Ohio State football: 5 reasons the Buckeyes will beat Rutgers

4. The Buckeyes are starting to put the pieces together.

It’s safe to say that the Bucks didn’t have everything figured out once opening day came around. The Bucks trailed during parts of the first half against Indiana and got completely outplayed in week two against Oklahoma. Spirits were down a bit surrounding the outlook of the Bucks’ season following those sub-par performances.

Speaking of having to put the pieces together… the Bucks are actually at the top of the conference in a few ways. The narrative surrounding the Bucks continues to label them as a disappointment but is that completely true?

The answer to that is yes and no. Yes, the Bucks are a disappointment considering the high expectations set for them to begin the season. No, they are not a disappointment because they are still excelling in ways that most would have thought they wouldn’t.

Being ranked second in the nation after losing almost all of the key pieces that earned them that ranking from last season made it next to impossible to deliver. As noted earlier, the Bucks’ entire secondary went to the NFL Draft which was responsible for the Bucks’ sixth ranked passing defense, third ranked scoring defense, and near most defensive touchdowns scored off turnovers last season. They also lost their lone offensive superstar in Curtis Samuel. The absence of Samuel means 1655 total yards of offense that the Bucks had to make up for out of the blue.

However, the Bucks are still exceeding some expectations despite those losses. After losing Curtis Samuel to the draft, the Buckeyes were almost surely poised to slow down without their electrifying play maker. The Bucks had something to say about that when they added J.K. Dobbins to the mix. Dobbins picked up right where Samuel left off by ripping off huge yardage on several occasions so far this season. He is now the leading rusher in the Big Ten and sixth in the nation.

Believe it or not, J.T. Barrett is second in the Big Ten in passing yards. He is also tied for second in passing touchdowns and only has one interception. These stats don’t tell the whole story but the production is there nonetheless. Much less can be said about many other quarterbacks in the Big Ten. Instead of taking another step back, Barrett still has a chance to take a step forward.

After long last, it looks like Barrett is finally connecting with his receivers. Barrett looked lost in the pocket in the first two weeks of the season. Receivers appeared to be open but he wasn’t getting the ball out and he was over throwing open receivers when he did get the ball out more often than not.

There has been some positive change in the last two weeks. Barrett has been far more efficient with his passing and has looked more confident. Barrett is completing 74% of his passes over the last two games compared to just 55% in his first two.

Yes, the competition has been far worse but being an efficient passer is valuable in any scenario. He still has to be able to get the ball to his receivers regardless of who’s on defense and that’s something that Barrett has struggled with.

Barrett has now thrown seven touchdown passes in the last two games. More importantly, six different receivers have caught touchdowns from Barrett. Getting receptions spread to all of the receivers in those two games was exactly what the Bucks needed and Barrett did exactly that.

This offense has the potential to be even more high powered than last season’s because of that stat alone. The Bucks did not get the receivers involved in the offense at all last season. Remember Noah Brown? He was nearly nonexistent last season as the team’s leading wide receiver with just 32 receptions for 402 yards. Seeing Barrett toss touchdowns to six different receivers in a two week span is definitely something to be excited about.

If Barrett can continue to spread the ball around the offense consistently then the Bucks will surely become the threat they were once touted to be. Barrett and the Buckeyes’ offense has another opportunity this weekend to put their play on display. Expect the Bucks to try and work the ball around once again on Saturday.