Firsts and seconds for OSU in 35-pt win over Marshall
COVER PHOTO: Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins stiff arms Marshall linebacker Jaden Yates on an 11-yard pass completion from Will Howard during the second quarter. Picture by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.
The third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0) kept their early season momentum hurtling forward by besting the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd (1-2) on Saturday afternoon, 49-14. Although, the 103,871 in Ohio Stadium almost witnessed an upset early on as the Herd made things interesting in the first quarter.
Both teams offensively blended the run and pass with the Buckeyes piling up 569 total yards with 289 coming through the air and 280 on the ground. The Thundering Herd amassed 139 passing yards and 125 rushing yards.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said they wanted to play fast and it was the right approach.
“We don’t always play that way because we don’t want to put the defense in a bad position. But we felt like in this game, philosophically, we felt like that that’s what we were going to do,” he said afterwards. “I thought we had a good tempo about us on offense today and we had an opportunity to wear them down and be explosive.”
Explosions riveted the Horseshoe throughout the day for both teams with several firsts and seconds that were achieved by the Buckeyes, some being good, some being bad. Eleven plays for the Scarlet and Gray came on “chunk” plays which are rushing plays of 10 yards or more and passing plays of 15 yards or more. Four of their seven touchdowns were for 40-plus yards.
Marshall head coach Charles Huff tipped his cap to Day after the game and said the Buckeyes are deep enough that some of their fifth-teamers could still make a difference.
“They’re really good, hats off to them,” said Huff. “If they can stay healthy - and I don’t even think they need to stay healthy even with their fifth guy in - but … they’re good. A lot of respect for them.”
Marshall got the ball to open the game and marched down the field with precision as fifth-year senior quarterback Stone Earle led them on 5-of-6 passing for 43 yards as well as a 10-yard run.
But on that run, OSU safety Lathan Ransom met Earle at the 4-yard line and stripped him of the ball, which went careening towards the sideline and the referees ruled that the ball bounced out of bounds without either team gaining possession, which gave the Herd the ball 1st-and-goal at the 4.
However, replay seemed to show Ransom recovering it before it went out of bounds but the refs upheld the ruling on the field, giving Marshall the 1st-and-goal. Three plays later, running back Ethan Payne bowled his way into the end zone from the 1 yard line for his first touchdown of the year to cap off a 13-play, 75-yard drive.
It was the first time all season that the OSU defense had not only allowed an opposing offense into their red zone but for them to score a touchdown.
Ransom said after watching Marshall’s game tape against Virginia Tech two weeks ago, there were missed opportunities for the Thundering Herd that they knew if given a chance, the Herd could capitalize on and make OSU’s defense pay.
“There were some plays they missed or there were some drops that it could have been a lot closer game so we had a lot of respect for Marshall coming into the game and you all could see why,” said Ransom.
It would take only two plays and 70 yards for the Buckeyes to answer back on their ensuing opening possession.
Quarterback Will Howard hit wide receiver Emeka Egbuka on a 2nd-and-8 screen pass to the right side and Egbuka sped upfield untouched for a 68-yard score to knot it at 7’s.
The first quarter would end in a 7-7 tie.
The Buckeyes would score three more times throughout the second quarter, though, to make it 28-7 with three-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half. Included in those touchdowns was an 86-yard rushing score from running back Quinshon Judkins, which tied the third-longest rush in OSU history.
However, that TD run wasn’t without a weird set of circumstances preceding it.
The play before, the Buckeyes held the Herd to 4th-and-1 at the Marshall 44 and the Herd decided to punt. OSU returner Brandon Inniss muffed the catch and Marshall recovered at the OSU 16 but a five-yard, illegal formation penalty against the Herd made them replay the down. Inniss was able to reel in the fair catch this time around at their own 14.
The next play, Judkins exploded on a sweep to the left side as a valley opened up and he raced virtually untouched the entire way until the very end, when he was tripped from behind. But it wasn't enough to stop his momentum and he sprawled into the near, left corner of the end zone for OSU’s third TD of the game.
Howard said that their offense is so explosive, they could probably score whenever they want.
“I was sitting on the sideline and talking to some of the other quarterbacks, Devin (Brown) and Julian (Sayin) and I was like, ‘our offense is so explosive, it’s crazy’,” said Howard. “Literally every play could be a touchdown.”
The offensive fireworks weren’t over, though, as another display popped off right before the end of the half but it was on the other side of the ball.
Buckeye defensive end Caden Curry had sacked Earle on a previous drive for an 11-yard loss, which was Curry’s first sack of the season and the only sack the Scarlet and Gray would get all game.
