Not a pretty day for No. 1 Ohio State. Mistakes here and there, but it didn't matter much as the Buckeyes started slow, then put up a flurry of points late and beat Hawaii 38-0 on Saturday.
Ezekiel Elliott scored three touchdowns on short runs, two in the first half and one in the second, and it was more than enough against the Rainbow Warriors (1-1), who came into the game as six-touchdown underdogs.
''We did not execute well,'' Ohio State Urban Meyer said.
Cardale Jones started again at quarterback for the Buckeyes (2-0). He was 6 of 9 for 82 yards in the first half and finished with 100 yards passing. He also fumbled twice in the backfield, but recovered each one. The offensive line was called for three penalties and a 46-yard field goal attempt was botched when holder Cameron Johnston mishandled the snap.
''It wasn't a performance that I wanted,'' Jones said.
Elliott scored on runs of 1- and 3-yard runs in the first half, and added a 1-yard touchdown with about nine minutes left for a 24-0 lead. He finished with 101 yards on 27 carries.
The Buckeyes added two more touchdowns after that when safety Vonn Bell scooped up a fumble and ran 14 yards less than two minutes later and Bri'onte Dunn added another score.
J.T. Barrett replaced Jones for the final three series of the second quarter, but Jones returned to start the third.
Barrett completed 8 of 15 passes for 70 yards plus one carry for seven yards.
Meyer admitted he is struggling to figure out how to best use two talented quarterbacks.
''I'm evaluating how we're doing that and what's the best opportunity to go down the field and score,'' he said.
Hawaii quarterback Max Wittek threw for 67 and had two interceptions. Rainbow Warriors running back Paul Harris, a Columbus native, ran for 46 yards on 14 carries.
''They played their tails off,'' Meyer said of Hawaii.
The Hawaii defense was stingy and disruptive in the first half and sacked Jones twice in a row in the second quarter.
Still, coach Norm Chow was not pleased with the overall performance.
''We made enough mistakes to last a season,'' Chow said. ''You can't do that against good football teams.''
Ohio State led 14-0 at the half on Elliott touchdowns and the crowd of 107,145 was a bit uneasy about the way the Buckeyes were playing.
Buckeyes All-American defensive end Joey Bosa and receivers Jalin Marshall, Corey Smith and Dontre Wilson all returned from suspensions to bolster the roster.
Marshall's first catch, a 12-yarder, came during the Buckeyes' second possession that led to a score. Elliot scored for a yard out with 3:25 left in the first quarter.
Ohio State had a quick turnaround following a 42-24 win Monday at Virginia Tech. Hawaii, sporting retro all-white uniforms with rainbow stripes on the shoulder pads and sides of the pants, defeated Colorado 28-20 on Sept. 3.
''With just a couple of days to prepare we weren't ready to play,'' Elliott said.
Hawaii vs #1 Ohio State (Sep 12, 2015 at Columbus, Ohio) Source: OSU Official Site Scoring Summary, Team Statistics, Individual Statistics, Drive Chart, Defensive Statistics, Game Participation, Box Score, Play-by-Play, Play breakdown
Vonn Bell picks up the Hawaii fumble and returns it for a fourth quarter touchdown against Hawaii. With 7:48 remaining in the 4th quarter, Hawaii QB Max Wittek run for a loss of 3 yards and fumbled, recovered by Buckeyes Vonn Bell and returned 14 yds TOUCHDOWN making the score 31-0.
Ohio State Safety Vonn Bell Breaks Down His Team's 38-0 Win Over Hawaii Source: Eleven Warriors
Not a pretty day for No. 1 Ohio State. Mistakes here and there, but it didn't matter much as the Buckeyes started slow, then put up a flurry of points late and beat Hawaii 38-0 on Saturday. Ezekiel Elliott scored three touchdowns on short runs, two in the first half and one in the second, and it was more than enough against the Rainbow Warriors (1-1), who came into the game as six-touchdown underdogs.
Notes from the Buckeyes' 38-0 win over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Sept. 12, 2015
• Star of the game: Ezekiel Elliott, who stepped up when Ohio State hit the reset button against a chaotic Hawaii defense. He had his seventh straight 100-yard rushing game and a touchdown that made it 24-0 with 9:07 left. His streak dates to the 2014 Indiana game.
