Buckeyes get off to rolling start; Tressel finally long, awaited honor

Jim Tressel is finally in the Ring of Honor and former Ironton standouts Tyler Whaley and Marcus Williams were two of the past Buckeyes on the field to honor the Great Sweater Vest, who also had his placard placed in Ohio Stadium next to Woody Hayes.

Maurice Clarett rang the victory bell. Buckeyes' seniors took a bow. The alumni band marched and played. Ohio State dropped 28 points on Ball State in the first half of an eventual 56-3 drubbing. And Ryan Day matched Urban Meyer with 83 wins as an Ohio State head coach, tying the next two Ring of Honor inductees for fourth on the all-time OSU list.

Those are the things we already knew were going to happen in the first game of Ohio State’s 137th season.

Some other things were no surprise: Jeremiah Smith put on a clinic, pulling in two Julian Sayin passes for touchdowns and amassing 151 receiving yards on eight catches.

Sayin started the game with two incompletions but finished 21/25 with 320 yards and three touchdowns in little more than two quarters.

The biggest shocker, and I sure hope we see more of this in the future, is Sayin ran for a score. I repeat, Sayin RAN for a score.

Smith, Sayin, The Jackson Two (Bo and Ja’kobi)…who each rushed for 83 yards and scored on long touchdown runs in the third quarter, wideout Devin McCuin (6/97/1 TD), and a stingy defense controlled this contest.

The second half was the most interesting part of this game. Young backups saw time on the field and gave us a peak at the future. For some of them, the future is very near.

Freshman wideout Chris Henry dropped some passes, one that would have been a touchdown and another that bounced out of his hands and became an interception, but he shook it off and scored the final touchdown of the game.

Freshman running back Legend Bey, who also returns kickoffs, took his only two kicks out of the end zone despite being advised by veteran Brandon Innis to stay put. Day was obviously frustrated by those decisions. But, like Henry, he shook off the early game jitters and rushed for 37 yards and received an identical 37 yards, one of which he took to the house.

Freshman Luke Fahey took over for Sayin in the third quarter, completing five of six passes and tossing a swing pass that Bey took to the house. Actually, he completed all six of his passes. His one blemish was the pass Henry bobbled that was picked off.

Sophomore Tavien St. Clair, touted in the early season as Sayin’s backup, ceded to Fahey in this game, signaling Day is permitting his backups to compete for depth. But, like Fahey, he completed five of six passes. He also found the end zone when Henry scored to cap the game.

Freshman wideout Brock Boyd, whom teammates call “White Lightening,” looked impressive in limited time.

Sophomore running back Isaiah West saw limited action in the first half behind the Jackson Two, but don’t sleep on last year’s late bloomer.

This running back room is stacked with talent. I don’t see an Ezekiel Elliott in there, at least not yet, but there is serious depth.

Sophomore linebacker Riley Pettijohn led the Buckeyes with six total tackles, followed by fellow sophomore linebacker TJ Alford, who had five and an interception.

The defense is hard to gauge thus far with the eye test because they weren’t really tested in this game. But, using last year as my guide, I’ll go with my trust in Matt Patricia. For what it’s worth, Ball State gained a total of 165 yards and never sniffed the red zone, much less the end zone.

We’ll find out next week in Austin, Texas, against a Longhorns team with a Jack Sawyer vendetta that is doubled by last year’s loss in Columbus as Sawyer rooted for Patricia’s restocked defense from the sidelines.

Odds and Ends: Since 2000, Ohio State leads the nation with 285 wins. Alabama is second with 271. The Buckeyes have 99 first-round selections in the NFL Draft, the most all-time. Twenty of those picks have happened during Ryan Day’s tenure.

Remember when people wanted to run him out of town after losing to Connor Stalions University in 2024? That sentiment changed quickly after he won a Natty. The Shoe is the third largest stadium in America, and it’s always full on game days, because…

O -H!

———————

Billy Bruce covers Ohio State Buckeyes’ football for TriStateSportsPage.com