COLUMBUS – It’s not often you hear the crowd at a football game cheer when a kicker gets a kickoff in bounds.
But that sound was heard throughout Ohio Stadium in the second half of Ohio State’s 49-14 win over Marshall on Saturday.
Usually very reliable OSU kicker Jayden Fielding sent three consecutive kickoffs out of bounds and drew a penalty on each of them.
When Austin Snyder replaced him in the second half and kept his first kick in bounds, an audible sarcastic cheer was heard in the stadium.
“We’re going to evaluate and see if there was a tweak in the hip or whatever,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “Either way, we can’t have that. That’s putting our defense in a terrible situation.
“Having three out of bounds on three kickoffs, that’s completely ridiculous. We’ve got to get that fixed however we do that,” he said.
IN THE TOP THREE: Quinshon Judkins’ 86-yard touchdown run on Saturday tied him for third place among the longest touchdown runs in Ohio State history.
J.T. Barrett also ran 86 yards for a TD in 2014 against Minnesota. The longest run that produced a touchdown was 88 yards by Morris Bradshaw in 1971 and an 87-yard touchdown run by Eddie George in 1995 is in second place.
FIRST START: Defensive lineman Hero Kanu got his first career start Saturday, filling in for the injured Tyleik Williams.
CLOSE TO HOME: Columbus Grove High School graduate Rece Verhoff was 2 for 2 on extra points but did not attempt any field goals for Marshall on Saturday. He has been the Thundering Herd’s kicker the last three years.
ON TO THE BIG TEN: After three non-conference wins over Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall, Ohio State will begin Big Ten play Saturday night at Michigan State.
Safety Lathan Ransom described himself as “super excited” to start playing Big Ten competition after the win over Marshall.
