Flaws all all, the 2022 Ohio State Buckeyes are still the scariest team in the country
Early in the fourth quarter Saturday, No. 2 Ohio State trailed No. 13 Penn State 21-16.
The Nittany Lions went on a drive that lasted longer than Lewis and Clark’s expedition, capping a 15-play possession with a touchdown on fourth-and-goal at the 1-foot line.
It wasn’t a “White Out,” but Happy Valley was lit.
The Nittany Lions had bottled up the Buckeyes’ explosive passing attack. They’d completely overwhelmed OSU’s offensive line and ground game. They’d survived a couple bad Sean Clifford turnovers. Ryan Day was getting fired on Twitter for too many poor play-calls.
Only in a flash, the upset bid was all over.
The Buckeyes got mad, waking up and dominating the next seven minutes of actual game time, turning a five-point deficit in a 20-point lead.
The final: OSU 44, PSU 31.
In a span of 30 seconds, the Buckeyes scored two touchdowns. Former 5-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, who had the game of his life with a Tasmanian devil-esque performance, had a strip-sack and a pick-six in the fourth quarter alone.
It was an avalanche of haymakers — offensively and defensively — from Ryan Day’s squad, and a precise illustration as to why Ohio State is still the scariest team in the country this season.
The best? Only time will tell. The most frightening? Definitely.
As we leave Halloween weekend, the College Football Playoffs will start to become a serious discussion each week now. Resumes will be dissected. Flaws overanalyzed.
Why Ohio State is still the scariest team in 2022
Ohio State is certainly not a perfect team. Its red zone issues the last two weeks — just six touchdowns in their last 12 possessions inside the 20-yard line — are real. Their secondary, especially against good, spread offenses — is a concern.
But thus far in 2022, it doesn’t look like there is a flawless team in college football this season.
The Buckeyes have played with their food in multiple games this fall, but when they decide they’re hungry, they eat. Greedily.
No other team — not Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Clemsonor Michigan — can hit the NAS button and go 0 to 100 so quickly.
On Saturday, quarterback CJ Stroud, who was under pressure at the start of the game, got into a rhythm late and just sliced and diced a good PSU secondary. The current Heisman Trophy favorite finished with 354 yards — including some surgical slants and deep ins — and one touchdown. And that’s considered an off-day showing.
TreVeyon Henderson couldn’t find a yard, and then the sophomore tailback exploded for a 45-yard touchdown and a seven-yard score in the fourth quarter.
The 44 points were the fewest Ohio State has scored all season, but when it needed a big play late, it responded. In the final period alone, OSU generated six explosive plays — including chuck gains of 22 yards, 41 yards, 42 yards and 24 yards.
Despite some iffy play-calling (why so many screens, Ryan Day?), they averaged 7.5 yards per play against the best defensive they’ll face the rest of the season before their finale against Michigan on Thanksgiving weekend.
But we know about the Buckeyes’ offensive firepower. What makes this Ohio State team different compared to recent seasons is the punch it packs defensively.
Ryan Day went out and poached Jim Knowles for games like this.
The Buckeyes had 4-and 5-stars on defense last season, too. But they underachieved. They couldn’t rush the passer. They couldn’t get off the field on third down (100th nationally in 2021). They were bullied — see The Game — against physical offensive lines.
That’s not been the case under new management this season. Knowles, who spearheaded the nation’s No. 4 defense at Oklahoma State last fall, has gotten the most out of blue-chip recruits like Tuimoloau, Zach Harrison, Steele Chambers and others.
Tuimoloau, a former Top 10 overall recruit in 2021, single-handily changed the game with a strip-sack, igniting OSU’s comeback.
Under Knowles’ aggressive, attacking style, the sophomore end delivered an all-time performance Saturday, tipping a pass in the first quarter that was picked off by Harrison, grabbing two interceptions himself, adding two sacks and three tackles for loss. It was maybe the best individual defensive effort by an Ohio State lineman ever — from the likes that include the Bosa brothers and Chase Young.
And that’s what this team has — absurd upside and potential. We can nitpick the blemishes to death, but OSU has perhaps the nation’s top quarterback. The Buckeye’s receiver room, even without Jaxon Smith-Njigba, is the best in the country. Their offensive line, when gelling, is as good as any.
With Knowles unit starting to force turnovers and havoc plays, Ohio State has proven in consecutive weeks it can overcome a slow start offensively.
No team in America looks bulletproof in 2022, and with the Buckeyes combo of offensive fireworks and defensive promise, even on an afternoon when they’re not at their peak, they still look like the scariest team in the country in 2022.