Did Ohio State just score again?
It might seem like it as the Buckeyes had little trouble dropping a massive 77-21 L on Toledo in the Horseshoe Saturday night in a game in which everything that could go right did go right for Ryan Day's offense.
763 Yards
Ohio State received the ball first, promptly going 82 yards in eight plays for a quick 7-0 lead. On the Buckeyes' next possession, they went 75 yards on six plays to find the end zone again. And the Ohio State offense kept going and going.
The Buckeyes scored touchdowns all six of the times they had the ball in the first half, taking a 42-14 lead to the locker room, and they kept their foot on the pedal, finishing the night with touchdowns on 11 of 12 possessions before running the clock out to end the game.
The offensive numbers from this one are NSFW: 763 yards of total offense, good enough for the second most in program history, with 428 of those yards coming through the air.
| No. | Yards | Opponent | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 776 | BOWLING GREEN | SEPT. 3, 2016 | W, 77-10 |
| 2 | 763 | TOLEDO | SEPT. 17, 2022 | W, 77-21 |
| 3 | 721 | OREGON STATE | SEPT. 1, 2018 | W, 77-31 |
| 4 | 718 | MOUNT UNION | SEPT. 27, 1930 | W, 59-0 |
| 5 | 715 | UTAH | SEPT. 27, 1986 | W, 64-6 |
Everyone, and we mean absolutely everyone, got in on the action. Quarterback C.J. Stroud finished 22 of 27 for 367 yards and five touchdowns. Stroud's backup, Kyle McCord, went 5 of 7 for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Marvin Harrison Jr. hauled in six receptions for 102 yards and two beautiful touchdowns, Emeka Egbuka caught seven balls for 116 yards and a touchdown, and second-year wideout Jayden Ballard pulled in four receptions for 113 yards and a 72-yard touchdown – giving the Buckeyes three wide receivers in the 100+ club for just the third time in school history.
Tight end Cade Stover showed off with three pretty receptions for 83 yards and the team's fourth wideout, Julian Fleming, found the end zone twice.
If Stover and Fleming are legit weapons, and you already have Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Harrison, and Egbuka, this offense is going to be damn near impossible to stop.
6.4 YPC
With the passing game firing on all cylinders, it was nice to see the Ohio State running game keeping up. The Buckeyes picked up 281 yards and scored five touchdowns on 44 carries, good enough for an astounding 6.4 yards per pop.
Once again, everyone that lined up in the backfield got in on the fun.
True freshman Dallan Hayden led all rushers with 108 yards on 17 carries, one of which was a touchdown. Miyan Williams ran hard to the tune of 10 for 77, TreVeyon Henderson put up four for 19 and scored Ohio State's first touchdown of the game before leaving with a leg injury, fullback Mitch Rossi scored his first career touchdown on the first run of his career – out of the I formation, no less – and walk-on TC Caffey even ripped off a 49-yard touchdown run, finishing his evening with 57 yards on six touches.
Of course. TC Caffey with the long touchdown run, just like most of us predicted coming into this one.
How good were things going on the ground? The very much reluctant-to-run Stroud tucked the ball and ran twice for nine yards, lowering his shoulder on his second run.
C.J. Stroud laughed when @Stephen_Means asked about picking up some yards with his legs against Toledo:
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) September 18, 2022
"I appreciate you pointing out that I ran a little bit."
It really was that kind of night.
2 Takeaways
Ohio State entered the Toledo game ranked 94th in turnover margin at -0.50 per game and as one of just seven FBS teams yet to record a turnover this season.
The Buckeyes got their first two of the year Saturday night, the first coming on a Ronnie Hickman interception to kill the Rockets' first possession of the second half. Three plays later, Hayden found the end zone for Ohio State.
Early in the fourth, linebacker Palaie Gaoteote scooped up a Toledo fumble caused by a Javontae Jean-Baptiste sack. Caffey went 49 yards for an Ohio State touchdown less than two minutes later.
Two Toledo turnovers. Fourteen Ohio State points.
That's the thing about turnovers: they often lead to easy points, and easy points are a key ingredient to dropping 77 on an opponent (or winning tough road games in conference play).
Speaking of reversing bad trends, Ohio State entered the game 110th nationally in penalty yards, giving away 80 per game, but the Buckeyes were whistled just once Saturday night, a five-yard false start call on Luke Wypler to start the second half.
Bonus Stats
Ohio State went 11 of 13 on third down, averaging 9.8 yards on those plays… The Buckeyes' 77 points were the fifth-most scored in a game in program history (128 against Oberlin in 1916 is the most)… Ohio State scored 28 points in the first quarter, the 11th time in school history it has scored 28 or more in a quarter (35 vs. Iowa in 1950 is the record)… The Buckeyes had 18 big plays (rushes of 10+ or passes of 15+) on the night… C.J. Stroud had completion streaks of nine and eight in the game, completing 19 of his first 21 throws… Ohio State has scored 20+ points in 64 straight games, five off Oklahoma's FBS record of 69 games (2016-21).
- #3 Ohio State 77, Toledo 21
- • Buckeyes Bludgeon Rockets, 77-21
- • Injuries Pile Up Before B1G Opener
- • Buckeyes Show How Dynamic They Can Be
- • Ohio State Offense Explodes In Route Of UT
- • Ohio State Postgame • Notebook • Quotebook • Photos
- • 3 Key Stats • Five Things • Social Reactions
