ICYMI: BSB’s Full ‘Bye’ Week Coverage

By October 17, 2021 (8:10 pm)Football

It’s been a busy week in the Ohio State world, but don’t fret. BSB has you covered for everything you may have missed in the last seven days, from Ryan Day’s weekly press conference to the Big Ten recap.

For the fourth time in five games as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud has earned the Big Ten’s crown for Freshman of the Week, while adding a Co-Offensive Player of the Week nod for the first time in his career. He’s the sixth consecutive Buckeye to earn the award, along with TreVeyon Henderson (week three) and Kyle McCord (week four), and the second to earn the larger title, alongside Henderson.

Ohio State has been without its game-one starting tailback in three of its last four games, but if head coach Ryan Day is any indication, that dry spell is about to come to an end. Redshirt freshman running back Miyan Williams, who was unavailable against Tulsa, Rutgers and Maryland with no announced reasoning, is set to return to practice this week and should be available for Ohio State against Indiana on Oct. 23, per Day.


Ohio State defensive assistant Kerry Coombs was not shy in his first meeting with media since his demotion from coordinator about how he’s handled the change. He talked about wanting to do whatever it took to help his team, and about wanting to set an example for his players, but he also talked about this move being the most difficult of his career. About feeling a little lost and looking for guidance from friends and family. About struggling with his extremely public fall from grace.

First of all, technically speaking, it’s not a “bye” week – unless, of course, you consider the entire football season to be a four-month tournament. The word “bye” should be applied only when talking about teams who are not required to play in the opening round of a tournament. What Ohio State is experiencing is an “open week” or “idle week.”

Ohio State super senior Thayer Munford’s move from left tackle to left guard has done little to halt status as one of the nation’s top offensive linemen, and on Oct. 13, he was recognized for his play nationally. Munford was included as one of 12 semifinalists for the Lombardi Award, which goes each year to college football’s top offensive linemen.

Freshman Emeka Egbuka has infused Ohio State with electricity on kickoff returns that has been sorely lacking in recent years.

While it is true that kickoff returns have been greatly diminished in recent years as college football seeks ways to eliminate the violent nature of the play, the fact remained that the Buckeyes returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Jordan Hall went 85 yards vs. Michigan in 2010.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day spoke with Paul Keels and Jim Lachey on 97.1 The Fan’s Ryan Day Radio Show on Thursday afternoon.

He talked about Ohio State’s performance against Maryland and how the Buckeyes are handling the “bye” week before their game with Indiana on Oct. 23.

As Ohio State enters a “bye” week, head coach Ryan Day is looking forward to the opportunity for several of his ailing players to rest and recover before their game against Indiana.

Despite starting a rookie quarterback who had never before throw a single pass as a college player, and a rebuilt and reshuffled offensive line to protect him, Ohio State hits the midway point of the 2021 season with the No. 1 offense in the nation.

It was early in the game against Akron and Ohio State freshman quarterback Kyle McCord was struggling.

McCord had drawn the first starting assignment of his college career in place of a sore-shoulder C.J. Stroud, and his first series had featured three misfires including one that was so poorly thrown behind an intended receiver that it was officially recorded as a fumble and 6-yard loss.

With Ohio State idle this week, Buckeye Sports Bulletin doesn’t have a paper to send out. However, that doesn’t mean the editors and staff writers didn’t watch any games on Saturday. Well, at least Patrick Mayhorn did. 

While Patrick listened to Dan Orlovsky expertly break down Central Florida and No. 3 Cincinnati, I hiked a mountain trail in Louden, Tenn. For those familiar with the area, Louden is only a 45-minute drive from Knoxville, a city that made headlines in the college football world on Saturday night. 

Fresh off a week of rest ahead of an Oct. 23 trip to Bloomington to take on 2-4 Indiana, Ohio State has again risen in both the AP and Coaches Polls, jumping to a consensus No. 5 spot after the former No. 2 squad, Iowa, fell to No. 11 in both polls following a 24-7 loss to previously unranked Purdue.

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