Gene Ross
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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Ohio State’s 56-0 win over Western Michigan
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
There was a whole lot to like about the Buckeyes
Ryan Day was hoping to see his team get out to a faster start in Week 2, and that is exactly what Ohio State did as a 21-0 first quarter paved the way for a 56-0 win for the Buckeyes over Western Michigan. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins each scored twice, Jeremiah Smith did his thing and the Silver Bullets allowed less than 100 yards of total offense in a comprehensive beatdown of the Broncos.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Ohio State’s victory over Western Michigan.
Jeremiah Smith
For the second-straight week, Smith led Ohio State in the receiving department, recording five catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. The bulk of his yardage came on one long catch-and-run score of 70 yards in the first quarter, outrunning the entire Western Michigan defense en route to the end zone. It is clear that Will Howard has zoned in on Smith as one of his favorite targets, and that’s for good reason.
The first-year phenom is well on his way to shattering all of Ohio State’s receiving records. With three touchdowns in just his first two games, Smith is already tied for 5th on the Buckeyes’ freshman TDs list. The record is currently held by Cris Carter, who scored eight times as a freshman in 1984. The five-star is already nearly halfway there despite playing less than six full quarters of collegiate football.
Offensive Line
Ohio State’s offensive line was not all that impressive in the season opener against Akron. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but it definitely left something to be desired. Fans began to wonder if they would have to wait until the return of starting guard Donovan Jackson to get a full picture of what the unit would look like, but Jackson sat out for a second-straight game against Western Michigan despite being designated as available before the contest.
Even without Jackson, Ohio State’s offensive line played much better in Week 2. The Buckeyes were able to run the ball at will, with Quinshon Judkins the star of the show tallying 108 yards on nine carries (12 yards per carry) with two touchdowns, and TreVeyon Henderson right behind him with 10 carries for 66 yards (6.6 YPC) and two scores. The starting unit also kept a majority clean pocket for Will Howard, who threw for 292 yards and a TD while also rushing for a six-yard score.
RPOs
Speaking of Howard, a lot of his success passing the ball was a result of a strong RPO game by Ohio State. Chip Kelly has a plethora of weapons at his disposal on this offense, and the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator was finding really creative ways to keep the defense guessing. The long TD by Smith was set up on one of these RPOs, with Howard faking the handoff to Judkins and looking at Carnell Tate in the flat before firing to the freshman on an in-breaking route upfield.
Ohio State is dangerous enough with all of the playmakers it has on that side of the ball alone, but some of these new looks and wrinkles add another whole element that opposing defenses will have to game plan for. Howard seems really comfortable running this offense, and made some great reads time and time again. We have likely only scratched the surface of what these guys are capable of when everything is clicking.
Shutouts
Defensively, Ohio State held Western Michigan without a single point — the Buckeyes’ first shutout victory since defeating Cincinnati 42-0 in 2019. The Broncos were able to muster only 99 yards of total offense, with quarterback Hayden Wolff completing 8-of-15 passes for 71 yards and the run game averaging less than one yard per carry.
The Buckeyes did not come away with any takeaways in this one, but they were consistently flying to the ball and making it nearly impossible for Western Michigan to move the chains. The Silver Bullets recorded two sacks — one each by Cody Simon and Jack Sawyer, with Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton each getting credit for a half-sack — five tackles for loss and held the Broncos to just 3-of-15 on third down.
One-Minute Drill
In a performance as good as Ohio State’s on Saturday, we’re going to have to get a little nit-picky to find the bad stuff. One of those areas we can look at is the Buckeyes’ attempt at practicing a one-minute drill at the end of the first half.
Ohio State got the ball at its own 13-yard line with 1:04 remaining in the second quarter. The drive started off well enough, with Smith leaping to snag a slightly overthrown ball for a gain of 15 yards. The Buckeyes followed that up with another 6-yard gain by Smith, but two straight incompletions after that forced OSU to punt the ball back with 35 seconds remaining before the break.
