Ohio State figured to have a much easier time in Week 2 against Hawai’i than it had in the opener on the road at Virginia Tech. A friendly atmosphere, a (supposedly) lesser opponent, and a game under their belts should have made this a cakewalk for the Buckeyes.
It was, but it kind of wasn’t.
Hawai’i was coming in dripping confidence after a win over Pac-12 Colorado last weekend. The Rainbow Warriors were the more rested team, despite having to travel several time zones to play in Columbus. Transfer quarterback Max Wittek out of USC gave the Bows some swagger and experience in big-time games. Plus, they were wearing those sweet, sweet uniforms.
The defense was lights out while the offense struggled after a short week that saw Ohio State get only two full days of preparation for the Rainbow Warriors after taking care of the Hokies in Blacksburg on Monday night. In the end, the Buckeyes got to 2-0 with a 38-0 win in a contest where Ohio State stopped Ohio State more often than Hawai’i did.
Still, few thought the Buckeyes would be seriously tested.
Would Ohio State destroy Hawai’i after a week of hearing about how bad the schedule was? Could the offense race out to a big lead and give the backups some much-needed playing time? Would the offensive line bounce back after being bailed out a bit by Cardale Jones on Monday night? Could the Buckeyes bust some big plays on special teams?
Yes (but not to the extent we expected), no, no, and not at all. The Buckeyes won big on the scoreboard but got in their own way a lot, leading only 14-0 at the half. The backups didn’t get on the field until midway through the fourth quarter. The line was a mess, allowing two sacks and numerous pressures and failing to impose its will on Hawai’i. Special teams were largely a wreck, aside from coverage teams, which often pinned the Rainbow Warriors deep.
Here are your talking points for a tougher-than-it-should-have-been win over Hawai’i:
WATER COOLER PREP (EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW…IN ONE PARAGRAPH)
The Buckeye offensive line and quarterbacks (yes, both Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett were used) struggled somewhat and the game plan seemed unnecessarily east-west at times, yet Ohio State dominated due to a stingy defense that limited the Bows to 80 rushing yards and 85 passing yards. The Silver Bullets also took the ball away four times. The Buckeyes committed seven penalties for 115 yards, made mistakes on special teams and still won on the back of 101 yards and three touchdowns rushing by Ezekiel Elliott.
TALK IN THE AFTERMATH
It’s good to keep things in perspective.
For as uneven and even unsatisfying as that game might have been, Ohio State still won by 38. Super 1st world fan problems here.
— Matt Brown (@MattSBN) September 12, 2015
A Buckeye legend bottom-lined it for everyone.
Ohio State puts away Hawaii and will remain a distant #1
— joey galloway (@Joey_Galloway) September 12, 2015
Ex-players like Curtis Grant will take it.
Always good to get a W it ain't easy to win. Score should of been higher but I'll take 38-0.
— Curtis grant (@_CurtisGrant14) September 12, 2015
GIVE THAT MAN A BUCKEYE LEAF (PLAYER OF THE GAME)
On a day that the offense struggled, it’s only fair to give the PotG award to a defensive player. There were several good candidates, including Joshua Perry (seven tackles, one sack), Darron Lee (four tackles, two sacks, forced fumble), Raekwon McMillan (seven tackles, one pass breakup), and Gareon Conley (one tackle, one interception, two pass breakups). All are worthy candidates, but in the end I’ll penalize Lee for roughing the punter and go with safety Vonn Bell, who finished with three solo tackles and three pass breakups, intercepted a pass (and nearly picked off two others), and recovered a fumble for a touchdown. He was huge reason why the defense pitched a shutout.
DID YOU SEE THAT?! (PLAY OF THE GAME)
This game did feature a number of good plays but there was kind of a dearth of great ones. I nearly gave this one to wide receiver Terry McLaurin for an awesome job of avoiding a touchback and allowing a punt to be downed inside the five. But in the end, I had to choose the second takeaway by Bell, who tolled early and often for THE (Ohio State University). Bell’s scoop and score of a Wittek fumble with 7:48 to play let us all breathe a bit easier and gave the Buckeyes a more flattering score line to show pollsters across the country.
SLOBBER KNOCKER OF THE GAME
We already knew Braxton Miller could run, throw and catch the football. What many didn’t know was that the two-time B1G Player of the Year can also lay out a defender. In fact, Miller took out two Rainbow Warriors with this punt return block:
Miller stuck his shoulder into the abdomen of junior defensive back Damien Packer (21) and as a bonus he also picked off redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Penitito Faalologo (54). Tremendous block by a guy known for trying to escape contact.
JIM TRESSEL'S LEAST FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE GAME
Listening to the dulcet tones of Paul Keels, Tressel sat in his workshop, patiently repairing a hole in his uniform. The former OSU head coach is an avid participant in Civil War re-enactments. He only takes part on the Union side because Tressel is a winner.
With an old-timey needle and thread, Tressel, who plays the part of Brigadier General Lewis Golding Arnold and prefers to reenact repelling Confederate forces at Santa Rosa Island, fixed a tear in his breeches as Ohio State sent out its punt coverage team early in the second quarter. With Hawai'i punting out of the back of its own end zone, and Jalin Marshall back to return it, the Buckeyes figured to get great field position. Then Darron Lee crashed into punter Rigoberto Sanchez, giving the Rainbow Warriors a free first down.
“DARN!” exclaimed Tressel, who felt moisture on his thumb. Looking down, he realized he had punctured his thumb with the needle.
WHEN YOU SANK INTO YOUR CHAIR (THE MOMENT BUCKEYE FOOTBALL DISGRACED YOUR FAMILY)
Not once, but twice I sank into my chair as “kickoff specialist” Jack Willoughby sailed a boot out of bounds after an OSU score. That’s something even Kyle Clinton never did. The Buckeyes are making this bad habit…well, a habit. I understand what Meyer wants to do in terms of pinning the return man into a small window and the risk that entails. However, I feel like there’s a pretty big margin of error.
WHAT YOU TEXTED YOUR FRIEND AT THE END OF EACH QUARTER
First: “Did we think this was a 7:30 start time?”
Second: “Sloppy, ugly, not good.”
Third: “Can this be over now?”
Fourth: “It’s a win. Silver Bullets back, tho.”
IT WAS OVER WHEN
The way the defense played, it was probably over when Zeke scored the first of his three touchdowns. In reality, Hawai’i was finally cooked and done when Elliott completed his hat trick with 9:07 to play in the game to make it 24-0. The Rainbow Warriors even seemed to play more conservatively after that, accepting the inevitability of the outcome.
Next up is Northern Illinois (2-0) out of the Mid-American Conference, which has home wins over UNLV (38-30) and Murray State (57-26). Last week was a pretty good showing for the MAC, which beat the SEC and B1G. The Buckeyes will have a more normal work schedule after the short week they had between Virginia Tech and Hawai’i. I expect them to be a wee bit sharper after the coaching staff gets done with them.
Best thing about 2-0 is a chance to go 3-0
— Curtis grant (@_CurtisGrant14) September 12, 2015
