If you’re looking for scoring offense, you may want to change the channel, at least if the first-half trend bleeds into the second.
No. 2 Ohio State scored 49 points in its season-opening win, No. 5 Oklahoma 56 in theirs. With fireworks on the scoreboard expected, both teams flipped the script as defense ruled the first two quarters for the most part, with the Buckeyes and Sooners heading into their respective halftime locker rooms tied at three apiece in Columbus.
OSU was the beneficiary of two first-half turnovers, but could turn them into just three points. Sean Nuernberger kicked a 24-yard field goal early in the second quarter to capitalize on the second fumble recovered by the Buckeyes in the half, while, on the ensuing possession and thanks in large part to a shaky snap, Austin Seibert pushed his 37-yard attempt that would’ve tied the game wide to the right.
OU’s first four possessions of the half penetrated into OSU’s half of the field, but they came away with zero points. The fifth possession led them into Buckeye territory as well but this time there was a different result as Seibert connected on a 35-yard field goal to knot the score at three apiece.
Through the air, the Sooners actually moved the ball well as Baker Mayfield passed for 158 yards in the half. One thing to keep an eye on in the second half, though, is that Mayfield appears to have suffered some sort of ankle injury that forced him to the sidelines twice in the half, albeit briefly. He was also hit hard on a second-quarter pass attempt as well.
They averaged three yards on 21 carries.
OU racked up 222 yards of offense, while OSU managed just 92. J.T. Barrett was the polar opposite of his quarterbacking counterpart, completing just 5-of-11 passes for a meager 25 yards. The Buckeyes averaged 4.1 yards on their 15 carries.
Heading off the field, Urban Meyer was asked about the offensive output. “Terrible,” the head coach said. Twice.
