The Ohio State football team will host its annual in-state rivalry game this week. This year, the Toledo Rockets come to town. They are off to a hot start themselves.

The Rockets are perfect thus far and have outscored their opponents, 92-10, in two games. Before you think the Buckeyes will be facing a juggernaut, understand those two wins came against Football Championship Subdivision school Long Island University and lowly UMass. Not exactly the toughest of contests.

However, if Week 2 was any indication of how the college football season is going to go, Ryan Day and company had better be ready for anything. Ohio State hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since 1921, when Oberlin College beat the Bucks 7-6.

It’s safe to say the game has changed greatly in the last 100-plus years, but you can bet the Rockets will come to Columbus ready to give it everything they’ve got.

Ohio State (2-0), Toledo (2-0)

Date: Saturday, Sept. 17 Game Time: 7 p.m. EDT Network: Fox Venue: Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio) Capacity: 104,944 All-Time Series: Ohio State leads 3-0 Last Meeting: Ohio State defeated Toledo 27-22 in 2011

Let’s start on the defensive side of the ball this week. While Ohio State held Arkansas State to just 12 points this past Saturday, I’d suggest that the unit didn’t look as solid as it did the week before. Was there a letdown after all the hype going into Notre Dame? Possibly. But the fact of the matter is Toledo is a much better team than Arkansas State … and maybe even better than the Fighting Irish.

The Buckeye defense didn’t look totally out of sorts. They only gave up 276 total yards and no touchdowns. Those are impressive numbers, but overall the unit looked uninspired. Especially cornerback Denzel Burke. After an outstanding showing his freshman year, Burke was supposed to be the next great corner at OSU and maybe he will be. But there were far too many times where he was out of position and flat-out looked lost against the Red Wolves.

The Rocket’s quarterback, Dequan Finn, is completing 61% of his passes, has three touchdowns to only one interception, and is a very capable runner, rushing for 138 yards which leads Toledo. The defense needs to keep sending pressure with its new aggressive style of play and make sure things get cleaned up before heading into Big Ten play.

Offensively, C.J. Stroud looked like he was back in sync. Without Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr. stepped up and had a career game hauling in seven receptions for 184 yards and three scores.

The offense still seems to be spinning its wheels with the ground game. TreVeyon Henderson had one long run of 41 yards, but other than that it felt like a grind. The Buckeyes need to find a way to get the running game going consistently as they prepare to play better teams.

It’s hard to say how stout Toledo’s defense is with the two underwhelming opponents it’s faced so far. However, you can be sure former Ohio State linebacker, Dallas Gant, is looking to make some noise. Gant entered the transfer portal last season and landed back in his hometown of Toledo. He leads the Rockets with 20 total tackles in two games played.

I’m going to go back to the running game here. I’ve been saying it for three weeks now, but Ohio State must get the running game established before it enters the Big Ten schedule. Henderson is one of the best backs in the country but has yet to really get going. The offense may be able to win with the pass alone against lesser opponents, but if this team wants to hoist any kind of championship at season’s end, the running game has to get better.

TreVeyon Henderson was zooming on Ohio State's first drive.pic.twitter.com/LJraxoFrTf

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 10, 2022

JT Tuimoloau was one of the top-rated prospects in the 2021 class for a reason. Tuimoloau is getting pressure in the backfield and at the same time sealing the edge. It’s a big reason Ohio State has been so stingy in giving up yards on the ground. Toledo doesn’t have a great running attack, but it does have a mobile quarterback, which means Ohio State has to contain him in the pocket while getting pressure. Tuimoloau needs to be that guy.

In both the Note Dame and Arkansas State games, ⁦@JT_Tuimoloau⁩ announced his presence early. pic.twitter.com/y3sKTqJGVY

— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) September 12, 2022

On paper, this looks like it should be another blowout for the top dogs in Ohio. But games aren’t played on paper. They are played on a field with real young men who have real emotions.

Toledo may end up being the best team that Ohio State will face up to this point and you can never take an in-state opponent for granted. Many of those guys feel like they have something to prove after not getting an offer from the scarlet and gray.

Even though the spread is pretty wide in favor of the Buckeyes, I could see this one being much closer than the experts think. I could also see it being over by halftime. It greatly depends on if Ohio State is interested in staying focused on Toledo and not looking ahead to Wisconsin.

As I said earlier, the Buckeyes haven’t lost to an in-state rival since 1921. That stat will not change when this game is over.

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