The Eleven Warriors staff selected a unanimous First Star in Ohio State's win over Iowa — that is, Emeka Egbuka, who collected nine catches for 71 yards and three touchdowns against the Hawkeyes. Behind him, however, there was some discourse to decide the Second Star and Third Star.
There were votes for Jack Sawyer, Will Howard, Sonny Styles, Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Smith. The defensive end had three tackles, one-and-a-half sacks and one forced fumble. The quarterback completed 21 of 25 passes for 209 yards and was responsible for five total touchdowns. The linebacker had seven tackles and two tackles for loss. The safety had three tackles, two tackles for loss and one quarterback pressure. The wide receiver had four catches for 89 yards, including another one-handed touchdown.
Decisions, decisions...
We went with Sawyer and Howard.
First Star: Emeka Egbuka
Egbuka is on fire.
With nine catches, 71 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday, Egbuka has 21 receptions, 284 yards and five touchdowns in the past three weeks. Add in the nine combined catches and 149 combined yards he collected in Ohio State's wins over Akron and Western Michigan, and the senior receiver has 30 receptions, 433 yards and five touchdowns on the season for the Buckeyes.
Here are all three of Egbuka's scores on Saturday:
Can't guard Emeka Egbuka. pic.twitter.com/72onxICg5n
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 5, 2024
Make it 2 touchdowns for Emeka Egbuka. pic.twitter.com/4zXdLvP8yA
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 5, 2024
GO OFF MEK!
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 5, 2024
Make it 3 touchdowns for Emeka Egbukapic.twitter.com/C9nhjKNF08
In a press conference after Ohio State's win, head coach Ryan Day discussed the value Egbuka adds to the team's offense.
"I think Emeka's one of the best receivers in the country. It hurt him last year to have the high-ankle sprain. But when you look at the year before and what he's doing now, you see a complete player. He's the captain of our team. He's a warrior. He does all the dirty work," Day said. "He's one of the better receivers in the entire country. He's only getting better the more he plays."
Second Star: Jack Sawyer
In Ohio State's wins over Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall and Michigan State, Sawyer had one sack but a team-best 13 pressures. On Saturday, the senior defensive end got home for the second time this season — and he gained possession for his team in the process.
After he recorded a half-sack with JT Tuimoloau in the first half, Sawyer recorded his second solo sack of the season in the third quarter, knocking the ball free from Cade McNamara as the Iowa quarterback looked to avoid pressure in the pocket.
Jack Sawyer knocks the ball loose for the Buckeyes pic.twitter.com/4mJDp4abTp
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 5, 2024
"It was fun," Sawyer said of his strip-sack. "I just thank God. I give him all the glory and all the credit for putting me in a position to play this game here at this university. You know, it was just fun. It was fun playing this game. It was good. It was a fun time."
Asked if Ohio State has made a more concerted effort to force fumbles this season, Sawyer smiled.
"That was a big thing this offseason, disrupting the football," he said. "If you're the first one in, you try to get a punch if you see it. Lathan (Ransom) is a master at it. You see him do it almost every game. It's definitely a point of emphasis for us."
Third Star: Will Howard
Howard was wheeling and dealing on Saturday.
The former Kansas State quarterback completed 21 of 25 passes for 209 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in Ohio State's win over Iowa. He also ran the ball 10 times for 28 yards and one score.
Make it four straight games with a rushing touchdown for Will Howard. pic.twitter.com/SLSAqSbA6c
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 5, 2024
While Howard's favorite weapon was Egbuka, he also connected with Smith four times for 89 yards and one touchdown; Brandon Inniss three times for 29 yards; TreVeyon Henderson twice for two yards; Will Kacmarek once for 12 yards; Bryson Rodgers once for 8 yards and Quinshon Judkins once for -2 yards.
When asked to assess his quarterback's performance against Iowa, Day said Howard performed well and explained how impressed he’s been with the poise Howard has shown as Ohio State's lead signal-caller.
"I think he's gonna get confidence coming out of this game. When you have a couple of throws you'd like back, you learn from those," Day said. "He doesn't get rattled. There are even times when I try to rattle him in practice, and he doesn't. He looks at me like, 'I got you, coach.' That's a good sign for a quarterback.
"The throw to Jeremiah on the double move was excellent. Some of those throws in the red area, the one in particular to Emeka in the corner of the end zone on the close side was a tremendous throw and catch. And he made some nice third down throws. Even the throw he made on third and long to get it to fourth and manageable. He got enough. ... He converts on the fourth down.
"Those are huge plays. And then the red zone throws. That's winning football. Then when you add that into him making a few plays with his feet, that's sort of the X-factor right there."
| OPPONENT | FIRST STAR / ★ | SECOND STAR / ★★ | THIRD STAR / ★★★ |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKRON |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 6 catches, 92 yards, 2 TD |
LATHAN RANSOM, S 9 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FR, 1 TD |
JT TUIMOLOAU, DE 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks |
| WESTERN MICHIGAN |
QUINSHON JUDKINS, RB 9 carries, 108 yards, 2 TD |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 5 catches, 119 yards, TD |
JACK SAWYER, DE 3 tackles, 1 sack |
| MARSHALL |
QUINSHON JUDKINS, RB 14 carries, 176 yards, 2 TD |
TREVEYON HENDERSON, RB 6 carries, 76 yards, 2 TD |
EMEKA EGBUKA, WR 5 catches, 117 yards, 1 TD |
| @ MICHIGAN STATE |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 6 touches, 102 yards, 2 TD |
CALEB DOWNS, S 6 tackles, 3 solo, 1 TFL |
EMEKA EGBUKA, WR 7 catches, 96 yards, 1 TD |
| IOWA |
EMEKA EGBUKA, WR 9 catches, 71 yards, 3 TD |
JACK SAWYER, DE 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF |
WILL HOWARD, QB 21-25, 209 yards, 5 total TD, 1 INT |
As the season continues, we’re tracking the stars (or points) each Ohio State player receives in 2024. Here's how we're do it: Each time a Buckeye earns the first star of the game, that Buckeye adds three points to their season total. Then, the second star and third star add two points and one point to their totals.
The standings after five games:
| RANK | PLAYER | FIRST STAR / ★ | SECOND STAR / ★★ | THIRD STAR / ★★★ | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JEREMIAH SMITH | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | QUINSHON JUDKINS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | EMEKA EGBUKA | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | JACK SAWYER | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| T-5 | LATHAN RANSOM | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| T-5 | TREVEYON HENDERSON | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| T-5 | CALEB DOWNS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| T-8 | JT TUIMOLOAU | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| T-8 | WILL HOWARD | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
