Ohio State needed a response.

A week after watching a 20-point fourth-quarter lead disappear in a crushing 24-23 loss at Texas, the Buckeyes returned to Ohio Stadium with plenty to correct, plenty to prove and little margin for another sluggish afternoon.

Kent State never gave them the chance.

No. 6 Ohio State scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, built a 35-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 59-3 victory over the Golden Flashes, improving to 2-1 as the Buckeyes begin turning their attention toward the heart of the schedule. Ohio State finished with 527 yards of total offense while limiting Kent State to only 134, averaging 8.0 yards per play and allowing just 2.4. 

There will not be any parade for beating Kent State by 56 points, nor should there be. But after what happened in Austin, Saturday was less about the opponent and more about Ohio State looking like itself again.

For the most part, it did.

FINAL WHISTLE: OHIO STATE 59, KENT STATE 3

Ohio State did not allow last week’s disappointment to linger. The Buckeyes took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in seven plays, with Ja’Kobi Jackson finishing the possession on an 11-yard touchdown run. On the next drive, Julian Sayin found tight end Nate Roberts for a six-yard touchdown. Isaiah West added a four-yard score on the third possession, and by the end of the first quarter Ohio State had already built a 21-0 advantage.

The Buckeyes made it four touchdowns on four possessions when Bo Jackson scored from a yard out early in the second quarter. Ohio State’s first-team offense finally stalled later in the half, but even then the Buckeyes managed to create one of the afternoon’s biggest moments when Sayin launched a pass downfield as the clock expired and Brandon Inniss came down with a 49-yard touchdown, sending Ohio State into halftime ahead 35-0.

From there, the afternoon became increasingly about depth and development. Ja’Kobi Jackson scored his second touchdown early in the third quarter, Luke Fahey connected with Chris Henry Jr. for a 75-yard score on the first play of the fourth, and defensive lineman Jahkeem Perez recovered a Kent State fumble in the end zone for another touchdown.

Kent State finally broke up the shutout with a 30-yard field goal with two minutes remaining. By then, the result had long since been decided.

THE RESPONSE MATTERED MORE THAN THE SCORE

There was no way Ohio State could erase what happened against Texas by beating Kent State. The Buckeyes could only decide what they were going to do next, and that may have been the most encouraging part of Saturday.

Ohio State did not spend a quarter feeling sorry for itself. It didn’t play tight or hesitant after the collapse in Austin. Instead, the Buckeyes scored on their opening possession, then again on the next, and again on the next. The game was essentially over before Kent State had a chance to settle in.

Against this level of opponent, that is exactly what should happen. But college football is full of teams coming off emotional losses and allowing the disappointment to carry into the next week. Ohio State did not.

That doesn’t mean every issue exposed in Austin suddenly disappeared, but the Buckeyes at least responded the way a team with postseason expectations should.

BUCKEYE SPOTLIGHT: JEREMIAH SMITH MAKES HISTORY

Saturday afternoon belonged, once again, to Jeremiah Smith.

Smith entered the game needing 26 receiving yards to surpass Michael Jenkins’ Ohio State career record of 2,898. It didn’t take long. After catching a 13-yard pass on Ohio State’s opening possession, Smith hauled in a 23-yarder from Sayin on the Buckeyes’ second drive and officially became the all-time receiving yardage leader in Ohio State history.

Think about that for a moment. Ohio State has produced Cris Carter, David Boston, Joey Galloway, Michael Jenkins, Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn Jr., Michael Thomas, Terry McLaurin, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.

Jeremiah Smith now sits above all of them in career receiving yards, and he’s done it in only 32 games.

Smith finished Saturday with five catches for 85 yards, playing only the first half before spending the final two quarters watching the younger players finish the afternoon. 

The record feels less like an ending and more like another checkpoint. Smith is also closing on Ohio State’s career records for receptions and touchdown catches, and barring something unexpected, this may not be the last time No. 4 rewrites the Buckeye record book this fall. 

JULIAN SAYIN SETTLES BACK IN

Sayin’s performance won’t receive the attention Smith’s record will, but it was exactly the kind of afternoon Ohio State needed from its quarterback.

Sayin completed 18 of 22 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns, good for an 81.8 percent completion rate. He started the game 11-of-11 and operated the offense with the efficiency that was occasionally missing during the second half against Texas. 

The most encouraging aspect was that Ohio State allowed Sayin to attack rather than simply manage the game. The 49-yard touchdown to Inniss at the end of the first half was the clearest example. With only seconds remaining, Ohio State could easily have allowed the clock to expire and taken a comfortable 28-0 lead into the locker room.

