Ohio State picked up victory number 900 in program history with a 52-3 thrashing of Rutgers in a dank, soggy Ohio Stadium yesterday afternoon in the Shoe, improving to 2-0 on the young season.
The offense continued clicking on all cylinders with 579 total yards after posting 721 a week ago and the defense tightened up after surrendering 31 points and a host of big plays against Oregon State the previous week, yielding just 134 yards to the Scarlet Knights.
The Buckeyes improved to 22-2 in the month of September and 75-8 overall since Urban Meyer arrived in Columbus ahead of the 2012 season.
With two cupcakes devoured, Ohio State gets set for a neutral site affair with a 16th-ranked TCU squad also standing at 2-0 following wins over Southern and at SMU.
Before we turn to all things Horned Frogs, here are Five Things from yesterday's blowout of Rutgers.
SEVEN(TH) HEAVEN
Dwayne Haskins might be good.
With the disclaimer Ohio State has faced garbage teams, Haskins has been nothing short of spectacular. After carving up Oregon State in the opener, it was more of the same yesterday as Haskins completed 20 of 23 throws for 233 yards and four touchdowns. His 86.9% completion rate versus Rutgers ranks as the third-best single-game effort in school history.
Through two games, Haskins is 42 of 53 for 546 yards and nine touchdowns against one interception.
That's a ridiculous 79.2% completion rate and it seems pretty good that his touchdowns (9) are only two short of his incompletions (11).
Within that completion rate is a deadly accuracy in which his throws are consistently hitting guys in stride, aiding in yards after catch, and he's been a beast on third down hitting on 11 of 12 throws for 106 yards and 10 first downs with one interception.
No question he's been outstanding but I'm really interested to see what he can do in the face of more consistent pressure which should come next weekend in Arlington. I'm confident he'll stand tall based on the limited sample size we witnessed last year but seeing is believing. It's time for Haskins, his offensive line and receiving corps to pass a stiffer test.
Dwayne Haskins has thrived in a clean pocket during Ohio State's 2-0 start.
STUPID SEXY LANDERS
Welp, my man crush on Robert Landers took another step toward being illegal after he quietly dominated the interior of Rutgers' offensive line.
Tasked with manning the middle and tying up as many blockers as possible, Landers relishes the role and turned in a dominant performance yesterday with three stops and a TFL.
His TFL went for -3 yards and his other two tackles held Rutgers ball carriers to one yard each but he was a much bigger factor than those stats indicate.
Numerous times in the first half he was so quick off the ball that the center and guard were pushed into the backfield, disrupting the flow and timing of the play. His efforts were a key reason why the Scarlet Knights recorded just seven yards rushing on 0.5 per carry in the opening half.
Landers won't get the publicity he deserves due to the ask of his position and playing alongside superstars like Nick Bosa, Dre'Mont Jones and Chase Young so I'll do my best to give him his propers in this column throughout the season.
AIN'T WASTING NO MORE TIME
Getting back to Haskins real quick, it's pretty wild just how fast he's leading the team to touchdowns.
Through two games, Haskins has led the Buckeye offense on 13 touchdown drives – eight against Oregon State and five against Rutgers.
Of those 13 drives, 10 have taken less then three minutes to find the end zone with an overall average of 2:36 needed to break the plane. Only four of the 13 drives needed 10 or more plays.
Just two of the touchdown drives have eclipsed the four minute mark. Haskins' last touchdown march against the Beavers took 6:00 flat as the Buckeyes churned out 79 yards on 11 plays capped by a Mike Weber 4-yard run. Then today, it took 4:26 for Haskins to lead the squad on a 13-play, 71-yard march finished by a 9-yard toss to Luke Farrell.
Obviously, the pace of playcalling and effectiveness of the total offense play a role but the triggerman deserves a ton of credit.
The particulars:
| NO. | ELAPSED TIME | PLAYS / YARDS | TOUCHDOWN PLAY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:13 | 5 / 57 | HASKINS 2-YARD PASS TO MCLAURIN |
| 2 | 2:15 | 8 / 65 | WEBER 16-YARD RUN |
| 3 | 2:04 | 8 / 75 | HASKINS 6-YARD PASS TO BERRY |
| 4 | 1:56 | 6 / 75 | WEBER 49-YARD RUN |
| 5 | 2:53 | 10 / 59 | HASKINS 3-YARD PASS TO WEBER |
| 6 | 0:15 | 1 / 75 | HASKINS 75-YARD PASS TO MCLAURIN |
| 7 | 2:31 | 10 / 75 | HASKINS 8-YARD PASS TO CAMPBELL |
| 8 | 6:00 | 11 / 79 | WEBER 4-YARD RUN |
| 9 | 1:51 | 5 / 67 | HASKINS 38-YARD PASS TO DIXON |
| 10 | 2:37 | 7 / 50 | HASKINS 16-YARD PASS TO CAMPBELL |
| 11 | 4:26 | 13 / 71 | HASKINS 9-YARD PASS TO FARRELL |
| 12 | 3:41 | 9 / 76 | DOBBINS 2-YARD RUN |
| 13 | 2:11 | 5 / 84 | HASKINS 44-YARD PASS TO DIXON |
Seems good.
Nick Bosa locks in on Rutgers quarterback Artur Sitkowski.
NICK THE QUICK
Nick Bosa was unblockable against Oregon State posting three tackles, two TFL, two sacks and two fumble recoveries with one of those going for a touchdown.
Leading up to this week's tilt with Rutgers, Scarlet Knights left tackle Tariq Cole, a pro prospect in his own right, made it a point to note Bosa had never recorded a sack against him, for reasons I've yet to comprehend.
In the latest episode of When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong, Cole did allow a sack against Bosa as Nick posted five stops and tied a career-high with 3.0 TFL including that sack and a quarterback hurry while breaking Rutgers signal-caller Artur Sitkowski.
Through two games, Bosa has eight tackles, five TFL, three sacks, two fumble recoveries, a quarterback hurry and a touchdown.
With Chase Young really starting to blossom at the opposite defensive end spot and Dre'mont Jones and Landers holding down the interior, Bosa should continue to put up numbers worthy of a top-five NFL draft pick.
GET OUT THE WADE
A week after Isaiah Pryor and Jahsen Wint struggled in trying to replace an injured Jordan Fuller and departed Damon Webb at the safety spots, Greg Schiano hinted that we might see more of redshirt freshman Shaun Wade in Ohio State's secondary at a handful of positions.
In rotational duty - mostly at cornerback in the nickel, Wade was a factor yesterday posting two solo stops, a PBU and his first career interception.
Wade gave up a pair of completions in coverage, one a 2-yard pass on 3rd-and-6 and the other a 13-yarder on 3rd-and-9 and his textbook PBU came on a 3rd-and-10 throw.
In a limited sample size, it could certainly be argued Wade is one of Ohio State's five best defensive backs so I would expect him to see even more time next weekend against the Horned Frogs. Sign me up.
