COLUMBUS — The young Ohio State fan, screaming in a state of pure football euphoria, was all of us. Jeremiah Smith was right there, and his voice told the story — he couldn’t believe it.

“Oh my God,” the young fan shouted over and over again on Saturday afternoon as Smith signed a helmet for him. It should make a nice keepsake, maybe wind up on an end table for a few decades. (If you see it on eBay, let me know and I’ll delete this part.)

It wasn’t just a few lucky kids hanging over the rails of the stands in the Shoe as Smith worked his way from the field to the locker room after Ohio State’s 42-19 win over Illinois. Everyone in Ohio Stadium and across Buckeye Nation has an autograph from Smith.

He has signed this season.

Read more

Was that second-quarter touchdown march for Ohio State on Saturday the best drive of Julian Sayin’s career?

That’s the first topic covered on this Sunday Soundoff talking about Ohio State’s 42-19 win over Illinois. Other topics discussed by Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis include:

• Success in the two-minute drills at the end of the first half and what can be learned

• Whether this is now an offense-first, Lincoln-Riley like team

• Past comparisons for this style of team

• The job Matt Patricia is doing

• The overall talent level of the defense

• Roster building in the portal this past offseason

• Learning from the Texas loss

• Where is Legend Bey?

• Press conference question strategy

Read more

On their immediate show on YouTube they talked a lot about the huge games from Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin, as Smith had 12 catches for 217 yards and four touchdowns. Sayin was 27 of 36 for 367 yards and those four touchdowns to Smith, plus he ran seven times for 29 yards and a touchdown.

Much of the discussion here turned toward the OSU defense, which gave up 462 yards to the Illini. Where can the Buckeyes’ defense get better, and where are they likely to stay who they are?

Read more

COLUMBUS — Thoughts on what we saw from Ohio State’s defense in the Buckeyes’ Week 4 win over Illinois.

Read more

COLUMBUS — Quick thoughts on what we saw from Ohio State’s offense in Saturday’s 42-19 win against Illinois.

1. Ryan Day talked during the week about needing Julian Sayin to be a playmaker in all facets now that the Buckeyes are in Big Ten play. That includes Sayin using his legs, which he did on a 7-yard touchdown scramble at the end of the first half.

Sayin scrambled three times. He also executed three successful sneaks in short yardage and kept the ball on a designed run. He’s never going to be a prolific or dynamic runner, but he needs to make teams pay when they give him space to pick up easy yards. He did that against Illinois, one week after taking an inexplicable fourth-down sack against Kent State on a play he could’ve scrambled out of.

The third-year quarterback now has two rushing touchdowns this season after failing to post any last year. Saturday’s game was the first of the season in which he finished with positive rushing yardage.

This was also the sharpest Sayin has been throwing the ball so far this season. He finished 27-of-36 for 367 yards and four touchdowns.

The five total touchdowns in one game set a new career high.

2. Jeremiah Smith scored Ohio State’s first three touchdowns, added a fourth in the fourth quarter, and is now two away from passing Chris Olave for the program’s career touchdown record.

Read more

It’s that time of year again: time for the Buckeyes to play for the Illibuck, or as I sometimes call it, The Best Damn Wooden Turtle in the Land (TBDWTITL for short). All jokes aside, the Illibuck is especially important this year, as it will be a good measuring stick for Ohio State heading into Big Ten play. After playing two MAC teams and Texas, the No. 1 team in the nation, the Buckeyes finally get to face a Big Ten opponent, and we'll see how they look against a good, but not great, Illinois team.

Here is every article and podcast from Bill and Doug this past week.

My article pick this week

Doug writes his 10 thoughts about losing in college football. He offers great perspective on the Texas loss and what it means for Ohio State as a program and college football as a whole.

My podcast pick this week

Reranking Ohio State’s position groups, Julian Sayin as Troy Smith, plus Whatcha (Subscriber podcast)

Bill and Doug are back ranking the Buckeyes’ position groups again. They did this exercise in July, so what has changed after the first three games of the season? They rate each group on a scale of 1 to 10 and give their thoughts on why they feel hopeful, or worried, about that group moving forward.

