Skull Session: Ohio State’s Defense Makes “Solid In-Game Adjustments” Against Michigan State and Jeremiah Smith Shares a Brother-Like Bond with Emeka Egbuka

By Chase Brown on October 1, 2024 at 5:00 am
Sonny Styles
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Reminder: Ohio State will wear its all-gray uniforms on Saturday.

Have a good Tuesday.

 TIGHTEN UP. Ohio State’s defense has suffered from slow starts in back-to-back games. 

Last week, Marshall collected 203 yards of offense (4.4 YPP) in the first half. On Saturday, Michigan State recorded 186 yards (6.9 YPP) of offense in the first half. Nevertheless, in both victories, the Buckeyes endured their Herd and Spartans’ powerful offensives and responded with punches and pins that beat their opponents into submission.

For the purposes of this post-Michigan State Skull Session, I’ll stick to Saturday’s performance from the Silver Bullets.

While, yes, Ohio State’s defense allowed six explosives (five passing and one rushing), the Buckeyes also generated three turnovers and allowed seven points. Two of those turnovers – Jordan Hancock and Lathan Ransom’s forced fumbles – occurred in the red zone, while Denzel Burke also collected an interception he returned 31 yards to the Michigan State 12-yard line. (Ohio State’s offense later scored via a Will Howard 6-yard touchdown run).

Before the Buckeyes pulled their starters in the fourth quarter, Ohio State had allowed Michigan State 205 yards of offense (167 passing and 38 rushing) – meaning, if the math maths, the Spartans gained 19 yards on 11 plays in the third. Across all four quarters, the Buckeyes held the Spartans to eight possessions of 16 yards or less.

So, we can (and will) criticize Jim Knowles for the defense’s slow starts, but we cannot criticize him for lack of adjustments.

Ryan Day would agree with that.

“We did a really good job of shutting down, especially in the second half,” Day said. “There are some things we have to look at on film and figure out early on some explosive plays in there that we’ve got to clean up. We were watching film at halftime; we were close to getting to the quarterback (but) just needed to hang on in coverage a little longer. But listen, they’re a good team and well-coached. They have good players, too. But I felt we responded, made the appropriate changes and in-game adjustments were solid.”

 SOMETIMES SONNY IN COLUMBUS. I have moderate concern over the defense’s slow starts. I have considerable concern over Sonny Styles’ development (or lack thereof) at linebacker.

A top-10 overall prospect in the 2022 class, Styles made 10 appearances as a 17-year-old freshman. In 2023, Styles started at safety in all 13 games, collecting 53 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and one pass breakup. But after making a move from safety to linebacker this season, Styles has looked… lost?

I don’t know. It’s weird. 

A 6-foot-4, 235-pound athlete (emphasis on the word athlete), I thought Styles’ transition would be smooth. However, that hasn’t been the case through four games. Styles leads Ohio State with 23 tackles, but he has had issues filling gaps and locating ballcarriers in the run game. He’s also been a step late in the passing game. Jack Velling proved the latter point on Saturday when he beat Styles on a slant route and gained 26 yards before Hancock knocked the ball loose.

I believe Styles has earned patience from Ohio State’s coaches and fans, but that patience could continue to wear thin as the Buckeyes face more formidable foes like Iowa, Oregon and Nebraska over the next four weeks. Iowa, in particular, has one of the nation’s best rushing offenses (No. 10 in yards per game and No. 6 in yards per carry), so we will soon learn if Styles can take the next step in his development when the Hawkeyes visit Columbus this weekend.

 BIG BROTHER, LITTLE BROTHER. We’ve written… **checks notes** … like, mmmm, 10 articles about Jeremiah Smith’s performance in Ohio State’s Big Ten opener.

However, while those articles covered Smith’s pair of one-handed catches, his two touchdowns and his similarities to Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams, this article and this section will cover a minor moment involving Smith on Saturday – the moment he stuck up for Emeka Egbuka.

With a little over a minute left in the first quarter, Will Howard motioned Egbuka parallel to the line of scrimmage. After Ohio State snapped the football, Egbuka turned the corner and pancaked Michigan State cornerback Ed Woods. The nature of the block led several Spartans to surround Egbuka and exchange words. 

In a matter of moments, Smith arrived and tossed Egbuka out of the skirmish before chirping back at the defenders. His quick actions reminded me of Day’s comments on Big Noon Kickoff last week. The head coach said Egbuka and Smith share a close bond that has been special to witness over the past nine months.

“It’s really easy to see the potential in Jeremiah. He’s got a guy like Emeka Egbuka – one of the reasons he decided to come back was to help Jeremiah Smith because he saw the talent,” Day said. “To me, that’s what’s really cool about this team right now.”

I agree. That is really cool.

Egbuka and Smith are brothers in The Brotherhood.

That bond matters and will matter as Ohio State continues to chase its goals this season.

 PLAYERS OF THE GAME. Ohio State named its Players of the Game, with Smith earning the award on offense, Caleb Downs on defense and David Adolph on special teams.

ICYMI: Eleven Warriors implemented a new award system for the 2024 season. Rather than name an offensive, defensive and special teams player of the game like the Buckeyes, we will name Three Stars of the Game. The selection process mirrors the hockey tradition of naming Three Stars after each game to honor the contest’s top performers. The “first star” is the game’s MVP, while the “second star” and “third star” recognize Ohio State’s next-best performers.

This week, Smith, Downs and Egbuka were the Three Stars.

Follow along with our Three Stars of the Game after each Ohio State win this season. New posts will arrive on Sunday afternoons.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Tighten Up" - Archie Bell & The Drells.

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