Oklahoma downs Ohio State 31-16 in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Getting decimated by a superior opponent is a heartbreaking way to lose. Playing well under your potential on possibly the biggest stage of the year is an even worse way to lose at home.

For the second time in the last three games, Ohio State was exposed by a team many thought they could beat. The Sooners picked apart the Buckeyes, and left with a 31-16 win under their belts.

A showdown of two top-five teams in the country was promised to be a lot of things, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Oklahoma seemed to get the memo, but Ohio State did not.

In the first half, both the Buckeyes’ and Sooners’ offense were struggling. But they were struggling in vastly different ways.

"Offense was bad," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. "So we're going to do what we do and that's go back to work as hard as we possibly can, starting somewhat tonight and tomorrow and figure this thing out."

While Ohio State looked clueless, Oklahoma picked its spots and took its shots, moving the ball at will. The only problem was getting things into the end zone.

Ohio State managed just 92 yards offensively in the first half, while the Sooners racked up 222. Baker Mayfield looked like a potential Heisman winner after going 11-for-18 for 158 yards through the air in the first.

And yet, things stayed close, and the halftime score was knotted at 3-3.

The Associated Press

The biggest action of the opening quarters came on a 16-yard run by J.T. Barrett, who rushed 10 times for 33 yards and went 5-for-11 for 25 yards through the air in the first. After hyping up a possible dual-back attack with Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins, the pair received just six touches on the ground for 34 yards combined.

Weber finished the game with just three rushes for 29 yards. Even after being designated as healthy during the week, Ohio State chose to keep the ball out if his hands.

"I knew I was good enough to play, and I just tried to do the best I could with whatever (Meyer) gave me," Weber said.

On the other side of the ball, Oklahoma had plenty of highlights.

The Sooners’ wide receivers created their own space on multiple occasions, and Mayfield connected on nearly every open look there was. However, the Buckeye defense held for the most part, and forced two fumbles in the first two quarters.

Coming out of the gate in the second half, Ohio State enjoyed a big return on the kickoff by Parris Campbell, all the way to the Oklahoma 46. A short seven-play drive led to the first career touchdown run for Dobbins, but the Sooners responded quickly with their own drive down the field.

From the Buckeyes 36-yard line, Mayfield connected with his wide-open fullback Dimitri Flowers. All three Buckeyes linebackers blitzed in, and gave Flowers plenty of space to run before Ohio State safety Erick Smith failed to bring him down.

Some inspired running by Dobbins put the Buckeyes in striking distance, but poor play calling and a missed opportunity by Barrett in the back-left corner of the end zone led to a second Sean Nuernberger field goal from short range.

Running the ball did not appear to be the primary focus of the game plan for Ohio State for most of the game. Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said he saw positives in the run game early in the second.

“I think as we started the second half, we found some things to equate the boxes and get the numbers right and the running game took off," he said. "Couple good drives, then a couple drives got back out of rhythm. Passing game got a little out of a whack and the game got away from us.”

Interesting to hear considering Ohio State chose to hand the ball off just nine times in the second half. It's understandable to think a team must have both the run and pass game clicking to complement each other, but neither appeared effective.

Dobbins finished the night with a solid performance, carrying the ball 13 times for 72 yards and his first career touchdown. He is undoubtedly the hot hand in the offense, and the hot hand is what the Buckeyes needed to feed against Oklahoma.

Clearly, that did not happen.

Wilson shouldered the blame for the miscues on offense, and made sure to make a point of Barrett being the guy moving forward, regardless of the latest performance.

A bull-rush sack by Nick Bosa eventually forced a punt from Oklahoma, but a quick three-and-out gave the Sooners the ball back. The next drive, Mayfield put his magic to use.

He needed just four plays to move the Sooners 92 yards before finding wide receiver Lee Morris through the middle of the field for a score. Ohio State linebacker Malik Harrison failed to cover Morris, and the safety Smith did not react in time to knock the ball away.

A failed fourth-down conversion by Ohio State at the Sooners 35 put the keys back in the hands of Mayfield. The play call was for a 20-yard corner route that was overthrown, when only three yards were needed.

Mayfield led his troops down the field once again, and found Trey Sermon, who fought to the goal line for a touchdown. It was Mayfield’s third touchdown of the night, and a Barrett pick led to a short field and another Sooners score.

Flowers was the leading receiver for the Sooners, compiling 99 yards and a score as a receiver. Austin Mack was the leading receiver for Ohio State, with just one catch for 31 yards.

K.J. Hill hauled in five passes for 44 yards.

Last week against Indiana, Meyer and company did what they had to in terms of halftime adjustments to lead to a win. This week, there appeared to be no changes made on either side of the ball, leading to an embarrassing home loss.

Mayfield finished the day with 386 yards passing and three scores, while Barrett sputtered to the finish, picking up just 183 yards on 19-for-35 passing, no touchdowns and an interception. One former Buckeye took notice of Barrett’s bad day, and made the world know how he felt.

Smith is not the one making the quarterback decisions in Columbus, but some fans will most likely be on his side. Two games into the season, and the offense has no semblance of a Wilson offense.

Maybe it was an unusually good game for Mayfield and Oklahoma, but that seems unlikely.

Maybe the Buckeyes are not the team they keep saying they are. And maybe it’s time for Meyer to accept he needs to make changes.

Ohio State returns to the Shoe in a week to face Army West Point, with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Time to see if the Buckeyes have learned anything from Saturday’s poor performance.