Tag: CJ Stroud

WATCH: Garrett Wilson snags second TD

WATCH: Garrett Wilson snags second TD

The Ohio State Buckeyes are dominating the Michigan State Spartans and most of it has come through the air as most of us expected. Garrett Wilson is also playing a huge role in the demolishing of the Spartans as he currently has seven receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns, which are impressive numbers and makes it even more shocking when you realize that he is the third leading receiver on the day.

C.J. Stroud is making a valiant case for the Heisman Trophy as he has completed 29 of 31 passing attempts for 393 yards and six touchdowns. Check out their latest touchdown connection below:

Ohio State vs. Michigan State three and out halftime review

Ohio State vs. Michigan State three and out halftime review

The Ohio State Buckeyes are destroying the Michigan State Spartans, 49-0 and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Going into the game it was no secret that the Spartans had the nation’s worst pass defense and the Buckeyes clearly had every intention of making this the backbone for their game plan and it has worked.

Mel Tucker might want to sign that extension at half-time, because anyone with eyes can see that these Spartans are fraudulent, but at the same time the Buckeyes we have seen the last two weeks are not the same Buckeyes that lost to Oregon earlier in the season. The following are the three biggest takeaways from the first half.

WATCH: Jaxon Smith-Njigba catches five yard TD

WATCH: Jaxon Smith-Njigba catches five yard TD

The Ohio State Buckeyes are on the board again and you guessed it, it was another touchdown through the air. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is now joining in on the fun with the most recent five yard touchdown reception that now put the Buckeyes up 49-0.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has had another great showing as he is once again the leading receiver for Ohio State with eight receptions for 76 yards and a single touchdown. C.J. Stroud is continuing his Heisman caliber day completing 29 of 31 passing attempts for 393 yards and six touchdowns.

We aren’t even in the second half yet! Check out the touchdown by Smith-Njigba below.

 

WATCH: Julian Fleming gets first career TD

WATCH: Julian Fleming gets first career TD

WOW! Every few seconds another highlight erupts and this time it was less of a Sports Center Top Ten highlight and more of a career highlight that we will want to remember. Julian Fleming was a five star recruit who has dealt with more than a fair share of injuries since arriving to Columbus, but today he earned his first career touchdown reception.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are dominating this contest through the air and the Fleming touchdown has now made it 28-0. Fleming made sure to make his lone reception on the day count as the four yarder counted for six points. C.J. Stroud is making his Heisman case even stronger as well. Watch the first touchdown of Fleming’s career here:

WATCH: Chris Olave break the receiving TD record!

WATCH: Chris Olave break the receiving TD record!

The Ohio State Buckeyes look phenomenal against the Michigan State Spartans and I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but they are exploiting the Spartans’ obvious weakness in their pass defense. Chris Olave found the end-zone once again allowing the Buckeyes to take a 21-0 lead.

Chris Olave currently sits at four receptions for 82 yards and two touchdowns and his most recent reception went 43 yards tot he house. This touchdown has officially made him the Ohio State record holder for most receiving touchdowns in a career with 35. C.J. Stroud is having a great game as well completing 14 of 15 attempts for 222 yards and three touchdowns. Check out the record breaking TD below:

WATCH: Chris Olave makes a spectacular, yet smooth catch in the end zone against Indiana

Watch Chris Olave haul in another touchdown as Ohio State is rolling Indiana right now. #GoBucks

Even in the rain, C.J. Stroud is dropping dimes. Midway through the second quarter, Stroud has already thrown for 137 yards and two touchdowns. The latest TD coming by way of a 16-yard pinpoint pass to Chris Olave in the back of the end zone.

Olave ran a perfect route, as usual, timed his jump, and made a difficult catch look rather ordinary, beating the Indiana defensive back. This offense is loaded and just too many playmakers to account for everyone.

We thought the Buckeyes could put up some big points against the IU defense, but at this rate, it’s getting out of hand quickly as the Hoosiers have no answer for the Ohio State offense.

Watch Olave’s incredible catch below.

