{"id":23349,"date":"2019-09-02T13:00:06","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T17:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/?p=23349"},"modified":"2019-09-02T08:59:37","modified_gmt":"2019-09-02T12:59:37","slug":"ohio-state-vs-fau-game-analaysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2019\/09\/02\/ohio-state-vs-fau-game-analaysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio State vs FAU: Game Analaysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

On college football\u2019s kickoff Saturday there were a lot of questions and concerns surrounding the Ohio State football team. The Buckeye\u2019s looked to answer those questions against Lane Kiffin<\/strong><\/a> and the Florida Atlantic Owls. Ohio State vs FAU was what you would expect, in that it was one-sided. Justin Fields<\/strong><\/a> impressed in his first career start, Ryan Day<\/strong><\/a> coached a game with much bigger implications for him than his short stint last season, and the new-look defense saw the field for the first time. Here\u2019s what we learned from the Buckeye\u2019s 45-21 win.<\/p>\n

Ohio State vs FAU: Game Analysis<\/h2>\n

Justin Fields<\/h3>\n

Fields was impressive going 18\/25 passing for 234 and 4 touchdowns. He ran the ball 12 times for 61 yards and another score. The first nine minutes of the game were Heisman worthy. On the fourth play Fields showed how explosive he can be taking off for a 51-yard touchdown run. Two plays later he completed a 25-yard pass to a wide-open Jeremy Ruckert<\/strong><\/a> for his first passing touchdown as a Buckeye. Three plays later he hit Binjimen Victor<\/strong><\/a> for a 32-yard touchdown. The next drive continued the onslaught of offense. It took four plays and ended with Fields throwing another touchdown; this time a 29-yard strike to Chris Olave<\/strong><\/a>. For the first nine minutes of the season, Fields was averaging a touchdown every 3.25 plays. Fields play was strong for the rest of the game but for the most part, the offense sputtered.<\/p>\n

The Offense<\/h3>\n

After the first four drives, the play calling became more conservative, and drives were stalled by mistakes. Excluding the kneel down at the end of the first half, the next six possession were punt, punt, fumble, punt, fumble, punt. First game rust or growing pains can be attributed to most of the mistakes made.<\/p>\n

Play calling looked much different than it did a year ago with Dwayne Haskins<\/strong><\/a> at the helm. The running backs got the bulk of the load, carrying the ball a total of 35 times. J.K. Dobbins<\/strong><\/a> ran 21 times for 91 yards and a touchdown. The next highest workload was Master Teague III<\/strong><\/a> carrying just 8 times for 49 yards. Teague looked every bit the role of back-up to Dobbins. Freshmen RB Marcus Crowley<\/strong><\/a> and Junior Demario McCall<\/strong><\/a> also got carries. Crowley looked very good, expect him to get more workload and the season goes on.<\/p>\n

Surprises<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the most surprising thing to come from the offense was the involvement of a tight end in the passing game. Jeremy Ruckert<\/strong> hauled in 4 catches for 38 yards and 2 touchdowns. Last season Ohio State tight ends accounted for 296 of the Buckeye\u2019s 5,100 receiving yards and just 3 touchdowns. Ruckert looks to be on his way to a standout sophomore season in Columbus especially if Day continues to use three tight end sets like we saw against FAU.<\/p>\n

The other surprise was Justin Fields lining up under center, something you don\u2019t see often in today’s college football. In his post-game press conference Day said \u201cIt\u2019s important to be able to line up under center, run the football, play-action pass, do some things, and then also run spread and tempo. I think when you can mix those two things, and you are good at both of those things \u2014 it\u2019s not easy to do \u2014 but I think our quarterbacks can do that. Justin (Fields) can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Defense<\/h2>\n

Overwhelming is a good way to describe it. The new-look defense of Greg Mattison and Jeff Hafley was very aggressive and dominant up front. The Buckeye\u2019s allowed just 22 yards rushing, had 4 sacks, and 12 tackles for loss. A sight for sore eyes for fans. The linebackers, a question coming into the season were all over the field filling holes and doing a fine job in coverage. The defense\u2019s day had an exclamation point put on it when Malik Harrison<\/strong><\/a> came unblocked and destroyed the Florida Atlantic running back.<\/p>\n

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Malik Harrison for Ohio State is gooooood!!! That\u2019s how you tackle!!!! pic.twitter.com\/dX4glMXq2Y<\/a><\/p>\n

— JAiHAWKFLY\u2120 (@JAiHAWKFLY) August 31, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n