It obviously isn’t the end of the world, but Ohio State will need to get some reps in those types of situations for when they go up against the better teams on their schedule. The Buckeyes had a few breakdowns up front that led to the incompletions on that drive, and it will give them something to work on as they head into an off week.
That One Will Howard Throw
Again, nitpicking, but probably the worst throw of the night for Howard — other than a ball that simply slipped out of his hand and fell harmlessly to the turf — was on a deep ball to Jeremiah Smith early in the second quarter. Howard had the freshman wide open over the top for what would have been a 55-yard touchdown, but he under-threw the receiver and the ball wound up incomplete. Ohio State would wind up punting on the drive.
Howard has been excellent overall for the Buckeyes in his first few games, showcasing the ability to make correct reads, move around in the pocket to avoid pressure and even use his legs to pick up yards. The one area we have really yet to see from the Kansas State transfer is the deep ball, which was a knock of his when he first got to Ohio State. We will have to wait and see how that develops as the season rolls along.
Officiating
It was not exactly a banner night for the officials at Ohio Stadium on Saturday night.
The most egregious call by far was the targeting call and subsequent ejection of Denzel Burke late in the first quarter. Western Michigan running back Jaden Nixon ran towards the sideline and lowered his helmet into contact as he was hit by both Burke and Caleb Downs. There was no flag thrown on the play, but the booth buzzed down to call for a review, and Burke was then ejected for targeting despite there being no intentional helmet-to-helmet contact.
There was another questionable call on Ohio State’s first offensive play of the second quarter, where a holding penalty was called on Bryson Rodgers to negate what would have been an 80-yard touchdown run by Quinshon Judkins. The former Ole Miss running back would wind up scoring a 23-yard touchdown later on the drive anyway, but it was a real ticky-tack call on what was an electric run by Judkins.
Overall, Ohio State was called for six penalties worth 58 yards. Some of that will have to be cleaned up, of course, but the majority of them could have been let go by the officials or were just flat out wrong.
Continue reading...
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
There was a whole lot to like about the Buckeyes
Ryan Day was hoping to see his team get out to a faster start in Week 2, and that is exactly what Ohio State did as a 21-0 first quarter paved the way for a 56-0 win for the Buckeyes over Western Michigan. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins each scored twice, Jeremiah Smith did his thing and the Silver Bullets allowed less than 100 yards of total offense in a comprehensive beatdown of the Broncos.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Ohio State’s victory over Western Michigan.
The Good
Jeremiah Smith
For the second-straight week, Smith led Ohio State in the receiving department, recording five catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. The bulk of his yardage came on one long catch-and-run score of 70 yards in the first quarter, outrunning the entire Western Michigan defense en route to the end zone. It is clear that Will Howard has zoned in on Smith as one of his favorite targets, and that’s for good reason.
The first-year phenom is well on his way to shattering all of Ohio State’s receiving records. With three touchdowns in just his first two games, Smith is already tied for 5th on the Buckeyes’ freshman TDs list. The record is currently held by Cris Carter, who scored eight times as a freshman in 1984. The five-star is already nearly halfway there despite playing less than six full quarters of collegiate football.
Offensive Line
Ohio State’s offensive line was not all that impressive in the season opener against Akron. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but it definitely left something to be desired. Fans began to wonder if they would have to wait until the return of starting guard Donovan Jackson to get a full picture of what the unit would look like, but Jackson sat out for a second-straight game against Western Michigan despite being designated as available before the contest.
Even without Jackson, Ohio State’s offensive line played much better in Week 2. The Buckeyes were able to run the ball at will, with Quinshon Judkins the star of the show tallying 108 yards on nine carries (12 yards per carry) with two touchdowns, and TreVeyon Henderson right behind him with 10 carries for 66 yards (6.6 YPC) and two scores. The starting unit also kept a majority clean pocket for Will Howard, who threw for 292 yards and a TD while also rushing for a six-yard score.
