Snap Judgments: Ohio State puts on dominant performance ahead of Buckeyes 'improvement week'

if that's what the jump from week one to week two looks like for Ohio State pretty darn good welcome to snap judgments that's Jeremy Birmingham I am Austin Ward Buck guys two and 0 they played better on offense they uh posted a shut out on defense I don't know maybe the Special Teams weren't perfect they committed a penalty and they didn't have a Flawless kickoff return but now we're already nick uh picking nits nitpicking I'm not nicking any pits I'm picking no nits I'm not there's not I mean almost 700 yards of offense uh you give up less than 100 uh on the other side of the ball this was as thorough and complete an Ohio State win as I can remember in I don't know how long uh it it does feel like we saw a team Elevate and I I think it's Western Michigan's fault because they played too well last week and like I don't they had Ohio State's detention yeah I mean Ryan Day said as much in the postgame and uh uh I believe that they you know probably came into this thinking oh this team might be pretty good and the Buckey came out and threw a couple Haymakers early um will Howard got going early the defense first drives are always the the one where you know teams have scripts they have things they do and um they they miss the field goal and at that point you're like okay no no worries here Ohio state scored twice more in the first quarter and they just made it look very easy a little little slow down in the last half of the second quarter and and that was one thing I asked Ryan Day about in post game it was 35 to nothing there's a minute to go you force a punt you have no timeouts Ryan Day wanted his team to do that drive right he was like that is a this is how we're going to need a win we're going to need a drive like this to win a game some point down the road and they went four and out right they had the first big play to Jeremiah Smith my goodness uh and then you go three and out after that and REE was pissed off yeah he was Furious after that and I I so I asked him I number one I said you were your voice sounds a lot worse after these games and he said yeah I'm not calm play so I'm just yelling the whole time um and he said essentially that he said you know we we get the first big play we're moving then there's two missed assignments on blocks and the drive is over and we're going to need a drive like that to win a game so like to me coaches who understand that it's 35 nothing but you're still driving hard for your team to be perfect in that instance is awesome and that's to me like this this evolution of Ryan day as a head coach that we're getting to watch and that was a prime example of that but other than that like how do you complain about anything tonight yeah it's that's not a complaint either way I just want to be clear it's not Ohio State wins 56 to nothing on Saturday night at the Horseshoe over Western Michigan and I'm glad that we get to do it this way cuz it it wasn't even really tongue and cheek like a week ago first snap judgments of the year you're like well maybe we can just Pi something like was this chionship level or not I I don't think there's anything you can look at tonight and be like that's a real thing to talk about moving forward I I get it that uh in the first half the of the Akon game Ohio State didn't block the way they wanted to even if you want to look at the one deep throw everyone's wanted to know if Will Howard can stretch the field he missed one to Jeremiah Smith took immediate ownership of that uh went to the bench he was talking to the receivers looked like he was apologizing for it got it out there corrected it and threw a dime to a mecha abuka on the next drive like down the field taking those shots like there are things in a game that were not 10 out of 10 100% that's going to happen they're long games the the more plays that you get with the talent level that Ohio state has and the confidence that they're playing with that's how you get results like 56 to nothing at the end of the day will Howard started 10 for 10 for 177 yards he had his first rushing touchdown top I was so worried about Bill Landis I told him I said after that so the first one that was incomplete was a throw in the Red Zone down there to galani th was in galan's hands it was there and I said I immediately texted Bill he like tapate Martell just pop some champagne it's perfect the the 10 for 10 in the game for Tate Martell Remains the highest completion percentage in Ohio State history so kudos to ton but I you want to look at the one I'm not saying anyone is doing this like if if we wanted to say is this Championship level like there were enough other opportunities for will Howard to throw the ball downfield to be like nope it's fine they missed on one throw and not everyone is going to be perfect Ohio State played a phenomenal game in you know I can't I can't quite say all three phases there are things that they could have done better on special teams and so if that's where I'm going to nitpick yeah I don't want to but that's where I would I I'm just going to you know Western Michigan deserves some credit they their punter did a great job keeping the ball up in the air Brandon inis did not even get to return a so my bold prediction of a punt and kick return in the same game fell flat I did predict the score 56 to nothing I want to be so let's be clear about that oh well that's well done thank you thank you very much um no but there there are little things and and ultimately in a game like this you can say a thousand things that went really really well but I I we're trying to see the little things which is why again I'm noticing Ryan Day at the end of the first half there was a moment in the second quarter when CJ Hicks who is now clearly been supplanted by AR re as the the next man in at linebacker these are the things that I I think matter for the long-term growth of this team he came in the game and the he was taken aside by L Ransom who was basically saying let's go like you know that that matters and I'm not entirely sure how to quantify why it matters but it was it was an intentional moment between lean Ransom and C.J Hicks who clearly is a player people want to see on the field but hasn't been able to put it all together and then you see that moment and like there's something special about this team and 56 nothing feels good all on its own but like there are the little things that really do Stack Up and add up and uh that you know that's what we're trying to tarse through in in a show like this but I think that it's it is acceptable understandable you're going to have mistakes over the course of a game the way that what matters if this team is going to win