Ohio State concludes its nonconference schedule with a slight increase in competition from the opponent it faced in Week 2.
The Buckeyes played one of their most highly touted nonconference opponents in school history, then-No. 1 Texas, before notching a 70-0 win over one of the worst teams they’ve played in the nonconference, no offense meant to FCS Grambling State. Ohio lies somewhere between those two extremes.
Through their first two nonconference games, the Bobcats have shown they’re a higher-tier Group of Five opponent that is probably better than some of the Big Ten’s bottom feeders in 2025. Ohio came up three points short of upsetting Rutgers on the road to open the season, in fact, before knocking off a Power Four opponent in Week 2.
Ohio should be another overmatched foe for Ohio State to feed on before an open week to rest and the start of Big Ten play at Washington in Week 5. But the Bobcats are a few levels above Grambling, to be certain, and are a serious contender to win the MAC this season.
Country Roads of Broken Dreams
Rutgers felt fortunate to escape with a 34-31 win in Piscataway against Ohio in Week 1. West Virginia wasn’t so lucky on Saturday.
The Bobcats built a 17-7 lead at home in the first half off the back of two 70-yard-plus touchdown drives, with quarterback Parker Navarro – more on him in a moment – finding wide receiver Chase Hendricks for a 31-yard score in the final 80 seconds of the first half. From there, Ohio’s defense took over.
West Virginia managed just 120 yards of offense in the second half, 51 of them coming on its field-goal drive that opened the third quarter. Those three points were the only points either team scored in the final 30 minutes. The Mountaineers managed a meager 12 rushing yards on 16 carries in the last two frames.
Two fourth-quarter drives for West Virginia ended in Ohio territory, one on downs and another on an interception, before the Mountaineers’ last gasp ended on their own 34-yard line as the clock expired.
“How ‘bout those Bobbies,” Ohio head coach Brian Smith said after the massive win for the MAC school. “Extremely proud of this team. The way that they show how they care about each other on the field, the heart they play with, the way that they persevere throughout a game is impressive. So it’s a great reflection of the coaching staff that we have, the job that they do mentoring and developing our players and the respect everyone has for the culture here.”
A Premier Group of Five Quarterback
Navarro brings legit excitement to the quarterback position for Ohio. Lightning fast with a live arm and the ability to make off-platform throws, his second year as a starter started with a bang against the Scarlet Knights. He made some incredible plays to keep the Bobcats in the game, going 21-of-31 for 239 yards and three touchdowns with 93 rushing yards and another score on the ground.
Week 2 wasn’t as clean for Navarro as he tossed three interceptions, but he still made enough plays to deliver the big win, going 22-of-31 (71%) for 247 yards and one touchdown with 87 rushing yards. Through two games, his completion rate is at 69.4%, and his 486 passing yards lead the MAC.
Navarro’s 2024 campaign, his first as a starter, finished much stronger than it started. In his first six games he averaged just 164.3 passing yards and threw six interceptions to his six touchdowns as Ohio lost twice, once at Syracuse and once at Miami (Ohio). But Navarro completed 66.9% of his passes in the Bobcats’ final seven games, increasing his output to 205.3 passing yards per game and collecting eight touchdowns to five interceptions.
Ohio won the MAC championship with Navarro under center, avenging its loss to the Redhawks in the MAC championship game. A win over Jacksonville State in the Cure Bowl followed. For the season, Navarro completed 66.1% of his passes for 2,423 yards and 13 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, adding 1,046 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.
Rush lane discipline will be tested for Ohio State’s defensive front in Week 3.
Attrition Leaves Defensive Questions
Navarro provided dynamic quarterback play down the stretch of Ohio’s 2024 season, but the unit that won the Bobcats the MAC more than anything was their defense.
Ohio surrendered just 18.1 points and 303.1 yards per game, both the best and second-best mark in the conference. Those metrics were No. 12 and No. 9 in the nation, in fact, and both No. 2 among Group of Five teams. The Bobcats were especially good against the run, ranked No. 4 with 90.6 rushing yards per game, one spot behind Ohio State.
Many of the pieces that made that defense successful are gone, however. Linebacker Blake Leake, the team’s leading tackler, exhausted his eligibility. So did second-leading tackler and safety Dustin Johnson. Leake’s running mate at linebacker and third-team All-MAC selection Shay Taylor, the third-leading tackler for the Bobcats in 2024, transferred to Charlotte. Defensive end Bradley Weaver, who led Ohio with 8.5 sacks last year, transferred to Rutgers.
Star cornerback Tank Pearson, who had a team-high four interceptions, headlines the returning players from Ohio’s 2024 defense but there are a lot of new faces otherwise. Rutgers amassed 34 points and 399 yards at a clip of 6.7 yards per play, but the defense responded by smothering West Virginia to carry the Bobcats to victory. Linebacker Michael Molnar has emerged as an impact player thus far, with 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Ohio State will easily be the best offense Ohio plays the rest of the year. But the look the Bobcats get on that side of the ball against the Buckeyes should be beneficial to both sides.
The Marching 110
When Ohio State faced Grambling State, the Buckeyes welcomed the World Famed Tiger Marching Band to the Shoe to pair up two of the most prestigious marching bands in the land as they joined The Best Damn Band in the Land. Another well-acclaimed ensemble is likely to be in Ohio Stadium in five days.
Ohio University’s Marching 110 got its name from the number of members that it used to be restricted to, though today the band contains 225 members. While the Bobcats’ marchers haven’t performed at any Super Bowl halftime shows as Grambling State’s have, the Marching 110 have performed at 40 total halftimes of NFL games and three Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades.
On Oct. 28, 1976, the 110 became the first marching band ever to perform in New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall. In 1993, they performed at the inauguration parade of former United States President Bill Clinton.
104 Years
When Ohio State defeated Akron 52-6 to open the 2024 season, it secured the extension of its time without a loss to another team from Ohio to 104 years. The Buckeyes have not lost to a team from The Buckeye State since Oberlin College beat them 7-6 in 1921. That 104-year stretch includes three wins over Ohio in 1999, 2008 and 2010.
Last year, before the Buckeyes zapped the Zips, I ran a section in Five Things to Know titled “103 Years” and tried to quantify just how long Ohio State has dominated the state of Ohio with some historical context. Here’s a new list of things that have happened since the last Buckeye loss to an in-state foe:
- The oldest living person, 116-year-old Ethel Caterham, was in middle school (or the equivalent at that time in the United Kingdom).
- Enjoy the Winter Olympics? They didn’t exist at the time of Oberlin’s victory as the first winter games were held in 1924. Twenty-four of the 30 Summer Olympic Games have been held since 1921.
- Showing Oberlin’s win on television couldn’t have been possible, as the TV was first demonstrated publicly in 1926.
- Transatlantic air travel was first accomplished with Charles Lindbergh’s flight in 1927.
- The first female senator, Hattie Wyatt Caraway, was elected in 1932.
- The Soviet Union launched the first dog into space, Laika (it was unfortunately a one-way mission for the pup), in 1957, followed by the first human, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961.
- The first Daytona 500 was held in 1959.
Ohio State is a total of 52-0-1 against Ohio-based teams since its loss to Oberlin, the tie in that record coming against Wooster in 1924. Here’s to making it 53-0-1 and sealing a 125th year – barring unforeseen and wacky College Football Playoff circumstances – on Saturday.
