PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Over the past few weeks, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day’s focus has been on balance.
Balance between the pass and run offense, balance between defending the pass and putting pressure on opposing offenses behind the line of scrimmage. To Day, it’s about finding that full package, that cohesive unit that feeds off the momentum of each individual component.
Ohio State had not seen a complete game heading into Week 5.
It got one on the road against Rutgers, and with it, a statement was made.
It started with Stroud.
If there was any doubt whether the redshirt freshman quarterback was healthy — nursing an injured shoulder during the Buckeyes’ Week 4 matchup with Akron — if there was any doubt whether the redshirt freshman was consistent, he quickly erased any hesitancy.
Simply, C.J. Stroud balled out, finishing with 330 yards and five touchdowns, completing 17-of-23 — a 78% completion percentage. He was calm and confident in the pocket, not seeming to force anything, but finding receivers in stride after having a tendency to overshoot receivers in the first three games.
It just wasn’t one receiver, either. Stroud spread the ball around, hitting seven different receivers on 18 targets. He got the short game involved, hitting tight end Jeremy Ruckert four times for 40 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown. He found his main weapons, including senior Chris Olave, who had been dormant for the past two games, for 90 yards on three receptions and a touchdown.
And what a touchdown that was.
Stroud moved to his left, stepping up outside the pocket, evading pressure from every which way, threw across his body to find Olave, who weaved his way into the middle of the field for a 56-yard touchdown.
Olave, who recorded two catches for 12 yards and a touchdown in the last two games against Tulsa and Akron, finished with 119 receiving yards — his third game eclipsing 100 yards in 2021 — with two touchdowns.
But it wasn’t just Stroud on offense.
It was the balance itself.
After Stroud opened the game with a four-yard completion to Ruckert, the quarterback handed the ball off to freshman back TreVeyon Henderson. Seeing a massive hole between Ruckert and offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, the running back did his job: hitting the home-run ball for a 44-yard score.
Henderson’s day was quickly complete. After a hit by Keesawn Abraham at the end of the first quarter, the freshman running back exited the field, was looked at by a trainer and entered the Buckeyes’ medical tent without his helmet.
While he quickly left the tent and was seen joking with running backs coach Tony Alford on the sideline, Henderson didn’t need to come back. Ohio State was doing just fine without him, holding onto a 24-6 lead after 15 minutes.
The backs didn’t seem to do anything special after Henderson left, averaging 5.5 yards per carry with Master Teague shouldering the load of the first-team snaps and Marcus Crowley leading the second team in his season debut. But it’s not like the running game was supposed to define the game for Ohio State. It was a set-up tool for a passing offense that was clicking.
As Ohio State left SHI Stadium Saturday evening, it had 197 yards rushing and 333 yards passing with 24 first downs and nine yards per play.
That's a good day at the office.
Some news of note: Thayer Munford played for Ohio State for the first time since Tulsa, starting at left guard before moving to left tackle later in the game. Harry Miller also made his season debut for the Buckeyes, coming into the game in the second half at left guard.
Speaking of clicking, the Ohio State defense made Rutgers one-dimensional.
There were plays the Ohio State defense would want back: the pass interference to start the game by cornerback Sevyn Banks, the 75-yard touchdown to start Rutgers’ final drive of the first half, the 12-yard touchdown pass the Scarlet Knights hit in garbage time.
But if anything, it was a performance that promoted consistency for the Ohio State defense.
It started with the age-old trope: stopping the run, allowing 90 yards on 30 carries — three yards per touch. No Rutgers player recorded longer than a 12-yard rush, until the second-to-last play of the game
While it was a defense that did not convert on its pressure — recording one tackle-for-loss split between Cameron Martinez and Javontae Jean-Baptiste — the pressure indeed showed up, recording X quarterback hits, leading to rushed throws and three interceptions: a pick-six by freshman cornerback Denzel Burke along with interceptions by Tommy Eichenberg and Ryan Watts.
The passing game didn’t go much better for the Scarlet Knights. Take away the 75-yard score from quarterback Noah Vedral to wide receiver Aron Cruickshank, Rutgers averaged six yards per completion.
The Scarlet Knights finished with 17 first downs against Ohio State.
So what’s next?
The takeaways are clear.
If Stroud’s healthy, if Ohio State can create a balanced approach on offense in terms of play call, using Henderson to force defenses to focus on stopping the run, opening up the passing game, if Ohio State can use pressure to stop opposing offenses from getting good looks in the secondary, this is a good football team.
Heading into Ohio State’s return into Big Ten play, the major talking point for Day has been on identity: putting his players in the best collective position to succeed. With such a young group, it has taken some time. The growing pains were evident through the first four games.
And as Big Ten play continues it’s something that will continue to come up.
This Ohio State team is a work in progress. It’s a team with the potential to do great things — something a roster full of four and five stars will give you. But this is a team that seems to be learning how to play together. It’s starting to beat teams as it's supposed to.
Now how will that translate against the Penn States and Michigans of the world? The Buckeyes will have to wait and see.
However, in the case of Rutgers, no matter how it had played up to this point, no matter how close it got to Michigan, Ohio State trusted its history.
The Buckeyes have never scored less than 49 points against the Scarlet Knights. They have never allowed more than four touchdowns in a game against the Scarlet Knights.
It’s a history the 14-point spread didn’t trust. It’s a history I didn’t end up trusting.
Is Ohio State back? Possibly.
