Ohio State football: What is the ceiling for the Buckeyes as Indiana comes to town?

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Sports
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Oct 5, 2018
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The inquiry seemed to interest Urban Meyer, but he was hesitant to go into great detail.

One month into the season, how close is his seventh Ohio State football team to its ceiling?

“I think that’s a great question — because you’re 5-0 and we haven’t played close to our best game,” he said. “It’s all relative.”

The Buckeyes are ranked No. 3 in both major polls heading into a game against Indiana on Saturday.

September showed many strengths but also a few potential weaknesses.

RELATED: Will Ohio State defense change to prevent big plays?

Of course, the Buckeyes might have been tested more than any of the potential College Football Playoff teams to this point in the season, too.

Three weeks ago, they outlasted a ranked TCU team on a neutral field in Texas.

Last week, they overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat then-No. 9 Penn State.

READ MORE:Buckeyes rally to stun Nittany Lions|5 things to know about the game

“That was two sledgehammers going against each other, two very talented teams,” Meyer said of the 27-26 clash with the Nittany Lions. “I think you watch the film and at times (we look) awesome. The fourth quarter on offense was perfect. Not perfect, but well done. The first two quarters, you can’t say, ‘You’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do this.’ Look at who you’re playing against. They did a very good job with what they were doing which was basically pressuring us 80 percent of the time, and we didn’t handle it well. We ended handling it well the second half.”

Then he broke off his answer.

“This team, to answer your question, there is a tremendous ceiling on this, and we haven’t got close to it.”

RELATED: How Ohio State mounted its rally in Happy Valley

Statistically, Ohio State has few peers so far this season in terms of scoring points (49.0 per game, sixth in the country), gaining yards (557.0 per game, fourth), passing yards (346.6, eighth), passing efficiency (186.6, fourth) and net punting (44.3, fourth).

The Buckeyes are 13th in the country in third-down conversion rate (50.0 percent) and tied for 15th in turnover margin (1.0).

While the country’s 33rd-ranked running game has taken a big of a back seat to the pass so far, 2010.4 yards per game is nothing to sneeze about.

What about the defense?

Here’s where the numbers are less impressive.

While Ohio State is 27th in the country in the most important statistic — points per game (18.8) — they have given up a lot of yards. The nation’s No. 63 run defense (154.8 yards per game) and No. 47 pass defense (202.2) added up to No. 52 overall.

Worse yet, the Buckeyes are among the most-penalized teams in the country, having had 8.4 accepted per game (112th) for 80.6 yards (116).

So, does Meyer want to see just how good this team can be? Yes, but he also didn’t want to dwell on the topic with the 4-1 Hoosiers up next.

“With all due respect, we went on the road twice, against TCU, a top 10 team on the road and Penn State on the road,” Meyer said. “I don’t know any school in the country that did that this year. We walked away with wins. Also we lost one of the top football players in America (Nick Bosa) on defense. We’re just coaching our tails off to make the guys better. Young players have to contribute. The ceiling here is — we don’t have time. We are just working on what we have to worry about.”

Scouting the Hoosiers

What Meyer’s team has to worry about Saturday is an Indiana team that has been flipped from offense-first under former head coach Kevin Wilson (who is now an offensive coordinator at Ohio State) to one that wins with defense under Tom Allen.

The Hoosiers have an average offense piloted by Peyton Ramsey, a sophomore dual-threat quarterback from Cincinnati Elder who reminds Meyer some of Penn State star Trace McSorley.

“He’s a gutsy player, man, and he’s one of those guys that creates something out of nothing,” Meyer said of Ramsey.

RELATED:What Meyer said about his team and Indiana on the Big Ten teleconference

He started four games last season, but it is his squad now.

Ramsey leads the Big Ten in completion percentage (115 for 162, 70.1 percent) and averages 207.8 yards passing and 34.0 yards on the ground.

Allen said he has developed more patience this season.

“I think the improvement has come in his poise and confidence of knowing where to take the ball,” Allen said. “He is very patient in the pocket with his eyes downfield.”