• Turning point: Actually, it was the exclamation point: safety Vonn Bell ending up with a misfired handoff from Hawaii quarterback Max Wittek and returning it 14 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. In addition to the shutout, the defense limited Hawaii to 165 total yards. •
• For the second straight game, Meyer seemed unhappy with the play of the Buckeyes' offensive line. Hawaii finished with four sacks, and Ohio State averaged only 3.7 yards per carry.
• The attendance of 107,145 marked the fourth-largest crowd in Ohio Stadium history.
• The win extends Ohio State's win streak to 15 games, the longest active streak in the nation.
• Ohio State is 68-12-1 all-time as the No. 1 ranked team and 51-4 as a No. 1 team vs. unranked opponents.
• Ohio State has scored at least three TDs in a nation's-best 31-consecutive games. Baylor is next with 17.
• Urban Meyer improves to 144-26 in his career and maintains the highest winning percentage (.847) among active coaches.
• Meyer is 52-5 in his career in games played in August and September.
• Ohio State is 113-9-4 all-time in home openers and has won 36 of its last 37 home openers.
• Ohio State did not throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 25 games, ending the school record tying streak of 24 games in a row with a touchdown (first set by the 1994-96 teams).
• Cardale Jones improved to 5-0 as a starter in his career.
• Ezekiel Elliott tallied three touchdown runs against the Rainbow Warriors and now has 24 for his career. It was his second game with three or more rushing touchdowns (four in 2015 National Championship Game vs. Oregon). Elliott has recorded two or more rushing touchdowns in five of his last six games.
• The 101 yards by Elliott represent the seventh-consecutive game and his 12th overall with at least 100 yards.
• Bri'onte Dunn recorded his third career rushing touchdown and first since his freshman year against Illinois on Nov. 3, 2012.
• Ohio State's rushing game has produced a touchdown in 25 consecutive games and in 42 of 43 games coached by Urban Meyer.
• Ohio State recorded the fifth shutout under Urban Meyer with the 38-0 win over Hawai'i. The Buckeyes blanked Kent State (66-0) and Wisconsin (59-0) in 2014 and Florida A&M (76-0) and Purdue (56-0) in 2013.
• The Buckeyes held Hawai'i to less than 100 yards both rushing (80) and passing (85). Last year, the Buckeyes held Kent State to just 47 yards rushing and 79 yards passing, the last time an opponent failed to reach 100 yards in both categories.
• Gareon Conley's second-quarter interception marked the first of his career. He also finished with a career-high two pass breakups.
• Darron Lee finished the day with four tackles, including two sacks which matches a career high.
• Vonn Bell's second-quarter interception was his first of the season and eighth of his career. In the fourth quarter he scooped up his second career fumble recovery, scampering 14 yards for his first career touchdown. Bell also had a career-high three pass breakups in the win.
• 6: Straight games in which the Buckeyes scored 40 points or more, until Hawaii put a stop to it.
• Jack Willoughby connected on his first career field goal in a Buckeye uniform, a 20-yarder in the third quarter.
• The game was the first between Ohio State and Hawai'i. The Buckeyes are 9-1 all-time vs. current members of the Mountain West.
• Ohio State had moment of silence pregame in memory of former band director Dr. Jon Woods and baseball pitcher Zach Farmer.
Ten Things We Learned from Ohio State's 38-0 Win Over Hawaii September 13, 2015 Source: The Ozone - Any time a team leaves the field with a 38-0 win they should enjoy it, and after this game Urban Meyer said that he would enjoy it. The fact that the Buckeyes needed 21 fourth-quarter points to get to 38-0 is a bit concerning, however.
1. Ohio State can’t just toss their helmets onto the field and win a game. Yes, we know the silver helmets are sweet and the Buckeye leaves on the back signify stellar plays in the past, but neither of them mean anything without a focused player nestled underneath them. Even though this was a 3:30 game, it sure felt like a Noon game with the slow start and unimpressive opponent.
This was almost a wasted game for Ohio State because it should have been an opportunity for some young players to get some good snaps. Instead, the veterans had to stay in much longer than anticipated. Perhaps this will be a wakeup call, but it will be a much more pleasant voice on the other end than last year’s wakeup call against Virginia Tech.
