Big plays lift Ohio State to 49-14 win over Marshall

Ohio State moves to 3-0 on the season after a dominant 49-14 win over Marshall. The Buckeyes offense put the pedal to the medal in the rushing game with 280 yards on the ground and five touchdowns.

The Buckeyes will play at Michigan State next week to start conference play. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Peacock.

The Thundering Herd were able to put together a decent drive but were forced to punt back to the Buckeyes with 4:44 to go in the fourth quarter.

With the Buckeyes up 49-14, Brown is in to get some reps. Ryan Day emphasized the need to get everyone as many game reps as possible earlier this week.

Howard finishes his day with 16 completions on 20 passes, 275 yards and two passing touchdowns against one interception. He also ran in for a score.

Quinshon Judkins finds the endzone for the second time this afternoon. This one a much shorter six-yard score to put Ohio State up 49-14 with 13:46 to go in the game.

Judkins has led the Buckeyes backfield with 173 yards on 14 carries.

Big plays have made the biggest difference in this game.

Ohio State is driving and they’re at the 30 yard line with the Buckeyes leading 42-14.

53-yard touchdown catch by Jeremiah Smith. His day had been relatively quiet but he certainly made some noise with that big play as the Buckeyes take a 42-14 lead with 3:31 to go in the third.

The theme of today is quick scoring offense from Ohio State. Third scoring drive that took two plays or less.

Braylon Braxton goes in for Stone Earle. His first throw was nearly intercepted.

On third and 19, QB Will Howard is taken down by Mike Green, forcing the Buckeyes to punt for the first time this afternoon. It’s the first time we’ll see Joe McGuire in action today. Only his seventh punt of the season for the Australian.

Read up more on McGuire here.

The crowd booing as Ryan Day gets a dead ball unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, costing the Buckeyes 15-yards. Day looked like he wasn’t happy with how long Marshall took with the defensive substitutions being made at the last second. It also cost OSU a timeout.

103,371.

I believe that’s the largest of the season so far. The last two games were in the 102K range.

Cheers from the OSU crowd for Austin Snyder for his 65-yard kick. He comes in for Jayden Fielding, who couldn’t keep a kick inbounds during the first half.

Brings up a lot of lingering questions for special teams, no matter the outcome of this game.

TreVeyon Henderson with his second touchdown of the day. A 40-yarder to complete a 6-play, 75-yard drive in 3:12.

And the Buckeyes have a 35-14 lead over Marshall. 11:48 to go in the third.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard was efficient: 8-for-9, 149 yards and a touchdown against one interception.

Time of possession: Ohio State 8:13, Marshall 21:47

Third down conversions: The Thundering Herd converted six of their 11 third downs.

Ohio State heads into the locker room with a 28-14 lead over Marshall. The Buckeyes will have the ball to start the second half.

What a rough end to the first half for the Buckeyes.

The Herd converted a fourth down play with a pass to Elijah Metcalf. The Buckeyes were then hit with a roughing the passer penalty that put Marshall at the 13-yard line. And to add insult to injury, Caden Curry was hit with a targeting penalty that disqualifies him from the game.

Metcalf finished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown reception to get the Thundering Herd within two scores with six seconds left in the half. It’s 28-14 Ohio State.

TreVeyon Henderson finds the endzone for his first score of the day, his third of the season. A 14-yard touchdown puts Ohio State up 28-7 after the seven-play, 80 yard drive that took 3:30.

Good mix of plays during that drive, including a run by Will Howard and a big gain by Egbuka.

On third down, Caden Curry comes up with the big sack of Marshall QB Stone Earle. Marshall needed some momentum there. Instead, Ohio State has the ball with their next drive opening from the 20-yard line.

Will it be another quick score? Buckeyes have been averaging three plays on each of their scoring drives so far this afternoon.

86 yards to the house.

Quinshon Judkins with the run of his life (so far, it’s only the second quarter of Week 4). The longest of his career also ties for the third longest rushing touchdown in Ohio State football history.

And just like that. Ohio State is up 21-7 with 10:50 to go.

A sigh of relief from Buckeye fans. Brandon Inniss fumbled on catching a punt and it would’ve been Marshall at the doorstep of a touchdown. Instead, an illegal formation penalty by the Herd forces the visitors to punt again.

This time, Inniss does make the catch at the 14-yard line. Could’ve been a very costly mistake there.

Will Howard sneaks the ball over the goal line for the touchdown in a formation that we haven’t seen much of so far this season (I’m sitting two seats down from Coach Conley, who was amazed).

But anyway, Ohio State is back in front 14-7 with 12:31 to go in the half. That’s Howard’s second touchdown ran in this season.

In a critical fourth and one for the Thundering Herd, Stone Earle gets nowhere. Didn’t even have a defender on him. Just falls to the ground.

Ohio State gets the ball back and Quinshon Judkins already has the Buckeyes inside the 40.

We’ve seen a few firsts this season in this opening quarter. While Emeka Egbuka got his first touchdown of the season, we also saw Ohio State allow an opponent to get into the red zone and score a touchdown. Will Howard threw his first interception as a Buckeye.

We’re knotted at 7-7 after the opening 15 minutes.

It was really great coverage by Marshall’s Josh Moten against Jeremiah Smith. Moten read Will Howard’s pass very well and comes up with the interception, Ohio State’s first turnover of the season.

The Ohio State defense doesn’t allow the chains to move this time around, forcing a three-and-out. The Buckeyes will begin their second drive of the contest from their own 24-yard line.

What a response by the Buckeyes. Emeka Egbuka on a catch and run that goes 68-yards to the house. Great blocking by the O-Line to open up that path for Egbuka’s first score of the season.

We’re tied at 7-7 with 7:32 to go in the opening quarter.

Ethan Payne leaps over the Ohio State defense to score the opening points of the contest. And for the first time this season, the Buckeyes have allowed a touchdown. That was a 13-play, 75 yard drive that lasted 6:46.

OSU trailing 7-0 with 8:14 to go in the first quarter.

Marshall moved the chains, converting 2-of-2 third down opportunities and doing what Akron and Western Michigan couldn’t do, get into the red zone. But QB Stone Earle fumbled the ball before going out of bounds in a play that is currently under review. If the call stands, the Herd will have first and goal

Ohio State has won the toss and has deferred to the second half. Marshall will get the ball first.

You’ll find plenty of tailgating traditions popping up in the parking lots around the Shoe on a gameday. But few can match the one involving a trailer and an ambulance.

The pairing makes for a unique tailgate of teamwork. Read more about this match made in tailgating heaven here.

While we’re in the thick of football season, representatives from the National Hockey League are in town to survey Ohio Stadium ahead of next year’s Stadium Series game on March 1, 2025 between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings.

“We’ve had a lot of planning and operational things the last couple of days. Today is all about game day, front of house, operation of the stadium, traffic and parking,” NHL Executive Vice President of Events Dean Matsuzaki said. “And then all the pomp and circumstance, the game presentation, all of that.”

The purpose of the visit, Matsuzaki says, is to figure out logistical operations for the event, including where to place the ice plant and how to run the piping to the floor of the rink without interfering with other operations of the stadium. But he’s also taking note of the game day atmosphere and what will set the event apart from previous years.

“We’re going to try and lean into a lot of what Ohio State does.”