Matt Tamanini
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Denzel Burke has impressed Ohio State fans through two games of 2023 season
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
And with Notre Dame looming, fans would like to see improvement from the offensive line.
Throughout the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.
Buckeye Nation has been a bit split on how the first two games have gone for the Ohio State football team. While the results have been wins, which is positive, neither victory has looked exactly how anyone expected. However, whether that is enough to sound the alarm or not, depends on the person.
So, we wanted to check in with Ohio State fans and play both sides of the fence. In our weekly fan survey, we asked fans what player has been a bright spot for them this season and what area of concern they would like to see addressed against Western Kentucky today with an eye on Notre Dame next weekend.
Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
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I truly love to see this. After an All-American campaign as a freshman in 2021, Denzel Burke had a tough sophomore season and a lot of Buckeye fans were less than pleased with his play. So, it has been really wonderful to see him bounce back and finally look like the BIA corner that we all thought he could be following his rookie campaign.
Coming into the season, I might have guessed that Sonny Styles might be the one to earn this honor — and he still might be by year’s end — but coming in a respectable second is pretty strong for the 18-year-old first-time starter.
But, I do think that the fact that the top two vote-getters play in the secondary goes a long way to explain why the OSU defense has looked so much better this year against the pass. The unit comes into Week 3 as the fifth-best pass defense allowing only 108.5 yards per game through the air.
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The offensive line continues to be the top concern for Ohio State fans in our weekly survey, but it does make sense given how much better many of the other position groups have looked through two games.
I don’t think that Day is ever going to turn his team into a pure run-first team, but if he did want to try and work some things out on the ground, this week would be a good opportunity. In WKU’s season opener against South Florida, the Bulls ran the ball 61 times for a total of 374 yards (6.13 yards per carry) and 2 touchdowns. USF had a pair of backs go for over 100 yards. Even last week against FCS Houston Christian University, the Hilltoppers allowed 155 rushing yards on 35 carries for a 4.42 ypc average.
The Buckeyes are only going for 4.6 ypc themselves, much of that attributable to an offensive line that is still getting things figured out. However, offensive line coach and run game coordinator Justin Frye thinks that his position group is fixing the communication and scheme issues seen in the first two weeks and that the next step would be for them to play “violently.”
Will they do that against Western Kentucky today? Only time will tell, but I think Buckeye Nation would be quite happy if they did.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
And with Notre Dame looming, fans would like to see improvement from the offensive line.
Throughout the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.
Buckeye Nation has been a bit split on how the first two games have gone for the Ohio State football team. While the results have been wins, which is positive, neither victory has looked exactly how anyone expected. However, whether that is enough to sound the alarm or not, depends on the person.
So, we wanted to check in with Ohio State fans and play both sides of the fence. In our weekly fan survey, we asked fans what player has been a bright spot for them this season and what area of concern they would like to see addressed against Western Kentucky today with an eye on Notre Dame next weekend.
Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
Question 1: What player has most impressed you through two games?
I truly love to see this. After an All-American campaign as a freshman in 2021, Denzel Burke had a tough sophomore season and a lot of Buckeye fans were less than pleased with his play. So, it has been really wonderful to see him bounce back and finally look like the BIA corner that we all thought he could be following his rookie campaign.
Coming into the season, I might have guessed that Sonny Styles might be the one to earn this honor — and he still might be by year’s end — but coming in a respectable second is pretty strong for the 18-year-old first-time starter.
But, I do think that the fact that the top two vote-getters play in the secondary goes a long way to explain why the OSU defense has looked so much better this year against the pass. The unit comes into Week 3 as the fifth-best pass defense allowing only 108.5 yards per game through the air.
Question 2: What is the one thing you want to see most against Western Kentucky?
The offensive line continues to be the top concern for Ohio State fans in our weekly survey, but it does make sense given how much better many of the other position groups have looked through two games.
I don’t think that Day is ever going to turn his team into a pure run-first team, but if he did want to try and work some things out on the ground, this week would be a good opportunity. In WKU’s season opener against South Florida, the Bulls ran the ball 61 times for a total of 374 yards (6.13 yards per carry) and 2 touchdowns. USF had a pair of backs go for over 100 yards. Even last week against FCS Houston Christian University, the Hilltoppers allowed 155 rushing yards on 35 carries for a 4.42 ypc average.
The Buckeyes are only going for 4.6 ypc themselves, much of that attributable to an offensive line that is still getting things figured out. However, offensive line coach and run game coordinator Justin Frye thinks that his position group is fixing the communication and scheme issues seen in the first two weeks and that the next step would be for them to play “violently.”
Will they do that against Western Kentucky today? Only time will tell, but I think Buckeye Nation would be quite happy if they did.
Continue reading...