Josh Dooley
Guest
Pooch Punt: General thoughts and mild musings about Ohio State’s lopsided victory over Akron
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Week 1 was a bit of a snoozer in The Shoe, however, several players and themes still stood out.
The Ohio State Buckeyes opened their 2024-25 football season with an exciting nail-biter of a win over vaunted in-state rival Akron this past Saturday, overcoming early adversity to eventually pull away by a slim margin... Okay, so most of that is and was a total lie. But give me a break, it’s tough to dress up a Week 1 “paycheck” game (yes, Akron was paid for their time and trouble).
That being said, it wasgood great to see the Buckeyes back on the field in a real game setting. Saturday’s game had its highs and its lows, but all in all, it was a solid start for Ryan Day’s squad. New and/or young guys played well, Jim Knowles’ defense was dominant, and the team’s offensive line was... present.
Unfortunately, I just don’t have much for you when it comes to in-depth analysis. I mean, we’re talking about a game against Akron. This was a glorified exhibition that happened to go on/count towards OSU’s regular season record. But I’m not sure that we learned a ton about how Day and Co. will approach their tougher games and Big Ten schedule.
So instead of breaking down the all-22, I decided to empty the observation tank. These are and were my first impressions of the Buckeyes, in what may or may not become a recurring weekly theme.
Will Howard has aura, as the kids would say. No offense to Ohio State’s previous starting quarterback – who had a hell of a game in Syracuse, NY BTW – but Howard just looked the part of a “franchise” signal caller on Saturday. He appeared calm, cool, andcollected most importantly, confident throughout the game against Akron, even after a sluggish start. And he probably should (have), right? Given his years of experience in Manhattan, KS.
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Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Still, the way Howard carried himself on Saturday was... refreshing. And different. Different from what OSU fans saw from the QB position last season. The former Kansas State Wildcat often appeared to be the most locked-in guy on the entire field, while also smiling and enjoying himself. And that’s just not something Buckeye fans saw enough of in 2023.
Now at some point, Howard’s performance will take (greater) precedence and be the only thing that matters. Not his attitude and/or the vibes he is putting out. But what I saw on Saturday gives me confidence that Howard is going be a great leader for this Ohio State team, through thick and thin.
Jeremiah Smith dropping the first ball thrown his way was the funniest possible outcome, given the hype around – and expectations for – him. Although, Smith likely didn’t find humor in the situation. But it put(s) him in good company, as OSU and NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter was quick to note.
Smith recovered quite well and wasted little time giving the college football world a preview of what’s to come. As well as a glimpse of what opponents should fear when taking on the Buckeyes. The true freshman already looks like one of the best wide receivers in CFB after just one game, drop be damned. So that little snafu will likely become just a footnote in history; something that Smith is hoping and appears poised to make.
Brandon Inniss is Ohio State’s most exciting special teams player in a decade (or more). Not since Jalin Marshall has OSU had a truly exciting kick/punt returner. Sure, there were players who fans hoped would generate excitement and return kicks like Marshall and/or Ted Ginn Jr., but it just never came to fruition. Inniss, on the other hand, is already a certified electric factory.
The second-year WR returned four punts for 60 total yards against Akron, racking up 80% of the Buckeyes’ 2023 punt return total... Yep, that’s right. Parker Fleming’s unit totaled just 75 punt return yards all of last season! And Inniss nearly matched or exceeded that in one afternoon.
He (Inniss) looked both fearless and supremely confident while catching punts inside the 10 and/or off the bounce, something we haven’t seen in Columbus in a long, long time. And it was never the wrong decision! Inniss didn’t make any boneheaded mistakes that could have cost Ohio State. Instead, he set the team up with better field position on four separate occasions.
Now, was this against an inferior team in Akron? Yes, you know it was. And am I fully expecting Inniss to make one of those aforementioned wrong/bad decisions in the fourth quarter of a close Big Ten game? Also yes.
But OSU hasn’t returned a kick of any kind for a TD since 2014, and I’m sick of waiting. Ryan Day guaranteed a return TD, and after Saturday, I legitimately expect Inniss to deliver.
Ohio State’s defensive ends... all of them... looked phenomenal, as they should against an overmatched Akron team. But even though OSU should dominate against a MAC team, wasn’t it great to see the likes of Kenyatta Jackson, Caden Curry, Mitchell Melton, and even Eddrick Houston actually do so!?
More on this group later, but it wasn’t just J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer who looked the part of a starting DE for the Buckeyes. The “others” looked and/or played like they could enter the lineup at any point and help cause chaos up front.
