The Ohio State Buckeyes improved to 2-0 on the season with a
38-25 win over Penn State in a game that they dominated more than the score
indicates. Justin Fields continued his
stellar passing performance this season, completing 82 percent of his throws
for 318 yards and four touchdowns. Chris
Olave and Garrett Wilson are turning into quite the receiving duo. Olave was the deep threat, hauli8ng in
touchdown catches of 49 and 26 yards, each of them a tremendous catch while
being covered. Wilson caught a
career-high 11 passes (11 yards) and got the offense off to a rousing start
with a fly sweep for 62 yards on the game’s first play. Olave and Wilson have become the first pair
of receivers in Ohio State history to both surpass 100 receiving yards in
back-to-back games. But they, and
Fields, were not the only ones responsible for the over 500 yards of total
offense the Buckeyes racked up. Jeremy
Ruckert turned in two touchdown catches.
The running game and offensive line looked significantly better than
they did last week against Nebraska, as the offense churned out 224 yards on
the ground. Master Teague found the end
zone on the opening possession and ran for 110 yards and Trey Sermon again
showed a good blend of power and elusiveness, gaining 56 yards. Fields did not figure into the ground game;
it was obvious Ohio State had to develop a rushing attack with someone other
than Fields, and against Penn State, they did.
Although
the defense allowed three Penn State touchdowns in the second half, after
giving up only two field goals before halftime, they managed to limit PSU QB
Sean Clifford’s running ( 5 yards on 18 carries) and held the Nittany Lions to
a mere 3-for-9 on third downs. Penn
State was held to a mere 44 yards on the ground, which meant Clifford had to
take to the air. Penn State’s Jahan
Dotson almost single-handedly kept Penn State from getting completely blown off
their home field, scoring all three Nittany Lion touchdowns in the second half,
as Dotson is turning into one the best receivers in the B1G. Tommy Togiai had, by far, his best game as a
Buckeye, making life miserable for Clifford, sacking him three times, and
leading the team with seven tackles. Marcus
Hooker had a good game in the secondary, coming up with six stops and an interception
to end any hopes of a comeback by Penn State.
LB Pete Werner excelled in pass coverage and turned in six tackles.
All in
all, both the offensive and defensive lines showed significant improvement over
the first game and if not for Penn State’s Dotson, it is doubtful Penn State would
have scored a touchdown in this game.
Next
week, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights come to town and while Ohio State should win
this one without breaking a sweat, there are still things to work on. The line play needs to continue to improve
and the young secondary was toasted by Dotson.
Still, their toughest test of the regular season should be behind them
and there’s time to work on a few things.
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