After a shaky month to start the season, No. 3 Ohio State (3-0) enters conference play after three dominant performances. The Buckeyes outscored Akron, Marshall and Western Michigan by a combined score of 157-20. The only negative was the 14 points Ohio State allowed in the first half against Marshall. Otherwise, the Buckeyes are worth getting excited about.
This is what I learned and what I didn’t know in those games.
The offensive line shows growth
The poor performance of Ohio State’s offensive line was one of the biggest stories of the season last year. The Buckeyes added Seth McLaughlin at center, but instead of adding more talent to what they already had in the program, they stuck with the rest of last year’s line.
Over three games, albeit against tough competition, the results have been promising.
Ohio State played the first two games without preseason All-America left guard Donovan Jackson, but brought him back against Marshall. There were some struggles against Akron with two new guards in Tegra Tshabola and Austin Sierveld, but they improved against Western Michigan and dominated against Marshall.
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On the left side of the line, with Jackson and tackle Josh Simmons, Ohio State appears to be the strongest. Overall, Ohio State’s numbers, especially in the running game, are huge. Through three games, Ohio State has rushed for 723 yards and is averaging 7.02 yards per carry, second nationally.
Their growth is especially evident when looking at Ohio State’s 3.99 yards per rush before first contact. That’s second nationally, according to TruMedia, and a significant increase from the start of last season’s three games, when the Buckeyes averaged 2.32 yards per rush before first contact against Indiana, Western Kentucky and Youngstown State.
The pass defense is a bit tougher to judge, as Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall didn’t do much to get after quarterback Will Howard. However, Ohio State leads Pro Football Focus in the lowest pass rush rate at just 14.3 percent.
This is all progress. We may not be entirely sure how good and consistent this line will be this year, but through three games we’ve seen enough to know that it’s better than it was a year ago.
This consecutive duo will work well together
Speaking of blocking in the run game, let’s talk about the running back duo of Quinshawn Judkins and Treveyon Henderson.
The combination of the two this season has been praised by fans and analysts across the country. In a matter of weeks, Ohio State has gone from an uncertainty on the field to one of the most talented teams in the country. The only question about them was how Ohio State would distribute the carries.
So far, Ohio State seems to have found a balance for them by switching directions. According to PFF, Judkins played 74 snaps while Henderson played 76, which is almost an exact split. In terms of carries, Judkins outnumbers Henderson 36 to 24, but both have been efficient when they do play.
Judkins has 336 yards, five touchdowns and is averaging 9.3 yards per carry, while Henderson has 207 yards, four touchdowns and is averaging 8.6 yards per carry.
Through three games, we’ve seen Judkins and Henderson become explosive, physical runners in the run game, and Henderson has even shown growth in pass protection.
It’s easy to read too much into stats, especially this early in the year. But regardless of the stats, it’s easy to see that Henderson and Judkins are an elite duo. They’re key to Ohio State’s offensive identity and RPO, so utilizing both backs will be critical to Ohio State’s success.
We have yet to see how this offense will fare against a strong defensive line, but right now Henderson and Judkins are making a case for themselves as the best running back duo in the country. With Kelly calling plays, I don’t see them slowing down anytime soon, even as the competition heats up.
Can Howard handle this offense, but can he do more?
Ohio State’s decision to add Howard to the portal was a significant step.
The Buckeyes had no answer for a quarterback coming off a disappointing performance in the Cotton Bowl, and they needed someone to keep the offense moving down the field and taking advantage of its motion as well. Howard did that in three games.
His numbers aren’t Heisman-level like some other transfers, including Miami’s Cam Ward, but Howard did his job on offense.
He threw for 795 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception while completing 68.9 percent of his passes. Offensively, Kelly’s career path looks like a perfect fit for the 6-foot-4, 237-pound quarterback from Pennsylvania.
If Ohio State focuses on the running game and then uses the passing game for quick hits and explosive plays, that means the quarterback has to be quick with his reads and have good pocket presence. Howard has that. It’s especially helpful that the Buckeyes utilize so much play action and RPOs for Howard because that’s his strength.
In passing games this season, Howard threw for 555 yards, five touchdowns and one interception while completing 30 of 40 pass attempts. TruMedia doesn’t differentiate play-action from RPO passes, so it’s worth noting his strength on both play-action and option passes.
