It’s Monday morning.
No. 4 Ohio State has a big game this Saturday, starting a slate of two straight against ranked teams from Michigan. After a 28-point win against Purdue, the Buckeyes will likely remain in the top-four in the latest College Football Playoff rankings and there’s a basketball season in full swing.
All that being said, there’s a lot going on.
Here are the 10 things on my mind this Monday morning.
Who’s to blame for Ohio State’s defensive performance?
It’s plays like this that caught my eye.
I’m by no means an expert when it comes to scheme, but this is something that’s been coming up all season: the holes in the zone filled by an opposing wide receiver, gaining 10-to-15 yards per reception by just being in the right place at the right time. Or, in Jackson Anthrop’s case, take it for a 25-yard touchdown, the first of four on the day for Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell.
The formation on the outside was just a traditional bunch formation, something the Buckeyes defense has had trouble sifting through all season, with one receiver — Anthrop — left wide open in the zone unaccounted for.
The numbers are staggering.
According to Pro Football Focus, slot cornerback Marcus Williamson allowed nine receptions on nine targets for 69 yards — 60 yards of which were yards after the catch — and a touchdown, along with missing three tackles.
Cornerback Sevyn Banks allowed four receptions on four targets for 41 yards and a touchdown.
Safety Ronnie Hickman allowed three receptions on five targets for 74 yards — 34 yards of which were after the catch — and a touchdown, along with missing two tackles.
And safety Bryson Shaw allowed three receptions on four targets for 54 yards and a touchdown.
I’m not trying to pick on sophomore middle linebacker Cody Simon. I promise. But the answer he gave me during the midweek stuck with me until the Purdue game. It was something I thought about as I watched O’Connell pick apart the Ohio State secondary.
“For us, it’s just knowing our issues and being able to prevent them as much as possible,” Simon said prior to the Purdue game. “We don’t know what Purdue’s game plan is going to be, but we can know our issues and know how to defend them.”
After the game, when I asked about that same quote, Simon doubled down.
“We know they are going to attack our issues,” he said. “They have a really good offensive coordinator, the quarterback knew what he was doing.
“For us, it’s just to know our issues and know how to defend them.”
It’s something that’s easy to say when the Ohio State offense scores 59 points. But it’s also nothing new, something that Simon and the rest of the defense seems aware of.
That’s where the problem lies.
Did any defenders grade out well?
According to PFF, Ohio State’s top three defenders Saturday were also the Buckeyes’ best three defenders in coverage. It makes sense, especially since head coach Ryan Day said after the game Ohio State only rushed three and dropped back eight to defend the pass.
So who were they?
Safety Lathan Ransom was targeted four times for three yards, one of which was a five-yard tackle-for-loss on a screen pass. He added two of the defense’s three pass breakups, while missing one tackle.
Defensive end Zach Harrison was out in coverage for one reception by running back King Doerue for four yards, adding five tackles and four stops
Finally, linebacker Steele Chambers, making his first career start, was targeted twice in the passing game for 10 yards, recording three stops and three tackles, including 1.5 tackles-for-loss.
How about Denzel Burke?
For the first time in a long time, freshman cornerback Denzel Burke was tested extensively, mostly against Purdue wide receiver David Bell.
Burke was targeted 12 times against Bell, who brought in seven receptions and five first downs against the freshman cornerback, also drawing a pass interference call.
The freshman had a few nice plays against Bell, recording a pass breakup in man coverage.
Purdue tight end Payne Durham also recorded two receptions for five yards against Burke.
What did this show? That Burke is a really, really good freshman cornerback that can keep up with one of the best wide receivers in the country that annihilated Iowa’s and Michigan State’s pass defenses for over 200 yards each.
Bell was Purdue’s path to win both of those games. While O’Connell had other receivers to make him look good Saturday night, Burke’s performance is what allowed Ohio State to continue its win streak in the Big Ten.
So what is this about C.J. Stroud being the Heisman favorite?
