Five Things: Ohio State Clicks on All Cylinders During 56-0 Annihilation of Western Michigan

By Chris Lauderback on September 8, 2024 at 10:10 am
Will Howard and Quinshon Judkins
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK
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No. 2 Ohio State improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 56-0 dismantling of Western Michigan last night Ohio Stadium. 

Six different Buckeyes found the end zone while the Broncos snapped the ball in OSU territory just six times in 48 plays.

Will Howard got off to a hot start through the air for the Buckeyes as he completed his first 10 tosses for 177 yards and touchdown as part of an 18-for-26 showing with 292 yards that also featured a 6-yard touchdown run. 

The Buckeye defense pitched its first shutout since 2019 in what was a thorough beat down headed into an open week on the schedule. 

After the thrashing, many Buckeyes made it clear that while there's no game next Saturday, it's not a week off. 

Yes, I know Western Michigan is a MAC team but after a game like that and comments like that, it's hard not to feel like this team is on a mission. 

With that, let's get to Five Things from the 56-point dub. 

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE

A week after allowing Akron just six points and 177 total yards, Jim Knowles' defense was even better against Western Michigan.

As noted, the Buckeyes recorded their first shutout since week two of the 2019 season and held the Broncos to 99 total yards, marking their first time holding an opponent under 100 total yards since 2017.

The Broncos managed six first downs, 2.1 yards per play, 28 rushing yards on 0.9 per attempt and failed to convert 12 of 15 third down tries. Western Michigan never reached the red zone and went 3-and-out on 10 of 12 possessions. 

Defensive tackle Ty Hamilton was a big factor with four stops and 0.5 tackles for loss, cornerback Davison Igbinosun logged four tackles, a PBU and a TFL while safety Caleb Downs posted four tackles including two for no gain as he darted from his safety spot to fill lanes with deft awareness and urgency. 

Defensive end Jack Sawyer was consistently in the offensive backfield for a second-straight week and picked up three stops including a TFL and a hurry. 

Reserve linebacker Arvell Reese flashed again and looks like the clear cut third-best linebacker behind Cody Simon and Sonny Styles. He saw action with the starters when Knowles ran 4-3 sets, in particular. Speaking of Simon, after sitting out last week with an injury, he posted three tackles with a sack and a PBU though he had some rust to knock off. He appeared to get beat in space by a crosser for 16 yards on a 3rd-and-10 and looked late to the edge on an 8-yard run on the following possession but absolutely made his fair share of positive plays. All in, he looked pretty solid in his first game as Ohio State's unquestioned No. 1 Mike linebacker. 

Through two games, the Buckeyes have yielded 276 total yards, good for their best two-game start since 2007. 

JEREMIAH DONE DID IT AGAIN

It remains hard to believe wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is a true freshman. 

After recording six grabs for 92 yards and two touchdowns last week in his collegiate debut, Smith burned the Broncos for five catches and 119 yards including a 70-yard touchdown on six targets last night. 

He again showed elite body control and positioning, particularly on a couple slant routes and also shielded his defender nicely on the 70-yard hitch and go. It was also evident just how afraid teams are of his big play ability as he was used a few times to clear out defenders on vertical routes to open up space for fellow pass catchers, leading to some big gainers from teammates. 

His 119-yard night was good for the fourth-most receiving yards in a single game by a true freshman in OSU history. 

Through two games, Smith has 11 grabs for 211 yards and three touchdowns on 15 targets. He's now just five touchdown catches and 437 receiving yards away from tying Cris Carter's OSU freshman records. 

The dude already looks like a 1st round pick and he still has damn near three full seasons to play in Columbus first. 

RUN GAME FINDS ITS FOOTING

The Ohio State rushing attack wasn't bad last week - tallying 170 yards on 5.2 per attempt - but it wasn't exactly stunning to watch either. 

Last night the offensive line and running backs kicked it up a notch as the Buckeyes cranked out 273 rushing yards on 7.0 yards per carry with six touchdowns. The 273 yards were the most by an OSU rushing attack since the Buckeyes put up 281 against Toledo in game three of the 2022 season and the six rushing scores were the most since Ohio State managed six against Maryland in 2019. 

The run game amassed 132 yards on 9.4 per try in the first half and racked up 10 carries of at least 10 yards with those runs tallying 174 yards. For comparison, Ohio State had six chunk runs for 89 yards last week versus Akron. 

Among last night's chunk plays, Quinshon Judkins peeled off two different 23-yard touchdown gallops. One was sprung by great blocks from right tackle Josh Fryar and wideout Emeka Egbuka.

The other saw left tackle Josh/Jimmy Simmons create a huge alley. TreVeyon Hederson also enjoyed tremendous blocking on a 16-yard touchdown scamper as did freshman James Peoples on a 12-yard scoring dash. 

Judkins, after averaging just 4.2 yards per carry versus Akron, looked explosive with 108 yards on nine carries (12.0 avg) and even had an 80-yard jaunt called back due to a holding flag. 

For his part, Henderson turned in a modest 10-for 66 night. Still, those two looked like the dynamic duo they're advertised to be and led a strong rushing performance from the entire group. 

THAT BAG OF CHIP'S

After suggesting he wasn't thrilled with his play calling last week, I'm guessing offensive coordinator Chip Kelly will give a more favorable review of his effort last night. 

The run game produced gigantic holes all night and some of his passing concepts were beautiful to watch. I enjoyed his use of sending Smith on a vertical route to clear out the right side of the field for Egbuka to exploit the vacated space on a 21-yard crosser early in the game. Henderson scored one snap later to give Ohio State a 7-0 lead. 

On the ensuing OSU drive, he sent Carnell Tate from the far left to the far right of the field, behind the line of scrimmage, making it look like Howard might target Tate on a quick WR screen. Instead, Smith, split out wide right, ran a short hitch and with Tate lurking behind, it put the cornerback in no man's land. Smith turned around, Howard hit him in the numbers, and it was foot race from there. Seventy yards later, Jeremiah had a touchdown and Ohio State had a 14-0 lead. 

Kelly was in his bag on first down, dialing up 18 passes and 18 runs to keep the Broncos off balance. Ohio State chewed up 116 rushing yards on those 18 handoffs (6.4 ypc) and completed 15-of-18 first down throws for 288 yards. 

The Buckeyes notched three touchdowns on first down plays and averaged 10.9 yards per first down snap. 

I GOT TO SAY, YESTERDAY WAS A GOOD DAY

Starting the day with no barking from the dog, no smog and a breakfast free of hog is always nice but man things just kept trending up from there. 

The joy I felt watching Michigan get dog walked, at home, 31-12, by a Texas squad only favored by a touchdown can't be properly put into words. I just know it felt like the world was healing. 

Then I got to partake in prime tailgating with some of the Land-Grant and 11W crew before watching Ohio State play a near-perfect game from a frosty suite in the Shoe. 

The college football world was then treated to Deion getting torched by Nebraska, 28-10, as his son was sacked five times and threw a pick six before leaving the sidelines with two minutes still on the clock. 

Sometimes the stars just align and give you hope. Yesterday was one of those days. 

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