uh in late November against Michigan win the Big 10 Championship how win however many times they need to in the C playoff what's going to determine that is the way they respond when they mess up it's it's not going to do any benefit to Ohio State to just continually pick out three or four plays or two or three areas of the game where they could play better if they don't ever correct it which so let's how did that happen will Howard put up his hand after the M Thro of Jeremiah Smith came back through that ball to a mea Iuka he was his decision making was vastly improve like not improved uh just didn't have decision making was pretty perfect tonight by Will Howard like if we're talking yeah so I don't I shouldn't have even put in those terms but like he didn't have any of the lapses that he had a week ago that part was out of his game and then he bounced back from one bad throw uh you have Cody Simon coming back in the leadership part uh communication he immediately makes an impact for Ohio State sets the tone with the sack uh breaks up a pass on the second drive he goes out there and you can see the linebacking group felt like they were a lot more solid from week one to week two having him out there is significant for that we spoke all week long about the offensive line and ways that they can improve they were the running game was dynamic in every single way that I think you could measure did they average the bucke guys were averaging almost 12 yards a play in the first half I think it was 11 point something by the time halftime came around and obviously you bring in the second team third team stuff that slows down but one of the guys that I was talking about on thinking Thursday or three thoughts Thursday whatever was about quinan Judkins and uh question answered I mean I don't know if he was a little Shell Shocked in week one against akaran just about being in a new environment but he ran hard as hell tonight and the way that that buoys trayon Henderson and and the trayon buoy quinon like it it's special like though there are no wasted carries by those dudes tonight like every time they got the ball it was 100 milph uh and then you see that then start to trickle down to James peop Sam Williams Dixon has a 30- yard run like with the behind the twos on the offensive line you're generating and this is something you talked about pregame when we were talking about whether or not you should play Cody Simon and Donovan Jackson but Austin Cal now you have basically a guy that you feel probably confident enough that you can almost pencil him in as a six starter on the offensive line played really really well like this there are a lot of really positive things about tonight and now Ohio state is looking at this as a way to say we we're taking the steps we need to take and a lot of teams I think would just say okay let's take a deep breath now we get this soft week and that is not what they're saying they're calling this an improvement week not an off week not a bye they are going to practice as hard as they have if not harder this week because they get the extra time off so like this team understands that they are nowhere near where they need to be but if this is the starting Point like that uh you know game one you can look at it a thousand different ways I don't I don't know that week one is ever the best representation of what a football team is going to be but this was certainly what we expected from Ohio State dominant performance by the defensive line without any huge individual performances it and and that to me is the most encouraging thing it didn't matter which group was out there if it was Kaden Curry or kinata Jackson or Mitchell Melton or Jack soyer or jt2 MOA or any of the defensive tackles Taiwan Malone making plays Kaden Donald like Stout dude is really good like they just every guy they put in on defense did the job and that that's you know if we go back it's been five years to the day since Ohio State's last shut out if we look back over the last decade or so how many times have we watched Ohio State be up 49 to nothing and the backups come in and give up a touchdown because they just can't get off the field like to see these guys and that's the value of getting them in the game early right and you you are getting them in real moments and so they're not quite as is Goofy when they go out there in in trash time well just not prepared I mean I think they're the way Ohio state has managed these first two weeks and training camp as well has got a lot of people certainly Austin Cel that's a unique situation but the way RV ree has come on would it have transpired in that same way in previous years I I I don't know if it would have and whether that's a different approach from Jim nolles James ltis or Ryan Day at the very top maybe some combination of all of that you called it at the start of snap judgments like the evolution of Ryan day as a head coach I almost feel like it's I don't know a a return a Renaissance like a revitalization a rediscovery of what he did initially because the the stuff that he's like not calling plays that is different that is an evolution for him but I think the level of aggression the way that he is coaching the the pregame activity the mosh pit you know in the huddle with the Buckey like that's the stuff that like early Ryan day did that endeared him to that team and I think allowed them to buy in hey this guy is Not Afraid on Fourth and two to take a deep shot in a playoff game he is fearless and I'm not saying that going for fourth and eight in the third quarter of a no stake situation against Western Michigan is the exact same thing as doing that against Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl but if you don't do it and don't tell your team that you have their back in those situation so that they can get out of the game it's good I think it'd be harder mentally for everyone in the program let alone Ryan day to be like well now I have the trust in that so that's significant to me no that matters a lot that was four and a half minutes to go in the third quarter in Ohio State hadn't scored in the third quarter there had been a little it had felt a little discombobulated when the Buckey open up the half and you started at the six yard line then you get a big pass play that gets called back and then you're at the two and then it was just a very clunky start to the third after a clunky end to the first half and so I think Ryan day like that was a put your foot put on the gas pedal but not in order to run it over Western Michigan but to make your team aware like there's no slowing this down we're not going to stop uh and that is is really encouraging there's so many good parts to this team and every game is going to provide a