I had a chance to watch some of the game and have a few thoughts after that and thinking about it for a bit:
First, sitting in the Stadium at halftime it felt like we were REALLY lucky to be tied 3-3. Watching it confirmed that. OU's first half drives:
- 9 plays, 35 yards, downs (It made sense to go for it. They were facing 4th and 4 at the tOSU 36. I assume based on their going for it that their kicker isn't very reliable from 50+ and a punt from there likely ends up netting 11 yards so why not try)
- 9 plays, 67 yards, fumble.
- 5 plays, 36 yards, fumble.
- 8 plays, 51 yards, missed FG.
- 10 plays, 55 yards, FG.
Oklahoma was successful on every possession at moving the ball but due to various circumstances their five drives for 244 yards only got them three points.
Ohio State technically also had five first half possessions but the final one was a single play with 0:01 remaining. Not counting the end-of-half possession the Buckeyes had:
- 3 plays, 3 yards, punt.
- 8 plays, 26 yards, punt.
- 10 plays, 43 yards, FG.
- 6 plays, 19 yards, Punt.
At halftime it felt like the Buckeyes were getting crushed because we were.
That said, we have all watched enough football to remember games where one team looked horrible in the first half but kept it close and then came out in the second half and won. As a Buckeye fan obviously I was hoping to see that and at the beginning of the third quarter it looked like I would.
I think there were two series that ended up being the most important to the result.
First was immediately after the Buckeyes completed their longest pass of the night (31 yards) to get a first and goal at the OU 7. After sputtering through the first half the Buckeye offense had seemed to come alive in the third quarter with a crisp 44 yard TD drive. After allowing a TD the Buckeyes got the ball at their own 25 and proceeded to drive 68 yards very efficiently (never faced 3rd down and the only 2nd down was 2nd and 2) to the OU 7 yard line. OU's defensive stand there was very important:
- 1st and Goal at the 7: J.T. Barrett run for 2 yards.
- 2nd and Goal at the 5: J.T. Barrett run for -1.
- 3rd and Goal at the 6: Incomplete pass.
- 4th and Goal at the 6: FG.
This drive started with three straight J.K. Dobbins carries for 8, 13, and 16 yards. Then there was a 31 yard pass. Then, for some reason, the Buckeyes ran Barrett twice, threw and incomplete pass, and kicked a FG.
Personally, I think the Buckeyes should have stuck with Dobbins but what happend on the next possession doesn't really bear that out. In any case, I think this was a key series because at this point the Buckeye offense was looking good and a TD here would have made it a 7 point game for the second time in a row.
The second series that I believe was most important to the result was after the FG and OU's ensuing possession. On OU's ensuing possession they got the ball on the 22 but a chop block penalty and a sack moved it back to the 2 and they ended up punting.
The second series that I thought was hugely important to the end result came when Ohio State got the ball back up 13-10 with 5:38 to go in the third quarter. I thought this was huge because a TD here would have made it a two possession game heading into the fourth quarter. Furthermore, on the two previous possessions Ohio State had gone 69 yards on 8 plays in 2:40 for a FG and 44 yards on 7 plays in 2:23 for a TD. Ohio State accomplished nothing on this possession:
- 1st and 10 on the tOSU 40: J.K. Dobbins for no gain.
- 2nd and 10 on the tOSU 40: J.K. Dobbins for no gain.
- 3rd and 10 on the tOSU 40: J.T. Barrett for 5 yards (holding penalty declined), punt.
I thought maybe OU changed up their defense and stacked the box to stop the run but they really didn't. At the snap on both the 1st and 2nd down plays the safeties were about 10-15 yards off the line. It was just a simple matter of a few missed blocks and viola, Ohio State's opportunity to create a two possession lead turned into a punt and quickly a 17-13 deficit and Oklahoma never looked back.
The first down play looks like it was supposed to be a quick inside running play. Barrett takes the snap and hands the ball to Dobbins who is lined up next to him. Ohio State's RG just flat whiffed on the DE and Dobbins got wrapped up a yard behind the LoS. It was all Dobbins could do to fall forward and get back to the LoS. I'm not sure where the play was supposed to go because there really wasn't a hole at all. Even if you just deleted the DE from the picture Dobbins wouldn't have had much running room
On the second down play Dobbins lines up the Barrett's right and the play is designed to be a sweep to the left (wide) side of the field. The play breaks down almost from the snap:
Ohio State's LG released upfield and did a great job of blocking the OU LBer. That would have been really nice if Dobbins had been able to get there but he never did because the DE that tOSU's LG completely ignored caught up with Dobbins in the backfield thus making the great block on the LBer irrelevant. The problem wasn't the unblocked DE. I think the play was designed to leave him unblocked on the assumption that Dobbins could outrun him to the corner. The reason he couldn't was because the Ohio State TE missed his block. When the TE's man got past him it forced Dobbins to turn upfield too early and the DE was there waiting for him.
Unlike the first down play, the second down play looks like it could have been pretty successful because aside from the TE's guy, every OU defender on that side of the field was blocked so if the TE had held his block long enough for Dobbins to get around him he would have been running for a bit. That isn't to say it would have been a 60 yard TD or even necessarily a first down but it looks like it would have been a successful play.
After Barrett's 5 yard run on 3rd and 10 and the Punt the Sooners scored on their next three possessions to turn a 13-10 Ohio State lead into a 31-13 OU blowout.