The Buckeyes had a few games like this one last year before they became otherworldly, so this shouldn’t be too surprising.
2. The Buckeyes can defend the pass pretty well. Hawaii has always been known for their passing, but on Saturday the Buckeye defense held the UH quarterbacks to 8-26 passing for 85 yards and two interceptions. They defended the pass well at every level, and that includes middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan dropping back into coverage and getting a hand on a pass.
Defensive coordinator Luke Fickell spoke highly of the entire unit for the job they did against the pass, and then he singled out safety Vonn Bell for his play. He said that Bell may have the best hands on the team, though after dropping two interceptions in this game, Fickell said he told Bell that he’s going to move him down the list.
3. This offense is better when Braxton Miller is involved. I haven’t gone back to see how right I am, but it seemed in this game that when the Ohio State offense was stalling there was very little of Braxton Miller on the field. Most of Miller’s touches came out at quarterback, which seemed very much like the game plan. Expect to see a lot of Miller at quarterback this season, but maybe don’t expect him to throw a pass until it’s absolutely necessary.
I think Miller could handle an entire drive at quarterback without even throwing the ball forward, but they’d have to mix it up with some jet sweeps and such. One thing I don’t understand is putting Miller at quarterback when the Buckeyes have a long down-and-distance.
It really felt in this game like they were trying to keep Miller as close to the line of scrimmage as possible. I also think he may have been banged up a bit because he spent a lot of time on the sideline.
4. The interior of the offensive line still needs some time. Even though this was the 17th consecutive game that Billy Price, Jacoby Boren, and Pat Elflein have played together, it was hard to tell based on this game alone. Snaps were bad, Price had penalties, and the running up the middle was never all that easy. Ezekiel Elliott averaged 3.7 yards per carry on 27 attempts, and lost 11 yards on tackles in the backfield.
Still, when the Buckeyes were looking for answers, they went back to pounding Elliott up the middle, and it eventually put OSU well out in front. Elliott’s long carry of the day was just 13 yards, but his three touchdowns more than made up for any lack of home runs.
5. The jump ball offense is no way to go through life. Trust a guy who has watched more than his share of Michigan games with Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner at quarterback—the jump ball offense never works two years in a row. Last season Cardale Jones had Devin Smith to go up and get passes for him, but Smith is gone now which means that Jones needs to be a bit more accurate on his passes down the field.
All quarterbacks should trust their receivers, but they should also do as much as they can to help them out. Jones has missed quite a few deep balls this season, and he missed two more against Hawaii. Jump balls are nice, but dropping a pass over the shoulder of an open receiver is way, way nicer.
6. Monday to Saturday is not enough time to prepare a team for a game. Urban Meyer said after the game that the quick turnaround is a great excuse for their play, but that they weren’t going to invoke such things inside the walls of the football facilities. Being that I am not inside those walls at the moment, I have no problem saying that the quick turnaround was absolutely a factor in this game. OSU missed two days of preparation, and throughout this game they looked like a team that wasn’t as prepared as they should have been.
I asked Joshua Perry about it after the game and he said he’s glad that he doesn’t have to do it again in his college career. “It’s not something I look forward to, but it is what it is.” It was clear that the offense was more affected than the defense because the defense could simply go out and play their game.
7. There’s a reason Urban Meyer always grumbles about having to play against a 3-4 defense. If we’re in the mood to give credit to Hawaii in this game, then the reason that the Ohio State offense didn’t just come out and have success right out of the gate is because of HU’s 3-4 defense. Anytime the Buckeyes are slated to face a 3-4 defense, Urban Meyer talks about what a pain it is to prepare for. It’s not something that the Buckeye defense shows their offensive line in practice generally, and so it takes have to be big and full of future pros. Sometimes they just have to be a little awkward to some time to get used to. The same thing was seen last year against Navy. A defense doesn’t handle. It’s like moving furniture. It’s not the weight, it’s the doorway that you have to try to figure out, and the 3-4 defense is a pretty weird piece of furniture.
8. Gareon Conley might be the guy who continues the tradition. During fall camp I talked to cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs about how he has had at least one First-Team All-Big Ten cornerback in each of his first three years at Ohio State, and then I asked him if he was going to be able to keep the streak going. He said that people other than him vote on those things, but that by the end of the season people would see just how good Ohio State’s cornerbacks were.
