O?-H-I-O? The Buckeyes need to improve, especially their offense.

By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

COLUMBUS — Toward the end of the first half, the 104,000 Buckeye fans in Ohio Stadium started saying, “Uh-oh.”

Without that, there may not have been any “O.”

The 12th-ranked Buckeyes finally wore down visiting Akron en route to a 20-2 victory on Saturday, but not before raising plenty of questions about their offense and, specifically, quarterback Todd Boeckman.

“Offensively, obviously we have a lot of work to do,” Buckeye lineman Kirk Barton said. “We need to look in the mirror because we’re not on the slope we need to be on. We need to be getting better every day and it seems like we’re flat-lining or getting worse.

“We’re not happy with what’s going on right now.”

Defense to the rescue

Fortunately for the offense, Ohio State’s defense completely dominated Akron, holding the Zips to some ridiculous numbers, including:

USixty-nine total yards, including three on the ground.

UThirteen consecutive three-and-outs.

UA school-record 14 punts.

UNo offensive points.

Akron’s only score came via its defense when the Zips stuffed Chris “Beanie” Wells in the end zone for a first-quarter safety.

Ohio State’s defense has not allowed a touchdown this season — the Buckeyes held Youngstown State to two field goals last week — and overcame five turnovers by the offense and special teams.

“They were the supermen today,” Barton said of the defense. “They just bailed us out time after time.”

After a decent performance against the Penguins last week, Boeckman completed 14 of 23 passes for 131 yards and two interceptions.

He did have two touchdowns, but considering Ohio State had just 44 yards passing in the first half (and three points), it’s obvious Boeckman has some issues.

“We have some wrinkles we have to iron out,” Boeckman said.

His backup

His backup, Rob Schoenhoft, completed 6 of 8 passes for 36 yards but neither player made anyone forget about Troy Smith.

When asked if he felt settled at the quarterback position, Tressel said, “Oh, I feel settled. Settled in the fact we’ve got to get better, the same way I feel about the team.”

Wells was one of the few bright spots on offense, breaking out of his six-quarter funk with a terrific second half. After managing just 46 yards on 16 carries against YSU last week, Wells gained 97 yards in the second half and finished with 143 yards on 20 rushes for his first career 100-yard game.

“We won’t say it’s a great day, but I’ll say it’s an improved day,” Tressel said.

Wide receiver Brian Robiskie finished with 82 yards on four catches and a touchdown, while Brian Hartline added six catches for 43 yards.

All-America linebacker James Laurinaitis had seven tackles, including one for a loss, and also had one of 10 OSU sacks to lead the defense. Linebacker Ross Homan added two sacks.

Compliment

“This is one of the best defenses we will ever see. I knew it was going to be a struggle, I just didn’t think it was going to be this much of a struggle,” Akron coach J.D. Brookhart said. “Ohio State’s front seven is the best I have ever seen.”

The Buckeyes, who held YSU to 176 yards last week, will probably need more performances like that in the coming weeks as the offense works out its issues. Problem is, Ohio State plays at Washington next week and the margin for error will shrink.

“We know how good they are,” said Barton of the Huskies. “The urgency is going to be kicked up about 10 notches this week in practice.”

scalzo@vindy.com