Season openers are always mysteries.
But they offer clues that may be relevant in the long run. Ohio State’s 21-10 victory over Notre Dame at Ohio Stadium was not a masterpiece. The second-ranked Buckeyes showed just a glimpse of the video game breach from a year ago.
Credit Notre Dame for much of it. The Fighting Irish shouldn’t drop far from their number 5 position after making the regular season debut of former Buckeye Marcus Freeman as coach.
Ohio State is likely to drop to No. 3 due to Georgia’s defeat of No. 11 Oregon. But if this wasn’t a vintage Buckeyes performance, it was a heartwarming one. A year ago, they would have had little chance of beating a team like Notre Dame that had thrown just 223 yards like they did on Saturday.
But they had the upper hand as their new defense under Jim Knowles played as advertised, and the Buckeyes’ run play took over when needed.
More:With Smith-Njigba out, Xavier Johnson takes his chance.
Coach Ryan Day is rightly confident that the passing game will come, especially as star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba returns quickly from the injury he sustained early in the game on Saturday. Without Smith-Njigba, the passing game sputtered. But Stroud and OSU’s other recipients are too talented not to return.
Whether Ohio state meets its championship goals depends on whether the rest of its game can measure up. Against Notre Dame, yes.
The Buckeyes held Notre Dame scoreless for the final 41 minutes, forced the Irish to kick the last six possessions and delivered just 72 yards in the second half. In his first college start, Tyler Buchner completed his first eight passes, but went 2 for 10 for the rest of the game. Notre Dame averaged just 2.5 yards per run.
“Last year we were called soft, and we had to sit there and just eat it,” said Ohio State Security Officer Lathan Ransom. “We couldn’t wait to play Notre Dame and show what our defense is about.”
Ransom didn’t start, but he replaced Josh Proctor after Proctor missed a tackle on Notre Dame’s first snap, allowing Lorenzo Styles to turn a short catch into a 54-yard gain. A year ago, Proctor lost for the season in the Oregon game, and the Buckeyes never quite filled the void. Now they have the depth to do that.
More:Miyan Williams carries load on clinching TD drive.
Ransom tackled the tight end of Notre Dame star Michael Mayer, short of a first down to a third down catch on the Irishman’s next possession. Ransom played in place of Proctor for the rest of the game.
“We have a lot of good players,” Knowles said. “Lathan seemed hot. That’s kind of how I do it. We felt he was ready for the game. When a guy is ready for the game and he gets a chance, you start playing the hot hand and go with what works.
Notre Dame’s lone touchdown drive came against backup OSU linemen. The Buckeyes played mostly starters after that.
“The story of the night was the defense,” Day said. “To turn around after what has been said about them in the off-season, to question their toughness and to play like they did against the number 5 team in the country, I’m proud of our boys.”
Day was slow to rely on the run game. Ohio State ran only 11 times in the first half. But when Day called for the ground game to take over, it did.
TreVeyon Henderson finished with 91 yards in 15 carries. Miyan Williams had 84 yards in 14 carries and was particularly effective at bulling for 49 yards on OSU’s clinching 95-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Ohio State’s run game faltered in the Buckeyes’ biggest games last year. Getting those tough yards has been a focus ever since.
“To get the run going in that last quarter says a lot about our team,” Day said.
Throughout the spring and summer Day preached toughness. Saturday epitomized it.
“If you can win in different ways, that also says a lot about your team,” he said. “I think this game will pay off later.”
Next up for Ohio State are Arkansas State and Toledo. Those games should provide ample opportunity to resolve the passing game issues.
Even if the Buckeyes’ win on Saturday wasn’t the comfortable that oddsmakers had expected, it might have made more sense than if they had won a shootout by a bigger margin. It showed that these Buckeyes are not a one trick pony.
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