Following Ohio State's 42-6 win over Minnesota, we share the scores from Pro Football Focus, who grades every player after every game based on how they perform on a snap-to-snap basis.
We compiled the PFF grades for every Buckeye who played on either offense or defense in the Big Ten home opener and highlight the three highest-graded players who played at least 10 snaps against the Huskies. For the first time this season, a defensive lineman is not at the top of the list.
| ELITE | GOOD | ABOVE AVG. | AVG. | BELOW AVG. | POOR | VERY POOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | 80-89 | 70-79 | 60-69 | 50-59 | 40-49 | Below 40 |
1. QB Julian Sayin (91.9)
For the first time this season, an offensive player was graded as Ohio State's best. Following Sayin's performance against Minnesota, he earned the Big Ten's highest grades in offense (91.9) and passing (92.1). Sayin also led the conference with three big-time throws, defined by PFF as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.”
Julian Sayin was lights out vs Minnesota
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 5, 2025
Sayin earned a career-high 91.7 PFF passing grade, tossing 3 big-time throws and no turnover-worthy plays
PFFs Week 6 College Football Team of the Weekhttps://t.co/oDEAdWttQ8
2. WR Carnell Tate (86.9)
For a quarterback to have a good game, he needs receivers who catch the ball. Tate was the go-to player for Sayin in Saturday night's win over the Gophers as he hauled in nine catches for 183 yards and a touchdown.
The Illinois native was the highest-graded receiver in the Big Ten for overall offense (86.9). He earned the second-highest grade in receiving with 85.1, just behind Illinois' Hank Beatty (85.7).
Highest Graded Big Ten WR from Week 6:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 6, 2025
Carnell Tate, Ohio State: 86.6@OhioStateFB https://t.co/vTOX2quMDu pic.twitter.com/sDIFYzXhrV
3. S Lorenzo Styles Jr. (84.8)
Styles tallied three tackles, a pass breakup and had a shared tackle for loss against P.J. Fleck's team. PFF graded him as the Big Ten's second-highest-rated safety in overall defense (84.8) and coverage (83.8) for Week 6.
Extra Points
- Caleb Downs earned a team-high grade in rush defense (84.8) and tackling (84.0).
- Austin Sierveld led the team in pass-blocking (82.5) and was second in run blocking (79.7).
- Tarvos Alford (31.2) had the lowest grade of any Buckeye, with Brandon Inniss (49.9) earning the lowest grade of any Ohio State player with 10+ snaps.
- Jeremiah Smith was the team's best run blocker with a grade of 85.6.
PFFT
Last week, we highlighted PFF's low grade of 59.7 for Sayin, as he completed 22 of 28 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns against Washington, which equated to a passer rating of 122.3. Did the people at PFF take notice? We ask because Sayin completed 23 of 27 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns. Yes, he completed one more pass on one less attempt for 118 more yards and one more touchdown, but does that equal a 32.2 point bump up to 91.9 this week?
In the end, this week's PFFT isn't calling out Sayin's grade against Minnesota, but reinforcing that his grade of 59.7 at Washington was ridiculously low.
| GAME | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas |
DT Kayden McDonald (82.4) |
DT Will Smith Jr. (80.7) |
CB Jermaine Mathews Jr. (78.0) |
| Grambling |
DT Kayden McDonald (93.6) |
TE Jelani Thurman (93.0) |
QB Lincoln Kienholz (88.1) |
| Ohio | DE Caden Curry (92.5) | LB Sonny Styles (89.2) | QB Julian Sayin (85.4) |
| Washington | DE Caden Curry (80.3)* | OL Carson Hinzman (80.3)* | OL Austin Siereveld (75.8) |
| Minnesota | QB Julian Sayin (91.9) | WR Carnell Tate (86.9) | S Lorenzo Styles Jr. (84.8) |
*Curry and Hinzman tied for first against Washington.
Offensive Ratings By Position
Quarterback
Julian Sayin: 91.9 (48 snaps)
Lincoln Kienholz: 70.1 (11 snaps)
Running Backs
James Peoples: 74.7 (21 snaps)
Bo Jackson: 71.5 (28 snaps)
C.J. Donaldson: 60.6 (10 snaps)
Isaiah West: 55.9 (2 snaps)
Wide Receivers
Carnell Tate: 86.9 (40 snaps)
Jeremiah Smith: 80.6 (43 snaps)
Quincy Porter: 74.5 (10 snaps)
Mylan Graham: 60.7 (16 snaps)
David Adolph: 60.0 (2 snaps)
Brandon Inniss: 49.9 (24 snaps)
Tight Ends
Max Klare: 84.1 (29 snaps)
Jelani Thurman: 78.2 (14 snaps)
Bennett Christian: 70.3 (18 snaps)
Nate Roberts: 63.0 (11 snaps)
Will Kacmarek: 59.5 (27 snaps)
Offensive Line
Austin Siereveld: 82.8 (49 snaps)
Ian Moore: 74.8 (10 snaps)
Luke Montgomery: 70.1 (49 snaps)
Joshua Padilla: 69.0 (19 snaps)
Tegra Tshabola: 68.9 (40 snaps)
Gabe VanSickle: 62.7 (10 snaps)
Ethan Onianwa: 60.3 (10 snaps)
Carson Hinzman: 59.1 (49 snaps)
Justin Terry: 58.3 (10 snaps)
Phillip Daniels: 56.9 (48 snaps)
| QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DE | DT | LB | CB | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julian Sayin | James Peoples | Carnell Tate | Max Klare | Austin Siereveld | Zion Grady | Eddrick Houston | Payton Pierce | Davison Igbinosun | Lorenzo Styles Jr. |
| 91.5 | 74.7 | 86.9 | 84.1 | 82.8 | 77.7 | 76.7 | 75.5 | 68.8 | 84.8 |
Defensive Ratings by Position
Defensive Ends
Zion Grady: 77.7 (10 snaps)
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 76.0 (13 snaps)
Caden Curry: 73.5 (38 snaps)
Logan George: 61.9 (8 snaps)
Epi Sitanilei: 61.7 (2 snaps)
Joshua Mickens: 55.2 (6 snaps)
Beau Atkinson: 53.9 (28 snaps)
Defensive Tackles
Eddrick Houston: 76.7 (17 snaps)
Will Smith Jr.: 74.0 (22 snaps)
Jarquez Carter: 66.8 (7 snaps)
Tywone Malone Jr.: 62.4 (19 snaps)
Trajen Odom: 60.9 (2 snaps)
Kayden McDonald: 58.6 (24 snaps)
Linebackers
Payton Pierce: 75.5 (24 snaps)
Arvell Reese: 66.2 (41 snaps)
Sonny Styles: 66.1 (45 snaps)
Riley Pettijohn: 65.9 (5 snaps)
Tarvos Alford: 31.2 (4 snaps)
Cornerbacks
Davison Igbinosun: 68.8 (46 snaps)
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 66.3 (46 snaps)
Bryce West: 63.2 (4 snaps)
Aaron Scott Jr.: 60.5 (5 snaps)
Devin Sanchez: 56.1 (15 snaps)
Safeties
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 84.8 (27 snaps)
Caleb Downs: 73.7 (46 snaps)
Jaylen McClain: 64.4 (46 snaps)
Leroy Roker III: 64.0 (6 snaps)
Faheem Delane: 62.4 (5 snaps)
