Much like most of college football’s other top-10 teams, Ohio State had little trouble dispatching their opponent on Saturday, shutting out Grambling State 70-0. The Buckeyes have now outscored SWAC opponents 146-0 in the two games Ohio State has played against foes from the FCS conference after beating Florida A&M 76-0 back in 2013. Before we turn our attention to Saturday night’s in-state battle with Ohio, we are going to put a bow on the blowout of the Tigers, identifying players of the game on both
sides of the football, as well as some other interesting happenings from the victory.
About the only thing that was closely contested from Saturday’s game was which school’s band had the better performance.
Offensive Star of the Game: Julian Sayin
Despite numerous players Buckeye offensive players having notable games, there only is one choice for the best offensive performance by someone in scarlet and gray. In his second career start, Julian Sayin was nearly perfect, with his only miscue being a red zone interception with the game already well in hand.
Otherwise, Sayin completed 18 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns.
While Sayin fell one completion short of the school record for consecutive completions in a game, the first-year starter did break Will Howard’s record of 13 straight completions to start a game. A week after Ryan Day and Brian Hartline didn’t ask Sayin to do too much in a defensive battle against Texas, this week they allowed Sayin to open things up.
Of his 18 completions, five went for at least 40 yards. Because of Sayin’s efficiency, backups Lincoln Kienholz and Tavien St. Clair were able to get some snaps in the second half.
Despite the opponent not being nearly as dangerous as last week, Sayin established himself as a threat to not only be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten, but the Alabama transfer is looking like he is in the conversation to be one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
It will be interesting to see how Sayin plays this week against Ohio before he has some time to prepare for his first start on the road at the end of the month at Washington.
Defensive Stars of the Game: Riley Pettijohn and Payton Pierce
Ohio State has an embarrassment of riches at linebacker right now. Along with starters Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese, Payton Pierce and Riley Pettijohn stated their case for more playing time with their performances on Saturday.
Pierce led the Buckeyes with six tackles, while Pettijohn returned a fumble for a touchdown on the first play of the second half. Later in the half, Pettijohn forced a fumble and deflected a pass.
Even though Styles and Reese are firmly entrenched as starters, Pierce and Pettijohn showed they can hold their own if their number is called. With the way James Laurinaitis has his linebackers are trending, the future is definitely bright in the middle of the defense.
Despite it being obvious that the level of competition on Saturday wasn’t as tough as in the season opener, how Pierce and Pettijohn played against Grambling State provided a massive confidence boost going forward.
Position Group of the Game: Tight ends
From the first drive of the game, it was obvious that the Ohio State tight ends were going to make some noise on Saturday. Will Kacmarek opened up the scoring for the Buckeyes with a 47-yard touchdown, his first score since transferring from Ohio prior to last season. Kacmarek finished with 55 yards on two catches.
Along with Kacmarek, Jelani Thurman also was able to score, making it to the end zone on a 4-yard pass from Lincoln Kienholz in the second half. Thurman scored the second touchdown of his career, with the other coming in the win over Indiana last season. The tight end from Georgia finished with three catches for 44 yards, with both being career highs for a game for Thurman.
The output from Kacmarek and Thurman made up for a quiet performance from Max Klare, who has caught just two passes in his first two games after transferring from Purdue in the offseason. Following an offseason with a lot of hype surrounding Klare, the former Boilermaker is still trying to find his footing as a Buckeye.
At least with Klare struggling to start the season, how Kacmarek and Thurman have played are giving opposing defenses even more to have to prepare for.
Stat of the Game – Jeremiah Smith set the Ohio Stadium record for longest pass play
The 87-yard touchdown pass from Julian Sayin to Jeremiah Smith was incredibly the longest pass in the history of the iconic home of the Buckeyes. With over 100 years of football being played at the stadium, you would have thought there would have been a longer pass play at some point over the years, especially considering some of the elite receivers that have come through the program over the years.
The mark is just the latest accomplishment for Smith as he has been rewriting the Ohio State record books since arriving in Columbus last season. Credit should also go to Sayin, who threw a wide-open Smith a perfect pass, which allowed the scintillating sophomore wideout to take it to the house untouched.
Smith would finish with five catches for 119 yards in the victory on Saturday.
