MY THOUGHTS.....Oregon

 

Ohio State’s season is done as far as the CFP is concerned following a second straight loss by double-digits, the first time that has happened since 1999. 

                The Buckeyes started out hot with a 14-0 lead.  They led 14-3 when Oregon converted a first down on a fake punt, and at that moment, the Buckeyes started to fall apart and could never find a way to get back on track.  The carnage resulted in 38 unanswered points by Oregon, the most allowed by Ohio State since October 2, 1999, when the Buckeyes gave up 42 straight to Wisconsin.  A week after Ohio State gained 200 yards on the ground at USC, they ran for just 53 yards against Oregon.  This includes nine carries for five yards in the second half.  Bo Jackson led the way with 48 yards and Ohio State’s touchdowns in the first quarter, while Legend Bey and Isaiah West also contributed.  Luke Fahey put the ball up 50 times, completing 72 percent of his throws for 360 yards and touchdown passes to Jeremiah Smith and Nate Roberts when the game was out of reach.  His ill-timed interception near the end of the first half enabled Oregon to take the lead just before halftime.  Devin McCuin led the receivers with nine catches, while Jeremiah Smith had seven for 133 yards. 

                Christian Alliegro and Earl Little Jr.  led the defense with six tackles apiece while Eddrick Houston and Cincere Johnson each had two tackles for loss.  But for the second straight week, the defense was left out on the field and got shredded.  Oregon was 8 for 17 on third down conversions and gave up nearly 400 total yards.

                It has now become apparent there are serious issues with the entire team, and they have cropped up right when Julian Sayin was lost.  The fact the defense has been shredded for two straight weeks means these issues are far more than the loss of a starting quarterback.  Perhaps there are “locker-room issues” perhaps coaching issues and at the end of the season, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and defensive line coach Larry Johnson, may be looking for another team and perhaps Coach Ryan Day himself could be on the “hot seat” if drastic improvement does not happen.

GAME 9: Ohio State v Oregon

November 7 Predictions

MY THOUGHTS.....USC

 

Ohio State was a no-show in the Halloween house of horrors that was the LA Colosseum as USC won a double-digit victory, 30-18.

                This was a strange game in that the statistics in no way reflected the score of the game.  Ohio State had over 200 yards rushing, 25 first downs, and outgained the Trojans 464-338.  Yet the red-zone troubles once again haunted this offense, settling for four Connor Hawkins field goals and scoring the lone touchdown in the fourth quarter when the margin dictated a faster pace.  The defense, uncharacteristically, gave up some big plays, including on the second play of the game, giving up a long score that set the tone for the rest of the game. 

                Bo Jackosn ran for 121 yards and Isaiah West contributed 65 but also had a costly fumble in the third quarter when it looked as though the Buckeyes were going to get back in the game.  Luke Fahey performed better than expected for his first start, not throwing an interception, but several of his throws seemed off target that would’ve gone for big gains.  The bright spot in the offense was, once again, Jeremiah Smith, hauling in 10 receptions and the lone touchdown. 

                Payton Pierce led the defensive effort with six tackles and Earl Little Jr. had five and was in the Trojans backfield quite a bit.  Jaylen McClain and Riley Pettijohn each had five stops, but the defense couldn’t get stops when they needed them.  In addition to the long touchdown play on the second play of the game, they also allowed USC to go on a couple of time-consuming drives in the second half and add field goals to pad their cushion.

                With all that said, it was clear the Buckeyes came into this game asleep and when they woke up, it was too late.  Ohio State’s CFP hopes are now hanging by a thread with Oregon coming to town next week.

GAME 8: Ohio State v USC

October 31 Predictions

IDLE WEEK Thoughts

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes head into their idle week with a 6-1 record, still undefeated in conference play, with a major question at the QB position and other players that are banged up.

                The major concern, of course, is at the QB position with Julian Sayin apparently out for the rest of the season.  So, it will fall to either freshman Luke Fahey or sophomore Tavien St. Clair to lead the offense.  Fahey has been the established backup to Sayin, completing nine of his 13 throws for 203 yards and two touchdowns, but has also thrown two interceptions.  St. Clair, in his limited time, is five of seven for 52 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.  Add to the question at quarterback is RB Ja’Kobi Jackson, perhaps the best blend of power and speed at that position, is still hobbled after sitting out the Indiana game.  Fortunately, Bo Jackson stepped up against Indiana, and he leads the team on the ground with 516 yards, averaging nearly five yards per carry and four touchdowns.  His receiving touchdown at Indiana was key as it came just before the half and gave the Buckeyes the lead.  The highlight of the offense is, of course, the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy, Jeremiah Smith.  His performance this season will soon become the stuff of legends; hauling in 52 catches for almost 1000 yards and 12 touchdowns.  Devin McCuin is a distant second with 19 catches, although he has been a reliable second option in the passing game and so has TE Nate Roberts who now has 11 reception and his 68-yard catch-and-run against Maryland raised eyebrows with his surprising speed for his size. 

