Ohio State's offense looked pretty darn good on Saturday.
In fact, with 105,398 fans in Ohio Stadium and a national television audience on FOX, I'm not sure that side of the ball could have been much better for the Buckeyes.
Before I get into that, though, let me ask one thing of you all.
Let's have a good Monday, shall we?
TOUCHDOWN FRENZY. Ohio State's offense scored more touchdowns (11) against Toledo than the Rockets had allowed points (10) in their first two games against Long Island and UMass. Let that sink in.
Ohio State scored A LOT of touchdowns last night, so let's watch them all again.pic.twitter.com/lOnv0ZfYNY
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 18, 2022
After Saturday's absurd offensive performance that saw Ohio State almost break the program record for total yards of offense in a game, the Buckeyes now have the No. 1 total offense in the country at 565.3 yards per game. They also rank in the top 10 in scoring and passing offense at 47.7 points per game and 358.3 passing yards per game.
| No. | Yards | Opponent | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 776 | BOWLING GREEN | SEPT. 3, 2016 | W, 77-10 |
| 2 | 763 | TOLEDO | SEPT. 17, 2022 | W, 77-21 |
| 3 | 721 | OREGON STATE | SEPT. 1, 2018 | W, 77-31 |
| 4 | 718 | MOUNT UNION | SEPT. 27, 1930 | W, 59-0 |
| 5 | 715 | UTAH | SEPT. 27, 1986 | W, 64-6 |
To continue with the absurdity, Ohio State scored on 11 of its 13 offensive drives. If you exclude the final drive that ended with the Buckeyes running out the clock – therefore making no effort to score – they reached paydirt on 11 of their 12 possessions.
Here's how those drives played out:
- 8 plays, 82 yards, 3:45 - TreVeyon Henderson 7-yard TD run
- 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:33 - Marvin Harrison Jr. 8-yard TD catch
- 5 plays, 59 yards, 1:59 - Emeka Egbuka 3-yard TD run
- 7 plays, 71 yards, 2:58 - Julian Fleming 5-yard TD catch
- 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:25 - Harrison 7-yard TD catch
- 9 plays, 89 yards, 4:37 - Fleming 11-yard TD catch
- 4 plays, 48 yards, 1:24 - Mitch Rossi 1-yard TD run
- 6 plays, 36 yards, 2:16 - Jesse Mirco downed his only punt of the game at the 2-yard line
- 4 plays, 39 yards, 1:30 - Egbuka 7-yard TD catch
- 11 plays, 68 yards, 4:59 - Dallan Hayden 1-yard TD run
- 2 plays, 74 yards, 0:43 - Jayden Ballard 72-yard TD catch
- 3 plays, 45 yards, 1:35 - TC Caffey 49-yard TD run
That's what I call efficient.
Also, how about TC Caffey? I tried to tell you all he was a different animal and the same beast. Hopefully, some of you listened.
REAL RECOGNIZE REAL. Every Ohio State fan knows how dominant Cris Carter was as a Buckeye from 1984-86. He caught 168 passes for 2,725 yards and 27 touchdowns and earned All-American honors for collecting 69 receptions for 1,127 yards and 11 touchdowns in his third and final season.
Carter has been a significant Ohio State supporter since his playing days in Columbus ended. He praised the current bunch of Buckeye receivers for their performances against Toledo.
Same @criscarter80. Same. pic.twitter.com/UyOIzUJqck
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 18, 2022
I think Carter speaks for all of Buckeye Nation when he says the Ohio State receivers are fun to watch. That position group features an embarrassment of riches for Ryan Day, Brian Hartline and C.J. Stroud as the passing attack thrives with the top receiving talent in the country lining up on the perimeter every Saturday.
Defensive coordinators trying to gameplan for C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming. pic.twitter.com/xVaOLHbcrA
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 18, 2022
That's not to mention Jayden Ballard, who scored a 72-yard touchdown against Toledo. One could also mention tight end Cade Stover – now known as “Farmer Gronk” – becoming more involved in the passing game with eight catches for 137 yards through the first three games.
Carter sees what a lot of Buckeye fans see. He recognizes Ohio State has one of the best, if not the best wide receiver room in the country, and the 2022 iteration of that unit has only been fully healthy (outside of Kamryn Babb) for one game.
Once they have a few more games under their belts as a group, the Big Ten and college football writ large will need to watch out. Ohio State's passing attack will be really hard to stop.
BUCKEYE PRIDE. What is even more impressive about the Ohio State receiver room in 2022 is that it lost two first-round NFL draft picks, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, after last season.
Wilson scored his first career touchdown on Sunday against my beloved Cleveland Browns, but he made sure to throw up the O-H afterward, which made everything alright and even brought a smile to my face.
Garrett Wilson shows his Buckeye pride after his first NFL touchdown. pic.twitter.com/PRI7lvfR2s
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 18, 2022
My happiness for Wilson's success did not continue, though, as the former Buckeye caught the game-winning touchdown that helped the Jets complete a 13-point comeback from down 30-17 with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter (I would explain how New York completed such a feat, but please don't make me – it hurts too much. Just watch the recap).
Garrett Wilson, game-winner. pic.twitter.com/2RNl4hToLv
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 18, 2022
Does anyone else feel this conflict watching their favorite NFL team play? It's almost like, “OK, Garrett Wilson can score five touchdowns as long as the Browns win. That would be the best of both worlds.” I want my team to win, but I also wish former Buckeyes to perform well for their teams each week.
Is anybody else there with me on that?
That didn't happen for me this week. Wilson exploded and the Browns lost, which sucked. But that's the life of being a Browns fan.
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Doors open at 3 p.m. for Eleven Dubgate X, which is being held this Saturday before Ohio State's game with Wisconsin. This event relies on your donations, which will benefit Special Olympics Olentangy. Cash and Venmo (@OSSOSTORM) are both accepted.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Jump Around” by House of Pain.
CUT TO THE CHASE. A trail of slime leads German customs to a giant bag of snails... Henry Silva, the last star of the original "Ocean's Eleven" movie, dies at 95... Two thousand people are expected to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral at Westminster Abbey... A wolf reported loose in Oklahoma City was actually a cuddly puppy... Ohio State has an over $19 billion economic impact in the state of Ohio.
