Well, that was fun. After hearing criticism from the national media about its offense, Ohio State put up a bushel of points, yards, and highlights in a 77-21 beatdown of instate, MAC opponent Toledo.
Take that.
With so many big plays, there’s a lot to take from this game, and that’s exactly what we’re here for, to give you the analysis you didn’t even know you needed. In fact, after every Ohio State football game, we take what we saw on the field of play and try to pull out five things that we think we learned from the action.
So yeah, here we are doing the same thing for the people with inquiring minds. Here are five things we think we learned from Ohio State’s impressive showing against the Toledo Rockets on Saturday night.
C.J. Stroud inserted himself back atop the Heisman race
C.J. Stroud's halftime stats:
🌰 18/20
🌰 297 yards
🌰 4 TD pic.twitter.com/DRGIU45Qnq— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) September 18, 2022
I don’t care what anyone says about how many yards Stroud didn’t pile up in such an offensive output. He had almost 300-yards in the first half while still completing 90 % of his passes. He still finished the day with 367 yards and five touchdowns on 22-of-27 passing.
He then left the game early but not before delivering several highlight-worthy passes that were off of scrambles and while sitting in the pocket as accurate and as on-time more than almost anyone else in the country. Make him your Heisman favorite right now because if you watched the game, nobody is doing what he does, making the plays that he can.
Dallan Hayden has a chance to be really good at running back
The first of many career TDs for Dallan Hayden 🙌
cc: @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/OcP7BAVzgz
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2022
Look, I know freshman Dallan Hayden got a lot of carries because TreVeyon Henderson left the game banged up, and then things got out of hand. But man, you have to like what you see from the young freshman.
OSU will go after more sought-after running backs in recruiting but could do a lot worse than Hayden as the future. He hits the hole fast, has some straight-line shiftiness (if that makes sense), and will bulk up as he gets into the weight room more. He had over 100-yards today and looked the part.
Can we say enough good things about the OSU wide receivers?
"I am speed." – Lightning McQueen
– Jayden Ballard https://t.co/8H83VK4wYE
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 18, 2022
We say it every week, but man does Ohio State have an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver. Years from now, we are going to look back on this period of time and marvel at the amount of talent that ran through the tunnel at the position.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba wasn’t targeted much, but that didn’t matter because Julian Fleming and Marvin Harrison Jr flashed some pretty remarkable highlights, catching two touchdowns a piece. We also saw Emeka Egbuka have a day, and even got a glimpse of the talent on the bench when Jayden Ballard took one to the house. What a room, and with all of them healthy, I don’t know how you stop it.
The secondary needs to clean things up a bit
𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝙍𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙨‼️@Dequanfinn5 can make 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 😤
4⃣0⃣ yards to @NJerjuan for the TD‼️
📺 @CFBONFOX | #GoRockets pic.twitter.com/bUxAFDCxk8
— Toledo Football (@ToledoFB) September 18, 2022
OK, maybe the plays were a bit flukey, but in a closer contest, the explosive moments given up in the passing game could make or break a season. As good as the Buckeyes have been against the run, the secondary has shown some concern when it comes to knocking down passes or limiting things in front.
It didn’t matter today, but it could when the heart of the schedule gets cookin’. I know you live with some of that with an aggressive defense, but the 1:1 play on the backside has to be better.
Ohio State is the class of the Big Ten
Always supporting each other💯 pic.twitter.com/feX7iZM3GM
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 18, 2022
I know everyone wants to jump on what Michigan is doing, but Ohio State has more talent and more depth than any team in the league. The Wolverines have yet to put on the helmets against a team with a pulse, and the Buckeyes seem to be getting better and better.
We’ll know more about OSU next week vs. Wisconsin when it comes to another physical test, but this team looks to be able to beat teams in many different ways. The Big Ten title runs through Columbus this year.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on Twitter.
Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.
