A break in the schedule can be a bummer for fans and even ill-timed for teams but for Ohio State this season, it feels like the perfect time to take week off.
The Buckeyes, while 6-0 and looking every bit like a national title contender, are a little banged up and the back-half of the regular season slate features a trip to Happy Valley, another roadie against a competent Maryland offense and of course the regular season finale against Michigan.
While Ryan Day's guys will take the weekend off, the 11W Roundtable never sleeps. Here comes Chase Brown, Ramzy Nasrallah and Garrick Hodge as the Buckeyes take a midseason pause.
At the halfway point of the regular season, which position group would you tab as the most pleasantly surprising versus your own preseason expectations and why?
Chase: The linebackers are a pretty clear choice for me. Even with all the buzz heading into the season that Tommy Eichenberg was the quickest to catch on to Jim Knowles' scheme and Steele Chambers was coming along well, I didn't think those guys would be as productive as they have been to this point in the season. It's incredible to see how both of them play fast and quickly diagnose plays to disrupt opposing offenses. I only see this getting better and better as the season progresses.
Ramzy: We just experienced the most dominant stretch of performances by an Ohio State offensive line since Nov-Jan 2014, which if your memory is failing you was Illinois, @ No.8 Sparty, @ No.25 Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, No.13 Wisconsin, No.1 Alabama, No.2 Oregon. The Slobs bulldozed the way to the CFP title by dominating high-quality defenses, enabling a backup freshman QB and then a third-string QB to make history.
Run and pass-blocking have been superb, albeit against middling opponents. The OL still appears to be more disciplined and cohesive than any of the post-Peak Warinner units. It's not a coincidence that literally every single player who has lined up behind this offensive line from C.J. Stroud through TC Caffey has flashed.
Garrick: This may be a dumb answer, but I'll say wide receiver. Yes, Brian Hartline has recruited that position so well that Ohio State has depth from top to bottom of its roster. But look at this group this year. Xavier Johnson, a former walk-on, made a game-changing play Week 1. Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. are both studs. And the offense is putting up nearly 50 a game of late without Jaxon Smith-Njigba, arguably the best wideout in college football.
Excluding C.J. Stroud, which Buckeye earns your Team MVP nod through these first six games and why?
Garrick: I'll say Tommy Eichenberg. He's truly brought some stability to Ohio State's defense, and has been a big reason why the Buckeyes' linebacking corps has gone from a weakness last year, to a strength in 2022.
Chase: Emeka Egbuka. With Jaxon Smith-Njigba out with a hamstring injury, everyone rightly assumed that Marvin Harrison Jr. would be the receiver opposing defenses would focus on to stop Ohio State from hurting them through the air, leaving opportunities for the other wideouts to make plays. Through six games, Egbuka has stepped up in a significant way for the Buckeyes, hauling in 35 catches for 655 yards and six touchdowns. Even with a Smith-Njigba return on the horizon, Egbuka has carved enough of a role for himself that he's not going anywhere in the second half of the season.
Ramzy: They've shown that it's plug-and-play with whomever they send in on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, they're rotating a ton of guys in up front, so if you want to see who the coaches think the MVP is you can simply look at who doesn't sub out. Tommy Eichenberg and Ronnie Hickman are indispensable to that unit, which is why they're always on the field. My non-Stroud MVP rankings through six games are Eichenberg at 1A and Hickman at 1B.
No. 5 Michigan hosts No. 10 Penn State with the Wolverines installed as a 7-point favorite. Who wins this one and do they cover? Do you care who wins? Anything in particular you're watching for, through the lens of Ohio State facing both of these squads down the stretch?
Ramzy: It's a fascinating game for Michigan. Maryland had the only offense it faced in the top 92 (!) of SP+ offenses, and the Terps ended up scoring a third of the total Michigan's defense has allowed this season. Iowa is the only defense it faced in the top 50 of SP+ defenses, and the Hawkeyes held the Wolverines to their lowest scoring output of the season. So through six games, Michigan's performance has been markedly opponent-dependent; they've done nothing interesting besides win, in part because their schedule was so uninteresting.
