THE SITUATIONAL: Survival of the Nicest

We haven't seen one of those since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. C.J. Stroud was more inclined to allow his prodigious arm and elite processing speed do his loudest talking. For all his shortcomings, last season's starting quarterback also had negative charisma.

I assume his father no longer reads this site, making him less inclined to send us his unsolicited feedback about our coverage. Ohio State's QB should be a difference-maker, a charismatic and natural leader - or preferably both. A brutal but important lesson learned for Ohio State's lead recruiter and QB whisperer.

Will Howard dripped with an energy and presence in his debut not seen since Justin Fields transferred into town and sent Lane Kiffin back to Boca Raton with a 24-point loss. Howard was cool and grinning on Saturday - at his teammates, at the crowd and even at Akron defenders in between plays. His vibe? Totally unbothered.

He got to Columbus in January and ingratiated himself into his new program with the understanding that he was a one-season rental for the type of opportunity that, at best, a program like Ohio State presents once per decade. This will be the best roster the Buckeyes have during the current one, joining 2015 from the previous decade, 2006 the decade prior and 1998 before that.

None of those teams were able to accomplish what Howard was brought to Columbus to achieve. He took nothing for granted upon arrival, changing his body over the eight months he's spent in town and earning the right to be that star rental for what's scheduled to be the most memorable type of season.

Howard flung Akron Zips off his body in a manner that brought confidence and relief to a beleaguered fan base which spent last season watching its starter topple over in a slight breeze.

Howard ascended to the top of the depth chart with humility. He seems to play the part well.

It's not the only path an interloper can take the throne. Fields attended an Ohio State men's basketball game during his campus visit, followed incumbent QB Tate Martell's sister on Instagram and proceeded to like all of her photos while sitting next to Dwayne Haskins in courtside seats. Tathan was in the transfer portal shortly thereafter. You can kill with moxie or you can just kill. Both strategies are effective.

Howard took the field and flung Akron Zips off of his body in a manner that brought confidence and relief to a beleaguered fan base which spent last season watching its starter topple over in a slight breeze. He ran the offense efficiently. He ran it with confidence and command. He ran the ball himself. He signaled 1st down.

He also shrugged off mediocre plays and mistakes, refusing to allow them to sap his charisma or command. We don't know how Howard responded to negative plays because [FILE NOT FOUND] but there's still time.

Had his predecessor chosen to stick around, he would have lost his starting job to a one-year rental - there is absolutely no doubt about it. He made the right decision, even if it was kind of made for him.

Lost in the rediscovered joy of a quarterback who doesn't play like he's wrapped in bubble tape - your Buckeyes avoided suffering a non-Tatgate aided three-game losing streak, which still hasn't happened since 2004. Twenty years without a recession and counting.

You have no idea how lucky you are. Western Michigan is next - let's get Situational.

OPENER | THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE

Install this confident nastiness across the roster: Denzel Burke's first interception of the season came when he ripped the ball out of the hands of Akron WR Adrian Norton before dancing down the sideline.

When we last saw Ohio State's offensive line it was actively making a case for The Worst Performance in Program History without hyperbole, which meant Saturday's season debut was begging for conspicuous improvement signs.

Let's start with the good. This line can run Inside Zone exclusively against no fewer than eight of its scheduled opponents and gain the necessary yardage to move the chains at will. The base stuff looks great, as it should - Chip Kelly loves him some Inside Zone.

If you're not sure what that is, here's a happy/sad refresher:

1st & 10 at MICH 46 | (11:43 - 3rd) Henderson run for 4 yds to the MICH 42

2nd & 6 at MICH 42 | (11:43 - 3rd) Henderson run for 5 yds to the MICH 37

3rd & 1 at MICH 37 | (11:43 - 3rd) Henderson run for 3 yds to the MICH 34 for a 1ST down

1st & 10 at MICH 34 | (11:43 - 3rd) Trayanum run for 12 yds to the MICH 22 for a 1ST down

1st & 10 at MICH 22 | (11:43 - 3rd) Trayanum run for 6 yds to the MICH 16

2nd & 4 at MICH 16 | (11:43 - 3rd) Trayanum run for 5 yds to the MICH 11 for a 1ST down

1st & 10 at MICH 11 | (11:43 - 3rd) Henderson run for 8 yds to the MICH 3

2nd & 2 at MICH 3 | (5:35 - 3rd) Henderson run for 3 yds for a TD (Jayden Fielding KICK)

That's Inside Zone. The Buckeyes ran the same play on repeat to tie the Michigan game at 17.

