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It can be difficult to assess the Ohio State Buckeyes after two routs over two inferior Power 5 programs.
The gulf in talent between Ohio State and its first two opponents — Oregon State and Rutgers — is probably as wide as the gap between those two programs and a decent Football Championship Subdivision team.
By thumping Rutgers 52-3 on Saturday, Ohio State became the second FBS team to reach 900 victories, joining archrival Michigan in that club.
But the question remains: How much do we know about Ohio State? And what do Buckeyes coaches needs to address most heading into this Saturday’s impending showdown against TCU in Arlington, Texas?
A few patterns have emerged:
Dwayne Haskins is efficient
The sophomore quarterback looked better against Rutgers than he did in the opener. He had only three incompletions in his second college start. Much like the opener, Saturday’s game saw Haskins look comfortable at all times. He has shown great proficiency in throwing slants, screens and other short to intermediate passes. He also has let loose on a couple of throws deep and did well. Haskins has not been asked to do too much, but he has delivered on everything that he has needed to so far.
Defense rounding into form
Yes, Rutgers was atrocious on offense last year and didn’t look any better on Saturday (134 total yards) in Ohio Stadium. But Oregon State wasn’t any good last year, either, and the Beavers racked up 392 total yards and 31 points against the Buckeyes on Sept. 1. So OSU’s performance against the Scarlet Knights has to encourage the legions in Buckeye Nation. The Scarlet and Gray allowed just 134 yards to the Scarlet Knights, better than all but two games in 2017.
Tate Martell can handle himself
One of the positives for OSU coming out of these lopsided victories is that the coaches have had a chance to assess backup quarterback Tate Martell (photo at top). He has substituted for Haskins at certain intervals in the first two games and has already proven his athleticism. He also displayed toughness after taking a big hit, which should resonate with teammates. Against Rutgers, the freshman was 10-for-10 passing for 121 yards and a score, and led OSU in rushing with 95 yards on eight carries.
They haven’t leaned on Dobbins
After J.K. Dobbins rushed for 1,403 yards last season, one could be forgiven for thinking that he would be hotly pursuing Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor for the Big Ten rushing title in 2018. Dobbins is going to have to make up a pretty big deficit. The sophomore has only had 27 carries for 127 yards through two games, which is partly a function of OSU removing its starters early. There will be times when Haskins struggle, and Dobbins and Mike Weber must step up on those days.
Still a lot to clean up
The Buckeyes committed 11 penalties for 120 yards against Rutgers, a step in the wrong direction after they had six for 50 against Oregon State. TCU has consistently been tough and disciplined under Gary Patterson and will take advantage of those cheap opportunities every time. Particularly concerning, OSU senior guard Malcolm Pridgeon was called for holding twice in the second quarter and Chase Young was ejected after drawing two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, both basically for overexuberance.
Longtime newspaper veteran Jim Tomlin is a writer and editor for saturdaytradition.com and saturdaydownsouth.com.