Now here comes Penn State, Michigan's second competent and balanced opponent, with a top-50 offense and a top-10 defense. Maryland had a shot in Ann Arbor, but the Terps borking the opening kickoff and allowing the home team to score on the first play from scrimmage was literally the difference between losing or forcing overtime. If Penn State contains special teams mistakes and is merely steady and efficient on offense, it is totally capable of winning this game with its defense and the league's nastiest secondary. If Michigan forces Penn State into trying to be something it isn't, or forces Drew Allar to be a hero as a true freshman in that environment, it's unlikely the Nits will enjoy their trip home.
I'll take Michigan in a 19-17 Raycom-era B1G Noon banger. Road team covers. Don't care who wins, because playing Michigan isn't great preparation for playing Ohio State this year on either side of the ball - they're very different teams who win in completely different ways. By the time the Buckeyes arrive in State College at the end of the month Ryan Day will have plenty of data for his game plan, which - spoiler, the Buckeyes will need both running backs healthy and Cade Stover in his Wisconsin game form.
Garrick: I think Michigan wins in a close one (by four points), but I wonder if Penn State has to think long and hard about finally benching Sean Clifford in favor of freshman Drew Allar if the offense sputters and costs the team a win. That would certainly be a different dynamic OSU would have to prepare for later in the year.
Chase: I think Michigan wins a close one over Penn State this weekend and probably won't cover that 7-point spread. The Wolverines will have a home-field advantage in the Big House, which is a huge factor here. The Nittany Lions have surprised me this season despite the well-documented shortcomings of Sean Clifford, who will likely cost them a drive or two with a bone-headed interception or fumble. With an expectation that Clifford will turn the ball over, I think the Wolverines will capitalize on those mistakes to put themselves in front and win the game.
In my opinion, and I know Ohio State fans don't want to hear this, Michigan has a better chance of beating the Buckeyes than Penn State. However, Ohio State fans will want to hear that the reason you should want the Nittany Lions to win is two-fold. The first reason is that your team's bitter enemy will lose. Hooray! The second reason is that if Ohio State beats Penn State and loses to Michigan, the Buckeyes will have the tiebreaker in the Big Ten East and still make the championship game. Boo for a loss to Michigan! Hooray for a chance at a conference title against whatever bad team comes from the Big Ten West!
If your family raised you as a fan of (insert any Big Ten West football program here), do you think you’d still cheer for that program as an adult? Would you remain in contact with your family? If you had to pick one Big Ten West football program to follow like you do Ohio State, which would it be?
Chase: I'm a Cleveland sports fan with roots that run deep to my childhood. As much as I want to say I would abandon a bad Big Ten West team in my adult life, I don't think I would because nothing is worse than the endless agony of a Browns football season. If I were to follow a team from that side of the conference, I suppose the correct choice would either be Nebraska, Wisconsin or Iowa because of the consistency of those programs. Can I wait until 2024 to answer this question so I can choose USC?
Ramzy: I spent six years of my childhood in Iowa City. The Shoe is the only stadium I've spent more time in than Kinnick. The Hawkeyes scored a lot more touchdowns back then, but that was because Brian Ferentz was an infant at the time.
Garrick: I guess Illinois? It was the closest thing to anyone caring about college football any of my friends did in Illinois growing up. But that just sounds miserable. On second thought, if my family made me align with the Illini, or (shudders) Northwestern, I'd probably pull an Aaron Rodgers and cut off all contact with them.
What’s the most productive thing Ohio State can do to maximize not having a game this weekend? You can’t simply suggest they get healthy.
Garrick: Uh, recruit. Recruit till they drop. Which they've already done for the most part, getting out on the road and visiting prospects of varying classes. This is also a great time to get on the road and make a pitch to prospective recruits considering most outlets are considering OSU to be the odds on favorite to host a national championship trophy this year.
Chase: Breathe. The coaches and players have some well-deserved time off this weekend, and I hope all of them use the opportunity to take a second to breathe. This weekend will be a good time to kick back and relax before locking in for what should be another nine games this season. Hopefully, everyone comes back to the Woody well-rested and ready to finish the year strong.
Ramzy: Man-coverage fundamentals and special teams play across the board. The Buckeyes have perfected their recipe for how to win. Now they can work on minimizing what challenges them as the schedule and stakes grow more challenging.