Funnily enough, I don’t think they’re going to have to wait until the end of the season, because Gareon Conley has been pretty spectacular this season. Conley only had one tackle in this game, but he had an interception and broke up another pass as well. There generally wasn’t anywhere to throw in his direction, though there weren’t really any areas to throw to in this one.
To a man after the game, coaches and teammates were raving about Conley’s play, including on the special teams. As Luke Fickell said, “He’s doing it all.”
9. It can be difficult to find a rhythm with so many instruments. The wide receivers were rotating quite a bit today, which is what every coach wants to have. However, I think it can sometimes be difficult to find a rhythm when there is so much transition on offense. I imagine it being like a kid who gets every toy he’s asked for, but because he can’t play with them all at any one given time, he can’t enjoy what he’s playing with. However, if the toy he is playing with was the only toy that he got that day, now he can find focus and happiness.
That being said, nobody wants to be the kid with one toy. You simply need more time to find out which toys are your favorites and which ones provide you with the most happiness.
The early part of the season is the time to get everyone involved, and sometimes in those games, aesthetics go out the window.
10. The quarterback situation is still a situation. I know that Cardale Jones is the starter now and that Urban Meyer wanted to play both quarterbacks in this game, but Jones was effectively benched in the second quarter for J.T. Barrett. That’s a concern, but the bigger concern is the fact that neither quarterback looked like the quarterbacks they were a season ago. Had Barrett been fantastic in his first half appearances, then maybe he never leaves the field, but that’s not what happened.
It was a weird Saturday all around, and the play of Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett would certainly qualify as oddities. Meyer said after the game that he’s still not sure how to proceed with the quarterbacks, and with their play on Saturday, they didn’t do much to clear things up for him.
Ohio State vs. Hawaii | The Bottom Line Columbus Dispatch - Offense (2 leaves) The weather has been cooler here for only a couple of days, but the OSU offense was creaking around like it’s the dead of winter. What gives? Telling stat: Cardale Jones ran 24 yards on the Buckeyes’ first snap, and they never had a longer play all day. Securing the snap from center would be a good start.
Defense (5 leaves)
The clampdown went into effect early and stayed that way as the Buckeyes made sure this would be no luau for the visitors. Vonn Bell had a pick and a scoop-and-score and could have had more. The front seven in the second half pinned their ears back and charged.
Special teams (2 leaves)
It had the looks of another calamity after that fake field goal, or whatever it was, another kickoff out of bounds and a roughing-the-punter penalty. But the punting game got its act together, and Jalin Marshall’s decent returns made the stench less noticeable.
Coaching (3 leaves)
Urban Meyer was curiously ambivalent about his quarterbacks’ awkward-at-times hijinks, but his what-me-worry attitude could be attributed to the knowledge that there’s still a lot of field to plow this season. At least this formula looked obvious: strong units = <9.
Opponent (3 leaves)
Based on talent alone, Hawaii’s chances to pull the biggest upset in years always held less weight than Don Ho’s tiny bubbles. But nor did the Rainbow Warriors bomb, unlike that dreadful Aloha movie. The next payday road trip at Wisconsin may be uglier, however, after OSU’s physical pounding sets in.
Officiating (3 leaves)
Curses to the Big Ten Network for not having a replay of the weirdest call in a while — the Buckeyes being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct when an official ran into a coach during a punt return.
OFFENSIVE LINE GRADE: C plus The guys up front were flagged three times in the first quarter (one was offsetting), and they also gave up their first sack of the season in the second quarter, so things weren’t exactly crisp from the outset. At least last week the Buckeyes started fast before hitting a lull and then regrouping. Pass protection in general was pretty good, but the Buckeyes didn’t capitalize. The obvious highlight in this underwhelming win was a 17-play, 91-yard drive that chewed up 8:05 over parts of the third and fourth quarters.
RUNNING GAME GRADE: B Ezekiel Elliott scored on three short runs and went over 100 yards rushing, but Braxton Miller was easily OSU’s most effective — or at least flashy — runner in his second game as an H-back. Elliott’s best run was an 11-yard pistol-churning gain up the middle on fourth-and-3 from the Hawaii 22, setting up his third score and making the score look a little less horrible at 24-0 with 9:07 left. Brionte Dunn — remember him? — had a TD run in mop-up duty.
