The start of Big Ten conference play provides a good opportunity to take stock of where things stand for Ohio State through three games of the 2025 season.
Things have generally been rolling for the No. 1 Buckeyes, who notched a 14-7 win over then-No. 1, now No. 10 Texas and blew out both Grambling State and Ohio as expected. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has settled into Columbus like a lifelong resident, and thus far, it looks like the Buckeyes will boast one of the nation’s best defenses again this year.
But no team in college football, hell, any level of football, is completely refined three games into its season. Ohio State has had concerns pop up when it’s tried to finish drives for touchdowns and with its consistency running the football. A few positions have questions tied to them, too.
With Washington on the horizon to open the Big Ten schedule, we’re tracking the great trends and the areas to work on for Ohio State thus far.
Great Trends
Quarterback play
It’s hard to demand much better of a first-time starting quarterback than what Julian Sayin has delivered in his first three games directing Ohio State’s offense.
Sayin leads the entire FBS with a completion percentage of 78.9%. He’s thrown for 779 yards at a gaudy clip of 11 yards per attempt with eight touchdowns. Even if he has thrown three interceptions – which he holds varying degrees of responsibility for – his accuracy, poise and processing have been jaw-dropping thus far.
Against Texas, Ryan Day and Brian Hartline kept a more conservative game plan and took pressure off Sayin’s shoulders during such a big first start. They played field position and relied on the defense to carry Ohio State to victory. Sayin’s stat line might not have broken any records as a result, 13-of-20 (with some drops from his receivers mixed in) for 126 yards and a touchdown, but he took care of the football and was a calming presence in the huddle.
The Buckeyes opened up their passing attack the next two weeks and Sayin answered with back-to-back 300-yard performances. What things look like when Ohio State hopefully stays aggressive with its passing attack against better Big Ten defenses remains to be seen, but indications are that Sayin could be one of the nation’s best quarterbacks.
“I think he's grown and done a really good job,” Hartline said on Sep. 16. “Definitely had some learning opportunities every week. So his ability to take that information and apply it will ultimately continue that growth. I would say that I'm really proud of him. I think he's doing a great job. But we're never going to take that assumption that we can just do whatever we want and put him in every situation we want.”
New starters in the defensive back seven
Outside perhaps Sayin, the biggest breakout star thus far for Ohio State has been linebacker Arvell Reese. He leads the team in both tackles (20) and sacks (two), forming what now may be the best linebacker tandem in the country with Sonny Styles. His freak athleticism, nose for the football and violence have him suddenly receiving first-round NFL draft buzz. Patricia’s deployed him all over the defense: As a quarterback spy, off the edge, in B-gap and of course in his typical off-ball linebacker spot.
LB Arvell Reese is everywhere on the OSU-UT tape.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) August 30, 2025
He's casually forklifts a 310-pound blocker on this rep and has the speed to flush Arch. Matt Patricia really weaponized him in this game. pic.twitter.com/7HPTik13YS
But the youngest new face on Ohio State’s defense is creating waves, too. Or at least creating cracks in shoulder pads.
Jaylen McClain had this man seeing stars. pic.twitter.com/XV9wSJTNRo
— The Scarlet and Gray Podcast (@TheSG_Podcast) September 14, 2025
Sophomore strong safety Jaylen McClain locked down the position after an offseason battle with junior Malik Hartford so thoroughly that Hartford’s hardly seen any meaningful snaps this season. McClain is a beast in run support, with 17 tackles already this season, and he’s allowed a pathetic (for opposing quarterbacks) 3.5 yards per target when attacked in the passing game, per Pro Football Focus.
Jermaine Mathews Jr. entered the season with plenty of big-game experience at cornerback and even some starts, but seeing him acclimate to being a full-time starter is still a treat to watch. He intercepted Texas quarterback Arch Manning in Week 1 and has six tackles with a pass breakup.
Was not familiar with Jermaine Mathews Jr's game but he was one of the best players on the field in OSU/Texas pic.twitter.com/6ILpJgXu0y
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) August 31, 2025
New nickel Lorenzo Styles Jr. has had ups and downs – there are plenty of ups, promise, we’ll talk about that spot later – but the back seven of Ohio State’s defense is proving a force. It’s a main reason why the Buckeyes are No. 2 nationally in scoring defense (5.7 points allowed per game) and No. 6 in pass defense (118.3 passing yards allowed per game).
Kayden and Caden
Speaking of new starters on the defensive side of the football, Kayden McDonald and Caden Curry have been the anchors Ohio State needed after losing all four starting defensive linemen from its 2024 national championship team. It's a defensive tackle and a defensive end to build around up front.
McDonald and Curry are tied for third on the team in tackles with 14, which is especially ridiculous for the former as a nose guard. The typical job description is to eat blocks and set others up to make tackles. Shedding those blocks and making the play yourself? That’s special.
“You love to be strong in the middle of the defense, and he is strong in the middle of the defense,” Patricia said. “He's right there, right in front of the center, right in front of the quarterback. And I think offensively, you're trying to figure out, ‘OK, how do we get around this?’ That's the biggest thing. So that's a key piece for us. He's done a great job, I think, of really improving and showing just how big he can play inside.”
