No. 2 Ohio State wallops Western Michigan 56-0

Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson rushed for two touchdowns apiece as No. 2 Ohio State rolled to a 56-0 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

Will Howard threw for 292 yards and a touchdown and Jeremiah Smith had another big receiving game for the Buckeyes (2-0).

Ohio State led 35-0 at the half with the help of a pair of 23-yard touchdown runs by Judkins while Howard contributed two scores — one passing, one running.

The Buckeyes in their season opener led Akron only 17-3 at the half during a 52-6 win. They did not make the same mistake this time, taking a 21-0 lead on their first three possessions of the game.

Henderson rushed for a 3-yard score before Smith turned a 7-yard catch into a 70-yard touchdown to make it 14-0. Judkins’ first TD went down the right side off a pitch from Howard.

On Judkins’ second TD, he ran to the opposite side with 8:28 left in the second quarter after Emeka Egbuka had a 35-yard catch earlier in the drive.

Howard extended the lead to 35-0 when he faked a handoff to Henderson and rolled right into the end zone for the Kansas State transfer’s first rushing TD for the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes amassed 406 yards in the first half — 274 through the air and 132 on the ground — with 17 first downs compared to 94 total yards and six firsts for the overwhelmed Broncos (0-2), who lost 28-14 at Wisconsin in their first game.

Ohio State, who held the Broncos to five yards in the second half, got its first shutout since winning 42-0 over Cincinnati on Sept. 7, 2019.

Howard was 18 of 26 for 292 yards and a touchdown. Judkins, who played two seasons at Ole Miss before transferring, rushed for 108 yards and Henderson added 66.

Smith, the No. 1 recruit nationally in the 2024 class, made five catches for 119 yards.

Broncos quarterback Hayden Wolff completed 8 of 15 passes for 71 yards and was sacked three times.

–Field Level Media