Ten games into the 2021 season, C.J. Stroud is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, at least according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Ohio State redshirt freshman quarterback is listed as a +125 favorite ahead of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young (+250), Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III (+450), Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral (+750), Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett (+4000) and Ohio State freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson (+5000).
Where does Stroud stand statistically compared to the quarterbacks listed?
Stroud: 68.8% completion rate, 3,036 passing yards, 337.3 passing yards per game, 9.8 yards per pass attempt, 14.2 yards per completion, 30 touchdowns, five interceptions
Young: 70.9% completion rate, 3,025 passing yards, 302.5 passing yards per game, 9.3 yards per pass attempt, 13 yards per completion, 35 touchdowns, three interceptions
Corral: 66.7% completion rate, 2,774 passing yards, 277.4 passing yards per game, nine yards per pass pass attempt, 13.5 yards per completion, 27 touchdowns, two interceptions
Pickett: 67.5% completion rate, 3,517 passing yards, 351.7 passing yards per game, 9.1 passing yards per pass attempt, 13.5 yards per completion, 36 touchdowns, four interceptions
If anything each quarterback remains in the same ballpark as one another. It doesn’t help that Pickett and Corral play for two-loss teams, but each quarterback’s stats are comparable.
It looks like this is going to be decided in the final weeks of the regular season.
Speaking of, who’s excited for Kenneth Walker III vs. TreVeyon Henderson?
It’s going to be a heavyweight battle for sure. And it’s a matchup that’s going to decide who wins this game.
Let’s do one more comparison between the two running backs in the hunt for the Heisman.
Henderson: 157 touches (rushes and catches), 1,258 all-purpose yards, 7.3 yards per rush, 13.9 yards per catch, 17 total touchdowns
Walker: 239 touches, 1,558 all-purpose yards, 6.5 yards per rush, 7.1 yards per catch, 18 total touchdowns.
So Walker’s usage in the Michigan State offense is way higher than Ohio State’s usage of Henderson this season. But what’s keeping the freshman in the Heisman conversation is the explosiveness each time he touches the ball — the yards per catch and yards per carry — but also his efficiency scoring: recording a touchdown on 10.8% of his touches. Comparatively, Walker’s at 7.5%.
For reference, Walker will be facing an Ohio State rush defense that’s the third-best in the Big Ten, allowing 105.9 yards per game and 3.1 yards per rush with nine rushing touchdowns in 10 games.
Henderson will take on a Michigan State rush defense that’s No. 5 in the conference, allowing 115.2 yards per game and 3.3 yards per rush with seven rushing touchdowns in 10 games.
Let’s show some love to Noah Ruggles.
Noah Ruggles didn’t have to carry Ohio State to victory like he did against Penn State and Nebraska, recording eight field goals in those two games combined.
However, the redshirt senior remained consistent, hitting one 30-yard field goal and each of his eight extra points Saturday afternoon against the Boilermakers.
What Ruggles is doing is not normal.
The North Carolina transfer is one of five kickers in college football to have a 100% success rate on field goal attempts this season, leading those five kickers with 16 field goals.
Michigan kicker Jake Moody is the closest to Ruggles in the Big Ten in terms of field goal percentage, making 21-of-23 tries this season.
Ruggles came to Ohio State with two years of eligibility. He was already asked about whether he would use his second year or declare for the NFL Draft, which he declined to answer.
Again, this is just not normal for a kicker.
Time to take a look at how that team up north did this week.
Michigan had to come back and fight for a win against Penn State.
Trailing 17-14 in the fourth quarter, the Wolverines used a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive over 2:26, taking the lead on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Cade McNamara to Erick All. Michigan then allowed one eight-yard completion from Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford to Malick Meiga on second down, sandwiched between three incompletions to seal the game.
In the absence of running back Blake Corum, Hassan Haskins recorded 156 yards in 31 carries, helping the run game set up three touchdown passes by McNamara.
Michigan limited Penn State to 2.6 yards per carry, while Clifford completed only 53.4% of his throws.