PASSING GAME GRADE: C As bad as Hawaii quarterback Max Wittek looked, Ohio State’s two signal-callers didn’t fare much better. Cardale Jones made his first start in Ohio State and got away with a pass that should have been intercepted on the Buckeyes’ opening drive. J.T. Barrett entered the game to a huge ovation at 7:23 of the second quarter, but we probably shouldn’t read too much into that. It was the fans’ first chance to acknowledge his 2014 season since breaking his leg in the Shoe against Michigan. Barrett didn’t feed off the cheers or do anything to rev up a QB debate. A pass interference call likely prevented a 45-yard TD pass from Jones to Michael Thomas, one of the few players on offense to have a solid day.
DEFENSIVE LINE GRADE: A All-America end Joey Bosa was back and had his first sack of the season wiped out by a holding call on cornerback Eli Apple. Sam Hubbard, the former safety-turned-tight end-turned-defensive end recovered a fumble at the Hawaii six to set up a field goal. The energy up front was pretty good the entire day, pressuring quarterback Max Wittek, a USC transfer, into a miserable day capped by a sack/fumble that resulted in a well-deserved TD for the defense.
LINEBACKERS GRADE: B This entire crew was strangely silent in the first half, at least as far as impact plays. That changed in the third quarter when Darron Lee crunched quarterback Max Wittek, jarring the ball loose at the Hawaii 6 to set up a field goal. Later in the third quarter Josh Perry sacked Wittek on third down at the OSU 35 to thwart Hawaii’s best drive.
DEFENSIVE BACKS GRADE: A We saw some of the big-play capabilities of this secondary. Cornerback Gareon Conley had an interception to set up OSU’s second touchdown and Vonn Bell made an acrobatic pick on a deflected pass that the Buckeyes’ offense squandered. Bell had an easier pass to handle on Hawaii’s first play of the third quarter but dropped it. He atoned for that by scooping up a loose ball in the red zone and running it in for a fourth-quarter TD.
SPECIAL TEAMS GRADE: C minus Special teams snafus carried over from the opener. Holder Cameron Johnston mishandled a snap on a field goal try to cap a disastrous first series by the Buckeyes. Darron Lee was flagged for roughing the punter in the end zone. Poor guy was having a rough enough time on his own just getting his kicks to travel more than 20 yards, so OSU probably sniffed an easy TD on the rush. Except that Lee never came close to the ball and got all body. Johnston had one of his punts downed at the 2 and Jalin Marshall marked his return from suspension with a 32-yard punt return, but OSU couldn’t turn it into any points at the end of the half. Jack Willoughby converted his first field goal, basically a 3-point PAT.
COACHING GRADE: B Remember, this was a 17-0 game midway through the fourth quarter. There were a lot of penalties to clean up, including one on coach Urban Meyer for official interference along the sidelines. Some of the sloppy play in general on offense was probably understandable given the short week — another reason to do away with Monday games if the teams competing are already playing that week. You won’t get an argument from Meyer, who after this mediocre performance by his offense would prefer to leave Monday Night Football to the NFL. It was a scary day for a lot of power conference teams, so maybe we should just coin this Sluggish Saturday in the FBS.
Unveiling of National Champion Banner
TBDBITL welcomes Rick Derringer of The McCoys to celebrate Hang on Sloopy's 50th before the Sept. 12th game versus Hawaii.
On Hawai’i’s offensive play against Ohio State
“We had way too many drops. You know the windows aren’t going to be very big when you play a good football team. The numbers don’t look good. We dropped a ton of balls and we can’t keep doing that. We talked about it before the game – every opportunity that we had to make a play we had to because we’re playing the No. 1 team in the country.”
On Hawai’i’s preparedness to play in Ohio Stadium
“I thought they were ready. I was a little concerned that they would lose some of that energy toward the second half because of the long ride but we didn’t. I thought we played very well. We played very hard. I’m proud of that.”
Max Wittek, senior quarterback
On creating mismatches on the line of scrimmage
“Ohio State has a great front four. A lot of times they don’t need to blitz to get pressure.”
