On a day when the offense had trouble clicking for most of the game, the Ohio State Buckeyes defense stepped up in a big way.
In front of 107,145, the Scarlet and Gray asserted total dominance over the offense of the visiting Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors in the home opener for OSU. In the end, they pitched a 38-0 shutout in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The top-ranked Buckeyes move to 2-0 on the season and have now won 15 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in the nation.
Hawai’i is the fifth team to have been held scoreless during Urban Meyer’s tenure.
The theme throughout the game, particularly in the first half, was the inability of the Buckeye offense to really get anything clicking. Quarterback Cardale Jones had issues getting anything of substance started in the passing game. He also fumbled the ball twice though recovered it himself on both occasions and was eventually replaced by J.T. Barrett midway through the second quarter.
Barrett wasn’t much more effective in relief. Throughout it all, though, was the fact that when things aren’t going well throwing the ball, you can always feed the beast that is Ezekiel Elliott and that’s exactly what they did.
Two times when OSU had goal-to-go situations in the first half, Elliott would be called into action to move the ball into the end zone. He would score on one and three-yard runs as the Bucks would take a 14-0 lead into the locker room. Despite the halftime advantage, there was an air of worry and downright frustration that appeared to manifest itself amongst fans in the stadium and on social media in terms of the sluggish quarterback play.
Elliott would add another touchdown in the second half while gaining over 100 yards on the ground for the second consecutive game.
But let’s get back to the defense and how utterly dominant they were on the day. Rainbow Warrior quarterback Max Wittek was under constant pressure and forced into a multitude of mistakes. In the end, he was held to a minuscule 29.2 percent completion percentage, 67 yards passing, was sacked three times, threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball twice. The last of those would lead to a defensive touchdown for safety Vonn Bell.
It was a fitting reward for a unit that was an unending thorn in the side of the Hawai’i offense from start to finish.
Linebackers Darron Lee and Joshua Perry were among the standout performers on the defensive side of the football for Ohio State. The two combined for three sacks and tackles for loss apiece which set Hawai’i back 44 yards total. Defensive end Joey Bosa had two tackles in his first game back from suspension.
All in all, the OSU defense held the Rainbow Warriors to a total of 171 yards total offense including just 85 yards through the air. For a school that has always been known for putting up ridiculous passing numbers, particularly when players such as Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan were under center, such a defensive feat is impressive indeed. In fact, this is the first time Hawai’i had been held to under 100 yards passing in 213 games dating back to 1999.
Next up for the Buckeyes is defending MAC champions Northern Illinois who come to the Horseshoe next Saturday. They might prove more of a challenge defensively, especially with the presence of dual-threat quarterback Drew Hare who accounted for 2,847 all-purpose yards in 2014. Though OSU will certainly be favored, the Huskies are a team you don’t want to overlook.
After a phenomenal outing for the defense and a less than stellar effort offensively speaking, the overlying hope is that the short week associated with the Monday game against Virginia Tech had more to do with the latter than anything else. We shall most definitely see next Saturday when NIU comes to town.
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