Ohio State vs Western Michigan PostGame Takeaways: HDLOH

welcome back to the Huddle on High Street we have week two of the OSU 2024 football season where I'm kind of going to recap this game against Western Michigan that we just saw about two days ago I've had some time to dissect the tape really get into it but the first thing that I wanted to start this off with is this clip right here of Jeremiah Smith and just look as six guys are chasing this guy they're chasing him you can't put together a better clip of somebody that is just breaking away breaking away from expectation from the competition from where he should be at his age from what we've seen before there are serious Heisman Buzz around this guy eight catches 119 yards TD that's three touchdowns already in two games and it's his first two games ever first night game how about the first touch the second touchdown of the game just an unbelievable play from there and I just think that's that's the thing if there's one key takeaway that we'll remember from this game it will be that play that play will be probably remembered for a long time hopefully many more to come but I did want to point that out but overall I thought they played a great game I thought Ohio State played a great game now if we look at the AP poll now they've been moved down to what is is number three and I get why they did it Georgia has a lot of stuff to back them up they're a really sound Team all the way around you could say interior-wise they're a more put together team than us we have issues on the o line that do need to improve we do need to improve upon but I think at Ohio State I think you know it's going to be a slow burn to get that o line together that's but that's why Georgia I think at the time being it's all right to put them a hair ahead of us even though they played a game against I don't even know Tennessee Tech some ridiculous FCS school which shouldn't be happening but let him live let him live right um but Texas I understand why you move them up two we're better than Texas in my mind but they have a more quality win than us right now so not too much to look into the AP pool and I just thought it was a really great game overall uh AA abuka had about 100 yards receiv receiving 98 five receptions it was really good will Howard nearly passed for 300 yards started like 11 for 11 in the game and I think you know what I like about him and I think he's a far better quarterback than mord he he missed like one or two throws which I mean it happens it happens in these big game well this wasn't a big but it happens in games where you just miss throws occasionally it happens and he missed like one one two or three somewhere in that range but the guy can play the guy's his ability to escape the pocket when it breaks down and people don't understand how big that is when your o Line's a little shaky you need a guy that's going to be able to get out of that pocket and expand plays mcord couldn't do that at all mcord sack taker he's he's gonna if there's pressure back there it's over with Will Howard and you saw within the rushing touchdown that he had he's able to extend plays that's going to that's going to against these big teams like a Penn State like a Michigan like a Oregon that we're going to see soon like a Georgia in the playoff that's gonna be a huge difference maker in those games so I thought he played really well defensively wise I thought it was a good game uh I think that the targeting call you get Denzel Burke who's really the leader of that defense he was ejected early in the first quarter and I I honestly think that law that rule I should say it's a little out of play it's a little out of play for my liking where you're in a position where you have a player out for an entire game I think that what you should do there is give a warning and if they like pretty like a technical foul in the NBA like if you do it once give them the 15 yard penalty give them a warning then if they do it again kick them out of the game these games are too short these players have some of them have 12 games that's it to show off their skill set to get to the next level 12 games and you're gonna and sometimes they're doing this by mistake they're making like sometimes it's not intentional at all like you could do that too you could upgrade it to like a targeting one or a targeting two treat like NBA technical fat because to kick somebody out sometimes on a mistake of a game these are big games for these players that they need some players like if you're like on a on a like what's a bad team out there like a Northwestern you might only get 12 games and if you're getting ejected it's just taken away from time if it's a dirty play make it like a targeting two or something like that but yeah so that that was kind of ridiculous but the good news is it's not a big game it's not a huge atmospheric game like an Oregon Penn State Michigan Etc so it wasn't that big of a deal and I thought they played pretty well I thought overall Jack Sawyer you know he's really locked in in my opinion kind of a shakier start I would say and then really just has focused up uh Caleb down showed out today it was really a show out game for a lot of these guys um I'm going to get to jug kins in a second on the offensive side but Caleb Downs had a few plays where it's like okay that's why he was so hyped that's the guy that we saw at Alabama so he's he's gonna he's coming into and I think a lot of it for these newer guys I think there's a lot of intimidation to playing at the shoe it's a big crowd it's a big fan base it's like you're playing in the NFL I was really thinking about when I was watching it I was like this is a pro team it's a pro team in a lot of ways especially in the state of Ohio where you just don't have a lot to hang your hat on within football-wise the Browns have been other than the past couple years IR relevant for decades the Bengals did go to a Super Bowl but aside from that it's not they haven't one- one they're no traditional Powerhouse this really is the Premier team in Ohio it's a big deal Ohio's football's huge in Ohio and you realize kind of I think the players realize who come in here like it's bigger than football it really it's more than a game it is more than a game when you're playing at OSU so I think some of the nerves got some of the people early in these games but if if if yeah like I said and I said the one play that will be remembered throughout this game game will be the Jeremiah Smith touchdown also what could be remembered maybe it was the Showcase game of the transfers and the newer guys because on the offensive side Judkins what a game what a game from Judkins there was one 80 yardish touchdown that they wiped off the board because there was like a hold that happened like a somewhat away from the play it would have been ridiculous all over Sports Center would have been a great play it just like the bursts that this guy has if you get him in any a bit of open field it's over and you could say the same with trayon Henderson but Judkins just has a different stride to him a different like a different gear to the next level like trayon has it two and I think trayon has it more in a straight up vertical Judkins works like a side to side game that like is just rare just really rare and he really showed that off in this game like that pitch it's like you give him like that a little extended pitch for the play that got called back it's like you give him like a few feet of room and he was just gone so I I'm I'm excited I'm excited for this team and like I said in games like this there's not a lot to pick apart because like I said you're playing in a game where it's an well and you know at the same time this is a team that had Wisconsin dead to rights pretty much almost beat him but we'll see we'll see what happens from now on you have the byee expect similar things in the Marshall game Marshall game will probably get to like gosh I would say they'll probably hang up 60 against Marshall I don't think Marshall scores on them maybe a touchdown maybe a touchdown maybe a field goal something like that but the real test is going to be that that um that Oregon game that's coming up soon and we we'll we'll really see what we have and Oregon doesn't look too good Oregon doesn't look that almost losing to Boise State the Idaho 2414 I don't know what's going on with Oregon but that's going to be the first where we really see okay what is this team made of and then you have difficult stretch where you have Nebraska and a lot of other teams that are looking a little bit better than what we thought but as of right now two games through I'm pretty darn satisfied with how Ohio State's played they're looking pretty good A team with all the Swagger in the world and all the talent in the world all the expectation in the world and like I said right now I got to put him at number two talent-wise number one without question number two just because got to get a little bit stronger in the trenches that o line needs to develop a little bit more just a little bit more to beat Georgia but lined up head-to-head in a game I don't think anybody other than Georgia and Texas can compete with them and I don't think it's I don't think it's relatively close with any team other than Georgia and Texas so I'm excited to see it uh didn't didn't do week one because uh was fighting some illnesses but going to be doing a reaction to these games as it goes through obviously we'll take next week off because of the bye week but I saw a lot of good things from the game uh one more thing to note I thought that the Reps that I saw from Devin Brown and I Know M dude they're in garbage hours but he went five for five had a good drive I thought it was pretty good pretty good from what I saw the best best I've seen of him so far and then San comes in throws throws a touchdown and it looks like San's the third string and I really do think if it's not to be Devin Brown I think Julian saan should play next year and that was a little Glimpse and he scored a touchdown so we'll see how that develops but I I like this team I really I think this is all this will go down as like an all-timer for me just memory-wise but like I said we're going to go into the buy then we got the big game well this the probably murder of a game against Marshall and then we really get rolling I'm excited