There’s no surprise which side of the ball accounts for much of this week’s “stock up” section.
Stocks haven’t been higher across the board for Ohio State’s defense since the 2019 group that featured top-five NFL draft picks Chase Young and Jeff Okudah. The Buckeyes held Penn State to an abysmal 1-for-16 on third downs and 3.5 yards per play as the Nittany Lions scored just one touchdown in Ohio State’s 20-12 victory. There are roughly 11 defensive players who have an argument to be featured in the top half of this story.
Ohio State’s offensive line continued to struggle generating movement for the ground game, however, while a couple of upsets permeated the college football landscape.
Stock Up
Pass Rush
Drew Allar would have been more comfortable in the pocket Saturday if he were standing barefoot on a pile of Legos. Ohio State’s defensive linemen were constantly moving him off his spots and keeping him under pressure. The rush got home for a sack four times, with one each going to JT Tuimoloau, Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Caden Curry and Sonny Styles. Tuimoloau also hit Allar while he was throwing to force an incompletion on a key fourth-down attempt.
JT Tuimoloau comes up big on 4th down! pic.twitter.com/gr5d27Od5q
— Buckeye Videos+ (@BuckeyeVideos) October 21, 2023
Josh Proctor
Proctor’s presence and energy from Ohio State’s free safety position continues to be one of the biggest developments for the defense. Proctor collected four tackles, three of them solo with one tackle for loss and two pass breakups against the Nittany Lions. He is now second on the team in PBUs with five, trailing only the eight possessed by Denzel Burke.
Jermaine Mathews Jr.
Speaking of Burke, the freshman cornerback who replaced him showed plenty of “moxie” in his stead. Tag-teaming Burke’s spot with Jordan Hancock, Mathews recorded three tackles, all of them solo, and a pass breakup. Hancock referred to Mathews’ performance as “super impressive.”
Marvin Harrison Jr.’s Heisman campaign
No, Harrison isn’t the odds-on favorite to win college football’s most prestigious award. Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy has the best odds on DraftKings at +240, with Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. following closely behind at +320. But Harrison’s 11-catch, 162-yard day against Penn State did earn him some open campaigning from Ryan Day and Kyle McCord for the Heisman as his odds jumped to +1600 after seeing them sink as low as +8000 earlier this year.
Cade Stover
Another game and Stover only increased his pace to set Ohio State’s single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end. With four catches for 70 yards against Penn State – including an incredible snag over the head of Nittany Lion linebacker Kobe King – Stover now has 27 receptions for 429 yards and three touchdowns in seven games.
Fact:: Cade Stover is really good.
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 21, 2023
: FOX/@CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/ad7TBmetgG
Even if the Buckeyes only play 13 games, that would put him on pace for 797 yards this season. The record for a tight end in Columbus is 671 by Billy Anders in 1966. None of this is mentioning the perfect defender-impeding route he ran for Harrison to get open for the receiver's lone touchdown on a mesh concept.
MARVELOUS MARV. pic.twitter.com/dKXkPUT72o
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 21, 2023
Florida State
Then-No. 16 Duke possessed a 20-17 lead over No. 4 Florida State entering the fourth quarter Saturday. The Seminoles, maintaining an undefeated record, outscored the Blue Devils 21-0 in football’s decisive frame for a 38-20 victory. They now stand alone as the only undefeated team in the ACC.
Stock Down
Run blocking
There was a general lack of push from the offensive line against Penn State, as denoted by Ohio State’s 1.9 yards per carry as a team. Sledding was particularly rough in the second half, when Miyan Williams picked up just 10 yards in 11 carries as the team’s lead back. It should be noted that the Nittany Lions have the No. 4 run defense in college football, but it continues to be an up-and-down season for OSU’s front five.
Dallan Hayden’s role in the offense
Sticking to the run game for a moment, there were many who thought Hayden might have been in line for more carries after rushing 11 times for 76 yards at Purdue Oct. 14. TreVeyon Henderson was still sidelined against Penn State, after all. Hayden didn’t see the field, however, as Ohio State rode with Williams and Chip Trayanum for the game’s duration. Ryan Day said the rotation was up to running backs coach Tony Alford after the contest and added that Ohio State will "reevaluate" things after this week.
Special teams execution
There have been some special teams snafus this year for Ohio State, no doubt about it. The latest came on a Penn State punt that would have given the Buckeyes fantastic field position had it not deflected off Lorenzo Styles Jr. and been recovered by the Nittany Lions’ Tyler Elsdon.
It's Penn State ball.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 21, 2023
The punt knocks off a Buckeye, and the Nittany Lions have the ball near midfield.
: FOX/@CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/kFnNM7OTRT
North Carolina
The reason that, as noted above, Florida State is now the only undefeated team in the ACC is that then-No. 10 North Carolina suffered the biggest upset of the college football weekend. The Tar Heels fell to Virginia, who improved its record to a measly 2-5, after the Cavaliers scored a go-ahead touchdown with 8:51 to play and held on for a 31-27 victory.
USC
Whatever slim chances USC had of making the College Football Playoff or Caleb Williams had of winning a second straight Heisman Trophy are now all but erased. The Trojans were handed their second loss of the season by Utah, 34-32, on a last-second field goal.
Iowa
Iowa’s offense has been a frequent feature of the “stock down” section here, but it appeared after a win over Wisconsin earlier this season that the Hawkeyes had a hold over the Big Ten West, even with what is now the nation’s worst total offense. Iowa’s defense couldn’t do enough to make up for offensive incompetency on Saturday, however, as Minnesota defeated the Hawkeyes 12-10 thanks to a controversial overturned punt return touchdown.
