That was certainly one of the football games of all-time.
Ohio State trounced FCS Grambling State as expected on Saturday, removing its starters early in the second half of a 70-0 victory. Julian Sayin had a crisp day throwing the football, going 18-of-19 for 306 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
Sayin headlined the Buckeyes' postgame, saying he had an “awesome” time letting the ball fly after Ohio State had a more conservative game plan in its 14-7 Week 1 win over Texas. Ryan Day, Jeremiah Smith and Caden Curry all joined Sayin in breaking down the Buckeyes' victory, and we've got notes on key takeaways from each interview.
Ryan Day
“When you can get some of these first-time things behind you, it is good. But that's it — no more interceptions (laughs), not allowed.”– Ryan Day on Julian Sayin's interception
- Day said Riley Pettijohn “seemed to pop” against Grambling State. He also mentioned Aaron Scott Jr., Bo Jackson, Isaiah West and Mylan Graham as younger players who stood out on Saturday. Lincoln Kienholz and Bryson Rodgers flashed, too, Day said.
- Day said Ohio State’s running backs were “running hard” against Grambling, but he still sees room for improvement moving forward. “What we want to see are guys breaking tackles and then creating explosive runs. I think there were some in there, and then I think there were ones where its, ‘OK, how can we do this a little bit better? How can we break some of these tackles as we’re getting to the second level?”
- Day said Ohio State incorporated “a lot more RPOs” into the game plan for Julian Sayin this week. Day also wanted to see what Sayin could do in the red zone, and he thinks the sophomore signal-caller delivered. “I thought he did a nice job,” Day said.
QB Julian Sayin
“It was awesome. I had a lot of fun today. I can’t say enough about the receiving room, the running backs and the offensive line — just everyone doing their part in making the offense move.”– Julian Sayin on his performance against Grambling State
- Sayin said Ohio State’s starters performed well against Grambling State, but he saw some things the Buckeyes will need to improve at practice next week. “Offensive line blocked well, receivers caught the ball well, running backs ran hard. We had some great plays, but a couple mistakes we got to clean up.”
- When asked if he’s ever completed 16 consecutive passes in his football career, Sayin said, “I don’t think I’ve done that before.” He continued: “It’s just when you get those completions racking up, it builds confidence. Then, the energy from the other players in the offense, when they start seeing we’re moving the ball downfield like that, the other guys are bringing energy.”
- Sayin said Will Kacmarek can be a weapon for Ohio State’s offense this season. On Kacmarek’s touchdown catch: “That was a great route by him, a great catch. Our whole tight end room, we’re very deep at tight end. They all have different skill sets, but they have a lot of impact on our offense. That was a great catch by him, and I love to see it from him.”
WR Jeremiah Smith
“Just catch the damn ball.”– Jeremiah Smith on what he needed to do better after dropping two passes vs. Texas
- On Julian Sayin’s accuracy: “I’ve been seeing it since his freshman year, since last year, spring when we first got here. It doesn’t surprise me at this point. He can make any and every throw, like I said before. He’s controlling the offense at a very good pace right now, so I’m very excited for him.”
- Smith said “it motivated me a lot” to not play up to his usual standard in Week 1 against Texas. “I dropped two passes and I’m very hard on myself, so this whole week in practice, I was very hard on myself throughout the whole week.”
- Smith said Ohio State went into the game with the mentality to “go out there and dominate” rather than play down to its competition.
- Asked which player other than himself he was most excited to see score a touchdown, Smith replied without hesitation: “Bo Jackson. That’s the guy right there. I’ve been saying it since spring. Bo Jackson is next up, for sure … He’s a tough, tough running back, fast, I mean, he can do it all. Me and him was working out together in the offseason, and I was like, yeah, this guy is going to be the next great running back to come through, for sure.”
DE Caden Curry
“We went out there and did our job. We wanted to dominate this week. Obviously, you see this team coming in, on paper, it’s not even a matchup, but we still want to go out there and do our job and not take it lightly.”– Caden Curry on Ohio State’s defensive performance against Grambling
- Curry said Ohio State’s defense takes pride in recording a shutout, regardless of the opponent's strength. “Defensive players, they always love shutouts. Definitely seeing Coach (Matt) Patricia get his first is always something to get excited about. Just love to see it.”
- When asked if he had fun on Saturday, Curry said, “I love this game so much. It doesn’t matter who we play or where we play them, I’m gonna love the game and play every game like it’s a big game.”
- On Kayden McDonald, who forced a fumble that led to an Ohio State scoop-and-score on Saturday: “He’s always putting his work in, day in and day out. … He’s put the work in. I feel like it’s definitely his time, his moment. He’s definitely making plays when his number is called.”
