Buckeye Leaves: C.J. Stroud, Cameron Martinez and Dawand Jones Earn Honors

Andy Anders, BSB: One can’t forget about the offensive line on a big scoring night like Saturday’s for Ohio State. And for me, the offensive lineman that stood out the most is fourth-year tackle Dawand Jones.

There’s plenty of love to go around for Ohio State’s passing game Saturday, and rightfully so. It’s hard for me not to go with sophomore wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. here given his two toe-drag touchdowns. Jones and company kept third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud clean all evening to find Harrison and the other receivers, however. Toledo’s defense didn’t record so much as a hurry, let alone a sack.

Then on the ground Ohio State’s running backs averaged 6.5 yards per carry while the first-team offensive line was on the field. Whenever those runs went to the right side, it seemed Jones had a Toledo defender backpedaling, clearing out space for Ohio State’s ball carriers.

Bigger tests are coming, but the Buckeyes’ offensive line — and Jones in particular — have been a force to start the season.

Jack Emerson, BSB: C.J. Stroud entered the season with lofty expectations after a Heisman Trophy-finalist year in 2021, and he certainly looked like the Heisman front-runner on Saturday evening.

Stroud was dialed in from Ohio State’s first offensive snap of the night, completing his first nine passes — including an eight-yard touchdown strike to Marvin Harrison Jr. From there, Stroud continued to decimate the Toledo defense — tossing four additional touchdowns — while completing 81 percent of his passes for 367 yards.

Stroud’s ability to spread the field stood out, as he completed passes to five different receivers. He hit tight end Cade Stover three times for a 83 yards. Overall, Stroud, once again, showed why he deserves to be in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy for the second consecutive season.

Braden Moles, BSB: Ohio State safety Tanner McCalister was a late scratch from the game for the Buckeyes, but third-year safety Cameron Martinez stepped in and filled the role for Ohio State.

Martinez finished with four tackles, of which several were pivotal to keeping Toledo out of the end zone and giving the ball back to Ohio State in a timely manner. It was his first career start for the Buckeyes but you wouldn’t know it based on how seamlessly he filled in for Ohio State.

Along those same lines, safety Lathan Ransom should receive some props for filling in for Josh Proctor, who was also missing from the game. He stepped in and did the job like he did against Notre Dame.