Ohio State’s offense couldn’t have been much more impressive in its win over Toledo.
The Buckeyes dominated by both air and ground against the Rockets, scoring 77 points on 763 yards – the second-highest total in school history. In the process, Ohio State went from being ranked 40th in the country to total offense to leading the entire country in yards per game, while Toledo plummeted from fourth to 80th in total defense.
We begin this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays by discussing all the ways Ohio State’s offense impressed us against Toledo. Later in the show, we talk about why we aren’t overly concerned with how the Buckeyes performed on defense – even though Jim Knowles wasn’t happy about it – before turning the page to Wisconsin, which we believe will present a similar matchup for the Buckeyes this week as Notre Dame did in the season opener (which could be a good thing).
Finally, we talk about our takeaways from the weekend that was elsewhere in the Big Ten and break down what the commitment of Taison Chatman means for Ohio State men’s basketball recruiting class of 2023.
The full rundown of what we’re talking about this week:
- 0:45: How Ohio State’s offense made a statement against Toledo
- 2:24: There were no shortage of standouts among Ohio State’s offensive players, and the coaches were in their bag
- 4:09: Ohio State’s depth of receiving weapons was on full display, but don’t discount the impact Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s presence made
- 9:15: Dallan Hayden and TC Caffey turn Ohio State’s running back depth from a concern into a strength
- 16:56: The offensive line was great too, especially Dawand Jones
- 18:25: Ohio State’s defense struggled to contain Dequan Finn, but it wasn’t awful
- 21:12: Will Graham Mertz be the best quarterback Ohio State has played? We’d take Finn
- 22:02: Lingering questions about Ohio State’s passing defense, particularly at cornerback
- 26:48: Javontae Jean-Baptiste and other defensive standouts against Toledo
- 32:30: Similarities between this week’s game against Wisconsin and the season opener vs. Notre Dame
- 34:20: Stopping Braelon Allen will be a challenge, but the Buckeyes have been dominant against running backs so far
- 37:52: Wisconsin’s defense is good, but will injuries in the secondary doom the Badgers?
- 40:45: Ryan Day says injured players will return this week, but Ohio State fans are understandably skeptical
- 44:30: Why one of us thinks Ohio State will cover against Wisconsin, and one of us doesn’t
- 46:58: Keon Keeley headlines another big recruiting weekend for Ohio State football
- 49:06: The Big Ten’s most impressive (Penn State, Minnesota) and disappointing (Michigan State, Northwestern) teams from Week 3
- 56:21: What Taison Chatman will bring to the Buckeyes and how he compares to decommit George Washington III
- 59:00: Why Chatman, not Bronny James, will likely be the final high school recruit in Ohio State’s 2023 class
- 1:00:54: Who we’re looking forward to talking to at next week’s Ohio State men’s basketball media day
- 1:04:26: Come see us at the Eleven Dubgate on Saturday
You can listen to Real Pod Wednesdays in the audio player above or on a variety of podcast streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
