Ohio State came up a point short of covering its spread on the road against Wisconsin in Week 9, beating the Badgers 24-10, but showed fortitude in closing out the victory.
TreVeyon Henderson provided a clear boost to the Buckeyes’ offense and the defense continued to impress, but Kyle McCord and the team's passing attack showed some inconsistency as four key starters battled injuries.
Elsewhere in college football, Georgia and Oregon impressed while Clemson and Maryland continued to stumble.
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TreVeyon Henderson
Ohio State has certainly missed Henderson on the ground. The Virginia native piled up 162 yards on 24 carries against Wisconsin with a 33-yard touchdown to ice the game with under six minutes to play. He added four catches for 45 yards for 207 total yards from scrimmage. With Henderson leading the way, the Buckeyes put up their best yard-per-carry mark (4.2) since Sept. 23 against Notre Dame and best rushing total (181 yards) since Sept. 16 against Western Kentucky. Those happen to be the last two games Henderson played in prior to Saturday.
TreVeyon HIMderson. pic.twitter.com/rHEYRJX93V
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 29, 2023
The versatility of Sonny Styles
Yes, Styles has taken snaps at deep safety previously this season for Ohio State, expanding upon his usual role at nickel. But that wasn’t to the extent that he saw the field in that position against the Badgers. Part of it came out of necessity after Lathan Ransom left due to injury, but he also subbed in for either Ransom or Josh Proctor for nine total snaps before Ransom's exit. Styles collected four tackles and a pass breakup against Wisconsin, playing all three safety positions at some point.
Goal-line defense
After getting the benefit of a miscue from Wisconsin wideout Skyler Bell – who saw a touchdown reception overturned after replay revealed his knee was down at the 1-yard line on a 1st-and-goal catch – Ohio State’s defense showed the muscle and toughness to stand tall mere feet from the end zone as the first half came to a close. Jack Sawyer and Tommy Eichenberg strung two no-gain tackles together to force a field goal and preserve a 10-3 lead at intermission for the Buckeyes.
Jack Sawyer
Speaking of Sawyer, he’s quietly strung several strong performances together for the Buckeyes. He piled up six tackles and a forced fumble against Wisconsin, surpassing his tackle total from last season in just eight games with 26 takedowns.
Georgia
Surprise! The two-time defending national champions are good. The Bulldogs demolished Florida 43-20 on Saturday and continue showing up in their biggest games of the season, also defeating then-No. 20 Kentucky in 51-13 fashion two weeks ago. Yes, they’ve sleepwalked against some lesser opponents like Auburn and Vanderbilt, but they should still be considered among the favorites to win the national championship on their quest to three-peat.
Oregon
Responding to a heartbreaking down-to-the-wire loss at current No. 5 Washington two weeks ago, the Ducks dominated No. 13 Utah 35-6 on the road this past Saturday to keep their Pac-12 title and College Football Playoff hopes alive.
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Pass protection
Wisconsin’s defense got into the backfield consistently and disrupted Ohio State’s passing game with pressure. The Badgers collected four sacks and didn’t allow quarterback Kyle McCord to get settled in behind his offensive line.
Kyle McCord’s consistency
Sticking with McCord, the junior signal caller missed some throws on Saturday. His final stat line didn’t look all that bad, completing 65 percent of his passes for 226 yards, but he tripled his interception total on the year from one to three after tossing two picks. He also lost a fumble, and his 8.7 yards per pass attempt came in below his season average of 9.4 entering the contest.
He still toughed out a third-quarter injury to help Ohio State pick up a two-score win in Madison, but his overall performance left something to be desired.
Health
While the Buckeyes regained Henderson and star cornerback Denzel Burke for their contest against Wisconsin and plan to have Emeka Egbuka back next week, no less than four additional starters dealt with some form of injury in Madison. Alongside Ransom and McCord, JT Tuimoloau and Julian Fleming both exited the game for periods of time after being in clear pain, though both would return to action.
Clemson
Dabo Swinney’s bunch is now 4-4 on the season after falling to North Carolina State 24-17. With Notre Dame, North Carolina and South Carolina still remaining on the schedule, the Tigers have work to do if they are to even reach bowl eligibility.
North Carolina
The Tar Heels fell from No. 17 to the ranks of the unranked after a 46-42 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday. With a second conference loss, they are out of the College Football Playoff race and need help to get back into the ACC title race.
Maryland
The Terrapins had the looks of a potential nine-win team prior to the last two weekends. Since then, they’ve followed up a 27-24 loss to Illinois with a 33-27 defeat at the hands of now 4-4 Northwestern. Penn State and Michigan still remain on the schedule for Maryland, which sits at 5-3 and is trending in the wrong direction since its loss to Ohio State.