Other podcasts this week

• Sunday Soundoff: Ohio State position group feel, talent level, Bison package and Ryan Day’s QB philosophy (Subscriber podcast)

• Finding an Ohio State bet when you think the Buckeyes might not cover vs. Illinois (Subscriber podcast)

• Bill and Doug Show Overtime: Talking Julian Sayin, backup QBs, tight ends and more after Ohio State’s 59-3 win ver Kent State

• Ohio State havoc pursuit, Buckeye nose tackle options, and Julian Sayin efficiency

• Ohio State vs. Illinois picks and preview: Julian Sayin vs. erratic Illini D; will Buckeyes blitz?

• Ohio State discussions on running angry, assistant coaches, quarterback feet and more

• Grading Ohio State through 3 games, Matt Patricia questions, best OL lineup: Around the Shoe

• Ohio State beats Kent State 59-3: Live postgame reaction as Buckeyes win, Jeremiah Smith gets record

If you want more national College football content, check out The Podcast of Northern Aggression

Other articles this week

• Ohio State vs. Illinois: Game theories and picks for the Buckeyes vs. Fighting Illini, plus polls on your picks

• Julian Sayin’s progress, Gabe VanSickle vs. Phillip Daniels: Ohio State thoughts

• Ohio State Game Prep: Buckeyes to watch, gameday plans, things we want to see

• Ohio State may have discovered its new best linebacker pairing

• Assessing Ohio State’s run game as the Buckeyes enter Big Ten play

• Ohio State mailbag: OSU Mount Rushmore, QBs who will challenge the Buckeyes, position coach questions

• Ryan Day Debrief: Buckeyes focused on short-yardage, red zone worries as Big Ten play looms

• Ohio State Play of the Game: Inside Jay Timmons’ blitz vs. Kent State

• Ohio State vs. Kent State: Let’s talk about short yardage

• First Thoughts on Ohio State’s blowout of Kent State

COLUMBUS — Every Friday we’ll bring you a quick-hit look at the game ahead for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Illinois at Ohio State

Kickoff: Noon

Network: Fox

Announcers: Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft

History: Ohio State leads the all-time series 70-30-4 and has won 10 straight, with the last Illinois win in 2007.

Info: Ohio State game notes & Illinois game notes

Subscribe now

Game trailer

Buckeye I’ll be watching Saturday

RB Bo Jackson: Ryan Day called him out this week when he said that Ja'Kobi Jackson ran harder against Kent State. I thought Bo Jackson played maybe the best game of his career against Texas, when he ran patiently and picked up dirty yards, even if he wasn't explosive. However, he reverted to some bad habits last week by running to contact too much and missing opportunities for big hits. The average yards per carry, 6.6, was good against Kent State, but Jackson should've gotten more.

Day wants to him to run angry. I'd pick another word. I'd like to see Jackson run with arrogance. I sometimes fear "angry" can make backs too apt to run through defenders, which isn't Jackson's strong suit. I want him attacking defenders, setting them up to make them miss. That's probably something he'll never do at an elite level, but he can be better than he was last week. — Bill

LB Christian Alliegro: Sorry for getting a little Alliegro obsessed. Coming into the season, I think we believed Payton Pierce would be the hub of the linebacker room with the others rotating around him. Three games in, Alliegro is that hub. PFF has him lining up on the line of scrimmage 45 percent of the time, in the box 33 percent of the time, and out wider in space 22 percent of the time. Watching where Alliegro aligns is a window into the defense, as is who he’s sharing the field with. He’s eighth on the defense in snaps, but I think he’s reaching indispensable territory with his versatility, and his value to the defense is only going to increase. — Doug

One thing I want Ohio State to do Saturday

Stay aggressive on defense. In both of its games against MAC opponents, Ohio State played a lot of man coverage. The Buckeyes understandably didn't do it as much against Texas. However, when they did, it looked good. Matt Patricia has always been more of a zone play-caller, but sticky man coverage with an aggressive posture up front might better suit this defense. I also fear that if OSU opts to play the "keep-it-in-front-of-you" style against Illinois, the Illini might hold the ball for awhile. This is an efficient offense that's good at working into advantageous third-down scenarios. Attacking on early downs will throw Illinois out of the offensive rhythm it needs to hang in this game. — Bill

At the risk of repeating myself from the entire offseason, it’s … Julian Sayin showing he has that dog in him.

When Stephen Means asked Ryan Day on Tuesday about playmaking from quarterbacks, the OSU head coach went a full 90 seconds with his answer. It basically oiled down to saying he wants quarterbacks who have that dog in them, and he really was talking to Sayin.

