Presented by HOMAGE
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Ohio State | 7 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
| MINNESOTA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| OCT. 4, 2025 • OHIO STADIUM • COLUMBUS, OHIO | |||||
Ohio State’s aerial attack lit up the night sky against Minnesota.
Julian Sayin completed 23 of his 27 passing attempts for 326 yards and three touchdowns, while Carnell Tate caught nine passes for 183 yards and a score, as the Buckeyes rolled to a 42-3 win over the Golden Gophers, improving to 5-0 on the season.
Ohio State scored 42 unanswered points after an opening drive field goal by Minnesota.
| Qtr | Time | Team | Result | Play Details | OSU | MINN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8:05 | MINN | FG | 27-YARD KICK, BRADY DENABURG | 0 | 3 |
| 1 | 0:00 | OSU | TD | 1-YARD RUN, CJ DONALDSON | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | 11:01 | OSU | TD | 6-YARD PASS, JULIAN SAYIN TO JEREMIAH SMITH | 14 | 3 |
| 2 | 8:04 | OSU | TD | 44-YARD PASS, JULIAN SAYIN TO CARNELL TATE | 21 | 3 |
| 3 | 5:45 | OSU | TD | 5-YARD RUN, BO JACKSON | 28 | 3 |
| 4 | 14:55 | OSU | TD | 9-YARD PASS, JULIAN SAYIN TO JEREMIAH SMITH | 35 | 3 |
| 4 | 3:49 | OSU | TD | 1-YARD RUN, LINCOLN KIENHOLZ | 42 | 3 |
Key Moments
Q1, 1:34: Sayin and Tate connect on 48-yard deep ball
After a week of discourse about Ohio State not throwing the deep ball vs. Washington, Sayin showed he could throw it deep just fine with a beautiful long bomb to Tate for a 48-yard gain. Jeremiah Smith followed that up with a 31-yard catch-and-run, leading to a CJ Donaldson touchdown run two plays later.
Sayin with a DOT to Carnell Tate @OhioStateFB
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) October 5, 2025
: NBC pic.twitter.com/sSzAO5J1KL
Q2, 8:12: Buckeyes stuff fourth-down run
Ohio State’s situational excellence on defense continued against Minnesota, particularly when the Golden Gophers went for it on 4th-and-1 at their own 44-yard line. Caleb Downs and Beau Atkinson stuffed Darius Taylor’s rushing attempt for no gain, giving the Buckeyes the ball back in Minnesota territory.
Q2, 8:04: Sayin and Tate connect again for 44-yard touchdown
Just one play after the fourth-down stop, Sayin and Tate hooked up on another deep bomb that put the Buckeyes up 21-3.
44 YARDS TO @carnelltate_ TOUCHDOWN @OhioStateFB
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 5, 2025
NBC pic.twitter.com/Tiqwczz9Or
Q3, 7:31: Inniss laterals to Styles for a 36-yard gain
Ohio State fans’ desire for more creativity on special teams were realized on Minnesota’s first punt of the second half, when Brandon Inniss threw the ball across the field to Lorenzo Styles Jr., who turned the lateral into a 36-yard run to the 20-yard line. Three plays later, Bo Jackson ran into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown to make it a 28-3 game.
"Special teams gets special for the Buckeyes!"
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 5, 2025
Check out this @OhioStateFB lateral on the punt return
: NBC pic.twitter.com/TXtz1mAb8n
Q4, 14:55: Sayin darts touchdown pass to Smith
Sayin capped off his spectacular night by darting a 9-yard touchdown pass to Smith for the sophomore wide receiver’s second score of the game.
HE DOES IT AGAIN Sayin finds @Jermiah_Smith1 once more for another @OhioStateFB TD!
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 5, 2025
NBC pic.twitter.com/6YykQzurN5
Stats
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| PASSING | JULIAN SAYIN | 23-27, 326 YARDS, 3 TD |
| RUSHING | BO JACKSON | 13 carries, 63 yards, 1 TD |
| Receiving | Carnell Tate | 9 catches, 183 yards, 1 TD |
What’s Next
Ohio State goes back on the road for its third game of Big Ten play to play Illinois next Saturday in Champaign, Illinois. The game will kick off at FOX with noon televising.
Team Stats
| OHIO STATE | MINNESOTA | |
|---|---|---|
| 474 | TOTAL YARDS | 162 |
| 133 | RUSHING YARDS | 68 |
| 30 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 25 |
| 4.4 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 2.7 |
| 3 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 341 | PASSING YARDS | 94 |
| 24-28 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 15-26 |
| 14.2 | YARDS PER COMPLETION | 6.3 |
| 3 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 21 | 1st DOWNS | 11 |
| 58 | TOTAL PLAYS | 51 |
| 8.2 | YARDS PER PLAY | 3.2 |
| 7-10 | 3RD DOWNS | 1-11 |
| 4-35 | PENALTIES | 2-12 |
| 31:52 | POSSESSION | 28:08 |
| 0 | TURNOVERS | 0 |
Game Notes
- Ryan Day’s career winning percentage improved to 88.2% (75-10), surpassing the career percentage of all-time leader Knute Rockne (88.1%), though Day is not yet the NCAA’s official winning percentage leader since he has not yet coached 10 seasons
- Jeremiah Smith became the 11th player in Ohio State history with 20 touchdown catches.
- Bo Jackson made his first career start for Ohio State at running back.
- Payton Pierce made his first career start at linebacker as Ohio State opened the game in its 4-3 defense.
- Defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. left the game with an injury in the first quarter and did not return.
- Lincoln Kienholz ran for his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter.
- Ohio State’s 1975 Big Ten championship team was honored on the field during the first quarter.
- Ohio State’s 2025 Athletics Hall of Fame was honored at halftime. This year’s inductees were Billy Price (football), Bianca Alvarez (diving), Katarzyna Dabrowa (fencing), Veronica Jatsek (track and field), Myles Martin (wrestling), Mary Olsen (gymnastics), Kim Reeder (softball), Blaz Rola (tennis), Jack Varga (rifle) and Alex Wimmers (baseball).
- The Detroit Lions had two scouts at the game while the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers each had one.
The next chapter of Ohio State excellence has arrived, and it's called "5-0". Yes, your undefeated Eleven Warriors are back in business. Whether you're big on THE or you stick to the Script, HOMAGE has 40+ new styles for Buckeyes fans of all ages this season.
