Jeremiah Smith backed up his words. Cody Simon had a career day. Will Howard and TreVeyon Henderson helped lead an offensive onslaught. Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau tormented Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, while safeties Caleb Downs and Lathan Ransom lit up Duck ball carriers time and again. The Ohio State football team had plenty of heroes in their smashing of top-seeded Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Here is a look at a few Buckeyes who I see as unsung heroes in that win.
Donovan Jackson – While a lot of praise has been directed his way for his performance, I still consider him an unsung hero because I don’t think the importance of his play can be understated. Leading up to the game, there was a lot of talk about how the Ducks’ outstanding defensive line would spend the day in the OSU backfield.
Jackson ate alive whoever was lined up across from him. His pass blocking was impeccable, but he also did it in the run game as well. On Henderson’s 66-yard touchdown run, Jackson pulled all the way from his left tackle spot to throw a key block on an Oregon linebacker.
Tyleik Williams – While teammates Sawyer and Tuimoloau were getting it down on the outside, Tyleik Williams was seemingly blowing up everything in the middle of the line of scrimmage. Whether he was getting penetration and disrupting a play or just refusing to be moved and turning the middle of the Ducks’ offensive line into a mosh pit, the Manassas Mauler (he’s from Manassas, Virginia) proved to be a headache all day.
Tight Ends – They totaled just one catch, but the trio of Gee Scott, Jr., Will Kacmarek, and Christian Bennett may have had their best blocking game of the year as a unit. They figured heavily in three of the OSU touchdowns. On Smith’s catch and run to open the scoring, Scott threw a key block on the outside to spring the freshman phenom.
While Jackson was getting his key block on the inside, Bennett completely took an Oregon cornerback out of the play on Henderson’s record-setting long touchdown in the second quarter. Both Bennet and Kacmarek figured in Henderson’s late third-quarter score that sealed the win. Bennett blocked down and sealed the linebacker, while Kacmarek had come across in motion and cleaned up any Oregon defender who slipped through. Great job by all three.
Jackson, Williams, and a trio of tight ends. All played a big part in what the Buckeyes did to the Oregon Ducks.