OHIO — One of the biggest benchmarks for an individual successful season in football is 1,000 yards. At top programs like Ohio State, hitting the millennium mark is a frequent occurrence, at least for running backs.
Last week in the win over Purdue, TreVeyon Henderson became the 36th Buckeye in school history to go over 1,000 yards in a season. In fact, he joined Robert Smith, Maurice Clarett and J.K. Dobbins as true freshmen to reach that milestone.
Compare that to 1,000 yard-receiving seasons, of which there were only five total heading in the 2021 campaign:
1,435 – David Boston (1998)
1,411 – Terry Glenn (1995)
1,127 – Cris Carter (1986)
1,076 – Michael Jenkins (2002)
1,063 – Parris Campbell (2018)
Think about all the star wide receivers to play at Ohio State that aren’t on that last. It would include first round NFL draft picks like Joey Galloway, Ted Ginn, Jr., Santonio Holmes, Anthony Gonzalez and Michael Thomas.
When it comes to the forward pass, the “modern era” of Ohio State football didn’t begin until Earle Bruce took over in 1979. That’s still just five times in 42 years.
However, there could be a triumvirate at the 1,000-yard mark in 2021 alone. Jaxson Smith-Njigba is already there with 1,027, and could threaten the school single-season yardage record of 1,435.
Chris Olave sits at 708, and with a minimum of three remaining games, would need to average just under 100 yards a game to accomplish it, provided he stays healthy.
While Garrett Wilson needs 187 more yards to hit four digits, currently at 813 on his junior season.
That trio is probably giddy with anticipation when looking at Saturday’s game against Michigan State. The Spartans enter the contest dead last in the Football Bowl Subdivision in pass defense, surrendering 329 yards a game through the air.
The Buckeyes are coming off a sharp, 59-point, 624-yard offensive performance against a solid Purdue defense. Michigan State can get after the quarterback though, with 28 sacks on the season, second-most in the Big Ten and 14th in the country.
The Spartans are prepared for battle with their offense. Running back Kenneth Walker leads the nation in rushing yards (1,473), rushing yards per game (147.3) and rushing touchdowns (17). Ohio State has struggled at times this year defending the run, especially in the first two games against talented backs from Minnesota (Mohamed Ibrahim) and Oregon (CJ Verdell).
What really makes MSU dangerous is its play-action passing game, set up by Walker’s legs. Quarterback Payton Thorne is second in the Big Ten in touchdown passes trailing only Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.
The Spartans second-year head coach has deep Ohio ties. Mel Tucker is a Cleveland native that graduated from Cleveland Heights before playing in college at Wisconsin. He’s also coached at Miami University, Ohio State (part of the staff for the Buckeyes’ 2002 national title), and with the Cleveland Browns.
He’s turned Michigan State around after a 2-5 record in 2020 to a 9-1 mark at this point in 2021. The Spartans opened the College Football Playoff rankings at three before losing to Purdue two weeks ago. A win over Ohio State on Saturday, would give MSU the inside track on the Big Ten’s East Division, thanks to its earlier win over Michigan.
MaryLee Melendez and former Buckeye Chimdi Chekwa will analyze the game Saturday on The Postgame Show. Join Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News App immediately following the game for the breakdown, and live coverage of Ryan Day’s postgame news conference.