Turnovers and penalties. Bad throws and blown assignments. Third-down dysfunction and red-zone malfunctions. Ohio State is making life very difficult on itself.The Buckeyes (5-0) are still undefeated and still No. 1, but the way they are playing is not conducive to staying on top.Ohio State is 101st in the country in turnover margin at minus-4 after three giveaways and no takeaways in its 34-27 victory at Indiana on Saturday. No other ranked team has a turnover margin that bad.The Buckeyes are also 101st in FBS in penalties per game at 7.8. Several ranked teams are just as bad or worse in that category, including TCU, LSU, Oklahoma and Baylor, but the timing of those penalties was a big problem for Ohio State against the Hoosiers.One wiped out a touchdown. Two gave Indiana first downs on its final drive, which ended with an incomplete pass into the end zone.”We were just killing ourselves with turnovers and everything,” running back Ezekiel Elliott told reporters after the game in Bloomington, Indiana, on Saturday. “We’ve got to eliminate that.”It’s not just penalties and giveaways. The Buckeyes offense is still not crisp. They were 2-for-14 on third down conversions. Cardale Jones was 18 for 27 for 245 yard, but he sailed an easy touchdown pass and threw his fourth interception of the season. …
Continue Reading: Own Worst Enemy: Mistakes Making It Hard on No. 1 Ohio State
