Buckeye Leaves: Emeka Egbuka, Quinshon Judkins and Lathan Ransom Take Over In 49-14 Win Over Marshall

It might not have been perfect at all times for Ohio State in Week 4, but it still came out on top of Marshall 49-14 to move to a 3-0 record.

There were many players worthy of receiving Buckeye Leaves, but here are the three we decided to give ours to:

Patrick Engels:

I’m giving my Buckeye leaf to fifth-year safety Lathan Ransom, who continues to show he is one of Ohio State’s more impactful players on defense. Ransom is seldom talked about due to the star power on the Buckeyes’s vaunted defense, but he certainly made his presence felt against Marshall. 

The longtime Buckeye was all over the field in Week 4, running sideline-to-sideline to record a game-high eight tackles (six solo), including one for loss. He made the biggest impact near the line of scrimmage, where he delivered a number of physical hits both on Herd rushes and short passes, and nearly caused a fumble on Herd quarterback Earle Stone during Marshall’s first offensive drive before the ball landed out of bounds. 

And the fifth-year continues to play with a great passion and emotion, which is nice to see considering he missed the final five games of the 2023 season with an injury. 

Bobby Gorbett: Ohio State senior wide receiver Emeka Egbuka looked like his 2022 self, in Ohio State’s win over Marshall with a team-high 117 yards on five catches. Egbuka’s explosive day started with a 68-yard touchdown reception on a well-executed screen pass that tied the game at 7.

In the second half, Egbuka went for another explosive play on a 28-yard reception from Will Howard. Egbuka wrapped up a four-catch 111-yard first-half performance with a 7-yard grab to pick up a third-down conversion.

Egbuka’s day cooled off some after an action-packed first half, due in large part to an extremely efficient second-half rushing attack.

Egbuka’s 117 yards against Marshall were the most he has accumulated in a single game since the 2022 Michigan game, in which he went for 125 yards on nine catches.

Egbuka’s performance against Marshall, in addition to the two solid outings he had against Akron and Western Michigan, represents something of a return to form after an injury-plagued 2023 season, as he has averaged nearly 89 yards per game so far through three games.

Greg Wilson:My Buckeye Leaf goes to Quinshon Judkins, who took over on the offensive side of the ball for the second straight game. Ever since he transferred to Columbus, there were a lot of people were eagerly anticipating the 1-2 punch that he and TreVeyon Henderson would provide for the run game.

He has been exactly as advertised so far in scarlet and gray. He rushed nine times for 108 yards and two touchdowns in the 56-0 win over Western Michigan, missing an even bigger stat line with an 80-yard touchdown called back for holding.

But he got that long touchdown against Marshall, running for 86 yards to score, a run that is now tied for the third longest rushing touchdown in Ohio State history with J.T. Barrett’s 86-yard touchdown run against Minnesota on Nov. 15, 2014.

It seemed like every time the ball was in his hands, he was going to be breaking off a big run. His 12.4 yards per carry is evidence of that.

He finished with 14 carries for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Thundering Herd and only provided Buckeyes fans with even more excitement for what the duo can do over a full season.