Ohio State Football: Why The Buckeyes Will Beat Tulsa

The Ohio State football team plays Tulsa in Week 2. Here’s why the Buckeye will win.

Regardless of the 28.5 point spread, the Ohio State football team faces a better team than they took on last week in Bowling Green. Tulsa took apart San Jose State in Week 1. They boast a potent offense that will serve as the first test for the inexperienced Buckeye defense. FoS has what to watch for in The Ohio State – Tulsa Previe

1. Tulsa Can Run the Ball

The Golden Hurricane rushed for 305 yards during Week 1. This doesn’t happen by accident, even against a team like San Jose State.

D’angelo Brewer led the way with164 yards and three scores as the Hurricanes scored 45 points.

Considering Tulsa is down a team captain at defensive tackle, it’s easy to assume coach Phil Montgomery will try to take advantage of OSU’s youth up front.

Tulsa brought back14 returning starters, so the notion of playing a big game won’t shake them too much. Remember, this is a team that scored 34 points in 11 of 13 games during the 2015 campaign.

2. Tulsa’s Defense is historically bad

While ESPN’s Phil Steele is high on the Hurricane offense, he noted that they were still outgained by nearly 75 yards per game. In 2015, Tulsa ranked 125th in the nation in total defense and gave up 293 yards through the air and 239 yards through the ground per game. All those yards led to Tulsa surrendering nearly 39 points per game, giving up over 30 points in 11 of 13 games. Even in a conference that features Memphis, Navy, and Houston, that is a horrible stat line.

3. Ohio State will be able to get youth on the field

The theme of this team is youth and inexperience. With that said, Tulsa’s high tempo offense, born of Montgomery’s Baylor heritage, will test that depth on both sides of the ball. They ran 86.3 plays per game, which was the most in the nation in 2015. With a returning starter at quarterback in Dane Evans and leading receiver Keevan Lucas poised for another 1,000 yard season, the tempo will again be a key piece of the puzzle for Tulsa. Almost every back up for the defense is a first year player. With the potential to see 86 plus plays, that’s a lot of opportunity for the young Buckeyes to get some experience.

4. The playbook will expand

It won’t just be because the defense is bad or it’s a second week game. Oklahoma will be a tough test in Norman even if they are reeling from the loss to Houston. The Buckeyes put up record numbers in week one and will need to keep the ball rolling against Tulsa. Part of the momentum is going to be expanding the playbook for two reasons:

A- Oklahoma will have to prepare for what they see on film

B- The training wheels don’t just come off in Norman, they’re completely ripped off.

J.T. Barrett is able to run the complete Urban Meyer playbook, allowing Mike Weber, K.J. Hill, Noah Brown, et al to take on more responsibility at a more prudent pace. Week two means it’s time to expand a bit on the action plays and not just be faster than a defender, but smarter than a defender as well.

5. A pass rusher must emerge

Ohio State will score a ton against such a horrendous defense. Tulsa will score too, but will also be playing catch up and might have to abandon the run the way Bowling Green did in Week 1.

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After a lackluster effort by the pass rush in last week’s game, Greg Schiano’s group needs to show they can get after the quarterback. This will help keep the Tulsa offense in check AND give Baker Mayfield and the shaky Sooner offensive line something to prepare for. Tyquan Lewis and Sam Hubbard have to step up and get some heat off the edge against what will likely be a pass happy Tulsa offense.

Final Prediction

There will be plenty of points to go around. Unlike against Bowling Green, both teams will be finding the end zone. The Buckeye’s won’t hit 77 points again, but it will be because the opposing offense will actually be able to move the ball a bit. There will be some holes n the Buckeye D, namely the pass rush will still struggle and the young secondary will show some warts. Either way, expect the Buckeyes to control the game and come out ready to travel to Norman for the biggest game of the early season.

Ohio State 49-31 over Tulsa. Barrett plays big again and Mike Weber finally gets his first score of his Buckeye career.

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