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Buckeyes stay perfect, but have a lot to improve upon

Ohio State receiver Terry McLaurin, top, celebrates his touchdown against Indiana with teammate Thayer Munford during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

COLUMBUS – It wasn’t until Terry McLaurin hauled in a Dwayne Haskins scoring dart with 12:21 remaining Saturday that Urban Meyer could breathe a sigh of relief,

Up until then, the Ohio State head coach was bewildered by what he was seeing in “The Shoe.” His No. 3-ranked Buckeyes were being challenged mightily by the unranked, yet feisty, Hoosiers before a Homecoming crowd of more than 104,000 on warm and muggy early autumn evening.

In the end, Ohio State pulled away for a 49-26 victory. But Meyer, in his third game back on the sideline after his three-game suspension, still recognized it was a performance far from what he expects.

“Offensively, had a lot of yards,” Meyer offered in his postgame remarks. “Still not doing what we need to do in the run game. And that’s something that’s alarming. So, we’ve just got to continue to work on that.

“Defensively not what we expected in the first half. Guys are making plays on us.”

The Hoosiers, for all intents and purposes, torched Ohio State in the passing game during the first half, leading to 182 yards and two scoring strikes from quarterback Peyton Ramsey.

“A combination of poor pass rush and not blocking on your guys,” Meyer admitted. “We’ve been fine against the run, but the pass has been killing us and that’s going to bite us, something we’ve got to get fixed.”

The Buckeyes entered the game allowing just a shade over 202 yards passing a game, seventh in the Big 10.

Still, the Buckeyes are 6-0, leaving Meyer confident he and his staff have time to get the pass defense bugs worked out.

“At times we played outstanding,” he said. “We’re a man coverage team. So, we have to keep evaluating. But some of those weren’t even on man coverage. So, we just have to keep working at it. I trust our staff. I trust our players. We’re banged up a little bit and we have to fight through it. But we have to play better.”

Haskins Shines…Again

While Meyer was looking for a little more oomph from his running game, his passing attack, led by Haskins, was again churning on all cylinders.

In fact, the entire contest was ruled by the pass, with both teams combining for 777 yards through the air, more than a large chunk of the combined 1,015 yards of total offense produced.

Haskins again looked super-accurate, completing 33 of 44 attempts for 455 and six TDs – all career highs. The longest was a 71-yarder to a more-than-wide-open Parris Campbell in the third quarter.

The six scores and 33 completions equaled OSU single-game records and the yardage total was three yards short of Art Schlichter’s school mark of 458 set in 1981.

McLaurin, for one, has no problem touting Haskins as a Heisman candidate.

“I’m not going to take any credit from the guys doing what they’re doing at other schools, but he’s beat two top 15 teams on the road in tough environments and through a lot of adversity,” he said.

“For a first-time quarterback to come in and do that with our offense, the numbers he’s putting up, I think coach said he was at one time away from some type of record. The more plays we make for him, the more confidence it gives him and his ability takes over the rest.”

Haskins is especially dynamic on long throws, but he said the OSU offense is one that can strike from anywhere.

“I feel like we have a really dynamic group,” he said. “We have a great group of guys, great talent across the board, a lot of depth and (Saturday) we were making plays when they mattered the most, whether it was passing of throwing.

“Everybody did a good job executing when we needed it.”

Dorris’ Day

While Ohio State was the focus for almost everyone at Ohio Stadium, a small contingent was on hand to cheer for one of the Ohio Valley’s own – Shadyside alum Austin Dorris.

Dorris, the former Tiger all-Ohioan, delighted the home folks in the first quarter when he hauled in an eight-yard catch on first down along the left side. Jordan Fuller made the stop on the play.

It was just the third collegiate catch on the season for Dorris, but his first in the Buckeye State since playing for Shadyside. Dorris, the backup to starting tight end Peyton Hendershot, also made appearances on plenty of snaps, including on field goal attempts and punt coverage.

A large gathering of fans, led by Austin’s dad, Bob, gathered outside the Tuttle Parking Garage before and after the game to celebrate the day. Papa Dorris also met up with his son after the game, as did others from the valley.

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