Ohio State moved to 5-0 on the season with a 37-17 victory over Maryland on Saturday. With Oklahoma knocking off Texas who was previously number No. 3 three in the AP poll, the Buckeyes have moved into the third spot, the same spot OSU landed in the newly released US LBM Coaches poll.
A big second half lifted the Buckeyes to the win over Maryland as they scored 27 unanswered points to close out the game.
Buy Buckeyes TicketsThe offensive performance did leave fans with some questions as the Buckeyes struggled mightily to move the ball in the first half and struggled to run the ball throughout the game.
There were plenty of positives to come out of the offense’s performance including the passing attack as a whole with Kyle McCord throwing for a career high 320 yards.
With that in mind, will we break down each offensive position group’s performance using Pro Football Focus grades for each player. While PFF grades aren’t the end all be all, it is a great tool to break down individual players’ performance.
Quarterbacks
Starter: Kyle McCord
PFF Grade | 79.0 (63 snaps)
Stats | 19-of-30 (63.3%), 320 Yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
What It Means
McCord got off to a slow start on Saturday but found a groove in the second half as he finished with a career high 320 passing yards.
Running Backs
Starter: Chip Trayanum
PFF Grade | 56.9 (49 snaps)
Stats | 20 attempts for 61 Yards (3.1 avg.), 1 TD, 1 reception, -18 yards
Other: Miyan Williams
PFF Grade | 57.2 (14 snaps)
Stats | 6 attempts for 23 Yards (3.8 avg.), 0 TD, 1 reception, 4 yards
What It Means
With Treveyon Henderson out, Chip Trayanum was the feature back getting 20 carries with Miyan Williams also getting six carries. The run game had some struggles as neither Trayanum (3.1 YPA) or Williams (3.8 YPA) ran for over 4 yards per carry.
Wide Receivers
Starter: Marvin Harrison Jr.
PFF Grade | 84.2 (53 snaps)
Stats | 13 targets, 8 receptions, 163 Yards, 1 TD
Starter: Julian Fleming
PFF Grade | 68.4 (38 snaps)
Stats | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 45 Yards, 0 TD
Other: Emeka Egbuka
PFF Grade | 67.9 (33 snaps)
Stats | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 40 Yards, 0 TD, 1 attempt for 3 Yards
Other: Xavier Johnson
PFF Grade | 58.5 (16 snaps)
Stats | 1 target, 1 reception, 12 Yards, 0 TD
Other: Carnell Tate
PFF Grade | 71.3 (9 snaps)
Stats | 1 target, 1 reception, 8 Yards, 0 TD
Other: Jayden Ballard
PFF Grade | 56.0 (9 snaps)
Stats | 1 target, 0 receptions
What It Means
Marvin Harrison Jr. showed why he is one of the best players in college football with this performance. He made multiple huge plays finishing with eight catches, 163 yards, and a touchdown.
Tight Ends
Starter: Cade Stover
PFF Grade | 60.5 (56 snaps)
Stats | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 66 Yards, 1 TD
Starter: Gee Scott Jr.
PFF Grade | 49.9 (37 snaps)
Stats | 0 targets
Cade Stover was the second leading receiver on the team as he had two catches for 66 yards including a 44-yard touchdown catch to stretch the lead to ten points in the fourth quarter.
Offensive Line
Left Tackle: Josh Simmons
PFF Grade | 71.8 (63 snaps)
Stats | 69.9 run block grade, 70.1 pass block grade, 0 Sacks Allowed, 3 pressures allowed on 35 pass block snaps
Left Guard: Donovan Jackson
PFF Grade | 65.4 (63 snaps)
Stats | 63.2 run block grade, 73.3 pass block grade, 0 sacks allowed, 0 pressures allowed on 35 pass block snaps
Center: Carson Hinzman
PFF Grade | 61.9 (63 snaps)
Stats | 59.3 run block grade, 67.8 pass block grade, 0 sacks allowed, 0 pressures allowed on 35 pass block snaps
Right Guard: Matthew Jones
PFF Grade | 73.7 (63 snaps)
Stats | 85.0 run block grade, 49.1 pass block grade, 0 sacks allowed, 2 pressures allowed on 35 pass block snaps
Right Tackle: Josh Fryar
PFF Grade | 66.8 (63 snaps)
Stats | 63.3 run block grade, 69.8 pass block grade, 1 sack allowed, 2 pressures allowed on 35 pass block snaps
What It Means
The struggles to run the ball was a big takeaway from this game and that is reflected in these PFF grades with Matthew Jones as the only offensive lineman to receive a run block grade of higher than 70.
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