On playing in Ohio Stadium
“This is one of the top college atmospheres for a football game that there is. Was it everything we expected? Yeah. We knew that there would be a loud crowd. We knew it was going be tough to hear and we had to go on a silent cadence. But, I think we were ready for it.”
Kennedy Tulimasealii, junior defensive end
On the defensive game plan
“We keyed on the quarterback [Cardale Jones] the most because of his run game. He likes to run a lot.”
Ohio State is seeking to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 15 games in it home opener. Hawaii, coming off a 4-9 record last season, is looking for its first win over a ranked opponent since 2010. The Rainbow Warriors have not started a season 2-0 since 2009.
KEY MATCHUP:
Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa against the Hawaii offensive line and anybody else in his way. The junior All-American was suspended the first game vs. Virginia Tech for violating school policies and is eager to get back on the field. As an added incentive, on the OSU depth chart it lists Bosa ''or'' redshirt freshman Sam Hubbard as the starter.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Hawaii: RB Paul Harris, a Columbus native, returns home after carrying the ball a team-high 17 times for 68 yards in the 24-20 win against Colorado although he did not start.
Ohio State: H-Back Braxton Miller. All the former star quarterback did in his first game at his new position is catch 54-yard touchdown pass from Cardale Jones and rush for an electrifying 53-yard score in the 42-24 win against the Hokies on Monday.
F
ACTS & FIGURES:
Ohio State has won 66 of the past 67 homes games against unranked, non-conference opponents. The lone loss was in the 2014 home opener vs. Virginia Tech, 35-21
Hawaii is 6-12 vs. teams from the Big Ten Conference and 3-4 in the past seven meetings.
Hawaii strength and conditioning coach Gary Beemer played offensive line under OSU coach Urban Meyer at Florida, including Meyer's final season there in 2010.
The Buckeyes did not play any true freshman against Virginia Tech.
Ohio State has scored 40 or more points in each of its last six home games (6-0). The last FBS team who had 40+ points in seven or more consecutive home games was Texas A&M, who did it in 11 straight from November 17, 2012-September 6, 2014.
Ohio State junior RB Ezekiel Elliott topped 100 yards for the sixth straight time by accumulating 122 on 11 carries in the opener.
The highest-ranked team Hawaii has defeated was fourth-ranked Brigham Young 59-28 in 1990.
Source: Associated Press
• Saturday will be the first meeting between Ohio State and Hawai'i on the football field.
• Ohio State enters the game having won 14 in a row overall, the longest active streak in the nation.
• Ohio State has won 66 of its last 67 regular-season home games against unranked, non-conference opponents.
• Ohio State has won 35 of its last 36 home openers.
• The Buckeyes are 112-9-4 all-time in home openers since 1890.
• Urban Meyer has the highest winning percentage (.846) among active coaches.
• Meyer is 51-5 in his career in games played in August and September.
• Braxton Miller was named the Big Ten's offensive player of the week with 78 yards receiving and 62 rushing and 2 TDs in the win at Virginia Tech. He is the first Buckeye since Ted Ginn, Jr. in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl to record a 50-yard TD run and a 50-yard TD reception in the same game.
• Ohio State has thrown a TD pass in 24 consecutive games, tied for the longest streak in school history with the 1994-96 Buckeye teams. A touchdown pass against Hawai'i would set the record.
• Ohio State set a school record in the win at Virginia Tech Monday, averaging 10.2 yards per play. The team also averaged 9.7 yards per rush, which is second-best all-time.
A GLANCE AT HAWAII
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, a member of the Mountain West Conference, are coming off a 4-9 season and a 3-5 finish in the MWC in 2014. They are 1-0 on the season after winning their opener, 28-20, vs. Colorado last Saturday.
In that game, QB Max Wittek passed for 202 yards on 19 of 38 passing with three TDs, including a 79-yard scoring pass to Marcus Kemp, but also threw two INTs. Kemp led the team with six catches for 116 yards and a score while Paul Harris gained 68 yards on 17 carries.
Defensively, Ryan Moeller recorded six solo tackles and 1.0 TFL. The Rainbow Warriors recorded a total of 5.0 TFL on the day with one sack and two INTs.