RPOs
Speaking of Howard, a lot of his success passing the ball was a result of a strong RPO game by Ohio State. Chip Kelly has a plethora of weapons at his disposal on this offense, and the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator was finding really creative ways to keep the defense guessing. The long TD by Smith was set up on one of these RPOs, with Howard faking the handoff to Judkins and looking at Carnell Tate in the flat before firing to the freshman on an in-breaking route upfield.
Ohio State is dangerous enough with all of the playmakers it has on that side of the ball alone, but some of these new looks and wrinkles add another whole element that opposing defenses will have to game plan for. Howard seems really comfortable running this offense, and made some great reads time and time again. We have likely only scratched the surface of what these guys are capable of when everything is clicking.
Shutouts
Defensively, Ohio State held Western Michigan without a single point — the Buckeyes’ first shutout victory since defeating Cincinnati 42-0 in 2019. The Broncos were able to muster only 99 yards of total offense, with quarterback Hayden Wolff completing 8-of-15 passes for 71 yards and the run game averaging less than one yard per carry.
The Buckeyes did not come away with any takeaways in this one, but they were consistently flying to the ball and making it nearly impossible for Western Michigan to move the chains. The Silver Bullets recorded two sacks — one each by Cody Simon and Jack Sawyer, with Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton each getting credit for a half-sack — five tackles for loss and held the Broncos to just 3-of-15 on third down.
The Bad
One-Minute Drill
In a performance as good as Ohio State’s on Saturday, we’re going to have to get a little nit-picky to find the bad stuff. One of those areas we can look at is the Buckeyes’ attempt at practicing a one-minute drill at the end of the first half.
Ohio State got the ball at its own 13-yard line with 1:04 remaining in the second quarter. The drive started off well enough, with Smith leaping to snag a slightly overthrown ball for a gain of 15 yards. The Buckeyes followed that up with another 6-yard gain by Smith, but two straight incompletions after that forced OSU to punt the ball back with 35 seconds remaining before the break.
It obviously isn’t the end of the world, but Ohio State will need to get some reps in those types of situations for when they go up against the better teams on their schedule. The Buckeyes had a few breakdowns up front that led to the incompletions on that drive, and it will give them something to work on as they head into an off week.
That One Will Howard Throw
Again, nitpicking, but probably the worst throw of the night for Howard — other than a ball that simply slipped out of his hand and fell harmlessly to the turf — was on a deep ball to Jeremiah Smith early in the second quarter. Howard had the freshman wide open over the top for what would have been a 55-yard touchdown, but he under-threw the receiver and the ball wound up incomplete. Ohio State would wind up punting on the drive.
Howard has been excellent overall for the Buckeyes in his first few games, showcasing the ability to make correct reads, move around in the pocket to avoid pressure and even use his legs to pick up yards. The one area we have really yet to see from the Kansas State transfer is the deep ball, which was a knock of his when he first got to Ohio State. We will have to wait and see how that develops as the season rolls along.
The Ugly
Officiating
It was not exactly a banner night for the officials at Ohio Stadium on Saturday night.
The most egregious call by far was the targeting call and subsequent ejection of Denzel Burke late in the first quarter. Western Michigan running back Jaden Nixon ran towards the sideline and lowered his helmet into contact as he was hit by both Burke and Caleb Downs. There was no flag thrown on the play, but the booth buzzed down to call for a review, and Burke was then ejected for targeting despite there being no intentional helmet-to-helmet contact.
There was another questionable call on Ohio State’s first offensive play of the second quarter, where a holding penalty was called on Bryson Rodgers to negate what would have been an 80-yard touchdown run by Quinshon Judkins. The former Ole Miss running back would wind up scoring a 23-yard touchdown later on the drive anyway, but it was a real ticky-tack call on what was an electric run by Judkins.
Overall, Ohio State was called for six penalties worth 58 yards. Some of that will have to be cleaned up, of course, but the majority of them could have been let go by the officials or were just flat out wrong.
Continue reading...