Ohio State entered Week 4 with a lot of questions after underwhelming wins over Hawai’i and Northern Illinois. With Urban Meyer re-committing to Cardale Jones as his starting quarterback in mid-week, at least we knew who would take the first snap, but we didn’t know if Jones could shake off the last two weeks of inconsistent performances.
Western Michigan entered the game having played Michigan State close at home and boasting the best quarterback and receivers the Buckeyes had seen to date. With the MAC having success against the Big Ten in recent years, the Broncos no doubt had visions of knocking off the defending champions.
Would Cardale be able to finish a game he started (or at least take the team to a big lead so he could depart as planned)? Could the offensive line get its collective stuff together? Would the pass defense continue to play lights out? Could the Buckeyes look like the Buckeyes we expected to see this season?
Yes, mostly, not so much, and, at times. Jones went 19/33 for 288 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, but underthrew several other open receivers. The offensive line paved the way for 6.6 yards per carry and 246 rushing yards and allowed only one sack. Defensively, the Silver Bullets allowed 169 passing yards and 169 rushing yards (balance!) but were susceptible to runs up the middle and struggled at times on third down. Ohio State isn’t “back” but if it is a work in progress, it made some.
Here are your talking points from a 38-12 win over Western Michigan:
WATER COOLER PREP (EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW…IN ONE PARAGRAPH)
Jones was in command early, leading the team right down the field and hitting Michael Thomas for a 38-yard score. WMU got into the game with a couple long drives but killed itself with penalties and the Buckeyes blocked an early field goal try. Ohio State pulled away with a 17-point second quarter highlighted by a 37-yard scoring strike from Jones to Jalin Marshall and Adolphus Washington’s pick-six. Ezekiel Elliott carried 16 times for 124 yards (7.8 YPA) and a touchdown. Curtis Samuel also broke a 40-yard touchdown run.
GIVE THAT MAN A BUCKEYE LEAF (PLAYER OF THE GAME)
Gaining 7.8 yards every time he carried the ball and three catches for 29 yards—including a sick one-handed stab of a Jones bullet to convert a third down—I’m giving the game ball to Zeke this week. Elliott looked his old self as the guys up front and on the edge had a better game this week. He scored one touchdown in his ninth straight 100-yard game, and was a shoestring away from breaking another long one. But beyond his yards and the lone touchdown, Zeke threw some devastating blocks to help the team succeed, both in pass protection and on quarterback runs. Oh, and he jumped over a couple of guys, too.
DID YOU SEE THAT?! (PLAY OF THE GAME)
We’re turning to the defense again this week. Just after Jack Willoughby kicked a 30-yard field goal to put the Buckeyes up 17-6, Western Michigan took over at their own 25 following a touchback on the kickoff. On first down, Broncos quarterback Zach Terrell dropped back and tried to drop a screen pass in to his running back. Adolphus Washington sniffed it out. Diesel drifted back, got his big paws on the ball and rumbled 20 yards to the end zone to break the game open. It was a big play by a big man.
SLOBBER KNOCKER OF THE GAME
It was the first play of the second quarter. On first-and-10 at the OSU 24, Terrell dropped back to pass. Sophomore linebacker Raekwon McMillan came free up the middle and planted the Bronco signal caller into the Ohio Stadium turf. Honorable mention here goes to the sack on the two-point conversion try by Joey Bosa, who was held on the play but gave zero damns about it and sacked Terrell anyway.
TALK IN THE AFTERMATH
We saw a familiar face on the sideline Saturday and he saw a familiar result.
There's always this: Mike Hart is now 05 against Ohio State.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 26, 2015
This about summed up what most of us were feeling:
Ohio State offense has shown glimpses of recombobulation today, but consistency is lacking.
— Tim May (@TIM_MAYsports) September 26, 2015
The most reassuring talk in the aftermath came from Darron Lee:
Leg is fine. Thank you all for your concern. #BuckeyeNation
— Darron Lee (@DLeeMG8) September 26, 2015
JIM TRESSEL'S LEAST FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE GAME
Tressel recently discovered online shopping and has gotten just a little out of control. He was polishing his Lord of the Rings chess set during the game, purchased solely for Round 5 of his best-of-nine series with Norwegian chess champion Magnus Carlsen. As the Buckeyes drove deep into Western Michigan territory late in the second quarter, Tressel was engrossed in the game, waiting for the opportunity to see a short field goal to close out the half—a Tressel specialty in his time at Ohio State.
When Cardale Jones dropped to pass and was pressured, he was spun around in the act of trying to get the ball away. The officials threw a flag for intentional grounding (because spinning quarterbacks should get the ball close to a receiver, you see), and enforced a 10-second runoff, ending the half without the field goal attempt Tressel had been waiting for. The vested one got so heated he threw Legolas across the room, knocking over a jar of potpourri and startling Ellen.
WHEN YOU SANK INTO YOUR CHAIR (THE MOMENT BUCKEYE FOOTBALL DISGRACED YOUR FAMILY)
It wasn’t disgrace, but the moment I sank into my chair was when it was reported that linebacker Darron Lee had been carted to the locker room with an apparent leg injury. You never want to lose a player to injury, but particularly in a meaningless non-conference game you could win playing mostly backups if you had to. However, it turned out OK! Lee returned to the field and played and Ohio State prevailed.
The moment the Buckeyes disgraced my family? Probably the completely unnecessary defensive holding penalty far away from the ball that nullified a blocked punt. That was bad.
WHAT YOU TEXTED YOUR FRIEND AT THE END OF EACH QUARTER
First: “Good start and after that…meh.”
Second: “Diesel!”
Third: “Next, we fix the run defense.”
Fourth: “I’m not sure Urban fixed everything that he was going to fix, but I’ll take 4-0.”
IT WAS OVER WHEN
Elliott jogged in untouched from six yards out to cap a 14-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half, pushing Ohio State’s lead to 31-6. That pretty much put the game out of reach and allowed everyone to breathe easier.
Next up is Indiana (4-0) as Big Ten play begins. The Hoosiers are just two wins shy of bowl eligibility already after their 31-24 win at Wake Forest yesterday. Indiana’s other wins are over Southern Illinois (48-47), Florida International (36-22), and Western Kentucky (38-35). If you guessed that Kevin Wilson’s Hoosiers once again have a good offense and a not-so-good defense, you are correct.
