Welcome to the Skull Session.
You love to see an Ohio State and Zone 6 reunion...
Zone 6 Reunion
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 11, 2024
@MarvHarrisonJr x @GarrettWilson_V #DevelopedHere pic.twitter.com/jMV0hgSLJU
Have a good Monday.
“DON’T BE ONE-HIT WONDERS.” It’s been a staple of Ryan Day’s tenure. When Ohio State faces bad teams, it beats bad teams. The same was true Saturday when the Buckeyes blanked Purdue, 45-0, at the Horseshoe. The win marked Ohio State’s first shutout of a Big Ten team since 2017. It also marked the first time the Buckeyes have shut out two opponents in a single season since 2014.
Ryan Walters’ shameless decision to kick a field goal from the 3-yard line contributed to that accomplishment, as did Spencer Porath's missed kicks from 21 and 38 yards. But look, the Boilermakers are 1-8 overall and 0-6 in Big Ten competition for a reason: They’re not a good football team. Ohio State shouldn’t have to apologize for their opponent’s mistakes. Remember Moneyball: When you’re enemies make mistakes, don’t interrupt them. They’re taking points off the board – just taking them off. Take it. Say, ‘Thank you.’
The bottom line is that Ohio State dominated Purdue for all four quarters. Coming off an emotional 20-13 win at Penn State a week earlier, the Buckeyes could have slacked off versus the Boilermakers. In fact, I half expected them to. That’s been a trend for the program following victories over the Nittany Lions. In 2017, Ohio State suffered a 55-24 loss to Iowa one week after a come-from-behind win over Penn State. It also looked meh in wins over Indiana in 2018 (49-26), Rutgers in 2020 (49-27), Nebraska in 2021 (26-17) and Wisconsin in 2023 (24-10).
However, to Day’s credit, the message he shared this week landed with his players.
“Don’t be one-hit wonders. That’s what Coach Day preached to us this week,” Jeremiah Smith said. “You see it around college football – a team has a big win and the next week they lose to a team that’s not as good as them.”
Purdue never threatened Ohio State on Saturday, largely thanks to another stellar performance from the defense. The Silver Bullets haven’t allowed a touchdown in back-to-back weeks. They’ve allowed two since the loss to Oregon, which forced Day and Jim Knowles to re-engineer the team’s defensive scheme.
“It’s not like we redid the whole thing, but when you start from scratch, there are certain things that you either make assumptions on or you have to make sure that you’re putting the right guys in the right place,” Day said. “All it takes is a little bit to be off. When you add these little things up over time, they can make a big difference.”
On offense, Ohio State took another step forward behind its new-look offensive line, which features 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.
Ohio State allowed just one sack in the contest – well, one to a Purdue defender and another to the turf monster, which made Will Howard swear he would wear new cleats for the Indiana game. Howard completed 21 of 26 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns. The Buckeyes ran for 173 yards, with TreVeyon Henderson collecting 85 yards on six carries and Quinshon Judkins recording 32 yards on 11 carries.
“It wasn’t all clean today. It wasn’t. But I thought the guys played hard, and it was good to see us respond coming off an emotional win. You watch it all across college football, and we’ve been part of it, too, where you come off an emotional win and have a letdown going into (the next) game,” Day said. “We’re in November now. Every single snap matters.”
Day’s final comment will become even more accurate over the next three weeks. While Ohio State can clear Northwestern with ease, Indiana will be at least a top-six matchup on Nov. 23. Then, as is tradition, the Buckeyes will finish the regular season on Nov. 30 against Michigan, and even though “The Team Up North” is 5-5 on the year, Day understands his team needs to be at its best to end a three-game losing streak to the Wolverines.
JEREMI-OH-MY. Jeremiah Smith is good at football.
Smith took possession of all three Ohio State freshman receiving records on Saturday, exceeding Cris Carter in receptions and touchdowns after surpassing Carter in yards at Penn State.
“It means a lot. It’s a blessing to be able to break Cris Carter’s freshman records,” Smith said. “But we have to keep it going. Don’t stop here.”
With six catches for 87 yards and one touchdown against Purdue, Smith has now collected 45 receptions for 761 yards and nine scores this season. Those numbers rank second, first and first on Ohio State’s roster. They also rank 69th, 24th and sixth in college football. Not bad for an 18-year-old. Not bad at all.
Jeremiah Smith has the most receiving touchdowns as a freshman in Ohio State football history. pic.twitter.com/MRZyRG5FYD
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 9, 2024
Still, Day thinks there’s more in store for Smith.
“He’s getting stronger. He’s getting more experience. His understanding of coverages and different things is improving,” Day said.
Howard echoed his head coach’s sentiments.
“I think he’s the best receiver in the country,” he said. “I think we have the three best receivers in the country on our team.”
Howard could have said the four best receivers in the country and included Brandon Inniss, but that’s neither here nor there.
The quarterback continued: “I’m biased, but I’m lucky to have guys like that doing what they’re doing. I knew Jeremiah would be special from the first time I met him. He’s just continued to get better and better. He’s a great kid. I’m really happy for him getting that record today.”
TOUCHDOWN TREVEYON. Man, I love Henderson. This season, he has been dominant as a ballcarrier, dominant as a pass blocker and dominant as a pass catcher. Oh, and Henderson’s been dominant with Quinshon Judkins, a two-time All-SEC running back at Ole Miss, joining him in the backfield and, more often than not, earning more of the attention from a local and national perspective.
On Saturday, however, Henderson stepped into the limelight, leading Ohio State with 85 rushing yards on six carries. He also added 43 yards on three catches to give himself nine touches for 128 yards and one touchdown on the afternoon. Quick math tells me that’s 14.2 yards per touch, which makes me ask, Is that good?
Henderson’s carries went for 12, 6, 16, 3, 29 and 19 yards in the contest. His catches went for 6, 5 and 32 yards. It was his final run – the 19-yard run – in which he reached the end zone for the first time since the Marshall game.
He's called Touchdown TreVeyon for a reason pic.twitter.com/lrLhtEaz2e
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 9, 2024
After Henderson missed at least three games in back-to-back seasons, it’s been nice to see him healthy this year for the Buckeyes. He looks fast. He looks fresh. He looks focused. And, shoot, he looks violent. I hope that continues as Ohio State enters the home stretch.
GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY. Against Purdue, Hinzman made his second straight start at left guard. He did it wearing an old-school facemask that deserves some attention in the Skull Session.
Great googly moogly – that’s the definition of look good, feel good, play good.
Hinzman was Ohio State’s second-best lineman behind Seth McLaughlin on Saturday, according to Pro Football Focus. He earned a 67.1 overall grade against the Boilermakers, a composite number of his 63.4 pass-blocking score and 67.7 run-blocking score.
The redshirt sophomore had a scare near the end of the first half when a collection of Ohio State offensive linemen and Purdue defensive linemen rolled up on his leg. Hinzman immediately reached for his knee, which caused those gathered inside the Horseshoe and those watching on television to gulp. After a couple of minutes on the field, however, he was able to walk to the sideline under how own power. He later returned to the game in the second half.
After Ohio State’s win, Hinzman shared on social media that a knee brace likely prevented him from suffering a more significant injury.
God is Good!! And so are Donjoy knee braces
— Carson Hinzman (@HinzmanCarson) November 9, 2024
After losing Josh Simmons for the season in the Oregon game, the Buckeyes dodged a bullet here with Hinzman. My goodness.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Carmen Ohio" - TBDBITL.
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