Five Things: Silver Bullets Shine As Ohio State Beats Washington 24-6 In Husky Stadium

By Chris Lauderback on September 28, 2025 at 10:10 am
Kayden McDonald
Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
29 Comments

No. 1 Ohio State rode strong defense from the jump and once its offense settled in the Buckeyes were able to run away from Washington in a 24-6 win over the Huskies in Seattle. 

Quarterback Julian Sayin didn't look like a kid making his first collegiate road start, especially once the playcalls loosened up, and his favorite target, Jeremiah Smith, had a strong day with eight catches on nine targets for 81 yards including an 18-yard touchdown giving OSU a 7-3 lead late in the first half it would not relinquish. 

Sayin would engineer another touchdown march to start the third quarter and that was more than enough for the Silver Bullets. 

Matt Patricia's unit gave up just 234 total yards to a Washington offense averaging 536 yards and 55.7 points per contest in another dominant effort. Through four games, the defense has yet to surrender double-digit points to its opponent. That hasn't happened at OSU since 1973. 

The win improved the Buckeyes to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten action while handing the Huskies their first defeat of the season and first at home since 2021. 

There's a lot to digest from this one so let's get to Five Things from a big victory in The Emerald City. 

SAYIN AIN'T PLAYIN'

Sayin entered yesterday's contest ranked No. 1 in the FBS with a 78.9% completion rate so what did he do against the Huskies? He connected on 22-of-28 passes, or 78.6%, with 208 yards and two touchdowns. 

He also added four carries for 12 yards, showing a willingness to tuck and run when necessary while using his feet and quick release to buy time to throw at other points. 

Likely due to the hostile environment and Sayin's lack of experience, the game plan handcuffed Sayin early. Ohio State's first two possessions saw him attempt four passes while the Buckeyes ran it 11 times. 

With that approach yielding no points and a 3-0 deficit, Ohio State looked like a different offense, and Sayin a different quarterback, on the third offensive series. Sayin marched the Buckeyes 73 yards in 10 plays as he connected on 5-of-6 throws for 54 yards including an 18-yard touchdown connection to Jeremiah Smith on a nifty underneath crossing route as the Huskies brought heavy pressure out of a 7-man front. The score gave the Buckeyes a 7-3 with just 1:08 left in the half and they'd take the four-point cushion into the locker room knowing they'd also get the ball to start the second half. 

Looking to gain some separation, Sayin immediately went to work hitting on 8-of-9 throws for 62 yards as Ohio State marched 75 yards in 14 plays capped by a CJ Donaldson 1-yard plunge putting the Buckeyes in front 14-3 with 7:19 left in the third quarter. 

Across those two game-changing drives, Sayin hit on 13-of-15 throws for 116 yards with the noted scoring strike to Smith. 

Sayin was also a beast on third down connecting on 4-of-5 throws for 59 yards with all four completions moving the chains. 

He showed great patience all afternoon, taking what the defense gave him as the Huskies dropped eight at times and consistently guarded against giving up the big play. Sayin didn't get greedy, instead playing efficient, turnover-free football in the first road start of his collegiate career.

As good as he's been, it feels like he's just getting started. 

D-NICE

That header's probably way too obscure but man "Call Me D-Nice" was one of my jams way back in the day so we're going with it. Plus, Ohio State's defense has been nothing if not nice. 

Having held its first three opponents to 5.3 points per game, good for No. 1 in the country, the word was Washington, at home, would provide a major test for Ohio State's stingy defense. The Huskies certainly boasted high-end talent at quarterback in Demond Williams Jr., Jonah Coleman at tailback and Denzel Boston at wide receiver. 

As it turns out, the Washington attack couldn't match up with the Buckeyes as the Huskies failed to reach the end zone and recorded two field goals, falling 49 points shy of their season average. 

Those six points came even as the Huskies recorded three trips to the red zone but they didn't just struggle when the field was condensed. Ohio State stopped Jedd Fisch's squad 10 out of 11 times on third down conversion attempts including a 1-of-5 mark on third down and four yards or less to go. Washington averaged 1.3 yards on those 11 third down snaps and also went 1-for-3 on fourth down conversion tries. 

Boston tallied a modest three catches for 26 yards even as Williams Jr. connected on 18-of-22 throws for 173 yards. On third down however, Williams Jr. threw for just seven yards on six attempts with one first down.  

Ohio State held the Huskies run game largely in check as well, giving up a sack-adjusted 4.5 yards per carry for 107 yards. To his credit, Coleman managed 70 yards on 5.4 per carry but Williams Jr. recorded only 18 yards on seven true rush attempts. Throw in Ohio State's six sacks for -46 yards and Williams Jr.'s overall stat line read 13 carries for -28 yards. 

Speaking of sacks.. 

CADEN + KAYDEN = CHAOS (OR IS IT KAOS?)

You know your defense is cooking when your top two tacklers are defensive linemen. Continuing their strong seasons, interior defensive lineman Kayden McDonald and edge Caden Curry flat out dominated the Huskies front. 

The duo combined for 18 stops (32% of the entire defense's total), eight tackles for loss (89%) and five sacks (83%). 

Curry was absolutely on fire with 11 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks. The 11 stops marked just the sixth time this century that an OSU defensive lineman registered at least 10 tackles in a game and the first since Adolphus Washington had 10 against Indiana in 2015. 

His five TFLs tied the school record he now shares with Chase Young (2019), Ryan Shazier (2013), John Simon (2012), Antonio Smith (2006), Andy Katzenmoyer (1996), Jayson Gwinn (1993) and Judah Herman (1991). 

