Ohio State vs. Western Michigan Notebook: Donovan Jackson Expected Back vs. Marshall, Arvell Reese Emerges As Third Linebacker and Denzel Burke Ejected for Targeting

Ohio State went from having two starters out for its season opener to just one starter sidelined for its second game of the season, and the Buckeyes are optimistic their starting lineup will be back to full strength for their third game of the year.

While Cody Simon and Donovan Jackson were both available for the second game of the season against Western Michigan after missing the first game against Akron, only Simon ended up returning to action on Saturday night. Ryan Day said after the game that Jackson could have played against the Broncos if needed, but Ohio State’s medical staff felt it was smart to hold him out for one more game, giving him two more weeks to recover as the Buckeyes have their first bye next weekend before returning to action against Marshall on Sept. 21.

“Donovan was available for the game. If it was an emergency situation, we were going to put him in the game. He wanted to go in in the worst way,” Day said. “Our sports medicine crowd really wanted to hold him if possible. So we're going to give him one more week, and then he'll be ready to go.”

Ohio State’s offensive line fared just fine without their two-time All-Big Ten left guard against Western Michigan as the Buckeyes’ first-team offensive line allowed zero sacks for the second week in a row – both of the Broncos’ sacks came in the fourth quarter after Ohio State’s starting offensive line was out of the game – while paving the way up front for the Buckeyes to run for 273 yards and six touchdowns. Bringing Jackson back fully healthy will be crucial for the Buckeyes as they prepare to face better defenses in conference play, but keeping him against Western Michigan gave another opportunity to start to Austin Siereveld, who showed significant improvement in his second game filling in.

“I think he did a good job of taking my challenge to him and just coming out and playing hard,” Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin said of Siereveld.

Simon looked plenty healthy in his return to action as he recorded three tackles with a sack and a pass breakup in his first game of the season. Describing his injury only as a lower-body injury that he suffered during camp, Simon said he thought he could have played against Akron but felt fully ready to play a week later.

“Last week I felt it still a little bit, but when I ran down the tunnel I was like, ‘Oh, I'm ready to go.’” Simon said. “Trainers were like, ‘No, slow down a little bit,’ but this week, I definitely had to go.”

Reese emerges as third linebacker

While C.J. Hicks started at Will linebacker against Akron when Sonny Styles moved to Mike linebacker to fill in for Simon in the season opener, Arvell Reese played as many snaps as Hicks against the Zips and outperformed Hicks in that game, making a strong case that he should be Ohio State’s top backup linebacker behind Simon and Styles.

Just one game later, it was Reese who got the call over Hicks to see extensive playing time with the first-team defense as Ohio State utilized its 4-3 package for the first time this season against Western Michigan. While Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles had said throughout the offseason that he was looking to deploy more three-linebacker looks this year as a way to get Hicks, Styles and Simon on the field together, the Buckeyes ended up using Reese instead of Hicks in that package against the Broncos, with Reese manning the Will linebacker spot and Styles moving to Sam.

Reese impressed for the second week in a row with the opportunity to play extended reps at linebacker, recording three tackles.

“It's kind of scary for me because that guy, when he starts getting more and more seasoned and into his roles, he's going to be a monster,” Simon said after the game. “I'm just excited for his future and what he can do here … I’m really proud of him.”

Ohio State rotated as much as it has at linebacker with the first-team defense in any game since Knowles became defensive coordinator on Saturday. Hicks also rotated in at Will with the starters in the base defense while Styles played some snaps at Mike in place of Simon in addition to starting at Will. Gabe Powers showed up with the second-team defense for the second game in a row, recording two tackles near the line of scrimmage, showcasing the depth the Buckeyes have at the linebacker position.

“We've got a lot of guys that are game-ready,” Styles said. “Arvell, me, Cody, C.J. I think people underestimate Gabe Powers a little bit, I think he's a really good player. I think Payton Pierce, once he gets going –he's a young guy, but he's still learning – he's going to be a good backer as well. So we've got a lot of great depth.”

Burke ejected for targeting

Ohio State’s cornerback depth also shined against Western Michigan after the Buckeyes lost their top CB in the first quarter due to a targeting penalty.

Denzel Burke was ejected from the game after officials determined that he led with the crown of his helmet while making a hit along the sideline on Western Michigan running back Jaden Nixon at the end of a 7-yard run.

Ohio State CB Denzel Burke is disqualified after he's called for targeting here.

Jermaine Mathews Jr. is coming in for Burke. pic.twitter.com/fHE5yiM3Ra
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) September 8, 2024

Despite being without their star cornerback for more than three quarters, Ohio State still held Western Michigan to only 71 passing yards on 17 attempts. Jermaine Mathews Jr. kept things rolling for the Buckeyes’ secondary as he took over for Burke at outside cornerback opposite Davison Igbinosun.

Day said he “felt awful” for Burke that he was unable to play for the remainder of the contest but viewed it as “a great teaching example that something like that could happen” in a bigger game and that the Buckeyes’ backups must be prepared to step up if it does.

Styles said the Buckeyes were unconcerned when Burke got ejected because they knew Mathews would be ready to step up.

“I think our defense, every position, we've got guys all in the depth chart. So Denzel goes down, obviously you don't want to see that happen, but next guy up, I think it was Jermaine that came in, I mean, obviously he's a great player,” Styles said.

Dominance by the numbers

The 56-0 final score speaks for itself, yet it still doesn‘t fully encapsulate just how dominant Ohio State was against Western Michigan. We cobbled together some of the other statistics that showcase how effectively the Buckeyes eviscerated the Broncos.

The Buckeyes outgained the Broncos 683 to 99.
Ohio State’s two longest plays, a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith and a 55-yard touchdown pass to Bennett Christian, combined for more yardage by themselves than Western Michigan had for the whole game.
Each of Ohio State’s top four running backs – Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon – had more rushing yards individually than the 28 Western Michigan had as a team.
Ohio State got to roll through a lot of depth with how big a lead it took. In all, five running backs carried the ball, 12 skill players caught a pass and 24 defenders recorded a tackle.
The Buckeyes averaged 9.5 yards per play to the Broncos’ 2.1.
OSU quintupled WMU’s first down production, moving the chains 30 times to Western Michigan’s six.
Western Michigan’s longest run of the day was only eight yards.
The Broncos’ quarterbacks took as many sacks as they had passes over six yards, with three each.
Ohio State’s six rushing touchdowns were its most in any game since 2019.
The Buckeyes forced 3-and-outs on 10 of Western Michigan’s 13 possessions.
Ohio State had 30 first downs to Western Michigan’s six.
The Buckeyes’ shutout was their first in exactly five years as they blanked Cincinnati, 42-0, on Sept. 7, 2019.
Western Michigan’s 99 yards were the fewest Ohio State has allowed to an opponent since the Buckeyes held Maryland to only 66 yards in a 62-14 win on Oct. 7, 2017.