An explosive offensive performance leads Ohio State to victory over Marshall as we dive into this week’s Buckeye State of the Union.

Dear Fellow Buckeyes,

Ohio State looked rustier than expected as the Buckeyes beat Marshall 49-14 on a steamy day in The Shoe. Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson combined for 249 yards and four touchdowns, propelling Ohio State to victory. 

The running attack stood out and solidified Coach Lock’s room as the best in the sport. However, a key bright spot for the Buckeyes is its offensive line. The boys up front have done an elite job blocking and getting downfield. All historically elite Ohio State teams follow the offensive blueprint of this year’s team: elite power run team with a great offensive line, competent quarterback play, and excellent perimeter weapons. 

Even without Judkins, the Ohio State offense would be scary. But with Judkins, it’s pick-your-poison for opposing defenses. Q averaged 12.4 yards per carry, including an 86-yard score (T-3 longest in school history). His dynamic playmaking ability, toughness, and athleticism perfectly complement TreVeyon Henderson, who possesses the same home run ability and also found the end zone twice on Saturday. 

Will Howard had his weakest performance of his three starts, but he still played well overall. There are a few throws, namely the under-thrown interception, he’d want back. Moreover, his job is to manage the game and distribute the football, and by and large, he did that Saturday. 

Ohio State’s offense showcased its big-play abilities, scoring on plays of 86, 68, 53, and 40 yards. Chip Kelly called a phenomenal game — his role as offensive coordinator is one of the best things to happen to Ryan Day’s Buckeyes. 

Defensively, the Silver Bullets gave up 18 first downs and 269 yards of offense to Marshall. Stone Earle was on target as a passer and utilized his legs as an extra wrinkle. The Buckeyes sometimes had difficulty defending but tightened up in the second half. 

Marshall’s game plan appeared to focus on getting the ball out quickly to negate the pass rush. Paired with the absence of Tyliek Williams, the Buckeyes weren’t able to affect the quarterback as often as its first two matchups. Knowles still used a relatively base defense and kept Caleb Downs pretty deep throughout the afternoon.

I expect Oregon to execute a similar approach on October 12th in Eugene. Since you were probably thinking along the same lines, make sure also to consider a different approach from Knowles to slow down the Ducks. 

The defense did not play poorly, but it did not perform stellar overall. However, it is still one of the top units in the country, so this should not cause any panic. 

Ohio State travels to East Lansing next Saturday for a collision under the lights against Michigan State in Spartan Stadium. The game will be streamed on NBC’s Peacock.