On the first play of the game against Indiana last Saturday, Braxton Miller motioned across the field and took a flip pass from Cardale Jones.
It was a call made by the coaching staff to get the ball in the hands of one of Ohio State's most dangerous playmakers, but Hoosiers cornerback Rashard Fant diagnosed the play and wrapped Miller up before he cleared the line.
The nine-yard loss killed the drive before it even began. The Buckeyes failed to make up the lost ground and punted two plays later.
That was just one of two touches Miller registered against the Hoosiers, as he finished the game with a meager five all-purpose yards.
On Wednesday, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer talked about the lack of opportunities Miller is getting, per Austin Ward of ESPN.com:
He touched it twice [against Indiana], and we've got to give him more touches, direct touches. He almost came out of one ... and the other one is just a bad call by me.
But, no, he deserves touches. He's an electric player with the ball in his hand. We just have not got him loose the last couple of games.
The numbers certainly back that statement up. In Ohio State's last three games against Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Indiana, Miller tallied just 50 total yards on 12 touches, averaging 4.2 yards per play with no touchdowns.
That downturn seemed so improbable after Miller's incredible performance in the season-opening win against Virginia Tech, when he ripped off touchdowns of 54 and 53 yards on his way to a 140-yard performance.
The Buckeyes already boasted so many stars on offense, but Miller looked like the perfect big-play complement who would take the offense from great to unfair levels of production.
But like the offense, Miller has been bogged down by defenses that—on paper—should have posed very little resistance. In the last four games, he hasn't scored a touchdown or produced a play that went for more than 20 yards.
The problem is twofold.
First, the Buckeyes offense is predicated on in-play reads. In essence, the ball will theoretically go where the defense shows itself to be the most vulnerable, and since most teams have been selling out to stop Miller, the ball just simply hasn't gone his way.
Meyer suggested as much on Oct. 5, per BuckeyeGrove.com's Ryan Donnelly:
But Ohio State was force-feeding the ball into Miller's hands when it lined him up as a Wildcat quarterback. In the final two games of the nonconference slate, Miller gained just 18 yards on eight carries, averaging 2.2 yards per carry.
Despite Miller's quiet outing against the Hoosiers, Meyer is getting a sense for how to utilize one of college football's most dangerous playmakers. And while Miller didn't generate any game-breaking plays, he's starting to do the little things that come with playing wide receiver.
“It's frustrating, but you know, he graded a champion," Meyer said of Miller's Indiana performance, via Ward. "The Virginia Tech game, he did not. So think about that."
So how can Meyer get Miller more involved?
Part of that falls on the rest of the offense. If Jones can build a solid chemistry with his receivers in the passing game and the offensive line continues to pave big lanes for Ezekiel Elliott in the running game, opposing defenses will have to cover more ground.
That would free Miller up because opposing defenses have honed in on him when he motions into the backfield or lines up at quarterback.
And eventually, Meyer will need to let Miller throw the ball. The Buckeyes have utilized him as a Wildcat quarterback, but he's thrown just once this season—an ineffective flip pass to Jalin Marshall that netted three yards against Northern Illinois.
With that said, it's clear that Meyer is dedicated to getting Miller the ball.
"I’m just sick about Braxton," Meyer said, according to Patrick Murphy of The Ozone. "I want to get him the darned ball and you just get caught up in the flow of the game."
But as the offense improves, the game should flow toward Miller more naturally and frequently.
David Regimbal is the Ohio State football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.
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