The Ohio State Buckeyes survive their early offensive struggles to pull away from the Ohio Bobcats, 37-9. The Buckeyes improve their record to 3-0 and remain the No. 1 team in the polls.
Jeremiah Smith tied a career-high nine catches for 153 yards and a touchdown. He also tacked on a rushing (yes, rushing) touchdown on the final score of the game. Fellow receiver Carnell Tate also eclipsed 100 yards on five catches and had a touchdown of his own, and transfer tight end Max Klare found paydirt for his first Buckeye score.
Throwing those three touchdowns was Julian Sayin, who overcame two interceptions to throw for 347 yards on 78% completion.
On the ground, true freshman Bo Jackson led the way with a similar stat line to what he produced against Grambling State. He finished with 109 yards on nine carries, including a 64-yard run, which broke the season high rush for the Buckeyes this year. The previous mark was Jackson’s own 51-yard run last week.
The Buckeyes as a team totaled 573 yards and averaged just over nine yards per play, went 5-for-9 on third downs, and outpossessed Ohio by nearly 12 minutes before the final drive.
The Silver Bullet defense continues to shine, holding a good Bobcat offense to under 130 yards before the final drive. They racked up a season high of four sacks and totaled seven tackles for loss.
The Buckeyes end non-conference play undefeated and get a bye week before traveling to Seattle on September 27 to take on the Washington Huskies.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Bo Jackson looks like a bona fide stud and will see plenty of playing time in high-leverage situations.
While James Peoples and CJ Donaldson have had some solid moments throughout the nonconference slate, and both of their stat lines are fine, Jackson has been simply sensational!
Jackson had high expectations for many as he entered his collegiate career. He was Ohio’s top running back and fifth at his position nationally out of the latest recruiting class. He totaled nearly 2,300 yards and 40 touchdowns in his last two years at Villa-Angela-St. Joseph in Cleveland. Jackson was also a standout baseball star and regional qualifier in track (which is just insanely ironic, and his dad’s name is Lamar).
Over his first 18 carries for the Buckeyes, he has rushed for 217 yards and one touchdown. For you math nerds, that is 12.1 yards per carry, an insane number! He has the team’s two longest rushes on the young season, and that is far from why his average is as high as it is. Seven of his 18 rushes have gone for 10+ yards, and both of his receptions on the season came last night, also going for 10+ yards each.
Jackson is an explosive player with dynamic cutting abilities to allow him to always find the open grass. His frame and build make him extremely hard to tackle, and the most underrated part of his game is the ability to catch passes out of the backfield and turn upfield.
The true freshman will surely be a bigger feature in the Buckeyes’ running back room for the remainder of this season. Fans can expect him to play more in high-leverage situations, as Ryan Day may be looking at a situation where he routinely utilizes three backs every game.
The pass rush FINALLY got home!
YES YES YES! FINALLY! THE BUCKEYES HAVE A PASS RUSH!
Okay, time to calm down. After a combined three sacks through the first two games, the defense more than doubled its season total last night against a good Ohio offensive line that allowed just 21 sacks last year and only two in the first two weeks before their trip to the Shoe.
They still are not bringing a ton of blitzes, but Saturday night proved they may not have to. Four-man fronts are getting pressure, and now the full effect of having an NFL-caliber secondary is showing.
However, the secondary did have a moment where it buckled on the 67-yard touchdown catch by Chase Hendricks. Losing starting DB Lorenzo Styles Jr. to a shoulder injury doesn’t help, and although nothing is confirmed, early speculations seem to indicate that it is nothing serious, thankfully.
Back to the front, as this Bobcat rushing attack that pounded away for over 180 yards in each of its last two contests (also against Power 4 opponents) was held to just 68 yards on two yards per carry.
With that brand of rush defense we have seen all year, coupled with a dynamic pass rush from four-man fronts, and mixing in linebackers like Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles to that blitz package…enough has been said.
Offense showed vulnerability, especially in the redzone.
Time to get real…this game was controlled by Ohio State from start to finish, and it could’ve been a lot worse for the Bobcats on the scoreboard.
The reason it wasn’t? OSU scored just two touchdowns in its six trips to the promised land. Three trips resulted in field goals after some pass breakups by Ohio DBs, and a touchdown was called back after it was determined that CJ Donaldson stepped out of bounds. The fourth was a turnover on downs on the first drive of the game.
Should Buckeye fans anticipate this being an issue? No. It likely won’t be. Everybody knows two scores in six trips and leaving 28 potential points off the board won’t cut it against Illinois, Penn State, Michigan, and other Big Ten opponents. The redzone is the most vital aspect of the game (besides the battle in the trenches)
However, there is one particular player we can get nitpicky with….
Sayin is showing his youth, which in no way, shape, or form is inherently a bad thing. One of his interceptions was simply a tip-drill pick, not much you can do there, but the other was a mistake. Going down to the ground, he shoveled the ball forward right into the arms of a Bobcat defensive lineman.
His accuracy has been amazing, but there are some reads he misses and open receivers he doesn’t see.
Both of those issues will get better. He is a growing talent on track to be a borderline superstar, and he has an extra week to prepare for his first road test in a very hostile Seattle environment.
GAME RECAP
Here is a full recap of scoring plays, turnovers, and other big moments:
1st Quarter
- 11:20 – Turnover on Downs: Sayin sacked by Anas Luqman on 4th & Goal after 42-yard catch by Jeremiah Smith
- 8:13 – Penalty: OSU’s Kenyatta Jackson flagged for disconcerting signals (clapping pre-snap, an unusual penalty)
- 1:54 – Ohio State FG: Jayden Fielding 38-yard field goal (OSU 3–0)
- 0:15 – Defensive Stand: Buckeyes allow just 1 yard on Ohio’s drive; Curry & Downs lead early defense
2nd Quarter
- 10:02 – OSU Big Plays: Lincoln Kienholz rushes for 8 yards, Bo Jackson adds 15-yard gain
- 9:58 – Ohio State FG: Fielding 20-yard field goal (OSU 6–0)
- 2:29 – Ohio State TD: Sayin 16-yard TD pass to Max Klare (OSU 13–0)
- 1:20 – Sayin Interception: Cam Hollobaugh deflects pass, picked off by Michael Mack II
- 0:24 – Ohio FG: Brack Peacock 44-yard field goal (OSU 13–3)
3rd Quarter
- 14:07 – Ohio TD: Navarro 67-yard TD pass to Chase Hendricks (XP missed) (OSU 13–9)
- 11:19 – Ohio State FG: Fielding 22-yard field goal (OSU 16–9)
- Jackson 64-yard run set up score; Donaldson TD called back after stepping out at the 4
- 6:16 – Ohio State TD: Sayin 47-yard TD pass to Jeremiah Smith (OSU 23–9)
4th Quarter
- 14:14 – Ohio State TD: Sayin 49-yard TD pass to Carnell Tate (OSU 30–9)
- 10:29 – Sayin Interception: Under pressure from Jay Crable, Sayin shovel-pass is intercepted by DT Austin Mitchell
- 9:29 – Turnover on Downs: Ohio fails 4th & 9; OSU takes over at midfield
- 6:36 – Ohio State TD: Jeremiah Smith 17-yard rushing TD on sweep (OSU 37–9)
*While usually these articles don’t include the use of the first-person, it would be remiss of me not to give a massive shoutout to V-Teck Communications, Peak of Ohio, the Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield, and The Ohio State University for allowing me field access and amazing seats to this game. It’s always fun to take a trip to Columbus on gameday (besides postgame traffic, ugh), and it was a great environment last night. Thank you all for the experience!*
