Instead, the problems with the Buckeyes became more visible as Tulsa hung close until the fourth quarter when Ohio State finally busted open the game for the 41-20 victory.
TreVeyon Henderson rushed for an Ohio State freshman record 277 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Ohio State offense.
Ohio State improves to 2-1 on the season (1-0 Big Ten) and will host Akron next week at the Horseshoe.
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1) TreVeyon Henderson's 277 rushing yards set the record for an Ohio State freshman breaking the record set by Archie Griffin against North Carolina in 1972.
Henderson was the offensive bright spot of the game for Ohio State and it's a good thing because at times they didn't have much else going for them.
2) Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman commentated the game for FS1 and I loved Brando's comparison of Henderson to that of Duane Thomas.
When you watch Henderson run, there is a certain amount of glide for Henderson and an ability to change gears that are seldom seen.
I wrote about Duane Thomas in 2016 as part of the Forgotten Superstars series.
3) C.J. Stroud threw for 185 yards with one touchdown and one interception and it seemed like Ryan Day was very protective of Stroud with his playcalling.
After the game, Stroud commented on a "sore arm", which I have to say is concerning from a freshman quarterback that did throw a lot against Oregon but has played in only three games.
4) I was surprised with how many people were just killing C.J. Stroud during the game.
The Buckeye nation has been awfully hard on the redshirt freshman and although he does seem to need some mechanical work on his throws as many of his passes are far too high.
Stroud's a young quarterback that isn't really a running threat, it will take time.
5) Considering all of that, I do wish that we would have seen Kyle McCord at least a little during these three games.
I understand the Oregon loss and the wins over Minnesota and Tulsa were not of the type that is usually expected against the competition of that ilk but McCord should be getting a few snaps in the event of an injury to Stroud.
6) Kerry Coombs was exiled to the press box with Matt Barnes moving to the sidelines.
I saw some improvement in a few areas but Tulsa often seemed to have receivers wide open that immediately made me think of blown coverages or players running to the ball rather than staying at home and taking care of their assignment.
7) Chris Olave was held without a catch for the first time since 2018 and only Garrett Wilson finished with more than 33 yards receiving.
8) I did really like the play of the freshmen corners in Denzel Burke and Cameron Martinez.
The two corners are already the standouts in the secondary and Martinez grabbed an interception for a Pick Six in the waning moments of the game.
By the end of the year, Burke and Martinez could be the stars of a defense in desperate need of them.
9) Tulsa QB Davos Brim finished with 428 yards passing and two scores, so this defensive problem isn't going to be solved overnight.
I did see a few signs of progress but I cannot say that I have no concerns.
Penn State looked very good in defeating Auburn, both Michigan and Michigan State have performed better than expected thus far and Ohio State may be fortunate to not play Iowa or Wisconsin in the regular season.
Unless significant progress is made, this could be (and emphasis on could) a 9-3 or dare I say it 8-4 season, which should be a one-season aberration.
10) Normally, I would brush aside Rutgers and Maryland (the two games following Akron) but Greg Schiano seems to have improved Rutgers to be at least decent and Maryland could have the receiving corps to give the Buckeyes issues.
This is one of those seasons that other than Akron, I won't be taking any team for granted.
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