It’s definitely a leap in the right direction.
Balance between the pass and run offense, balance between defending the pass and putting pressure on opposing offenses behind the line of scrimmage. To Day, it’s about finding that full package, that cohesive unit that feeds off the momentum of each individual component.
Ohio State had not seen a complete game heading into Week 5.
It got one on the road against Rutgers, and with it, a statement was made.
It started with Stroud.
If there was any doubt whether the redshirt freshman quarterback was healthy — nursing an injured shoulder during the Buckeyes’ Week 4 matchup with Akron — if there was any doubt whether the redshirt freshman was consistent, he quickly erased any hesitancy.
Simply, C.J. Stroud balled out, finishing with 330 yards and five touchdowns, completing 17-of-23 — a 78% completion percentage. He was calm and confident in the pocket, not seeming to force anything, but finding receivers in stride after having a tendency to overshoot receivers in the first three games.
It just wasn’t one receiver, either. Stroud spread the ball around, hitting seven different receivers on 18 targets. He got the short game involved, hitting tight end Jeremy Ruckert four times for 40 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown. He found his main weapons, including senior Chris Olave, who had been dormant for the past two games, for 90 yards on three receptions and a touchdown.
And what a touchdown that was.
Stroud moved to his left, stepping up outside the pocket, evading pressure from every which way, threw across his body to find Olave, who weaved his way into the middle of the field for a 56-yard touchdown.
Olave, who recorded two catches for 12 yards and a touchdown in the last two games against Tulsa and Akron, finished with 119 receiving yards — his third game eclipsing 100 yards in 2021 — with two touchdowns.
But it wasn’t just Stroud on offense.
It was the balance itself.
After Stroud opened the game with a four-yard completion to Ruckert, the quarterback handed the ball off to freshman back TreVeyon Henderson. Seeing a massive hole between Ruckert and offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, the running back did his job: hitting the home-run ball for a 44-yard score.
Henderson’s day was quickly complete. After a hit by Keesawn Abraham at the end of the first quarter, the freshman running back exited the field, was looked at by a trainer and entered the Buckeyes’ medical tent without his helmet.
While he quickly left the tent and was seen joking with running backs coach Tony Alford on the sideline, Henderson didn’t need to come back. Ohio State was doing just fine without him, holding onto a 24-6 lead after 15 minutes.
The backs didn’t seem to do anything special after Henderson left, averaging 5.5 yards per carry with Master Teague shouldering the load of the first-team snaps and Marcus Crowley leading the second team in his season debut. But it’s not like the running game was supposed to define the game for Ohio State. It was a set-up tool for a passing offense that was clicking.
As Ohio State left SHI Stadium Saturday evening, it had 197 yards rushing and 333 yards passing with 24 first downs and nine yards per play.
That's a good day at the office.
Some news of note: Thayer Munford played for Ohio State for the first time since Tulsa, starting at left guard before moving to left tackle later in the game. Harry Miller also made his season debut for the Buckeyes, coming into the game in the second half at left guard.
Speaking of clicking, the Ohio State defense made Rutgers one-dimensional.
There were plays the Ohio State defense would want back: the pass interference to start the game by cornerback Sevyn Banks, the 75-yard touchdown to start Rutgers’ final drive of the first half, the 12-yard touchdown pass the Scarlet Knights hit in garbage time.
But if anything, it was a performance that promoted consistency for the Ohio State defense.
It started with the age-old trope: stopping the run, allowing 90 yards on 30 carries — three yards per touch. No Rutgers player recorded longer than a 12-yard rush, until the second-to-last play of the game
While it was a defense that did not convert on its pressure — recording one tackle-for-loss split between Cameron Martinez and Javontae Jean-Baptiste — the pressure indeed showed up, recording X quarterback hits, leading to rushed throws and three interceptions: a pick-six by freshman cornerback Denzel Burke along with interceptions by Tommy Eichenberg and Ryan Watts.
The passing game didn’t go much better for the Scarlet Knights. Take away the 75-yard score from quarterback Noah Vedral to wide receiver Aron Cruickshank, Rutgers averaged six yards per completion.
The Scarlet Knights finished with 17 first downs against Ohio State.
So what’s next?
The takeaways are clear.
If Stroud’s healthy, if Ohio State can create a balanced approach on offense in terms of play call, using Henderson to force defenses to focus on stopping the run, opening up the passing game, if Ohio State can use pressure to stop opposing offenses from getting good looks in the secondary, this is a good football team.
Heading into Ohio State’s return into Big Ten play, the major talking point for Day has been on identity: putting his players in the best collective position to succeed. With such a young group, it has taken some time. The growing pains were evident through the first four games.
And as Big Ten play continues it’s something that will continue to come up.
This Ohio State team is a work in progress. It’s a team with the potential to do great things — something a roster full of four and five stars will give you. But this is a team that seems to be learning how to play together. It’s starting to beat teams as it's supposed to.
Now how will that translate against the Penn States and Michigans of the world? The Buckeyes will have to wait and see.
However, in the case of Rutgers, no matter how it had played up to this point, no matter how close it got to Michigan, Ohio State trusted its history.
The Buckeyes have never scored less than 49 points against the Scarlet Knights. They have never allowed more than four touchdowns in a game against the Scarlet Knights.
It’s a history the 14-point spread didn’t trust. It’s a history I didn’t end up trusting.
Is Ohio State back? Possibly.
It’s definitely a leap in the right direction.
