Tag: Master Teague

Five things we learned in Ohio State’s win over top ten Indiana

It wasn’t pretty, but Ohio State withheld a rally by a top ten Indiana squad to remain undefeated. Here are five things we learned.

It sure wasn’t pretty in a lot of areas, but neither is the year of 2020. At the end of the day, when several teams have been unexpectedly beaten in the strangest of years, a win is a win, is a win.

We wrote about it prior to the game, but we never felt like Indiana wasn’t going to be a challenge, we just didn’t see the offensive onslaught and mistake-prone play by Ohio State that kept it closer than it should have been.

There are plenty of things to work on, and you’d much rather learn lessons after a win than after defeat because everything is still out there for the Buckeyes’ loftiest of goals.

As is customary, here are five things we learned after this one.

NEXT … So, what about that secondary guys?

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Ohio State has up and down first half against Hoosiers

Ohio State had ups and down in the first half, they have slowly pulled away, but there is work to do against Indiana.

The first half for Ohio State against Indiana has been up and down. After the first drive, the offense struggled to get anything against the Hoosier defense. Earlier this week we talked about how Indiana relies on bringing pressure to force mistakes and Fields certainly made mistakes. Fields needs to calm down and take what Indiana’s zone is giving him. He did better in the second quarter.

Granted, there were two missed fumble calls, a pick play not being called, and some questionable officiating, but that can not be the excuse for the mistakes. Ryan Day needs to tell Fields to just work his way down the field. Allow the run game to keep getting yards and force Indiana to have to play differently. The Hoosiers have struggled against the run game. Fields, Teague, and Sermon have been great on the ground.

The game is far from over, and Day is great at adjustments at half-time. The defense has played well for the most part. They do need to get a little more pressure on Penix, but this game is certainly winnable and Indiana’s offense has not been good. Get to Penix, stop Fryfogle, and force Indiana to stop the run, and the Buckeyes should be able to pull away.

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WATCH: Master Teague runs 41 yards to the house

Master Teague and the Buckeyes answer Indiana to take back the lead.

After a lightning-fast start, the Ohio State offense started to sputter just a bit. Justin Fields has looked somewhat confused against an Indiana defense that has played mostly zone coverage and blitzing often.

With Fields throwing two interceptions in the first quarter, the Buckeyes have turned to the ground game that has been criticized much of the year. Master Teague and Trey Sermon have answered that criticism emphatically with Teague at 98 yards and Sermon with another 49. Each has had some explosive runs, but none bigger than Teague to answer the Hoosiers score.

Watch as Teague takes a handoff from Fields, makes one man miss, and is off to the races for a 41-yard score.

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Ohio State dominates Rutgers with a balanced offense and solid defense in first half

Ohio State uses a dominating defense and balanced and explosive offense to dominate Rutgers in the first half.

Ohio State is putting a hurtin’ on the Scarlet Knights as they head into the locker room at halftime up 35-3.

The first thing that stood out from the first thirty minutes was the Buckeyes’ efforts to get the running game going early. Master Teague’s work on the ground loosened things up through the air and set up the bomb to Jamison Williams and others.

On defense, the defensive line got pressure and push early on, which allowed Ohio State to get off the field on that side of the ball and put things out of reach. They defensive line seems to be getting better and better, and that’s bad news for future Buckeye opponents.

It wasn’t all rosy though. We may be nitpicking a wee-bit, but the offensive line seems to be a little lethargic at times. The Rutgers defense brought pressure and forced the unit into some missed assignments and slow blocks. That might be fine against a rebuilding program, but gainst better teams, it could be the difference between moving on and falling just short of some pretty lofty goals.

For now though, Ohio State has looked fantastic and you have to think Ryan Day will reach deep into the depth chart in the second half, especially against his friend Greg Schiano who is prowling the other sideline.

Time to finish strong boys.

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Five keys to Ohio State winning big over Rutgers

Ohio State is set to host Greg Schiano and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Saturday night. Here are five keys to winning big in prime time.

Most people think that Ohio State will win easily against Rutgers this week in Columbus. While I believe that is pretty accurate, there are five keys to winning big that will reign supreme over all the other reasons. Rutgers is probably better than most are giving them credit for, but it is still not on the same level as Ohio State.

That’s not saying that head coach Greg Schiano will make a difference in culture — and ultimately — results on the field, it’s simply to early to expect enough momentum to make this that competitive of a game, or so we think.

Still, Ohio State can’t just step off the bus and roll their helmets on the field. Each opponent must be taken seriously, and so it is Saturday night as well. With that in mind, here are five keys to Ohio State winning big over Rutgers.

Key One: Justin Fields playing within the game

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Sticking to the running game for Ohio State may need some modification in 2020

Ohio State is struggling running the ball on early downs. That’s okay, the passing game is on fire with Justin Fiekds and company.

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Ohio State beat Penn State and much of the damage was done through the air. The biggest running play was by Garrett Wilson on the first play of the game. The running backs combined, outside of the Wilson run, was a mediocre 4.55 yards-per-carry (YPC). While this may not seem terrible, a handful of runs by Master Teague III helped with the average. Teague was averaging 3.4 YPC and Trey Sermon was averaging 4.4 YPC heading into the Penn State game.

The running game has thrived is in short-yardage situations which is great. That should not be overlooked. They have picked up some very hard yards to move the chains or down at the goal-line. What they have struggled at is on early downs or consistency.

Sermon has not been great and while some of that might be the odd off-season after his transfer, he has not seen the field all that well to get a one cut and go style running he should be able to provide. Teague is more of the punishing type back, and while he has had a few longer runs, neither has been able to provide what the Buckeyes are looking for yet.