“I think any time you’re looking at quarterbacks, you first off want to look at competitiveness,” Day said in part. “To me, the number one thing is the competitiveness and understanding that at the end of the day, you have to move your team down the field, score touchdowns, and win games. That’s what it comes down to. There’s a lot that comes with that. The accuracy of being able to throw the football is just a part of it. So much of it is just leading men and there’s a lot that comes with that. … Whether you can do that by with your feet, or with your arm, it kind of depends on your skill set.

“When things break down, whether it’s extending or scrambling, that’s an opportunity to continue to get first downs. and that’s it. So that’s really what it comes down to in terms of making plays. If you’re making throws, you’re making plays. If you’re making plays with your feet, you’re making plays. It’s all things that we talk about in evaluating quarterbacks and not just evaluating quarterbacks, but what we coach here at Ohio State.”

That. Day wants it, you want it, I want it. Do that. — Doug

Another game to watch with Ohio State in mind

Oregon at USC, 7:30, NBC: Ohio State will play both of these teams later in the year. Will one of them, both of them or neither of them look like legitimate contenders on Saturday night? Tune in to find out. I'm especially interested in how both teams look on defense, because both have been susceptible on that side of the ball and neither one of them has played an opponent this good yet. — Bill

Stat to know

Ohio State ranks 102nd in the nation in third-down conversions, successfully making just 36.4 percent of third downs this season. Last year, Ohio State was second in the nation at 53.3 percent. In 2024, the Buckeyes were 33rd at 43.8 percent. Making one of eight against Ken State last week (totally weird stat in a 56-point win) is a chunk of that. But keep it in mind as Ohio State gets to third down on Saturday. — Doug

Bell Ringer

James Laurinaitis

Uniform Look

Field Look

Band Plan

Lines

Ohio State -27.5

Over-under 54.5

Picks

Bill: Ohio State 38, Kent State 14

Doug: Ohio State 38, Kent State 14

On the season

Bill: 2-1 straight up, 2-1 spread, 1-2 over-under

Doug: 3-0 straight up, 1-2 spread, 2-1 over-under

Your vote

Ohio State will win by 28 points or more: 42 percent

Ohio State will win by 27 points or fewer: 58 percent

Combined score of 55 points or more: 45 percent

Combined score of 54 points or fewer: 55 percent

Tracking network and kickoff times for the season

Network

Fox: 2

BTN: 1

ABC: 1

Announcers

Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt: 2

Jeff Levering, Jake Butt: 1

Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit: 1

Kickoff time

Noon: 2

12:30: 1

7:30: 1

Also

• Besides serving as the Bell Ringer, Laurinaitis will be honored on the field during the game for his election to the College Football Hall of Fame.

• The latest members of Ohio State’s Athletics Hall of Fame are being inducted Friday night and will be honored at halftime of the game. They include quarterback J.T. Barrett, receiver Chris Sanders and linebacker Stan White Sr.

• Illinois receiver Collin Dixon, who leads the nation with seven touchdown catches, was ranked as the No. 29 recruit in the state of Ohio in the Class of 2023 by 247sports.com. The Buckeyes took seven in-state players in that class. The lowest rated was Austin Siereveld at No. 16 in the state.

• Bret Bielema is 1-6 as a head coach against Ohio State.

COLUMBUS — Ohio State (2-1) opens Big Ten play against Illinois on Saturday in Ohio Stadium. The Illini come to The Shoe with a 2-1 record, having beaten UAB and Southern Illinois and losing to Duke. The Illibuck is on the line. Remarkably, this is Illinois’ first trip to Columbus since a 52-14 OSU win in 2017.

Here are five late-week thoughts about the Buckeyes …

1. What will Ohio State do with its offensive line once tackle Phillip Daniels is healthy?

Daniels exited the loss to Texas late in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury. He didn’t play last week against Kent State. He’s questionable on the availability report for this week’s game, but Ryan Day strongly suggested that Daniels will miss at least one more game.

When Daniels has been off the field — whether that was for a few drives against Ball State, the end of the Texas game, or the entire Kent State game — Austin Siereveld has moved to right tackle and Gab VanSickle has played right guard. When Daniels returns, OSU will need to decide which configuration works best: Siereveld at right guard with Daniels at right tackle; or VanSickle at right guard with Siereveld at right tackle.

I tried to crunch some numbers to see if there’s an obvious answer.