To basketball… E.J. Liddell is that good.
E.J. Liddell is the reason why Ohio State has won its first two games of the 2021-22 season. It’s really as simple as that.
In two games, the forward has scored 54 points — the second-closest is forward Zed Key with 25 — 16 rebounds, six assists, seven blocks and two steals. Fouls and turnovers have been an issue early, averaging four fouls per game and three turnovers per contest, but Liddell is keeping Ohio State in games by himself.
It’s an aggressiveness head coach Chris Holtmann challenged him with before the season, saying it’s not something he saw in Liddell when Ohio State took on Indianapolis in the exhibition game.
But now he’s carrying his team.
Will it be enough?
Who knows.
Ohio State is young and inexperienced, especially at guard.
Talking to freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. Sunday, he said that he hasn’t averaged 20-to-25 minutes in a game since he was a sophomore in high school. Malaki Branham and Jamari Wheeler have never played in an Ohio State uniform before until these past two games.
Ohio State has struggled through some defensive lapses, allowing 43% of 3-pointers to go in. The Buckeyes are turning the ball over 10.5 times per game with 17 fouls per game, allowing 34 free-throw attempts by opponents in their first two games combined.
But this team is fun. Key has flashed in the paint, showing physicality and a light touch down low. Branham seems like he could be a scoring machine. Justin Ahrens has showed he can be deadly from 3. Justice Sueing and Kyle Young are getting healthier.
There’s a lot of work to do. And with two games this week against Bowling Green and Xavier, Ohio State will have more chances to see what it really is this season.
Here’s my song of the week.
As you know, I’m taking you through some of my favorites from from Martin Scorsese’s 1978 documentary “The Last Waltz,” depicting The Band’s last concert on Thanksgiving Day 1976.
This week’s song is The Band’s collaboration with Van Morrison on the song “Caravan.”
Holy crap, what a performance. Morrison is kicking it, literally, in high gear with one of the best vocal performances of the whole show.
See you on the board.
No. 4 Ohio State has a big game this Saturday, starting a slate of two straight against ranked teams from Michigan. After a 28-point win against Purdue, the Buckeyes will likely remain in the top-four in the latest College Football Playoff rankings and there’s a basketball season in full swing.
All that being said, there’s a lot going on.
Here are the 10 things on my mind this Monday morning.
Who’s to blame for Ohio State’s defensive performance?
It’s plays like this that caught my eye.
I’m by no means an expert when it comes to scheme, but this is something that’s been coming up all season: the holes in the zone filled by an opposing wide receiver, gaining 10-to-15 yards per reception by just being in the right place at the right time. Or, in Jackson Anthrop’s case, take it for a 25-yard touchdown, the first of four on the day for Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell.
The formation on the outside was just a traditional bunch formation, something the Buckeyes defense has had trouble sifting through all season, with one receiver — Anthrop — left wide open in the zone unaccounted for.
The numbers are staggering.
According to Pro Football Focus, slot cornerback Marcus Williamson allowed nine receptions on nine targets for 69 yards — 60 yards of which were yards after the catch — and a touchdown, along with missing three tackles.
Cornerback Sevyn Banks allowed four receptions on four targets for 41 yards and a touchdown.
Safety Ronnie Hickman allowed three receptions on five targets for 74 yards — 34 yards of which were after the catch — and a touchdown, along with missing two tackles.
And safety Bryson Shaw allowed three receptions on four targets for 54 yards and a touchdown.
I’m not trying to pick on sophomore middle linebacker Cody Simon. I promise. But the answer he gave me during the midweek stuck with me until the Purdue game. It was something I thought about as I watched O’Connell pick apart the Ohio State secondary.
“For us, it’s just knowing our issues and being able to prevent them as much as possible,” Simon said prior to the Purdue game. “We don’t know what Purdue’s game plan is going to be, but we can know our issues and know how to defend them.”
After the game, when I asked about that same quote, Simon doubled down.