Hawaii is coached by Norm Chow, who is in his fourth season with a record of 9-29. Prior to Hawai'i he was the offensive coordinator at Utah in 2011, UCLA from 2008-10, the Tennessee Titans from 2005-07 and at USC from 2001-04. While at USC, Chow won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach in 2002. Prior to USC, he was the OC at N.C. State in 2000 and served as an assistant at BYU from 1976-1999.
A pair of USC castoffs lead Hawai'i, first with Chow — an Aloha State native who served as the Trojans offensive coordinator from 2001-04 — in addition to quarterback Max Wittek, who played in 13 games at the school from 2012-13.
The Rainbow Warriors haven't won more than four games in each of Chow's first three seasons at the helm, including a disastrous 1-11 in 2013 when they lost five games by seven points or fewer.
Wittek is believed to be the answer at quarterback for Chow, however, bringing a strong arm and plenty of experience to the most vital position on the field.
Chow's offenses at USC were some of the most potent in the country, an integral part to the Trojans winning back-to-back national titles in 2003 (BCS) and 2004 (AP). He coached such talent at Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Reggie Bush, other college stars like Matt Leinart, Lendale White, Dwayne Jarrett and Mike Williams, who all put up crazy numbers and helped Pete Carroll build a dynasty...
* When Ohio State Has The Ball: For three quarters of OSU’s opener at Virginia Tech, the offense operated at near maximum efficiency. OSU rolled up 572 yards total offense, including 360 on the ground. The Buckeyes averaged a school-record 10.2 yards per play. The rushing average of 9.7 per attempt ranks second all-time in school annals.
There are so many playmakers at each position it is nearly impossible for everybody to get involved. Ezekiel Elliott had “only” 11 carries in the opener. My guess is he will be much more integrated into the game plan. In many ways, Tech’s defense was stacked so the quarterback could not give EE the ball on the zone read.
Hawaii plays a 3-4 defense with pressure coming from different places and different angles on every play. On his radio show Thursday, Urban Meyer said they can “make you look silly” if you aren’t prepared for it. And that’s an issue because OSU only had two practices (Wednesday and Thursday) and today’s walkthrough to get ready for it. There could be some negative plays here and there.
It will be interesting to see if Cardale Jones can complete a higher percentage. Yes, he was victimized by some drops. But he can do better. It will help, perhaps, to have Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson and Corey Smith back in the fold. It will be interesting as well how much J.T. Barrett sees the field.
Braxton Miller showed he can take it to the house any time he touches it. My guess is he gets a rousing ovation upon his triumphant return to Ohio Stadium.
Hawaii plays a physical brand of defensive football. I don’t think they will be intimidated, but they could get worn down as the game goes on. Probably looking at somewhere between six and nine touchdowns for OSU if everything works out.
* When Hawaii Has The Ball: Max Wittek, the USC transfer, had a nice debut last week against Colorado. Obviously, he will be stepping up in class this week against OSU’s defense.
Virginia Tech threw two throwback screens for touchdowns and also hit a big play or two against OSU’s pressure defense. That is going to happen from time to time. Wittek has some nice receiving threats, including WRs Marcus Kemp and Quinton Pedroza, who will test OSU’s secondary.
The Buckeyes get DE Joey Bosa back off suspension and we will see if he is ready to rock and roll. It was good to see three of the defense’s new starters, DE Tyquan Lewis, MLB Raekwon McMillan and CB Gareon Conley, all have some great moments in the opener. They all look like keepers.
Hawaii RB Paul Harris is a Columbus native. What a cool story for him to come home and play in the Horseshoe.
* How It Will Go: I think Hawaii is a better football team than anybody wants to give them credit for. They could mix things up in the Mountain West and they have confidence coming off the win over Colorado, such as it may be.
In that game, the Rainbow Warriors blocked an early Colorado punt and out-physicaled the Buffaloes. But emotion can carry Hawaii only so far. They made their long trip to the mainland by coming to California Wednesday and then into Columbus late Thursday. This afternoon game would be akin to them playing an early morning game in Hawaii. We’ll see if they are ready to play.
Ohio State took Hawaii for granted by scheduling this game five days after the Virginia Tech game. Virginia Tech, a few years ago, did the same thing and lost a home game to FCS James Madison five days after a Monday night game. I don’t think that will happen … just something to file away.