Read more

So if you want to bet on Ohio State, what should you do this week?

Read more

COLUMBUS — Big Ten play kicks off for the 2-1 Buckeyes in Week 4 against 2-1 Illinois, with the Illini carrying a weird Week 2 loss to Duke. Ohio State has won 10 straight against Illinois

On to theories of the game.

Subscribe now

Game theory from Bill

Pick: Ohio State 38, Illinois 14

Bret Bielema has never lost to Ohio State by more than three touchdowns, which is why I'm picking Illinois to cover the 27.5-point spread. That said, I don't see the Illini ever actually making the Buckeyes sweat. This score prediction is similar to last year's game, where OSU ran ahead early, sort of sat on its lead, and then Illinois scored in garbage time to make it closer than it actually was.

Ryan Day challenged his run game this week. Illinois allowed 194 rushing yards to UAB in Week 1, and 170 to Duke in Week 2. The Illini have been a poor tackling team. There should be opportunities for Bo Jackson and Ja'Kobi Jackson (plus Legend Bey, if he's ready to go) to hit some big runs against this defense. There should be opportunities to hit some big play-action passes off those runs.

How Ohio State's offensive line handles Illinois' defensive movement will be key. I'm expecting to see Gabe VanSickle on the right side with Austin Siereveld. If VanSickle plays well again, and the offensive line continues what I've viewed as consistent, game-to-game improvement, then this could be the offensive line the rest of the way. If there are issues, then you'll probably see Phillip Daniels inserted back into the lineup for the trip to Iowa next week.

Interesting matchup for the Ohio State defense. Illinois' offense has been highly efficient and devoid of explosiveness. However, offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. does some interesting things with motions and misdirections that could throw some of OSU's young defenders for a loop. I won't be surprised if one of those plays gets out for a big hit, but I'm also not expecting Illinois to consistently drive it on Ohio State's defense.

Illini quarterback Katin Houser gets the ball out quickly, and he can scramble a little bit. How does Matt Patricia handle that? Does he try to keep Houser in the pocket? Or heat him up and rush him into throws? I'm guessing we see more of the latter.

Ohio State's defense vs. the Illinois' offense, with its efficiency and weird looks, is the more interesting matchup here. But Illinois is also dealing with a couple of offensive line injuries that make things less compelling that they appear to be on paper coming into it.

Watch out for special teams shenanigans.

Game theory from subscriber Michael J., an Ohio native now living in Phoenix

Pick: Ohio State 45, Illinois 13

Illinois does not pose the threat that they seemed to a year ago, but you can always count on the Fightin’ Bert Bielemas to try to take a crowbar to your kneecaps when you least expect it.

Despite the drubbing of Kent State last week, I think this Buckeye team is still vengeful and ready to prove themselves against a step up in competition, so I don’t expect Illinois to catch them off guard. Still, there could be a play or two from the Illini that makes the Buckeye faithful sweat a bit.

I also see a thoroughly unconvinced fanbase, so expect the Buckeyes to put on a show early as they seek to rewrite the narrative on this season and re-establish themselves as a dominant force in Big Ten play and beyond.

On offense, they will go to Jeremiah Smith early and often as they seek to build out his Heisman resume against opponents with a pulse. The young bucks in Zone 6 will see the field plenty, but JJ will play beyond what is strictly necessary as they maximize his final year in Scarlet and Gray while simultaneously “leaving no doubt”.

More sets with Jeremiah in the slot and Chris Henry Jr. out wide will be on display here as the latter gains confidence and starts to work his way more heavily into the rotation. Give me two touchdowns for No. 4 and one for No. 15, with clutch receptions for Brandon Inniss and Brock Boyd sprinkled in as well.

The Jackson 2 will split carries at running back, as they have been — but the real curiosity here is whether Legend Bey is healthy enough to go, and if they trust him enough to give him snaps that matter. If he’s at full speed, this could be his kick return touchdown debut, as Robby Discher sticks it to his former employer in a bold display of special teams savvy.

Prepare yourself for the sinking feeling that comes with watching 13 personnel trot out a handful of times in the first quarter, but if the tight ends continue to struggle in run block, I fully expect them to #LetJakeCook as the hitherto transient No. 81 becomes a staple for the remainder of the season.

Defensively, Matt Patricia’s play calling will continue to frustrate the portion of the fanbase that longs for disruption, with an emphasis on containing Katin Houser and limiting explosives rather than going for the kill.