Ohio State has scored another touchdown is now up 37-7 over Indiana with just over five minutes to play in the half.

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Ohio State vs Akron Prediction, Game Preview

Ohio State vs Akron prediction, game preview, how to watch: Saturday, September 25

Ohio State vs Akron prediction, game preview, how to watch: Saturday, September 25

Ohio State vs Akron How To Watch

Date: Saturday, September 25
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
How To Watch: BTN
Record: Ohio State (2-1), Akron (1-2)
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Ohio State vs Akron Game Preview

Why Akron Will Win

Let’s just say Akron doesn’t have Ohio State’s full and undivided attention.

Could QB CJ Stroud play through his banged up shoulder? If this was Penn State or Michigan State, yeah, probably. But he’s only available in an emergency situation, which means Jack Miller and Kyle McCord – most likely McCord – will get some live reps in.

Akron might not be ready to come in and go full Oregon on the Buckeyes, but it is coming off a win with good balance for the attack for the first time in a long time.

Okay, so it was a 35-14 victory over Bryant – a very small, private school in Rhode Island – but the Zips are doing a decent job overall controlling the clock thanks to a relatively efficient passing game. DJ Irons is hitting 76% of his passes with five scores and a pick, but …

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Why Ohio State Will Win

Forget the quarterback situation; this is the game for the defense to get its stuff together.

It’s a bit overblown to call the Buckeye D a mess, but it’s not playing up to its talent level. The pieces are there to be fine, but it gave up over 500 yards in each of the last two games. That was fine against the Oregon offense, but Tulsa?

The defense could use a dominant performance no matter who it’s against. It’s not like Akron will have the offense to pull this off – or come even close – but at this point, the Buckeyes have to show that they really can rise up and play.

In other words, at least for a little while, they’re going to try.

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What’s Going To Happen

All CJ Stroud has done is hit 62% of his passes for 963 yards and eight touchdowns in three games. He’s just getting started as he works his way into the gig, but you know what’s coming.

McCord will tear up the Akron secondary, and Miller will step in and hit 10-of-11 passes. All of a sudden, the talk will be about whether or not Stroud is the guy going forward. (BTW, he is.)

The Buckeyes will roll in this. They’re going to care enough to have a fun, happy moment playing the role of the bully to the paycheck team. This is when the D will look like it’s supposed to.

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Ohio State vs Akron Prediction, Line

Ohio State 54, Akron 10
Line: Ohio State -48.5, o/u: 66.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2

Must See Rating: 1.5

5: Muhammad Ali film by Ken Burns
1: Dear Evan Hansen

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Don’t feel guilty for wanting to see other Ohio State QBs

Don’t feel guilty about wanting to see the other Ohio State QBs! #Buckeyes

C.J. Stroud is not the reason Ohio State lost to Oregon and he has played very well, but you are not wrong for wanting to explore the other options. I recently saw the following tweet:

Most people commenting are saying it is an unfair statement from former Buckeye linebacker Bobby Carpenter because Justin Fields is arguably the greatest quarterback to play for Ohio State. I agree finding a talent like Fields is rare, but Carpenter is 100% right and I struggle to see why people don’t agree.

Let’s look at Stroud’s play through three games. First, it needs to be noted that he is playing with arguably the greatest receiving corps in college football and Ohio State history. Through two games Stroud has suffered a few rough overthrows including two with under eight minutes left against Oregon, with one turning into an interception. Stroud has also already thrown two interceptions this season. Through two games, Stroud’s completion percentage sits at 62.4%. Last season Fields was sitting at a completion percentage of 87.76% through three games. I understand Fields was a freak, but it should be noted.

Now let’s look at the offensive production overall. The defense is getting all of the heat and rightfully so, but the Ohio State offense gained 612 total yards and only came away with four touchdowns against Oregon. That is not ideal. They were also 2 of 5 on fourth downs, also not an ideal statistic. If those stats don’t have you questioning the offense maybe this will.

