One week after a bit of a ho-hum performance against the Akron Zips in the first half, the Ohio State football team showed up big time in the first half against Western Michigan to wash that somewhat bad taste out of its mouth.
The Buckeyes raced out to a 35-0 halftime lead then cruised to a 56-0 victory with some guys on the bench getting some time to showcase their skills.
As we do with every OSU football game, we like to reflect upon what we saw and pull out a few observations or things that we think we learned from watching the Scarlet and Gray do their work on the gridiron. This week, things are a bit more positive than what we took from a bit of a clunky blowout win in Week 1.
Here is five things I think I know after Ohio State’s win over Western Michigan on Saturday.
Maybe the offensive line is starting to come together
What I think I know
It’s easy to get caught up in the moment of what we see each week. Against Akron, there were some concerns with this offensive line, especially in the first half. Against The Broncos though, things looked much, much better. The Ohio State offensive line protected well in the passing game — but more importantly — looked completely dominant in getting a push for the running game. Clearly, the competition level isn’t what it will be, but there were more signs of life this week that we’ll need to continue to see going forward.
Jeremiah Smith might be the best receiver in college football as a freshman
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What I think I know
Yeah, it’s a bold statement, but it’s hard to fathom another receiver being better than the freshman sensation, Jeremiah Smith. He’s big, exceptionally fast, runs great routes, and could probably be a high NFL draft pick right now. His 70-yard touchdown catch and dash showed exactly why NFL scouts are already salivating even though he still has almost three years to go before he is draft eligible. He has quickly become WR1 for this offense, and that’s with Emeka Egbuka out there running around. It’s going to be a fun few years on the outside with this nuclear weapon Ohio State has at its disposal in the passing game.
The defense is a cheat code
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What I think I know
We felt good about this defense being sensational this year, but you still have to see it come to fruition on the field. There are a lot of NFL players moonlighting in Scarlet and Gray for one more season, and they are doing it on all three levels. The defense is deep, fast, athletic, and seasoned and it has the chance to take this team to some pretty special heights this season. There will be games in which the offense isn’t clicking, and having what might be the best defense to make up for it is a nice luxury to have.
The offense is a big play machine
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What I think I know
A year after kind of grinding the gears on offense — at least from Ryan Day standards — the universe feels back in balance again with the Ohio State offense. OSU scored a lot of offensive points and touchdowns Saturday night, and many of them were of the explosive play variety. From the duo of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson in the backfield, to Will Howard at quarterback, to Jeremiah Smith and company on the outside in the passing game, anyone can get free and take it the distance on this offense. It’s going to be pinball numbers on offense for Ohio State this year, and all of Buckeye Nation is here for it.
Chip Kelly is starting to pay dividends with play calling on offense
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What I think I know
Chip Kelly never found the same success as a head coach after his days at Oregon, but that doesn’t mean he still can’t call a great game as an offensive mind. The fact that Ryan Day was able to convince him to come to Columbus and take a step down as an offensive coordinator is one of the best recruiting jobs he’s done. Kelly hasn’t been perfect, but Saturday was a big step in the right direction. There was a good mix of run and pass and things really got cranking with the running game opening up everything else. He’ll continue to get better as he understands the identity of this team and the weapons at his disposal and it’ll be needed in a few weeks after all of the warmup games are done.
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