COLUMBUS -- Maybe things change a week from now when three key offensive starters return from five-game suspensions.
Maybe.
The Ohio State offense that took the field Saturday against Michigan State looked to be more than three players away from juggernaut-ish, though. Heck, it looked to be more than three players away from merely efficient during a 10-7 loss to Sparty.
And a trip to Nebraska is up next. Then a visit to unbeaten Illinois. And there is Wisconsin to close out the upcoming trio of games.
Saturday, the Buckeyes scored with 10 seconds left in the game to avoid their first shutout at Ohio Stadium in almost three decades, since a 6-0 loss to Wisconsin in 1982.
When OSU got the ball back with 4:24 left in the game, it had 83 yards of total offense and more punts than completed passes. The stands were as empty as they were full, maybe because it was blustery and damp and topped by a bruised-looking sky. Or maybe it was because the Buckeyes were hapless and hopeless and booing got boring.
Braxton Miller, the freshman quarterback who won the job a week ago, lost it Saturday. Joe Bauserman, the senior who Buckeye Nation loves to hate, relieved him but certainly didn't provide relief. The running game that is the Buckeyes' bread and butter netted 35 yards on 39 carries.
The performances of the quarterbacks and the rushing yards were all skewed by nine Michigan State sacks. Yes, nine. OSU's offensive linemen spent more time picking themselves up than knocking anybody down.
Miller was discombobulated by the Spartans' pressure. He panicked. There weren't many check-offs or changes in protection called at the line, said center Mike Brewster. With MSU crowding the box, the Buckeyes couldn't run and they didn't have as many blockers as the Spartans had rushers, said coach Luke Fickell. Miller wasn't seeing the field well enough and held the ball too long, said anyone who watched the game.
So, at the start of the fourth quarter, Fickell went to "the guy who could see the field a little better." Bauserman threw two incompletions and was sacked once in his first possession, flipped those numbers on his second possession, and had one of each on his third.
He moved the Buckeyes into Michigan State territory his fourth time out there and then threw four straight incompletions. Then, finally, he put OSU on the scoreboard.
Fickell said Miller is still the starter and that's probably the way to go with the future in mind.
As for the present …
Blame Fickell, who seems disengaged from the offense and is struggling for answers, and blame the offensive coaches if you want. Blame Miller, who was thrown into the fire a year ahead of schedule, and blame Bauserman, who was never expected to be the answer, if you must. It is hard not to blame the offensive line after a performance like Saturday's.
But this colossal mess that has seen the offense virtually disappear against tougher opponents isn't really any of their faults.
Rather, blame the suspended players who broke NCAA rules, blame the head coach who is no longer here because he knew rules were being broken and tried to ride it out. Blame the quarterback who was the world of difference between OSU's offense being far above average or merely average and who, unfortunately, knew it and played loose and free if not on the field then certainly off it.
The suspended players return this week and how soon and how well they fit in is anybody's guess. Fickell actually said, "I don't have a real plan just yet."
He'd best come up with one and he also might want to reassess his belief that it's a "whole team" thing … you know, the win together and lose together thing.
Because while it may be approved coach-speak, it isn't really the case. The defense was touched for 250 yards by veteran MSU quarterback Kirk Cousins and Sparty had a few solid gains on the ground, but the Buckeye defense picked off two passes and captured a fumble and kept OSU in the game only to get nothing for its effort.
For one Ohio State defender, strong safety Christian Bryant, the frustration boiled over.
"The defense fought all game," Bryant said. "We can't do anything else. The offense is on scholarship, too. Make a couple plays."
Maybe next week. Maybe.
Contact Blade sports columnist Dave Hackenberg at: dhack@theblade.com or 419-724-6398.
First Published October 2, 2011, 5:03 a.m.
