There is not a whole lot to glean from a game with a talent mismatch that large, but I looked closely at the pass plays Tulane gave up in the first half, trying to get a handle on the breakdowns. This is what I came up with:
1) I don't know why Taris Shenall started ahead of P.J. Hall even though Hall had not played particularly well through three games. Shenall's terrible tackle attempt on the second play on a simple pop pass when he was unblocked set the tone for the rest of the day. First he went too far inside but then he still should have made the play but got fooled by a hesitation move and missed the tackle, turning what should have been a 3-yard gain into a 35-yard gain. Will Harper took a poor angle, too and should have been able to push the receiver out of bounds at the 20 but failed to touch him instead. Those are the the plays Fritz and Curtis lamented this week, the unforced errors, and frankly, those are two positions of weakness for Tulane--strong safety and nickelback. Harper missed a sack opportunity on the same series and just was too tentative. Hall replaced Shenall during the first half but fared no better.
2) Donnie Lewis got beaten for the first touchdown. He did not have terrible coverage, and Dwayne Haskins had zero pressure, but he could not stay with Paris Campbell coming across the field.
3) The interference call on Thakarius Keyes during Ohio State's second TD drive was poor. Both he and the receiver had their hands on each other before the receiver tripped on his own. That is not interference.
4) Jaylon Monroe and Lewis were blocked by the same receiver, McLaurin, on a third-and-9 big gain on a quick out that set up the second touchdown. That's weak. Monroe fell down after being pushed slightly, and Lewis got blocked from the side to spring Campbell. That's weak defense. Two guys never should be taken out of the play by one blocker.
5) Hall was beaten over the middle for the second touchdown and was slow to react and come up to the ball, making the play too easy.
6) Rod Teamer had a terrific game as a run defender but was so-so in coverage. He followed a slot receiver inside at the start of Ohio State's third drive, forcing Lewis to cover two players. The result was a big gain when Haskins threw to the uncovered receiver.
7) Teamer was beaten deep down the sideline for the third TD, but it's hard to criticize him too much there. Covering fast guys is not his forte, and he was a little outmatched while Tulane once again got zero pressure. It also was a perfect pass.
8) Linebacker Zach Harris was beaten over the middle for an easy first down early in the next drive. Again, Tulane's secondary appeared slow to react, probably worried about Ohio State's speed.
9) Hall then missed a tackle to turn a short gain into a longer one although he got a handful of jersey that ripped off. There are worse missed tackles than that one, but Tulane just could not make a play.
10) Teamer and Keyes both ran up to cover a wideout on what they thought would be a WR screen on the fourth TD, and the "blocker" slipped the screen and ran uncovered to haul in an easy score. That's a busted coverage. Teamer probably should have stayed back, but again, Tulane made it far too easy with a mental mistake.
11) Shenall was in his customary position trailing over the middle of the field on a first down completion on Ohio State's fifth drive. Neither he nor Hall made any plays in the first half at strong safety.
12) EDITED: Willie Langham, getting some time because Jaylon Monroe is not playing with much confidence, was far too soft on a fourth-down conversion the only time Tulane got Ohio State to a fourth down. That's a time to take a risk, not let the guy catch it in front of you.
13) Teamer's coverage was too soft on the sideline on the next play, allowing an easy throw and catch for a first down.
14) Langham got beaten for the final TD, but he had decent coverage. It was a nice pass and a great catch on a fade, another example of Ohio State having superior athletes.
My overall take: Tulane can win games with Lewis and Keyes at cornerback if it just gets a little bit of pressure on the quarterback, something is has not done well enough. Everyone struggled in the first half, but those two did OK and Keyes is quite good in run support. Teamer is very good in run support and should be fine in pass coverage against most of the teams Tulane plays in the AAC.
Everyone else is a problem at this point, and Tulane needs to play with more aggression. Aside from Keyes' near interception of the backup QB in the end zone during that guy's lone first-half possession, the Tulane DBs did not play like they wanted the ball. They were tentative, worrying about making mistakes to the point that they made them anyway with mental busts.
One note that has nothing to do with the pass coverage. Tulane should have forced a fourth down on Ohio State's opening drive because Dobbins was stopped short on third down, getting a generous spot that moved the chains. It didn't really matter because Ohio State almost certainly would have converted the fourth and inches, but there was no mention of the generous spot on the broadcast and no replay. Unless the yellow line superimposed on the screen was wrong, he definitely did not get the first down.
Also, Lawrence Graham made a terrible play tackling a running back on a screen he had snuffed out. He did not need to touch him because Haskins already was on the run, eventually getting called for grounding as he got rid of the ball right before Jeffery Johnson tackled him. If Graham had not thrown the running back to the ground, Ohio State would have had third-and-20. Instead, with the down replayed because of offsetting penalties, the Buckeyes ended up scoring easily. Graham needs to be smarter than that, and he was just coming off a face mask penalty on the same series.
