The returns or losses on Ohio State’s investments this season will be on display Saturday.
Key work was performed to improve a number of the Buckeyes’ stocks against Purdue, with run game and third-down metrics taking a jump. Injuries to some key players dampen those gains, however, and penalties were an issue for a second straight week.
Among other items in this week’s stock report, Greg Schiano’s program is close to reaching a key milestone and USC got routed.
Stock Up
Pass rush
Hudson Card went 13-for-32 and averaged 3.9 yards per pass attempt against Ohio State on Saturday. That speaks to another strong outing from the Buckeyes’ secondary, of course, but also to perhaps the best game of the season for their pass rush. Card never looked comfortable in the pocket as JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer each picked up 1.5 sacks, the first 1.5 sacks of the season for Sawyer after Tuimoloau collected his first 1.5 sacks of the year the previous week against Maryland.
Cody Simon
Simon more than doubled his snap count from any other game this season against Purdue, logging 45 plays on defense. That was 13 more than starter Steele Chambers saw at the position. Simon made the most of those extra reps as well, collecting eight tackles to tie for the team lead and adding a tackle for loss.
Dallan Hayden
When Chip Trayanum left the bout with the Boilermakers due to injury, Dallan Hayden took the field and showcased great vision with some solid burst in rushing for 76 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries. It might not be enough to earn him an ongoing role as TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams and Trayanum work their way back to the field – especially since Ohio State would prefer to redshirt him – but it’s at least a good sign for the sophomore’s future.
Run game ingenuity
Wrinkles were abundant in Ohio State’s rushing game plan Saturday. It showed off some new concepts with Xavier Johnson out of the slot, a zone-read keeper from Kyle McCord and a new run-heavy red-zone package with Devin Brown at quarterback. Though the Buckeyes only averaged 3.9 yards per carry, that number would have been 4.9 without sacks. Hayden and Johnson averaged 7.2 yards across their combined 16 attempts.
Third down
Ohio State went 8-for-13 on third down (61.5 percent) and held Purdue to three third-down conversions across 17 attempts (17.6 percent). The offense went 3-for-3 on 3rd-and-3 or shorter, a good trend given the Buckeyes’ short-yardage struggles in previous games.
Michael Penix Jr.
Washington had the week’s biggest win in college football, capturing a 36-33 thriller against No. 9 Oregon. The Huskies scored a go-ahead touchdown with 1:38 to play and Oregon missed a potential game-tying 43-yard field goal as time expired. Penix, Washington’s quarterback, is now a -130 favorite to win the Heisman Trophy on DraftKings – the next-best odds are +1000 for Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy and Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Penix has thrown for at least 300 yards in all six of the Huskies’ games this year.
Rutgers
This stock rising isn't so much from the Scarlet Knights’ most recent game – a 27-24 teeth-gritter against Michigan State, one of the worst teams in the Big Ten this year – but more due to their overall improvement to start this season. Rutgers needs just one more win to secure a bowl bid, which would mark its first time winning six games in a season since 2014. The Scarlet Knights are currently 5-2.
Stock Down
Ohio State’s health
In addition to Trayanum, Ohio State lost perhaps its best defensive player when cornerback Denzel Burke left the contest against Purdue with an injury of his own. That's in addition to Henderson, star receiver Emeka Egbuka and Williams, who were declared out before the game with injuries. All of their statuses for next week are unclear, though Henderson had only a “questionable” designation before kickoff on Saturday.
Penalty issues
For a second consecutive week, Ohio State was flagged for at least nine penalties in a football game. At least the yardage wasn’t as severe as it was against Maryland, with nine penalties for 51 yards against the Buckeyes in West Lafayette after they were dinged 10 times for 81 yards versus the Terrapins.
The penalties against the Buckeyes at Purdue included three delay of game penalties, with Ohio State’s communication between staff members to the field suffering some hiccups.
USC
Notre Dame trounced the Trojans this past Saturday, collecting a 48-20 win in South Bend. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams threw three interceptions. While USC actually outgained the Fighting Irish 302-251, Notre Dame’s score was aided by a 99-yard kick return touchdown and a 15-yard scoop-and-score.
Colorado
Colorado’s first two losses this year were both against teams ranked inside the top 10 at that time, as the Buffaloes fell 42-6 to No. 10 Oregon and 48-41 to No. 8 USC on Sept. 23 and 30. This time it was Stanford, a team with a 1-4 record before last weekend, that took down Deion Sanders’ bunch 46-43 in double overtime. Oh, and that was after Colorado took a 29-0 lead into halftime.
Stanford receiver Elic Ayomanor made one of the country’s best catches of the season to tie things up after the first overtime period, then the Cardinal intercepted a Shedeur Sanders pass on 3rd-and-goal from the 2-yard line and Stanford kicked a 31-yard field goal to secure victory in double overtime. Ayomanor finished with 13 catches for a school-record 294 yards and three touchdowns.
ELIC AYOMANOR OVER TRAVIS HUNTER IN OT #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/5odnyQrttn
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 14, 2023
Maryland
It felt like the Terrapins never woke up from their 37-17 loss to Ohio State the week prior. Maryland fell 27-24 against Illinois on Saturday as the Fighting Illini improved to just 3-4 on the season. The Terrapins sank to 5-2.
