Wow, shocker, Ohio State stocks are on the rise after a 70-0 victory over an FCS opponent.
Pardon the sarcasm. There’s absolutely something to be said for a top team dominating the way it’s supposed to against a lesser foe, and credit for that will be appropriately given later in this story. But the Buckeyes’ tune-up after a massive Week 1 win over Texas went about as well as could be expected.
Ohio State’s offense showed some explosion and tempo thanks to the deft touch of Julian Sayin, which allowed a slew of young depth pieces to show their skills against the Tigers. Another week of college football chaos brought some stocks up and down across the country, too.
Stock Up
Julian Sayin
Big Ten Freshman of the Week. A completion rate of 95%. A record 16 consecutive completions to start a game. Four touchdowns and 306 yards through the air. Sayin tossed his first career interception, but it was his only incompletion against Grambling State. Ohio State let him push the ball downfield on deep shots to Will Kacmarek, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate and he connected on all three of them for big gains, plus he showed continued poise and command running a no-huddle offense for stretches of the first half. A few more performances like these, especially in Big Ten play, and Sayin will be in the conversation as one of the best quarterbacks in college football.
Bo Jackson
Yes, it was against second-stringers for a mid-tier FCS team. But Jackson has a different gear than anyone else in Ohio State’s running back room, just watching. He rattled off a 51-yard run where he made multiple defenders miss on a counter run that hit off tackle, but he went between the tackles for an 11-yard touchdown on the first rush of his career, too. Starting running back tandem CJ Donaldson and James Peoples looked better than in Week 1, but Jackson could seriously challenge to take reps – if not become RB1 – as the season progresses, particularly if his ball security and pass protection improve.
Bo Jackson made the most of his first career carries pic.twitter.com/kDtI3QsAx6
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 7, 2025
Riley Pettijohn
Being named Ohio State’s Defensive Player of the Game as a freshman is a rare honor. Pettijohn earned it with a scoop-and-score touchdown, a pass breakup on third down and a massive hit to force another fumble recovered by freshman defensive end Epi Sitanilei. Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese form one of the best starting linebacker tandems in the country and Payton Pierce racked up a team-high six tackles on Saturday, but Pettijohn is another first-year who could prove too good to keep off the field.
Some Riley Pettijohn from yesterday. pic.twitter.com/Qv5gARmQig
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) September 7, 2025
Bryson Rodgers
It’s clear that the redshirt sophomore Rodgers made positive changes to his body this offseason to accentuate his route-running skills, and his athleticism was on display during a massive punt return in the third quarter, although it was called back after referees determined someone on the unit signaled fair catch. He also snagged a nice 21-yard grab up the seam from Lincoln Kienholz, holding onto the ball through contact, finishing with two receptions for 22 yards.
Justin Terry
The West Virginia transfer and redshirt freshman from central Ohio made a surprise appearance with the Buckeyes’ second-team offensive line at right tackle, playing 20 snaps ahead of heralded freshman Carter Lowe and fellow redshirt freshman Deontae Armstrong. Although he didn’t arrive until summer, it seems he’s earned his way onto the two-deep and into being one of Ohio State’s next men up at offensive tackle.
Illinois
Duke and Illinois were locked in a one-point game in Durham, North Carolina in the second half before the now-No. 9 Fighting Illini launched a 31-6 scoring run to close the game. Star Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer finished 22-of-31 (71%) for 296 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
Handlin’ Yo Business
Truly, it shouldn’t be taken for granted that Ohio State looked as it should against an FCS school. Then-No. 4 Georgia defeated FCS Austin Peay just 28-6. No. 3 Penn State and No. 8 Clemson both struggled against weak FBS competition, the former scoring just 34 points against Florida International and the latter trailing Troy at halftime before pulling out a meager 27-16 victory. No. 3 LSU limped to a 23-7 win over Louisiana Tech and No. 10 South Carolina beat FCS South Carolina State just 38-10.
Stock Down
Stock Down
Ohio State’s coaches surely found areas of the Buckeyes’ game to nitpick following this 70-point win, but your weekly stock report is shot for ideas on large-scale criticisms from this game. Apologies to everyone who has a gripe. We’ll evaluate where we could have done better, bring our lunch pail to work and focus on getting 1% better each day to hopefully give you a better result next time.
Michigan
Dave Portnoy touted Bryce Underwood as potentially being the best freshman in college football history on Big Noon Kickoff and the Michigan quarterback proceeded to finish 9-of-24 on the road at Oklahoma. Pump the brakes on the hype, please. Michigan’s offense in general looked anemic during the 24-13 loss, which dropped the Wolverines to No. 23 in the AP Poll and vaulted the Sooners to No. 13.
Florida
South Florida shocked another of the SEC’s premier contenders with a massive 18-16 upset this past Saturday, but don’t worry, there are still a record 11 teams from the conference in this week’s AP Poll.
Iowa
Never change, Iowa offense, never change. Revered quarterback transfer Mark Gronowski is 53.8% on his passes for 127 yards and one touchdown in two games. Woof. The Hawkeyes posted all of 214 yards of offense in their 16-13 loss to Iowa State, with Cyclone kicker Kyle Konrardy kicking a game-winning 54-yard field goal for the second year in a row against Iowa.
