Meyer more pleased with Buckeyes' attitude than performance

Urban Meyer's Ohio State football team has won four games in a row. The 13th-ranked Buckeyes have scored at least 50 points four weeks in a row for the first time in school history and gained over 500 yards of total offense in all of those games, too.

They lead the Big Ten in total offense, pass efficiency, third down conversions and kickoff coverage. Their scoring average of 46.5 points per game is fourth in the country, and their 533.8 yards per game are ninth.

But a lot of that good stuff did not start happening until after a 35-21 home loss to Virginia Tech on Sept. 6, leaving Meyer's team with little or no margin for error the rest of the season if it wants to be part of the first College Football Playoff. With Michigan State beating opponents by an average score of 47.0-21.6, they might not be able to afford to lose a conference game either if they want to get back to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.

Perhaps that explains why Meyer did not sound overly thrilled with what he saw of the 56-17 victory over Rutgers last Saturday after watching it on film. The Scarlet Knights entered the game 5-1.

"Offense, we could have played a lot better," Meyer said. "That was not one of our great days. We expect more."

That sentiment carried over to the leader of the offense, quarterback J.T. Barrett. The redshirt freshman was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for 368 yards of total offense and five touchdowns against the Scarlet Knights. It was his second such award and his fourth consecutive game accounting for at least four touchdowns. He has a 17-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio during the Buckeyes' four-game winning streak, and he enters the last week of October leading the Big Ten in both total offense (333.0) and pass efficiency (182.1).

Of course, such success often tends to bring more scrutiny. While expectations of fans have steadily risen since the setback against the Hokies, so too have those of the coaching staff. That's why Barrett was named the best player on his side of the ball in the Big Ten but Meyer did not call his name when he listed those whose performance graded out to championship-level when the film was broken down by the coaching staff.

"That's tough coaching, and I like that," said Meyer, who also had some nits to pick for a defense that held Rutgers to 345 yards one game after yielding 310 to Maryland.

The Scarlet Knights were able to pile up 149 yards rushing -- the most since Navy's triple-option attack accounted for 370 in the season opener in August -- and dent the end zone twice, things that bothered the head coach even though some reserves were in as part of that damage was done.

"Defensively, we created three turnovers. Again scored a touchdown. Our third‑down defense was excellent," Meyer said. "The negative is we gave up some hits on a zone play. There was no excuse for that. I think they ran the same play and we didn't adjust well, made some mistakes."

The coach's perspective on a fourth straight win by at least 22 points figures to prevent the Buckeyes from getting complacent, and he suggested so too would the profile of the next opponent.

Penn State will be trying to break a two-game losing streak this weekend, but the Nittany Lions have had a week off to prepare for the Buckeyes, and they hope to have a six-figure crowd clad almost all in white at Beaver Stadium serving as a 12th man when the game kicks off just after 8 p.m.

"I think if you play a really bad team, that happens," Meyer said of the potential his team could begin looking ahead to its trip to Michigan State scheduled for Nov. 8. "You try not to let that happen. Going on the road in front of 110,000 people, knowing we didn't play great on Saturday, we expect to play great."

He has talked since the beginning of his tenure in Columbus about the advantages of coaching a hungry team, and this sounds like one that fits the bill as it hits the midway point.

"I love coaching this team," Meyer said.

"I like the way when coaches say (to Barrett), 'Okay, you're Big Ten player of the week, but you didn't play very well. Here is what you can do better.' As opposed to, 'Great, job, great job,' when it really wasn't. I love the players the way they're being coached, I love the responses. Enjoy coming to work every day when you have a team like that."

Check out more of what Urban Meyer and assistant coaches Larry Johnson and Zach Smith had to say as the Buckeyes began preparations for their trip to Penn State. (If media does not load initially, refresh browser.) 

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