                Other than the fourth-quarter collapse at Texas, the defense has performed very well, holding Iowa to 14 points and a potent Indiana offense to only one sustained TD drive.  Earl Little Jr. leads the way with 38 tackles to go along with four pass breakups and a fumble recovery.  Payton Pierce has played well in every game and is right behind Little Jr. with 37 stops and Jaylen McClain has led the way in the secondary with 32 stops, four pass breakups and a sack.  McClain also has two of the four interceptions the Ohio State defense has managed.  The four interceptions seem disappointing, but the defense has pounced on six fumbles for a total of ten turnovers in the seven games. 

                The schedule ramps up in intensity from here on out, beginning next week with a trip out to the West Coast and USC, followed by a game verses Oregon in the ‘Shoe.  It may seem strange, but out of the five remaining opponents, Michigan would seem to be the weakest as in addition to USC and Oregon, Northwestern and Nebraska have had better than expected seasons; both of whom took Indiana to the wire.  So, the second half of the season should prove interesting, especially with a new man under center.

October 24 Predictions

MY THOUGHTS.....Indiana

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes went on the road and handed Indiana their first loss in 22 games in a game that was back-and-forth and wasn’t decided until the very end.

Offensively, the Buckeyes were hardly impressive.  Julian Sayin, who exited the game late with a shoulder injury, was off target a few times, completed barely over half his throws, and threw two picks.  Nevertheless, his fourth-down throw to Jeremiah Smith for a touchdown was perfect and Sayin utilized other targets well.  TE Mason Williams had two catches on the first two plays on the opening drive, making yards after the catch, leading to a field goal.  Chris Henry Jr. also had two receptions, including one along the sideline to get Ohio State out of tough field position and Bo Jackson hauled in a TD catch on a fourth-and-goal with seconds remaining in the first half to give the Buckeyes the lead for good.  The stingy Indiana defense doesn’t give up much on the ground and Ohio State was without RB Ja’Kobi Jackson and lineman Austin Siereveld.  So, RB Bo Jackson was slowed a bit, picking up a mere 56 yards.  Isaiah West picked up 45 yards, and Legend Bey managed to get three carries for six yards. 

Ther bend-but-don’t-break defense won the game with timely stops and turnovers and perhaps the pressure by Riley Pettijohn on Indiana QB Josh Hoover led to the last throw that Indiana WR Nick Marsh could not catch inbounds.  Earl Little Jr. led the way with eight tackles and recovered a Josh Hoover fumble to stop an Indiana scoring threat.  Jay Timmons forced a fumble and picked up seven stops.  So did Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Payton Pierce.  Jaylen McClain picked up the only sack, an eleven-yard loss that resulted in a fumble. 

Ohio State gets a much-needed break next week that will allow several players to heal and hopefully, QB Julian Sayin will have time for his injured shoulder to recover before they travel out to the west coast to play USC in another tough road contest.

GAME 7: Ohio State v Indiana

October 17 Predictions

MY THOUGHTS.....Maryland

 

    Despite several key players sitting out, Ohio State did as they were supposed to and eventually overwhelmed an outmanned Maryland squad 45-16. 

                The offense started out a bit below par, missing a pair of starters on the offensive line and in the receiving corp.  However, that didn’t stop Bo Jackson from churning out the first 100-yard rushing game this season, getting 107 and two touchdowns.  Ja’kobi Jackson chipped in 76 yards on the ground as the Buckeyes ran for 207, their best performance since churning out 237 yards against Ball State in the season opener.  Quarterback Julian Sayin wasn’t his sharpest. Losing a fumble and throwing a pick-six, yet he still managed 242 yards and four touchdown passes.  The All-World Jeremiah Smith hauled in another two scoring tosses and TE Nate Roberts came up big with a 68-yard catch and run, showing surprising speed for his size.

