Brett Ludwiczak
Guest
Using ‘Home Improvement’ to recap Ohio State’s win over Western Michigan
Brett Ludwiczak 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
The popular TV show from the 90s has a tie-in to Western Michigan.
On Saturday night, Ohio State dominated Western Michigan from start to finish, shutting out the Broncos 56-0 under the lights at Ohio Stadium. Since the Buckeyes had a lot of fun with their easy win, I figured I would do the same with my recap of some of the notable points from the victory.
One of ABC’s hit sitcoms from the 1990s was Home Improvement. You’re probably wondering how a show set in Detroit fits in with a game between Western Michigan and Ohio State that was played in Columbus. Not only was Tim Allen an graduate of Western Michigan, his character in the show was a Bronco. In one episode, Tim Taylor was awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts from the university.
204 episodes of the show were aired, so today we are going to take five episode titles from Home Improvement that help to recap the second-ever meeting between the Buckeyes and Broncos. <Insert Tim Taylor power grunt here>.
Following an underwhelming performance last week against Akron, the Ohio State rushing attack kicked into high gear on Saturday night, finishing with 289 yards on the ground and six touchdowns. After TreVeyon Henderson led the Buckeyes in rushing against the Zips, Quinshon Judkins had high honors against the Broncos, rolling up 108 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries.
Judkins could have had even bigger numbers, but a long touchdown run in the first half was called back because of a holding penalty.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25609678/usa_today_24182267.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Along with Judkins, Henderson also found the end zone twice, finishing with 66 yards and 10 carries. Later in the game, James Peoples scored his second touchdown in as many games this year, becoming the first Ohio State freshman running back to rush for a touchdown in each of the first two games of the season. Sam Williams-Dixon even received a few carries, with the freshman from Pickerington finishing with 40 yards rushing.
It’s obvious the ground game was an area of emphasis for head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly following the Akron game. Last week the offensive line might have been thrown a curveball with Donovan Jackson not playing due to injury. This week the line looked a lot more comfortable run blocking with Austin Siereveld stepping in for Jackson. Now with a week off, Jackson can take some more time to recover and make sure he is fully healthy when returns to the field.
Last week Jeremiah Smith had a memorable debut as a Buckeye, becoming the first freshman receiver since Michael Wiley to grab two touchdowns in their first game. Smith was even better this week, recording his first 100-yard receiving game in the scarlet and gray, finishing with 119 yards on his five receptions. Smith second collegiate game was highlighted by a 70-yard touchdown.
Everyone knew Smith was going to make an impact as a freshman, I’m just not sure we truly realized he was going to be so good this soon. Heading into the season, Emeka Egbuka was looked at as Ohio State’s top receiver because of his experience and play-making ability. After two games, it looks obvious Smith is Will Howard’s top target when the Buckeyes go to the air.
With this start to his Ohio State career, it’s not crazy to think Smith could be the best receiver in school history when his Buckeye career is over, which is saying a lot considering all of the top-notch talent we have seen come through Columbus over the years. If we’re being honest, Smith could be playing in the NFL right now and make an impact, so seeing him in the scarlet and gray for at least three years is going to be a fun ride.
Will Howard continued the outstanding start to his Ohio State career, finishing 18-26 for 292 yards, finding Jeremiah Smith for a 70-yard touchdown pass, and no throwing an interception. Even though Kyle McCord has had a strong start to his time at Syracuse, no Buckeye fans are wishing they had McCord over Howard right now.
The Kansas State transfer feels like a perfect fit for this Ohio State offense. Not only is Howard accurate and always seems to make the right decision, he will pull the football down and run when needed, as evidenced by his six-yard touchdown run. We haven’t seen Howard run the football much yet because he hasn’t needed to, but the touchdown run showed us a little bit of what he can do on the ground, and are likely to see more when Big Ten play starts and the competition starts to stiffen a bit.
The Ohio State quarterback room is an embarrassment of riches. Hopefully it doesn’t come to this, but if something does happen to Will Howard, the Buckeyes have a number of capable quarterbacks who can step in. We have already seen some from Devin Brown over the last two years. Last night Brown completed all five of his passes after he took over for Howard in the second half.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25610094/usa_today_24183724.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Brown does has some company when it comes to the first backup for the Buckeyes. We saw Julian Sayin on the field for the first time and he made the most of his opportunity, completing both of his passes, with one of those being a 55-yard touchdown to tight end Bennett Christian in the fourth quarter. It’s obvious Sayin is the quarterback of the future, and he is likely to win the starting job next year.
Not saying that Sayin won’t have competition from Brown, Air Noland, and others, but there’s a reason Sayin was one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. While we are going to enjoy Will Howard and Ohio State’s run this year, the thought of Sayin running the Buckeye offense starting next year is quite intriguing.
After giving up just six points to Akron last week, Ohio State’s defense was even better this week, shutting out Western Michigan. While the Buckeyes didn’t record any defensive scores like they did last week, the defense only allowed 99 yards to the Broncos, marking the first time since 2017 against Maryland that they gave up less than 100 yards of offense in a game.
How good was Ohio State on defense last night? Western Michigan only had two drives of more than three plays. The only drive from the Broncos that crossed midfield was their second drive of the game that ended with a missed field goal. There weren’t any turnovers and only two sacks from the defense in the game, they just took care of business and got their offense back on the field quickly.
The only negative we saw from the defense was the Denzel Burke targeting penalty, but at least that happened in the first half so he won’t miss any time in Ohio State’s next game against Marshall.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak 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
The popular TV show from the 90s has a tie-in to Western Michigan.
