A week after one of the most disappointing performances in school history, the Buckeyes put together one of the more impressive bounce-back performances in recent memory.
The Buckeyes were solid in all three aspects of the game, most notably on offense.
Highlighted by true freshman, Braxton Miller’s first career start, the Buckeyes looked much improved over last week, mostly because of Miller’s playmaking ability. On the day, Miller finished with 110 yards on 7/16 passing with 2 touchdowns – and 0 interceptions. Last week, Miller was responsible for two – nearly three – turnovers, throwing one interception and fumbling twice. The Bucks were able to recover one of those fumbles.
Against Colorado, it took a while for Miller to find his composure throwing the ball. After starting the game 0-3 through the air, Miller finally connected with fellow true freshman, Devin Smith, down the middle of the field for a 32-yard touchdown reception. The score was the first touchdown reception by an OSU wide receiver since Smith caught one in the opening game against Akron. The Buckeyes were also able to secure their first reception by a wide receiver since the Toledo game.
While Miller looked okay throwing the ball, he was able to do most of his damage with his legs, rushing for 78 yards. Most of those yards came when then there was a break-down in pass protection, or when there were no receivers were open. He was also quick to take-off when his first option wasn’t open down field.
Miller brought life to an offense that appeared to be on the brink of one of the most disappointing offensive teams in school history. He wasn’t perfect on the day – in fact, I’ve seen tighter spirals from biddy-league quarterbacks – but he was effective and accurate. The true freshman played with surprising poise and consistency, which allowed the defense to catch a break from action, which was a huge factor in last week’s game. Miller was able to limit his mistakes, and failed to turn the ball over to the Colorado defense.
The offense also finally got production from the wide receiver position, also in the form of a true freshman. Ohio State has needed someone to step-up to the occasion at the receiver position for quite some time now, and today, it appears at least, that they have finally found their replacement for the suspend Devier Posey.
Wide receiver Devin Smith, stepped-up today for the Buckeyes, and was the beneficiary of both Braxton Miller touchdown passes. On the day the true freshman recorded 3 catches for 64 yards and the 2 Miller touchdowns.
For the second straight week, junior tight end Jake Stoneburner failed to make his presence felt on offense. It appeared Jake was poised for a stellar season, and looked to be the guy to carry the receiving game until Posey returned from suspension. However, since his 4th touchdown catch of the season against Toledo, Jake has failed to record a reception in the game. Despite Smith’s surprising production today at receiver, Miller will still need a legitimate receiving target as the team prepares for conference play.
For the most part, the offensive line played well, although the Colorado defense was able to record 3 sacks on the day. Miller’s elusiveness may have helped the line look better than they actually were, but the front five was able to pave the way for Ohio State’s stable of running backs, to the tune of 221 yards rushing. Jordan Hall ran well for the second straight game since his return from suspension, posting 87 yards and a touchdown on 18 carriers. Miller was second on the team with his 78 yards on 16 carries, and Carlos Hyde managed 40 yards and a touchdown on just 6 carries.
It’s no secret that the Buckeyes were dissatisfied with their performance against the ‘Canes, missing 27 tackles (according to coaches) and allowing over 200 yards on the ground. Today, however, the defense appeared to play with a chip on their shoulder, and played an all-around solid game despite the 17 points from the Colorado offense.
Colorado managed just 8 yards in the 1st Qtr against the Buckeye defense, who came-out on fire, forcing 2 punts and a fumble on the Buffs first three possessions on offense.
In all, the Buckeye defense forced 6 Colorado punts and 1 turnover against the Buffs’ offense. Middle Linebacker, Storm Klein, was also able to record a sack on the day.
Colorado QB, Tyler Hensen, had all sorts of trouble finding open receivers early in the game against the Buckeyes’ secondary. Pressure from big John Simon, Adam Bellamy and J.T. Moore rattled Hensen for much of the first half.
The Buffs’ offense did manage to do some things well through the air. On the day, Hensen passed for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns on 22/39 passing. Hensen found former (sc)UM receiver, Toney Clemons on a 11 yard pass with the offense facing a 4th & 1 yard to go situation in the second quarter. True freshman Tyler McCulluch caught a 14-yard pass from Hensen late in the 4th Qtr, but the score only cut the lead to 20 with 3:31 remaining in the game. It was the last score of the game, resulting in a much needed, 37-17, win for the Buckeyes. OSU head coach, Luke Fickell, showed class to end the game, opting not to score from the 1-inch line with around 30 seconds to go in the game.
The offense managed great starting field position, much of that thanks goes to the special teams unit, namely Jordan Hall. Hall returned the opening kickoff 45 yards before it was called back for holding, and returned another kickoff 90 yards before he ran out of gas and was caught from behind by a Colorado defender. On the day Hall finished with 222 yards of total offense.
Sophomore kicker, Drew Basil, stepped his game-up today as well. Basil came into today’s game just 2-4 on field goal tries, but kicked with confidence and perfection today against the Buffalos. He managed to make all 3 FG tries, and went 4/4 on extra point attempts. The sophomore also showed-off his strong leg, nailing a 47-yard FG, the longest of the season. His previous long was just 24 yards.
In all, the Buckeyes played with poise and motivation, and really gave an effort Buckeye Nation can be proud of. Miller appears to be the answer at quarterback the Buckeyes coaching staff has been looking for, and it looks like the offense can have a really good stable of receivers when Philly Brown and Posey return to the line-up.
The team really stepped-up and showed what they were capable of, especially with all the pressure to do well after last week’s debacle in Coral Gables. This looks like the team fans expected to see this year from the Buckeyes, and no one could be happier to have another “W” in the win column, than Buckeye Nation.
Hopefully this win builds some momentum and confidence in this extremely young Buckeye team. Next week starts conference play with the Michigan State Spartans traveling to Ohio Stadium to open-up B1G play.
At least for now, Buckeye Nation has something to be happy about, and it appears that the problems on offense are starting to work themselves out. All they need to do now, is find a way to be consistent, and build as a team each and every week.
A B1G Championship is certainly still possible, let’s go get it boys! Go Bucks!
