COLUMBUS: Ohio State coach Urban Meyer is using his license to attack.
It’s a license he said his mentor Lou Holtz “forever branded on my heart.”
Meyer wasn’t talking about attacking Saturday’s opponent, the eighth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, in Camp Randall Stadium. His target is his second-ranked Buckeyes and the out-of-synch passing game they displayed in last weekend’s victory over Indiana.
Junior quarterback J.T. Barrett completed only 9-of-21 attempts for 93 yards with one touchdown and one interception. It marked only the third sub-100-yard passing game in Barrett’s career, which includes 28 games and 22 starts.
Barrett’s struggles against the Hoosiers exposed a weakness that future Big Ten opponents can’t wait to exploit. The Buckeyes relied too heavily on the run, including 26 carries by Barrett. Timing with the inexperienced receiving corps was out of whack. Barrett went from 11:25 in the second quarter to 12:53 in the fourth quarter without a completion.
One can only imagine the gleeful look on Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s face when he heard about that.
Before kickoff against the Hoosiers, the Buckeyes were expected to take an 11-0 record into the Nov. 26 rivalry game against the Wolverines in Columbus. After escaping Ohio Stadium with a 38-17 victory over Indiana, the Buckeyes appear vulnerable.
That’s where the attacking part comes in.
What Holtz ‘‘forever branded on my heart is that you don’t attack a team when you lose a game. You attack them when you win the game and don’t play well,” Meyer said Monday. “So we’re attacking and there’s urgency.”
On Saturday, Meyer called the fact that OSU left a lot of pass offense on the field “alarming.” He softened on that slightly after watching the film, saying, “Alarming is probably a little over-reactive.”
He said he knew exactly what the problem was. And while Meyer said there were several issues, including “misfires,” poorly run routes and dropped balls, judging by his words, one probably stood out.
“We’re kind of a shot team,” Meyer said. “When we hit shots, it’s really good. If it’s not, we have to find out why and get it fixed.”
Shots like Curtis Samuel’s 79-yard slant pattern for a touchdown against Bowling Green. K.J. Hill’s 47-yard score in the same game. Noah Brown’s 37-yard TD reception at Oklahoma.
Those “shots” were there against the Hoosiers, but Barrett’s couldn’t connect. After tight end Marcus Baugh caught a 25-yard gainer on the Buckeyes’ second possession, the long ball drought continued until Barrett hit Dontre Wilson on a 37-yard TD pass with 3:51 remaining. In between those two, Barrett’s farthest pass went for 11 yards to Brown in the first quarter.
Barrett knew the “shots” he missed. There was one to Samuel in the first quarter, one to James Clark running open down the sideline in the third quarter when Barrett was out of the pocket and two incompletions to Parris Campbell.
Meyer said of Barrett’s misses, “One was eight yards behind a guy, one was 10 yards behind a guy.”
“We were in some good plays a lot of times and whether it be me messing up on an assignment or a read or a receiver messing up or the O-line messing up, we just weren’t clicking on all cylinders,” Barrett said.
Barrett said he likes the way the ball is coming out of his hand and feels confident throwing downfield. He gave an example of what happened on the early pass to Samuel, who had gotten behind the Hoosiers secondary.
“It was play action, they brought five guys, there was no need to play action any more,” Barrett said. “I just got caught too close to the line of scrimmage — that’s why I threw off my back foot. That was happening a lot of times throughout the game.”
When Barrett enters the NFL Draft, this Indiana tape will be the one a general manager shows to his owner to dissuade him from picking Barrett. That is, unless the potential employer wants Barrett to run the ball.
In the OSU passing game, the fundamentals, intricacies and timing must improve. Starting Saturday, Ohio State plays four consecutive night games, a stretch that includes No. 10 Nebraska. OSU’s next two opponents, Wisconsin and Penn State (both on the road), will be coming off bye weeks.
So Meyer will attack, attack, and attack some more. By Saturday night, the brand on Meyer’s heart may go a little deeper.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.