On Saturday night, Ohio State dominated Western Michigan from start to finish, shutting out the Broncos 56-0 under the lights at Ohio Stadium. Since the Buckeyes had a lot of fun with their easy win, I figured I would do the same with my recap of some of the notable points from the victory.
One of ABC’s hit sitcoms from the 1990s was Home Improvement. You’re probably wondering how a show set in Detroit fits in with a game between Western Michigan and Ohio State that was played in Columbus. Not only was Tim Allen an graduate of Western Michigan, his character in the show was a Bronco. In one episode, Tim Taylor was awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts from the university.
204 episodes of the show were aired, so today we are going to take five episode titles from Home Improvement that help to recap the second-ever meeting between the Buckeyes and Broncos. <Insert Tim Taylor power grunt here>.
“A Battle of Wheels”
Following an underwhelming performance last week against Akron, the Ohio State rushing attack kicked into high gear on Saturday night, finishing with 289 yards on the ground and six touchdowns. After TreVeyon Henderson led the Buckeyes in rushing against the Zips, Quinshon Judkins had high honors against the Broncos, rolling up 108 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries.
Judkins could have had even bigger numbers, but a long touchdown run in the first half was called back because of a holding penalty.
Along with Judkins, Henderson also found the end zone twice, finishing with 66 yards and 10 carries. Later in the game, James Peoples scored his second touchdown in as many games this year, becoming the first Ohio State freshman running back to rush for a touchdown in each of the first two games of the season. Sam Williams-Dixon even received a few carries, with the freshman from Pickerington finishing with 40 yards rushing.
It’s obvious the ground game was an area of emphasis for head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly following the Akron game. Last week the offensive line might have been thrown a curveball with Donovan Jackson not playing due to injury. This week the line looked a lot more comfortable run blocking with Austin Siereveld stepping in for Jackson. Now with a week off, Jackson can take some more time to recover and make sure he is fully healthy when returns to the field.
“Birth of a Hot Rod”
Last week Jeremiah Smith had a memorable debut as a Buckeye, becoming the first freshman receiver since Michael Wiley to grab two touchdowns in their first game. Smith was even better this week, recording his first 100-yard receiving game in the scarlet and gray, finishing with 119 yards on his five receptions. Smith second collegiate game was highlighted by a 70-yard touchdown.
Everyone knew Smith was going to make an impact as a freshman, I’m just not sure we truly realized he was going to be so good this soon. Heading into the season, Emeka Egbuka was looked at as Ohio State’s top receiver because of his experience and play-making ability. After two games, it looks obvious Smith is Will Howard’s top target when the Buckeyes go to the air.
With this start to his Ohio State career, it’s not crazy to think Smith could be the best receiver in school history when his Buckeye career is over, which is saying a lot considering all of the top-notch talent we have seen come through Columbus over the years. If we’re being honest, Smith could be playing in the NFL right now and make an impact, so seeing him in the scarlet and gray for at least three years is going to be a fun ride.
“Howard’s End”
Will Howard continued the outstanding start to his Ohio State career, finishing 18-26 for 292 yards, finding Jeremiah Smith for a 70-yard touchdown pass, and no throwing an interception. Even though Kyle McCord has had a strong start to his time at Syracuse, no Buckeye fans are wishing they had McCord over Howard right now.
The Kansas State transfer feels like a perfect fit for this Ohio State offense. Not only is Howard accurate and always seems to make the right decision, he will pull the football down and run when needed, as evidenced by his six-yard touchdown run. We haven’t seen Howard run the football much yet because he hasn’t needed to, but the touchdown run showed us a little bit of what he can do on the ground, and are likely to see more when Big Ten play starts and the competition starts to stiffen a bit.
“From Top to Bottom”
The Ohio State quarterback room is an embarrassment of riches. Hopefully it doesn’t come to this, but if something does happen to Will Howard, the Buckeyes have a number of capable quarterbacks who can step in. We have already seen some from Devin Brown over the last two years. Last night Brown completed all five of his passes after he took over for Howard in the second half.
Brown does has some company when it comes to the first backup for the Buckeyes. We saw Julian Sayin on the field for the first time and he made the most of his opportunity, completing both of his passes, with one of those being a 55-yard touchdown to tight end Bennett Christian in the fourth quarter. It’s obvious Sayin is the quarterback of the future, and he is likely to win the starting job next year.
Not saying that Sayin won’t have competition from Brown, Air Noland, and others, but there’s a reason Sayin was one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. While we are going to enjoy Will Howard and Ohio State’s run this year, the thought of Sayin running the Buckeye offense starting next year is quite intriguing.
“A Night to Dismember”
After giving up just six points to Akron last week, Ohio State’s defense was even better this week, shutting out Western Michigan. While the Buckeyes didn’t record any defensive scores like they did last week, the defense only allowed 99 yards to the Broncos, marking the first time since 2017 against Maryland that they gave up less than 100 yards of offense in a game.
How good was Ohio State on defense last night? Western Michigan only had two drives of more than three plays. The only drive from the Broncos that crossed midfield was their second drive of the game that ended with a missed field goal. There weren’t any turnovers and only two sacks from the defense in the game, they just took care of business and got their offense back on the field quickly.
The only negative we saw from the defense was the Denzel Burke targeting penalty, but at least that happened in the first half so he won’t miss any time in Ohio State’s next game against Marshall.
Continue reading...