“The Buckeyes could have easily powered their way to those same, or similar scores, with a fearsome run game that ranks fourth in the nation with 287 yards per-game. But it’s interesting Day chose to sharpen Ohio State’s passing game in advance of Penn State, which has struggled to contain the Buckeyes in the secondary the past two years.”
- Bruce Hooley, Sports Illustrated
If you were paying close attention this past weekend, you may have noticed something a little different about Ohio State’s offense. J.K. Dobbins is one of the best running backs in the country, and against a team as overmatched as Rutgers, Ryan Day could have easily elected to give the ball to his bell-cow running back to power their way to a likely similar blowout victory. Instead, Day let his first-year starter quarterback Justin Fields steal the spotlight, and he responded with a career-high passing performance.
The Buckeyes weren’t just looking to flex their passing attack against the Scarlet Knights’ secondary. Instead, they were prepping for their next opponent: a huge Big Ten Championship appearance-clinching showdown with Penn State.
The past two matchups against the Nittany Lions have featured big-time passing performances for Ohio State’s quarterbacks. J.T. Barrett led a massive comeback in 2017, finishing with 328 yards passing with four touchdowns, including a 13-of-13 fourth quarter. Dwayne Haskins was forced to lead a comeback of his own a year ago, finishing with 270 yards and three touchdowns. Both resulted in wins for the guys draped in Scarlet and Gray, and could provide a blueprint for this year’s contest.
The Nittany Lions, while undoubtedly the best team the Buckeyes have faced this season, have a big weakness when it comes to defending the pass. While their rush defense ranks No. 4 in the nation, allowing only 75.9 yards per game on the ground, their pass defense comes in at No. 84 in the country, surrounding over 240 yards through the air per game. Their last two opponents found ways to exploit the PSU secondary, with Minnesota and Indiana completing near 80 percent of pass attempts and combining for 710 yards.
It was not a coincidence that Ohio State looked to hone in on its passing attack this past weekend. Fields has been nothing short of spectacular this season, completing near 70 percent of his passes for over 2,100 yards and 31 TDs with just the one interception. The Bucks will need a big performance from Fields through the air this Saturday if the undefeated season is to stay intact.
Players of the Game against the Scarlet Knights‼️
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 17, 2019
Offense ➡️ @justnfields @BinjimenVictor
Defense ➡️ @shaunwade2017
Special Teams ➡️ @dallas_gant #GoBucks #ToughLove pic.twitter.com/u9RQ5mo2H6
Speaking of Fields, the sophomore QB was one of four players to receive the weekly Player of the Game honors. With so many players to chose from in the lopsided victory over Rutgers, these guys were the ones that really stood out in the eyes of the coaching staff.
The Offensive Player of the Game was split between two players: Fields and Binjimen Victor. Fields had a career-high passing performance against the Scarlet Knights, throwing for over 300 yards with four touchdowns. He threw just four incomplete passes, and added another 30 yards rushing. Victor was one of the many recipients of Fields’ throws, hauling in a game-high five receptions for 68 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Victor is quietly having himself a very nice year, sitting second on the team in receiving yards (459) and TDs (6).
The Defensive Player of the Game was an obvious choice, as Shaun Wade set on the tone on that side of the ball right from the get-go. The sophomore cornerback had to step up his play in the absence of Damon Arnette, and more than got the job done with an interception, a forced fumble and three solo tackles. Wade’s coverage has been phenomenal all year long, but he really showed out this weekend forcing two turnovers on Rutgers’ first four plays from scrimmage.
Ohio State’s special teams has been excellent as season long, aside from the muffed punt this past weekend that we will all try to block out of our memory. This week’s Special Teams Player of the Game went to Dallas Gant, who started on all four units and made a tackle on a kickoff. In total, Gant was credited with five total tackles against the Scarlet Knights, including one for a loss.
Kaleb Wesson of @OhioStateHoops earned #B1GMBBall Player of the Week for the second time in his career after helping the #Buckeyes to a dominating win over No. 10 Villanova. Wesson posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds along with four blocks and three assists. pic.twitter.com/FAidaFclt0
— Big Ten Men's Hoops (@B1GMBBall) November 18, 2019
Ohio State’s football program isn't the only team making headlines lately, as the OSU men’s basketball team is off to a massive start. This past Wednesday, the Buckeyes welcomed No. 10 Villanova to Value City Arena and gave them a good ole-fashioned polite midwestern throttling. Ohio State smothered Jay Wright’s Wildcats on defense while shooting over 60 percent themselves at the other end of the floor en route to a 76-51 beatdown.
The Buckeyes were rewarded for their impressive outing against one of the premier college basketball programs in the country, jumping all the way up to No. 10 in Monday’s latest AP Poll. With the team’s leap, Ohio State became the only school in the country to have both a top-10 football and basketball program.
The individual awards went Ohio State’s way as well, as junior forward Kaleb Wesson took home Big Ten Player of the Week for his performance against Villanova. In perhaps his best game of the early season, Wesson put up a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while also adding three assists and a career-high four blocks. Wesson is averaging a double-double on the year with 10.3 points and 11.7 rebounds per game while shooting over 43 percent through the team’s first three contests.
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