Ohio State is 3-0 after officially wrapping up the nonconference slate on Saturday! The final game outside of the B1G came against Marshall, and the Buckeyes cruised to a 49-14 win over the Thundering Herd.

While the score became lopsided in the 2nd half, it was far from a flawless performance. Ohio State was up just 28-14 at the half, and some early defensive struggles and miscues by the Buckeyes were a bit concerning.

Overall, there is plenty to keep Ryan Day and his coaching staff busy, especially with B1G play coming around in Week 5. The Buckeyes open the league slate vs. Michigan State, but they will need to improve their cleanliness and overall tenacity to reach their ultimate goals.

Here are the key takeaways from Saturday:

The best RB tandem in the country

Expectations were high for Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson entering the season, but those 2 players are living up to the hype in a major way. In 20 carries, the 2 backs went for 249 yards and 4 total touchdowns (2 apiece).

It’s unclear if the Buckeyes will utilize the current distribution model throughout the rest of the season, but it’s clear the current leader in the backfield is Judkins. He led Ohio State with 173 yards on Saturday for his 2nd game of the season with 100+ rushing yards.

That’s not to say Henderson is not being utilized, but Judkins had double the carries (and 2 catches) as the lead running back. Judkins’ role was to be expected after transferring from Ole Miss. And so far, he has looked like the real deal workhorse back for Ohio State.

Special teams miscues a bit worrisome

When you have a roster as deep and talented as the Buckeyes, you do not want to a weakness on special teams. However, the unit produced some question marks on Saturday.

At one point in the game, kicker Jayden Fielding delivered 3 straight kickoffs out of bounds, giving up valuable field position to Marshall. In this kind of game, it wasn’t a difference-maker, but those are the kind of miscues a championship-level team cannot tolerate.

Also on special teams, Brandon Inniss muffed one punt that did not appear to be especially difficult to catch. That muff was not costly with the Herd forced to re-punt after a penalty, but it’s another mistake that cannot be tolerated.

For context, weather was not a factor with warm temperatures and a sunny day for the game. Ohio State cannot have that kind of special teams performance during crucial league games moving forward.

Defensive effort needs cleaned up

Marshall delivered a surprise start to the game, scoring the game’s first touchdown with a 13-play, 75-yard drive against the Buckeye defense. The Herd would also score another touchdown just before halftime to make it a 14-point game at the break.

What was particularly worrisome about Marshall’s start was the lack of Ohio State’s ability to get off the field on 3rd down. The Thundering Herd opened the game 5-for-6 on 3rd-down conversions before finishing 2-for-12 on 3rd downs the rest of the way.

The red zone was also a problem for Ohio State with Marshall scoring 2 touchdowns on both drives inside the red zone on Saturday. You can bet Jim Knowles will harp on that fact moving forward.