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While there have certainly been a number of deserving candidates who could have taken home the award, no single player on the offense or defense sides of the football had a great outing every time they hit the field this month for the Ohio State Buckeyes. To find someone that was as close to perfect as possible, I had to look towards special teams to the player that has helped Ohio State to victory in every game in the month of October. Noah Ruggles, the second year kicker for Ohio State, is the Believeland Buckeye October Player of the Month.
It is hard to compare a kicker to a defensive end, wide receiver or quarterback, but while every media outlet across the nation has at some point criticized both the offense and defense at Ohio State, no one has questioned the kicking game. J.T. Tuimoloau certainly had a great game against Penn State and Iowa, but he did not perform well against Michigan State or Rutgers. Stroud had worse numbers than in the month of September and even Marvin Harrison Jr., who was spectacular in big moments, had his down games throughout the month. Ruggles accounted for 46 of Ohio State's 196 points scored in October, which is 23.5% of points scored. He did so with only one missed kick along the way, which was an attempt from 53-yards away.
Stats:
Extra Points - 25/25
Field Goals - 7/8, 87.5%, long of 46
Honorable Mentions:
J.T. Tuimoloau - He certainly has had an impact in the final two games of the month, collecting all three of his sacks in those two games and collecting a multitude if turnovers. The only thing holding him back from this award was the no show against Michigan State and a lack of production against Rutgers. If he continues his performance of the last two games through the month of November, next months award should be his.
Miyan Williams - His five touchdown game against Rutgers was one for the record books, but he's been battling injuries all month long and that has stalled out his production in the rest of their games. He suffered a "non-serious" injury against Penn State, according to reports from Ryan Day, and all Buckeye fans can hope is this rising star is ready to go for the final Saturday in November.
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