Hawai’i at Ohio State – Ohio Stadium – 3:30 PM Kickoff – Attendance: 107,145
FINAL SCORE: Ohio State – 38 Â Hawai’i – 0
There was a buzz in the air in Ohio Stadium during pregame, and for good reason. Â It was the home opener for the defending champions and the Buckeyes were coming off a big revenge victory over Virginia Tech. Â The alumni band was present as were freshman who were attending their first game in The Shoe as students. Â Add to that the 41-point spread for the number one team in the country and the reason for the excitement becomes obvious.
But the game didn’t go quite as expected. Â The offense struggled mightily against the visiting Rainbow Warriors. Â Urban Meyer and the coaching staff looked for a spark throughout the first half, forcing the ball to the likes of Jalin Marshall and Braxton Miller but got very limited results. Â There was even a new crease in the quarterback controversy when J.T. Barrett was inserted before halftime. Â Ultimately the Buckeyes only amassed 14 points in the half, leaving the door open for Hawai’i to make a run.
Have no fear Buckeye Nation, the Silver Bullets did their job all day long. Â Darron Lee was a standout with regular pressure on quarterback Max Wittek. Â Joey Bosa made his presence felt early and often. Â Gareon Conley played admirably once again, as did team captain Joshua Perry as the defense held their opponent out of the end zone all day long. Â As much as the offense sputtered at times, the defense was a constant force that simply out-manned the Warriors from whistle to whistle. Â They were the spark that Meyer was looking for, giving the offense the push they needed to put the game out of reach.
It was over when:
Ezekiel Elliot took his third touchdown over the goal line, making the score 24-0 with 9:07 left in the fourth quarter.
Player(s) of the game:
Gareon Conley, Joshua Perry, Curtis Samuel, Ezekiel Elliot
Next Game:
Northern Illinois at Ohio State – 3:30 PM
There were so many factors that made this game a headache, but I think the biggest one was just complacency. This shouldn’t be a surprise to Buckeye fans, every year some under-manned, underdog team comes into the ‘Shoe early, plays out of their mind and gives fans a scare for about 30 minutes until the team gets its head screwed on right and plays cohesively. The offense never really got in a rhythm, but the defense was excellent.
Give big credit to Hawaii, they came to play and never really stopped playing aggressive football for the entire game. Sometimes I wonder if our offense uses the OOC games to “experiment” with different looks and schemes. I guess it makes sense but it makes for very frustrating football.