Although his squad looks to have a good shot to qualify for a bowl this season, Allen presented no illusions about the challenge the Hoosiers face this week.

“We’re excited to be 4-1 at this stage of the season and have the opportunity to head to Columbus and take on a great football team,” he said, noting Ohio State’s depth sets the Buckeyes apart from the rest of the conference.

"We're all chasing Ohio State."

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(AP Photo/Jeff Dean)","type":"image","distributor":{"mode":"reference","reference_id":"30857bf7-69a1-4da6-a0e9-d6ad9bc88718"},"url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coxohio/OCP76DIHCJD65LPY6HUA2E5MZ4.jpg","height":5162}},"canonical_url":"/sports/ask-hal-should-the-reds-deal-elly-de-la-cruz/WZTSXTLCXBCFHH2XJGKHH4YP6U/","_id":"WZTSXTLCXBCFHH2XJGKHH4YP6U"},{"content_elements":[{"_id":"5UTF3BHHWFAUFHZHM6OWXGAOCY","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Few well-moored people could have foreseen the way this game was going to end Sunday at Paycor Stadium."},{"_id":"JBYWR3745NENRAFZ5LWEEI376A","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals franchise quarterback, had crumpled to the ground after a sack midway through the second quarter. A pile of beefy bodies had fallen atop and all around him and when everyone else finally got up, he did not."},{"_id":"E3MG2X5QWNBSXOO3URH34DF4RI","additional_properties":{"nofollow":false,"selectedStory":false,"sponsored":false,"openInNewTab":true},"type":"interstitial_link","content":"What is turf toe? Bengals QB Joe Burrow could miss three months with injury","url":"https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/what-is-turf-toe-bengals-qb-joe-burrow-could-miss-three-months-with-injury/CLSY4GDAMRETXISWFWGSVV6YEI/"},{"_id":"ABAOVDS7RJCQRJU5MK5XKWUKTY","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"He lay there in pain and frustration, before momentarily sitting up and then melting back down again and bringing his hands to his head in a brief show of despair."},{"_id":"FSZ55YAASBBFBOLSOEAFKOXOZ4","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"His left toe, it turns out, had been hyperextended – in football parlance it’s called “turf toe” – and the injury often comes with stabbing pain and can be serious. If surgery is required – and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday morning it is it – a player can be out at least three months."},{"_id":"4LXQODTB7JHG5GL6N2CFHO46UA","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"No one in the once-loud Paycor crowd of 65,871 knew all this at the moment. Everyone just sat in stunned silence as their quarterback, their season, their dreams of another Super Bowl trip, lay flat on the ground."},{"_id":"CBDF7G6AY5B7VMP25CSKUFE7HM","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"From the sidelines, Bengals’ backup quarterback Jake Browning, who hadn’t thrown an NFL pass in a game that counts in 20 months, came trotting in in relief."},{"owner":{"id":"coxohio"},"address":{"locality":"Cincinnati","country_name":"USA","region":"OH"},"auth":{"1":"a51e8d2419b47b73708992c5f564d99937ac0d20cd9853c7ef213559339fa860"},"caption":"Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning, right, is hugged by tight end Noah Fant after Browning's rushing touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Cincinnati. 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On that final drive, he suddenly became almost perfect."},{"_id":"KIKR6OKKDZA5PHEWSGSJ7SW4CU","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"He completed 9 of his last 11 passes – twice converting fourth down situations deep in his own territory – and won the game when he leaped across a scrum of bodies on a quarterback sneak from one yard out with 18 seconds left."},{"_id":"J4M45LDQEFAMTE7BFBMXZY6TG4","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"With the addition of an Evan McPherson point after, Cincinnati had the 31-27 victory and their first 2-0 start of a season in seven years."},{"owner":{"id":"coxohio"},"copyright":"Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.","address":{"locality":"Cincinnati","country_name":"USA","region":"OH"},"auth":{"1":"0e57ecd9bdfb19b846ef6d0dccbb15f1653962d01152c096052b3db158b7aa37"},"caption":"Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning (6) lunges into the end zone to score a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Cincinnati. 