After a strong second half propelled Ohio State to a 21-10 victory in its home opener against No. 5 Notre Dame last Saturday, the Buckeyes figure to have a much easier test tomorrow as they welcome Arkansas State to the Shoe.
The Red Wolves destroyed FCS foe Grambling State last week but yeah, they might have a tougher time tomorrow.
To get you ready for tomorrow's game, while covering other OSU and college football related topics, I welcome 11W's own Griffin Strom, Johnny Ginter and George Eisner to this week's roundtable.
What impressed you the most about Ohio State’s defensive performance versus Notre Dame and why? Any particular facet of the defense’s performance catch your eye as still having issues?
Griffin: We heard all about the Buckeye defensive line and the play of Tommy Eichenberg at linebacker during the preseason, and both lived up to the billing and then some against Notre Dame. Ohio State held the Irish to 2.5 yards per carry on the ground and didn’t let them control the clock, as Notre Dame had the ball for just 10 minutes in the second half while failing to score a single point. While the Buckeyes also larely negated downfield threats in the passing game, it still remains to be seen how the Ohio State secondary will hold up against an offense that will throw the ball more than 18 times – and one with a quarterback who isn’t making his first-ever start.
Johnny: I know people are getting excited about the individual performances by guys like Mike Hall and Tommy Eichenberg, but I was most impressed with how improved the defensive line seemed to be in terms of creating pressure without having to blitz. The front four was extremely active and productive, and against a good (albeit banged up) offensive line in the first game... I'll take it.
George: The key to stopping Notre Dame's offense was always going to be linebacker play, particularly given the struggles Ohio State has experienced in that sector over recent seasons. Tyler Buchner's dual-threat ability figured to serve as an intriguing test for the portion of the Buckeye defense tasked with stuffing the run and shadowing the middle of the field. Under the welcome tutelage of Jim Knowles, Ohio State's linebackers performed admirably.
Tommy Eichenberg received a lot of criticism last season prior to the Rose Bowl, but now seems poised for a breakout campaign after leading the team in both tackles and sacks in the opener. That level of play presumably makes life easier for Steele Chambers as he settles into his second season as a collegiate linebacker, reflected by finishing third among the team in tackles while also recording one of the defense's only two pass breakups on the evening.
I do still have some concerns in the infancy of this season. Notre Dame's staff admitted in the wake of defeat that they kept game planning deliberately conservative in favor of reducing opportunities for Ohio State's offense. The Buckeyes are not going to face many more opponents of such caliber until the end of the season, so it could be quite a while before the truth reveals itself with respect to how Ohio State's defense responds to an aggressive offensive approach from a competitively talented unit.
More specifically, the pass rush still appears to need refinement. The newfound interior presence of Michael Hall Jr. will help a lot, while Eichenberg's pair of sacks would indicate the blitz design already harbors more creativity and impact than what was available a year ago. But the names Buckeye fans have expected to make their presences felt in recent campaigns — namely Zach Harrison and Javontae Jean-Baptiste — still are not contributing as expected. Jack Sawyer did not even make it onto the stat sheet despite recording the second most snaps among defensive ends, though he also played a more package-specific stand-up role.
Ohio State's season has only just begun, so no need to panic after a win. But improvement in pressuring quarterbacks will be necessary if a championship remains the goal.
With C.J. Stroud and the passing game struggling to get on track until pretty late in the contest, Ryan Day leaned on the rushing attack and his backs and offensive line responded. Did the win over Notre Dame give Day a new blueprint to win a tight game against a tough opponent or do you think as long as Day has all his guys in the passing game healthy that he’ll revert back to heavily favoring the pass?
George: The most prevalent critique of Ryan Day's offensive approach has been a tendency to go too pass-happy from shotgun formations when plans go awry. In most cases, this has surfaced when Ohio State falls behind by multiple scores, which was never the case against Notre Dame. Until the Buckeyes find themselves in a similar situation to last year's games against Michigan or Utah, it will be difficult to infer whether or not Day has successfully shaken off his bad habit of predictability while playing from behind.
That being said, it was encouraging to see the offensive line make more of an impact as the game unfolded into later stages. TreVeyon Henderson may have quietly led all ball carriers in rushing yards, but the 4th quarter touchdown drive that largely featured Miyan Williams clearly had the most visible success. If the Buckeye ground attack can manifest more immediate results going forward rather than gradually wearing out opponents, Day will hopefully avoid scenarios in which he feels obligated to call plays with his hair on fire.
Griffin: I certainly think the presence of a healthy Jaxon Smith-Njigba will change things for the Buckeye offense down the line, but even during a game in which Ohio State’s star receiver played just 15 snaps, C.J. Stroud still attempted 34 passes. Luckily for Day, he now knows his team is capable of winning ugly and picking up tough yardage on the ground when it has to – not to mention against what may be one of the best defenses it sees all regular season. If opponents continue to drop eight and employ two high safeties in the defensive backfield, I could envision Day leaning more on the run than he has in the past couple seasons.
Johnny: Nah, this is still going to be a pass-first team under Ryan Day. That doesn't necessarily mean that the overall snaps won't trend closer to 50-50 in terms of the run/pass ratio than we figured, but Day knows what kinds of weapons he has at receiver (and elsewhere) and he'd be dumb not to ulitilize them as much as he can. With that said, one element that definitely could factor into his future gameplanning is just how good the offensive line looked in terms of run blocking; if they can keep that up, the Buckeyes all of a sudden look a lot more consistent in 3rd down situations.
