Ohio State Expects To Air It Out Against Wisconsin
The Ohio State Buckeyes open Big Ten play Saturday night with a primetime matchup with the Wisconsin Badgers. After coming off a 77-21 route of Toledo, the Buckeye offense appears to be a running like a well-oiled machine.
Ohio State scored touchdowns on each of its first seven possessions and rolled up 763 total yards, the second-most in a game in school history.
The scary part? The Buckeyes believe they haven’t even scratched the surface of their potential.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 22-of-27 passes for 367 yards and five touchdowns against Toledo. It was the fourth time in 15 career starts that Stroud completed 80 percent or better of his passes and was the 11th 300-yard game in his career.
“I think you can see the work that he’s done in the offseason. Just with his body, his movement, quickness, speed strength,” said head coach Ryan Day.
Since Day’s first season on Ohio State’s coaching staff in 2017, the Buckeyes have averaged 263 yards passing in three of those four seasons. The only exception? Setting a Big Ten single season record with 364.3 yards per game in 2018.
Ohio State quarterbacks under Day have thrown 192 touchdown passes. Excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season in which still threw 22 touchdowns, in four full seasons, Day-coached Ohio State quarterbacks have thrown no less than 35 touchdown passes each year.
Stroud leads the nation with 11 touchdowns and zero picks this season and has displayed the ability to extend plays with his feet.
“I think you have to have the confidence physically to be able to extend and get away from the rush,” Day said. “But it’s also just the speed of the game and understanding where the bodies are.
“I think that there’s a feel, you don’t look at the rush you feel the rush. There’s an art to finding the escape hatch and he’s show that he can do that.”
Stroud is second nationally in passing efficiency with a rating of 208.6 that is a full 22 points higher than his school-record rating of 186.6 in 2021 when he threw 44 touchdowns vs. just 6 interceptions.
“You saw a couple more extended plays where he’s breaking the pocket and looking downfield. He can do it left; he can do it right,” Day said. “Anytime you can extend plays and allow your receivers more time to get open, it’s an advantage.”
Jim Leonhard is in his 6th season as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator, and 7th season overall on the overall with the program and will look to slow down the Buckeyes aerial assault. The Badgers have continued to build on their reputation as one of the nation’s top defensive programs under Leonhard’s direction.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Jim Leonard, always have. His defenses are always some of the best in the country,” Day said.
This year, the Badgers have given up an average of just 8.0 points per game, 8th-best in the country, but they’re without key piece in the secondary that they would normally rely on to slow down the Buckeyes passing attack.
Cornerback Alexander Smith and safety Hunter Wohler are recovering from injuries, and the Badgers lost safety Travian Blaylock before the season even started.
“At the end of the day it doesn’t have anything to do with the coaches, it comes down to the players. What do the players know, what can the players do,” Day said. “As much as it sometimes it seems like matching wits between coordinators, at the end of the day it’s what your players know and what can they execute on the field.”
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