                DE Que Russaw and DT Eddrick Houston continued where they left off last week and Russaw picked up three stops and a TFL, while Houston tallied four tackles and 1.5 TFLs.  Jaylen McClain once again led the Buckeyes in tackles with eight, and Earl Little Jr. had seven.  Payton Pierce chipped in four stops.  As Ohio State gets to the toughest part of their schedule, it will be interesting to see how they rotate Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Que Russaw, and Zion Grady, along with Beau Atkinson to keep a consistent pass rush.  Penalties seemed to be an issue as Ohio State was flagged eight times for 65 yards, making the fourth time this season they’ve racked up at least seven infractions.  It’s easy to overlook penalties in a blowout win, yet they could turn out to be costly in a few of these games coming up.

                Speaking of which, next week the competition ramps up significantly, with a trip to Bloomington to take on the defending champions, Indiana.

GAME 6: Ohio State v Maryland

October 10 Predictions

MY THOUGHTS.....Iowa

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes went on the road and dominated a ranked Iowa team in coming away with a 31-14 victory.

                After giving up the edge, at times, against Illinois and giving up nearly 200 yards on the ground, the Ohio State defense stifled the Hawkeyes on the ground to the tune of a mere 39 yards and less than two yards per carry.  The defense came right out of the gate; on Iowa’s second play from scrimmage, as QB Hank Brown rolled to his left, Kenyatta Jackson Jr. punched the ball out and Christian Alliegro recovered at the Iowa 14.  It led to a touchdown pass from Julian Sayin to Devin McCuin two plays later and Ohio State was never seriously threatened the rest of the way.  The defense, at times, gave up some third down conversions (Iowa was 5 of 11), but stiffened when Iowa crossed the fifty-yard line, giving up a touchdown late in the game against the reserves when the game was far out of reach.  Payton Pierce led the way with six tackles and Que Russaw had the best game of his young career with five stops, including a sack.  Eddrick Houston and Zion Grady each had four stops and Alliegro turned in a TFL after his fumble recovery. 

                The Jeremiah Smith show continues as the Heisman front-runner and record-setter turned in yet another double-digit day (11 receptions) and 200+ game (206 yards) with two touchdowns.  Devin McCuin scored the first TD of the game, part of his four receptions for 80 yards and Brandon Innis caught two passes for 14 yards.  The running game could still use some improvement, but Ja’Kobi Jackson was running hard inside and several times, carried Iowa defenders with him, to the tune of 72 yards and their lone score on the ground. 

Bo Jackson turned in 70 yards and Julian Sayin made a couple of timely runs to keep drives going while throwing for over 300 yards and three scores.

                Next week, Ohio State returns home to take on Maryland.            

GAME 5: Ohio State v Iowa

October 3 Predictions

MY THOUGHTS.....Illinois

 

Ohio State opened conference play with a 42-19 victory against Illinois, which revealed some strengths and some glaring deficiencies.

  

                The Jeremiah Smith Show…ie the Ohio State offense rolled to the tune of 518 total yards, averaging over seven yards per play, no doubt aided by the 72-yard touchdown pass to Smith, who completely juked Illini defender Mac Resetich and walked into the end zone.  The Jeremiah Smith Show produced a career-high 12 receptions for 217 yards and four touchdowns.  The four touchdown receptions tied Ohio State’s school record for touchdown catches in a game, while Julian Sayin also set a career high with five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing).  Nate Roberts and Devin McCuin also st career highs with four catches a piece, while Bo Jackson caught three passes out of the backfield.  In addition to a couple of timely pickups by Sayin, including a play in which he somehow eluded the grasp of a couple Illinois defensive linemen and scrambled for the first down, Ja’Kobi Jackson led the way with 56 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while Bo Jackson picked up 53 yards and Isaiah West picked up 15 yards on a couple of carries in relief.

                It wasn’t a great day for the Ohio State defense, who seemed to take a step backward in allowing more than 400 yards and a few times lost contain allowing Illini running backs to turn the corner and pick up big yardage.  They allowed the Illini 199 yards on the ground, giving defensive coordinator Matt Patricia some issues to work on going forward.  Jaylen McClain had a good day in the secondary and led the way with eight tackles, while Davin Sanchez and Jermaine Mathews Jr. had seven each.  Riley Pettijohn made his presence felt from the LB spot with a pair of TFLs and a sack, while Beau Atkinson and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. were in the Illini backfield quite a bit and disrupted the Illinois passing game.

                Needless to say, the Sayin-to-Smith duo is unbeatable, but the competition ramps up significantly beginning with next week’s road trip to Iowa.  The run game and the defensive front seven showed they are still works in progress and need to take a step forward starting next week.

GAME 4: Ohio State v Illinois

September 26 Predictions