Ideally, Ohio State would have preferred to pull away from Ohio early, cruise to a blowout win and get its backups more playing time in its non-conference finale. But the Buckeyes’ slower-than-expected start against the Bobcats could be the perfect wakeup call for Ryan Day’s squad entering its first bye week of the season.
There was hardly much negative to say about Ohio State after it beat No. 1-ranked Texas in its season opener and cruised to a 70-0 win over Grambling State in Week 2. But the third game of the season against Ohio showed the Buckeyes – even though they ended up with a comfortable 28-point win – still have plenty to improve on going into Big Ten play.
The most obvious thing for Ohio State to work on during the bye week will be its red zone offense. While the Buckeyes scored touchdowns on eight of nine trips inside the 20-yard line in their first two games – with seven of those touchdowns coming against Grambling State – they reached the end zone on Saturday night just twice across the six drives that included a play inside Ohio’s 20-yard line.
While Ohio State still won the game by 28 points thanks to three field goals and a pair of long touchdown passes from Julian Sayin to Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, the red zone struggles were the biggest reason why the game remained tight into the second half despite the Buckeyes outgaining their opponent by 391 yards (572 to 181).
“We got to do a better job when we get down to the red zone,” Ryan Day said after the game. “Because I felt like we were moving the ball well, we just had to finish these drives off, which is frustrating. But these are the things that we have to learn. And we learned a lot of lessons tonight.
“When we're firing all cylinders, you can see how explosive we can be. But if we're not going to score touchdowns in a red zone, we put ourselves at risk.”
Day said he would have to watch the film to pinpoint how much of Ohio State’s red-zone struggles came down to scheme and coaching vs. players not executing their assignments. That said, Ohio State’s offensive players who met with the media after the game – quarterback Julian Sayin, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and tight end Max Klare – all said they felt they simply need to execute better.
“I think we just need to clean up some little things. I mean, it's one or two things every time. So we definitely got to figure that out and clean it up as we go,” Klare said.
Ball security will also be a point of emphasis during the bye week, particularly for Sayin, as Ohio State lost the turnover battle 2-0 thanks to a pair of interceptions by Ohio. Neither of those picks fully fell on the quarterback, as two defenders each tipped his first interception and he found himself swarmed on his blind side on the second due to a missed pull block by Tegra Tshabola. Nevertheless, both incidents served as giveaways that could be costly in a closer game.
“I thought he played well. A lot of good plays, but what you have to learn as a quarterback, I say it's just like golf. You can have a great day, but if you hit two in the water, your round's ruined,” Day said. “A tipped ball in a two-minute drill could cost you a game, and then we've got a chance to put them away up three scores, going to get our fourth score, and in that moment, he knows he's got to take the sack, which is not something that he's had to do before.”
Ohio State’s defense also had its worst moment of the season to date against Ohio. Overall, the Buckeyes still proved largely dominant on that side of the ball in continuing their three-game streak to start the season of holding their opponents to single digits. But they also allowed Ohio to cut its deficit to just four points in the third quarter – which would have been three points if the Bobcats hadn’t missed an extra point – when Chase Hendricks beat Lorenzo Styles Jr., with Jaylen McClain also in the area, for a 67-yard catch-and-run to the end zone.
What a way to start the second half @ChaseHendricks_ | @OhioFootball | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/ysaY4xqpAW
— MACtion (@MACSports) September 14, 2025
Day came out of Saturday night’s game feeling pleased with the defense’s overall performance, but that big play will give Matt Patricia’s unit something to hone in on during the week off after the Buckeyes allowed zero plays of 40-plus yards in the first two games.
“Other than a couple explosive plays, certainly the long pass, I thought our defense played strong tonight, did a nice job against a good offense,” Day said. “I thought we were physical, ran to the ball, played hard. Again, there's a lot of issues there that we've got to get fixed. There's no question. And, again, it's our job to identify them and get them fixed.”
The Buckeyes responded exactly the way they needed to after that play, ending the game with 24 unanswered points to turn a 13-9 scoreboard into a 37-9 final score. Day felt that showed the resolve of his team as the Buckeyes chase their second straight national championship.
“There will be some lessons learned tonight, but I was excited about the way that we didn't panic,” Day said. “I think that's a sign of growth and maturity, because you can feel it in the stadium when things aren’t going well. When we come out and we're just kind of moving down the field and it feels like, ‘Wow, this is going to be one of those games.’ And then you don't score, and then before you know it, you come out at halftime, you see the score, they score a touchdown, it's like, ‘What is going on?’ And it's easy for everyone to tense up in that moment. But everybody kept playing.”
“We learned a lot of lessons tonight.”– Ryan Day on Ohio State’s 37-9 win vs. Ohio
As such, Ohio State and its fans have plenty of reasons to feel encouraged about the team coming out of non-conference play, but Saturday showed that the Buckeyes must keep getting better if they desire achieve their ultimate goals.
“Definitely frustrated in the first half with our inability to score touchdowns in a red zone, and then encouraged with the way we responded in the second half,” Day said when asked about how he felt about Saturday’s game as a whole. “There's a lot of other things going on, but I think a lot of it we've got to get on the film and identify it. The game was moving quickly. But I will say again that I felt like the sideline, the players, the look in their eye, there was never any panic, which is a good sign for a young team. And we've got to make sure we're doing our part as coaches, putting them in the right situation.”
