C.J. Stroud threw for 353 yards but threw only one touchdown and not until the fourth quarter scoring barrage.
Marvin Harrison Jr. caught ten passes for 178 yards and Cade Stover finished with six catches for 78 yards and the only Ohio State passing score.
TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 78 yards with two fourth-quarter scores, one of those a forty-one-yard gallop.
J.T.Tuimoloau was the star of the game with a stat of line that included two interceptions, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, two sacks, three tackles for loss, and taking one of the interceptions into the end zone for a score.
Ohio State improves to 8-0 overall (5-0 Big Ten) with the biggest conference win of the season to date as the Buckeyes move towards a pairing with fellow undefeated Michigan with what appears to be the game of the year in the Big Ten and perhaps the nation (Tennessee vs Georgia may argue that point) this season.
Until then, three opponents await to be dispatched, with 1-7 Northwestern next on the road in Evanston.
Olentangy Offerings
1) J.T.Tuimoloau was more than the defensive star, he was the overall star and he just may receive the player of the week of all of the nation for his play Saturday.
Tuimoloau was a five-star recruit in the 2021 class, so his ability to deliver such a performance isn't a surprise but it was very welcomed by Ohio State for Tuimoloau to select a close game against a semi-rival to step out of the shadows and establish himself as a player that opposing offenses will need to begin to plan for.
2) Tuimoloau's stat line (noted above) was downright incredible against a team ranked thirteenth entering the game.
Consider this, if Tuimoloau was on my fantasy football team, his day would have been worth a stunning thirty-three points (by the scoring in my league).
I'm not sure in my twenty-one years of playing fantasy, I've ever seen a defender with a thirty-three-point game.
Just nothing left to say about the play of Tuimoloau.
3) Defensive line Larry Johnson is occasionally criticized for consistently rotating his linemen and as a result, the best linemen don't see as many snaps as those of other squads.
Perhaps Johnson won this battle for at least this Saturday as J.T.Tuimoloau was out of this world in the fourth quarter and let us say that maybe the rotation helped his domination.
4) Many are directing their barbs at Ryan Day for his playcalling that may have allowed Penn State to stay closer for longer than they should have.
The OSU fan base is an entitled and spoiled one, even me as they are the only consistent winner that I root for but they may not be wrong about the playcalling issues although I find even mentioning the future of Ryan Day's employment to be utterly ridiculous and mindless to even consider.
5) That said, Day's out-and-out love affair with the screen to the wide receiver in this (and other) games is not only hurting the Heisman hopes of C.J. Stroud, it almost played a key part in a potential Penn State upset.
6) Day loves to get the ball in the hands of his talented receivers and allow them to work on yards after the catch.
However, Penn State played tight press coverage and didn't allow the receivers to gain more than a yard after the catch, yet Day stuck with the tactic.
7) This became very clear in the fourth quarter when Penn State took a 21-16 lead with under ten minutes remaining and Day began to throw the ball down the field and the Buckeyes began gaining yardage in huge chunks as the Penn State defensive backs couldn't stay with the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr and suddenly Emeka Egbuka, who had been quiet for much of the game, grabbed a forty-two-yard pass.
8) Still, Penn State isn't noted for their defensive line but yet stayed in C.J. Stroud's face all game long as well as bottling the Buckeye ground attack until the final nine minutes of the game.
If I have one concern about this team, it's the ability of the offensive line to avoid being pushed around by physical defensive lines- that might be the most worrisome item for Ohio State's meeting against Michigan in a month.
9) I don't understand the decision with six seconds to go in the first half for the touchdown with Penn State leading by one rather than kick a field goal to lead by two.
I understand the call for the touchdown but the protection broke down with C.J. Stroud running away from the rush and the clock expiring.
My issue isn't going for the score, it is how Stroud seemed to be so unprepared for the rush without a timeout and the only thing that Stroud needs to remember before the snap is- Make a quick read and if no one is open or the rush comes in, get rid of the ball quick.
10) The running game began to move in the fourth quarter but was otherwise sluggish in another big game.
Much of this goes back to the offensive line but I think TreVeyon Henderson for all of his talent is susceptible to looking for the big run rather than hit the hole for five or six yards and Miyan Williams is the better back for moving the chains and his hand injury could return to haunt the Buckeyes if the line doesn't start moving defenders.
11) I know Penn State likes their "White Out" game each year to be played under the stars and they were disappointed to play the game at noon for Fox.
But I thought the white may have been more intimidating in the sunshine with the sun against all of those white shirts.
12) Penn State always seems to play Ohio State not only tough but their games always play out in weird ways.
Consider this- Ohio State scored one touchdown in the first fifty-one minutes of the game.
They scored four in the final nine minutes.
13) The schedule does lighten a bit as the Michigan game looms at the end of the slate.
One win Northwestern has lost seven in a row since a season-opening win over Nebraska, three win Indiana comes to Columbus but a sneaky game could be 6-2, Maryland, at College Park the week before the clash with the Wolverines.
However, Maryland has beaten only two teams with winning records- both Group of Five teams in Buffalo and SMU, and two of their conference wins over weak sisters Indiana and Northwestern have been by five and seven points. so the Terrapins could be more of a lower bowl team than a threat to Ohio State.
14) Finally, this game made me think of my fandom- AKA rooting for mostly losing franchises with Ohio State as my only consistent winner.
My buddy Ian McArdle showed me the tweet of his good friend Kevin Horne, who I've met and his Penn State football love is similar to Ian and I's Buckeye rooting.
Kevin saw the Penn State loss coming but he said it in a way that made me think of my own nightmares with the Cavaliers, Browns, and of course the Cleveland baseball club.
You watch, hope, and pray for a different result, and yet you almost always receive a knife to the guts for your trouble.
I almost felt bad for Kevin as I know the feeling.
Almost...
No comments:
Post a Comment