No. 3 Ohio State opened up the season with bang, defeating No. 1 Texas in a defense-oriented 14-7 victory in Columbus. The Buckeyes’ new-look defense showed out under Matt Patricia, keeping the Longhorns off the scoreboard until the fourth quarter and coming up with several huge stops. On a day where points were at a premium, Julian Sayin and the Ohio State offense did enough to emerge victorious.
The quest for back-to-back national titles begins with a 1-0 record and a huge win over an SEC powerhouse.
The Good
The Silver Bullets
Matt Patricia’s Ohio State debut could not possibly have gone any better. Matched up against college football’s most overhyped quarterback in Arch Manning with virtually an entire new unit, the Silver Bullets put on a show, holding Texas scoreless until the very end of the fourth quarter.
The Buckeye defense had Manning under wraps all afternoon, with the young QB totaling 38 passing yards and an interception through the game’s first three quarters. The Longhorns were able to move the ball better towards the end of the game with their backs against the wall, but overall it was an impressive effort, allowing seven total points and making a stop when it mattered most at the end.
Speaking of stops, Texas fans had to be feeling some déjà vu from the Cotton Bowl when Ohio State stuffed the Longhorns on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line on their first possession of the second half, one of FOUR fourth down stops for the Buckeyes’ defense on the day.
Ohio State’s linebackers were especially impressive, highlighted by Arvell Reese’s big day. Reese totaled nine tackles with one tackle for loss and the Buckeyes’ lone sack of the day. Sonny Styles was terrific as well, tallying five tackles and nearly coming away with an interception off a tipped ball by Jermaine Mathews Jr.
Mathews looked fantastic in his own right, picking off Manning late in the third quarter to set up Ohio State’s second touchdown.
Julian Sayin
The box score will display a modest outing for Julian Sayin in his first career start at Ohio State. The Buckeye quarterback completed 13-of-20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown — nothing that jumps off the page. However, in a starting debut against the No. 1 team in the country, Sayin showed flashes of why Ryan Day has entrusted him to lead this Ohio State offense.
Sayin, surprisingly, got not help from his surrounding talent early on, as a drop by Max Klare on third down and two early drops from Jeremiah Smith stifled any sort of momentum. That said, Sayin at no point looked rattled, and virtually every one of his throws were on target throughout the game. The first-time starter made very good decisions, and despite a very conservative offensive gameplan from newly-minted coordinator Brian Hartline, looked incredibly promising.
His best pass of the day, of course, came on a deep ball to Carnell Tate, who made a ridiculous bobbling catch into the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown. For anyone with question’s about Sayin’s arm strength, he seemed to have no problem pushing the ball down the field when called upon.
Expect Ohio State to open things up tremendously for Sayin moving forward, and we will really see what he’s capable of when they aren’t playing the No. 1 team in the country.
Pass Protection
There was very little worry about Ohio State’s offensive line coming into this season. As a result of injuries to key guys last season, players like Austin Siereveld and Luke Montgomery got to see the field more, and now both of those guys have earned starting jobs this season at left tackle and left guard, respectively. In addition, Minnesota transfer Phillip Daniels came in and earned a starting job at right tackle.
Overall, the Buckeyes’ pass blocking was very good against Texas. Ohio State allowed zero sacks against a defensive front that includes star defensive end Colin Simmons and one of the best linebackers in the country in Anthony Hill Jr. As a team, the Longhorns registered just a single tackle for loss in the game, which only set them back one yard.
For a unit that lost three massive pieces in Josh Simmons, Seth McLaughlin and Donovan Jackson, even with Simmons and McLaughlin injured for the latter half of last year, it was an impressive start to the season. This is a unit that should only continue to get better as the season wears on, but they got off on the right foot in the opener.
The Bad
OSU Run Game
For all the good the offensive line was able to produce in keeping a clean pocket for Sayin, the run game left a lot to be desired. Not all of that falls on the O-line specifically, but the Buckeyes likely aren’t thrilled with what they go on the ground against Texas.
All told, CJ Donaldson and James Peoples combined to rush for 87 yards on 29 touches, good for three yards per carry. Donaldson was the much better of the two, totaling 67 yards on 19 attempts (3.5 YPC), while Peoples struggled with 20 yards on 10 attempts (2.0 YPC). Both had trouble finding any sort of momentum throughout the game, but Peoples especially seemed to have difficulty finding the hole and making the correct reads.
I’m not ruling this Ohio State running back room dead in Week 1, but they will have to find a way to get some efficiency out of the backfield, especially against talent-equated teams like Texas. It feels like we downplayed the loss of an incredible tandem like TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins a bit this offseason, and replacing those guys isn’t going to be easy.
New Defensive Line
While the defense as a whole had a stellar showing, the defensive line left a bit to be desired. Ohio State was officially credited with one sack on the afternoon, which came from Reese in the linebacker room, and no other QB hurries.
Arch Manning had way too much time to throw on far too many occasions, and while the Buckeyes’ secondary did a great job of keeping things locked down behind them, the D-line has to create more pressure moving forward. A more experienced quarterback might have been able to take advantage of a clean pocket, even with great coverage on the back end.
Neither Caden Curry nor Kenyatta Jackson Jr., who left the game late with an injury, seemed to get much going off the edge. Eddrick Houston flashed a bit up the middle, and CJ Hicks made a huge play at the end to force Manning to throw short on fourth down on Texas’ final offensive play, but they will need to see improvement up front from a unit replacing all four starters.
Again, they will have time.
The Ugly
Conservative Play-Calling
Look, I understand that this type of game largely dictated playing a bit more conservative on offense. The Ohio State defense was firing on all cylinders, and the Buckeyes felt that playing mistake-free when they had the ball was more important than trying to drop 40 points on the Longhorns. Still, when you have the offensive firepower this team has, especially at wide receiver, I would’ve loved to see them let Sayin sling it around a bit more.
Ryan Day alluded in his postgame interview that it was an intentional game plan and that we would definitely see more from Sayin moving forward, but that conservative nature kept Texas in the game at the end. With the Buckeyes never getting anything going on the ground and also not allowing Sayin to get in a rhythm throwing the football, Ohio State’s quick three-and-out with 2:28 left gave the Longhorns a shot to tie in the final minutes.
I’m nitpicking a bit here in a game where the Buckeyes defeated the No. 1 team in the country, but it brought back some bad flashbacks of prior games Ohio State has played against top programs.
Punting
I’m sure Ohio State never really wants to punt in a football game, but when the time comes that you have to do it, you have to be able to do it well. Special teams has been an issue throughout the years for the Buckeyes, and though they have finally rid themselves from the shackles of Parker Fleming, the unit was once again a little suspect on Saturday.
The Buckeyes spent much of the game deep in their own territory, and they didn’t make life any easier on themselves with a handful of short punts. Joe McGuire’s punt midway through the second quarter traveled only 30 yards, and his punt midway through the fourth quarter went only 40 yards.
McGuire redeemed himself a little with a 55-yarder to help set Texas back at their own 15 on their final possession, but it wasn’t a banner day for the punting crew. It will be interesting to see if they get Australian punter Nick McLarty any reps moving forward.
