Very rarely does Ohio State open their regular season away from Columbus. Not since the 1998 opener, a 34-17 win over West Virginia in Morgantown, did the Buckeyes venture away from Ohio Stadium to commence their run for Big Ten and national glory. That changes on Saturday afternoon as the Scarlet and Grey travel to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore for a matchup with the Midshipmen of the Naval Academy.
Despite the mere 29-mile distance between the home of the NFL’s Ravens and the campus in Annapolis, the de facto visiting Buckeyes should be well-represented in the stands. Ohio State fans are well known for their traveling support and the players on the field could enjoy some semblance of a home field advantage on the road in Maryland.
Expectations for the year were thrown a bit of a curve ball last Monday when Braxton Miller re-aggravated the shoulder injury he originally sustained in the Orange Bowl, requiring surgery and ending his 2014 season. Redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett will make his first career start this weekend in front of an audience anxious to see if he is capable of preserving whatever inkling of conference and national title hopes the Buckeyes still espouse.
I’ve outlined the five most prominent themes that will be on display below in order of importance.
5. Navy’s uniforms will turn heads and command respect
Sports apparel designer Under Armour certainly outdid themselves with the outfits that the Middies will sport as they take the field in Baltimore. Not only are the uniforms aesthetically awe-inspiring, they are designed to mimic the “Summer Whites” military uniform worn by attendees of the academy. The insignia displayed on the shoulders and pant legs of the uniforms will differ based on academic class and resemble the actual rank structure that exists as students progress from freshmen to seniors on their way to becoming commissioned lieutenants in the United States Navy.
4. This is a perfect matchup to break in the secondary
Navy was the second-worst school in FBS when it came to passing the ball in 2013 with an 85.9 yards per game average. That should bode well for a unit with a great deal of game experience but only one regular starter from last year in senior Doran Grant. Though they shouldn’t be tested in the air, their open-field tackling ability should be challenged at times given Navy’s multitude of options (no pun intended) on the ground, including versatile quarterback Keenan Reynolds.
3. Experienced receiving corps, backfield not so much
It will be imperative for these two components of the offense to take as much pressure off Barrett as possible early on. He has two senior receivers in Evan Spencer and Devin Smith who should be reliable go-to weapons both on short routes and home run balls over the safeties. Smith actually caught a 90-yard touchdown reception last season from backup Kenny Guiton, who started in place of Miller after he sprained his knee early in the year.
The relatively new faces of the Buckeye ground game should benefit from facing a Navy defense that struggled defending the run in 2013, and lost a few key players on the defensive line to graduation. Ezekiel Elliot will most likely be the feature back, but expect a multi-pronged approach this year with Dontre Wilson and Jalin Marshall getting reps as well. Wilson should also get quite a bit of looks catching the ball in the slot.
2. The OSU defensive front seven is well-suited to slow down the triple option
Perhaps the strongest unit for the Buckeyes in 2014, the defensive line should be able to overwhelm a relatively undersized offensive line for the Midshipmen in terms of sheer physicality up front. If they can find their way into the Navy backfield early on in offensive series and force them into third and longs, Reynolds will have to rely more on his arm. That’s when you can expect to see this seasoned group to lick its chops, with linemen such as Noah Spence and Joey Bosa in addition to linebackers Josh Perry and Curtis Grant ready to pounce.
1. J.T. Barrett: another freshman quarterback ready to come out of nowhere?
The great unknown in this whole analysis is what to expect from Ohio State’s newly-minted starting signal caller. Having been thrust into the limelight as a result of Miller’s injury, will he sink or swim? Meyer was impressed enough with his play in spring and fall camp to name him the starter despite sophomore Cardale Jones having some game experience last season, albeit at the end of blowouts.
As I’ve mentioned before, I can’t help but be intrigued by the possibility of Barrett becoming the third first-year quarterback in as many years to rise to national prominence. He is similar in stature to the young man he’s replacing, and should be well-suited to execute the offense in a similar manner which entails him needing to break out into the open field every once in a while. Nevertheless, he will become only the second freshman in Buckeye history to start the season opener, joining Art Schlichter who did so back in 1978.
Going into Saturday’s showdown against the most successful of the service academy football programs in recent years, there is a marked combination of uncertainty as well as guarded optimism. It’s hard to know what to expect from a brand new starting quarterback who sat out last season and missed a good portion of his senior year of high school due to injury. That said, the defense should be immensely tough to score points on despite the difficulty preparing for an offense such as Navy’s.
In many respects, a heightened sense of the unknown in sports is what makes the happenings on the field even more intriguing and drama-filled. From the standpoint of the Buckeyes quarterback position, we should undoubtedly have that and then some.
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