Well, I think we got the ol’ okie-doke!
Ryan Day talked at length about the running game this week, then he let Julian Sayin absolutely air it out against Wisconsin once game day rolled around.
That is not a criticism but just an observation from Ohio State’s 34-0 win in Madison.
Did the head coach of the Buckeyes know it was going to go that way?
Yeah, probably. The coach said after the game they wanted to come out throwing to get a feel for where they are in the passing game because they’ll need both to accomplish their goals.
That is of course true, and you can’t argue with the results overall.
Can you also worry about if they will be able to run the ball when they really need to later in the season? Yes, yes you can do that, too, but Julian Sayin, Carnell Tate, Jeremiah Smith, Max Klare, Brandon Inniss et al looked spectacular against the Badgers.
For a while there, everything Sayin touched seems to turn to gold on a perfect day for passing. He made some amazing throws even against tight coverage and seemed to hit the perfect spot just about every time.
A significant number of those throws appeared to be off run-pass options that Sayin chose to pull and throw because running lanes were choked off and his receivers had solo coverage, so the running game did have an effect on the outcome.
We knew Sayin is accurate and able to see the field, but it was noteworthy how much he was able to move off his spot, reset and still find an open man and deliver a strong throw right where it needed to be. That mobility is something we hadn’t seen much of before.
Of course the level of competition left something to be desired, but it is good to see he can make those types of plays to carry the offense because it sure looks like that might be how it goes.
I had to laugh after the game because the first question for Day was about the running game. That was appropriate since it mostly stunk, though it also wasn’t the emphasis in the game plan.
I was just about to start the alarms when they got it going a little bit on the last couple of drives. After running for 35 yards in the first half, they had 63 in the second.
Bo Jackson, the spark plug of the running game in the first half of the season, had only 26 yards on 10 carries, but another freshman flashed late in the game.
Isaiah West is a 5-10, 210-pounder from Philadelphia who ended up running for 55 yards on nine carries. West hit the hole and forced a few missed tackles, something that has been lacking from the unit as a whole. He also benefited from by far the best blocking of the afternoon.
The offensive line did not have its best day, especially the right side, and especially right guard Tegra Tshabola. After more than a year in the starting lineup, he just doesn’t seem to be the guy. He has the worst grade of the starters from Pro Football Focus, and all season if something goes wrong, he usually appears to be in the middle of it when you run back the tape.
I have to imagine they started giving snaps to Josh Padilla a couple of weeks ago for a reason. Will we see him take over as the starter after the bye week? Tshabola has experience, but he was also the weak link of the line last season. Right tackle Phillip Daniels has had a better season than Tshabola, but he seemed to have a few rough moments Saturday.
In an ironic twist, the gap plays seemed to be more effective than the zone running game at Wisconsin. West hit a couple of nice gains cutting up behind the tight end and center pulling. Maybe it was something about how Wisconsin deployed its front, but I was happy to see that because I’m just partial to that style of running.
Say this for Wisconsin: Their good players were good. The problem for Luke Fickell is they only have about five good players. Ricardo Hallman is a talented cornerback who made Jeremiah Smith work for what he got, and Darryl Peterson and Mason Reiger gave the Ohio State offensive front fits.
Day noted in his postgame interview there were no questions about his defense for the first 15 minutes, and now I’ve gone and done the same thing with this writeup. But let’s be honest: Wisconsin’s offense sucks. There was no mystery why they haven’t scored in their last 11 quarters. They are just about out of running backs, their line isn’t good, and they are playing backup quarterbacks, too. There’s just not much to work with there.
That said, shutting out anyone is difficult. The backup defensive line got gashed on Wisconsin’s final drive, but Springfield’s Aaron Scott Jr. came up to make a big hit on fourth down to preserve the goose egg.
To wrap things up:
The defense is still great. The running game is still broken. The passing game took another big step forward.
Those were my top three takeaways.
What did you think? Feel free to send me an email or drop a comment below!
And as always, thanks for reading!