With that said, moving personnel around will create organic havoc: Kenyatta Jackson taking reps inside, Khary Wilder being unleashed in pass rush scenarios, and Christian Alliegro and Riley Pettijohn crashing down off the end will produce the highest sack count of the season. I would count on the defense to generate one touchdown this week as well, either directly or by providing a very short field.

Jay Timmons will have his “You got BBQ back there?!” moment when he lays out Ca’Lil Valentine, but even that won’t be enough to excite Gus Johnson as he suffers through calling another Ohio State game. And speaking of Johnsons, Cincere will show up in the fourth quarter like the Kool-Aid man, intent on making sure we remember the name.

Overall, I see this as the real “get right” game after the Texas loss, with the passing game setting the tone early and giving way to a steady clobbering in the run game as the Buckeyes keep their foot on the gas well into the fourth quarter, despite the game being well in hand by halftime.

Flashes from the young guys and improvements in some key pain points leave us tempering our enthusiasm with rebuttals of “But it was only Illinois”.

Game theory from Doug

Pick: Ohio State 38, Illinois 14

Ryan Day is all over the idea of the competitiveness of his quarterback, so I expect Julian Sayin to be making plays out of the pocket, fighting through pass-rush pressure and making more plays than maybe we’ve ever seen him do.

Day is trying to bring something out of Sayin, and with the varied pressure looks that new Illinois defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck may bring from his 3-3-5 alignment, there will be plays for Sayin to make out of structure, but less time to make his typical throws in structure.

Left tackle Ian Moore said the offensive line is prepared for Hauck to try to confuse them, so I’ll call a first-half drive where the Buckeyes buckle down and march 75 yards while doing something like running it on 12 of 14 plays. Sometimes you have to reward the big guys and let them eat. That includes Jake Cook getting another healthy dose of Bison package work.

But I also think the Buckeyes will want to give Sayin opportunities to let his QB freak flag fly. Anticipate at least three big-time throws out of the pocket in scramble drills.

On defense, I’ll be counting the Riley Pettijohn and Christian Alliegro snaps together. I’ll guess the Buckeyes still start Payton Pierce, but let’s guess Alliegro and Pettijohn as the two linebackers on the second drive. Nudge the person next to you when they are out there together and pay attention to the chaos they can cause as blitz threats.

I’d love Matt Patricia to dial it up, but with Katin Houser getting the ball out quickly, more blitzes will have to wait. Illinois receiver Collin Dixon will do some damage — let’s say seven catches for 85 yards and a score — but I can also see Houser trying to force the ball to him at times. After interceptions by Jaylen McClain, TJ Alford and Pettijohn this season, let’s call the first pick of the season for a cornerback — either Jermaine Mathews or Devin Sanchez.

And yes … Bill and I picked the same score.

COLUMBUS — Ohio State’s best linebacker pairing didn’t play a single snap as a duo in the first two games of the season. If the Buckeyes had figured out how those two worked as a package during the Texas game, that outcome … well, that’s in the past.

Let’s be glad they got to it now.

Because after playing 12 snaps together against Kent State last week, it seems pretty clear this should be the go-to duo in go-to moments for the Buckeyes.

Read more

COLUMBUS — As Ohio State prepares for its Big Ten opener against Illinois, let’s take a look at a key play from last week’s 59-3 win against Kent State.

The Setup

Third-and-12 from the Kent State 12-yard line with 8:39 left in the second quarter and Ohio State ahead 28-0.

The Personnel

The Buckeyes adjusted to keep their base nickel personnel on the field in most passing situations against Kent State because the Golden Flashes got into the habit of running on third-and-long.

This is an obvious passing situation, but OSU stays in its 4-2-5 structure with Jaylen McClain and Earl Little at safety, Jay Timmons at star, Jermaine Mathews and Devin Sanchez at cornerback, and Christian Alliegro and Riley Pettijohn at linebacker. Up front, James Smith and Jason Moore are at defensive tackle, while Epi Sitanilei and Beau Atkinson are at defensive end.

The Formation

The Buckeyes show a two-high shell pre-snap with McClain and Little manning the deep halves. They also show a four-down front with both Alliegro and Pettijohn playing in the box. Alliegro joins the front late, and Little rotates to the deep middle right before the ball is snapped.

