen players have earned top-10 finishes three times.

For now, only four teams in all of college football earn a bid to the playoff, but there are five major conferences.

The Sooners rolled to a 56-7 victory over UTEP in the season opener.

Instead Ohio State’s secondary with new corners Kendall Sheffield and Damon Arnette, and new safeties Jordan Fuller and Erick Smith must bounce back from the 400-plus passing yards (and two tight end touchdowns) IN had last week and try to shut down the Mayfield-Andrews connection. The Sooners’ playoff anxiety increased as the season went on.

OU couldn’t have asked for more than a dominant win to start the year, but it will need an even more impressive performance to outlast the Buckeyes. Either way, though, the Sooners have one of the best offensive lines in college football.

They have Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, who will rotate between linebacker and defensive end.

But we could stand to learn a little more about the Buckeyes’ secondary.

Like the offense, the Ohio State defense imposed their will in the second half of the contest.

“Oh, definitely”, Campbell said. “Thirty-eight plays of no gain or lost yardage”. Properly deploying linemen and fullbacks to stop the evolving looks of some of the country’s best defensive lines can be a logistical nightmare.

So, hope abounds that Lincoln Riley’s Sooners are more than ready to take on the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus. Look for Oklahoma to start strong this time around. MI fans shouldn’t root for Ohio State under any circumstances.

Really, though, the Buckeyes were mostly fine in pass defense.

“They have the same coordinator on both sides of the ball”, Meyer said. “I think with those guys you have to give them a lot of respect. I’m looking forward to doing that”.