Ryan Day deliberately kept quarterback Julian Sayin’s workload light for his first start at Ohio State, a high-pressure showdown with then-top-ranked Texas.
After Saayin passed his first test in a 14-7 victory over the Longhorns, the Ohio State coach faces the decision of whether to turn up the throttle as the now-top-ranked Buckeyes host Grambling State on Saturday.
“Well, you don’t go from zero to 60 overnight. We’re going to continue to put things on his plate and push the envelope and go from there,”
Day said after Wednesday’s practice.
Sayin completed 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown last week. The sophomore wasn’t sacked and didn't turn the ball over.
The Buckeyes now hope to generate more explosive plays. Against Texas, only two Ohio State pass plays went for at least 15 yards. One of them occurred early in the fourth quarter, when Carnell Tate caught a 40-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
The longest run play of the game went for 8 yards.
“I could give you a list a mile long of things we need to improve on,” Day said. “We need to get to the second level and make guys miss or get to the second level and block them on the perimeter. We need to space out the passing game.”
Grambling State began the season with a 55-7 win over Langston. Now, the Tigers face a steep test, stepping up from an NAIA opponent to challenge the defending national champion Buckeyes.
It will be Grambling's first matchup against a Power Four school since its 2013 game against LSU.
Coach Mickey Joseph has a clear goal for his team — to play clean.
“I want us to have the correct personnel and play within the system. I want us to line up right,” he said. “If you get beat because it’s man-on-man and he beats you, get back up the next play and keep fighting.”
Ohio State is atop the AP poll in the regular season for the first time since Nov. 1, 2015.
The Buckeyes are 75-12-1 when ranked as the top team.
Grambling received $1 million for the trip to Ohio Stadium. This will be only the second time Ohio State faces a team from a historically Black school. The first came in 2013, when the Buckeyes routed Florida A&M 76-0.
“We understand what we’re getting into. We understand what’s going to happen,” Joseph said. “It’s not balanced with the scholarships and what they have is resources. We all know why we are playing the game.”
This week, Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson Jr. addressed the team about Grambling’s rich history and its legendary former coach, Eddie Robinson, who made significant contributions to college football.
“Coach Robinson and Grambling are a big brick in what college football is now, and the fact that there are a lot of guys on our field, that certainly the game wouldn’t be where it is right now without him and without Grambling. I think it is important for our guys to know what has come before,” Day said.
Ohio State averaged only 2.3 yards per carry and 77 yards rushing against Texas. Senior and West Virginia transfer C.J. Donaldson had a 1-yard TD in the second quarter. The Buckeyes would like to get the run game going over the next couple of weeks. That would keep them out of third-and-long situations and take some pressure of Sayim.
“I think the O-line did a great job. I think, honestly, my eyes in the run game wasn’t perfect. I was definitely missing a lot of things out there,” Donaldson said. “So I just got to be better in my tracks and my run reads to create those bigger plays.”
Ohio State’s defense had a solid first game under coordinator Matt Patricia, but the unit will try to generate a better pass rush after getting only one sack against Texas.
C’zavian Teasett passed for 210 yards and three TDs in his Grambling debut last week. Ashton Frye will also get some snaps at QB.
The most intriguing matchup of the day may come at halftime, when the Ohio State and Grambling marching bands take the field.
Grambling’s “World Famed” band prides itself as “the best band in the land.” The Buckeyes’ band has long been known as “The Best Damn Band In The Land.”
“They have a great band. We have a great band. And we’re going to compete as a band,” Joseph said with a grin on Monday before going into this scouting report on Ohio State.
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