Ryan Day and his staff have stuck with early runs far too often in the Penn State game. While they were able to pick up third and fourth downs, the lack of consistent yardage early in the downs is mildly concerning. The offense is good enough to overcome this issue for now. This is not something that can stay constant throughout the season.

The Buckeyes may need to get away from running early and often while they get the running game going in other ways. Involving the running backs in the screen game or on shovel passes is a good way to change up the design. Teams are going to struggle to stop this passing attack and it could be what they should rely on for now. It isn’t alarming yet, but it could get there as the season drags on.

Five things we learned about Ohio State football in the win over Penn State

Ohio State went on the road to Penn State and won rather convincingly. Here are five things we learned during the big win.

Ohio State came running out of the tunnel in Happy Valley and never looked back. The first play from scrimmage was a 62-yard run by Garrett Wilson, and from there Penn State had no answer for the Buckeye offense despite trying to stay in arms reach throughout the game.

In the end, it was a rather comfortable 38-25 victory on the road for this Ohio State squad, and now it must find a way to continue to be motivated as it goes through a stretch of games that it should be able to handle pretty easily.

As we do each week, here are five things we learned from what we saw this weekend, this time after what could up being the best team on the Buckeyes’ schedule. Time will tell.

NEXT … Ryan Day is the anti-Jim Tressel

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Ohio State Football Profile Card: Master Teague

Get to know Ohio State running back, Master Teague. Here’s a player profile card of the talented running back.

Name: Master Teague III

Number: 33

Position: Running Back

Class: Junior

Height: 5-11

Weight: 220 pounds

Hometown: Murfreesboro, Tennessee

High School: Blackman High School

2019-2020 Stats:

GP Rush ATT Rush YDs Rush TDs Rush YPA Rec Rec YDs Avg TD Rec YPG Total YPG
13 135 789 4 5.8 4 60 15.0 0 4.6 65.3

Overview

Master Teague III is a big powerful back. While his style is a little different from some of his predecessors such as JK Dobbins, Teague is a power runner with straight-line speed. He may not make the shifty moves to avoid a tackle, but Teague will make defenders feel his presence.

Teague looks to split time with transfer Trey Sermon in 2020 who fits the more shifty role that makes the duo a nice one-two punch. Add a talented offensive line, and Buckeyes shouldn’t miss a beat in the running game.

Highlights

Check out some of Teague’s top plays from a year ago which earned him third-team All-Big Ten honors.

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Five things we learned about Ohio State football

Here are the five things we learned about Ohio State from the Nebraska game.

After watching the Ohio State take on a slightly underrated Nebraska squad, there are a few takeaways from the game. It was a little closer at first than some of us thought it would be, but in the end, the Buckeyes handled business well. A huge win from Ohio State against a good Nebraska team.

The first huge takeaway is the running game is a work in progress. It was slow going, and while some of the issues were how good Nebraska is against the run, the Buckeyes just made some errors. There were some poor RPO reads and blocking issues. Too often the Huskers set the edge and the Buckeyes did not slide protection to that side.

Moving forward they have to figure out how to use Master Teague and Trey Sermon properly. I think some of the issues were finding where each fit and both might need to get into rhythms. We will see moving forward, but the blocking and usage has to get better.

The second takeaway is Justin Fields is not just good, but fantastic. Fields decision making was great during the game. There were times where Fields didn’t have anywhere to throw the ball, but saw lanes open and took off. When he threw, he placed the ball perfectly. His decision making and arm talent is off the charts and should be in the Heisman consideration immediately.

The third huge takeaway is this defense has some flashes and Haskell Garrett is going to be huge for this team. While the Nebraska offensive line is really good, Garrett was still one of the best players on the field today. They have to find ways to get more pass rush from other players, but Garrett is going to be really good.

The fourth point is the Ohio State receivers are absolutely one of the best in college. Chris Olave is smooth in his routes, Garrett Wilson has the speed to burn secondaries, and the amazing catch from Jaxon Smith-Njigba is going to be problems for teams to defend against. With Fields throwing to them, if they can get the run game going, this will be a very scary team.

The last thing we learned is the Buckeyes are ready for the season. There was some visible rust, but Ryan Day has done a great job getting this team ready in a strange offseason. There is still some work to do, and next week will be a test. However, the Buckeyes are one of the four best teams in the nation.

Halftime Report: Ohio State off to sluggish start against Nebraska

With great anticipation, Ohio State took the field for the first time in 2020. Outside of quarterback Justin Fields, the Buckeyes are off to a slow start. Nebraska took the opening drive to the house in under two minutes to take an early lead. Ohio …

With great anticipation, Ohio State took the field for the first time in 2020. Outside of quarterback Justin Fields, the Buckeyes are off to a slow start.

Nebraska took the opening drive to the house in under two minutes to take an early lead. Ohio State and Fields would answer on their first possession as well.

Fields as looked as good as advertised going 12 for 13, completing his first 11 passes, with 187 yards passing and a beautiful touchdown toss, while leading the Buckeyes in rushing with 46 yards. Garrett Wilson has also hauled in 5 receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown.

Unfortunately, the rest of the team isn’t doing much. The offensive line isn’t getting much of a push at the line of scrimmage opening few holes for the running backs. On the other side of the ball, the defense isn’t getting in the kind of pressure we’ve come to expect from the Buckeye front four.

Thanks to great field position and some questionable calls against Nebraska, Master Teague was able to scamper for a TD before the half. Heading into the locker room, the Buckeyes lead 24-14.

Here’s hoping the rust and opening game jitters are gone and the Buckeyes come out with some adjustments and a sense of urgency.

 

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