Buckeyes boom Sooners 45-24

All the offseason questions, it seems, have been answered; the doubts disintegrated. As the game clock flashed four zeros on Saturday night in Norman, Oklahoma, there was only one thing left to wonder about this Ohio State team: How far can it go?

Behind four Noah Brown touchdown catches, including a spectacular one-handed grab before halftime, and 226 yards of total offense from J.T. Barrett, No. 3 Ohio State rolled 14th-ranked Oklahoma, 45-24, moving to 3-0 and into the conversation about the nation’s finest.

“From the opening kickoff, our guys swung as hard as they could,” said coach Urban Meyer, adding earlier: “I’m very impressed with our performance. I think we controlled the line of scrimmage and when you do that, you have a chance of winning the game.”

The matchup was billed as one youthful Ohio State could lose — on the road, in prime time, versus a veteran coach and a Heisman hopeful. Meyer admitted postgame those thoughts creeped into his mind a little as they boarded the plane.

Indeed, after Baker Mayfield marched the Sooners down the field on the game’s opening possession, it seemed like the Buckeyes were going to have their hands full. But a defensive stand resulted in a missed 27-yard field goal, and that was as close as Oklahoma would come on Saturday to holding a lead.

The first offensive firework in a game filled with offensive fireworks came on 4th-and-1, on the Buckeyes’ second offensive possession. Curtis Samuel took a sweep handoff from Barrett, quickly getting to the left edge before turning it up field and outrunning everyone in the Great Plains for a 36-yard touchdown.

Oklahoma, on the subsequent possession, also went for it on fourth down. And again, Ohio State scored. Mayfield’s short pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Jalyn Holmes. It landed in the arms of sophomore outside linebacker Jerome Baker, who took it 68 yards the other way, giving Ohio State an early 14-0 lead.

A 97-yard kickoff return from Joe Mixon gave the Sooners their first points, but the Ohio State offense was too efficient, too talented.

Couple that with a defense with a penchant for picking off quarterbacks — Marcus Lattimore’s interception midway through the second quarter was the unit’s ninth — and there was not much the Sooners could do to keep it close.

“I think we had a great game plan,” said Brown, whose four touchdown receptions tied a school record. “And we executed it real well.”

Barrett may have finished the game with only 152 passing yards, but none of those yards, it seemed, were wasted. Nearly half of those, 72 to be exact, went into the arms of Brown, a redshirt sophomore, who had his coming out party.

His third touchdown grab, with six seconds left in the first half, just might be the college football’s catch of the year. With junior defensive back Michiah Quick face guarding him, Brown reached back for Barrett’s slightly underthrown pass and pinned it to Quick’s No. 16 maroon jersey with one hand.

Starring the laws of physics right in the eye, Brown remained unfazed. He tapped his feet in the maroon-painted end zone and kept the ball pressed on Quick’s back as they tumbled out of bounds.

When the ball was in the air, Brown said all he was thinking about was finding a way, any way, to haul it in.

“When I had it behind his back, I thought, ‘Just hold on,’" he said.

On the ground there was thunder, redshirt freshman Mike Weber, and there was lighting, Samuel. By themselves neither replace Ezekiel Elliott, but together — with their mix of physicality and track-star speed— they wreak havoc on defenses. Weber finished with 123 rushing yards. Samuel had 98.

“I thought Curtis Samuel was a guy who waited his turn and I think one-two punch is the right way to identify that,” Meyer said. “I think it’s going to continue.”

The Buckeyes went into the halftime leading 35-17. Ohio State had only 20 more yards of total offense than Oklahoma (278 to 258), but because of the defense’s knack for creating turnovers and two near-goal-line stands, the Buckeyes were fully in control.

That control was not relented in the second half. Ohio State marched down the field on its first possession and capped the drive with now-familiar Barrett-to-Brown connection, an 8-yard touchdown. At that point, it was 42-17.

Oklahoma, trying its best to claw back into the game, scored a touchdown on its ensuing possession. It was a spark, maybe, but there would be no sustained flame.

Sure, there will be things to critique when the coaching staff watches the film. Oklahoma did rack up over 400 yards of total offense and the special teams allowed a 97-yard kickoff return, but the Buckeyes made a statement tonight.

Following the loss of 16 starters to the NFL, asking if this Buckeyes team could be one of the country’s elite after just three weeks might seem to be a reach. That is, of course, unless one has watched them play.

“This was the coming of age game,” Meyer said.

The Buckeyes might be young, but Saturday’s game answered the question — they are for real.