What a great win for the Buckeyes over Nebraska yesterday! There was a moment where after the Bucks were celebrating a TD, I thought to myself, this almost didn’t happen at all. It’s a minor miracle we’re watching OSU and I’m so grateful! So, wanted to share that before jumping into my three things:
1) The Defense came through in the end- yes they gave up more than we’re used to when playing Nebraska, but this is a wonky year where even SEC Ds look like the Big 12. The fact that we gave up more to FAU to start the season last year tells us all we need to know right now. The Defense came through after shaking the rust off. And dealing with running QBs is a punk. Just ask Bama. Overall, gotta give Kudos to this D that has experienced major turnover since last year.
2) Kickoff Returns continue to be uninspiring- So, this has been a theme for maybe longer than the OSU not using TEs joke- what feels like since Ted Ginn Jr. was running kicks back as a young Buck. Kickoff returns are such an opportunity to add a spark, shift momentum, or demoralize an opponent. OSU seems to use it as a thank you for being a part of the program, eve if we don’t use you for anything else. Listen, when you have the second coming of Ted Ginn Jr (hyperbole) sitting on this current roster, well by golly you put him in and let him do his thing- I’m looking at you, Juiceman. Ryan Day, for the love of all that is holy will you let Juiceman return the kicks? Did the staff not see what he was able to do in high school in that role? He has a talent for it and otherworldly speed, why are we still doing the whole running backs returning kicks thing? Demario should be making plays out of the back field and not as kick returner. This one makes me wanna pull my hair out.
3) Another thought on the run game- Yes, we miss JK’s running ability; but I’m not sure even he tears it up yesterday based on the lack of holes there were to run through. Now, the one bright spot was Steele getting some carries and he really made the most of them. I’ve been a huge fan even in the short time we saw him last year. But he finds the hole and hits it. Would love to see what he can do in a lead role and am hoping if the coaches see he’s getting the job done, they’ll reward him for it.
This is all in good fun and I don’t purport to know more than the coaches. Just having fun talking OSU football. Anything else stand out to you? BTW, Shoutout to the DTs looking better than the DEs for the first time in recent memory. They are going to be a problem for teams to deal with this year.