Okay, now the less-than-good. Ohio State's non-IZ blocking schemes, both of the pass and run variety, lacked execution way too often, especially in the 1st half. These guys should be better at this now, and this isn't concern for 2024 aspirations - it's an indictment of the guy most in charge of developing offensive linemen.

If you're going to produce an historic Cotton Bowl turd like that unit did, eight months of reckoning should have produced more improvement than what we saw on Saturday. This line is missing the nastiness required to even fake being elite, which is mystifying when you consider the relentless NFL-grade it faces every day in practice. Akron's defensive line should have felt like a vacation.

But it was Akron yes it was a front seven that should have felt like its quarterback looked.

Complicating matters was Donovan Jackson's absence, which will either end this weekend or begin to smell like Jaxon Smith-Njigba injury redux - this program has earned player availability scrutiny. This OL with no improvement can still operate the next two weekends in what should produce arcade game final scores. September is about reps and leveling up.

The lack of nastiness up front is a stark contrast to what the Buckeyes are rolling with just about everywhere else.

But a 16-game journey will require building momentum and tenacity, and the good news for this line is the bar is lying on the floor. Howard's athleticism and size removed what would have been three sacks from the box score last season. This offense can run IZ all year, solidify its pass-blocking, allow Zone Six and those two (three!) running backs to cook - and probably still make a 12-team playoff.

It does not have to be stressful. This OL can aspire to be an imposing cog in something designed to be legendary. It can choose to develop with the abrupt urgency that Special Teams did exactly one game after shooting Parker Fleming out of the termination cannon two seasons later than it should have.

Ohio State's OL can decide being ninth-best unit in the program once again is exhausting. This is a choice. The players have all of the size and ability necessary. The only wildcard is if the position coach is capable of unlocking it and sustaining it.

As for now, the line appears to lack the interest in being menacing and demonstrative; the kind of unit that leaves defenses mentally and physically defeated. TreVeyon Henderson gave them an example of what the psychological facet of blocking looks like when combined with righteous efficacy. That should be their job.

The lack of nastiness up front is a stark contrast to what the Buckeyes are rolling with just about everywhere else. Urban Meyer called the offensive line the heart and soul of the program. The first step to becoming that is acting like it.

Then, sure, maybe work on outside zone and pass-blocking. It starts neck-up.

INTERMISSION

The Solo

The last time we had to tolerate the unforgivable phrase Defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines it was following the 1997 season. This year, intermissions will pay homage to that cursed year's Billboard Hot 100.

The alternate timeline where Tupac Shakur isn't murdered in 1996 includes a litany of fascinating musical and theatrical what-ifs, including him taking the role of Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequels. It went to Samuel L. Jackson instead.

He released seven posthumous albums, making him one of the busiest dead musicians in history (he only released five while living). Pac was a busy collaborator as well, showing up on other musicians' releases - like Smile, recorded with Scarface a month before his death.

It has no solo, but it does feature a declarative moment of silence. Let's answer our two questions.

is this an authentic moment of silence?

Scarface announces the moment of silence and then proceeds to rap right over it without a pause. He's accompanied by a diss track legend, which is enough fuel to suggest this was deliberate. VERDICT: Inconclusive; authenticity wasn't the objective

does this moment of silence slap?

Windu tolerating Jar-Jar Binks was funny in its own right, but what put his character over the top was Jackson's insistence on his Jedi character having a purple lightsaber, which George Lucas granted. Our alternative timeline likely doesn't include this accessory.

