Written by Garin Turner
The #4 Ohio State Buckeyes face their final test, and its biggest one without head coach Urban Meyer as they travel to AT&T Stadium to take on #15 TCU in a prime-time game on ABC 8 PM EST. So far, the Buckeyes haven’t missed a beat as they’ve rolled over Oregon State 77-31 and Rutgers 52-3. TCU took care of Southern U 55-7 and SMU 42-12. This is the Buckeyes first game on the road this season.
For the past several years, the Buckeyes have started out slow in the first half of games and in the season only to finish strong. That’s not the case this year with new starting QB Dwayne Haskins. Haskins is more of a pocket passer, something the Buckeyes haven’t had in years. He’s 42/53 for 546 yards and nine touchdowns. He also saw action last year against Michigan, so the big stage shouldn’t be a problem for him. “You know, you look all across the board, we’re pretty deep. A lot of playmakers. So, when you get the ball to those guys in space and you can stretch the ball vertically and horizontally, you can really be explosive,” acting Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said.
Mike Weber enters the game as the leading rusher for the Buckeyes with 28 carries for 217 yards and three scores. J.K. Dobbins is right behind him with 147 yards on 27 carries and a score. The defense played a lot better last week after giving up 31 in its opening week.
For the Horned Frogs, it took special teams and a bit of offense turning into defense to help them pull away from SMU. Shawn Robinson has made his mark in the passing game as well as the run game for TCU. He’s 33/53 for 336 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also ran for three scores and 112 yards, both good for the team lead. The Horned Frogs are looking to go 6-1 against the Big Ten. This is the seventh meeting between the two teams with Ohio State holding a 4-1-1 edge.
It’s hard to gauge this game as both teams have a potent offense and both have a good defense. The Buckeyes are averaging 64.5 points a game while allowing 17 points a game. The Horned Frogs are averaging 48.5 points a game while only allowing 9.5.
