Heading into the Penn State game next week, there’s a lot to feel good about on both sides of the ball. We’re spending our bye week revisiting some of the team’s best plays through the first seven games
this season.
Offense
Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is widely considered the best player in college football, while quarterback Julian Sayin has begun to make a Heisman case for himself. So what could possibly be better than Sayin’s season-long touchdown pass, an 87-yard dart to Smith against Grambling State in Week 2?
Though both Smith and Sayin have had more difficult plays against more difficult opponents this season, this long ball speaks to more than just one play. It’s evidence of just how smooth this offense looks with Sayin at the helm, as well as Smith’s ability to make everything he does look easy.
But it’s also a good example of why Smith changes the game for Ohio State. While the run game has struggled at times, Sayin has spectacular options through the air, bolstered by Smith’s presence. If you attempt to contain him, you risk freeing up Carnell Tate, who has stepped into a star-powered role of his own. If you somehow manage to contain both of them, tight ends Max Klare or Will Kacmarek are probably on the loose. When opposing defenses have to account for Smith’s superhuman skills, it makes the Buckeyes’ offensive options that much better.
If you needed further proof that Sayin can let it rip and has the receiving arsenal ready to make the catch, look no further than this touchdown connection with Smith:
Defense
If there were any doubts about how the defense would fare under new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia after a decent amount of turnover, the proof was in the pudding before the first game was over.
Against then-No. 1 Texas, the Buckeye defense looked strong all day, and while the Longhorns didn’t shape up to be the dominant force experts predicted, it was an impressive showing for a team still getting its sea legs.
The real icing on the cake came in the third quarter. With Ohio State in the lead, 7-0, Texas quarterback Arch Manning finally seemed to find some rhythm, setting his team up with 1st-and-goal on the Buckeyes’ 9-yard line after a 70-yard drive.
On the next three plays, the defense gave up eight yards, bringing up 4th-and-goal from the 1. The Longhorns attempted a quarterback sneak, attempting to tush push Manning into the endzone. Only they didn’t push his tush hard enough.
Instead, the Buckeye defense did what it does best—it stacked the Longhorns up to keep them out of the endzone and off the scoreboard and turn the ball over on downs.
It was, perhaps, an indicator of just how elite the defense would be: The Silver Bullets have allowed an average of 5.8 points per game—less than a touchdown—through the first seven games. Only one team has scored more than 10 points against them, No. 17 Illinois, who the Buckeyes still beat by 18.
Watch as they stuff Manning and the Longhorns in Week 1:
Special Teams
The special teams unit is arguably the Buckeyes’ Achilles Heel this season, regularly referred to as “not-so-special teams” due to troubles with both punting and receiving. They are, to put it bluntly, a liability for a team that is otherwise on the right track in its quest to repeat its national title.
But even special teams have had a few special moments this season, most notably a trick play that turned out to be a treat.
Against Minnesota in the fifth game of the season, Buckeye receiver Brandon Inniss caught a punt return at Ohio State’s 44-yard line before tossing a lateral pass to Lorenzo Styles Jr., a defensive back at Ohio State but a former wide receiver for Notre Dame.
Styles’ 36-yard return, the longest of the season, put Ohio State on the Golden Gophers’ 20-yard line to start its next drive. Watch as he sets the Buckeyes offense up in style:
