Ohio State defeated Washington in its Big Ten opener. Here's what we learned from the Buckeyes' 24-6 win.
SEATTLE — Here are four things we learned from Ohio State’s 24-6 win at Washington on Sept. 27:
Defense rises to the occasion
The Buckeyes have been stifling this year when the stakes are high.
In their season-opening win over then top-ranked Texas, they held the Longhorns scoreless for three quarters.
When they traveled to Washington for their Big Ten opener, their next matchup with a power conference opponent, they kept the Huskies out of the end zone.
Although the Huskies led the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring through four weeks, averaging 55.7 points per game, they never found the end zone and finished with their fewest points since a loss at Penn State last November.
Ohio State tightened deep in its own territory, forcing Washington to settle for field goals.
When the Huskies faced third-and-10 at the Buckeyes’ 10-yard line early in the second quarter, linebacker Arvell Reese caught quarterback Demond Williams Jr. looking to scramble and prevented him from gaining any yards.
On a third-and-goal at the 3-yard line in the third quarter, as the Huskies sought to move within a score of the Buckeyes, a collapsing pocket resulted in Williams being sacked.
Until the fourth quarter, Ohio State never allowed Washington to move the chains on third down. The Huskies, who had the highest third down conversion percentage in the FBS through four weeks, moved the ball just once on 11 attempts on third down.
“A big part of it was stopping the run on first and second down,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said, “and forcing them into third and medium, third and long situations.”
Indeed Washington often had a long way to go on third down, facing an average distance of 8 yards in those situations.
Julian Sayin passed another test
The road trip put more on the plate of Sayin, who had made his first three starts behind center at Ohio Stadium.
Husky Stadium’s sold out crowd forced the Buckeyes to use a silent count, and communication before the snap was difficult.
“It’s definitely tough,” Sayin said.
But they were flagged only once for a false start as Sayin kept them on schedule.
After easing him in, throwing the ball on just four of the first 15 plays, the Buckeyes began to let Sayin air it out late in the second quarter as he led a touchdown drive to give them a 7-3 lead at halftime.
On the opening series of the second half, Sayin completed 8 of 10 passes, including an 11-yard pass to Carnell Tate on third-and-4 that put them on the doorstep of the end zone.
Sayin finished 22-of-28 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
It wasn’t as flashy as nonconference routs the previous weeks, a stretch in which he showed off his deep ball, but he displayed a level of composure, handling a hostile environment in his first game away from the Horseshoe.
Running back rotation is taking shape
The Buckeyes gave West Virginia transfer CJ Donaldson Jr. the start at running back, as he saw the first four carries.
But freshman Bo Jackson would take over as the primary back, leading Ohio State with 17 carries for 80 yards as his role continued to expand.
Day suggested last week that Jackson was poised to see a heavier workload after breaking out with back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances, but it was evident he had gained the trust of the staff as he was the focal point of the ground game.
Jackson did not break away for runs of 50 or more yards as he had in previous weeks. His longest run went for 16 yards, but he kept his legs moving and continued to pick up yards as soon as he got the ball, averaging nearly 5 yards per carry.
He ultimately had more than carries than the rest of the backs combined.
Donaldson ended up with nine carries for 39 yards, and James Peoples, a sophomore who began the season as the starter, had three carries for 10 yards.
The Buckeyes are likely to use some form of a by committee approach with the backs, but Jackson looks poised to be at the forefront of the rotation.
Punt return issues are persisting
Brandon Inniss was poised to break off a long return when he fielded a punt around midfield in the first quarter.
But as Inniss approached Washington’s 30-yard line, tight end Quentin Moore knocked the ball out of his grasp, a fumble that rolled along the turf before it was recovered by the Huskies at their 21-yard line.
The gift-wrapped possession allowed the Huskies to march down the field, reaching Ohio State’s 2-yard line before adding a field goal.
Inniss took over as the Buckeyes' primary punt returner last season, replacing wide receiver Jayden Ballard, but has experienced some ups and downs in the role.
Day described the unit as a “red flag” following their win over Grambling State earlier this month as they returned or fair caught just three of eight punts.
It remains one three weeks later.
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Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at [email protected] and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football beats Washington: 4 things we learned from win
Category: General Sports
