Ohio State essentially ended this game within the first five minutes.
In what was always expected to be a blowout, the Buckeyes dominated from start to finish. The lopsided score opened the door for plenty of second-stringers and freshmen to get meaningful snaps.
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Here are five takeaways from Ohio State’s 70-0 rout of Grambling State:
1. Julian Sayin did not throw a single football that hit the ground
On a day full of highlights, Sayin’s efficiency stood out most. The freshman QB went 18-of-19 for 309 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. While the pick was ill-advised, his efficiency and explosiveness was astounding.
Sayin completed explosive touchdown passes of 47 and 87 yards on back-to-back drives. For a young quarterback, games like this are invaluable confidence-builders.
2. The Buckeyes’ WR tandem shined
After a bit of a slow start against Texas, Jeremiah Smith has made his stamp on the 2025 season.
Smith grabbed five catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns. The other half of the tandem, Carnell Tate, grabbed a touchdown of his own to go along with five catches for 69 yards. If Ohio State wanted to, both Tate and Smith could have put up JSN Rose Bowl numbers on Saturday.
For now, we’ll take 10 catches, 188 yards, and 3 TD’s between the two.
3. Bo Jackson.
With a name like that, he simply has to be good.
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In Bo Jackson’s first snaps as a Buckeye, he lived up to his namesake. While James Peoples and CJ Donaldson played most of the first half with the starters, it was Jackson who looked the best out of the backfield. Bo had 108 yards and a touchdown (the first of his career) on just nine carries. He also bolted for a 51 yard run.
I for one, would not be shocked to see Jackson get some more carries as we transition into conference play. He has certainly earned it.
4. Freshman mop-up duty
Dozens of new faces got snaps for the Buckeyes in this blowout, but three particular freshmen stood out to me.
Riley Pettijohn, a linebacker out of Texas, looked like he would be starting on 99% of college football teams across the country. Pettijohn had a massive tackle where he essentially body-slammed the ball-carrier while forcing a fumble, as well as a pass break-up in coverage. Oh yeah, and Pettijohn had a fumble recovery for a touchdown at the beginning of the 3rd quarter.
Faheem Delane, although a little quieter in the box score, looked really impressive both in coverage and coming up from his safety position to defend the run. Zion Grady, a freshman edge rusher, had a really nice sack late in the game.
5. Depth in the tight end room
To the surprise of many, including myself, Max Klare might not be as featured as expected in the tight end room. I expect Klare to carve out a bigger role as the season goes on, but it was Will Kacmarek and Jelani Thurman who starred on Saturday.
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Kacmarek has a reputation for being Ohio State’s best blocking tight end, but he flashed his pass-catching ability on a 47-yard touchdown to open up the game. Thurman, who has made some important plays in his Buckeye career, had three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. Of those 3 catches for Thurman, one was a 26 yard catch where the athleticism really flashed.
This is the deepest tight end room that I can remember for Ohio State, and the continued rotation will be intriguing to watch as the season progresses.