Jack Sawyer (and Joe Moorhead, oddly) seemed to have a personal vendetta against Akron QB Ben Finley. Though Sawyer was not credited with a sack, he was in Akron’s backfield – and Finley’s face – all afternoon. At least while both were in the game.
Time after time, Sawyer bull-rushed his way past or spun around the Zips’ right tackle, reaching Finley just after he released a pass and planting the latter firmly in the Ohio Stadium dirt. There was even a sequence shortly before Akron’s starting QB exited the game where Sawyer got to him on three straight or three out of four snaps and seemingly did significant (and legal, nothing dirty) damage to Finley’s upper body on each and every occasion. It was almost like Sawyer channeled The Waterboy’s Bobby Boucher for a few hours.
And oddly, Moorhead seemed to be okay with Finley taking hit after hit. The coach even ran his signal caller (via designed play) multiple times after it was clear and evident that Finley was in pain. Kudos to the QB for displaying grit and toughness, but I gotta question the decision to leave him in as long as the Akron coach(es) did.
Davison Igbinosun is all gas, no brakes, and that’s great. But coaches and fans should not be surprised if/when he racks up a few penalties. Igbinosun plays with his hair on fire, plain and simple. And I absolutely love that from “my” defensive backs. However, the former Ole Miss Rebel has been prone to penalties during his time in Columbus, and Saturday was no different. Igbinosun was nearly ejected from the game for targeting on Akron’s first drive. Can’t have that.
Most coaches are fine with the occasional penalty, but Igbinosun should choose his spots carefully when it comes to being hyper-aggressive. Because Ohio State is better/best when he’s on the field.
Donovan Jackson was sorely missed. Look, I don’t want to be negative, but Saturday was a D/D+ performance by OSU’s OL... Against Akron! This shit can’t continue. It’s one thing if Justin Frye struggles to recruit, but it’s another if he (also) can’t put a cohesive and high-performing unit on the field. The Buckeyes’ best O-lineman on Saturday was developed at Alabama... Hopefully, it was just Week 1 jitters.
Quick Hitters
The kids are alright. Smith, Houston, and James Peoples – all true freshmen – got real snaps in Saturday’s game and contributed in meaningful ways. Hell of a start for the young Bucks.
Larry Johnson’s “backup” Rushmen package brought tears to this fan’s eyes. I may have missed an earlier iteration with different personnel, but when I saw Houston and Melton playing DE, with Jackson and Curry inside, I thought maybe I was on illicit substances. And guess what? The Rushmen package worked, as Jackson and Melton combined for a sack. Please, please, please give us more of this.
Archie Griffin “dotting the i” was awesome. That’s it, and that’s the end. Until next time...
Continue reading...
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Week 1 was a bit of a snoozer in The Shoe, however, several players and themes still stood out.
The Ohio State Buckeyes opened their 2024-25 football season with an exciting nail-biter of a win over vaunted in-state rival Akron this past Saturday, overcoming early adversity to eventually pull away by a slim margin... Okay, so most of that is and was a total lie. But give me a break, it’s tough to dress up a Week 1 “paycheck” game (yes, Akron was paid for their time and trouble).
That being said, it was
Unfortunately, I just don’t have much for you when it comes to in-depth analysis. I mean, we’re talking about a game against Akron. This was a glorified exhibition that happened to go on/count towards OSU’s regular season record. But I’m not sure that we learned a ton about how Day and Co. will approach their tougher games and Big Ten schedule.
So instead of breaking down the all-22, I decided to empty the observation tank. These are and were my first impressions of the Buckeyes, in what may or may not become a recurring weekly theme.
Will Howard has aura, as the kids would say. No offense to Ohio State’s previous starting quarterback – who had a hell of a game in Syracuse, NY BTW – but Howard just looked the part of a “franchise” signal caller on Saturday. He appeared calm, cool, and
Still, the way Howard carried himself on Saturday was... refreshing. And different. Different from what OSU fans saw from the QB position last season. The former Kansas State Wildcat often appeared to be the most locked-in guy on the entire field, while also smiling and enjoying himself. And that’s just not something Buckeye fans saw enough of in 2023.
Now at some point, Howard’s performance will take (greater) precedence and be the only thing that matters. Not his attitude and/or the vibes he is putting out. But what I saw on Saturday gives me confidence that Howard is going be a great leader for this Ohio State team, through thick and thin.
Jeremiah Smith dropping the first ball thrown his way was the funniest possible outcome, given the hype around – and expectations for – him. Although, Smith likely didn’t find humor in the situation. But it put(s) him in good company, as OSU and NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter was quick to note.
