By: Patrick Kalista

Patrick Kalista
Thu, 23 Apr 2015 18:34:42 +0000

A little more evidence for Miller that didn’t make it in due to space.

The younger QB’s thrived off of what Ezekiel Elliot was able to do and without him I don’t think they would’ve had as much success. Miller was blessed with Carlos Hyde, but the lack of good play calling far too often, diminished many chances of offensive success.

The defense and special teams also played a big part in how well these two were able to play. The way they turned the ball over in many games went unnoticed because the defense was that good. If you put the 2013 defense out there, I don’t believe this team would have had a chance at the same success.

The 2013 defense gave up 115 points in its final three games compared to the 55 points totaled in the final three of 2014. Miller’s offense put up 106 points while Jones’ had totaled 143. Elliot accounted for eight rushing touchdowns (48 points) in that span, while Hyde had just two.

Games like the Big Ten championship and bowl game against Clemson, Miller had to get the team back in it by himself. He had to get the offense to outscore the opponents and we saw how that worked out. Put Miller with last years defense and I don’t think OSU loses a game or is even close to losing at Penn State.

Coming into this year, Miller would have a very talented defense behind him, a top notch running back, and one of his favorite targets from his sophomore season in Michael Thomas in which that combination lit up the stat sheet in their first spring game together.

This year the Buckeyes don’t have a guy like Devin Smith who will catch only deep balls when sprinting past the defensive secondary. The offense will need to be more balanced running the football and a tandem of Elliot and Miller running the option will look like pure genius. Miller has shown he can pass the ball downfield when needed to and if a receiver happens to break free from coverage, he will be able to hit him.