Bucknuts.com’s Steve Helwagen said Ohio State got exactly the kind of start it needed in Week 1, even if the first half left some questions hanging up front.
During Tuesday night’s chat, Helwagen called the Buckeyes’ opener “a really good opening game for Ohio State” and pointed out that one national expert gave Ohio State and Texas both As for their first game. He also noted that the two teams faced different levels of competition in Week 1 and added, “nobody is saying Ball State or Texas State are that good.”
Still, Helwagen came away impressed with how much Ohio State showed across the board. He said the Buckeyes displayed “tremendous depth across the board” and suggested that depth could matter this week at Texas, where he said Ohio State may need to go “2 deep” because “The conditions will be severe with the heat.”
His biggest critique came with the offensive line, which he said had “some bad moments with run blocking in the first half.” Even so, he added, “my guess is we did not see many or any advanced concepts from Arthur Smith in that game.”
Helwagen was upbeat about the wide receivers, saying they “did a great job” aside from “a couple drops by Chris Henry Jr.” He noted that Henry “came back with the TD to make up for that,” and made the same point about Legend Bey, who recovered after “his kick return follies.”
At running back, Helwagen kept it simple: “RBs ran better when holes were there (ha ha).”
He was most impressed by the secondary. Helwagen said it was “outstanding,” with the starters barely giving up anything and the backups holding up well, too. He emphasized that there was “No yards after catch,” and pointed out that the starting quarterback completed “like 19 passes at an average of 4-5 yards per play.”
His overall read was clear: “Just a strong game across the board. Some bad but much much more good.”
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Ohio State's Early Ranking Sets Up A Big National Debate
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Stephen Means updated AP Top 25 ballot for Week 1 had Ohio State at No. 2, a sign that the Buckeyes still sit firmly in the championship conversation even as LSU claims the top spot. The early board also brought some turbulence elsewhere, with Michigan dropping out after an uneven showing against Western Michigan, leaving the Buckeyes with plenty of reason to track how the debate around the top of the sport develops from here. [Read more 🡒]