COLUMBUS, Ohio-With 30 minutes to go until kickoff, four-time NBA MVP LeBron James came strolling out of the newly renovated entrance tunnel inside of Ohio Stadium. Moments later, two-time reigning Big Ten MVP and injured Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller followed, with The Horseshoe's student section chanting his name.
But unfortunately for the Buckeyes, that's where their star power stopped on Saturday night.
Because with Miller trapped in a neatly tailored navy suit thanks to a torn labrum that will keep him on the sideline for the entirety of the 2014 season-and James' eligibility having long expired-there would be no saving of an Ohio State offense that appeared impotent in the Buckeyes' 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech. Ohio State outgained the Hokies (327 yards to 324) but failed to move the ball consistently, as Virginia Tech employed a Cover 0 scheme that forced the Buckeyes to take shots downfield.
'Our opponent really did a good job preparing for us. They exposed us a little bit, some of the weaknesses on our team,' Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said after the game. 'It was rather obvious what it is.'
The inefficiency mentioned by Meyer was apparent in the stat line of redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett, who, in the se cond start of his college career, connected on just nine of his 29 pass attempts and threw three interceptions. For the second consecutive week, Barrett didn't find much help from an offensive line that's still in the process of replacing four starters from a season ago, but even more glaring issues were apparent for the Buckeyes on Saturday.
Particularly when it came to Ohio State's wide receiver corps, which saw just one player record multiple catches against the Hokies' dare-you-to-throw defense. While Michael Thomas tallied six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown, Barrett found few viable options outside of the redshirt sophomore wideout-something that clearly struck a nerve with Meyer in his postgame press conference.
'I don't think our wide receivers played well,' Meyer said. 'I'm very disappointed.'
Jay LaPrete/Associated Press
After drawing rave reviews from the coaching staff in the preseason, redshirt junior Corey Smith struggled on Saturday, dropping three big passes including a sure touchdown in the second quarter. Devin Smith and Dontre Wilson each added big plays with receptions of 58 and 40 yards, respectively, but Barrett and the Buckeyes never found the consistency to take advantage of VT's high-risk, high-reward approach.
'That was pretty unorthodox,' offensive coordinator Tom Herman said of the Hokies defense. ' We weren't good enough tonight to make them pay for that.'
Outside of Barrett, who rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, Ohio State's running game was virtually nonexistent as Ezekiel Elliott, Curtis Samuel and Wilson combined for 53 yards on 15 carries. That again was a product of the Hokies scheme, which stacked the box and forced the Buckeyes to throw deep.
Ohio State attempted to-Herman admitted that it didn't really have a choice-but found itself limited to Thomas, who is more of a possession receiver than anything else. For a program that has spent three years placing an emphasis on recruiting speed at the skill positions, the Buckeyes had little to show for it on Saturday, even as Virginia Tech begged them to make the most of it.
'We've worked so hard and recruited so hard,' Meyer said. 'We gotta do better in isolating them and winning some matchups. That's what it comes down to. Win a matchup.'
Very rarely did Ohio State do just that, and as opposed to two seasons ago when opponents California and Purdue found success with the same defensive scheme, the Buckeyes no longer have Miller's legs to bail them out. The OSU wideouts may not be the 'clown show' that Meyer called them when he first got to Columbus, but they certainly aren't ready for prime time either, as evidenced by Saturday's shaky showing when the Buckeyes needed them to step up the most.
And while Meyer's closing statements attempted to build belief in the unit, a bitter reality appeared to be sinking in for the third-year OSU head coach. The blueprint now is out on how to beat the Buckeyes, and it will be up to his unproven receivers to save this season.
And if they can't? Then there won't be any amount of star power on the sideline capable of of hiding how ugly 2014 could become in Columbus.
'I'm a little bit surprised. I thought our skills guys would perform better,' Meyer admitted. ' I still have confidence that we have enough skill on this football team to get by people. I know it didn't look like it-but we have to get by people. Or you're going to see what you saw today.
'You'll see it every week.'
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
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