Ohio (1-1) will take on Ohio State (2-0) in Columbus on Saturday after what may have been the biggest win in program history over West Virginia. The new week has begun and the team will hit the ground running as they head into the third week.
Ohio will travel a little over an hour north to take on a college football powerhouse and defending national champion, Ohio State. It should also not be overlooked that Ohio State will come in with the little number one by its name, opening the door once again for Ohio to pull off back-to-back major upsets and shake up the college football world.
Now, let’s take a look at Ohio State.
Head Coach
The Buckeyes are led by head coach Ryan Day, who enters his seventh full season at the helm. Day has been incredibly successful during his tenure, going 72-10 while leading the Buckeyes to two Big 10 titles, 10 bowl games and two championship game appearances, winning last year’s.
Day bounced around early on in his career, even coaching in the NFL for a couple of years. After being named the offensive coordinator in the spring of 2017, Day held the role for a season and a half before replacing Urban Meyer at the end of 2018.
Ohio State under Day has never lost to a group of five opponent in all 11 games and has won by an average of 44 points per game. The only regular-season loss outside of the conference was to Oregon before they made the jump to the Big 10 last year.
Quarterbacks
Ohio State found success from the transfer portal at quarterback in 2024, bringing in Will Howard from Kansas State, who led them to the national title last season before getting drafted to the Pittsburgh Steelers in May. Instead of dipping back into the portal, Ohio State went with homegrown talent in former five-star recruit Julian Sayin.
Sayin, who grew up in Solana Beach, California, struggled to move the ball with his arm against Texas in week one, but he rebounded well in game two with four touchdown passes and over 300 yards to lead the Buckeyes to a 70-0 win.
Runningback
The Buckeyes had a two-headed monster in the backfield last season in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, who both went on to get drafted in the spring. The replacement for one of the most successful backfields in recent memory will be a committee of players.
Ohio State has three backs that have over 75 yards in the year so far: senior C.J. Donaldson, sophomore James Peoples and freshman Bo Jackson. These players have been ridiculously efficient, averaging over four yards per carry, which may cause some problems for the inexperienced Ohio defensive line.
Wide Receiver
The Heisman trophy has been a hard award to take away from quarterbacks in recent history but last year it was done, and Buckeye fans hope that they can back that up with one of their own taking home the hardware, in sophomore Jeremiah Smith.
Smith had an electric start to his career. After a slow week one, he backed it up with two receiving touchdowns against Grambling State. The Bobcats may want to keep two bodies around number four on Saturday as they try to limit him, but he is not the only threat. Ohio State also has senior Carnell Tate, who had the game-breaking touchdown catch against Texas.
For the third receiver on the Buckeyes, it will be former five-star recruit and team captain Brandon Inniss, who has immense talent for a third option in the offense.
Defense
The second-best defensive team in the country in terms of points per game will take the field on Saturday, having allowed only a singular touchdown through the first two weeks of action.
The Buckeyes have also forced four turnovers so far, which may be a wearying sign for Ohio after a three-interception outing from quarterback Parker Navarro last week against West Virginia.