Smith recovered quite well and wasted little time giving the college football world a preview of what’s to come. As well as a glimpse of what opponents should fear when taking on the Buckeyes. The true freshman already looks like one of the best wide receivers in CFB after just one game, drop be damned. So that little snafu will likely become just a footnote in history; something that Smith is hoping and appears poised to make.
Brandon Inniss is Ohio State’s most exciting special teams player in a decade (or more). Not since Jalin Marshall has OSU had a truly exciting kick/punt returner. Sure, there were players who fans hoped would generate excitement and return kicks like Marshall and/or Ted Ginn Jr., but it just never came to fruition. Inniss, on the other hand, is already a certified electric factory.
The second-year WR returned four punts for 60 total yards against Akron, racking up 80% of the Buckeyes’ 2023 punt return total... Yep, that’s right. Parker Fleming’s unit totaled just 75 punt return yards all of last season! And Inniss nearly matched or exceeded that in one afternoon.
He (Inniss) looked both fearless and supremely confident while catching punts inside the 10 and/or off the bounce, something we haven’t seen in Columbus in a long, long time. And it was never the wrong decision! Inniss didn’t make any boneheaded mistakes that could have cost Ohio State. Instead, he set the team up with better field position on four separate occasions.
Now, was this against an inferior team in Akron? Yes, you know it was. And am I fully expecting Inniss to make one of those aforementioned wrong/bad decisions in the fourth quarter of a close Big Ten game? Also yes.
But OSU hasn’t returned a kick of any kind for a TD since 2014, and I’m sick of waiting. Ryan Day guaranteed a return TD, and after Saturday, I legitimately expect Inniss to deliver.
Ohio State’s defensive ends... all of them... looked phenomenal, as they should against an overmatched Akron team. But even though OSU should dominate against a MAC team, wasn’t it great to see the likes of Kenyatta Jackson, Caden Curry, Mitchell Melton, and even Eddrick Houston actually do so!?
More on this group later, but it wasn’t just J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer who looked the part of a starting DE for the Buckeyes. The “others” looked and/or played like they could enter the lineup at any point and help cause chaos up front.
Jack Sawyer (and Joe Moorhead, oddly) seemed to have a personal vendetta against Akron QB Ben Finley. Though Sawyer was not credited with a sack, he was in Akron’s backfield – and Finley’s face – all afternoon. At least while both were in the game.
Time after time, Sawyer bull-rushed his way past or spun around the Zips’ right tackle, reaching Finley just after he released a pass and planting the latter firmly in the Ohio Stadium dirt. There was even a sequence shortly before Akron’s starting QB exited the game where Sawyer got to him on three straight or three out of four snaps and seemingly did significant (and legal, nothing dirty) damage to Finley’s upper body on each and every occasion. It was almost like Sawyer channeled The Waterboy’s Bobby Boucher for a few hours.
And oddly, Moorhead seemed to be okay with Finley taking hit after hit. The coach even ran his signal caller (via designed play) multiple times after it was clear and evident that Finley was in pain. Kudos to the QB for displaying grit and toughness, but I gotta question the decision to leave him in as long as the Akron coach(es) did.
Davison Igbinosun is all gas, no brakes, and that’s great. But coaches and fans should not be surprised if/when he racks up a few penalties. Igbinosun plays with his hair on fire, plain and simple. And I absolutely love that from “my” defensive backs. However, the former Ole Miss Rebel has been prone to penalties during his time in Columbus, and Saturday was no different. Igbinosun was nearly ejected from the game for targeting on Akron’s first drive. Can’t have that.
Most coaches are fine with the occasional penalty, but Igbinosun should choose his spots carefully when it comes to being hyper-aggressive. Because Ohio State is better/best when he’s on the field.
Donovan Jackson was sorely missed. Look, I don’t want to be negative, but Saturday was a D/D+ performance by OSU’s OL... Against Akron! This shit can’t continue. It’s one thing if Justin Frye struggles to recruit, but it’s another if he (also) can’t put a cohesive and high-performing unit on the field. The Buckeyes’ best O-lineman on Saturday was developed at Alabama... Hopefully, it was just Week 1 jitters.
Quick Hitters
The kids are alright. Smith, Houston, and James Peoples – all true freshmen – got real snaps in Saturday’s game and contributed in meaningful ways. Hell of a start for the young Bucks.
Larry Johnson’s “backup” Rushmen package brought tears to this fan’s eyes. I may have missed an earlier iteration with different personnel, but when I saw Houston and Melton playing DE, with Jackson and Curry inside, I thought maybe I was on illicit substances. And guess what? The Rushmen package worked, as Jackson and Melton combined for a sack. Please, please, please give us more of this.
Archie Griffin “dotting the i” was awesome. That’s it, and that’s the end. Until next time...
Continue reading...