Cal at #12 Ohio State: Ohio State wins 35-28.
- How they won it: It took OSU defensive back Christian Bryant’s interception of Zack Maynard with just over a minute left in the game to secure the win for the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes were also helped out by Cal’s kicker, who missed on three field goal attempts.
- Impressive Stats: OSU Wide Receiver Devin Smith (who had the “catch of the year so far” in week 1, according to some, including LeBron James) had 145 yards and 2 TDs receiving, including the 72 yard game-winner.
- Back at Running Back: Running back Jordan Hall made his season debut as he had been recovering from surgery for a cut tendon in his foot (just in time to replace Carlos Hyde who didn’t play this week due to a sprained knee). He led the team with 87 yards on the ground, which was a good sign that all of the workload wasn’t placed on Quarterback Braxton Miller, who led the team in rushing in weeks 1 and 2 (over 300 yards combined).
- Braxton Miller: This week Braxton Miller actually passed more often than he ran, but he only completed 53% of his passes (16-30, 249 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT).
- Suspect Defense: OSU’s defense game up over 500 yards, including over 200 on the ground, thanks in part to Cal’s backup Running Back Brendan Bigelow who had touchdown runs of 81 yards and 59 yards (the latter occurred just 20 seconds after OSU had taken the lead and tied the game at 28 all) and averaged 40 yards per carry (yes, 40 yards per carry as he managed 160 yards on just 4 touches). This should cause some concern for the Buckeyes. But then again, they did pressure the QB like they wanted. OSU was averaging just 1.5 sacks per game, but today they sacked Zack Maynard 6 times. And due to injuries, there are more freshmen in the defensive line rotation than is comfortable.
- Former Hoosier is a former Buckeye: At halftime, Ohio State honored its athletic hall of fame new inductees, which included Bob Knight (who played as a sub on OSU’s 1960 national championship basketball team).
- What does Urban Meyer want: “I expect our stadium to be an inferno. I expect players to be diving over each other to hit the quarterback. I expect our offense to score a multitude of points and celebrate in the end zone. So it’s nothing close [to what I expected]. I understand the journey, [but] what we have done the first two weeks is nothing close.”
- Tweets: Doug Lesmerises @PDBuckeyes Urban Meyer said if he has another kid, he’s going to name it after John Simon, “Urban John Simon Meyer or something like that.” Jeff Svoboda @JeffSvoboda Before the season, Urban Meyer said Ohio State wants to score touchdowns, not kick field goals. So far they have 16 offensive TDs and one FG.
