Here are three things we learned from No. 6 Ohio State’s 59-3 rout of Kent State on Sept. 19:
While the Buckeyes left with a lopsided win, they were unable to ease all the concerns that followed last week’s collapse at Texas.
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The most glaring issue was with their offense on third down.
After the Buckeyes were successful on just six of 14 third-down attempts against Texas, helping the Longhorns mount a 20-point fourth-quarter comeback, they had even more trouble in those situations against the Golden Flashes.
It wasn’t until freshman running back Favour Akih’s 5-yard run on the last play that Ohio State moved the chains on third down. The first seven had all been short of the marker.
Running backs Bo Jackson, Ja’Kobi Jackson and Isaiah West were all stuffed on third downs with less than 3 yards to go. West was twice brought down in the backfield.
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But it wasn’t only short-yardage situations that spelled trouble. Quarterback Julian Sayin also missed freshman wide receiver Brock Boyd on a throw to the end zone on a third-and-5 during the second quarter. The incompletion helped bring an end to the drive as Sayin was sacked on the ensuing fourth down, leaving the Buckeyes without any points on the trip to the end zone.
The presence of superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith gives the Buckeyes an explosive element with an opportunity to score from seemingly any distance, but whether it’s finishing drives in the red zone or extending them on third down, there remains room to grow in their situational execution.
The margins have little consequence against an outmatched MAC opponent, but are likely to matter when the schedule ramps up again in the Big Ten in the weeks ahead.
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith showed a new look by putting an extra lineman on the field against Kent State.
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The Buckeyes used Jake Cook as an additional sixth offensive lineman on a variety of series and found encouraging results.
It provided an extra blocker on the right side of the line when running back Ja’Kobi Jackson ran for an 11-yard touchdown on the opening drive, as well as on West’s 4-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter and Bo Jackson’s 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
The personnel grouping also kept Kent State’s defense off balance.
When Sayin connected with receiver Devin McCuin for a pickup of 22 yards during the first quarter, it was on a play-action fake out of the heavy personnel package.
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“Every time you put a personnel grouping in the game, there’s a give and take,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “Jake has been practicing well, and we thought that he gave us some strength in there.
“We’ll see where the package goes from here moving forward. We’ll evaluate it and see if it fits in the upcoming weeks. But it does give us a different grouping with a little bit of strength there.”
Day referred to it as their “Bison” package, and the Buckeyes have deployed six offensive linemen in previous years, but it appeared to have a more frequent and versatile usage against Kent State.
Sophomores TJ Alford and Riley Pettijohn continue to push for larger roles in the Buckeyes’ linebacker rotation behind Payton Pierce and Christian Alliegro.
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Both caused their share of disruption during a stretch in the second quarter.
Pettijohn jumped a route while picking up tight end Terik Mulder in coverage, then intercepted the pass by quarterback Dru DeShields and returned it to Kent State’s 8-yard line.
Alford nearly had a pick on the Golden Flashes’ next drive when he broke up a pass from DeShields, who was scrambling and tried to find running back Jakorion Caffey along the sideline.
For Pettijohn, it was the second straight game that he wreaked havoc, as he also sacked Texas quarterback Arch Manning last week.
Day hinted toward a larger role for Pettijohn days earlier, describing his athleticism and instincts as unique.
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“He just has the uncanny ability to slip blocks and make plays,” Day said. “And the more he plays, the better he’s going to be.”
As the Buckeyes search for playmakers on a defense that suffered significant attrition for the second straight year, their options are coming into clearer focus.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 3 things we learned from Ohio State football’s rout of Kent State
