Rutgers 2021
1. Here's a lesson in spin....
a. Ohio State went 25 minutes and 21 seconds without scoring a single point, it's longest scoring drought of the season.
b. During the aforementioned scoring drought, Ohio State ran 16 plays for 71 yards, or 4.44 yards per play.
c. Add in two holding penalties for -20 yards, and the Buckeyes ran 18 plays for 51 yards, or 2.83 yards per play.
d. During the scoreless stretch, Buckeye QBs completed 1 out of 4 passes for 3 yards, with a sack and a fumble.
e. While Ohio State's offense was completely ineffective, Rutgers ran 40 plays for 209 yards and scored 7 points.
f. On the other side of the ball, the Buckeye defense recorded only one sack and gave up a 75-yard touchdown.
g. Once again, certain Buckeye linebackers were often out of position, slow to the football, and displayed poor tackling.
h. TreVeyon Henderson was once again held under 100 yards, and a Rutgers RB had a higher YPC than Henderson.
i. Overall, the Rutgers QBs had a higher completion percentage (71.8%) than the Ohio State QBs (67.7%).
Those are absolute, undeniable FACTS. Deal with it.
2. Now for the other side of the story....
Even in a 52-13 blowout (45-6 at the half), you can twist and shade the facts to fit a narrative. Yes, Ohio State went through an unprecedented scoring drought yesterday, but at that point the Buckeyes had a 46 point lead and the coaching staff put in the 2nd and 3rd units and basically shut things down. Yes, some Buckeye LBs floundered around a bit, but those LBs were walk-ons
Cade Kacherski (5 tackles) and
Ryan Batsch (6 tackles) who were manning the mop-up unit. Yes, the Buckeye defense produced only one sack, but they made three interceptions (and dropped a fourth) and forced two fumbles (both recovered by Rutgers) and generally stymied the Scarlet Knight offense. Yes, the defense gave up a 75-yard touchdown, but.... Well, there's really no excuse for that, especially when it was the first team defense that got torched on that play. Yes, Tre Henderson was held under 100 yards, but he had only eight carries (for 71 yards, 8.9 average) before leaving the game with a minor injury (and an 18-point lead). Yes, a Rutgers RB bested Henderson's YPC (9.8 to 8.9) and the Rutgers QBs did have a higher completion percentage than the Ohio State QBs (71.8% to 67.7%), but those are meaningless statistics when taken out of the context of a 39-point blowout.
3. The best news to come from yesterday's game was the re-emergence (or perhaps, the actual emergence) of quarterback
C.J. Stroud. In the season opener against Minnesota, Stroud often looked shaky and his passing numbers were padded with 203 yards after the catch (69.0% of his total passing yards). Against Oregon, Stroud posted near-record stats for 53 minutes, but his 474 total yards (9.7 yards per play) yielded only 28 points; and during the final 7 minutes of that contest, with the game on the line, he accounted for only 27 total yards on 10 plays (2.7 yards per play), threw an interception, was sacked twice, and scored zero points. Against Tulsa, Stroud was mediocre-to-bad (15/25 for 185 yards, TD, INT, 2 sacks) and the Buckeyes needed a record-setting performance from TreVeyon Henderson and a pick six to put the game away. Stroud sat out of the Akron game due to a supposed shoulder injury that disappeared awfully quickly (seeing your backup throw for 319 yards can accelerate the healing process, apparently). Against Rutgers, a capable defense that had surrendered just 54 points on the season (13.5 points per game) and held Michigan to 20 points the previous week, Stroud avoided his characteristic slow start and posted some outstanding numbers: 17/23 (73.9%) for 330 yards (19.4 per completion, 14.4 per attempt), 5 TDs, no INTs, no fumbles, no sacks; Stroud's numbers would have been even better but for a couple of dropped passes. As good as the numbers look on paper, Stroud's on the field performance was even better: he was comfortable in the pocket, fired lasers over the middle into tight windows, threw a beautiful touch pass to
Jaxon Smith-Njigba down the right sideline for 28 yards, and even stayed cool under pressure as evidenced by a 56-yard TD to
Chris Olave on a scramble to his left during a rare occasion when the pocket collapsed. If Stroud can continue to play like that, then there definitely won't be a quarterback controversy in Columbus, and the Buckeyes will have the potential to beat anyone in CFB, both this year and next.
4. On his first carry of the game,
TreVeyon Henderson scored on a 44-yard run, his fourth touchdown of 40+ yards this season (in just 50 total touches, at that point of the game). Henderson looked like he was going to have another huge performance, but his next 7 carries netted only 27 yards and he was removed from the game with a minor injury and the Buckeyes on the verge of a blowout.
Master Teague was solid and steady (11 carries, 52 yards, 4.7 average), while
Marcus Crowley flashed in limited action (7 carries, 58 yards, 8.3 average; 1 reception for 21 yards).
5. When
Denzel Burke signed with Ohio State as an ATH last December, we weren't really sure if he was a cornerback, a safety, a linebacker, or maybe even an offensive player. We also weren't expecting the #196 overall prospect (and the #19 prospect in Ohio State's recruiting class) to make an immediate impact in a freshman class loaded with talent entering a team loaded with talent. But after just five games, Burke has already established his position (cornerback), his status (starter), and his potential (All American, first rounder). Yesterday, Burke recorded his first career interception (or the first one that counted, at least) and it was of the variety known as Pick Six. The Buckeye defense has now recorded a Pick Six in three consecutive games (Tulsa, Akron, Rutgers), only the second time that that's happened at Ohio State (also 2016: Bowling Green, Tulsa, Oklahoma).
6. Granted, Rutgers is not an offensive juggernaut, but the Buckeye defense performed admirably throughout the game. Although we will likely experience some rocky patches as the opponents improve, the long-term future looks bright as many of the best performers are first- or second-year players: defensive end
J.T. Tuimoloau; defensive end
Jack Sawyer; defensive tackle
Tyleik Williams; linebacker
Cody Simon; safety
Cameron Martinez; and of course cornerback
Denzel Burke.
7. Yes, Rutgers is improved, but they are still Rutgers so I'm not going to get overly excited about a 39-point win. And next week is Maryland, another tune-up game, followed by a bye week and an Indiana team that has reverted to the mean after a surprisingly good 2020 campaign. The season won't resume in earnest until October 30th when a top-10 (as of now) Penn State team invades Columbus. If the Buckeyes can survive that ordeal, then it's on to Lincoln to face a Nebraska team that (at least yesterday) looks like its in mid-1990s form. After a brief intermission (Purdue), the Buckeyes finish with potentially their two toughest Big Ten foes: Michigan State (home) and Michigan (away). Ohio State can certainly run the table and earn yet another trip to Indy (probably to face a tough Iowa squad). If the Buckeyes continue to play like they did yesterday, then it will happen.