1) I don't know why Taris Shenall started ahead of P.J. Hall even though Hall had not played particularly well through three games. Shenall's terrible tackle attempt on the second play on a simple pop pass when he was unblocked set the tone for the rest of the day. First he went too far inside but then he still should have made the play but got fooled by a hesitation move and missed the tackle, turning what should have been a 3-yard gain into a 35-yard gain. Will Harper took a poor angle, too and should have been able to push the receiver out of bounds at the 20 but failed to touch him instead. Those are the the plays Fritz and Curtis lamented this week, the unforced errors, and frankly, those are two positions of weakness for Tulane--strong safety and nickelback. Harper missed a sack opportunity on the same series and just was too tentative. Hall replaced Shenall during the first half but fared no better.
2) Donnie Lewis got beaten for the first touchdown. He did not have terrible coverage, and Dwayne Haskins had zero pressure, but he could not stay with Paris Campbell coming across the field.
3) The interference call on Thakarius Keyes during Ohio State's second TD drive was poor. Both he and the receiver had their hands on each other before the receiver tripped on his own. That is not interference.
4) Jaylon Monroe and Lewis were blocked by the same receiver, McLaurin, on a third-and-9 big gain on a quick out that set up the second touchdown. That's weak. Monroe fell down after being pushed slightly, and Lewis got blocked from the side to spring Campbell. That's weak defense. Two guys never should be taken out of the play by one blocker.
5) Hall was beaten over the middle for the second touchdown and was slow to react and come up to the ball, making the play too easy.
6) Rod Teamer had a terrific game as a run defender but was so-so in coverage. He followed a slot receiver inside at the start of Ohio State's third drive, forcing Lewis to cover two players. The result was a big gain when Haskins threw to the uncovered receiver.
7) Teamer was beaten deep down the sideline for the third TD, but it's hard to criticize him too much there. Covering fast guys is not his forte, and he was a little outmatched while Tulane once again got zero pressure. It also was a perfect pass.
8) Linebacker Zach Harris was beaten over the middle for an easy first down early in the next drive. Again, Tulane's secondary appeared slow to react, probably worried about Ohio State's speed.
9) Hall then missed a tackle to turn a short gain into a longer one although he got a handful of jersey that ripped off. There are worse missed tackles than that one, but Tulane just could not make a play.
10) Teamer and Keyes both ran up to cover a wideout on what they thought would be a WR screen on the fourth TD, and the "blocker" slipped the screen and ran uncovered to haul in an easy score. That's a busted coverage. Teamer probably should have stayed back, but again, Tulane made it far too easy with a mental mistake.
11) Shenall was in his customary position trailing over the middle of the field on a first down completion on Ohio State's fifth drive. Neither he nor Hall made any plays in the first half at strong safety.
12) EDITED: Willie Langham, getting some time because Jaylon Monroe is not playing with much confidence, was far too soft on a fourth-down conversion the only time Tulane got Ohio State to a fourth down. That's a time to take a risk, not let the guy catch it in front of you.
13) Teamer's coverage was too soft on the sideline on the next play, allowing an easy throw and catch for a first down.
14) Langham got beaten for the final TD, but he had decent coverage. It was a nice pass and a great catch on a fade, another example of Ohio State having superior athletes.
My overall take: Tulane can win games with Lewis and Keyes at cornerback if it just gets a little bit of pressure on the quarterback, something is has not done well enough. Everyone struggled in the first half, but those two did OK and Keyes is quite good in run support. Teamer is very good in run support and should be fine in pass coverage against most of the teams Tulane plays in the AAC.
Everyone else is a problem at this point, and Tulane needs to play with more aggression. Aside from Keyes' near interception of the backup QB in the end zone during that guy's lone first-half possession, the Tulane DBs did not play like they wanted the ball. They were tentative, worrying about making mistakes to the point that they made them anyway with mental busts.
One note that has nothing to do with the pass coverage. Tulane should have forced a fourth down on Ohio State's opening drive because Dobbins was stopped short on third down, getting a generous spot that moved the chains. It didn't really matter because Ohio State almost certainly would have converted the fourth and inches, but there was no mention of the generous spot on the broadcast and no replay. Unless the yellow line superimposed on the screen was wrong, he definitely did not get the first down.
Also, Lawrence Graham made a terrible play tackling a running back on a screen he had snuffed out. He did not need to touch him because Haskins already was on the run, eventually getting called for grounding as he got rid of the ball right before Jeffery Johnson tackled him. If Graham had not thrown the running back to the ground, Ohio State would have had third-and-20. Instead, with the down replayed because of offsetting penalties, the Buckeyes ended up scoring easily. Graham needs to be smarter than that, and he was just coming off a face mask penalty on the same series.
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