Ohio State vs. Youngstown State Preview: Buckeyes Seek Week 2 Improvement in Rare Matchup Against FCS Opponent

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Ohio State will play an opponent from the Football Championship Subdivision for the first time in 10 years when it hosts Youngstown State in its home opener at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

YOUNGSTOWN STATE PENGUINS

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It’s rare for Ohio State to play an FCS school, and the results in the past have been lopsided. In its most recent tilt against an FCS school in 2013, Ohio State beat Florida A&M 76-0. The Buckeyes won by a combined score of 81-6 in a pair of matchups against Youngstown State in 2007 and 2008, Ohio State’s only other two games against an FCS opponent in the past 83 years.

This week’s game isn’t likely to be much different. But that could be exactly what Ohio State needs to continue working through its issues on offense after scoring only 23 points in the season opener at Indiana.

Youngstown State shouldn’t pose a serious threat to Ohio State in any phase of the game, even though it is coming off a 52-10 win over Valparaiso in Week 1. But Ryan Day says the emphasis for the Buckeyes this week is all about getting better themselves.

“I always say it’s about us, and it is. It’s about our standard,” Day said. “They’re gonna play really, really hard, but at the end of the day, it comes down to how well we prepare and how well we execute.”

The Headlines

Ohio State Offense Chasing Improvement

Ohio State’s offense has consistently been one of the best in the country in Ryan Day’s tenure, but it didn’t look like one last week as the Buckeyes managed to score only two touchdowns against Indiana.

An Indiana defense that was tough to prepare for had something to do with that, as the Hoosiers started five transfers on defense and were playing their first game with a new defensive coordinator, Matt Guerrieri, who had an in-depth knowledge of Ohio State’s offense after spending the 2022 season with OSU as a senior advisor and analyst. But the Buckeyes ultimately need to execute better than they did in Week 1, and that’s what they’ve been focused on entering Game 2.

“What Coach Day preached a lot this week was execution,” running back Chip Trayanum said. “We know with Youngstown State, it’s really gonna come down to us at the end of the day. I mean, every game comes down to us, but it really comes down to how bad we want it, how hard you're gonna play and execution. And I feel like as long as we execute our plays and just have successful drives, then it's gonna keep building and building upon, and everybody in the offense will get more comfortable week by week.”

Putting up big numbers against an FCS opponent won’t prove much, but it would certainly be better than the alternative of struggling offensively for the second week in a row. And it’s a great opportunity for the Buckeyes’ inexperienced quarterbacks and offensive line to get into rhythm and build some positive momentum.

“When you prepare for the first game, you have an opportunity to really improve a lot, because some of the assumptions that you made going into that first game are confirmed and others are not,” Day said. “This is a big, big step for us in the next couple of weeks is really growing and trying to build. We say it's kind of like the iPhone 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, you gotta upgrade every week. But this is a big week for us to grow and build as a team.”

Defense Looks to Continue Dominance

While Ohio State’s offense didn’t perform up to expectations in Week 1, the Buckeyes couldn’t have asked for much more from their defense, which held Indiana to only three points and 153 yards.

Indiana didn’t offer the truest test of Ohio State’s defensive improvement, given that the Hoosiers ran an option offense and didn’t challenge the Buckeyes in the downfield passing game the way better opponents will. Youngstown State isn’t likely to pose much of a threat in that regard either, as the Penguins passed for only 169 yards last week even in a 52-10 win over Valparaiso.

Nevertheless, the Silver Bullets can continue building momentum in their quest to be one of the best defenses in college football this year if they can put together another dominant performance on Saturday. Considering several Ohio State defenders have said over the past week that they were disappointed they allowed Indiana to score even three points, Ohio State’s objective for this week will be to secure its first shutout since 2017, when the Buckeyes blanked Rutgers.

“Our mindset going into every single game is don't let up any points, so we were definitely mad whenever we let up three,” linebacker Steele Chambers said this week. “At the end of the day, we got a win and I mean, it's tough to get wins now in college football, so we're happy about that, but definitely we're going for a shutout … We’re going for a shutout every game. That’s the goal.”

Another Season at the Shoe Begins

Saturday’s first of only six home games for Ohio State this season will kick off the 102nd season of Buckeye football at Ohio Stadium.

After opening the season on the road, the Buckeyes are looking forward to playing in front of their home crowd and all the pageantry that comes with that – the pregame Skull Session and walk to the stadium, TBDBITL playing and singing Carmen Ohio with the fans after the game – for the first time in 2023. And they want to make Buckeye fans proud with the way they play.

“It's great to be in Ohio Stadium and all the great traditions that come with game day,” Day said. “When you run out of the stadium in front of 107,000 or whatever it might be for that game, it's because of all that have come before … We have a lot of pride in making sure that we hold up our end of that.”

Ohio State is encouraging fans attending Saturday’s game to arrive early and to add mobile tickets to their phone wallets before gameday. Additional information about parking, gameday traffic and more is available on Ohio State’s official website. 

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Keep An Eye on These Guys

Youngstown State RB Tyshon King

A transfer from Division II Northern Michigan, King didn’t look out of place at the FCS level in Youngstown State’s season opener, rushing for 111 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries in the Penguins’ 52-10 win over Valparaiso. A first-team All-GLIAC selection after rushing for 984 yards and eight touchdowns and catching 35 passes for 442 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, King earned MVFC Newcomer of the Week honors for his performance in his Youngstown State debut.

