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Football
10 Things We Learned: Fickell’s First Win
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The day could not have been any hotter for Luke Fickell’s debut as Ohio State’s head coach.

Of course he was wearing a ¾ length undershirt and black windbreaker, presumably because he planned to wrestle Akron coach Rob Ianello at halftime if the Buckeyes were down.

It never came to that, as Ohio State went up 21-0 in the first half on their way to 42-0 victory in the season-opener.

We take a look at the 10 things we learned on a day that was jam-packed with excitement in Columbus.

Luke Fickell
Photo by Dan Harker

1. Luke Fickell is not Jim Tressel. It took us all of two quarters to learn what Luke Fickell is going to be about as a coach. While a lot has remained the same at Ohio State, not everything is going to be done the Tressel way. Leading 7-0, the Buckeyes faced a 4th-and-1 at the Akron 16 yard line in the second quarter. Without hesitation, Fickell kept the offense on the field. Rod Smith converted the first down and Joe Bauserman found Jake Stoneburner for a touchdown two plays later. That’s not to say Tressel never went for it, but it seems clear that Fickell is going to be aggressive. He wants sevens not threes.

2. There is a reason Akron went 1-11 last season. Make no mistake about it, this was not a good Akron team. They were playing better at the end of last season, but this team went 1-11 for a reason last year. They couldn’t handle Ohio State in the trenches, and everything had a trickle down effect from there. Certainly Ohio State played a good game Saturday, but it takes a bad team to get outgained 517-90; especially considering OSU didn’t force a lot of turnovers. They did have great field position, which really hurt the Zips.

Joe Bauserman
Photo by Jim Davidson

3. Joe Bauserman is a different guy now. Still think Bauserman is that same guy who came off the bench to throw an interception at Illinois last year? Think again. Maybe he isn’t the guy who tossed three touchdown passes and ran for another Saturday, but this was a different guy than Ohio State fans had ever seen before. He was poised, he was in command and he was the leader of this football team. His passes were right on the money and if nothing else, it has to be reassuring that he kept Braxton Miller on the bench for most of the first half.

Braxton Miller
Photo by Dan Harker

4. Braxton Miller is going to be a special player. That being said, Miller showed some things Saturday that most guys simply cannot do. His first series was a rough one, but after that, Miller looked every bit like the playmaker fans were hoping for. He slipped in out of traffic a few times, and threw a couple of perfect passes downfield to freshmen wideouts Evan Spencer and Devin Smith. He truly is a dual-threat quarterback, and Fickell said he knows they are going to need both guys to get the job done this year.

Chris Fields
Photo by Jim Davidson

5. The wide receivers held their own. For not having their team MVP from a year ago (Dane Sanzenbacher) and their top returning player (DeVier Posey) because of suspension, the OSU receivers looked pretty good Saturday. Redshirt freshman Verlon Reed led the group with three catches for 66 yards, but six different receivers caught passes in the win. Even T.Y. Williams got in on the action, catching both of the passes throw his way for 34 yards. Spencer made a spectacular one-handed grab and Devin Smith had the 14-yard touchdown catch from Braxton Miller.

Jake Stoneburner
Photo by Jim Davidson

6. Jake Stoneburner is a tremendous weapon. As good as the receivers looked, none of them came close to the kind of day Jake Stoneburner had. The redshirt junior was expected to be one of the team’s top weapons on offense, but no one expected him to grab three touchdowns in the season-opener. He only had two career TD catches coming into the game, but become the eighth player in school history with three touchdown catches in a game, and the first tight end, naturally.

6. This offensive line could be really good, if it stays healthy. A lot will be made of the skill position players for Ohio State, but there is no question it was the guys up front who made it all possible. Despite temperatures that reached 125 degrees on the field, the five starters for Ohio State completely dominated the line of scrimmage. With the help of the tight ends and fullbacks—Zach Boren in particular—the line opened huge holes in the Akron defense. We’ve been hearing how good they were all fall, but now we know this team is going to have a chance to run the ball behind this line.

Johnathan Hankins
Photo by Jim Davidson

7. The defensive line could be even better. If the offensive line was good Saturday, then the defensive line was great. Akron coach Rob Ianello talked about it after the game:

“The line of scrimmage was our problem,” he said.

“We knew they were very talented on defense and we certainly didn’t underestimate them going into it; but we had trouble with their defensive front all day.”

A lot of teams will be saying that after the game this year.

8. Ohio State’s freshman class is one to remember. The Buckeyes played 12 true freshmen in the game Saturday and there are a number of guys that didn’t play who will be pretty good before it’s over. Guys who played their first game at Ohio State included Braxton Miller, Spencer and Smith, along with tight end Jeff Heuerman and offensive linemen Brian Bobek and Antonio Underwood. Defensively, the Buckeyes played three guys up front—Michael Bennett, Steve Miller, Joel Hale—two more at linebacker—Ryan Shazier and Curtis Grant—and one in the secondary—Doran Grant.

Nate Ebner
Photo by Dan Harker

9. Nate Ebner is going to be a fan favorite this year. The Buckeyes really lacked a special teams star last season. Linebacker Dorian Bell looked like he might take on that role for a game or two, but he kept getting hurt. As a result, the Buckeyes struggled with the coverage teams last year, but not Saturday. Not only did Drew Basil do a better job on his kickoffs, but walk-on Nate Ebner seemed to be all over the place making plays. He finished with two big hits on kick coverage and a 12-yard sack on a blitz off the edge. Fans are going to love his intensity all season.

Carlos Hyde
Photo by Jim Davidson

10. Don’t forget about the running backs. It would be easy to write them off considering it was Ohio State’s No. 4 and No. 5 backs going today, but they got the job done. Rod Smith had a tough fumble, which he attributed to seeing the end zone and losing his focus. That happens to kids playing in their first game, ask Eddie George. Smith and Carlos Hyde—who started the game—combined for 167 yards on 37 carries. That’s about 4.5 yards per carry, which is about what these two are going to give—especially Hyde. He looks like a tough-nosed back who is good for 4-5 yards every time. Smith has a little more pop in his game, but he’s still learning.

Game Story
Game Notes
Game Box Score and Statistics

Related Feature

Two Quarterback System Seems to be Working - by Brandon Castel
The Buckeye Watch - by Tony Gerdeman
Stoneburner's Big Day was Years in the Making - by Brandon Castel

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