Another win is in the books for Ohio State! It wasn’t pretty, but it counts. I’ll take it! Especially at a very tough road environment like Camp Randall Stadium. With the victory, the Buckeyes snapped Wisconsin’s eight-game winning streak in night games, and climb to 8-0 on the season. Up until tonight, the Badgers hadn’t lost a home night game since 2016. The team that last beat them in that situation? Ohio State. Nice to see the boys in Scarlet and Gray bookend that streak!
But even with the win, there still was a lot for Ohio State to clean up. Let’s take a look at tonight’s Keys to Victory to see what went right for the Buckeyes, as well as what they can do better at.
Marvin. Harri$on. Jr.
Money Marv just does Money Marv things week in and week out. And it was no different again tonight. It’s almost ho hum at this point for him. He’s just that good. He caught six passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
We’re so spoiled as fans that our team has the best wideout in the country playing for us. And I’ll go one step further: Marvin Harrison Jr. should be in New York as a Heisman finalist. If he keeps this up, he absolutely should be there. Even if he doesn’t win it. The fact that JJ McCarthy, a game manager quarterback for Michigan who has played against absolutely nobody, is getting all the Big Ten Heisman love, while Marv is in his shadow, is absolutely criminal. It’s wrong.
I know we have a while before The Game. But that just irks me to no end. JJ is the beneficiary of an offensive system built to mask his weaknesses, while Marvin Harrison Jr. is genuinely that talented. But I’m sure if any of us talked to Marvin, he would gladly sacrifice a shot at the Heisman Trophy for a win over Michigan, and a National Championship ring. And performances like the one he had tonight against Wisconsin, helps Ohio State stay in the running for College Football’s biggest prize.
Welcome Back, TreVeyon Henderson!
I really hope TreVeyon Henderson can stay consistently healthy as the Buckeyes make their stretch run to end the season. It’s frustrating and sad that he just can’t seem to shake his foot injury problems. He’s an explosive running back, and he gives the Buckeyes a legit puncher’s chance in any big game. And he definitely delivered the knockout punch for Ohio State tonight. Henderson carried the ball 24 times for 162 yards, and the game-sealing score, a 33-yard burst to the end zone with just over five minutes left in the ballgame.
With Kyle McCord still struggling to figure things out under center, Henderson is his security blanket too. He might only be 5’10 and 212 pounds, but Henderson runs like he’s about 6’2, 240. He just runs with a bad attitude and a burst of speed once he turns the corner. It was so refreshing to see him back. I really hope that’s not the last we see of him. The Buckeyes are going to desperately need him for the homestretch of the season, including when they head north to Ann Arbor in less than a month. Fingers and toes crossed that he stays healthy for the rest of the season!
Silver Bullets: Deja Vu
Even though there still are areas where Ohio State’s defense can tighten up and play tougher, they’ve been pretty impressive in two tough games in back-to-back weeks. They held Penn State to just 12 points in a tough Top 10 battle in Columbus, and they didn’t let Camp Randall faze them. They kept Wisconsin’s offense from really getting anything going all night long.
The Silver Bullets held the Badgers to just 165 yards passing, as Wisconsin signal caller Braedyn Locke went 18-39 passing, and threw Wisconsin’s lone touchdown of the game. The Buckeyes did allow 94 yards rushing though to the Badgers, mostly from Braelon Allen until he went out with an injury. He had 10 carries for 50 yards. That’s not good.
I always judge a team’s running game by this simple rule of thumb: If you’re either getting four yards per play or more running the football, or your running back is averaging close to five yards per carry, you’re having success with running the ball. Wisconsin had success against Ohio State in that area of the game today.
And even though I hope Braelon Allen is okay, and I hate seeing anyone get hurt, Ohio State is extremely lucky that Allen never got to play a full game. If he had? I bet he would have gone for at least 100 yards. Easily. Ohio State’s rushing defense was shoddy and below average at best. And I’m being nice. Gotta tighten that up!
But overall, the Silver Bullets showed up and got the job done. We’re going to need more of that as we finish up the regular season. Especially since I don’t have confidence in our offense to put together an impressive, sustained game. Kyle McCord wasn’t very good tonight, and even though Marvin Harrison Jr., and TreVeyon Henderson showed up big tonight, this offense relies too heavily on them. Which means the defense will unfortunately always have to be ready to bail them out of trouble. So far, Jim Knowles’ unit has largely been up to the task.
The next task on the list for Ohio State? A road trip to Rutgers, a team that is vastly improved under head coach Greg Schiano, who is in his second stint as the leader of the Scarlet Knights. He previously served as the head coach at Rutgers from 2001-2011, before taking his shot in the NFL, as well as being Ohio State’s defensive coordinator for three seasons, from 2016-2018.
Schiano will go bowling with Rutgers later on. He’s got them at 6-2 and playing well. The Scarlet Knights are certainly no slouch. Heck, they made Michigan look beatable before the Wolverines busted that game open late. They’ll be a deceptively tough challenge for Ohio State. Hopefully Ryan Day has the Buckeyes ready to go once they touch down in Piscataway, New Jersey next Saturday.
But until then, the Buckeyes remain undefeated, as they climb to 8-0 on the season and 5-0 in the Big Ten! It doesn’t matter if they win ugly, or if they post a beautiful, textbook win. A dub is a dub. Period.
GO BUCKS!
Statistical Leaders
Kyle McCord: 17-26, 226 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
TreVeyon Henderson: 24 carries, 162 yards, TD
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 6 receptions, 123 yards, 2 TDs.
Source: ESPN
Picture Credit: clutchpoints.com
