Ohio State recorded their eighth straight double-digit win last week when they took down Purdue 34-10 in West Lafayette. Even though they were missing a couple starters, the Buckeyes used a 24-point second
quarter to cruise to an easy victory over the Boilermakers.
With the victory, Ohio State secured their 19th 9-0 start in a season. If the Buckeyes are able to beat UCLA on Saturday night under the lights at Ohio Stadium, it will be Ohio State’s 13th straight season with at least 10 wins, and the 32nd season overall with 10 or more wins.
Early on in last week’s game there was a bit of nervousness around Buckeye Nation. Not only was Ohio State trailing Purdue 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, wide receiver Carnell Tate unexpectedly wasn’t on the field. While there was notice before the game offensive linemen Phillip Daniels and Josh Padilla wouldn’t be playing against the Boilermakers, there was no such indication Tate would miss the game.
Eventually word came out that Tate was held out for precautionary reasons after feeling some tightness in pregame warmups. Had the Buckeyes been playing a tougher opponent, the junior wide receiver from Chicago would have likely been on the field.
History against UCLA
This week’s game will be the 10th meeting between the Buckeyes and Bruins, with the series being tied 4-4-1. The last time the schools met was back in 2001 when UCLA pulled out a 13-6 victory in Pasadena. Amazingly, neither team has been able to win back-to-back games in the series, as the teams have alternated wins, with a 10-10 tie sandwiched in the middle of the series. S
aturday’s contest will mark the first meeting between the programs as conference foes. Following this year’s game, the teams are next scheduled to meet in 2028 in Los Angeles.
What the Ohio State offense is Sayin
Despite not having Carnell Tate at his disposal last week, Julian Sayin still showed why he is a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, throwing for 303 yards against the Boilermakers, which is his sixth 300-yard game of the season. The redshirt freshman is the first Ohio State quarterback since C.J. Stroud in 2021 to throw for at least 300 yards in three consecutive games.
Along with reaching the 300-yard mark, Sayin also completed over 80 percent of his passes, marking his third straight game with a completion percentage of at least 80 percent. The only knock on Sayin in the victory over Purdue was he tossed his first interception in Big Ten play, snapping a streak of 173 consecutive passes without throwing a pick.
With Tate sidelined, Jeremiah Smith was more than happy to pick up the slack last week. The fabulous sophomore hauled in a career-high 10 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown, the 25th receiving touchdown of his career. By finding the end zone, Smith is now the fastest Buckeye wide receiver to record 25 receiving touchdown. Smith reached the mark in 25 games, shattering David Boston’s record of needing just 30 games to catch 25 touchdowns.
Smith now has a spot in Ohio State’s career receiving yardage top-10 in clear view. Heading into this week’s game, Smith has 2,177 career receiving yards, which is 12th in school history. If Smith is able to roll up 119 receiving yards on Saturday night he’ll pass Santonio Holmes to move into the top-10.
Smith already passed Holmes last week on the school’s all-time reception list with 141 career catches. With three catches against the Bruins, Smith passes Garrett Wilson and Parris Campbell to move into Ohio State’s top-10.
Along with Smith, eight other Buckeye receivers caught a pass in the win over Purdue. In his return to West Lafayette, Max Klare finished with five catches for 59 yards against the Boilermakers. Klare currently sits behind Smith and Tate with 26 receptions on the season. Brandon Inniss had three catches last week, pushing his season total to 21 grabs, making him the fourth Ohio State receiver to haul in at least 20 passes this season.
The rushing attack from the Buckeyes looked like it was in for a big day when Bo Jackson broke a 70-yard touchdown run on Ohio State’s first play from scrimmage. Unfortunately the big play was called back because of a block in the back penalty by Jeremiah Smith.
Jackson still finished with 75 yards on 14 carries, while Isaiah West added 60 yards rushing. The Buckeyes finished with 170 yards rushing in the victory, their third-highest total on the ground this season.
Along with the yardage they racked up, Ohio State found the end zone three times in the game. Two of those scores came from C.J. Donaldson, who now has nine rushing touchdowns this season. The senior running back now has 39 career rushing touchdowns, putting him second among active rushers behind Nick Singleton of Penn State, who has 41 career rushing touchdowns. Backup quarterback Lincoln Kienholz scored the other rushing touchdown for the Buckeyes, finding the end zone just before halftime.
The offensive line of the Buckeyes had their worst performance of the season last week, but there isn’t much reason to panic. Ohio State gave up two sacks against Purdue after allowing just three total sacks in the first eight games of the season. The group was a bit short-handed after starting right tackle Phillip Daniels and backup guard Josh Padilla didn’t play against the Boilermakers.
With Daniels out, Ian Moore received the first start of his college career. The five sacks and 28 tackles for loss the Ohio State offensive line has allowed this year both are tied for fourth-fewest in the country.
