BLACKSBURG, Va. — Cardale Jones had to pretend. The Ohio State quarterback had just witnessed teammate Braxton Miller pull off one of the sickest spin moves ever, a feat so splendid it needed immediate imitation.
As Jones cruised the sideline, headset-wearing sophomore quarterback Stephen Collier extended his hand, and Jones reached out before spinning away from the greeting, laughing all the while. The next person he encountered, he did the same. And the next, too.
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He was just playing around, as were all the Buckeyes on Monday night.
They arrived at Lane Stadium as the defending national champion and the nation’s No. 1 team. They were facing Virginia Tech, the last team to beat them, the only team to do so last season. They fell behind in the second quarter and allowed a crowd of 65,632 to start jumping and screaming and hoping. Still, they won 42-24.
Ohio State toyed with Virginia Tech, even while playing without four suspended players, including defensive end Joey Bosa, who may be the best pure football player on the roster.
Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer slaps hands with visiting fans following the game at Lane Stadium.
To say the Buckeyes have it all would be a gross understatement of how good they are.
They played an uneven game against a quality opponent, stumbled through an awful second quarter — and still romped. This is a great football team with immense room to grow. Ohio State’s greatest challenge this season might be regulating the hyperbole that is certain to be used by those chronicling its bid for a second straight national title.
“We played a really good football team,” Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer said. “I guess that goes without saying.”
My goodness, the Buckeyes are capable of anything. The best player on the field Monday was Miller, their former starting quarterback turned wide receiver. His first reception was a diving catch that seemed abnormally smooth for someone learning a new position. He ran for 62 yards and added 78 receiving yards , including a 54-yard snag in which he spun away from diving Virginia Tech nose tackle Corey Marshall so quickly that it seemed Marshall was a victim in a twister.
“I really would’ve preferred their third quarterback be over there competing for a quarterback job, rather than out there as a halfway,” Beamer said of the hybrid Miller. “I thought he was pretty special.”
Ohio State barely used running back Ezekiel Elliott, a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite. Elliott, who was the focus of Virginia Tech’s defense, finished with just 11 carries. Nevertheless, the first time he touched the ball, he scored an 80-yard touchdown to give the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead. Elliott wound up with 122 rushing yards in limited work.
Within the first nine minutes, the Buckeyes had a 14-0 lead, overwhelming the Hokies with their special combination of power and speed. If not for the attention given to the gold watch Virginia Tech running back J.C. Coleman wore while playing, you would’ve forgotten the Hokies were on the field early in the game.
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There’s no way to prepare for Ohio State’s size and agility. The Hokies went to Ohio Stadium and won a year ago, but they still needed time to adjust to the potent defending national champion. The Buckeyes can push you around, and they can run circles around you. Coach Urban Meyer, who is in his fourth season, has amassed a stunning amount of talent.
After months of secrecy and anticipation about the starting quarterback, Meyer chose to start Jones over J.T. Barrett. Jones, who is 250 pounds of unfair, controlled the first quarter. When he ran, defenders bounced off him as if they were riders getting bucked off a bull. When he threw, he drilled slant passes into the hands of receivers, and if the route required touch, he tossed cotton-soft completions. On the road, in the season opener, Jones completed six of his first nine passes for 95 yards. For the game, he threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for 99 yards and a score.
Of course, after taking that 14-0 lead, Ohio State stumbled, and the Hokies were impressive in scoring 17 points in the second quarter to take a three-point halftime lead. Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer was effective and tough, hanging in the pocket to make plays, completing 11 of 16 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game with a broken collarbone in the third quarter.
Trailing 14-0, Brewer threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Sam Rogers on a wheel route to start the second-quarter surge. Rogers juked Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple en route to the touchdown, and the highlight-reel play gave the Hokies a jolt. After Ohio State outgained Virginia Tech 205-56 in the first quarter, the Hokies gained 155 yards in the second quarter to the Buckeyes’ 55.
When Brewer hit tight end Ryan Malleck for a one-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining in the first half, the Hokies took a 17-14 lead, and the thought of an upset lingered through halftime.
Then Ohio State awoke and put the Hokies to bed.
“They may be the most talented team we’ve had come in here in a long, long time,” Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said.
Ohio State played three good quarters, and it was enough to blow out Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium. Imagine what the Buckeyes will look like when they play well the entire game.
It’s a scary thought, but it will take time for the Buckeyes to turn all their intriguing parts into an efficient, well-running team that gets the most out of its talent.
In the meantime, they’ll just have to enjoy playing around with all these toys.(The Washington Post)