McDonald was also a force with seven stops, three tackles for loss and two sacks. He was at his best on the money downs. His 7-yard sack on 3rd-and-Goal from the OSU 3-yard line forced the Huskies to settle for a field goal allowing the Buckeyes to remain up a touchdown with a 14-6 lead late in the third quarter. He came through with a quarterback hurry on a 3rd-and-2 and later, his 9-yard sack on 4th-and-2 midway through the fourth quarter gave OSU the ball back at the Husky 47. The Buckeyes would salt the game away with a touchdown eight plays later. 

Simply dominant performances from both guys in a game where harassing the quarterback in a controlled way was central to victory. 

On the season, Curry now leads the Buckeyes in tackles (25), tackles for loss (8) and sacks (5) while McDonald is third in stops (21) and second in both tackles for loss (5) and sacks (3). 

The rest of the defensive linemen appear to be good not great so having Curry and McDonald step up in such a big way has been paramount to the defense's overall success through four games. 

FLAGS FLYING

Entering the game averaging the ninth-fewest penalties per game in FBS (3.7) and ranked seventh in penalty yards per game (26.7), the Buckeyes overcame some sloppy and undisciplined plays yesterday as they racked up five flags for 60 yards. 

Ryan Day wasn't happy about it postgame offering, “We can’t be having these self-inflicted wounds. It’s gonna cost us a game. So, that happened too many times in this game. We had five penalties. We can’t do that.”

The infractions ranged in severity yet all give Day ammunition to challenge his team. 

A false start turned a 3rd-and-6 into a 3rd-and-11 with OSU in the red zone but it ended up not being an issue as Sayin found Smith on the noted 18-yard touchdown pass on the next play. The flag went to right guard Tegra Tshabola - he's had some penalty issues this season - but it appeared most of the offensive line moved despite center Carson Hinzman not snapping the ball. 

Phil Daniels is a Five Things favorite because of his tenacity at right tackle but he had two flags with varying degrees of impact. The first, a hands to the face, turned a 7-yard gain into the Huskies red zone instead created a 1st-and-22 from the UW 35. A gift in the form of a terrible roughing the passer call two plays later - on an incomplete pass - helped erase Daniels' penalty and OSU eventually found the end zone to go up 14-3.  

Daniels' second flag, this time for holding, moved a 1st-and-10 at the UW 21 to the 31. The offense couldn't overcome being behind the chains, eventually settling for a field goal and a 17-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. 

Defensive tackle Tywone Malone was hit with a facemask penalty on a 2nd-and-1 play moving the Huskies from the OSU 45 to the 30. The penalty helped Washington to a field goal cutting its deficit to 14-6 late in the third. 

Finally, the biggest mental lapse of the day went to defensive tackle Eddrick Houston. In the aftermath of Caden Curry charging into the Washington backfield to sack Williams Jr. for a 7-yard loss on 3rd-and-3 early in the fourth quarter, Houston got tangled up with a UW offensive lineman before taking a swipe and landing a 15-yard flag. The selfish play turned what should've been 4th-and-10 into an extended possession. The Silver Bullets did eventually turn the Huskies over on downs but man what a ridiculous play. Unfortunately, frustration in the Woody over Houston doesn't sound like a new thing either. 

SPECIAL TEAMS UNEVEN ONCE AGAIN 

Death, taxes, Ohio State featuring uneven-to-terrible special teams play. Make no mistake, a lot went right yesterday in a tough environment to secure a meaningful win but at a program like Ohio State, with aspirations on winning a national title every year, it's weird that the telecasts should pretty much play Yakety Sax when special teams take the field. 

Ohio State only punted once yesterday which is very cool and good but that one punt was a 35-yarder from Joe McGuire that only drove the Huskies back to their own 25. Punting from the OSU 40, that kick should be downed inside the 20 at least eight out of 10 times at this level and should probably be downed inside the 10 about half the time. 

In fairness to McGuire, he's only attempted seven punts through four games so maybe he's rusty but if that was enough kicks to qualify for the national leaders page, he'd be around 55th in average yards per punt. Of his seven boots, one has been downed inside the 20 and two have been fair caught. 

Ohio State's punt return woes were also on display yesterday despite returning only one. Brandon Inniss fielded a Luke Dunne kick to end Washington's second possession of the game and raced upfield for a fantastic 32-yard return to the UW 21 in what was the second-longest of his career. Unfortunately, Inniss allowed the ball to be jarred loose and Washington recovered, immediately putting Ohio State's defense back on the field. 

The short rest for the defense and the momentum shift revving up the home crowd helped Washington convert the turnover into a 10-play field goal drive to take an early 3-0 lead. 

Entering yesterday's game, Ohio Sate ranked No. 88 in average yards per punt return (7.0) although I guess it should be noted the 32-yarder did push the Buckeyes all the way up to 35th now. Silver lining? 

Yesterday's lost fumble combines with Day's frustration after the Grambling State game when he noted the Buckeyes lost 47 "hidden yards" due to punt return issues. 

If you're curious, looking at the nine seasons prior to this one, Ohio State's average yards per punt return has ranked anywhere from No. 59 to No. 114 nationally. 

But hey, what's the best thing about being 4-0? I hope to see you all at the Eleven Dubgate ahead of the Minnesota game next Saturday. 

Ohio State Game Coverage
29 Comments

Ohio State Overcomes Slow Start to Earn 24-6 Win at Washington, Hand Huskies First Home Loss Since 2021

Caden Curry vs. Washington

Quick Hits: Ryan Day Excited to See Ohio State’s “Capability and Potential” in Big Ten Road Win, Says the Buckeyes Still Have “A Long Way to Go and a Lot of Work to Do”

Ryan Day
View 29 Comments