Welcome to Femme Football, the Ohio State football coverage for Her Campus. Here, you’ll find an overview of this week’s game with in-depth explanation to build your understanding week by week, as well as position highlights that will teach the responsibilities of different players.
Ohio State pulled out a win from the most important game of the year against Michigan, finishing the game 31-20. While that’s an 11 point difference, it still felt too close for comfort.
The offense came out looking like a different team than fans are used to, and not a good one. The first quarter, the Buckeyes had negative six total yards, while the Wolverines had over 100, keeping Ohio State out of the end zone. Once J.K Dobbins got going, the offense finally got its wheels back on. Dobbins had 15 carries for 101 yards and one touchdown by the end of the game. By the half, Ohio State and the Wolverines were tied at 14 points.
The third quarter forced every Ohio State fan to have an unpleasant flashback to November 29, 2014, when J.T Barrett went down with an injury mid-game. Then Cardale Jones stepped in delivering not only a win against Michigan, but eventually a National Championship. This time around, Barrett went down in the third quarter with an apparent meniscus injury. Urban Meyer later said that it was due to a camera man on the sidelines before the game. At Ohio State, it’s all about the next man up, and that man was true freshman (1) Dwayne Haskins. Haskins is not a run-focused quarterback (2), but his arm is incredible, shifting Ohio State into a passing offense. Haskins passed for 94 yards. Sean Nuernberger also kicked a 44 yard field goal to contribute to the win, his longest kick to date.
The defense racked up five sacks on John O’Korn and 62 tackles, but watching the game it felt like Michigan’s offense was just bouncing off of the Buckeyes’ defense. Jordan Fuller snagged an interception late in the fourth quarter, reversing the momentum and allowing J.K. Dobbins to punch in one more touchdown for the Buckeyes.
The position highlight this week goes to the quarterback, especially Dwayne Haskins. J.T. Barrett is a huge leader among the Buckeyes as well as a veteran quarterback who keeps his cool in high pressure situations. When he went down and a true freshman stepped into the pocket, it was a new situation for everyone, even the veteran players. However, Haskins held his own and introduced a passing game to the offense and carried OSU to a win.
1 True freshman: A player who is actually a part of the freshmen class at their school, whereas a redshirt freshman would give up a year of playing to extend their eligibility.
2 Run-focused quarterback: A quarterback who is more likely to use his legs or hand off to a running back than to throw the ball.