Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
This week’s topic: Who was the MVP of Ohio State’s 70-0 win vs. Grambling State?
Gene’s Take: Bo Jackson
There will be plenty of time this season
for guys like Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin to earn these game MVP awards. This matchup against Grambling State was all about the freshmen, and so that’s where I want to go for my pick this week.
However, I think this particular freshman isn’t going to have to wait very long to start making a consistent impact. In fact, I think first-year running back Bo Jackson could very well become the Buckeyes’ lead man by the middle of this season.
The Cleveland native came to Columbus as the No. 10 RB nationally and No. 6 overall player in Ohio in the 2025 recruiting class, per the 247Sports Composite. The Ohio State coaching staff has spoken highly of Jackson ever since he stepped on campus, and so the hype had already begun building for a guy whose name alone makes him exciting.
In his first game action at the collegiate level, Jackson ran for 108 yards and a touchdown on nine carries against Grambling State. He finished the afternoon as the Buckeyes’ leading rusher, but just racking up some stats in garbage time against an FCS team isn’t enough to warrant him being the game’s MVP, or enough to necessarily warrant a greater role on this offense.
Some guys simply move differently on the field, and Jackson feels like he is a special type of player.
Last season, Ohio State knew it could achieve explosive plays through the air or on the ground. Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka could beat you over the top, whereas TreVeyon Henderson could take any carry to the house. Pairing that with dependable guys in the intermediate like Carnell Tate and Quinshon Judkins, who you could trust to move the sticks whenever called upon, made the Buckeyes’ offense dynamic.
We know this current group can put together highlight reel plays through the air with Smith and Tate, but who is going to do it in the run game?
C.J. Donaldson and James Peoples have both looked like more than capable full-time starters, but neither seems to provide much home run-hitting ability. Donaldson is more of a bruiser-style back, and his longest run in the last two years at West Virginia was 48 yards. Peoples showed flashes in 2024, but has been a bit indecisive in hitting the hole to begin this season, with a career-long run of 18 yards.
Donaldson and Peoples weren’t going to step in and immediately become the new Henderson and Judkins, but it does feel a bit like Ohio State’s run game lacks some explosiveness. I think Jackson can provide that explosiveness, as he showed on his 51-yard run on Saturday. Jackson’s 11-yard touchdown run was impressive as well, showcasing his ability to make things happen even without a clear running lane.
Maybe I’m just reading too much into late snaps against an overmatched opponent, but I’ve loved everything I’ve seen and heard about Jackson thus far. Hopefully, Ohio State can get him into these next few games in the first half with the ones, and we can get a better glimpse of what exactly the Buckeyes have here in this freshman running back.
Matt’s Take: Julian Sayin
I appreciate Gene going for the flashy freshman who certainly warranted tons of attention and headlines, but when it comes down to it, the MVP of this game is Ohio State’s record-setting quarterback. In just his second career start, Julian Sayin did not throw a pass that hit the ground on Saturday; granted, his final throw was an interception on the goal line, but let’s not nitpick.
The sophomore was 18-for-19 for 306 yards and four touchdowns, and didn’t play in the second half of the game. Not only did his 18 consecutive completions tie Kyle McCord’s program record, since they all occurred in the same game, Sayin now holds OSU’s all-time single-game record for passes without an incompletion. This kid is 19 years old, and until the season opener, he had only attempted 12 passes in his college career.
The poise and command that he has demonstrated in his first two starts have been nothing short of remarkable. Admittedly, the coaches didn’t ask him to do too much against Texas, and the competition was wildly sub-par against Grambling, but nonetheless, Sayin has seemingly made every right decision (save for throwing to Max Klare when Jeremiah Smith was wide open deep against UT) presented to him thus far. What’s more is that the arm talent that we heard so much about during his recruitment and after he arrived in Columbus has been on display on nearly every throw.
Against Grambling State, he threw TD passes of 47, 87, 13, and 9 yards, to go along with the 40-yard strike against Texas, and it is becoming clear that he has the arm, accuracy, and acumen to be an elite quarterback. You have to be especially impressed with that beauty of a ball over the middle to Will Kacmarek.
Would the Buckeyes have beaten the Tigers on Saturday had Lincoln Kienholz… or even Tavien St. Clair… been the quarterback, absolutely, but the way Sayin has already taken control of the offense and seems to be able to execute in all types of situations, makes me think that the Grambling State game won’t be the last time that the sophomore signal caller will be OSU’s MVP.