little bit of a different insight into what's going to make them special and when you look around college football and you see Alabama struggling in the fourth quarter with South Florida Today I don't know what the final score ended up being wound up blowing them out I think it's like 40 something 16 so it was 176 at the end of the they score that many yeah that's the way it goes that's the way the cookie crumbles um Oregon as we're recording this is I believe still struggling with Boise State uh obviously Michigan we watch Notre Dame go out and lose to Northern Illinois like you can lose these games and and Ohio State I don't think ever gets enough credit for for not losing these games and and it's not always pretty it's you know last week is not pretty you win by 46 points but like when you can just consistently do this I I think Ryan Day and the Ohio State program deserves a lot of credit for never seeming to have those stumbles yeah I think BTN showed a stat at one point I I mean I was not watching the broadcast because I was in the Press Box but I think like uh whatever it was like group of five non-conference games the only program since 2000 to not have lost one of those games is Ohio State so we can say well the level of difficulty is going to go up and they're going to play better competition absolutely that's true they play in the Big 10 uh and they're going to face a gauntlet down the road to try and get where they want to go in the college football playoff I I'm I wouldn't pretend to stand here after game two and be like well they figured it out after week one they they they started fast everything was where they wanted to go it's it's got to be a mixture of these things week one was not as bad as it may have seemed uh that's my opinion I I gave my justifications for that if you if you agree I certainly understand but I didn't make a hard and fast opinion about how good or not good that the Buckeyes could be week one and I I think the same thing has to be true tonight they' made improvements across the board just about every single way that you could that doesn't mean that they're done that is why they're already talking about week three in this off date being an improvement week because there are still things that this team to be as special as they want they must continually push themselves I'm not saying that this that this level wasn't good enough to beat Michigan Penn State or Oregon cuz I think the way that they were rolling and the way the running game was better and will Howard with the decision- making like and the defense at this level like it's this this is the best defense I think this as complete a team as Ohio State's had in a long time but the the point is even as good as it looked like they're still a long way to go just like there was after week one so it's no the work is not done no and the reality is it's not about beating Western Michigan 56 to nothing it's Ohio state is competing against itself in these types of games and so when you go out there and I think that's probably why a week ago stuck in people's craw because you go out there and you don't look to be the best version of yourself and that maybe is unexpected or not a reasonable expectation for week one but this is what Ohio State's supposed to look like and if if this offense which was just super fun to watch tonight like they were doing all kinds of things will Howard is so enjoyable to watch Play Because He just seems to always be in the right spot always making the right decision with the football just there's a there's a long way to go in this season but this team has every tool to get there yeah I think none of them wanted to say last week hey this was our first time this is the first game is a long layoff but a week later you heard will Howard say it you heard quinon Judkins say it you heard Sunny styles to some extent say it like you know he had had the headset on for week one to week two it's like we're comfortable now there's a routine the season is rolling and you saw you had tape that you could not just that you got to watch of Western Michigan but of themselves from what happened in akan and you you find what work what didn't work like this team it is again I keep saying it they're not done it is a work in progress but you saw a glimpse I think against Western Michigan of how special it can be regardless of the level of competition that they faced yeah if if you to use your terminology there if they meas ing it against themselves and they're trying to be the best version of Ohio State they still didn't accomplish that they won 56 to nothing and they will take that into this next week and this could have been 77 84 to I mean they they could have named their score they stopped doing some of things in the first you know middle part of the second quarter and then obviously the first part of the third quarter like they could have you could just throw it to Jeremiah Smith anytime you want yeah and just throw it deep and you know one out of every two times will Howard's going to connect on that ball and it's going to be a touchdown because he's unbelievable yeah well this team's good bottom line this team's good bottom line this game means nothing except for it's a really big step well you mentioned it I mean ask ask NOA Dame if these games mean nothing I mean you still have to go out there uh and perform and deliver it means nothing now now that it's over I mean the next two weeks okay next two weeks would have been a lot different yeah if if it had you know gone a different way but it did not instead it was 56 to nothing and somehow we still were uh picking a few nits I'm not nit picking no I did I did this is as good as it gets I did it not you celebrate folks I have to take ownership when I do something like that enjoy the NFL on Sunday enjoy the notebook it'll be online at like 700 a.m. on Sunday um bill will have some Sunday thoughts uh about the Ohio State Western Michigan game it's great to be back and it felt like Ohio state was back tonight yeah that was a fun one fun to cover fun to talk to the Buckeyes afterwards as well so a lot of coverage of that coming on the notebook and everything else roosters just a a heads up it will be on Tuesday again this week I know I said Monday uh but it'll be again Tuesday at the new Henderson not the new at our new home on Henderson Road uh so that stuff's going on we're still going to have full coverage even throughout the off week as we always do improv Improvement week is underway Improvement week number one of two for Ohio State this season is already here I don't like it but here we are uh Ohio state is a winner 56 to nothing snap judgments are over that's Jeremy Birmingham I'm Austin award enjoy the rest of the weekend