The Offense

Kent State is in a shotgun spread set with two receivers and a tight end to the wide side of the field and one receiver in the boundary.

The Play

Read more

On this episode, Bill and Doug rate and rank Ohio State’s position groups and compare those numbers to what they thought when they did this exercise on July 1.

That means deep discussions on everyone from Julian Sayin to Earl Little Jr. to Riley Pettijohn.

Then it’s Whatcha Watching, Whatcha Eating, Whatcha Thinking on popular TV shows, being sexy in your 50s, Peppermint Pattie addiction, savory pies, men’s skin care, and the closing of shopping malls.

Read more

COLUMBUS — Three things we learned from Ryan Day on Tuesday as Ohio State prepares to enter Big Ten play with Saturday’s game against Illinois.

1. Day was a hard grader coming out of Ohio State’s 59-3 win against Kent State last week because, even in that comfortable win, there were issues that could be long-term problems for the Buckeyes if they’re not corrected now.

Chief on Day’s mind were shortcomings on third down and in short-yardage.

“Right now, we’re 12-for-17 in the red zone, but the Texas game is where we struggled most, and that’s where it matters the most,” Day said. Gotta do a better job there. As you know, third down is not where it needs to be right now. We’re 12-of-33, and I think last year we were second in the country on third down. Those things have gotta get better.”

Day’s offense currently ranks 102nd in the country in third-down conversion rate.

Read more

COLUMBUS — Here’s a mailbag answering some of the Sunday Soundoff questions we didn’t get to on that show, or on the YouTube show on Monday where we answered a few more.

I was talking with my Dad about all-time Buckeyes. We settled on the Mount Rushmore being Archie, Orlando Pace, and JJ with the fourth spot still open. There have been so many greats, but I think those three sort of stand alone. Is there another player that you would say is the definitive fourth spot, or are there like 10 other guys you could make an argument for but don’t necessarily rise above the others? — Eewee

Read more

COLUMBUS — Ohio State enters Big Ten play ranking 10th in the conference in rushing yards per game with 158.7 and 11th in yards per carry with 4.58. It’s not where the Buckeyes expected to be at this point in the season.

Three games in, with a veteran offensive line and a returning 1,000-yard rusher at running back, OSU’s run game is still very much a work in progress.

However, if you squint (and maybe take a slightly more generous point of view), you can see some steps in the right direction.

Read more

• OSU’s success with the Bison package and what happened in short-yardage situations

• Ryan Day’s quarterback philosophy and how Julian Sayin …

Read more

COLUMBUS — Ohio State beat Kent State 59-3 on Saturday. Kent State will be in the running for the worst team in the FBS this year. So you can only take so much from a game like this, and the bad tends to outshine the good when you’re looking for things that may actually apply to tougher games down the road.

Folks were fired up about short yardage after the game because the Buckeyes made a few blunders that either cut drives short or made touchdown drives harder than they needed to be.

“We stumbled around on those two drives in the red zone, and then in short yardage,” head coach Ryan Day said afterward.

Read more

The discussion on this overtime edition of The Bill and Doug Show focused on Julian Sayin, Luke Fahey, Tavien St. Clair, the tight ends, the offensive line without Phillips Daniels, Ohio State’s celebrations during the game and Ryan Day’s mood after the win.

On their first postgame show on YouTube, the focus was Jeremiah Smith, the lack of snaps for Khary Wilder, the usage of Chris Henry Jr., Brock Boyd and Legend Bye, and why Gus Johnson seems bored during Ohio State games.

Read more

COLUMBUS — Ohio State destroyed Kent State on Saturday and got the starters out of the game by the midway point of the third quarter. Here are some first thoughts on what we saw from the Buckeyes:

1. Jeremiah Smith became the program’s all-time leader in career receiving yards on a 23-yard slant in the first quarter. It was Smith’s second catch of the game. He needed 27 yards to pass Michael Jenkins for the record and finished his day with five catches for 85 yards.

It was the first game this season that Smith hasn’t scored a touchdown.

Saturday’s game felt more like a chance for quarterback Julian Sayin to build rapport with the non-Smith receivers, and while Sayin completed passes to seven different pass-catchers, it wasn't like he was spraying it around in rhythm to everyone. The Buckeyes missed a second-quarter touchdown opportunity when Sayin stared down Smith, who was triple-covered, and missed an open Brandon Inniss in the middle of the field. Sayin took a sack on fourth down.

Read more