It’s not too late to jump on board the Emeka Egbuka train I’ve been driving for a while now. Are you a believer like me that he’ll be Ohio State’s second-most prolific pass catcher this season? What did you make of Marvin Harrison Jr. having five catches but on 11 targets? Even with a healthy Julian Fleming and JSN, how are you feeling about this season’s ready-now wide receiver depth?
Johnny: Emeka looked great, and if Jaxon Smith-Njigba is out for an extended period of time, he should be able to fill that role fairly well. Marvin Harrison, Jr. just needs more reps. He's got the physical tools, but against Notre Dame he seemed confused in the offense and where he fit into it. Saturday will be a great opportunity to get him comfortable.
George: Unlike the Rose Bowl in which Ohio State had appropriate time to plan for the absences of their leading receivers, Jaxson Smith-Njigba's injury clearly threw a curveball into the Buckeyes' offensive approach. Julian Fleming's absence felt similarly disappointing, but among all the position groups across both sides of the football, the wide receiver room still remains the least concerning. Xavier Johnson stepping up when called upon somewhat confirms that reasoning.
JSN should pace the receivers in all categories when healthy, but a more sporadic distribution of performance should be the expectation for those behind him. It would not surprise me if Emeka Egbuka finishes with the second most receiving yards by season's end, but I would expect more touchdowns for Marvin Harrison Jr. given his demonstrated prevalence as a red zone threat going back to the Rose Bowl.
Griffin: I wrote a piece Wednesday on the golden opportunity Egbuka has to steal the spotlight at wideout while Smith-Njigba and Fleming get healthy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the five-star sophomore is the Buckeyes’ leading receiver over the next couple weeks for that very reason. That much just give Egbuka the momentum he needs to assert himself as Stroud’s No. 2 target even after everyone else returns to the fold. As far as Harrison, it seemed as though he and Stroud still have a feeling-out process to go through before the NFL legend’s son can replicate his Rose Bowl performance on a consistent basis. But assuming he gets on track and Smith-Njigba and Fleming are back healthy relatively soon, Ohio State’s receiving corps should be of little concern to anyone – aside from opposing defenses.
What were your main takeaways from Week One across the national college football landscape? What are your early thoughts on Michigan’s quarterback competition?
Griffin: There wasn’t much in the way of major shock for me during Week 1, as Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State appear to represent the upper crust of college football early on. I left Clemson out of my preseason CFP field after what we saw from the Tigers last season, and some of those concerns were affirmed in their season opener against Georgia Tech, even if they pulled away late. As impressive as Michigan’s Week 1 performance was, a blowout win over Colorado State isn’t exactly a litmus test, and the Wolverines’ next two non-conference matchups shouldn’t be much more difficult. Jim Harbaugh’s reluctance to stick with one quarterback certainly raises some eyebrows, and although Cade McNamara gained invaluable experience during last year’s run to the CFP, J.J. McCarthy’s dual-threat ability makes him hard to overlook as a legitimate weapon under center moving forward.
Johnny: I think that right now Alabama and Georgia are still the clear teams to beat in college football. If Ohio State's offense kicks into gear and the defense continues to play as they did against Notre Dame, they'll be right there, but right now it looks like the Tide and the Bulldogs are the clear best teams in the country. Michigan doesn't have a quarterback competition; J.J. McCarthy is the starter, and Harbaugh is too afraid of pissing off the team to just come out and say it (so instead is doing this dumb alternating starters thing against terrible teams). Luckily for Harbaugh, his job was made easier by McCarthy looking pretty meh against Colorado State.
George: USC has a pretty clear path to its first College Football Playoff if the other prominent Pac-12 teams continue to struggle. Also, in what was previously considered to be a two-quarterback race for the Heisman Trophy between C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young, Florida's Anthony Richardson is going to make a substantial amount of noise. How many successful 360° pump fakes have you ever seen on a scoring play?
As for Jim Harbaugh's biblicisms, the Wolverines should already have J.J. McCarthy leading their offense. There is an understandable moral dilemma in punting on Cade McNamara, but McCarthy has more arm talent than anyone around Ann Arbor for quite a while. Either way, Harbaugh seems to have taken one of the more bizarre and drawn-out paths to a solution rather than just ripping off the bandaid, so let's hope that conundrum only continues to fester for Michigan.
Ohio State enters tomorrow’s nooner as hefty 44-point favorites over Arkansas State. Do the Buckeyes cover? Give us your final score and game MVP.
George: One of the more prevalent issues in college football's NIL era with no impact on Ohio State has been the vampiric effect of transfer portal flexibility on Group of 5 teams. Schools beyond the Power 5 now experience more talent turnover than ever as breakout players will often move on to more prevalent programs immediately following their standout individual seasons. This makes it much harder for low-caliber teams to improve year-over-year, and Arkansas State unfortunately fits this description.
The Red Wolves had the worst FBS rushing defense in college football last season, giving up more than 280 yards per game on the ground. Ohio State wins 63-7, covering with ease, while TreVeyon Henderson likely does whatever he wants in the 1st half before sitting out most of the remaining afternoon.
Griffin: I have Ohio State covering, but just barely with a 56-10 win over the Red Wolves. The caliber of opponent should give the Buckeyes a lot more wiggle room as far as rotations go, but I’ll say Stroud ends up the MVP as he delivers the type of performance – and stats – that we grew accustomed to seeing the Heisman Trophy finalist put forth in 2021.
Johnny: I think they'd cover if they kept their foot on the pedal all game, but I don't think they will. Stroud and company put up 30-ish points in the first half, and then the second half is backups on cruise control to a 45-10 win. Let's give Chop the MVP, because he's cool.
