The Ohio State Buckeyes started slow, but turned it on in the second half as they pulled away from Indiana to the 49-21 win. As with every season opener, there was plenty of rust for the Buckeyes to shake off, and Ohio State has plenty of things they need to improve upon heading into next weekend's showdown against Oklahoma. Here are the three biggest things we learned from the game:
1) Ohio State's offense is still a work in progress
Let's start with the positives. Ohio State found a new star in J.K. Dobbins (more on him in a second) and had some receivers make plays on two long touchdowns. Several players looked explosive and will hopefully give the Buckeyes a multitude of weapons.
Now, the bad news. The offense didn't looked improved at all in the first half. Receivers weren't getting open, were dropping passes and Barrett was missing open guys. The end result was 93 passing yards at halftime - and it felt like they had half of that. They were able to get more production in the second half off of short passes, but still struggled to drive the ball down the field. It's the problem that plagued Ohio State last season and will be something worth watching over the course of the next few weeks.
2) J.K. Dobbins is the real deal
Wow. That's the only word that accurately describes Dobbins' performance in his college debut. Wow.
Getting the start for the injured Mike Weber, Dobbins kept the offense moving all game and looked like the best player on the field, racking up 181 yards on 29 carries. He showed excellent vision, acceleration and power that allowed him to pick up several big gains, even when Indiana was stacking the box. Weber will still be the starter (probably) when he returns next week, but Dobbins will be splitting carries. He looks like a future superstar.
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3) The young secondary played like...a young secondary
Ohio State's dominant defensive line had all the headlines in the offseason - and rightfully so - but there were major questions about the secondary coming into this game. Underclassmen where replacing three starters on the back end of the defense and it showed early in the game when Indiana drove down the field with ease on their way to a 14-6 lead. They did so almost exclusively via the pass, using multiple wide receivers on one side of the formation to confuse the coverage.
That worked for a while, but the Buckeyes adjusted as the game went on and slowed Indiana down in the second half. Remember, almost all of the guys on the field were top-notch recruits, so they have talent to play well. But it's clear they need some experience and need to grow.
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