Tupac was a Mob Piru Blood, which - that's correct, professor - red would have been the preferred color. Unfortunately that's the Sith's lightsaber shade, which would have been problematic - also, Tupac's brand. Perhaps they would have landed on magenta. Or even scarlet (!) Only the Killuminati know for sure.

Moments of silence are introspective and healthy even if the bass and drum aren't taking a break. Their utility is user dependent. May the Force be with you, bum. VERDICT: Slaps.

The Bourbon

There is a bourbon for every situation. Sometimes the spirits and the events overlap, which means that where bourbon is concerned there can be more than one worthy choice.

2XO Innkeeper's Blend. Twice as nice.

One of the fastest risers in whiskey blending circles is Dixon Dedman, who created the Kentucky Owl bourbon and rye blends that are extremely trendy and sought after in current bourbon-seeking circles. We dove into his St. Pat's edition last season prior to the South Bend visit.

Dedman is what you might call a bourbon prodigy. He's a millennial who runs marathons, owned a James Beard restaurant, is a legitimate foodie, a accomplished sneakerhead and - if you know Kentucky Owl varieties - abruptly began producing $100-plus bottles of whiskey that people bought in droves because they were worth it.

Ohio State enters its second weekend of playing this weekend, which calls for 2XO. Dedman created a double-oaking process which exposes mash bills to more barreling than traditional juice-wood interactions, lend both darkness (night game Saturday) and balance (350 yards rushing, 350 yards passing, let's whisper it into existence at a Michigan's school's expense).

His Innkeeper's Blend is an homage this place, where the food is award-winning and the bourbon flows double-oaky. Heavy caramel and Brooklyn Blackout cake up front, a little secondhand smoke-infused cream cheese frosting in the finish. Delightful.

Not cheap, but knowing what you now know, justified - you should be able to find it online for $90ish.

CLOSER | SURVIVAL OF THE NICEST

Sophomore DL Jason Moore, freshman Eddrick Houston (middle) and sophomore Will Smith Jr. all saw the field Saturday.

Pop quiz, hot shot - can you name the last time the Buckeyes put a 50-burger on an opponent?

It wasn't last season. Ohio State scored 63 on Western Kentucky and only broke 40 one other time, at Purdue - which, going by the Buckeyes' history on that ancient burial ground has got to be worth at least 80 points. Let's never diminish West Lafayette Ws.

The last time Ohio State landed on 50-something against anyone was the Kamryn Babb game in 2022, which was also when Marvin Harrison Jr. did his best Gumby imitation.

The point is the Buckeyes scored 52 last weekend and a lot of us still hunted for reasons to be pissy - because we know there's more to an extended championship journey than point totals.

Mainly, it's sustainability, an opportunity these first three opponents have given OSU on a platter. Updated tracker:

Leading only by 14 at halftime didn't matter whatsoever as 70 (!) Buckeyes got action on Saturday. Austin Siereveld received 66 snaps in relief of Donovan Jackson, which is fine - they were capitalized reps and a good investment. The desired snap cap for sustainability was achieved in all the right places on Saturday.

Five tight ends saw action, and though they mostly blocked air all afternoon - they all looked for guys to block. They just...usually didn't find anyone to touch. That can be scheme too, but there were no Cade Stover line of scrimmage olé moments which was a major component of the offense's short-yardage and edge failures in each of the past two seasons.

The most welcome sustainability development? Seventeen defensive linemen lined up across from Akron's Zips, which was three more than the coaches sent into that Western Kentucky laugher last season. Five linebackers got on the field, even with Cody Simon sidelined by injury.

SITUATIONAL ARCHIVE The Situational Whiskey Cellar

Looking at the big picture, which is playing the best possible football into late January - Game One was a sustainability success and Ohio State's coaches, whom historically have shown reluctance to trust the sub-crust pieces of the roster let the depth chart show its stuff on the opening weekend. Here's to doing it against Saturday.

Thanks for getting Situational today. Go Bucks. Beat Western Michigan.