Raise your hand if, after the first series of the Braxton Miller era, you had doubts.
Even little ones, back there in the dark recesses of your Buckeye consumed mind. I did.
Then, a shanked punt, a nice little eight-yard run for Jordan Hall and Braxton was off an running. Two running plays for 16 yards by Miller and just like that, the Braxton Miller era at Ohio State was officially underway.
He didn’t look back after that.
While the stat line isn’t “impressive” (5-13, 83 yds, 2 TDs; 17 rushes, 83 yds), the product on the field was. For one game at least, he lived up to the hype he came to Ohio State with. He was faster than I remember and while the moves and jukes might not make you forget about Terrelle Pryor, it was certainly a sufficient substitute.
And not to get ahead of myself, but on those sprint roll-out passes (especially the 32 yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith), I dare say he looked Troy Smith-esque. Laying off the hyperbole, let’s just agree to say the Miller looks promising and should have a long illustrious career at Ohio State. That should involve multiple Heisman Trophies.
(Oops, there’s that hyperbole again)
The defense played as well as could be expected. They held Colorado’s offense well under their average offensive output and shut down their playmakers, especially Paul Richardson. A few performances stood out: I thought the insertion of Christian Bryant at Safety paid immediate dividends. He was involved in numerous plays and seemed to be around every big stop.
Tyler Moeller aslo had his best game, contributing to the aforementioned shut-down of Paul Richardson.
Ryan Shazier hasn’t worked his way into the starting rotation yet, but I’d be really surprised if he isn’t there by the end of the season. He’s making his presence known on special teams and he’s making the most of his playing time.
The Buckeye Battlestation is almost fully operational. One more game before the suspended players are able to join their teammates on the field. While their impact on the game may not be immediate, their senior leadership will be. And as the season goes on, the debacle against Miami game gets smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.
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