The Ohio State vs. Wisconsin football game was billed as a physical, big boy, Big Ten affair on Saturday, but it didn’t end up that way. The Buckeyes did almost anything and everything they wanted in the first half, raced to a big lead and never really looked back in a 52-21 victory.
It was an offensive explosion against a team that was thought to have one of the best defenses in the league, if not the country. At the end of the day though, there were just too many weapons and speed for a team not built to come from behind to keep pace with.
After each game, we like to reflect on some main things we pulled from all the action and are doing the same after this unexpectedly easy cruise to a victory.
Here are five things we think we learned from Ohio State football’s win over Wisconsin Saturday night.
The early season offensive struggles narrative was premature
C.J. Stroud is dealing vs. Wisconsin 😤
Third TD of the game. pic.twitter.com/rejlhX9b9X
— ESPN (@espn) September 25, 2022
Remember when the national media and opposing fan bases were trolling Ohio State for only scoring 21 points against Notre Dame? Remember when they were all asking questions about the “overrated” Buckeye offense?
That’s not going to happen any longer after the last couple of games. After putting up 77 points and over 700 yards against Toledo, Ohio State followed that up with 52 points and 539 yards against what everyone believes is a very good Wisconsin defense.
We don’t have all the stats quite yet, but that offense is going to be feared once again, both statistically and in the minds of the opposition.
Miyan Williams is far from a backup
Through last year and early on in this season, running back TreVeyon Henderson got a lot of love and was elevated to a fringe Heisman candidate. He was thought to be the clear No. 1 option in the backfield for the Buckeyes.
Four games in though and it is abundantly clear that Miyan Willams is an equal opportunity runner in the backfield. He may not be quite as explosive as Henderson, but the kid is averaging almost nine yards a carry and went over 100 yards again today.
It’s quite the 1-2 punch, or should we say 1A and 1B punch?
The offense could be even more explosive
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is — well — Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but it sure looks like Marvin Harrison Jr has met all of those preseason expectations. Add Julian Fleming, Emeka Egbuka, Cade Stover, one whale of an offensive line and the running backs that C.J. Stroud has around him, and this offense is tough to handle.
But there are some injuries. Smith-Njigba is presumably working through a hamstring injury, and that takes arguably the best wide receiver off the field. Where OSU might have looked out of rhythm against Notre Dame with Smith-Njigba out, that wasn’t the case Saturday. When he gets back in the lineup, with all the pieces already in place, how do you stop this offense?
Good luck to those on Ohio State’s schedule going forward.
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The defense is still getting the job done
Now the defense gives No. 4 Ohio State the short field.@McCalister_Dos2 x @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/f2py5fbOo8
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 25, 2022
Because of all the offensive fireworks Saturday, the defense will be an afterthought. However, when you have that many options and explosion on offense, the defense just needs to be like a wedding photographer, showing up and doing the job, but blending into the background.
The OSU defense was better than that, but I wouldn’t say that it was dominant. Wisconsin made some plays but was held mainly in check. In fact, Braelon Allen was kept inside the cage until late, and the offense couldn’t make a push to get back in this thing.
There might be a game here or there when the defense has to be even better, but it’s been more than good enough so far. You can bet that it’ll continue to improve as the season goes on too.
Physical challenge passed again
C.J. Stroud kept on the GT counter read last week and now his threat is creating walk-in touchdowns for Miyan Williams (I'm kidding, mostly) pic.twitter.com/1rxn1Ane0c
— Bill Landis (@BillLandis25) September 25, 2022
It was an encouraging development to see Ohio State beat Notre Dame by displaying toughness and grit late to close it out. But that was just one game. Wisconsin’s brand is a physical one, and it’s been that way for over two decades, if not more.
So, this was test No. 2 to see if the Buckeyes have remade themselves, cut out of steel and razor blades. Consider test No. 2 passed with flying colors because the OSU lines dominated play for most of the game. Ohio State had two running backs go over 100 yards for the day and pushed back on a big and strong team.
It all bodes well for the future, especially when the colors of maize and blue flip flop into the stadium.
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