Scarlet Sunrise: Sam Hubbard records longest scoop and score in NFL postseason history
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Former Buckeyes DE Sam Hubbard makes NFL postseason history
Sam Hubbard made NFL postseason history and booked the Cincinnati Bengals’ ticket to the AFC Divisional Round Sunday night. Hubbard recorded a 98-yard scoop and score against the Baltimore Ravens with just under 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 17-17.
Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley — starting in place of an injured Lamar Jackson — vaulted Baltimore to the goal line with a 35-yard run. But, on 3rd-and-Goal from the Bengals’ 2-yard line, he tried to extend for the touchdown on a sneak. Cincinnati linebacker Logan Wilson punched the ball out of Huntley’s grasp before it could cross the plane, and Hubbard was in the right place at the right time.
He caught the loose ball and returned it to the house.
Not only is the 98-yard fumble return touchdown the longest in NFL postseason history, but, according to CBS Sports research, it’s also the longest go-ahead, fourth quarter touchdown in playoff history.
Hubbard is a Cincinnati native who was an On3 Consensus four-star recruit coming out of Archbishop Moeller. He graduated from Ohio State in 2017 and was a third-round pick of the Bengals in the 2018 NFL Draft. As a redshirt junior, Hubbard piled up 13 TFLs for the Buckeyes. He accumulated 22 starts in his 40 Ohio State games at defensive end, and he rounded out his Buckeyes career with 17 sacks and 116 tackles.
Buckeyes safety Ronnie Hickman accepts invitation to Reese’s Senior Bowl
Ohio State safety Ronnie Hickman revealed ahead of the Michigan game that he was planning on declaring for this year’s NFL Draft. Hickman took another step toward the league by accepting an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl Sunday. He is the third Buckeyes player to accept an invitation to the pre-draft all-star game in Mobile, Alabama. The others are offensive tackle Dawand Jones and defensive end Zach Harrison.
The 2022 season marked Hickman’s fourth year with the Buckeyes program. The South Orange, New Jersey, native has been a mainstay in Ohio State’s back end the last two years. In 2021, he became the Buckeyes’ first 100-tackle player in six years. This season, he was fourth on the team with 53 total tackles, but he was atop the leaderboard with seven passes defended.
What’s more, Hickman notched the best Pro Football Focus defensive grade (84.8) of his career as a fourth year. He allowed just 13 receptions on 30 targets for a total of 107 yards, per PFF. Of safeties with at least 100 coverage snaps in 2022, Hickman was tied for eighth nationally in PFF coverage grade (88.9).
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Buckeyes hoops loses fourth straight, splits season series with Rutgers in road OT defeat
Ohio State’s losing streak has extended to four games. The Buckeyes dropped to 10-7, including 2-4 in Big Ten play, with a 68-64 overtime defeat at Rutgers Sunday.
Head coach Chris Holtmann switched things up with his fifth different starting lineup of the season. It gave Ohio State the defensive lift it had been searching for. But, with Brice Sensabaugh and Zed Key coming off the bench, the Buckeyes didn’t score the first five minutes of the first half.
Scoring droughts popped up for Ohio State throughout a back-and-forth battle with the Scarlet Knights that featured 22 lead changes. Sensabaugh had a chance to win it in regulation. So did Rutgers’ Cam Spencer. Instead, the game went to overtime — that’s when Rutgers pulled away.
Ohio State won the teams’ first meeting with a Tanner Holden buzzer beater that the Big Ten later admitted shouldn’t have counted.
READ: After defensive battle, Rutgers outlasts Ohio State in overtime
Counting down
Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 229 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 313 days
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