Ohio State's played a mere 60 minutes of football this season and stocks are already soaring.
The Buckeyes defeated No. 1 Texas 14-7 on the back of a dominant defensive performance and plenty of poise from new starting quarterback Julian Sayin. Ohio State’s back seven, orchestrated by Matt “Mad Genius” Patricia (it’s a working nickname), snatched the crown from Arch Manning’s coronation and kicked the Lone Star State’s kings back to Austin much sadder than when they left.
Stemming from that win, it’s a forecast of sunshine and rainbows the next three weeks for the Buckeyes with two cupcakes (though that might be underselling Ohio in Week 3) and an off week before Big Ten play begins at Washington. Tons of new starters looked like stars on defense, though there are wrinkles to iron out on the offensive side of the ball.
Stock Up
Matt Patricia
I personally cannot wait to watch and read Kyle Jones' Film Study on the Matt Patricia defense here at Eleven Warriors on Thursday. Manning’s mind must have been in a blender from the constant shifts in coverage. As a former defensive lineman, the variety of fronts Ohio State deployed, whether that’s traditional four-down looks, “penny” fronts with five men on the line or 3-2-6 packages with linebackers occupying the line of scrimmage – it was all so gorgeous. This man's scheme is going to be living in the nightmares of opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators.
Lose the math battle
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 1, 2025
Lose the vision@GetUpESPN pic.twitter.com/kGmtqyDKOX
Arvell Reese
No player gave Patricia more creative freedom than Reese, who lined up in his traditional off-ball linebacker spot, at rush end, in B-gap on the line of scrimmage against guards, all over the place. He looked like a Butkus Award contender, racking up nine tackles and a sack with a key fourth-down stop on Texas’ first drive, stonewalling running back CJ Baxter on 4th-and-2. He consistently overpowered offensive linemen. He and Sonny Styles already look like the nation’s best linebacker tandem in 2025.
Here's where Ohio State 'middle linebacker' Arvell Reese lined up on each snap in the first quarter yesterday. pic.twitter.com/dSIaGOlSQx
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) August 31, 2025
Lorenzo Styles Jr.
Another man who wore a lot of hats in Ohio State’s defense and styled them phenomenally was Styles, who it’s honestly hard to attribute a position to right now. He's listed as the nickel in the Buckeyes’ starting lineup, but per Pro Football Focus, he took 19 snaps at deep safety, nine in the box, three on the defensive line and one out wide at cornerback in addition to his 33 in the slot. He collected seven tackles and allowed just two receptions for eight yards in four targets in pass coverage. An awesome, versatile starting debut for the fifth-year senior.
Kayden McDonald
Eight tackles from a nose guard. EIGHT. That’s how many McDonald had on Saturday, while getting a decent bit of rest thanks to Will Smith Jr. McDonald only played 38 snaps, in fact, making it one tackle for every 4.8 snaps of action. Ridiculous.
Jaylen McClain
Another versatile piece of the Buckeye secondary who allowed Patricia to roll and disguise so many coverages is the sophomore McClain. He played every snap at safety alongside Caleb Downs, completely usurping the more veteran Malik Hartford in their position battle. Saturday showed why. McClain racked up eight tackles with a team-high five solo takedowns and never looked out of phase in coverage, allowing just one reception for seven yards. He played 21 snaps in the box, but there were also times Ohio State entrusted him as its lone deep safety.
The Cornerbacks
Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Davison Igbinosun both looked like All-Americans on Saturday. Igbinosun collected a team-high 10 tackles and picked up a critical pass breakup in the end zone on a fourth-quarter fourth-down. And most importantly for him, he committed no penalties. Mathews intercepted the first pass of the season for Ohio State’s defense and added three tackles with an additional PBU.
Jermaine Mathews Jr., you beautiful, beautiful manpic.twitter.com/bNg2JolDck
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 30, 2025
Julian Sayin
The 13-of-20 passing stat line for Sayin doesn’t fully capture how accurate he was with his passes, as his seven incompletions included three drops, one throwaway and two targets for Jeremiah Smith that could have easily been called for pass interference. He managed the game, took checkdowns when needed and led Ohio State to victory over the nation’s No. 1 team. One game in, he looks the part of a championship-caliber quarterback.
LSU
The Tigers had the biggest win of the weekend outside the Buckeyes (and maybe Florida State), heading on the road to hand No. 4 Clemson a 17-10 loss and boost quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s Heisman Trophy stocks, as he finished 28-of-38 for 230 yards and a touchdown.
Miami
Another big winner over the weekend is Miami, and especially its defense, which built an early lead and then clung to a 27-24 win after a 47-yard field goal put the Hurricanes back in front with 1:04 to play against No. 6 Notre Dame. Could Miami be a real threat to contend for championships? The ACC got a lot more interesting over the weekend.
Stock Down
The Run Game
Ohio State managed just 90 rushing yards in 34 carries against Texas, a mere 2.6 yards per attempt. The Longhorns boast one of the best defenses in college football, but it was a disappointing start for James Peoples, who turned in 20 yards on 10 runs. Hopefully, the next two weeks offer a chance to establish more gains on the ground.
Early-Season Offensive Creativity
Speaking of the run game, the plan seemed pretty vanilla on offense in general, with a lot of runs hitting between the tackles. Ohio State also kept its passing attack pretty slim against Texas, as Ryan Day pointed out after the game. The Buckeyes leaned on their defense to win, and it worked out. But with its daunting Week 1 test out of the way, it’s time for some potency from the Buckeyes in moving the ball down the field.
“Could we have opened it up more in the second half? Yeah,” Day said. “But I thought Brian (Hartline) called an unselfish game. I thought the defense was playing well."
Alabama
Roll Tide Roll babyyyyy. S-E-C, S-E-C, S-E-C...
— katie (@keigh_teigh) August 30, 2025
UCLA
The Bruins faced Utah in a PAC-12 after dark nonconference matchup and were trounced by the Utes 43-10. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava struggled in his first start since transferring from Tennessee to UCLA, going a meager 11-of-22 for 136 yards and one interception, offset by one touchdown.
