Ohio State is wasting star running back Ezekiel Elliott

Even before the 2014 season ended, many fans and media had already begun wondering how the heck Ohio State would manage its unprecedented wealth of accomplished quarterbacks come 2015. Over the months that followed, it became increasingly clear that Urban Meyer was still trying to figure it out himself.

Three weeks into the season, he may in fact be farther from an answer than he was when it started.

Ohio State’s puzzling 20-13 scare against NIU turned what was once a mostly fun debate –?? who should the Buckeyes start at quarterback? — into a full-blown headache. Meyer, who insisted for two weeks that Jones would remain his starter, benched Jones for Barrett after the former threw two first-half interceptions. But Barrett (11-of-19 for 97 yards, one TD, one INT) proved barely more effective than Jones (4-of-9 for 36 yards), and the OSU offense finished with fewer than 300 total yards (298) at home for the first time in Meyer’s tenure.

“Right now, we’re not the No. 1 team in the country,” star tailback Ezekiel Elliott said afterward. “We have the potential to be the best team in the country, but right now, the way we’re playing, we’re not.”

On the heels of a ho-hum performance against Hawaii a week earlier, Meyer after the NIU game described his ostensibly loaded offense as “discombobulated.” Asked who would start at quarterback this week against Western Michigan, he replied, “Good question.”

Ohio State’s offense looked like a well-oiled machine in the second half of the season opener against Virginia Tech, but it’s otherwise been largely disjointed. Losing renowned coordinator Tom Herman, now the head coach at Houston, is an undeniable factor. Meyer has said that he and new coordinator Ed Warinner are still trying to figure out their play-calling system. In an unusual twist, Warinner still doubles as offensive line coach. (Tim Beck is the quarterback coach.)

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