It was a hectic day in college football. While a few MAC programs either beat or made some national powers sweat, Ohio State took care of business. It was a beatdown from the initial kick and even though Western Michigan is not expected to compete in the MAC, there were plenty of good things to come from Ohio State’s 56-0 win on Saturday night.
In total, the Buckeyes outgained the Broncos 683-99.
Also, no injuries!
Buckeyes Buck and Blank Broncos, 56-0
Another Great Defensive Effort – First Shutout Since 2019
The Ohio State defense was expected to be a strength this year. Last year, the unit was one of the best in the country and didn’t allow over 10 points in seven games. After a two-field-goal effort from Akron last week, Western Michigan could not even manage to crack the scoreboard.
On the first play of the game, Ty Hamilton asserted his presence. At the snap, he threw the WMU center five yards upfield. It felt like the sophomore defensive tackle was in the backfield all game and he finished with four tackles, half of a sack, and half of a tackle for loss. His impact was felt, however. The Broncos could not get anything going while running the ball up the middle.
From then on, the Broncos couldn’t do anything. On the day, they finish with 99 total yards and only 28 on the ground.
Denzel Burke, the potential first-round selection, saw his day end early due to a targeting penalty. In his place, Jermaine Matthews took over. The talented sophomore wasn’t tested nearly as much as his running mate, Davison Igbinosun. Even then, Igbinosun stepped up and recorded four tackles, a tackle for loss, and broke up a pass while keying in on the quarterback on a blitz.
It was an all-around dominant effort. The defense forced 10 three-and-outs and only allowed six first downs. Yes, it was just Western Michigan, but the Buckeyes have let “lesser” opponents put points up before.
Pitching a shutout while not allowing a touchdown through two weeks will do wonders for the confidence heading into the early bye.
Offensive Upgrade
Much has been said about the Ohio State offense and whether or not it would need to be carried by the defense. With this thorough beatdown, it’s evident the offense is humming. The Buckeyes and Broncos were on two very different levels.
Will Howard got off to a much better start than he did last week and was taken out with time left in the third quarter with 292 yards and one touchdown through the air while completing 69% of his passes. Howard did add a six-yard rushing touchdown for his first as a Buckeye.
Jeremiah Smith had another massive day. The true freshman scored a 70-yard touchdown on a short pass where he had no business scoring. And yet, he did. On the day, he hauled in just five passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.
On the ground, the Ohio State is a different animal. Last year, the Buckeyes scored a total of 20 rushing touchdowns. Through two games, they’ve scored eight.
Quinshon Judkins is the real deal. He is considered to be one of, if not the top running back in the 2025 NFL Draft class and showed it. Officially, he ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns off just nine carries. He did have an 85-yard touchdown called back due to a holding penalty.
His running mate, TreVeyon Henderson, added 66 yards and two scores off 10 carries.
The Future Remains Bright
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this game, aside from the obvious, is how the freshmen and underclassmen performed. Smith is the obvious answer for who had the biggest impact as an underclassman but he wasn’t the only one.
Caleb Downs, who is still a sophomore, only managed four tackles on the night. However, the context of those tackles was that they were big plays for the Buckeye defense. His biggest play was taking down a Bronco running back in the open field. He was the only person between that running back and a long touchdown.
Later, as the starters rotated out, there was no drop-off. Aaron Scott, Jr. stepped up at cornerback. James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon carried the ball well and provided plenty of optimism for the future of the running back room.
Julian Sayin logged his first playing time as a Buckeye and showed a flash of what that five-star rating was all about. In his one drive, Sayin played four plays. His first play was a six-yard completion. After a Peoples run, Sayin scrambled for five to set up a fourth down. On that fourth down, Chip Kelly trusted Sayin with a play-action rollout to his left where he found his tight end Bennett Christian for a 55-yard touchdown. That was the junior tight end’s first career catch.
Overall, the Buckeyes had 12 plays that resulted in over 15 yards through the air and 10 plays of 10 or more yards on the ground.
The Best Thing About Going 2-0…
After the Buckeyes blank the Broncos, Ohio State is idle next week before welcoming Marshall to Ohio Stadium in two weeks.
Then, the Big Ten play starts.
This was the kind of performance you expect if you’re Ohio State. Now, Ryan Day and the coaches get to nitpick what looked like a near-perfect game. 2024 is supposed to be a special season and it’s off to a great start.
