The Ryan Day Era at Ohio State has begun, and boy, you have to like what you just witnessed. In a span of a couple of minutes, the Buckeyes erased any remaining concerns or doubts with the offense and its new additions. You can also say the same for the defense as well because they played like their heads were on fire and with an urgency that we have all been crying for. In a season of new, the Buckeyes went out and made somewhat of a statement in their season debut. It wasn’t mistake-free football but after one game they looked pretty good, but now Coach Day has the tools to fix a few things as the season matures.
The Justin Fields Show
Justin Fields, a former 5-star dual-threat quarterback had high expectations for him coming out high school. He chose to stay close to home and enrolled at the University of Georgia. He sat behind fell behind Fromm and he then decided to use the transfer portal to find his next home for his shot to play. Fields brought more expectations and some well-warranted hype after his decision to go to a university like Ohio State.
As soon as he arrived, Fields was tabbed to as Dwayne Haskins’ successor, but he had to beat out fellow transfer portal quarterback Gunnar Hoak. Once named as the starter, the distractions were tuned out. Fields began his Ohio State career with a bang as he racked up chunk plays on four straight drives to put the Buckeyes up 28-0.  Although a lovely sight to see, the FAU Owls eventually found their stride and forced a punt in consecutive drives–effectively rendering Ohio State ineffective on offense.
Fields’ speed was evident and his accuracy was noticeable. He did not force any bad passes into tiny windows and he had the awareness to slide or run out of bounds to protect himself. The depth at his position is fairly new and unproven, so at least he is aware of his importance. 18/25 for 234 yards, 12 carries for 61 yards, with 4 total touchdowns aren’t bad numbers, but there is certainly some room for improvement and I am confident that he will continue to improve as the season goes on. He had a lateral pass that resulted in a fumble, but look for Coach Day to fine-tune the offense against Cincinnati. It would be unrealistic if you think it was a perfect game for him, but he is well on his way to becoming an integral part of this offense.
Playmakers Paradise
The Buckeyes lost a lot of their offensive playmakers to the NFL after the 2018 season, but today they showed no dropoff in production. Campbell, Dixon, and McLaurin were all team captains and the majority of the offense revolved around those three, but in 2019 they returned Hill, Victor, Saunders, and Mack to take their place as the pulse of the offense. They also have a few younger stars like Olave and Wilson to add quality depth to the Zone 6 group to add some sizzle to the 2nd team offensive attack to keep opposing teams second-guessing.
The playmakers aren’t limited to just the guys in Zone 6, we saw a re-emergence with the Tight End group and we witnessed an uptick in their usage. Former #1 Tight End Jeremy Ruckert gathered his first two TD’s in a good showing during year two. He finished the game with 4 catches for 38 yards and two scores.
The Cadillac position or Tote Nation also showed out and had 178 total yards and two TD’s between the four backs, which is good, but they were far from perfect due to the Dobbins fumble that might have swung the momentum in FAU’s favor for a short period of time. What could be Dobbins’ last year, he was noticeably more decisive when carrying the rock. He looks bigger and stronger, and he runs with more purpose and aggression. His stablemates McCall, Teague, and Crowley all showed out as well, gaining the tough, hard-fought yardage putting any doubts about the future in check.
Trench Warfare
The Slobs have been iffy and after numerous losses in the trenches, the Buckeyes had to re-build the Offensive Line when they returned a single starter in Thayer Munford. The new-look line features a bunch of former 5 stars and they look like a talented and deep group. From the left to right, Munford, former Rutgers guard Jackson, Myers, Davis, and Bowen look to re-establish the Slob standard in 2019. They blocked well in the beginning before getting lazy as the game progressed. It gave me a bit of hope but like all things, it is a work in progress this early into the season and they gave up a couple of sacks in the process.
On the opposite end of the trenches, the Rushmen played spectacularly and to their standard lead by Chase Young. Young himself gathered 1.5 sacks by himself and his position group had a total of 4 for the game. They are definitely playing with the urgency even after the departure of Dre’Mont Jones and Nick Bosa. They had a few key players that were banged up and unable to play, but the future of this position is bright.
Back Seven Improvement
The back seven of the defense became the running theme of the 2018 season because they were plain bad. Poor angles, missed tackles and chunk plays plagued them the entirety of the season and naturally, they would be one of the major stories coming into the 2019 season. After a single game, they improved under Coach Mattison, Coach Washington, and Coach Hafley simplifying things to make them read and diagnose plays quicker. It worked and they look like the Silver Bullets of old, flying all around the field and making sure tackles time after time.
The new zone scheme and the DB’s tracking the ball has helped, but later in the game the seams were ripe for the picking and FAU was able to move the ball. Like every other topic, it is a work in progress because it was far from perfect. Werner showed his speed but he overran the play and missed out on a sack in the second half. The improvement is obvious and back-up Safety Josh Proctor came away with a turnover, so it’ll get better–I promise you.
Overall Analysis
The Buckeyes are 1-0 with many pluses and a few negatives, but they are minor fixes. Fields played good and the offense clicked with him at the helm, but the dropoff after the scorching start was evident. The Running Backs are beasts that all play hard, but ball security needs to be in their minds after turning it over. Zone 6 and it’s Tight Ends are going to be hard to account for and they bring a needed balance to the offensive attack. Finally, the defense played well and if they continue to improve, they will be a force to be reckoned with.
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