WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - NOVEMBER 12: Braxton Miller #5 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium on November 12, 2011 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue defeated Ohio State 26-23 in overtime. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

UAB Dragons v Ohio State Buckeyes

Braxton Miller has been amazing so far this season and the Buckeyes are 3-0 but they have many areas that need improvement as they go into their fourth and last non-conference game of the year against Alabama-Birmingham UAB (0-2). Head Coach Urban Meyer wants his team to not allow big plays on defense like they saw against California (Cal) last weekend. Missed tackles by the defensive backfield led to big plays and kept Cal in the game until Ohio State got a big play of their own from wide receiver Devon Smith.

While the defense hopes to stop big plays against UAB, the offense is hoping to create a lot more than they have so far in any game. The offense has 14 plays of over 20 yards for season. Miller is capable of breaking a run for big yards at almost any time, but running too much is a concern for the best player on the Buckeye offense. Jordan Hall returned last week as the first string running back but was a little rusty. This week he hopes to have more burst and make the big plays that he did not last Saturday. UAB allows 5.8 yards a carry.

The UAB defense could also allow receivers Smith, Jake Stoneburner and Corey Brown to all have big numbers together in one game.

UAB doesn’t have much offense themselves. Last week against South Carolina they only had 27 rushing yards with quarterback Jonathon Perry getting the majority of the carries.