Key Players
Normally I start this section talking about the quarterback, but with Ohio State, WR Jeremiah Smith is such a singular talent he deserves top billing. Arguably the top overall player in college football, Smith is back for his sophomore season after putting together 76 catches, 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns in last year’s excellent freshman year. He’s an elite talent at the position and could be the number one overall player selected in the 2027 NFL Draft.
At 6-3 and 223 pounds, he’s got the size and strength
of a top physical possession receiver, but also has elite speed, smoothness and agility of someone significantly smaller. Combine that with his high level football IQ and precise route running, and you have a generational talent at wide receiver. In three games this season, he as 20 catches, 315 yards and three touchdowns. He did have some uncharacteristic drops in week 1 against Texas, so that’ll something to monitor moving forward.
The other wide receiver to watch out for is Carnell Tate, a 6-3 pass catcher with great length and body control. He’s a great all around receiver and excels in the 10-20 yard range downfield. He has 12 catches for 219 yards and three touchdowns this season.
Throwing him the football will be redshirt freshman QB Julian Sayin, making the first road start of his career. Like most players on this roster, the 6-1, 208 pound Sayin was all-everything coming out of high school, and the top quarterback in the 2024 class. In three starts this season, he’s been somewhere between solid to good. He wasn’t particularly impressive against Texas in week 1 – just over 6 yards per attempt – but, that was his first start against a top defense and the game plan didn’t ask him to do much anyway. His numbers improved substantially against overmatched opponents Grambling State (70-0 Ohio State victory) and Ohio (37-9 Ohio State victory).
Taken all together, in his three starts he’s thrown for 779 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s not the biggest, standing at just over six feet tall, but he’s athletic and can make throws from any position on the field. His downfield accuracy and aggressiveness will stand out when you watch him (he currently leads the nation in completion percentage with 78%). He’s also been deadly on deep throws – PFF rates him as the top QB in the country on throws over 20 yards. However, he was not sharp in the red zone last week against Ohio.
The Buckeye run game hasn’t quite gotten off the ground yet this season, averaging just 150 yards per game. CJ Donaldson and James Peoples are classic Ohio State running backs that are physical and productive. However, it’s true freshman Bo Jackson that has fans excited. He showed some explosiveness and an extra gear against both Grambling and Ohio, with 18 total carries and 217 yards and a touchdown.
Ohio State has utilized the tight end position this season much more than in the past handful of years. Purdue transfer Max Klare is the playmaker, but Will Kacmarek and Jelani Thurman will see plenty of snaps, too.
The Scheme
This is not what you’d expect for an Ohio State team, but they are currently the slowest paced team in the entire country. At just under 33 seconds per play, no one is slower than the Buckeyes, who don’t even average 60 plays per game. According to media around the program, this was a deliberate shift from Ryan Day that began last season, specifically to stay fresh in anticipation of a deep run in the playoff.
With Sayin pulling the strings, and Smith and Tate outside, this is a team built to win with the pass. With receivers that good, they don’t need more than two on the field, which allows them to play in more heavy sets with 12 personnel (1 running back, 2 tight ends).
Final Thoughts
The biggest challenge for this Husky defense – besides the obvious of needing to match up against elite talent across the board – will be Ohio State’s slow pace. If the Husky defense can’t make stops on third down or generate turnovers, Ohio State could spend most of the game playing keep-away, bleeding clock and not letting Demond Williams and co. see the field.
Ohio State’s run game hasn’t revved up yet, which could complicate things for them. But, who needs a run game when you have Jeremiah Smith to throw to on third down? Not to mention CB Tacario Davis’ unknown availability, and it’s not a good matchup. This Husky defense has also displayed some softness against the run. Ohio State doesn’t need to do anything too fancy to win this game, but if they lose it’ll be because this high powered Husky offense saw the field too much.