Instead, Sayin pushed the ball downfield and Inniss made a play. That aggressiveness was one of the things Ohio State lacked late against Texas. Against Kent State, it returned.

THE RUN GAME SHOWS PROGRESS

After two weeks of questions about the run game and offensive line, Saturday offered at least some encouraging signs.

Ohio State rushed for 145 yards, with Bo Jackson leading the way at 73 yards on 11 carries and Ja’Kobi Jackson adding 47 yards and two touchdowns on eight attempts. Together, the Jackson duo averaged more than six yards per carry.

That’s progress. The first-team run game looked more decisive, and the offensive line created more opportunities for backs to get downhill without needing the massive explosive runs that inflated the Ball State numbers.

That doesn’t mean the issue is solved. Ohio State still needs to prove it can consistently run the football against high-level defensive fronts, because Texas remains the only real measuring stick we’ve seen so far. The Buckeyes had difficulty creating dependable movement in Austin, particularly when Texas knew they wanted to run.

Kent State was never going to provide the definitive answer, but Saturday was a better step. Bo Jackson averaged 6.6 yards per carry, Ja’Kobi Jackson averaged 5.9 and Ohio State was able to finish drives on the ground.

The challenge now is carrying that efficiency into games where the opponent knows what’s coming and has the personnel to stop it.

BRANDON INNISS PROVIDES ANOTHER OPTION

With so much attention naturally focused on Smith, one of the quietly important developments of Saturday was another strong performance from Brandon Inniss.

Inniss caught four passes for a career-high 78 yards and a touchdown, including the 49-yard score to close the first half.

Ohio State doesn’t need Inniss to become Jeremiah Smith. It needs him to make defenses regret putting too much attention on Jeremiah Smith.

The same applies to Devin McCuin, Nate Roberts, Chris Henry Jr. and the other weapons surrounding Sayin. The more comfortable Sayin becomes distributing the football beyond No. 4, the harder it becomes for opponents to dictate coverage.

Saturday was a good example of that. Smith made history, Inniss made one of the game’s biggest plays, Roberts caught a touchdown and Henry turned one reception into a 75-yard score. That’s the kind of distribution Ohio State will need when the schedule gets considerably tougher.

DEFENSIVE RESPONSE: ALMOST A SHUTOUT

For 58 minutes, Ohio State’s defense had Kent State completely erased.

The Golden Flashes finished with only 134 total yards, including 64 through the air and 70 on the ground. Kent State averaged just 2.4 yards per snap, turned the football over three times and did not reach the scoreboard until a field goal with two minutes remaining. 

After surrendering three consecutive touchdown drives in the fourth quarter against Texas, the defense needed an afternoon where it could play from start to finish without losing its edge. It got one.

There is an obvious difference between stopping Texas and stopping Kent State, but effort and assignment discipline still matter regardless of the opponent. Ohio State did not allow Kent State to manufacture meaningless late touchdowns against the backups. Even as younger players filled the field, the defense continued to control the game.

The Buckeyes also generated points of their own when Perez scooped up a fourth-quarter fumble in the end zone.

If there is one area worth monitoring, it is the pass rush. Ohio State recorded only one sack despite controlling virtually every other part of the game. Kent State’s offensive approach played a role in that, with the Golden Flashes frequently trying to get the ball out quickly, but generating pressure without needing extra bodies remains something worth watching as Ohio State moves forward. 

DEPTH CHECK: YOUNG BUCKEYES GET THEIR TURN

Games like Saturday become most useful once the starters leave.

Luke Fahey completed four of five passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by the 75-yard strike to Chris Henry Jr. Fahey also threw an interception, while Tavien St. Clair’s only pass attempt was intercepted as well. 

Those turnovers are exactly the kinds of mistakes coaches can use. The game was never in doubt, which means younger quarterbacks were allowed to make real mistakes in real game situations without those mistakes threatening the outcome.

Henry’s touchdown was particularly encouraging. His 75-yard catch-and-run gave Ohio State another glimpse of the kind of talent waiting behind its veteran receiving corps.

Those snaps may not seem especially meaningful in September. They often become much more important in November.

WHAT STILL NEEDS WORK

A 59-3 victory doesn’t leave many obvious complaints, but Ohio State will still find plenty on the film.

The biggest statistical oddity was third-down offense. Ohio State finished only 1-for-8 on third downs, according to Kent State’s postgame statistics. The Buckeyes were explosive and efficient enough on early downs that it didn’t matter, but that’s not a percentage Ohio State will want to carry into Big Ten play. 

