COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The growing pains didn’t hit Ohio State right away.
And even though the Buckeyes escaped in their latest nail-biter, the inexperience all over the roster is now clearly creating some issues. What looked like a simple reloading job for a legitimate national-title contender in September has instead become a struggle for conference survival for Urban Meyer’s program by the end of October.
The Buckeyes did make the plays they needed to down the stretch in the 24-20 win over Northwestern on Saturday at Ohio Stadium. And while a shaky performance in an upset loss on the road to Penn State last week could have been excused for the hostile environment and the fluky nature of the two blocked kicks it took to knock them off, it’s starting to look like more of a warning sign for the stretch run now.