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#4 OSU hosts explosive Tulsa team Saturday
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 9/7/2016  at  12:21:00 PM
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TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (1-0)
at OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (1-0)

Ohio Stadium – Columbus, OH
Kickoff: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Line: Ohio State -29, Total: 72.5

#4 Ohio State hosts Tulsa in what should be a high-scoring affair at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

Coming off a national title, Ohio State entered last season favored to repeat. They were thought to have three of the best quarterbacks in the country—one of whom had become a wide receiver—and returned players like RB Ezekiel Elliott and DE Joey Bosa that were born to grace the covers of media guides. It’s through this lens that the Buckeyes’ 12-1 2015 season could be considered a disappointment. Now, 12 (first-four-round) draft picks later, Ohio State is somehow yet again considered the favorite in the Big Ten and a national title contender. J.T. Barrett is without a challenger for the starting quarterback job, and looked just as good in a Week 1 matchup against Bowling Green as you’d expect the winning quarterback would in a 77-10 game (349 yards, 6 TDs, INT). Tulsa took care of business in its opener as well, scoring 38 first-half points en route to a 45-10 home win over San Jose State (+3.5). RB D’Angelo Brewer (164 yards, 3 TDs) and a relatively stiff defense were the stars, as the Golden Hurricane took an important first step in improving upon last season’s D, which was third worst in the nation (532 YPG). The team still managed a 6-7 record (7-5-1 ATS), and will look to take a step forward in its second season under head coach Philip Montgomery. In his time at Ohio State, Urban Meyer is 7-1 ATS in games in which they’re favored by 21.5 to 31 points, and 30-24 ATS overall. In his limited tenure at Tulsa, Montgomery is 7-0 ATS in road games. Last week, Ohio State allowed 69 rushing yards to Bowling Green and Tulsa outrushed San Jose State by 252 yards. In the last three seasons, teams that held opponents to less than 100 yards rushing are 1-20 ATS in their next game when playing teams that outrushed their previous opponents by over 200 yards.

Tulsa was 13th in the country last season in total offense with 507 yards per game. That was a 57-place jump from 70th in 2014 (413 ypg), and it’s no coincidence that it coincided with the arrival of Montgomery, who was previously the offensive coordinator for Art Briles’ explosive Baylor teams. Short-yardage back Zack Langer and 1,500-yard receiver Keyarris Garrett have graduated, but there are still plenty of weapons for senior QB Dane Evans (198 yards, TD). Brewer was the team’s leading rusher last year, and while promising sophomore RB Ramadi Warren is sitting out the season for academic reasons, senior James Flanders nearly matched his production from last season (87 yards) with 82 yards rushing in against SJSU. The receiving corps might be the best in the AAC—senior Josh Atkinson had 1,071 yards last year, senior Keevan Lucas had 112 yards in the opener after missing all of last season due to injury, and sophomore Justin Hobbs is a large target on the outside. Dane was sacked four times last week, not a good sign for an offensive line that allowed 40 sacks last year and was hoping to substantially improve. Conversely, a defense that was similarly impotent to the o-line last year could take great encouragement away from the San Jose State game. In last year’s opener, the Golden Hurricane gave up 563 yards and 44 points in an overtime win against a Florida Atlantic team that finished the season 3-9. Last week, Tulsa held SJSU to 287 total yards and a measly 53 rushing yards on 32 attempts. Led by seniors Trent Martin and Matt Linscott, the linebacking unit is the defense’s strength.

While early indications signal that the lifted weight of a quarterback controversy will help Barrett revert back to his excellent 2014 form, he’ll still have some adjustments to make to accommodate a new supporting cast. Only one of last season’s top-six pass catchers returns, and it’s junior H-back Curtis Samuel, not a traditional receiver or tight end. Other than Barrett himself (714 rushing yards last year), Samuel is also the team’s leading returning rusher, despite having received only 17 carries. He was a multipurpose revelation last week, gaining 84 yards and a touchdown on the ground and leading the team in receiving with nine catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Mike Weber led the team in rushing with 136 yards on 19 carries. Another H-back playmaker for the Buckeyes is senior Dontre Wilson, who was Samuel-lite against Bowling Green with 36 yards rushing, 37 yards receiving and two touchdown catches. It’s still uncertain who will be Barrett’s primary outside deep threats, but redshirt freshman WR K.J. Hill’s 47-yard TD grab last week was a solid audition for the role. Along the line, All-American OT Taylor Decker is gone to the NFL, but senior C Pat Elflein and junior G Billy Price are AA-caliber players. Greg Schiano has returned to the ranks of college football to coach the defense, and it should go without saying that he has a ridiculous amount of talent to work with. Chief among the big names is junior LB Raekwon MacMillan (4 tackles last week), who made 119 tackles as a sophomore and may be the best linebacker in the country. The unit’s pass rush looks to be frightening thanks to the DE duo of sophomore Sam Hubbard and junior Tyquan Lewis. The secondary lost the majority of its starters from last season, but sophomore S Malik Hooker made a good first impression as a starter with two highlight interceptions last week.


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