It is pretty safe to say that the Iowa game went right out of the minds of most Ohio State fans with what is waiting on the other side of it.
Sure, 35-7 was a nice enough win, there were some great performances, Emeka Egbuka, Jeremiah Smith, the defensive line, etc, etc.
But the Oregon Ducks are going to take up almost all the ink this week, a match-up of the nation’s No. 2 and No. 3 team (according to the polls).
We aren’t going to try and tell you why you should be living in the past with Iowa. But if you want to, here’s the Hot 11, a ranking of the top 11 players on the team, not picked by the staff, but by our fantastic members over on The Huddle Board.
Rank | Player | The Details | Last |
1. | Jeremiah Smith (81) | At some point the true freshman is going to slide on the board, right? It does not appear so. Another game, another one-handed catch. He had four grabs for 89 yards and a touchdown against Iowa. This just seems to be the norm. | 1st |
2. | Emeka Egbuka (79) | Egbuka won the week with nine catches for 71 yards and three touchdowns. He still had a couple of uncharacteristic drops, but it was obvious that Will Howard has a lot of faith in Egbuka to move the chains and keep the offense going forward. | 2nd |
3. | Seth McLaughlin (70) | This is the first time we have had an offensive lineman move up into the top-three during this season. McLaughlin has been a solid piece of the line and sometimes that means being forgotten because nobody has any reason to look at you. | 8th |
4. | Tyleik Williams (62) | Williams in the statbook and Williams on the field are two different things and while he only recorded two tackles, his return to the lineup meant a lot for the Buckeyes as were charged with stopping one of the nation’s top rushers. | 9th |
5. | Caleb Downs (53) | Still Activated. Three tackles, two of them for loss, just a major disruptive force that makes the Buckeyes better when he is on the field. Oh, and he can hit too just ask the Hawkeyes about that. | 3rd |
6. | Quinshon Judkins (52) | The Ohio State running game is still front and center and we have not gotten to a point where a philosophical discussion will be had when the Buckeyes may be in a pinch. Quinshon Judkins makes it really easy to ride it out with the run. | 6th |
7. | Jack Sawyer (37) | Sawyer is coming off of a big game with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. These games are starting to become more frequent as things are starting to build up for the in-state star. | NR |
T8. | Lathan Ransom (33) | Downs may be getting more talk but Ransom is playing at a high level as well, maybe he is activated as well. He had a couple of tackles with one for loss against Iowa. | 5th |
T8. | Josh Simmons (33) | Simmons has been a steady member of this list throughout, fans recognizing just how far he has come from being a transfer from San Diego State to now shaping up to be one of the best tackles in the Big Ten. | 7th |
10. | Ty Hamilton (24) | Hamilton had a great game with five tackles, a forced fumble and a sack. As with other positions, get does get overlooked at times when talking about Tyleik but Hamilton has really found his footing. | NR |
11. | TreVeyon Henderson (23) | There is always Yin to Yang, and it makes sense that Henderson also joins the Hot 11 with Quinshon already on the list. Henderson looks ready to break another big run, will that be the case against an Oregon team that will try and force the Buckeyes to win in the air. | 4th |
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