The Ohio State Buckeyes hosted the Kent State Golden Flashes on Saturday, with OSU dominating as expected. This was the Buckeyes’ second and final buy game of the year. They blew by the Golden Flashes, winning 59-3.
Quick Takeaways
-Junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith hit a massive milestone on Saturday, surpassing Michael Jenkins for most receiving yards all-time at Ohio State. Smith finished with 5 catches and 85 yards against Kent State.
-Junior quarterback Julian Sayin continued his impressive accuracy, going 18/22 while putting up 242 yards and two touchdowns.
-Senior wide receiver Brandon Inniss had his best game of the year, going for 78 yards and a touchdown.
-Freshman wide-out Chris Henry Jr. broke off a 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, showing the receiving room is in good hands after Smith departs.
-The Buckeyes started out hot, scoring on their first four drives of the game. The response and bounce-back from last week’s loss was notable..
-6’3″ 349 pound freshman defensive tackle Jamir Perez scored a defensive touchdown. Kent State quarterback Ethan Thanthanavong fumbled the ball and Perez scooped up the ball and took it 11 yards to the end zone.
-Sophomore linebacker Riley Pettijohn had an interception.
-A concern for the defense was the fact that they only had one sack. Credit goes to Jason Moore and Will Smith Jr. for the split.
-Junior Kicker Connor Hawkins was perfect on the day, going 8/8 on extra points and drilling a 31-yard field goal.
Revisiting the Keys
Play with Vengeance: The Buckeyes needed something to take out their anger on after the Texas game. Unfortunately for Kent State, they were next in line. The Buckeyes certainly played with some fire.
Contain Dru DeShields: The Buckeye defense held the dual-threat Kent State quarterback to 41 total yards. Dru threw for 35 yards and ran for six.
Involve More Guys: OSU needed to expand their distribution of the ball on offense this week, and they did just that. The Buckeyes had four receivers with over 60 yards and three different guys caught touchdowns.
Coach Day’s Thoughts
When asked about OSU’s quick start, Day said this:
“You’re looking for a response out of a group of guys coming off of last week, which I thought we did. And regardless of the opponent, you want clean execution on offense and you want a bunch of running and hitting on defense.”
On Jeremiah Smith’s new record:
“Boy, it’s hard to put anybody above him,” Day said. “It is hard. 33 games to break the all-time leading receiving record at Ohio State. I think that speaks more than anything to just him, his mindset, his discipline, what he does every day.”
Freshman Legend Bey was back on the kick return team, but was not on offense. Day had this to say when asked about him:
“No, he tweaked his ankle early and hopefully we’ll get him back this week. We’ll get him evaluated and see. He was trying to get back in there but he wasn’t cleared.”
Looking Ahead
This week, the Illinois Fighting Illini travel to Columbus to open Big Ten play for the Buckeyes. The game will be played at 12 p.m. on FOX. Look for our game preview on Friday.
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