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He slept wrapped in blankets."},{"_id":"IJVOP7OT4NEEZELZ4EOHDOC4QA","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Come to think of it, the Bengals ought to modify some of that treatment for Burrow, who so often in his career has been battered and most recently missed half of the 2023 season with a wrist injury."},{"_id":"EKFOJNWDVZGDFK6JMNZVBQOWWI","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Instead of reinforced clothes, they could just get him enough line protection to keep him from becoming a pinata in the backfield."},{"_id":"UVVHGTCWHJABHIQACQBS3OPR3I","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"When he was hurt Sunday, that was his second sack of the day. Last Sunday the Browns sacked him three times. In years previous, he’s been one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the NFL."},{"_id":"6GJA47C4LRH2JNXYHSSRDOH6RY","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"One other delusion story from a century past involved a Greek military officer, George Hatzianestis, who believed his legs were made of glass and would shatter if he moved too strenuously."},{"_id":"FNA2SMEABVHLRET3L6G4HFLXIQ","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"During the Greek-Turkish War of 1922 he refused to move his troops and that turned the war in the Turks favor."},{"_id":"AYS2PMACDND5VOWGLOCQH3CMG4","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Hatzianestis was tried for treason and executed."},{"_id":"5NGJAGOQ4ZEVHLMUPXZI4WIED4","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Thankfully, Browning was at the other end of the delusional spectrum."},{"_id":"XDVXJ4UJSZGMZO5LXNRGIAYQ6A","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"‘He’s a starter in this league’"},{"_id":"2CTWPENTQFDDHN2ZA43UU7QJCQ","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Taylor doesn’t claim to be a psychiatrist, but he said as that final drive was being played out he never focused on sending McPherson in to kick the game-tying field goal before Browning had a chance to throw a fourth pick:"},{"_id":"SCF2Z637XRGX5LMIPTD2OHMEZA","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"“I never gave Jake a field goal landmark because that really was not our mentality. Our mentality was, ‘We’re going to go score and win the game.’”"},{"_id":"UWB6ZEH7AJF75GA6EH5KO2X7L4","additional_properties":{"nofollow":false,"selectedStory":false,"sponsored":false,"openInNewTab":true},"type":"interstitial_link","content":"Analysis: 3 takeaways from Bengals 31-27 comeback win over Jacksonville","url":"https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/bengals-three-takeaways-from-sundays-thriller-against-jacksonville/WFYLTIYHN5HGBKUM3KJISADS4A/"},{"_id":"H4QGQHMERVESHM43ZK2SA6CQLY","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Taylor’s confidence – shared by several of the Bengals veteran players – was due to a few factors."},{"_id":"35KZNXUXWREZDAYM3PTHLCQH5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"First, they’ve seen Browning carry the team before. In 2023, he went 4-3 as a starter and had delivered an unexpected KO punch to these same Jaguars in that span."},{"_id":"6RAFB5CWVZALVPWDSZ53FCOKZ4","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"In that December 4 road game, he completed 32 of 37 passes for 354 yards and a 76-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase to lead Cincinnati to a 34-31 win in overtime."},{"_id":"26S3QHFOQZBDFIP6IYG7QDOEXU","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Speaking of Chase, he’s Browning’s favorite target."},{"_id":"X4R5VKTPXJEYFBEFKLDCCT4ZIA","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"“He’s the best receiver in the NFL,” the quarterback said after Sunday’s game when Chase had 14 receptions for 165 yards and a four-yard TD catch."},{"_id":"FJVQSRS645BAHL5ONTJMGANNOQ","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"With Tee Higgins and now Mitchell Tinsley, a highlight reel receiver who made a one-handed TD catch of a Browning pass – it was his first NFL reception – the team has an abundance of game-changing talents that can fortify any backup quarterback."