“We know they are going to attack our issues,” he said. “They have a really good offensive coordinator, the quarterback knew what he was doing.
“For us, it’s just to know our issues and know how to defend them.”
It’s something that’s easy to say when the Ohio State offense scores 59 points. But it’s also nothing new, something that Simon and the rest of the defense seems aware of.
That’s where the problem lies.
Did any defenders grade out well?
According to PFF, Ohio State’s top three defenders Saturday were also the Buckeyes’ best three defenders in coverage. It makes sense, especially since head coach Ryan Day said after the game Ohio State only rushed three and dropped back eight to defend the pass.
So who were they?
Safety Lathan Ransom was targeted four times for three yards, one of which was a five-yard tackle-for-loss on a screen pass. He added two of the defense’s three pass breakups, while missing one tackle.
Defensive end Zach Harrison was out in coverage for one reception by running back King Doerue for four yards, adding five tackles and four stops
Finally, linebacker Steele Chambers, making his first career start, was targeted twice in the passing game for 10 yards, recording three stops and three tackles, including 1.5 tackles-for-loss.
How about Denzel Burke?
For the first time in a long time, freshman cornerback Denzel Burke was tested extensively, mostly against Purdue wide receiver David Bell.
Burke was targeted 12 times against Bell, who brought in seven receptions and five first downs against the freshman cornerback, also drawing a pass interference call.
The freshman had a few nice plays against Bell, recording a pass breakup in man coverage.
Purdue tight end Payne Durham also recorded two receptions for five yards against Burke.
What did this show? That Burke is a really, really good freshman cornerback that can keep up with one of the best wide receivers in the country that annihilated Iowa’s and Michigan State’s pass defenses for over 200 yards each.
Bell was Purdue’s path to win both of those games. While O’Connell had other receivers to make him look good Saturday night, Burke’s performance is what allowed Ohio State to continue its win streak in the Big Ten.
So what is this about C.J. Stroud being the Heisman favorite?
Ten games into the 2021 season, C.J. Stroud is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, at least according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Ohio State redshirt freshman quarterback is listed as a +125 favorite ahead of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young (+250), Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III (+450), Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral (+750), Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett (+4000) and Ohio State freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson (+5000).
Where does Stroud stand statistically compared to the quarterbacks listed?
Stroud: 68.8% completion rate, 3,036 passing yards, 337.3 passing yards per game, 9.8 yards per pass attempt, 14.2 yards per completion, 30 touchdowns, five interceptions
Young: 70.9% completion rate, 3,025 passing yards, 302.5 passing yards per game, 9.3 yards per pass attempt, 13 yards per completion, 35 touchdowns, three interceptions
Corral: 66.7% completion rate, 2,774 passing yards, 277.4 passing yards per game, nine yards per pass pass attempt, 13.5 yards per completion, 27 touchdowns, two interceptions
Pickett: 67.5% completion rate, 3,517 passing yards, 351.7 passing yards per game, 9.1 passing yards per pass attempt, 13.5 yards per completion, 36 touchdowns, four interceptions
If anything each quarterback remains in the same ballpark as one another. It doesn’t help that Pickett and Corral play for two-loss teams, but each quarterback’s stats are comparable.
It looks like this is going to be decided in the final weeks of the regular season.
Speaking of, who’s excited for Kenneth Walker III vs. TreVeyon Henderson?
It’s going to be a heavyweight battle for sure. And it’s a matchup that’s going to decide who wins this game.
Let’s do one more comparison between the two running backs in the hunt for the Heisman.
Henderson: 157 touches (rushes and catches), 1,258 all-purpose yards, 7.3 yards per rush, 13.9 yards per catch, 17 total touchdowns
Walker: 239 touches, 1,558 all-purpose yards, 6.5 yards per rush, 7.1 yards per catch, 18 total touchdowns.
