Ohio State vs. Washington beat writer email exchange: Final thoughts on Buckeyes vs. Huskies

Bill Landis and Christian Caple break down Ohio State vs. Washington

COLUMBUS — We’ve been digging into this Ohio State vs. Washington game from a few different angles this week. We’re wrapping that up with some final thoughts from beat writers on both sides.

Bill Landis and Christian Caple, who covers Washington here on Substack at OnMontlake.com, exchanged emails this week with some additional thoughts on the Buckeyes and Huskies. That conversation can be found below in its entirety.

Caple: Before we get into the matchup, I’m curious to take the temperature on Ohio State’s opinion of Washington’s program, generally, and specifically what the view in Columbus has been on UW joining the Big Ten. Both institutionally and from the perspective of the fan base, how do you think UW’s league membership is perceived?

Landis: In listening to Ryan Day talk about Washington this week, there’s certainly a lot of respect within Ohio State’s football building for what the Huskies have been historically and can be in the Big Ten. From the football product to the overall athletic and university brand, Washington is viewed as a positive addition at the administrative level in Columbus. Washington AD Pat Chun is a Buckeye, after all. It’s always tougher to gauge with fans. Ohio State fans are generally well-informed about what’s happening in the sport, so they know that Washington was playing for a national title a couple of years ago and has a proud football tradition.

It helps that these programs have played against each other some, but this is also a fan base that’s only going to be moved so much by a game against an unranked opponent, even if Washington is unbeaten. It feels like Ohio State and Oregon already have a bit of a brewing rivalry, given how last year played out on the field and with how often the two programs overlap in recruiting. I’m not sure Washington can ever get to that level ... unless, of course, it wins this weekend.

I’m a little surprised by the spread (Ohio State -8.5 as I’m writing this). It’s been more than a decade since the Buckeyes had a spread of fewer than 10 points against an unranked team. What’s your sense of how this game is being viewed in Seattle? Are folks confident Washington can pull off the upset?

Caple: More than a few folks out here have noted that not only is Washington not ranked, but the Huskies have yet to receive a single vote in the AP poll. So I’ve actually seen some UW fans posit that the spread is evidence of the non-ranking as an injustice. College football is fun.

I’d describe the vibe this week, at least from fans, as more of an excited, optimistic curiosity, as opposed to total confidence. No question, there are greater expectations for how Washington will perform against the Buckeyes than there were going into games against, say, Penn State and Oregon last season. The Huskies were simply outclassed when they went against top Big Ten programs a year ago, and everyone knew it, and the results spoke for themselves. So there certainly is a belief this year that UW has closed that gap, and Saturday’s game is the first data point this season that will tell us anything about how true that really is.

Maybe the best way to say it: nobody really looked forward to those games against Penn State and Oregon last year. And while I don’t know of any UW fans who would bet their mortgage on an upset this Saturday, I don’t know of any who aren’t pretty excited for 12:30 p.m. this Saturday, either.

Ohio State lost a ton from last year’s national-championship team. Did that change expectations whatsoever for this year’s group? Or is it still title-or-bust?

Landis: There’s always some version of natty or bust lingering in Columbus, but sometimes it’s more ratcheted up than others, and last year was one of those seasons. Last year felt like an ultimatum for a head coach looking to break through in year six, with an old roster full of really talented players who didn’t have much hardware to show for it. Ohio State is young this year, but still talented, and the vibes are more along the lines of excitement to see if this team can do something no Ohio State team has done before: win back-to-back national titles. There’s also the Michigan thing, but Washington fans don’t care about that.

I don’t think anyone will have their pitchforks out if the Buckeyes aren’t hoisting the trophy again at the end of the season — as long as they make the playoff and win that game at the end of November. Opening the season with a preseason No. 1 Texas showed people that chasing a second straight title isn’t some pie-in-the-sky thing, even if it’s going to be incredibly difficult. I think this team has the pieces to make a real run at it.

Speaking of, Washington is a team that interested me as a potential playoff darkhorse coming into the season, thinking maybe the Huskies could get two of the three marquee home games against Ohio State, Illinois, and Oregon, perhaps drop that road trip to Michigan, but still be 10-2 and in the mix. Is there any belief in your neck of the woods that Washington could get back to the playoff this year? Or how does the playoff even factor into fan expectations?

Caple: The annual-expectation assessment is sort of TBD, just because Washington didn’t have the stability in Year 1 of the 12-team era for anyone to believe it would be a contender. That’s part of why this weekend could be so pivotal. It’s not just a barometer of how UW’s roster compares to that of a perennial power. A win — or perhaps even a competitive loss — would quite likely instill a “hey, why can’t we make the playoff?” feeling among a lot of fans. Big picture, I don’t think anyone would have set “making the CFP” as the threshold for a successful year, at least preseason. It seemed like 8-4 was more or less the minimum expectation for feeling good about the trajectory of the program, with a not-insignificant number of fans believing there could be upside in the 9/10-win range if things broke right.

Mostly, I think UW fans just want to believe their team has a legitimate chance to win every week, like they did during Kalen DeBoer’s two seasons here.

