Another short one, because honestly, this was a mid-season warm-up game. Good on Kent State for gaining some yards and playing hard, but let’s be real. This game was another no-doubter.
Run Defense: 3.5 Sweatervests
A little cause for concern here. Kent State came in with a pretty good running game with a shifty little runny (Garrett Wolfe, anyone) that had some success against the Buckeyes’ D. The plays they ran seemed to be perfectly timed when the D-line was scheming itself out of the play. Adjustments were made in the second half, but it still gave up too many yards. If teams want to run the ball on us, they’ve got some footage to show them how to do it (Wisconsin, Michigan). Still, no touchdowns are no touchdowns.
Pass Defense: 4.5 Sweatervests
Being a run-first, run-often offense, the defensive backfield was never really challenged. In fact, as SMQ pointed out, OSU’s defense out-gained KSU offense through the air: Kent State passed for 62 yards, Donald Washington’s interception return went for 70. I’ll give up 62 yards of passing all season long. That’s almost unfair.
I am also very happy to see Donald Washington’s improvement as the season has gone on. He was a big question in my opinion, a wild card. We knew Jenkins was going to lockdown any he went against, but the other side of the field was going to be an issue. Washington has been a revelation, along with Chekwa. No need for concern yet.
The Young ‘uns: 4 Sweatervests
With the game well in hand by halftime, Tressel was able to play a lot of youngsters. It’s clear that OSU”s second and third best is still better than whatever the MAC can throw at it (whether that means anything is debatable). Brandon Saine was definitely shining the brightest, catching passes out of the backfield and running the ball with some good moves. He stills looks a little tentative to me, not 100% sure of his knee. Regardless, he still has wheels and will be just fine. Schoenhoft is still trying to skip his passes up into his receivers arms, throwing passes 80 miles per hour straight into the turf. He did finish 7 for 9, though. That’s promising. I’m just not sold on him yet. Ten players caught passes and seven players rushed the ball. It might have been garbage time, but it’s better than no time.
The only thing holding the youngsters back was Jon Thoma’s punt. That was ugly. Otherwise, decent performance by the reserves.
Vernon Gholston: Sweatervests Galore
No lie — we lost count how many Sweatervests Vernon earned. The guns got a hold of Kent quarterbacks a couple times and wreaked havoc and destruction. I read somewhere that his mere presence caused Kent State’s water coolers to spring leaks and their trainers’ medical tape was no longer sticky. I’m not sure how that’s related, but I believe it because I saw it on the internet.
Overall Performance: 5 Sweatervests
Baseline: 3 Sweatervests, +1 for stiff defense, +2 for a special teams and a defensive score, -1 for allowing buckets of yards on the ground.
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