OSU offensive woes continue

By JOSH HACHAT

NNCO

 

COLUMBUS — Ohio State junior tight end Jake Ballard wasn’t about to hold back, not after a performance like that.

 

Mired in the same doldrums that have plagued the offensive line all year, the No. 12 Buckeyes gained just 222 total yards and had no offensive touchdowns Saturday in an ugly 16-3 win against Purdue at Ohio Stadium.

 

Most of the struggles started up front, where a small and undersized Boilermaker defense controlled the bigger and stronger Buckeye line.

 

“Right now, we’re not performing,” Ballard said. “We’re not performing like we can. Our whole line is back, and there’s no reason why our line and our tight ends can’t open up holes for the best running back in the country.

 

“(Chris) Beanie Wells is the best running back in the nation, and we need to open up holes. He can’t do it by himself and we need to give him a chance to run the ball.”

That certainly didn’t happen Saturday, which likely will lead to more criticism of the offensive line.

 

It seemingly reached a boiling point in a lackluster performance against USC a month ago, but recent improvements were washed away by Saturday’s dismal performance up front.

 

Other than a few sporadic bursts, the line couldn’t free Wells for a big game — he finished with 22 carries for 94 yards — and Terrelle Pryor was sacked three times and pressured throughout.

 

Clearly, it wasn’t a performance to be remembered.

 

“Our defense bailed us out today,” senior Steve Rehring said. “We didn’t come through like we needed to. We should have no problems running the ball, but we didn’t open holes like we needed to. They beat us up front.”

 

Even coach Jim Tressel struggled to put a good spin on the line’s performance.

 

“We certainly didn’t control the line of scrimmage, and that’s where it starts,” Tressel said.

 

The line made headway the last two weeks in wins against Minnesota and Wisconsin, helped in part by the return of Wells, who has proven to not need gaping holes to produce.

But he barely got glimpses against a Purdue defense ranked 104th against the run coming into Saturday.

 

Overall, the Boilermakers ranked 108th in total defense. Against the Buckeyes, however, Purdue looked relentless.

 

“We just didn’t get a flow today,” Rehring said. “We just have to keep learning and get better. We’ve got great people back there, and if we don’t block for them, they can’t do what they do. It’s frustrating because we know it starts with us.”

 

Ballard hoped Saturday’s performance served as a wake-up call.

 

“I hope it is,” Ballard said. “We can’t do what we did (Saturday) against Michigan State or any of our upcoming games. Purdue’s a good team, but when we play better teams, they’re going to put points on the board when we fail to.”

 

Rehring said the group struggled with backside blocking, and the unit never got on the same page. Much-maligned senior Alex Boone was injured in the second quarter, but he returned in the second half.

 

Still, position changes have been the norm for the group. Freshman Mike Brewster took over at center when Rehring was injured against the Trojans, moving Jim Cordle to left guard, Rehring’s original position.

 

Since returning last week, Rehring has played right tackle and right guard, splitting time with Bryant Browning and Ben Person.

Rehring said the rotation isn’t a problem, but something is amiss.

 

“I think everyone knows that we’ve got to get better,” Tressel said.

 

The lack of success in the red zone is getting to the territory of running their fingernails down a chalkboard for the Buckeyes. They failed to convert inside the 10-yard line on two occasions, including once in the first quarter when they could have blown the game open already leading 7-0.

 

“We just need to execute,” Rehring said. “I know we had a couple penalties the past couple games. We’ve just got to get better. (Saturday), we got field goals and we need to turn those into touchdowns. The score would have been a little different if we would have had touchdowns there.”

 

Josh Hachat can be reached at (740) 328-8557 or jhachat@newarkadvocate.com.

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