Ohio State football: What we learned against UNLV

Ohio State destroyed UNLV on Saturday, but what key points stood out in the win?

Ohio State was in control from the get-go and was able to pull most of their starters before the end of the first half. While most of the game was a success, there are still some hard lessons for the Buckeyes from the win over the Rebels.

What did we see on Saturday that’s important for the start of Big Ten play?

Obligatory “J.T. Barrett is still really good” comment

Hey, J.T. Barrett is still really good. So good that he threw for five touchdowns to five different receivers before the end of the first half. So good that he got to be a spectator longer than he was a participant.

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Barrett is so good that he is now in sole possession of second place all-time in Ohio State history in passing yards and is one good series away from eclipsing 10,000 total yards — the first time that would happen in Buckeye history.

Barrett ended the day 12/17 for 209 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. There are three throws in particular that stood out. Two of them were excellent touch passes into the end zone. Barrett’s throw to Terry McLaurin was a great example of how a quarterback can lead a receiver to open space.

The second of these touch passes was his jump ball to Binjimen Victor, where he kept the ball at such a high point that it was only his man who could have come down with it. Victor deserves a ton of credit for the play, but the ball still had to be there.

The last throw was the 69 yard swing pass to Parris Campbell that started the scoring. Barrett’s throw maybe gained all of two yards of ground, but still managed to result in a big play.

For all of the deserved criticism about the vertical passing game, Barrett didn’t exactly throw bombs against UNLV. He hit his targets in space and let them be far better athletes than the defense. Does the big play to Campbell count less because Barrett didn’t throw the ball deep downfield?

No, it doesn’t. So let’s not worry about how the points look in Big Ten play and worry more about that they are on the board in the first place.

The secondary is still not fixed

Kendall Sheffield is going to get a lot of attention for all of the wrong reasons. Three significant penalties kept drives alive. Sheffield’s issues contributed to the eight penalties for 85 yards the Buckeyes had on the afternoon.

For a point of reference, UNLV managed only 88 passing yards all game, even after Ohio State emptied the bench. The Rebels weren’t good enough to punish Ohio State for their sloppy play.

In the Big Ten, though, opposing coaches have enough film on the Buckeyes to be able to make those penalties hurt. More importantly, better talent and better coaching will use those penalties to force Ohio State into playing softer in coverage and taking fewer chances on the ball.

That’s not exactly the type of passive play Greg Schiano wants out of his group. Depth also becomes a concern.

Denzel Ward is locked in as the top corner with Sheffield and Damon Arnette rotating in and out opposite of Ward. Damon Webb, Erick Smith, and Jordan Fuller have their own rotation at safety that seems to be working out fairly well.

Neither Arnette nor Sheffield have taken hold of the starting role without a one step forward, two steps back kind of deal. The secondary should be sending thank you cards to the defensive line for all of the pressure they applied. It’s the only way UNLV was only able to muster 88 passing yards.

That pass rush, though, is insane

Larry Johnson’s group was the single most dominate unit on the field Saturday. Nick Bosa caused an interception and the type of pressure Schiano can dial up because of the group up front means that they can hide some of the issues in the secondary.

It was impressive to watch against the Rebels on Saturday. The Buckeyes had 13 tackles for loss on the day, a big reason why UNLV managed 88 yards on 19 passing attempts.

Bosa had three tackles for loss alone. 14 different defensive players recorded at least one-half of a tackle for loss and Dre’Mont Jones knifed through and recorded a safety on the next snap after an Ohio State fumble on the goal line.

The Big Ten presents some challenges for the secondary that hopefully the defensive line can fix. Penn State is a top 25 passing attack and Trace McSorley is the real deal.

Iowa, Michigan, and Michigan State are at least middle of the pack teams in terms of passing production. Wisconsin could be looming in the Big Ten title game. Coaches like Mark Dantonio, Jim Harbaugh, James Franklin, and P.J. Fleck (if Minnesota makes it out of the West) are smart enough coaches to exploit the Buckeye secondary.

The pass rush needs to keep up the pace to hide some of the flaws behind them.

The real season begins now

The loss to Oklahoma might have been the best thing to happen to the Buckeyes. We all want them to make a run for a national title each and every season. We all want to see a repeat of 2014 with a Big Ten championship, a playoff win, and national championship game win.