COLUMBUS – The Buckeyes and Michigan State remain 1-2 in the major college football polls again this week as both prepare to enter Big Ten play.
Ohio State (4-0) will open their conference season on the road at Indiana (4-0) Saturday (3:30 p.m./ABC)
Sparty (4-0) will play host to the Purdue Boilermakers.
Mississippi, TCU and Baylor are also in the polls’ Top 5.
The Buckeyes got their offensive rhythm back Saturday in 38-12 win over Western Michigan, racking up 511 total yards, 288 of them through the air but, following the game, head coach Urban Meyer was concerned by what might have been.
“The alarming part is the underthrown deep ball, which is fixable. It’s not fixable when you don’t have wideouts that can stretch a field. But we do,” he said.
Both starting quarterback Cardale Jones and backup J.T. Barrett undershot their targets on long bombs, one of which was picked off by a Broncos defender.
“I know at least three or four underthrown touchdowns, or potential big hits. We have to get those fixed,” Meyer said.
Meyer also pointed to improved play on the offensive line as keys to a ninth consecutive 100-yard game for running back Ezekiel Elliot (124 yds.) and a total of 223 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Meyer did not think Ohio State played its typical “silver bullet self,” though Adolphus Washington’s second-quarter interception return for a touchdown was a turning point in the game.
It was the only takeaway by the defense, which gave up 338 total yards, including several strong rushes up the middle by Jamauri Bogan and Jarvion Franklin.