For the fifth time in their last five games, the Ohio State Buckeyes have taken down a top-five ranked team. Here is our report card from the No. 3 Buckeyes’ 14-7 win over the No. 1 Texas Longhorns.
Spoiler alert: The defense played well.
A: Defense
There are probably four or five guys that all played elite games on the defensive end, so I am going to bundle the defense together to avoid this article being 2,000 words. Jermaine Mathews Jr., Caleb Downs, Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Davidson Igbinosun all had
huge games, holding the Longhorns offense to only seven points.
Just like the 2024 defense, they bent but did not break and were elite when Texas got into the redzone and inside the 10-yard line.
A: Game Management
The coaching staff managed this game perfectly in my opinion. Texas was 1-for-5 on fourth down and 5-for-14 on third down, the Buckeyes won the turnover battle by committing none, they only committed two penalties for 15 yards and never put Julian Sayin in a position to make a mistake.
The minor details won them this game, and the coaching staff had a huge role in that.
B: Julian Sayin
Sayin was not asked to do much, but he did everything that was asked of him. He finished 13-for-20 (with four dropped passes) for 126 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He never put the ball in danger and connected on a big touchdown pass to Carnell Tate when they needed it.
He gets a B because I just want to see him air it out a little more, which assuredly will happen as the season progresses and Brian Hartline gets more comfortable as a play caller with Sayin.
C: Ohio State running game
If there was something to nitpick when it comes to the Ohio State win, it was the running game. The Buckeyes backfield tandem ran for 87 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. CJ Donaldson tallied 67 yards on 19 carries with the lone score, and James Peoples ran for 20 yards on 10 carries.
Three new offensive lineman and a running back room that lost TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins is not a small matter, but the Buckeyes ground game will have to give them more as the season progresses. Otherwise, the pressure will turn to solely Sayin to move the football.
Incomplete: Arch Manning
No, this is not a joke about Manning’s accuracy in this one. It is an incomplete because my opinion of Manning has not changed.
He did not play well and he certainly doesn’t look like the best player to ever play college football (cough cough, Paul Finebaum), but he made some nice throws in the second half. In general, I think we need a bigger sample size to really judge Manning.
He should be okay.
Pass/Fail: Pass for Lee Corso
As ESPN sent off Lee Corso to retirement, this one doesn’t get a letter grade but simply a pass or fail grade. They passed with flying colors.
From the big banner that said “No so fast, my friend” in the crowd, to Coach Corso wearing a tuxedo, and all the tributes and highlight moments that they aired throughout the broadcast, the final show was capped off with Corso and the Gameday crew being on the field for the final headgear moment.
The Ohio State band played the fight song as Corso donned Brutus Buckeye one last time, saying, “give me my first love.”
Just perfect. And he was right!