Now, assuming program stability, etc., the CFP will absolutely be the expectation in 2026, and I think Washington is at least in the tier of programs that, given a 12-or-more-team field, should probably set the CFP as a goal every year. Again, any rebuilds wrought by coaching changes could dictate a break from those expectations for a year or two, but UW has invested enough in its program that it really can’t afford to excuse any degree of mediocrity. They’re not Ohio State, Michigan or Penn State, but the Huskies were in the national title game two years ago. Fans here know what’s possible. A strong performance on Saturday would only hasten their belief that it won’t be long before they’re at least back in the playoff.

Speaking of this weekend — if we’re identifying the primary sources of UW fan optimism, Julian Sayin’s relative inexperience, combined with this being his first road game as a starter, is probably atop the list. What’s your sense of his readiness for a hostile road environment? More generally, what kind of quarterback is he? It seemed like Ohio State didn’t ask him to do a whole lot against Texas, but he’s also been highly efficient and crazy accurate on deep throws this season.

Landis: Sayin is coming off a game where he wasn’t particularly sharp in the red zone against Ohio, but was dialed in with the deep ball. He’s been mostly solid to good so far. You’re right that Ohio State didn’t ask him to do a ton against Texas, but he operated that game plan well and, most importantly, didn’t look overwhelmed by the moment. Compared to Arch Manning, who very much did look overwhelmed, Sayin inspired a lot of confidence that he’ll be steady as he continues to encounter new things.

How he handles the noise of Husky Stadium and communicates with both his offensive line and new play-caller Brian Hartline will likely dictate how things go for Ohio State on Saturday. Sayin is a deadly accurate passer who has surprised me with his ability to push the ball down the field. I thought he’d be more of a point guard early, but he’s made some aggressive throws without putting the ball in harm’s way much. Ryan Day expressed some regret for keeping the training wheels on against Texas after Sayin handled things so well, and I don’t think he’ll put them back on for this game. The Buckeyes are built to be a throw-first team with Sayin at quarterback, Jeremiah Smith as the best receiver in the country, and fellow receiver Carnell Tate playing at an incredibly high level right now. I expect them to lean on that moving forward.

How do you think Washington’s defense stacks up to the challenge? Is that your biggest curiosity, or is there another area you think is more critical for Washington as it tries to spring the upset?

Caple: Washington’s defense is my biggest curiosity, though I’d probably roll it into a curiosity about the trenches, generally. As you noted, Ohio State has the weapons to throw the ball against anybody — a healthy Tacario Davis would give UW a better chance of withstanding that attack — but part of me wonders if the Buckeyes will first try to mash UW’s defensive interior with their running game. Run defense was a major issue last season, and the coaching staff prioritized the interior d-line in the portal, adding three players there with FBS experience, two of whom, Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei (Arizona) and Anterio Thompson (Western Michigan) lead the position in snaps played. UW’s run-defense numbers look good through their first three games, but UC Davis and Washington State didn’t really have the personnel to get much done on the ground, and Colorado State had a lot of success against them in the first half.

And while the Huskies’ offensive line is clearly better than it was a year ago, they obviously haven’t gone against a defensive front as physical or athletic or talented as Ohio State’s. That matchup could go a long way toward determining how much Washington can lean on Jonah Coleman, and/or how much they’ll need to rely on Demond Williams Jr. making things happen with his legs in both the run and pass game.

You look up and down the Buckeyes’ roster and see nothing but four- and five-star recruits. Does this team have an obvious weakness?

Landis: Nothing obvious. Some things I still have questions about. I think Ohio State needs to get more efficient running the ball, but the emergence of freshman tailback Bo Jackson could unlock some of that (not to mention some explosiveness; he’s got that extra gear). That was the biggest thing coming out of the Texas game. The Buckeyes have run better since, but Washington’s front will present different challenges than Grambling State and Ohio University. I’m sure Ohio State would love to establish a run game and hold the ball. This is the slowest-playing offense in the country at the moment — a shift Day made last year in an effort to limit snaps and preserve health for what he hopes is a long postseason run. So he’d be content running it more if that proves to be successful. I’m also still uncertain what exactly Ohio State’s short-yardage plan is. They did bring in backup quarterback Lincoln Kienholz for an early third-down run against Ohio in their last game. Maybe watch out for that on Saturday.

Ohio State struggled in the red zone against Ohio, but I know Washington’s defense has struggled in the red zone, too. So maybe that’s less of a concern for the Buckeyes in this game.

Defensively, I don’t see many weaknesses. OSU doesn’t have super dynamic edge rushers, but Caden Curry has been playing well and linebacker Arvell Reese is a menace when they put him on the line of scrimmage.

Ohio State is the favorite, and I could see a couple of different pathways to victory, so I’ll give the last word to you.

If Washington wins, what does that look like?

Caple: The Huskies have to steal a possession or two via turnover, and throw the ball effectively enough that it opens up the run. Demond Williams Jr. gives them a lot of options in the passing game because he’s so mobile and capable of throwing on the move, and I wonder if Jedd Fisch might call more designed runs for him, too, than what we saw in their first three games. Defensively, UW has to make Ohio State finish drives rather than score via explosives, and perhaps force them to settle for a field goal here or there in the process.

To vastly oversimplify things: Washington needs the physical matchup to more closely resemble its 2023 CFP semifinal win over Texas, and not its subsequent title-game loss to Michigan.