Saturday’s game will present another level of test for King as he plays against an FBS team for the first time, but the 5-foot-11, 210-pound running back from Illinois is entering Saturday’s game with confidence.

“We truly believe that we can go in there and win the game, because we know who we have in our locker room,” King said this week. “When you watch them on film, you see that they mistakes, too. They misfit, they miss tackles, they play football just like we play football. And that’s the thing that we’re stressing the most this week, they are not invincible.”

King could split carries this week with Dra Rushton, who did not play in the Penguins’ season opener but is listed as their starting running back this week after rushing for 329 yards and two touchdowns on 71 carries last year.

Youngstown State SS Marcus Hooker

Saturday’s game will serve as a homecoming for Hooker, who spent four years with the Buckeyes from 2018-21 before transferring to Youngstown State in 2022.

A starting safety for Ohio State in 2020, Hooker left the Buckeyes after losing his starting job in 2021, but has re-emerged as a starter for the Penguins. He recorded three total tackles in Youngstown State’s season opener after tallying 23 tackles, two interceptions, two pass breakups and one tackle for loss in seven games in 2022.

Ohio State QBs Kyle McCord and Devin Brown

While we usually include three players from the opponent in this section, how Ohio State performs on Saturday will be more about how it executes than who it’s playing – as Day said – and there’s no question that the players who will draw the biggest spotlight this weekend are the Ohio State quarterbacks.

McCord will be looking to show he should be Ohio State’s starter after an underwhelming performance against Indiana that Day said “won’t be good enough moving forward to reach our goals.” Brown is likely to see more playing time than he did against Indiana – assuming this game actually becomes the blowout it’s supposed to be – which could give him his first real opportunity to show what he can do in an Ohio State game.

Performing well against an FCS opponent won’t prove that they can get the job done against the likes of Notre Dame and Michigan, but it is a good opportunity for either or both of them to build some momentum. And until a firm starting quarterback is named, every game will serve as a test of how capable McCord and/or Brown are of leading the Ohio State offense this season.

Game Week Talk

“They’ve got the best players in the country … I think it’s a great opportunity for our players, for our fans and it’s a great opportunity to put yourselves against such a program.”– Youngstown State coach Doug Phillips

Phillips isn’t downplaying how much of a challenge his team will face against Ohio State, but he says his team is “never gonna back down” from playing the toughest competition.

“We’re not scared of nobody, and we’re going to go into that game head-on.”– Youngstown State running back Tyshon King

As mentioned above, King is not entering Saturday’s game looking to settle for a moral victory. He’s confident in his team’s chances despite the odds being stacked against the Penguins.

“I feel like we have the same approach to every single game … Youngstown State, they will come out there and throw the ball, they have a really good playmaker in No. 0, so we got to watch out for him.”– Ohio State cornerback Jordan Hancock

Even though Youngstown State is an FCS school, the Ohio State players who were asked about the Penguins this week said they’re not taking their opponent lightly. Hancock specifically highlighted Youngstown State wide receiver Bryce Oliver, a Kentucky transfer who earned first-team All-MVFC honors after catching 59 passes for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2022, as a player Ohio State’s secondary needs to be prepared for.

Get Smart

• More Ohio State vs. Youngstown State Coverage

  • Five Things to Know
  • Across The Field
  • Game Poster
  Youngstown State coach Doug Phillips began his college coaching career as a defensive quality control coach at Ohio State in 2006.
• Youngstown State’s roster includes two Ohio State transfers: starting safety Marcus Hooker and reserve wide receiver Blaize Exline. Exline spent one year with the Buckeyes as a walk-on in 2022.
• Ohio State’s roster also includes a Youngstown State transfer: Offensive lineman Julian Goines-Jackson, who joined the Buckeyes as a walk-on this summer.
• Youngstown State’s roster includes 79 players from Ohio, 26 more than the Buckeyes.
• Former Ohio State quarterback Mike Tomczak serves as a volunteer advisor to the head coach for Youngstown State. His son Max Tomczak is a wide receiver for the Penguins.
• Ohio State is 41-3 in home openers dating back to 1979, though it is only 6-3 in its last nine home openers.

How It Plays Out

Line: Ohio State -41.5

On paper, this game should be Ohio State’s most lopsided victory of the season. While Youngstown State is a top-25 FCS team coming off of an impressive season opener, it’s still likely to be overmatched against a top-five-ranked FBS team.

Buckeye fans might be a bit hesitant to bet on Ohio State scoring a huge number of points after its lackluster Week 1 offensive performance, and it’s still too early to make any definitive conclusions on how the new clock rules will impact scoring on a weekly basis. This game also comes with the variable that Ohio State’s starters aren’t likely to play much in the second half, though the Buckeyes are still likely to keep running their offense to ensure that Brown gets a real chance to put his passing skills to the test, and even Ohio State’s backups should have a substantial talent advantage over their opponents in this game.

Ohio State’s offense will be motivated to quiet the doubters, and the Buckeyes’ defense will be inspired to be even more dominant than last week. Couple that with the fact that Ohio State has won its three previous FCS games in the modern era by an average of more than 50 points (and all by at least 32 points), and there’s no reason to expect anything but a blowout win in the Buckeyes’ home opener.

Eleven Warriors Staff Prediction
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