It’ll be many months before we find out if Urban Meyer can immediately re-energize Ohio State from a 6-7 team a year ago to one that, once again, is competing for national championships on a consistent basis. But today, the Buckeyes played their Scarlet and Gray game in front of a crowd that was already in midseason form -- all 81,112 of ‘em.
For those of you keeping score at home, that’s roughly 2,500 more than what Alabama had at its spring game.
(We had to stir the pot a little bit)
Back to football, the Scarlet team defeated the Gray team 20-14 (whatever that means), the former of which was led by quarterback Braxton Miller. The sophomore went 24-of-31 on the day with one interception.
True freshman receiver Michael Thomas had a really nice day, catching 12 passes for 131 yards. Thomas could be an under-the-radar guy who makes a bit impact this fall.
Afterward, Meyer said the offense would be a lot more balanced with the running game than it was today (also, Jordan Hall was held out with what was said to be a sprained ankle). The Buckeyes were atrocious in the passing game last season, and according to Meyer, today’s scrimmage was about scoping where the improvements needed to be made.
“We did some things offensively that we wouldn’t normally do,” Meyer said. “We are going to be a very balanced offense. We are taking one of the worst passing teams in America, a year ago, and we need to find out if we can pass. We know we can run the quarterback, we didn’t run him one time today. We need to find out if we can throw the ball. That was the objective today. I have a better opinion of the guys now.”