Welcome to halftime of the first Ohio State football game. Things are not going very well at halftime in the Twin Cities. The Buckeyes are actually losing to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 14-10, and although I strongly believe our beloved Buckeyes will turn it around in the second half it is still disappointing.
Each game of the 2021 season, we take stock in what has happened through the first half and give you three points and takeaways to ponder. In this one, there’s more bad than good that we’ll dive into.
Let’s get into what transpired in the first half and try to figure out what went wrong. It’s not too late for Ohio State to turn this around, but things will need to be much better in the second half.
NEXT … So, at least there’s that
The defense has the wildcat under control
#Buckeyes defense holds but #Gophers lead 14-10 at halftime after a late surge. Ohio State rotating A TON of personnel, might need to be a bit more selective in second half and reignite run game to help first-time starting QB CJ Stroud.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) September 3, 2021
The above headline is a bit sarcastic, because Minnesota has been running the goofiest offense I have seen in a while. It is so hard to gauge how the Buckeyes are playing on defense, because the Golden Gophers either have seven offensive lineman playing or have lined up in wildcat. Unfortunately the only answer I got from the first half of defense is that the defensive line is great.
NEXT … Questions at Quarterback for Ohio State
C.J. Stroud is not Justin Fields, at least not yet
C.J. Stroud misses behind Chris Olave and throws the first interception of his Ohio State career, giving Minnesota the ball with a chance to take the lead in Ohio State territory.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 3, 2021
C.J. Stroud has not looked good at all. Every pass that he has attempted more than five yards through the air has been either way behind, too low or too high. He looks smooth, calm and composed, but there is something missing. Perhaps we have been spoiled by the greatness of Justin Fields for too long, but Stroud is missing something. Don’t get me wrong, he is good enough to win some games for Ohio State, but I am not sure he is the next great one.
All the caveats apply about it being one-half of football, but he needs to settle down and show everyone why he was named the starter by a pretty significant margin after a couple of weeks of fall camp.
NEXT … About all of those OSU receivers
The receivers are legit
Love listening to commentators talking about Ohio State and panicking while the shot is Chris Olave giggling on the sideline.
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) September 3, 2021
With all of the hype going into the season surrounding Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, and the wealth of talent behind them, I was slightly worried they would disappoint, but no. All of the receivers have shown their skills and have put defensive backs in blenders.
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