Buckeyes jump around and all over Badgers

The only jumping around on the field at Camp Randall on Saturday was by the visiting team.

Ohio State’s offense dominated through the air. It’s defense put another goose egg on the scoreboard. And some lesser-known players got a chance to show off their skills.

The Buckeyes beat Wisconsin on the road 34-0.

Buckeyes’ sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin, who deserves to be in Heisman conversations soon, completed 86% of his passes (36 for 42) for 394 yards and four touchdowns. Two of those scores were laser strikes to Carnell Tate, who finished with 111 receiving yards and continued his streak of freak catches in the end zone and on the sidelines.

Another was a 2-yard toss to tight end Will Kacmarek. The fourth was a crossing route bull’s-eye in the corner of the end zone to Brandon Inniss. Jeremiah Smith had nine catches for 97 yards. He also had so much attention on him, as usual, that Sayin focused on his other weapons.

The defense allowed only 144 yards. The only time the Badgers threatened to score was in the final moments against OSU’s depth players.

To be fair to Luke Fickell’s team, previous injuries forced them to use third and fourth string players at quarterback and running back the entire game…against the best defense in the nation. That’s just not fair.

This defense, which has allowed only 41 points in seven games, looks like one of the best in Buckeyes history. I know. I know. That’s a bold statement considering multiple past versions of The Silver Bullets. But this unit is performing at an astonishingly stingy level. I’ve never seen an OSU defense that was this dominant.

They lost eight starters from last year’s national championship team, which made this unit the question mark we all had in our minds coming into the season. Now it’s an exclamation point.

Matt Patricia certainly deserves most of the credit. But I also believe we’re watching Ryan Day go from really good to great. His team appears prepared every single game, no matter the quality of the opponent.

Freshmen are getting chances to shine on both sides of the ball….and they are taking advantage of their opportunities. Bo Jackson, Quincy Porter, Devin Sanchez, and Isaiah West show us Day is letting the players decide in practices who will play on Saturdays.

He’s also no longer interested in traditional Big Ten run game dominance. Against Wisconsin, he made Woody kick in his grave: 42 pass attempts compared to 22 rushing attempts.

He’s not only focusing on the weaknesses of his opponent and exploiting them, he’s simultaneously focusing on accentuating the Buckeyes’ strengths. And it’s working.

Remember last year’s game against Connor Stalions’ team? Since that game, Day hasn’t tried to force a running game when it isn’t there. He’s attacking weaknesses with his playmakers and kicking tail.

The running game appears to be the only weakness so far on an otherwise dominant football team. The offensive line has been great at protecting Sayin, but not so great at blocking for their running backs. But since Day never appears satisfied, that makes me believe those issues will soon be fixed.

The Buckeyes have a bye next Saturday, then welcome preseason #1 Penn State to Ohio Stadium on Nov.1. The Nittany Lions have stumbled, recently losing their quarterback and their head coach.

But I don’t think Ryan Day is going to take them lightly. And I’m certain he and Patricia will have some extra motivation with Jim Knowles on the other side of the field.

O-H!

———————

Billy Bruce covers Ohio State Buckeyes football for the tristatesportspage.com