Ohio State had trouble finding the end zone early on in its 37-9 win over Ohio on Saturday, but the Buckeyes got that figured out later in the game.
Despite some early trouble scoring, there were many players who put up numbers worthy of Buckeye Leaves.
Here’s the three players the Buckeye Sports Bulletin staff is giving Buckeye Leaves to.
Sam Cipriani: With the offense struggling and sloppy play out of the Buckeyes’ special teams, I felt my Buckeye Leaf should go to an Ohio State defender — and that’s going to linebacker Arvell Reese.
Reese made standout plays for Ohio State all game long, leading the team with seven total tackles Saturday. The Cleveland native also added two pass breakups, a sack and a tackle for loss.
On Ohio’s second drive of the third quarter, the junior took over for the Buckeyes. In four plays, he recorded a tackle, then after Kenyatta Jackson Jr. made a tackle, Reese brought down Bobcats quarterback Parker Navarro for a sack, and then broke up a pass thrown by Navarro, which led to a third down stop by Ohio State.
Bobby Gorbett: My Buckeye Leaf is going to sophomore receiver Jeremiah Smith. In the win over the Bobcats, Smith went for a season high 153 receiving yards and a touchdown on nine catches.
Smith also ran for a 17-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Smith was routinely able to get open against Ohio’s outmatched cornerbacks. The star receiver’s biggest play of the game came in the second half when the team’s lead was only 16-9. The Buckeyes had the ball on the 47-yard line when Smith was able to create enough separation from Ohio cornerback Michael Mack II to haul in the lengthy touchdown.
Smith’s season-best performance allowed him to become the fastest receiver in program history to reach 1,500 yards receiving. Smith accomplished the feat in 19 games, former Buckeye Jaxon Smith-Njigba was previously the quickest player to go for 1,500 yards receiving, he did so in 20 games.
Greg Wilson: The biggest individual winner from the win over the Bobcats was true freshman running back Bo Jackson. While CJ Donaldson and James Peoples struggled to find gaps against Ohio, Jackson looked the best of the bunch and seems to have turned a two-man backfield into a party of three.
He finished the game with nine rushes for 109 yards thanks in large part to a 64-yard scamper in the third quarter, although the drive ended in another field goal for Jayden Fielding. Donaldson finished with nine runs and Peoples had seven. Not only did Jackson have the best stats, but he passed the eye test as well, with great burst and very good speed.
It would be a surprise after the off week when the Buckeyes go to Seattle if Jackson isn’t still a major part of the backfield. If he keeps this up, he could very well just cement himself as the No. 1.