McDonald has two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble on top of his 14 takedowns. Curry is tied for a team high with two sacks, with three total TFLs and a pass breakup. His blend of speed, motor and athleticism has made him a versatile weapon in both run and pass defense. He’s the interior pass rusher in this year’s rushmen package, and overpowered two Ohio interior offensive linemen for a sack in the Buckeyes’ last game.
Caden Curry. Beast. pic.twitter.com/DSicLm1Av7
— Buckeye HQ (@RealisticBuck) September 14, 2025
Things to Work On
Red Zone Offense
Ohio State is tied for 52nd nationally in red zone touchdown percentage (66.7%) and tied for 72nd in red zone scoring percentage (86.7%). The Buckeyes have 10 touchdowns and three field goals in 15 trips inside the 20-yard line, but last game especially highlighted a need to finish drives when the field condenses.
The Buckeyes scored just two touchdowns in six red zone attempts, turning the ball over on downs once and settling for field goals three times. They rushed seven times for a mere 15 yards on their first five red zone trips before Jeremiah Smith ran a 17-yard touchdown in on a reverse on their final one.
Much of it is execution errors, as Eleven Warriors’ Kyle Jones pointed out in his latest Film Study. That means it’s fixable. But this isn’t an issue that can be allowed to persist when Ohio State starts playing talent-equated opponents.
“I thought schematically we were in decent shape,” Day said on Sep. 16. “I'm critical of that. I just think we need to make sure that we're doing a better job as coaches, emphasizing the details to make sure it's executed better. Because ultimately, it's always the coach's responsibility.”
Run Game Consistency
Ohio State’s run game numbers aren’t bad on the season. The Buckeyes are 23rd nationally in yards per carry (5.6) and 46th in rush yards per game (192). But those are largely thanks to two weeks of overmatched defensive fronts from Grambling State and Ohio.
Texas has one of the best front sixes in college football this year, but regardless, the Longhorns held Ohio State to 77 rushing yards on 34 carries, a meager 2.3 yards per carry. Numbers were much better against the Tigers and Bobcats, but then again, there were the red-zone rushing struggles mentioned earlier vs. Ohio.
The solution could be a heavier dose of Bo Jackson. The freshman seems to have a different gear out of the backfield than co-starters James Peoples and CJ Donaldson. It’s clear whenever he breaks through the line of scrimmage. Jackson has 18 carries for 217 yards (12.1 per attempt) and a touchdown this season. Peoples has 25 carries for 126 yards (5.0), and Donaldson has 33 carries for 151 yards (4.6) and two scores.
Donaldson and Peoples will still have niches. Donaldson is the team’s short-yardage back, Peoples its best pass protector at running back. But a three-headed monster with Jackson as the largest head seems to be the solution.
“Bo has talent,” Day said. “And we're going to keep bringing him along. It's a long season. And so we're going to continue to give him the opportunities to prove that we can trust him with the ball in his hands. So far, he's done that. You can see his vision. You can see his ability to catch the ball. He's got a lot of different skills. We're going to keep bringing him along. And the more he can take, the more we're going to give him.”
A Few Positional Question Marks
Three positions here to go over, two that are (probably) actually in question. Let’s run it down real quick.
Tywone Malone Jr. got the start over Eddrick Houston at three-technique defensive tackle against Ohio after a slow start to the season for the sophomore and five-star prospect. Houston has just four tackles in three games and has been victim to some knockback on opposing rushing plays. He might not be back to 100% after a leg injury sustained at the start of preseason camp, and Day likes what he’s seen from Malone in practice.
“We'll continue to roll guys,” Day said. “But I thought Tywone took a step in the game. I thought he played well. He still has some things that I know Coach Johnson is working on to get him to play better. But he did some nice things in the game .I think he graded out (a champion). So that's big, as you know. We need that position to continue to build depth and play at a high level. But Eddrick still played. And Will (Smith Jr.) still played. We didn't have a ton of snaps on defense. We'll have a lot more here moving forward.”
Tegra Tshabola has been marred by some inconsistencies at right guard, and Ethan Onianwa has relieved him for a few series with the first-team offense. Onianwa, who came to Ohio State as a tackle this offseason, has concerns as a pass blocker. It’s a position you’d like to see someone stake a hard claim on for the Buckeyes. Day seems confident that Tshabola, who started all season for Ohio State in 2024, will reach another level.
“I thought Tegra did some better things (against Ohio),” Day said. “But he did have the two penalties. So we want really high-level play from everybody. And it's good to have competition and know that there's guys that are fighting to get on the field. Tegra's played a lot of football around here. I do think he got better in this past game. But we all know what the expectation is. So we're going to keep pushing him to get to that level.”
Lastly, the nickel spot. For a lot of folks, it’s clear the pervading image of Lorenzo Styles Jr. is the long touchdown he surrendered against Ohio. A big mistake, no doubt. But he’s been sound otherwise. Outside that 67-yard scoring grab from the Bobcats’ Chase Hendricks, Styles has allowed a mere 30 receiving yards on seven targets at the nickel spot. That’s 4.3 yards per target. He has 10 tackles with a TFL in run support.
Styles sustained an upper-body injury against the Bobcats, and Day hopes that he’ll be back soon. He’ll remain the starter when that happens. For now, Ohio State will bank on Mathews at nickel while freshman Devin Sanchez takes his place at outside cornerback.
