The No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes took down Grambling State 70-0 on Saturday to move to 2-0 and cover the largest spread in school history. In this one, young players, the starting quarterback, and the bands stole the show.
A+: The battle of the bands
The main storyline in this contest coming into the game was not about the game, but the Grambling State band and the Ohio State band. The two delivered, as they both put on an awesome halftime show, and both bands put on a show at the end of the game for the fans that stayed around.
Entertainment levels were arguably at their best when football was not being played.
A: Julian Sayin
If you had concerns about Julian Sayin coming into the season, that would have been fair. If you still have concerns about Sayin after two games, I will have to vehemently disagree with you.
On Saturday, Sayin was 18-for-19 for 306 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Yes, he threw one bad ball, but it was probably his first bad pass of the season, and he certainly didn’t repeat the mistake.
Yes, the schedule will get tougher, but he places the ball at an elite level, has great pocket awareness, great footwork, and throws his guys open. Hard not to love what we have seen so far. He would get an A+ if he didn’t throw the pick. Those are the rules.
A: The young guys
I was going to give five individual grades to all of the young guys who played well, but after I got four guys on my list, I realized it would make more sense to just group them together.
Freshman running back Bo Jackson had 108 yards and a touchdown, another freshman running back, Isaiah West, had a touchdown, and freshman linebacker Riley Pettijohn had a 23-yard scoop and score and forced another fumble.
Though arguably not a young guy anymore, backup quarterback Lincoln Keinholz looked great in his limited time. Mylan Graham had a nice catch and run, Payton Pierce led the team in tackles, Zion Grady had a sack, etc.
The future, as always, is bright in Columbus.
B: Run defense through two weeks
I am not going to go as far as to say that I am worried about the run defense, but they did give up 166 yards against Texas and 94 yards against Grambling State. Both teams ran the ball a lot, and in general, the Buckeyes’ defense held them in check, but they will face some great running backs in conference play, so this may be something to monitor.
C: Special teams
If there was anything to nit-pick about a 70-0 win, it was probably the special teams performance. They had multiple punts where the returns, or lack thereof, hurt their field position, and some not-so-great punts against Texas.
These things won’t hurt you against Grambling State, but as the season progresses, they can hurt you in the long run. These are the little things that do matter and have to be cleaned up.
