Ideally, Ohio State would have preferred to pull away from Ohio early, cruise to a blowout win and get its backups more playing time in its non-conference finale. But the Buckeyes’ slower-than-expected start against the Bobcats could be the perfect wakeup call for Ryan Day’s squad entering its first bye week of the season.
There was hardly much negative to say about Ohio State after it beat No. 1-ranked Texas in its season opener and cruised to a 70-0 win over Grambling State in Week 2. But the third game of the season against Ohio showed the Buckeyes – even though they ended up with a comfortable 28-point win – still have plenty to improve on going into Big Ten play.