Going, Going Back, Back To Cali, Cali…
That’s exactly how I feel. Wait no, that’s exactly what I want to happen again after this Saturday’s offensive ‘boom saucing over Cal in the Cal-Berkley stadium. Saturday was a perfect day: Sunshine, cool & sunny fall weather, a near Michigan-Appalachian State part II, an awesome SEC elite match-up and it all ended with being able to tune into the Buckeyes at night in California.
The team and the fan base had a real fun bounce to be apart of on Saturday. Fans were confident as they watched their Buckeyes turn up and never shut it down from warm-ups to the end of the 4th quarter. Great statement win leaving enough of a cushion in having Florida A&M in the wings. It certainly is a good point in the season to enjoy a few extra days off before the ramping up of the Big 10 season.
With that said, here’s a few reasons to kick back, relax and enjoy the ride through the next week:
Cheers
Kenny Guiton – Go find me the guy who predicted that Ohio State fans would feel this good about the start of the season with Kenny Guiton as the starting QB and Braxton Miller would be injured for really two whole games. Once you find that person, i’ll find you a liar.
Kenny Guiton is the only one touted as worthy enough to cheers to each week because he’s backed it up every week. 276 yards, 4 TDs and 92 yards rushing. More yards, same amount of touchdowns as AJ McCarron.
Critical thought question: is it possible to have an effective two QB formation with Braxton Miller and Kenny Guitton? Obviously not for every down, but these two are easily two of the most valuable players to the Buckeyes offense so it begs an actual question.
Wide Receivers – The whole unit gets a nod because they just look a milli times better than they did last year. Devin Smith with 3 catches for 149 yards and 2 TD’s, are you kidding? Nearly 50 yards per catch average? Show me someone who you think is a faster wide receiver in college football and i’ll lay $50 on Devin.
Philly Brown continues to be formidable in the box score for volume of catches. He’s becoming a very reliable possession target as he looks the part of an NFL player more and more each week.
The rest of the unit is panning out strongly. Chris Fields has come around quite nicely given where he showed he was at the beginning of his career. I’m omitting one big key to the passing game…oh wait he’s next on the list.
Dontre Wilson – Yes we deserve our own reason to celebrate Dontre…again. Dontre is “dat dude”. There are really three simple reasons why Buckeye nation can celebrate Tre once more:
- His role increases in each week
- He gets better each week
- He’s a true Freshman athlete
Scary. Barring injury, enjoy Tre.
Jordan Hall – J-Hall deserves about as much credit as Guiton. He continues to make the most of the opportunity in having Hyde out and he does appear to fit into Urban’s vision and offensive system more and more each week. 402 rush yards (5th in NCAA), 6 TDs, increased speed from 2012, J Hall is making a real strong campaign to be the feature back in 2013. It’s extremely possible the roles switch up once the Big 10 season starts, cold weather football naturally sinks to game speed and we consistently need to pound it up the middle. But given Urban’s game speed Hall will likely still be a huge of the 2013 campaign.
Love Bosa & Noah Spence – Joey Bosa & Noah Spence have looked great on the D Line. Preseason it was thought to be Adolphus & Spence but Adolphus’ injury has given Bosa the opportunity to prove himself. Spence is just a flat out animal. He has so much promise its stupid. Give this line one offseason to develop it will be absolutely murderous.
Sober Up
Braxton – Well who would have thought Braxton would be an after thought at this point? It kills me to think about this but reality is when you take the pulse of Buckeye nation is “ehhh, let’s let Kenny go”. It is disconcerting that Braxton’s action so far this season is limited. It’s never a good thing to suggest “at least he’s getting it out of his system” when it comes to injuries early in the season. It’s in Braxton’s best interest to suit up for a half against Florida A&M and have him spin for a while. If he’s healthy to play he needs a tune up before he gets Wisconsin & Northwestern.
Closing Time: It’s just eye opening to see how good this team can get. The biggest concern at this point is overconfidence; not that there aren’t good teams on the schedule, but every game Ohio State plays, they are the better team and should win. Upset potential each week is almost worse than equal expectations.
Enjoy the light week before the Big 10 season kicks in Buckeye Nationl
Not mentioned this week: Bri’onte Dunn – Bri’onte will be left off of this list until he gets a fair shot.
6 Rings 