Film Review: Ohio State Offense Overpowers Rutgers

Here's a look at some of the really impressive plays Ohio State pulled off last weekend as they boat-raced the Scarlet Knights.

Author:
Pat Cavanaugh
Oct 5, 2021 3:56 PM EDT

Throughout the season, we will break down game film to spotlight certain plays that went well for the Buckeyes and others that did not. This week’s film breakdown highlights the plays that were successful for the Buckeyes. If you missed our defensive film review, check that out here.

Buckeye Offense vs. Rutgers

If there were any doubters of C.J. Stroud’s ability to perform consistently at a high level, Saturday’s game in Piscataway certainly may have changed their minds. Stroud’s 17-of-23 passing for 5 TD's to seven different receivers was easily his best game of his collegiate career. The Buckeye offense was dominant all afternoon against a Rutgers defense that came into the game allowing over 13.5 points a game.

The Buckeyes’ first touchdown was Treveon Henderson’s 44-yard run with perfect execution and blocking. Here's why this play was so effective:

Down block by left tackle Nicolas Petit-Frere (78) on the right inside linebacker
Down block by left guard Thayer Munford on defensive tackle who gets washed down so bad that it forces the left inside linebacker to have to bubble his path around the blocker and he cannot scrape over top
Pull by right guard Paris Johnson (77) to wash down the c-gap defender who crashed down
Kick-out block by TE Jeremy Ruckert (88)
WR Garrett Wilson taking an inside stem on the stalk blocking to position his hips and shoulders toward the line of scrimmage to give Henderson an easy read on his cut up field

Below are the sideline and end zone views of the run, along with a still photo of the hole that enabled Henderson to go untouched.

TreVeyon Henderson Touchdown Run vs. Rutgers

Garrett Wilson showed Saturday why he is one of the best in the country. His elusiveness after the catch and his ability to make defenders miss was on full display on Saturday. Below are two plays where he evade four would-be-tacklers:

Tight end No. 88 Jeremy Ruckert is an incredibly talented player whose efforts each week do not always show up in the box scores. Below are a couple clips from Saturday of his diverse skill-set.

In this play Ruckert does a great job of picking the edge defender to free up the perimeter for a nice easy out route for running back Marcus Crowley (No. 24):

On this jet sweep to Wilson, Ruckert seals off Rutgers’ best defender, LB Olakunie Fatukasi (No. 3) for nice gain.

In addition to his effective blocking skills, Ruckert is also a great passing catcher. Below is his second quarter touchdown that was set-up perfectly from a few plays before in which he had a similar run blocking action. Here, he comes out like he is going to block, but instead makes an inside cut to the middle and is wide open.

C.J. Stroud’s performance was special on Saturday. One of his most dynamic plays was due to his elusiveness, awareness in the pocket and nice throw to Olave who did the rest to find pay dirt. Here is the end zone view of the spectacular play.

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