The Buckeye defense continues to roll the opposition
For the third time this season, Ohio State’s defense has given up at least 10 points in a game. Honestly, the Buckeyes should have only given up three points in the game but a couple personal foul penalties late against the Boilermakers led to Purdue scoring a garbage time touchdown.
Ohio State still leads the country, allowing just 7.2 points per game. Along with having the best scoring defense among FBS teams, the Buckeyes are ranked tops in the country in total defense, allowing 211.6 yards per game.
The pass rush of the Buckeyes was pretty quiet against Purdue, failing to record a sack for the first time in a game this season. A big reason Ohio State didn’t get any sacks against the Boilermakers was because Purdue just didn’t have the football very much last week, with the Buckeyes limiting Purdue to less than 20 minutes with the ball in the game. Opponents still need to fear the defensive line of Ohio State since they have a trio of talented players starting.
Caden Curry enters this week as the team’s leader with 10.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Following a stretch where he had at least one sack in five out of sacks games, Curry has failed to get to the quarterback over the last two games. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. has ramped up play lately, culminating with a two sacks performance against Penn State.
While Curry and Jackson are attacking from the edges, Kayden McDonald is clogging up the middle of the line with 12 tackles over the last two games. The defensive tackle checks in with 41 tackles this season, ranking fourth on the team.
Linebacker Arvell Reese continues to impress NFL scouts with his athletic ability as he continues to skyrocket up 2026 mock drafts. Reese leads the Buckeyes with 55 tackles, while his 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks this season sit just behind Curry for the team lead.
Reese and Sonny Styles form one of the most dynamic linebacker duos in the country, as Styles has registered 50 tackles this year. Last week saw the spotlight on Peyton Pierce, who led Ohio State with seven tackles against Purdue.
The biggest play for the defense last week came from Jermaine Mathews Jr. The cornerback picked off his second pass of the season. Between Mathews, Davison Igbinosun, and nickel back Lorenzo Styles Jr., opponents have had little success throwing the football against the Buckeyes. With just 94 yards passing last week, Purdue became the fourth opponent this year to fail to reach 100 yards through the air against Ohio State.
Rounding out the secondary are safeties Caleb Downs and Jaylen McClain. The play of Downs speaks for itself. The junior safety is considered the top defensive prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft, if he decides after this season to head to the pros. McClain has quietly put together a solid campaign in his first season as starter. The sophomore from New Jersey has started all nine of Ohio State’s games this year, racking up 35 tackles, ranking sixth on the Buckeyes defense.
A roller coaster season so far at UCLA
Despite entering this week at just 3-6, UCLA’s season certainly hasn’t been boring. After losing their first three games of the season, the Bruins decided to fire head coach DeShaun Foster. Tim Skipper was tapped to take the reigns as interim head coach for UCLA after serving in the same position at Fresno State last year, posting a 6-7 record with the Bulldogs.
Along with removing Foster from the staff, offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri and defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe were also replaced. Stepping in to call the plays for the offense is Jerry Neuheisel, and Kevin Coyle has taken the reigns for the defense for the rest of the season.
The Bruins had one of the most shocking wins of the college football season when they beat Penn State 42-37 in Los Angeles after entering the contest with an 0-4 record. Following the win, UCLA tacked on victories over Michigan State and Maryland before falling to Indiana and Nebraska in their last two games.
Unless the Bruins are able to close out the regular season with three straight wins, they’ll fail to reach the six wins needed for bowl eligibility for the second straight season.
A familiar face is leading the Bruin offense
For the second time in under a year, Nico Iamaleava will be making a start at Ohio Stadium. Last season with Tennessee, Iamaleava had a night to forget in the first round of the College Football Playoff against the Buckeyes. The quarterback threw for just 104 yards and was sacked four times in the 42-17 Ohio State victory.
Iamaleava should have known it was going to be a long, cold night when early in the game his helmet was cracked after he took a hit from Cody Simon.
Offseason drama in Knoxville led to Iamaleava leaving Tennessee for UCLA. The move hasn’t worked out as planned, since Tennessee is in the mix for another playoff spot while the Bruins likely won’t even make a bowl game.
To Iamaleava’s credit, he is still playing hard for his new team. Along with throwing for 1,659 yards and 12 touchdowns, the sophomore is UCLA’s leading rusher this season, entering this week’s game with 474 yards and four touchdowns.
In last week’s loss to Nebraska, Iamaleava picked up a first down on seven of his 12 rushing attempts, with four of those conversion coming on either third or fourth down. Last month in the victory over Penn State, Iamaleava finished with five touchdowns. Three of those scores were on the ground, tying a school record for a quarterback.
The experience Iamaleava possesses has helped UCLA put points on the board in 25 of their 26 red zone possessions. The only time the Bruins didn’t came away with points after getting inside the 20 was against Michigan State when they missed a field goal.
