I know Raiders legend Al Davis was famous for saying, "Just Win, Baby." But I'm more relieved than happy after that one. PHEW!
It would not surprise me in the least if Ohio State dropped a spot or two after today. If there's room to drop the Buckeyes, I would expect it. But at the end of the day, Ohio State is 6-1, and they bounce back with a win after their primetime loss at Oregon.
This is another day that deserves a "Good, Bad, Ugly" article more than one that has Keys to Victory. This was anything but a solid win, and Ohio State has a ton to clean up between today, and next Saturday's looming visit to the Lions' Den in Happy Valley.
The Good: Ohio State Receiving Corps
Even though there wasn't much good that I saw in this otherwise sloppy game, one big thing did make me smile: Touchdown catches from Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith!
In an ugly game, it was cool to see both Jeremiah and Carnell catch the Nebraska defense napping on explosive plays. Carnell had the speed to take his catch 40 yards to the house, and Jeremiah was hit right in stride by Will Howard as he just walked into the endzone on a 60-yard bomb.
I had to chuckle at Jeremiah's catch though. Joel Klatt, who was doing color commentary with Gus Johnson, talked about Jeremiah's quiet day up to that point, and Klatt remarked that Ohio State would have to target him to get the offense going.
Number 4 must've heard him. No more than two plays later, Howard dropped back, and floated an absolutely beautiful spiral. It wasn't a bullet pass, forced pass or anything. He just floated an absolutely beautiful ball like he was tossing a pass in his backyard.
As soon as Howard let that one go, I knew he had found someone deep. Quarterbacks don't loft one into the air with that much touch on it unless they know they've got someone wide open downfield. And the ball just softly fell into Jeremiah's hands as he walked right into the south endzone of the 'Shoe. It was gorgeous!
Hold onto that as long as you can, folks. Because there's a LOT of not so pretty stuff I saw in this game. Starting with...
The Bad: Weak running game
Ohio State has been dangerous so far this season because the running game has been stout. Everyone already knows the Buckeyes are a deadly team through the air. But that's the perfect time for the ground game to kick in. Every defense is so keyed into "Wide Receiver U" that they may sometimes be too focused on slowing the passing game down.
When the Buckeye ground game does their absolute best, they present a security blanket for Will Howard. And they also get opposing defenses out of position.
It's a simple action and opposite reaction, folks: When the ground game is churning out yards and doing well, this forces opposing defenses to creep up to stop the run. Or they outright try to stack the box. Either way, this leaves their secondary out on an island all alone.
The opposing corners and safeties suddenly become the last line of defense in the back end of things, against some of the most talented and explosive wideouts in America. And in cases like that, that's a matchup that Ohio State's wide receivers will win nine times out of ten.
But when the running game only gets 64 yards on just 31 carries (2.1 yards per carry), this allows a defense to keep an otherwise explosive offense bottled up. No running game means defenses can keep a lid on things. Ohio State NEEDS to get the ground game going. Especially considering who they're facing next weekend.
But both the passing game and the running game won't get off the ground unless a certain unit does their job. And this unit didn't get things done today. That's right. I'm talking about...
The Ugly: Buckeye offensive line
"You don't know what ya got, til it's gone." I don't know who originally coined that saying. But it perfectly describes the Buckeye offensive line's performance today.
Yes, it could have been a lot worse and thankfully it wasn't. But Will Howard was sacked twice today, and hurried several times. He didn't have a lot of time to set his feet, and comfortably deliver on-target throws.
And the biggest reason for this was a new offensive line unit. One that's lost a few key guys to injuries. And not only that, but they also may have a few guys who are inexperienced or playing out of position as well. It just wasn't a solid or cohesive effort today up front. It wasn't good enough. Especially for a team that is serious about potentially winning the National Championship in late January.
Ohio State has already lost their original starting left tackle Josh Simmons for the rest of the season with a knee injury at Oregon. Simmons's backup, Zen Michalski, went out with an injury late in today's game, though it's not exactly clear what that injury was other than it was a "lower body injury."
But these injuries forced the Buckeyes to move Donovan Jackson over to left tackle, even though he's usually playing left guard. And the situation also pressed talented but largely untested sophomore Luke Montgomery, into service.
The times injuries happen largely can't be controlled. But what can be controlled, is how a team responds to them, and moves forward. And right now, the offensive line is Ohio State's biggest question mark. Especially going into the Penn State game against a team that is going to be hungry and extremely fired up to defend their home turf at Happy Valley.
Up Next
I really hope today was just a case of Ohio State getting caught looking ahead. Sometimes those things happen. And Penn State is arguably the most consequential game the Buckeyes will play all season. At least until a possible CFP run. Next weekend is huge.
But if today's bad day wasn't an off-day or a fluke, and this is a sign of bigger problems? I'm extremely concerned. My hand is hovering over the panic button in a case like that. Although I won't pound it yet.
To beat Penn State, the offensive line will need to iron out the kinks, show up, show out, and be the aggressor from the opening kickoff. Same with the running game. Henderson and Judkins will need to run with a bad attitude. Penn State needs punched in the mouth a few times. Then the Buckeyes can go to work grinding out a huge W.
In order to win in an extremely hostile environment like that, road teams need to make their own energy and feed off it. And most of that comes from ramping up the intensity. Playing clean, disciplined, fundamentally sound, emotional football is the key to winning games like what's coming up next week.
Can Ohio State kick it up a few notches and get the job done at Happy Valley next week? Time will tell! But they're still 6-1 and in the Big Ten and College Football Playoff chase!
GO BUCKS!
Statistical Leaders
Will Howard: 13-16, 221 yards, 3 TDs, INT
Quinshon Judkins: 10 carries, 29 yards
Carnell Tate: 4 receptions, 102 yards, TD
Sources
ESPN
Picture Credit
ESPN
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