Ohio State is experiencing first hand just how valuable Braxton Miller may have been to the Buckeyes offense. Without the experienced playmaker under center, Ohio State finds themselves in a tough battle with Navy in Baltimore. The Midshipmen hold a 7-6 lead at the half.
J.T. Barrett was given the start for Ohio State at quarterback, and he has shown some signs of being a young player. Barrett scrambled out of a tackle but tossed a bad interception deep in the Navy end of the field. It was picked off by Navy, but the Mids were unable to do anything with the football but run time off the clock. That is fine with Navy though.
Keenan Reynolds has led the signature triple-option offense for Navy as expected, and was bailed out by a video review overturning what was originally ruled a fumble recovery by Ohio State deep in the Navy end. A lapse in time management may have hurt Navy at the end of the first half when a timeout was not called with time ticking away in the final minute. Instead of having time for at least one more play, Navy was forced to go right to a field goal attempt in the final seconds of the first half. The kick was wide to keep the score set at 7-6.
Navy will get the football to start the second half. If this is going to be a low-scoring contest, that may eventually pay off for Navy as the offense could wear down Ohio State’s defense over time.