Ohio State took a step forward in all phases against Minnesota in Week 6.
Ryan Day and Brian Hartline worked each page of their playbook on offense and, in a twist, special teams. Five games into the year, the Buckeye defense looks generationally good, with about the 1,000th reminder that the unit that replaced eight NFL draft picks from its previous campaign.
Bigger tests in the Big Ten await, but it’s hard to find gripes with the Buckeyes’ efforts so far. They certainly fared better than a few formerly top-10 teams over the weekend.
Stock Up
Pushing the Ball Downfield
No conservative game plan to start against Minnesota, the way Ohio State ensured it ran the ball and trusted its defense against Texas and Washington. The first two big tests of Julian Sayin’s decision-making are behind the Buckeyes. From here on in, it seems the skies may be open whenever bombs are open for him to drop. He went 5-of-7 for 163 yards and two touchdowns on throws at least 20 yards downfield against Minnesota, per Pro Football Focus.
Sayin had an incredible game overall, finishing 23-of-27 (85.3%) for 326 yards and three scores with no interceptions.
“We feel like when the defense is playing well, you're able to continually put things on his plate and allow him to get better at those things and focus on whatever those additions might be and not get put into bad situations,” Day said on 97.1 the Fan’s Buckeye Roundtable show on Monday. “We wanted to challenge him in this game and thought he handled it really well. Made some really good decisions, really located the ball down the field well. Taking care of the ball. So all those things are important. And good to see the ball getting spread around.”
Carnell Tate
Whether making another spectacular toe-tapping sideline catch or driving daggers through the heart of Minnesota’s defense with long touchdowns, Tate continues to show why teams can’t simply leave him singled up in coverage to focus on Jeremiah Smith. Destroying the Gophers’ secondary to the tune of nine receptions for 183 yards – both career-highs – and a 44-yard touchdown. As Dan Hope wrote about over the weekend, Ohio State may well have the two best wide receivers in college football.
44 YARDS TO @carnelltate_ TOUCHDOWN @OhioStateFB
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 5, 2025
NBC pic.twitter.com/Tiqwczz9Or
Max Klare
Ohio State’s crown-jewel transfer portal acquisition has quietly found footing in the offense lately, hauling in five receptions for 63 yards against Minnesota, and was the recipient of Sayin’s most impressive throw of the night. He’s up to 11 receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown this season.
This throw is just ridiculous, to stand in the pocket and make that throw... it's beyond impressive.
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) October 5, 2025
This is Julian Sayin's FIFTH start in college, he is playing at a Heisman level.
He's also shown tonight his deep ball is one of the best in America and he's only getting better pic.twitter.com/Dz0oGwLLKu
The Defense (Again)
Too many stocks are up on the defensive side of the football to give each man his own section. Davison Igbinosun, Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Lorenzo Styles Jr. were all blankets in coverage without committing penalties. Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese continue to be the nation’s best linebacker tandem. The defensive line dominated as the Gophers averaged 2.7 yards per carry, with Will Smith Jr. excelling off the bench to go with excellent outings from the starters up front. Caleb Downs is Caleb Downs.
Five points allowed per game through five contests. Pure lunacy.
Special Teams Creativity
Methinks Day heard the complaints about special teams and gave a breath of life to them. Eleven Warriors’ own Ramzy Nasrallah (hi Ramzy, love ya Ramzy) rejoices, at least for a week. Complaints about not saving this for a bigger opponent will be heard, but not heeded by me.
"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
Cincinnati
The Bearcats, not the Bengals. Definitely not the Bengals. But Cincinnati is now an early entrant to the Big 12 Championship race after upsetting then-No. 14 Iowa State 38-30. Former Buckeye Evan Pryor rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns in just 10 carries in a game not as close as the scoreline indicates. The Bearcats jumped out to a 31-7 lead over the Cyclones, who only got back within a score with 11 seconds remaining on the clock.
Stock Down
Stock Down
Is this joke too meta to do a second time? That’s up to you to decide, dear reader. But Stock Down is short on Ohio State-related things to talk about following a dominant win with overwhelming success in all three phases, save a 53-yard field goal miss that I’m not going to knock Jayden Fielding for. Coaches will find nits to pick, but for broad trends, this writer is bereft. We’ll review the film, address the issues and see where we can do better in the next stock report.
Ethan Onianwa
One small observation to drop in here: It seems Joshua Padilla has passed Onianwa as Ohio State’s sixth offensive lineman after he, not Onianwa, relieved starting right guard Tegra Tshabola for two drives with the first-team offense against Minnesota. Onianwa has gone from day two NFL draft buzz as Ohio State’s projected starter at left tackle following his transfer from Rice this spring, to a rotational piece in the early season to now being firmly labeled a backup. Certainly an unfortunate turn for the redshirt senior. But this is a cutthroat business, and the Buckeyes’ offensive line is playing pretty well despite how far his stock has fallen.
Penn State, James Franklin, Jim Knowles, Everything Related to the Nittany Lions
Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Hahahaha. Bwahahahahaaahaha.
The Big Ten hasn’t found this much comedic gold since Appalachian State upended Michigan in 2007. They didn’t have a win, James. They had lost to UNLV and New Mexico, James. They hadn’t even held a lead in 2025, James. They didn’t have a head coach anymore, James. How, James? HOW?!
Texas
The Longhorns dropped their second game of the season in the Swamp, falling to a three-loss Florida squad 29-21. Texas quarterback Arch Manning tossed two interceptions and completed just 55.2% of his passes. With the bad loss now dropping their résumé, as with Penn State, the Longhorns likely need to win out the rest of the regular season to make the College Football Playoff.
Professional Sports in Ohio
Both the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Guardians were eliminated from the MLB playoffs in the wild card round. The Cincinnati Bengals look completely inept without quarterback Joe Burrow and the Cleveland Browns have looked inept most of my lifetime. Both have losing records. All the state’s hopes rest with the Buckeyes (and soon the Cleveland Cavaliers, perhaps) for sports enjoyment.
