There’s an argument to be made for every single Ohio State starter being in the Stock Up section of this week's stock report.
The Buckeyes slaughtered Western Michigan 56-0 and looked like every bit of the national championship contender they were touted to be entering 2024. The defense posted its first shutout since 2019. The offense answered questions about its running game with a 273-yard rushing performance.
Name a position group for Ohio State, it excelled against the Broncos, plain and simple. A special teams hiccup or two will be thrown on film and coaches are always going to look for fine details to improve on, but the Buckeyes’ investments are having fantastic returns two weeks into the college football season. The same can't be said for a collection of Big Ten foes, however.
Stock Up
Run Blocking
Run blocking led off Stock Down last week, it’s only fair that it starts Stock Up this week after said 273-yard outing on the ground. The Buckeyes’ ball carriers averaged 7 yards per carry and each of the team’s long touchdown runs was sprung in part by truck-sized holes cleared up front. Left guard Austin Siereveld was a particular mover in this department while filling in for Donovan Jackson again.
Make it 2 touchdowns for Quinshon Judkins. pic.twitter.com/71h5qAakuO
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 8, 2024
The Nose Guards
Ty Hamilton and Kayden McDonald were both blowing up offensive linemen and setting new lines of scrimmage regardless of which one was playing the one-technique for Ohio State on Saturday. Hamilton recorded four tackles with half a sack while McDonald gathered three takedowns and a pass breakup. Hamilton earned Ohio State’s Defensive Player of the Game award after the contest.
“Ty Hamilton really had a challenge,” Ryan Day said on 97.1 The Fan’s Buckeye Roundtable Monday. “Their center was a guy that was a projected draft pick. And as we looked at the film, certainly that Wisconsin game, we had a lot of respect for him coming into the game. And so it was a challenge for Ty going into the game, and he kind of got after him early on and then kind of took it from there. He was very disruptive, had a sack, a couple TFLs. And so we thought he played very, very well.”
Arvell Reese
Reese is the lone repeat in Stock Up this week, though Jeremiah Smith could certainly repeat as well after his first career 100-yard receiving performance. Reese was the third linebacker into the game after starters Cody Simon and Sonny Styles, seemingly passing C.J. Hicks on the depth chart. He picked up three tackles, including two that got the Buckeyes off the field on third down, with one massive hit to get a stop on 3rd-and-1.
Devin Brown
Brown struggled in relief of Will Howard against Akron but showed why he still has a case to be the Buckeyes’ backup quarterback by going 5-of-5 with 57 yards passing against the Broncos. A few of his throws were absolute darts while rolling out.
Secondary Depth
The quality of Ohio State’s backups on the defensive line is well-known to this point, but the second wave of defensive backs made a slew of great plays against Western Michigan. Jermaine Mathews Jr. entered the game for an ejected Denzel Burke in the first quarter and locked opposing receivers down, Lorenzo Styles Jr. made great plays on special teams and got a PBU at nickel while freshman Aaron Scott Jr. had a PBU of his own at corner. Jaylen McClain got a tackle for loss at safety, continuing to see his stock rise this season.
Texas
The Longhorns went on the road and made Michigan look like something of a high school JV squad, demolishing the Wolverines 31-12 in a game that didn’t even feel as close as that scoreline. They passed the Buckeyes to hit No. 2 in the AP Poll this week, which feels deserved but may be reversed as Ohio State builds its résumé in the future.
Stock Down
The Stock Down Section of Stock Up/Down
There’s just not much to criticize about a team that won 56-0 on Saturday and outgained its opponent 683 to 99. Not a single starting player or unit is going to be on this section of Stock Up/Down. Outside one notable depth chart movement referenced earlier, not a single element of Ohio State is in this section, period.
C.J. Hicks
When he’s not blitzing, Hicks has struggled at linebacker, and the younger Reese’s movement ahead of him in the team’s rotation reflects that. There’s always been freakish athleticism here but at this point, he’s only shown capability as a line-of-scrimmage edge rusher, something that hasn’t been in Ohio State’s defense since the Jack position went defunct. There are still pass-rush packages that it might make sense to deploy him in but until he develops better instincts, open-field tackling and play recognition he might not get the playing time he desires.
Marcus Freeman
Make it two rather inexcusable Group of Five losses two years and two games into Freeman’s tenure at Notre Dame. Don't forget the loss to unranked loss to Stanford in 2022, either. The Fighting Irish fell 16-14 to Northern Illinois at home on Saturday, dealing a massive early blow to their playoff chances. The team lost four games in 2022 and three last year, and suddenly there seems to be some warmth beneath Freeman’s head coaching seat.
The Big Ten
Michigan got molly-whopped by Texas, but the two teams considered to be Ohio State’s top competition for a conference crown also looked beleaguered this weekend, with Oregon struggling to best Boise State and Penn State nearly losing to Bowling Green. Illinois did, at least, bring home a ranked win for the Big Ten, toppling then-No. 19 Kansas.
Ohio Professional Football
Both the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns were abysmal in Week 1 – take it from a Bengals fan. Cincinnati lost 16-10 to a New England Patriots team expected to cellar dwell post-Bill Belichick. Cleveland dropped a contest with the Dallas Cowboys 33-17 as despicable human Deshaun Watson averaged just 3.8 yards per pass attempt and tossed two interceptions.