An area where UCLA has improved since Neuheisel took over the play calling has been with their running game. In the five games since Neuheisel was installed as the interim offensive coordinator, the Bruins have averaged 189 yards per game rushing. Running back Jaivan Thomas has 277 yards and touchdown so far this season, while Jalen Berger is right behind him.
The Wisconsin and Michigan State transfer has rushed for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Anthony Woods is the third UCLA running back with at least 200 yards rushing this season. The junior, averaging 4.8 yards per carry on his 48 attempts so far this year.
Iamaleava’s top target when throwing the football this season has been Kwazi Gilmer. The sophomore from Los Angeles has 33 catches this season after catching 31 passes in his first season with the Bruins. Both Mikey Matthews and Titus Mokiao-Atimalala have hauled in 19 passes in 2025, and averaging 13 yards per catch. Matthews started his career at Utah in 2023 before transferring to Cal last season.
Rico Flores Jr. also started his career elsewhere, catching 27 passes at Notre Dame before joining UCLA prior to the 2024 season. Flores is currently second on the team with 23 receptions.
UCLA’s defense is improving but still has a long way to go
Since the firing of head coach DeShaun Foster and Kevin Coyle taking over as the defensive play caller, the UCLA defense has shown signs of improvement. In the first three games of the season, the Bruins allowed 431 yards and 36 points per game.
Over the last six games, the group is giving up just 349 yards and 28 points per game. The numbers from the last six games would be even better if UCLA didn’t have to make the trip to Bloomington to take on Indiana, who put up 56 points on the Bruins.
The strength of the UCLA defense is at linebacker. JonJon Vaughns not only leads the team with 88 tackles this year, the redshirt senior is leading the Big Ten with 9.8 tackles per game. Vaughns opened up the season with at least 10 tackles in each of the first four games, and reached the mark against Indiana, finishing with 13 stops.
Sophomore Isaiah Chisom also opened the season strong, finishing the loss to Utah with a team-high 17 tackles. Chisom is second the team with 70 tackles. Either Vaughns or Chisom has led UCLA in tackles in eight of nine games this season.
The secondary of the Bruins are doing a great job at getting their hands on passes, they just haven’t been able to secure many of them. Rodrick Pleasant leads the team with seven passes broken up, while Andre Jordan Jr. has six PBUs. Neither player has recorded an interception this season.
As a team, UCLA has intercepted just three passes. Scooter Jackson has two of the interceptions, and Key Lawrence has the other pick. Jackson has primarily played the nickel for the Bruins, Pleasant and Jordan have been the starter cornerback, with Lawrence and Cole Martin starting at safety.
Along with their inability to create turnovers, UCLA has done a terrible job at pressuring opposing quarterbacks. Through the first nine games of the season, the Bruins have just six sacks. Defensive end Anthony Jones leads the team with 1.5 sacks, followed by Kechaun Bennett, Devin Auipu, and Jacob Busic each have been credited with a sack this year.
Jones is a Michigan State transfer and Bennett started his career at Michigan before transferring to UCLA after last season. Aiupu and Busic also came to Los Angeles via the transfer portal. Aiupu was originally at Notre Dame, while Busic played at Navy.
Prediction
About the only positive for UCLA heading into this game is it starts at 7:30 p.m. and not noon like the Indiana did, which should give the body clocks of the Bruins more time to adjust to east coast time. Other than that, it likely will be a long night for Tim Skipper’s squad. Aside from allowing early field goals against Washington, Minnesota, and Purdue, the Buckeyes have been handling their business against teams they should beat.
Even without Carnell Tate and two offensive linemen last week, Ohio State still had no problem beating an overmatched Purdue team. This week should look similar to what we saw last week against the Boilermakers, if not worse.
Nico Iamaleava is a talented quarterback, he just doesn’t have much of a supporting cast around him, The former Tennessee quarterback is the biggest running threat for UCLA. The Ohio State defense has already had experience against Iamaleava, and that was with a Tennessee team with a lot more talent surrounding the quarterback.
On the other side, Julian Sayin should have a field day against the Bruins. The Buckeye quarterback will have plenty of time to assess his options when throwing the football since UCLA creates no pressure. Sayin is extremely accurate and will be looking to pad his credentials as the top candidate for this year’s Heisman Trophy.
As long as offensive coordinator Brian Hartline and head coach Ryan Day don’t try and get too cute with their offensive game plan, Sayin should have another huge game.
Expect Ohio State to build a lead and try and get their starters out of the game during the second half. The Buckeyes are building towards the Michigan game at the end of the month, followed by a possible Big Ten Championship Game, and the College Football Playoff.
Day and company know they’ll need all hands on deck for those games, so their goal is to get the starters some work and try to keep them healthy once they are comfortably in the lead.
