Smith and Will Howard had their best games of the season, while the defense recorded eight sacks in the Buckeyes 41-21 win over Oregon
Over a month ago when Michigan beat Ohio State in Columbus, I said there was no Stock Market Report after a loss like that, because it just fell on everyone.
After the 41-21 win for the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes over the No. 1 seed Oregon Ducks, it is hard to do a Stock Market Report for the exact opposite reason. Every single player, coach, and person affiliated with the Ohio State program deserves credit for the bounce back since the Michigan game that this team has shown.
Also, for this, I am excluding Jeremiah Smith and Cody Simon since they won offensive and defensive MVPs. At this point, I don’t need to point out Smith’s greatness. We just have to appreciate it.
Here is who and what we are high and low on after the Buckeye’s dominating win over the Ducks.
Blue Chip
Complete team wins
As I said above, there are probably 20 different players or coaches that deserve to be mentioned in this, so the main award and stock just goes to Ohio State. You want to peak at the end of the season, and this team is easily playing the best football they have played all season.
Solid Investments
Donovan Jackson
The entire offensive line has been fantastic in battling through the adversity this season, but Donavan Jackson has been a standout over the last two games. You could argue Jackson has been the MVP for the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff, and has helped elevate this unit with his play at left tackle.
James Laurinaitis
It is impossible not to see the impact the former Ohio State standout linebacker has had on this position group. He has turned Cody Simon and Sonny Styles into two of the top linebackers in the country. Arvell Reese has had an immediate impact on the team, and they have some of the top linebackers in the country in the 2025 recruiting class.
He is quickly becoming the Brian Hartline of the defense.
Junk Bond
Four-team playoff
Ohio State is playing like the best team in college football, and they would not have been included in the four-team playoff. Sometimes, it is okay that more than four teams out of 130 can compete for a national title, and it doesn’t water down the regular season, but actually elevates it.
Buy/Sell
Buy: Fast starts
The College Football Playoff has been stress-free for Ohio State fans in the best way. The Buckeyes were up 21-0 against Tennessee and then 34-0 against Oregon. They have yet to trail in the College Football Playoff, and it has been a great viewing experience as a fan of a team that had garnered a reputation for being a slow-starting team. That is dead.
Buy: Secondary
The secondary deserves to be praised again for how they bounced back against this Oregon squad. Denzel Burke was only targeted one time, and he ran the route better than Tez Johnson on the play. Caleb Downs and Lathan Ransom are two of the best safeties in the country, and the down-the-field coverage against Oregon and Tennessee was impressive.
That unit is playing its best ball.
Sell: Holding penalties
I am not one to harp on penalties or the lack thereof, but Ohio State’s lack of opponent penalties for holding is too obvious to ignore.
According to Michael Citro of Land-Grant Holy Land, Ohio State has been penalized for offensive holding nine times in 2024, while Ohio State’s opponents have been penalized for offensive holding one time in 2024.
A Western Michigan offensive holding penalty was offset by a targeting call on Ohio State, and a Michigan State offensive holding penalty was offset by defensive holding by Ohio State.
Ohio State was called for holding on special teams twice (a punt return vs. Penn State and a kickoff against Northwestern) and no OSU opponent has been called for holding on special teams. Also, Gee Scott has more holding penalties than all of Ohio State’s opponents combined.
Jack Sawyer hasn’t had a holding called against him since 2021. I feel like that speaks for itself.