Meyer has a lot of masters to serve here. He has to keep all of his key playmakers happy. At No. 1 in the polls, the Buckeyes need to look impressive. There are a lot of dynamics at play here. This could be an interesting game for a quarter or two. But my guess is, again this week, a dominant second half will quell all doubts.
Hawaii doesn't have much depth along its defensive line, so the Buckeyes should look to set the tone with their strong offensive line and Ezekiel Elliott right out of the gate.
Elliott's 2015 campaign got off to a good start against Virginia Tech last Monday, when he ran for 122 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries. He'll probably get more work against the Warriors because they won't execute the "Bear" front that Virginia Tech ran for much of the game last Monday. That defense forced Ohio State to get the ball on the perimeter, which largely marginalized Elliott's impact.
Hawaii Football Pre-Game Interviews vs. Ohio State 9-8-15
This is the second game for both teams in 2015 and the first meeting between the programs, but the second game this week for Ohio State, as UH
has seven days between games, versus OSU’s four.
Hawai’i will face a defending national champion for the second time (previously USC in 2005) and will play a No. 1 ranked team for the fourth time.
Hawai’i will play its first road contest of 2015, traveling over 9,020 miles for the game at Ohio Stadium.
Hawai’i opened the season with a win for the first time since 2011, and first in the Norm Chow era, looking for the first 2-0 start since 2009.
Max Wittek made his UH debut against Colorado, throwing for three touchdowns on 50 percent passign for 202 yards. He is the first quarterback at UH
since 1985 to throw for three scores in his debut.
UH will appear in a nationally televised game for the second straight week. UH holds a 19-59-2 record in national TV games, snapping a 19-game losing
streak last week against Colorado.
UH is 6-12 in matchups with teams from the Big Ten Conference, with a record of 3-4 in the last seven games.
Running back/kick returner Paul Harris is making a return home to his native Columbus and playing his second game for UH.
Rainbows In Columbus: The Rainbow Warriors unveiled new retro white road uniforms which the team will sport for Saturday's game. The all-white Under Armour threads feature rainbow stripes on the shoulder pad and down the sides of the pant. The uniform will be accompanied by a white helmet with rainbow decal that the university used as its primary logo during the 1980s and '90s.
Welcome Home: The trip to Ohio is the first for the majority of the team but for one, it is a return home. Running back/kick returner Paul Harris is a native of Columbus and a graduate of Marion-Franklin High School. He spent his first two years of high school at Reynoldsburg High before earning second-team all-state honors at MFHS after averaging 11.2 yards per carry as a senior. Harris arrived at UH during the summer after two seasons at California's Ventura College, where he was named a junior college All-American as a kick returner. Harris initially attended Toledo, where he redshirted in 2012.
Long Haul: This is the first-ever meeting between Hawai'i and Ohio State, however, it is the second time UH is travelling to the state of Ohio. The previous meeting occurred in 1951 when the Rainbows lost to Cincinnati 34-0. Saturday's game is also only the eighth contest for a UH team held in the Eastern Time zone. The Warriors are 1-6 in those games with the lone win coming in a 2010 meeting at Army in West Point, N.Y. The trip to Columbus is the first of six road games for Hawai'i, who will travel more than 40,000 miles this season, by far the most of any school in the country.
Versus No. 1: Saturday's game marks the fourth time a UH team will play the nation's No. 1-ranked team and the second under head coach Norm Chow. UH is 0-3 in the previous three contests, which includes the 2012 season-opener at USC in Los Angeles, which the Trojans won 49-10. The first two contests were held in Honolulu – a 45-3 loss to Nebraska in 1971 and 63-17 defeat to USC in 2005. The program's biggest upset was against No. 4 Brigham Young in 1990 in Honolulu.
The Best of Polynesia: While in transit to Columbus, assistant head coach/offensive line coach Chris Naeole learned he was among a group of 25 finalists for the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Class of 2016. Naeole, a former University of Colorado All-American guard, spent 13 years in the NFL with both the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars, starting 150 of 154 career games. Also named as finalists were former UH All-American brothers Al and Niko Noga, defensive lineman and two-time Super Bowl champion Ma'a Tanuvasa, and UH's first All-American and former head coach Tommy Kaulukukui.
