What They’re Saying Following Ohio State’s Win Over Arkansas State

Local and national pundits react to the Buckeyes’ 45-12 victory over the Red Wolves on Saturday.

Ohio State moved to 2-0 on the season following a 45-12 win over Arkansas State on a day that saw three other Sun Belt Conference teams upset Power Five opponents.

The Buckeyes were led offensively by sophomore wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who caught a career-high seven passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns to become just the second player in school history to catch three touchdown passes in multiple games.

Defensively, redshirt freshman defensive tackle Michael Hall continued his strong start, recording three tackles, including three tackles for loss and one sacks, before leaving the game with an upper-body injury that Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said was “no concern” moving forward.

The Buckeyes had nine penalties against the Red Wolves, meanwhile, including a pair of pass interference calls on sophomore cornerback Denzel Burke, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on fifth-year senior defensive tackle Taron Vincent and two others that nullified a punt return for a touchdown.

With that said, local and national college football analysts shared some of their thoughts on the game, and BuckeyesNow has compiled some of the best reactions below:

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN

“Despite playing without preseason All-American Jaxon Smith-Njigba and fellow wideout Julian Fleming, Ohio State's passing game surged behind Harrison and Emeka Egbuka (118 yards, one touchdown). Quarterback C.J. Stroud looked sharp and Ohio State averaged 19.5 yards per completion, although the offense had four three-and-outs and only ran 54 plays.

“The Buckeyes' defense struggled a bit with Arkansas State dynamo Champ Flemings, but didn't allow a touchdown in the 45-12 win and received a big performance from Hall. Ohio State got a good rotation of defenders into the game, preserving key players for Big Ten play.”

Barrett Sallee, CBS Sports

“A 45-12 win over Arkansas State doesn't necessarily move the meter, but the offense was on point and the defense – an issue last year – allowed just 276 yards. That's two straight weeks of good defense, which is a great sign moving forward.”

Bill Bender, The Sporting News

“The Buckeyes didn't have receivers Smith-Njigba or Fleming, but that did not matter in a 45-12 victory against Arkansas State. Harrison had seven catches for 184 yards and three TDs. Stroud hit 16 of 24 passes for 351 yards and four TDs.

“Ohio State had nine penalties for 85 yards, which gives Buckeyes coach Ryan Day something to harp on ahead of next week's primetime matchup against Toledo. The Big Ten will matter more than last week's victory against Notre Dame, which fell to 0-2 after a shocking 26-21 loss to Marshall.”

James Parks, College Football HQ

“Not having  Smith-Njigba on the field didn't hurt this week, as Stroud hit on four touchdowns passing, including three bombs for Harrison while TreVeyon Henderson scored twice on the ground. Another cupcake at home against Toledo is next before the Big Ten slate opens against Wisconsin.”

David M. Hale, ESPN

“Stroud threw for 351 yards and tossed four touchdowns in a 45-12 win over Arkansas State on Saturday. It was such an impressive performance, Red Wolves coach Butch Jones awarded him an honorary ‘champion of life’ trophy.”

Marcus Hartman, Dayton Daily News

“Day was not happy with how many penalties his team committed. Multiple penalties kept ASU’s first scoring drive alive, including a personal foul on the punt team and a defensive pass interference foul, and the Buckeyes ended up having nine flags walked off against them for 85 yards.

“‘We’ve gotta clean those things up,’ Day said. ‘That’s unacceptable. We’ve got to get that fixed. We’ve got to coach better, and we’ve got to put it on the field better. That’s going to be a huge emphasis this week.’”

Brian White, The Columbus Dispatch

“Future opponents watching Saturday's game likely circled Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke as a target. The super-hyped sophomore was called for pass interference twice in the first quarter, with one being waved off because the receiver caught the pass. Earlier, he got away with a jersey pull on a third-down pass breakup.

“Burke, considered a team strength in all preseason discussions, was pulled after being beat deep in the second quarter and replaced by fellow sophomore Jakailin Johnson. They alternated the rest of the game. Johnson also subbed in for Cameron Brown, the other starting cornerback, as Arkansas State passed for 223 yards and no interceptions. None of the three cornerbacks were outstanding.”

Phil Harrison, BuckeyesWire

“I’ll be the last one to express too much concern from what we saw from cornerback Burke today, but if it becomes a trend, maybe we start to wonder what’s going on.

“Burke had a couple of early pass interference calls to keep drives going for Arkansas State, and he was beat deep on the above play as well. He’s usually about as lock down as you can be, and there’s going to be more one-on-one matchups against him going forward because of how the Buckeyes’ defense attacks downhill.

“He’ll need to be much better against better competition, and I suspect he will.”

Cameron Teague Robinson, The Athletic

“Well that was easy. That’s what I thought each time Ohio State scored a touchdown in Saturday’s 45-12 win over Arkansas State.

“There was a two-play drive, multiple three-play drives and a four-play drive that made you think, ‘Man, this offense has figured it out.’ There were some ‘wow’ plays too, like Harrison's acrobatic third touchdown of the day when he jumped over the Arkansas State defensive back on the sideline.

“Offensively, Ohio State brought back the explosive play that was expected this season with Stroud leading the way. Stroud completed 16-of-24 passes for 351 yards and four touchdowns. It was a welcome sight for Day, knowing he was still missing Smith-Njigba and Fleming and that Arkansas State was committed to stopping the run.”

Mitch Stacy, Associated Press

“Stroud, who was still trying to shake off the preseason rust in last week’s 21-10 win over Notre Dame, showed that he’s regained his touch. It will be interesting to see if Stroud and Harrison can keep up their chemistry as the quality of opponents improves.

“‘We’re playing with toughness, we’re playing with an edge, we’re taking care of the football and all those are positive things,’ Day said. ‘But the negative things get us off schedule, and we don’t quite execute at a high level, and then it throws you off.’”

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