The explosive play has disappeared for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Sometime between Sept. 3 when they opened the season with a 47-yard touchdown catch by K.J. Hill and Oct. 29 when they beat Northwestern 24-20 without any plays longer than 35 yards, the Buckeyes turned into a team with a solid running game that relies on short passes and rarely throws deep. J.T. Barrett’s longest pass against Wisconsin gained 22 yards. His longest passes against Penn State and Northwestern each went for 34. Urban Meyer sees the big plays coming back and credited the opponents for taking them away. Like Penn State, Northwestern forced the Buckeyes take what the defense gave it. Barrett threw one pass deep late in the game and overthrew James Clark along the sideline. “Certainly the first three drives and the last few drives were fantastic,” Meyer said. “I’m seeing improvement. We’re not as explosive as we have been. And is it the receivers’ fault? No. James Clark came clean. We missed him on a deep ball.” SEVEN TAKEAWAYS: Highlights from college football weekend PHOTOS: Ohio State vs. Northwestern NOTES: Defense gets key stop No. 6 Ohio State plays No. 9 Nebraska at 8 p.m. Saturday…
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