COLUMBUS, Ohio - With Ohio State facing a 15-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, J.T. Barrett fired a strike on a comeback route on the right sideline. Johnnie Dixon hauled the pass in, he was spun to the turf, but did not spring back up to his feet.
Dixon sat on the turf waiting on the training staff to come to his aid, and a hush came across the crowd. The redshirt junior wide receiver sat clutching at his leg, and thoughts of Dixon's previous seasons filled with all kinds of leg problems rushed to mind
Even though the speedy wideout trotted off the field during the media timeout after remaining on the turf for a few minutes, there was good reason for Urban Meyer to keep Dixon on the sideline for the rest of the game, with possible concerns for his long-term health.
But this is not the same Dixon fans knew from other seasons.
After just one catch through the first three quarters, Dixon hauled in a pair of the touchdown passes, the second bringing Ohio State within a touchdown of Penn State. Luckily for Buckeye fans, there was nothing too severe about the injury to one of Meyer's longest tenured wide receivers.
Dixon identified muscle cramps as the culprit that kept him on the turf for a short period. But the pain he felt as his legs tightened in the cold was overshadowed by two of the biggest catches of his career so far.
"I was very emotional when I made those catches,” Dixon said. “It’s just crazy the feelings that were going through my mind knowing that we needed a play, and we always tell each other that it’s going to be on us, on (the wide receivers), to make a play. Which we did.”
Barrett was on the money for all four quarters, but Dixon's last-game performance cannot be overlooked. His two touchdown receptions will be a key talking-point of Ohio State's film review this week.
On his first trip to the end zone, Dixon ran a slant from the Z-receiver position to Barrett's right. As Dixon made his way inside the hash marks, Penn State linebacker Manny Bowen tried to jump the route and undercut Dixon, but the veteran wideout made a heads up cut up field to an open spot between the safeties and give himself plenty of room to find the end zone.
Dixon said he knew once he got the ball in his hands where he was ending up on that play.
"Pay dirt. Score," he said.
Later, with the Buckeyes clawing back once again, Barrett found Dixon from 11-yards out, pinpointing a throw over Nittany Lions' cornerback Amani Oruwariye. Dixon pulled the ball away and tapped his feet along the left sideline of the end zone.
Barrett and Meyer singled out the play of a few different names, but Dixon's name was surprisingly absent from either man's halftime speeches.
It's fair to assume Barrett still made a reference to the standout play of his leading receiver in terms of touchdowns, as well as every other Buckeye who made an impact on the grandest stage on Saturday.
"When it comes down to playing a Big Ten game, it's Penn State, No. 2 in the country, at home. Somebody's gotta step up and make plays. We talk about that it in the offseason," Barrett said. "Who is going to make the plays? And I think we have a lot of people on our team that have that burning desire to go make those plays. And I think that's what you want your team, you want to have a team or people that are sharp in those moments."
Dixon is currently sitting at fifth in the Big Ten conference with six touchdowns, but he has found the end zone on nearly half his receptions. No other receiver comes close to that kind of success in the conference.
A few seasons ago, that kind of success would have been little more than a dream for Dixon. However, finally healthy and hungry to show he's so much more than just an often-injured wide receiver taking up a roster spot, Dixon is giving Ohio State a sure-handed receiving threat who can do it all the team has lacked for the last two seasons.
If he keeps playing at such a high level, Dixon might be playing on Sundays very soon.