So Walker’s usage in the Michigan State offense is way higher than Ohio State’s usage of Henderson this season. But what’s keeping the freshman in the Heisman conversation is the explosiveness each time he touches the ball — the yards per catch and yards per carry — but also his efficiency scoring: recording a touchdown on 10.8% of his touches. Comparatively, Walker’s at 7.5%.
For reference, Walker will be facing an Ohio State rush defense that’s the third-best in the Big Ten, allowing 105.9 yards per game and 3.1 yards per rush with nine rushing touchdowns in 10 games.
Henderson will take on a Michigan State rush defense that’s No. 5 in the conference, allowing 115.2 yards per game and 3.3 yards per rush with seven rushing touchdowns in 10 games.
Let’s show some love to Noah Ruggles.
Noah Ruggles didn’t have to carry Ohio State to victory like he did against Penn State and Nebraska, recording eight field goals in those two games combined.
However, the redshirt senior remained consistent, hitting one 30-yard field goal and each of his eight extra points Saturday afternoon against the Boilermakers.
What Ruggles is doing is not normal.
The North Carolina transfer is one of five kickers in college football to have a 100% success rate on field goal attempts this season, leading those five kickers with 16 field goals.
Michigan kicker Jake Moody is the closest to Ruggles in the Big Ten in terms of field goal percentage, making 21-of-23 tries this season.
Ruggles came to Ohio State with two years of eligibility. He was already asked about whether he would use his second year or declare for the NFL Draft, which he declined to answer.
Again, this is just not normal for a kicker.
Time to take a look at how that team up north did this week.
Michigan had to come back and fight for a win against Penn State.
Trailing 17-14 in the fourth quarter, the Wolverines used a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive over 2:26, taking the lead on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Cade McNamara to Erick All. Michigan then allowed one eight-yard completion from Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford to Malick Meiga on second down, sandwiched between three incompletions to seal the game.
In the absence of running back Blake Corum, Hassan Haskins recorded 156 yards in 31 carries, helping the run game set up three touchdown passes by McNamara.
Michigan limited Penn State to 2.6 yards per carry, while Clifford completed only 53.4% of his throws.
To basketball… E.J. Liddell is that good.
E.J. Liddell is the reason why Ohio State has won its first two games of the 2021-22 season. It’s really as simple as that.
In two games, the forward has scored 54 points — the second-closest is forward Zed Key with 25 — 16 rebounds, six assists, seven blocks and two steals. Fouls and turnovers have been an issue early, averaging four fouls per game and three turnovers per contest, but Liddell is keeping Ohio State in games by himself.
It’s an aggressiveness head coach Chris Holtmann challenged him with before the season, saying it’s not something he saw in Liddell when Ohio State took on Indianapolis in the exhibition game.
But now he’s carrying his team.
Will it be enough?
Who knows.
Ohio State is young and inexperienced, especially at guard.
Talking to freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. Sunday, he said that he hasn’t averaged 20-to-25 minutes in a game since he was a sophomore in high school. Malaki Branham and Jamari Wheeler have never played in an Ohio State uniform before until these past two games.
Ohio State has struggled through some defensive lapses, allowing 43% of 3-pointers to go in. The Buckeyes are turning the ball over 10.5 times per game with 17 fouls per game, allowing 34 free-throw attempts by opponents in their first two games combined.
But this team is fun. Key has flashed in the paint, showing physicality and a light touch down low. Branham seems like he could be a scoring machine. Justin Ahrens has showed he can be deadly from 3. Justice Sueing and Kyle Young are getting healthier.
There’s a lot of work to do. And with two games this week against Bowling Green and Xavier, Ohio State will have more chances to see what it really is this season.
Here’s my song of the week.
As you know, I’m taking you through some of my favorites from from Martin Scorsese’s 1978 documentary “The Last Waltz,” depicting The Band’s last concert on Thanksgiving Day 1976.
This week’s song is The Band’s collaboration with Van Morrison on the song “Caravan.”
Holy crap, what a performance. Morrison is kicking it, literally, in high gear with one of the best vocal performances of the whole show.
See you on the board.
