Ohio State stock market report: Oregon

After each Ohio State game during the 2021 football season, LGHL will offer its market analysis of the Buckeyes’ performance. Using a standard bond rating system, we’ll evaluate the offense, the defense, and the special teams, according to this formula:

AA (yeah, I may also use + and -): Very Strong
A: Strong
BBB: Adequate
BB: Facing Major Uncertainty

Then, we’ll take a look at any individual players whose performance stood out (in one way or another!) and assign them a stock rating: Blue Chip, Solid Performance, Penny Stock (akin to a junk bond, dangerously high risk).

Quick Overview

As I said last week, if the Buckeye defense didn’t improve considerably in the ten days before the Oregon game, there would be a lot of trouble handling the Duck offense, which we knew was better than the one that the Gophers put on the field.

It didn’t improve, and the loss seemed inevitable after Oregon scored on a 99-yard drive at the beginning of the second quarter. The Buckeyes never led in the game, and, though we had some hope in the fourth quarter, down seven, they just couldn’t get the equalizer.

Offense

When an offense rolls up 624 yards and 32 first downs, we expect a win. What happened? First of all, the offense’s performance was far different than last week. Against Oregon, OSU ran 84 plays but lacked the big plays that characterized the offense in the Minnesota game. In fact, the longest gain was a 41-yard pass to Olave. No other play – pass or run – went for 30 yards or more. Rather than score from way out with lightning speed, the Bucks had to “grind” it out. I say “grind” in quotation marks because, typically, Stroud was throwing completions 10 or 15 yards down the field. Not a grind, but the Buckeyes found themselves often with big downs: third-down and fourth-down plays to keep possession. They converted some of these, but not all of them. Many missed opportunities. The final tally: OSU converted 6/15 third-down attempts and were only 2/5 on fourth-down tries. They fell short too often. They accumulated yards, but not enough points.

I thought that C.J. Stroud was much better in this game. He completed 35 of 54 passes for 484 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. The INT came late; it was big, but Stroud was desperate at this point. Where was the running game? Indeed. The Bucks rushed 30 times for 140 yards (only 59 in the second half) and a 4.7 yards per carry average. Not good enough. In fact, after Miyan Williams got stuffed on fourth and two in the second quarter, it seemed that the coaching staff lost their confidence that the Bucks could gain the necessary yards on the ground in crucial situations and threw instead. That puts a lot of pressure on a young, inexperienced quarterback. The backs are there, but the run game must improve. It’s on the offensive line.

And the big passing plays? Let’s face it. Oregon’s coaches watched those Minnesota films, and the Ducks had the speed in the secondary to…