The backup quarterbacks also threw two interceptions, providing another reminder that Ohio State’s depth is talented but still developing.

The offensive line looked better in the run game, but one strong performance against Kent State does not completely erase what happened against Texas. Run blocking remains one of the biggest things to monitor as the schedule moves forward. Ohio State needs to prove it can generate dependable yardage in obvious running situations against opponents capable of matching its size and athleticism.

The same goes for the pass rush. The defense dominated the afternoon, but Ohio State produced only one sack. Against quarterbacks who are capable of extending plays and punishing coverage downfield, pressure will become considerably more important.

None of these are reasons for alarm. They’re simply reminders that a 56-point win can still provide useful film.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS

Saturday did not dramatically improve Ohio State’s College Football Playoff résumé. It wasn’t supposed to.

Kent State is not going to become the win that sends Ohio State into the postseason, just as beating Ball State by 53 points wasn’t going to define the Buckeyes’ season.

What Saturday did was prevent the Texas loss from turning into something larger. Ohio State is now 2-1, with its lone defeat coming by one point on the road against a Texas team that entered Saturday ranked No. 1. The Buckeyes still have plenty of opportunities to shape their playoff résumé once Big Ten play gets underway.

The path remains straightforward: Ohio State needs to win.

The Buckeyes don’t need voters or the eventual playoff committee to forget what happened in Austin. They need to make it irrelevant by stacking quality victories throughout the rest of the season.

Saturday was the first step, not because beating Kent State proved anything about Ohio State’s championship ceiling, but because championship contenders respond to losses.

Ohio State did.

THE BUCKEYE50 TAKEAWAY

The easiest thing to say after Ohio State beats Kent State 59-3 is that the Buckeyes did what they were supposed to do.

That’s true. It’s also incomplete.

Saturday mattered because of what happened seven days earlier. Ohio State had spent three quarters in Austin looking like the best team in college football, then watched a 23-3 advantage disappear in one quarter. That kind of loss can linger.

The Buckeyes didn’t let it.

Ohio State scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, led 35-0 at halftime and never gave Kent State even the smallest opportunity to make the afternoon uncomfortable. Sayin was efficient, the running backs showed improvement, Inniss emerged as another weapon, young players received meaningful snaps, the defense nearly pitched a shutout and Jeremiah Smith did something no receiver in the history of Ohio State football had done before him.

It wasn’t perfect. Third-down efficiency needs work. The offensive line still has more to prove against legitimate defensive fronts. The pass rush could become more disruptive, and the backup quarterbacks provided a couple of teaching moments.

But this wasn’t a game Ohio State needed to be perfect. It needed to respond.

The Buckeyes did that emphatically.

Now comes the part of the schedule where responses become less important than results.

NEXT UP: OHIO STATE OPENS BIG TEN PLAY AGAINST ILLINOIS

The nonconference portion of the schedule gave Ohio State three very different afternoons. Ball State showed the Buckeyes’ explosiveness and depth. Texas exposed what happens when a championship-level team fails to finish. Kent State provided the opportunity to reset.

Now the lessons from all three games have to travel with Ohio State into Big Ten play.

The Buckeyes will return to Ohio Stadium next week to host Illinois in their conference opener. Ohio State enters the matchup at 2-1, while Illinois comes in at 3-0 after opening the season with wins over Western Illinois, Kansas and Indiana State. The Fighting Illini have scored at least 40 points in each of their first three games, including a 45-17 victory over Indiana State in their most recent outing.

Illinois will present a much more meaningful test than Kent State, particularly because Big Ten games tend to expose whether improvements made against lesser competition are real or temporary. Ohio State’s run game will face a stronger front, the Buckeyes’ third-down offense will be tested more consistently and the defense will have to maintain its discipline against an Illinois offense that has shown the ability to create explosive plays.

The matchup also gives Ohio State its first opportunity to begin rebuilding its conference résumé. The Buckeyes cannot afford to overlook Illinois, especially with the Texas loss still sitting on their record and the margin for error smaller than it was three weeks ago.

Ohio State should be favored, and the Buckeyes should expect to win. But the standard changes now. Against Kent State, a fast start and overwhelming talent were enough to decide the game. Against Illinois, Ohio State will need to show that the response in Columbus was more than a one-week reset.

The next chapter will tell us much more about whether this team learned from Austin — or simply moved past it.

Photo Credit: Adam Cairns/The Columbus Dispatch