Three Stars of the Game: The Offensive Line, Davison Igbinosun and Cody Simon Earn Top Honors For Their Performances Against Penn State

In Ohio State's top-five win over Penn State, the Eleven Warriors staff thinks three Buckeyes stood out – well, really, seven Buckeyes stood out – as we named the entire offensive line, Davison Igbinosun and Cody Simon our Three Stars of the Game.

First Star: The Offensive Line

The offensive line had a season-defining performance in Ohio State’s win over Penn State. That earned them – all five of them – our top honors as the First Star(s).

Following the loss of Josh Simmons, Ohio State turned to Zen Michalski at left tackle. Michalski had an inconsistent performance in the Buckeyes’ win over Nebraska. He also suffered an undisclosed ailment that knocked him out for the team’s trip to Penn State, leaving Ohio State with a patchwork offensive line: Donovan Jackson at left tackle, Carson Hinzman at left guard, Seth McLaughlin at center, Tegra Tshabola at right guard and Josh Fryar at right tackle. That didn’t inspire much confidence in the team’s fans – no, not with third-ranked Penn State and its formidable front-six on the schedule.

But in a top-five showdown Ohio State needed to win, the offensive line delivered when it mattered the most.

Ohio States full game sealing drive
Run the damn ball pic.twitter.com/VN2a5FQ48R

— Brodie (@BrodieKnowsBall) November 3, 2024

“I’m super excited to see those guys and how they handled adversity and being in new situations,” Quinshon Judkins said. “A lot of moving around and to see those guys execute like they did today — I was super happy to see how they took it and enjoyed the win.”

Ohio State ran for 176 yards against the No. 8 rushing defense in college football and was 4-for-4 in short-yardage situations. The Buckeyes ran for 64 yards and were 0-for-6 in short-yardage situations a week earlier against Nebraska.

What led to such an improvement?

“We just had to drop our nuts,” Donovan Jackson said.

Or, to put it in a more plain context, here’s Carson Hinzman: “We knew that short yards are our yards on the O-line. We practiced rigorously to get those crucial yards coming out. I think all of that preparation prepared us for that. We knew exactly what we were gonna do out there.”

Second Star: Davison Igbinosun

Igbinosun made the play of the game for Ohio State.

At the end of the first half, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar tossed a pass to the corner of the end zone for wide receiver Harrison Wallace III. Igbinosun, who had been called for pass interference the snap before, secured a spectacular interception that allowed Ohio State to take a four-point lead into the locker room at Beaver Stadium.

WHAT AN UNREAL INTERCEPTION

How did Davison Igbinosun even catch this for @OhioStateFB?! pic.twitter.com/YlvorsDzSE

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 2, 2024

“It shows you there’s a grit, there’s a toughness, there’s a never give up, ‘Give me an inch and I’m gonna defend it’ mentality,” Day said, also referring to the goal-line stand the Ohio State defense made on Penn State’s final drive of the game.

Igbinosun also recorded four tackles and one pass breakup in the contest. Day complimented his performance, along with Simon and some other standouts, for executing a well-designed gameplan from defensive coordinator Jim Knowles on Saturday.

“You’ve got to give Jim and the entire staff credit on defense for their preparation going into this game. Penn State does an excellent job of changing formations, motioning, different looks,” Day said. “But it comes down to the players. Coaches can put you in position, but the players gotta go do it. They did it. And I’m proud of them.”

Third Star: Cody Simon

He was Ohio State’s Block O recipient for a reason. On Saturday, Simon embodied the toughness and grit that won him the award in the preseason, collecting a team-best 10 tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack against Penn State.

LB Cody Simon led Ohio State with 10 total tackles, and 5 solo tackles, yesterday vs. Penn State.

He also led OSU with 4 pressures, per @PFF. Simon got home for a 2nd-and-8 sack in the third quarter, which was followed by another #Buckeyes sack the very next play. pic.twitter.com/8GLTbwN92w

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) November 3, 2024

The fifth-year linebacker disrupted the Nittany Lions on several occasions, including on the opening drive of the game, during which he made five of his 10 tackles. Simon also collected Ohio State’s first sack of the game, which seemingly broke the seal for the Buckeyes, as Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and JT Tuimoloau combined for the team’s second sack on the next snap.

Simon’s performance comes one week after he recorded eight tackles and a team-best three tackles for loss against Nebraska. Two of those three tackles for loss came on the Cornhuskers’ final drive of the game, with Ohio State holding onto its 21-17 lead.

“We could always be better,” Simon said after the Nebraska game. “There are still so many areas where we could have made more plays. We could have helped our offense out more. We need to create more turnovers. We need to create more stops and give up fewer rushing yards and keep the quarterback in the pocket. There’s a lot of stuff we can work on.”

Given his performance on Saturday, it looks like he answered his own call to action.

As the season continues, we’re tracking the stars (or points) each Ohio State player receives in 2024. Here's how we'll 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.