Buckeyes get much-needed tune up last Saturday

A bevy of Buckeyes celebrate a touchdown against Texas in the home opener on Aug. 30, 2025. (Photo by Brian Mayhew)

Remember the 2007 season opener in Ann Arbor when the 33.5-point underdog Appalachian State Mountaineers knocked off the No. 5 ranked Wolverines?

This game was nothing like that!

Just Sayin.

Of course, this wasn’t an opener. Ohio State beat former top-ranked Texas 14-7 on opening weekend at The Shoe.

But as expected, Grambling State was just a sparring partner for the top ranked Buckeyes, limping away after a 70-0 defeat.

This was Creed vs. Drago in Rocky IV. Thankfully, nobody got killed.

Julian Sayin was perfect, completing every pass he threw, including an interception. Sayin, 18 of 19 for 306 yards and four touchdowns, connected with Jeremiah Smith on the Buckeyes’ second possession for an 87-yard touchdown, the second longest pass play in Ohio State history.

Carnell Tate made another highlight reel catch for a score.

Tight end Will Kacmarek opened the scoring by taking a Sayin pass 47 yards to the house barely two minutes into the first quarter.

The defense smothered their overmatched foes, allowing a total of 166 yards.

The score was 35-0 at halftime.

In the second half, OSU also outscored the Tigers 35-0, but with new faces. Freshman running back Bo Jackson, no relation to that Bo Jackson, led all rushers with 108 yards and a touchdown. He had a second

touchdown wiped out by a penalty in the fourth quarter.

Eight Buckeyes found the endzone on offense (Smith scored twice). Freshman linebacker Riley Pettijohn returned a fumble to give the defense a score.

OSU now has only five penalties in two games, a good indicator of team discipline this early in the season.

Speaking of discipline, let’s switch gears. Nearly everyone on the Ohio State sideline got into this game, including a fan whose impulses are going to get him a different kind of discipline.

Ohio University, home of the most undisciplined mascot in recent history, visits The Shoe next Saturday.

Here’s hoping Rufus the Bobcat can control himself this time. Or maybe Brutus Buckeye gets some revenge.

Another fight between the two mascots like the one in 2010 will likely be more entertaining than the game.

OU just knocked off West Virginia, so they will likely come into Columbus with confidence despite likely being a four-touchdown underdog.

They are 0-3 against THE Ohio State Buckeyes (caps intended in case you forgot about that legal squabble),

losing in 1999, 2008, and 2010.

In the 2008 game, OU quarterback Boo Jackson (there’s that name again with an extra “o”), wide receiver Taylor Price, and a defense that didn’t have to mess with injured Buckeye running back Beanie Wells, led the 3rd ranked Buckeyes 14-12 in the third quarter.

Ohio State later pulled away and won 25-14.

Anything can happen in sports. Buster Douglas happened. The ‘69 Mets happened. The Miracle on Ice happened.

But don’t bet your life savings on an upset happening on Saturday in (THE) Ohio Stadium.

The Grambling State game gave us a look at the young talent currently buried on this Buckeyes roster, as well as the depth provided by upperclassmen...especially at tight end and even at kicker.

OU has never played a top ranked team...and this will be a night game in a crazy loud environment that may or may not be fueled in some sectors by large amounts of alcohol.

Not that OU is a stranger to alcohol. They’ve been ranked No. 1 as a party school enough to challenge anyone in the nation. But it is a stranger to heavyweight matches on the gridiron.

The Buckeyes leave the comfort of The Shoe after the OU game, travelling to Washington to face the Huskies in a possible trap game.

Remember Iowa in 2017 and Purdue in 2018? Certainly, the OSU coaches are thinking about those games, too.

But they’re definitely focusing on this one first.

And just in case you missed it, Oklahoma hung an L on Connor Stalion’s team last weekend.

O-H!