Trips to Camp Randall are always tough. Add in the hype from a night game and opposing teams falter left and right. Ohio State rolled into Wisconsin and left after handing the Badgers their first night home game loss since 2016. At the end of the night, the Marvin Harrison, Jr. Heisman campaign is in full swing.
The win was not pretty. It was not perfect. It was not good on many levels. But a Big Ten win at night and on the road is massive for the Buckeyes. With 75% of the season in the books, Ohio State ends October with an 8-0 record. There is a busy November lurking.
Ohio State did not ever trail in this one but it did spend more time than it liked tied up with Wisconsin. After getting out to a 10-0 lead, Ohio State allowed Wisconsin to get back into it with a 10-point double-dip at the half. To close out the game, the Buckeyes scored the game’s final two touchdowns to finish with a 24-10 win. With Michigan, the Big Ten Championship, and the College Football Playoff within sight, there are a number of takeaways from Ohio State’s 10th consecutive win over Wisconsin.
The Marvin Harrison, Jr. Heisman Campaign Has Kicked Off
Marvelous Marv, Maserati Marv, HeisMarv?
No matter what nickname you prefer, it’s obvious that the Ohio State offense runs through Harrison. The best part is that despite injuries to his peers or the play of the offensive line and quarterback, Harrison gets his and is able to score with every touch.
On the day, Kyle McCord threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Harrison accounted for 123 yards and both scores off of just six catches. There is not much left to be said at this point. Harrison runs his routes at a high level, can take a simple crosser to the house, and routinely makes plays that harken back to Calvin Johnson.
Compare what Harrison has done and what he has around him to the last receiver to win the award, DeVonta Smith. At Alabama, Smith made an elite push at the end of the year, which Harrison could do. After eight games, Smith had 72 catches for 1,074 yards and 12 touchdowns. Harrison is sitting at 48 receptions for 889 yards and eight touchdowns. Harrison may not be at the same statistical level at this moment but he’s averaging over 18.5 yards per reception while Smith totals out at 14.9 per.
The other kicker? Smith had an NFL quarterback throwing to him. It may be early but thus far, it has not looked like McCord has “NFL starting quarterback” in his future.
With the quarterbacks at the top of the Heisman rankings continuing to struggle, Harrison could slide right in there with a strong November. He’s averaging over 111 yards per game and has eclipsed 100 in six of his eight games. If he can keep this up, a trip to New York City should be the bare minimum.
A Welcomed Return in the Backfield
The Ohio State running back room is an oft-debated unit as to which back is the best. With how often TreVeyon Henderson misses due to injury, there are those who have forgotten what a talent he is.
Against Wisconsin in his return, Henderson notched 162 yards and a touchdown off of 24 carries, by far the most on the team. He even added 45 yards off of four receptions.
A common critique of Henderson is that he dances a bit too much in the backfield and needs to just hit the hole. Well, against the Badgers, that dancing around was how he was able to put the game out of reach. Henderson’s strength is in space and in making defenders miss. He has home-run speed and has shown in each of his three years that he can take just about any carry to the house.
On the night, Henderson was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on what felt like every carry. On five carries, Henderson was tackled for no gain or a loss. At the same time, he broke off five runs of at least nine yards which included 25-yard and 30-yard runs as well as a 33-yard touchdown.
Henderson did the best he could with an offensive line that looked oddly outmatched and outmuscled. If it wasn’t for Henderson’s ability to jump cut and bounce runs outside, Ohio State very well could have lost this game.
Down the stretch, Henderson is going to be key. If McCord continues to struggle, leaning on Henderson to make things easier will yield dividends.
Defense Carries…Again
On a night when Ohio State amassed 407 yards on offense, it was the 259 the defense allowed that decided the game. Once again, Jim Knowles’ defense was able to deliver a win on a silver platter and the offense tried its darndest to squander it.
The defense opened the game as well as they’d like. In Wisconsin’s first five drives, the defense allowed just 42 yards, forced three punts, two three-and-outs, a missed field goal, and a fumble. That fumble was on the second play of scrimmage and Steele Chambers punched the ball away from Braelon Allen.
In that aforementioned double-dip, the defense bent and allowed 10 points in two drives that accounted for 126 yards (48.6% of Wisconsin’s total offensive output).
Tyleik Williams, Mike Hall, and Jordan Hancock flashed. Tommy Eichenberg led the way yet again in tackles and single-handedly stuffed Wisconsin’s third and goal try which led to that first field goal.
Denzel Burke was also welcomed back and came up with a massive pass breakup to force the fourth three-and-out on the night. Burke has gone from “good for a freshman” to “why is he on the field” to “best corner in the country.” Burke has put in the work last offseason and has come up massively for the Ohio State defense. He, along with Hancock and Davison Igbinosun, has developed into the level of play expected from B.I.A. (best in America, as the Ohio State secondary calls itself).
Defense wins championships is a popular cliché. If Ohio State ends up with any championship this year, it will be because of this defense.
The Best Thing About Going 8-0…
There were concerns in the win but there were plenty of highlights. With other quarterbacks floundering over the past couple of weeks, the Marvin Harrison, Jr. Heisman campaign is well on its way. McCord still has work to do, however. Sure, throwing to a generational talent makes things look easier. However, it is not a good basis for an offense.
Emeka Egbuka was allegedly available for the game but he never saw the field. Lathan Ransom was carted off after a non-contact injury. McCord and Jaylahn Tuimoloau were banged up but it looks like they will be okay.
The Buckeyes travel to Piscataway, New Jersey next weekend to take on a surprising Rutgers team. History aside, Ohio State will have to get better on offense and keep up the elite defense to get to 9-0 yet again.