On Marshall’s next offensive drive, the Buckeye defense held Marshall to a 4th-and-4 at the OSU 37 but Herd head coach Huff called for them to go for it. And they would get it as Earle connected with receiver Elijah Metcalf on a 10-yard curl route to the left side.
However, on that play, Curry nearly had his second sack of the game as he got to Earle but it was just a smidge after Earle released the ball. Curry was not only flagged for a 15-yard roughing the passer but the refs decided to take an extra look to deem whether or not Curry targeted Earle.
Replay showed Curry’s facemask colliding with Earle’s facemask but not leading with the crown of his helmet, which is the definition of targeting.
After watching the monitor, the refs decided Curry indeed targeted Earle and Curry was ejected with less than 30 seconds left in the half. It was Curry’s first-ever ejection.
Day said he saw the play happen but will have to go back and look at the game tape to see if there was anything egregious on Curry’s part.
“When you see things in slow motion, it looks a little different from when it’s live,” said Day.
The additional penalty gave the Herd the ball at the OSU 13 with 13 seconds left and Earle connected with Metcalf for their final score. But the play would be reviewed and it appeared that Metcalf caught the ball with both feet in the air and his left foot coming down along the white, rear edgeline of the end zone. However, the refs would uphold the call on the field and the Herd would make it 28-14 going into the locker rooms.
The second half would be relatively drama-free with one exception: Day was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty midway through the third quarter for arguing with the refs, who held up play to allow Marshall to substitute defensive players.
“There was 21 seconds left on the (play) clock when we subbed in and in my opinion, they (Marshall) were, really, really, really, really slow getting in. And at some point when you make a sub at 21 seconds, you should still be able to run a play,” said Day with a shrug.
On this particular play, OSU had a 35-14 lead and the ball 2nd-and-10 at the Marshall 29. But the refs held up the play so the Herd could make defensive personnel changes with the clock ticking away. The current rule states that defensive players can sub in and out during the first 10 seconds of the play clock, which in this instance had started at 40 seconds. Day said there were 21 seconds on the clock but the refs continued to stall the play. Howard began flailing his arms in despair and ultimately, OSU had to burn one of their timeouts.
Day emphatically pleaded the perceived gaffe to the refs and it only took a couple of seconds for them to throw a flag.
“I didn’t curse but I was raising my voice and saying there was 21 seconds on the clock and at some point that has to be a delay of game on the defense. I guess I yelled too loud. I’m not sure why but that’s what happened.”
The penalty made it 2nd-and-25 and pushed the Buckeyes back to the Marshall 44. Judkins eked out five yards on the play and then Howard took an 11-yard sack from defensive end Mike Green on the next play to bring up 4th-and-31 at midfield. A delay of game penalty on the Herd made it 4th-and-26 but the Buckeyes still punted.
Ohio State forced Marshall to punt on the next possession and one more set of offensive fireworks would explode for the Scarlet and Gray.
With 3:40 left in the third and the ball at their own 47 on 1st-and-10, Howard hit true freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith on a slant over the middle at the Marshall 45. Smith would escape a leg tackle and ramble the rest of the way up the middle of the field for a 53-yard TD to give OSU a 42-14 lead with only nine seconds taken off the clock.
The last TD came early in the fourth quarter on a Judkins six-yard run to complete all the scoring for the 35-point win.
The Scarlet and Gray were a 40-point favorite but it was the second game of the season they did not cover the spread, the first being a 46-point victory in the season-opener over Akron where they were favored by 50.
Howard finished 16-of-20 passing for 275 yards, two TD’s and one interception. He also had three runs for negative-two yards but notched his second rushing score of the season on a 1-yard keeper up the middle early in the second quarter.
Judkins had his second-straight 100-yard game, leading the team with 14 carries for 173 yards and two touchdowns while his counterpart, TreVeyon Henderson, had six carries for 76 yards and two scores, as well, the second of which was a 40-yard scamper on the opening drive of the second half with a little over three minutes elapsed in the third quarter.
Egbuka had his second 100-yard game, as he led the team with five catches for 117 yards and the one TD. Smith ended with three catches for 70 yards and the one score. Sophomore Carnell Tate had four catches for 64 yards.
Defensively, Ransom led the team with eight tackles including one for a one-yard loss and had the game’s only forced fumble.
Ohio State’s next game is Saturday, Sept. 28 at Michigan State with the kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. It will air solely on the NBC Peacock app.