It wasn’t perfect, and there are some things we won’t know about Howard until we see him against a strong defense. His deep ball is one. He has thrown the ball for 21 yards just six times this season, completing three of them for 116 yards with an interception on Saturday.
That’s something Howard wants to keep under control.
“At the end of the day, it’s just reps,” Howard said. “We want to push the ball up the field and in practice I went forward and did some good things. We haven’t shown it a lot, which can be good or bad. I think we can do it and I have to show that. … Clearing the ball has to be one of our strengths and it can be.”
He also struggled with the limited type of pressure he faced, completing one of nine attempts under pressure for 8 yards.
But there comes a time when he has to throw the ball downfield or sit in the pocket and throw against pressure. We can evaluate him more then, but right now we know he fits into the RPO and mobility of this offense.
Caleb Downs is as good as advertised
If you look at the stat sheet, you might think Downs hasn’t lived up to his billing as this season’s top transfer. The freshman All-American led Alabama in tackles last season, but has just nine for the Buckeyes.
This number does not tell the whole story.
Downs has been strong in the running game for Ohio State and has even blitzed at times this year. He had half a sack this season and a pass deflection in coverage.
But most of all, he was a reassuring presence in the backcourt with Lathan Ransom. Downs didn’t go deep on any routes. In fact, he ran plenty of junk lines that you don’t see on TV shows.
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles hasn’t used everything in his playbook yet, either, so new pieces will be added to the defense in the coming weeks. They’ll likely involve using Downs in more ways.
But after three games, there’s no doubt that Downs has been as good as advertised. Don’t just take the stat sheet as gospel.
Speaking of high expectations, no one came into this season with more enthusiasm than Smith.
Smith, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2024, was considered one of the top wide receiver prospects out of high school in recent years, so it was unlikely he would come to Ohio State and become an instant star. These assumptions were correct, but it happened even sooner than you might have thought.
Smith opened the season with a 92-yard, two-touchdown day against Akron and only continued that success in the opener. He leads Ohio State with 281 receiving yards and four touchdowns in three games. He’s tied for third nationally.
Smith is not a one-trick pony. He can win with speed, as evidenced by his 53-yard touchdown against Marshall. He could win the field one-on-one with his one-handed catch against Akron. He can win at shortstop, as evidenced by his red zone prowess against Akron. But he can also block on third down and make big catches.
It’s impossible to put a limit on Smith because he’s so good that he’ll have to exceed everyone’s expectations for the next three years before the NFL comes calling.
In the meantime, it’s not crazy to think Smith could be a Big Ten All-Star by the end of the year. He’s very good right now.
Special teams have potential, but it’s still a work in progress
With Parker Fleming gone, Ohio State has been running its special teams department with the help of every member of the coaching staff. Through two games there have been some things to be excited about, especially the addition of Brandon Inniss to the punt return unit.
The former five-star was fine in his second year at Ohio State. He already has 87 yards, compared to 75 last season.
But on Saturday against Marshall, there was cause for concern. Kicker Jayden Fielding sent three straight punts down the field before Ryan Day intercepted him and played Austin Snyder. Day said Fielding adjusted something during the game but didn’t tell the coaching staff until later.
Meanwhile, he and Snyder are battling for the starting job. Snyder lost his black streak on Tuesday, giving the competition a bright future ahead.
The linebacker depth is there, but can they help the run game?
Ohio State’s depth at linebacker was a major concern this season, but that no longer appears to be the case. The Buckeyes have assembled a deep duo that includes starters Sonny Stiles and Cody Simon and rotation players Arvel Reese and CJ Hicks.
They’re an athletic and versatile trio. Reese and Simon are microphone defenders, but Stiles can play microphone and be on the field if he’s with Hicks at the same time. The question for this group, especially after allowing 125 rushing yards to Marshall, is whether they can stop the run consistently.
The Buckeyes won’t be playing an offense like Marshall’s this season. But there are some big-hitting offenses on the schedule, like Iowa with star running back Caleb Johnson, who leads the Big Ten with 685 yards and nine touchdowns.
We’ll learn a lot about Ohio State’s linebacking corps in this game, but right now we don’t know how they’ll react to the offensive line and running back combination.
Brandon Inniss, left, and Quinshawn Judkins Photo: Samantha Madar/USA Today Network via Imagn Images