},{"_id":"LAG2DZJRVBG6ZOWXVDDR6YAARY","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"But make no mistake, Browning isn’t just any backup. "},{"_id":"2I5LZ2UFOJDQVLD7CCX5RXH6WU","additional_properties":{},"alignment":"left","type":"text","content":"As center Ted Karras put it afterwards: “It’s pretty obvious, he’s a starter in this league (if he were somewhere else.)”"},{"_id":"74YZRFTUOFHHXKDYDH3NHDD24Q","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Taylor said he and the team believe in Browning because of the way he prepares. The coach claimed he saw him in the facility at 8:30 on Sunday morning."},{"_id":"AWY4NM43F5GNZMT5SMEWEQBSQI","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"He said Browning continually works at his craft because he knows the other side of an NFL opportunity and how easy it can be to move the other way and be back on a practice squad or worse, out of the league."},{"_id":"YO4PGZS45RAZPC3U5OMQKSJB2M","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Browning talked about the tough times he’s faced in his career."},{"_id":"FDQ7WPMGBZEW3JICC26SDYEMFA","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"He went undrafted coming out of Washington and was picked up as a free agent by Minnesota. He spent his first four years in the league – two with the Vikings and two in Cincinnati – as a practice squad player who was cut and re-signed five times."},{"_id":"TQ6OTJ35MFC25B242S2UIIWOUE","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"By 2021 he thought he was out of the NFL and planned to become a coach."},{"_id":"UX5HR3SNXNEQVDUG5CS47CTQE4","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"This was a far cry from his early years as a quarterback."},{"owner":{"id":"coxohio"},"copyright":"All Rights Reserved","address":{"locality":"Cincinnati","country_name":"USA","region":"OH"},"auth":{"1":"e5fa2eb63ab0cc77aeab047729a7ad17e8e792ae1cb244a85462cb82b998dda1"},"caption":"Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning answers questions after an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Cincinnati. 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His senior year in Folsom, California, he was named the Gatorade Player of the Year after throwing for 91 touchdowns and 5,790 yards!"},{"_id":"OU2FGYWWOVAUXPSJ2YFVXKDDPE","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"He ended his prep career with national high school records: 16,776 career yards and 229 touchdowns. At Washington he set the program record with 12,296 passing yards and 94 TDs."},{"_id":"RFBZ6MIKWFBS3PVLISM5QI7IXQ","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"Although that’s several years and many levels away from Sunday, it’s likely that’s the place where his delusion took root."},{"_id":"ETNHJP4GAZENRMODWVA563B2ZM","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"‘Ready enough to win’"},{"_id":"4YHYU6UMTZGP5BJGHXOBRB7B7Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"As he prepares now, he said: “I convince myself every Saturday that this will happen. And when it does it surprises everyone else, but not me."},{"_id":"C3DTL4NEARHWVGQLQ32EQWKLRM","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"“That’s my job as a back-up – be ready. My worst nightmare would be getting thrown out there and not being ready. I didn’t have my best game, but I was ready enough to win.”"},{"_id":"OWIBZQNK6VAN7HMQGAZQJQLZBQ","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"He said when he’s thrown into the game as he was Sunday, “it creates an emotional jump and you try to ride that wave and operate.”"},{"_id":"HJBG7CTV2JARXNVWEAG3ZONIU4","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"While there was joy in the dressing room Sunday, beneath it there was plenty of concern, especially when Burrow was seen in a walking boot and on crutches."},{"_id":"LCQMS5IILVG5NDXBUEBRTHXXRU","additional_properties":{},"type":"text","content":"While someone afterward was trying to make the case that Browning had provided the silver-lining moment on this day, Karras shook his head: “There’s a lot of gray today too.”"},{"owner":{"id":"coxohio"},"copyright":"All Rights Reserved","address":{"locality":"Cincinnati","country_name":"USA","region":"OH"},"auth":{"1":"cb1a32bf74256eaca50b8b08e596780fd9390ead213df7ad2bf151d40ee3747b"},"caption":"Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning (6) walks off the field after a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Cincinnati. 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