Ohio State Football: Confidence level against Youngstown State
By Eric Boggs
The offense – Confidence Level 8
Two of my biggest concerns for this team coming into this season were breaking in three new offensive linemen and a new signal caller. Those concerns were justified after watching the Buckeye offense struggle for a large portion of the day in Bloomington, Indiana last week. Now we know where this offense’s starting point is, and it might be lower than some were expecting or hoping for. But it’s not as low as some are making it out to be.
There will probably not be another game this season where both Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka are held for under 20 yards receiving each. They are just too talented to not make things happen. That turnaround starts this week. Youngstown State isn’t in the same league as Indiana defensively, and no matter who is under center, I expect a big day from number 18 and number 2. Both will be looking for bounce-back days, and that’s going to be unfortunate for the Penguin defense.
As for who did look good, it was a pleasant surprise to see running back Chip Trayanum receive a larger role against Indiana than expected. Although he didn’t find paydirt, that was Miyan Williams on two occasions, Trayanum looked like he has the potential to be a feature back. If TreVeyon Henderson gets hurt, or can’t get it going, Buckeye fans don’t have to worry. This backfield is very deep.
The Youngstown State defense might be running into a buzzsaw Saturday. They may have been able to stop the Valparaiso offense, but stopping Ohio State is a different story, especially one who will be looking to make a statement after disappointing everyone in their first attempt a week ago.