The Buckeyes scored 28 points against Oregon at home with their two most valuable defenders out, one being arguably the best defender in the country. The week prior, Fresno State scored 24 points against this defense in Oregon with those two defenders actually playing! Maybe we can take into consideration that the Ducks were looking ahead, but at that point, we are just making excuses.

C.J. Stroud was not much better, and in fact digressed against a far more inferior opponent in Tulsa, who lost to an FCS school two weeks prior.

What are the options?

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Ohio State vs. Tulsa three and out halftime review

Can Ohio State turn it on in the second half? Here are three things to ponder at halftime vs. Tulsa. #GoBucks

Well, here we are at halftime of the third game of the 2021 season and the Ohio State Buckeyes are struggling with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. That’s right, the same Tulsa football team that lost to UC-Davis of the FCS level, the Buckeyes are only winning 13-6, with Tula actually scoring first.

I always try to be positive and I thought everyone was being harsh about the Minnesota game, but this team is just not very good right now and it’s painful to watch. This was supposed to be a tune-up game to pad the stats and check out some freshmen, and now I am sweating and scared. There is still time, but, good or bad, here are three things that warrant attention.

Next…Stroud has fallen into a pattern, an overthrown pattern

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Oregon vs. Ohio State: Ducks Wire staff predictions and opinions

It’s going to take a perfect game for the Ducks to upset Ohio State, but we made our predictions, with one Ducks Wire writer saying it will happen.

The season started off with a bang for the Oregon Ducks a week ago as they defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs at home, but the win left fans wanting to see a bit more from their team.

While it was nice to watch a live football game take place in Autzen Stadium once again, the real main event comes this weekend in Columbus, Ohio. The No. 12 Ducks are traveling to take on the No. 3 Buckeyes in the FOX Big Noon Kickoff game, which will arguably the marquee game of the weekend.

Heading into the game, we’ve tried to give you everything that you need to know about where Oregon currently stands with the health of Kayvon Thibodeaux, how dominant both the offense and defense for Ohio State can be, and what we want to see from the Ducks this week around.

Now one of the only things left to do is actually make our predictions.

As will happen every week of the season, the managing editor of Ducks Wire, Zachary Neel, will convene with staff writers Don Smalley and Andy Patton to preview the game, set expectations, and ultimately make a final prediction.

Here’s what Ducks Wire thinks about the game against Ohio State:

The Rushing Attack

Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

Question: It took a while for Oregon’s running game to get rolling against Fresno State, but we saw Minnesota have major success against Ohio State in that department last week. How much of an impact will CJ Verdell and Travis Dye have on Saturday? What do you think their stat-lines will be?

Zachary Neel: I do think that the Ducks are going to be able to find some success in this game, and it’s going to come off of the backs of both CJ Verdell and Travis Dye. They struggled to get going against Fresno, but Verdell got into a groove in the 4th quarter and helped put the game away for the Ducks. I think we can expect Oregon to come out and rely heavily on the rush early on, hoping to jump on Ohio State early and keep the ball away from the offense. In the end, I could see Verdell eclipsing 100-yards with 2 TDs, while Dye adds maybe 50-yards on the ground, with another 40-50 in receiving out of the backfield

Don Smalley: Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim managed to run for 163 yards and two touchdowns, so the Buckeyes’ run defense isn’t incredible. Oregon’s offensive line is going to have to play better this week. If they assume they can just wear down the Buckeyes defensive line and wait to create holes in the fourth quarter, it’ll be way too late. The Ducks need to establish some kind of run game that tOSU respects to keep them off balance.  If the upset occurs, Verdell goes for 120 and a couple of scores, and Dye goes for 80-90 yards with a score.

Andy Patton: How Verdell and Dye perform on Saturday will be, in my mind, the biggest x-factor between a win and a loss. Ohio State was vulnerable against the run last week, but Oregon will need to establish their running game early in the contest to get the Buckeyes on their heels. That will ease the pressure to perform off Brown in the early going while controlling the time of possession for the Ducks.

If the two backs can combine for three touchdowns and 200 or so rushing yards, this could be an upset. Anything less than that and things get a lot trickier.

Up Next: Play-calling

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