The first quarter of today's Ohio State - Cal game was a wild one, but things calmed down considerably in the second.
The Buckeyes started the second half on offense, hoping to extend their lead and assert themselves once again. Their opening drive was slow compared to their previous standards, and it took them all of nine plays and three minutes to move the ball 75 yards into the end zone. The drive was all Kenny Guiton and tailback Jordan Hall - no other offensive player touched the ball.
Ohio State's secondary, which had been uneven at best over the course of the game so far, stepped up remarkably on Cal's next series. They forced QB Jared Goff into three straight incompletions, and looked like a much more cohesive unit than they had so far.
Kenny Guiton, looking more and more comfortable under center with each successive drive, engineered another excellent run into Cal territory on the next possession. The 15-play drive ate up around six minutes, and Guiton eventually found Philly Brown for a six-yard score to increase Ohio State's lead to 45-20.
Strangely, on the next series Ohio State's defense looked like they thought their job was already done. Jared Goff exploited soft coverage to move downfield, completing two quick passes to Chris Harper, and before the Buckeyes' defense was able to key in on Cal's receivers Goff hit Bryce Treggs for a touchdown to bring it back to 45-27.
Fortunately for the Buckeyes' defense, the offense continued to roll. Jordan Hall and wideout Philly Brown again showed great chemistry with Guiton, and Hall took the ball in to put Ohio State up 52-27 with just over two minutes left in the quarter.
The quarter wound down with great Buckeyes pressure - Noah Spence burst into the backfield to bring Goff down for his third sack of the game. At the end of three, it's Buckeyes 52, Bears 27.
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