Halfway through the regular season, and there still hasn’t been a game where a majority of the stocks in this piece went down for Ohio State. Not even close.
The Buckeyes went on the road and comfortably beat the No. 17 team in the AP Poll, a motivated conference foe in Illinois this past Saturday. They never felt out of control of the game in a 34-16 win. The defense dominated again; it’s still the best in college football. While the offense has some issues to continue solving on the ground, it did more than enough to win the game and capitalize on the chances created by the defense.
There are certainly programs around the country that would love to have the stock climb that Ohio State is enjoying right now. Penn State and Michigan chief among them, much to the joy of Buckeye fans.
Stock Up
Jermaine Mathews Jr.
Behind Caleb Downs, Mathews showed against Illinois that he’s the second-best playmaker and disruptor in the Ohio State secondary. That’s no knock on Davison Igbinosun, who had four pass breakups against the Fighting Illini, but putting Mathews closer to the ball in the nickel position following Lorenzo Styles Jr.’s injury gave Mathews more chances to make an impact. He batted a ball that was intercepted. He blitzed and got a strip-sack that was recovered by defensive end Caden Curry. Mathews added a PBU.
“I knew when I got in that slot today, I knew it was gonna be something. I knew it,” Mathews said after the game.
ANOTHER FUMBLE AND OHIO STATE HAS IT AGAIN@OhioStateFB continues to be unstoppable on defense pic.twitter.com/Fi1hUANGcx
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 11, 2025
Kayden McDonald
McDonald performed a simple calculus when ripping the ball from the hands of Illinois running back Ca’Lil Valentine. (Wishing the best for Valentine, who suffered a severe knee injury on the play.)
“The running back’s there, little guy, I’m a big guy. I can easily take it away,” McDonald said. “Once I got the opportunity, I just took it.”
The ball is out and the Buckeyes have it! @OhioStateFB makes another big play on defense pic.twitter.com/laCWFA6hfC
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 11, 2025
It’d take a lot to convince me there’s a better nose guard in college football. McDonald’s production through six games is unbelievable: 26 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. You just aren’t supposed to post those numbers in the dead center of the line of scrimmage.
Tywone Malone Jr.
McDonald’s co-starter took strides in what was likely the best performance of his Ohio State career. With Eddrick Houston out for an unknown time for an unknown reason, the three-technique position is now Malone’s to fully command, and he answered accordingly with four tackles, including this beauty that prevented a touchdown on an Illinois shovel pass. It’s been better late than never for the redshirt senior.
Arvell Reese
If I were awarding a team MVP for the first half of the season, it would go to Arvell Reese. Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Smith are Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Smith, yes. But what Reese is doing in the front six of this defense has elevated it to a whole other echelon. Per Pro Football Focus, he has the best pressure rate of any Buckeye, collecting 16 total pressures in just 58 pass rush snaps. He and Sonny Styles have completely eliminated the threat of mobile quarterbacks, as evidenced by the rushing numbers Demond Williams Jr., Parker Navarro and now Luke Altmyer limped to against the Silver Bullets.
Reese leads the Buckeyes in tackles (38) and is second in sacks (4.5) despite having less than half of the pass rush snaps that defensive ends Curry and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. do. Reese had another monster game against Illinois, with nine tackles and 1.5 sacks. The NFL scouts are drooling, and he could be a top-10 pick come spring at this rate.
Indiana
Coach Cig has officially smoked the competition. Indiana, not just as this year’s team but as a program, is real. Hoosier quarterback Fernando Mendoza tossed a pick-six to then-No. 3 Oregon and Indiana still controlled the contest in a 30-20 victory in a hostile Autzen Stadium. At this rate, the No. 1 Buckeyes and now-No. 3 Hoosiers are on a collision course for the Big Ten Championship Game in December.
Texas
In a nice boost for Ohio State’s résumé, Texas upset then-No. 6 Oklahoma and climbed back into the AP Poll top 25 at No. 21. The Longhorns ran through their Red River rival 23-6 as quarterback Arch Manning far outdueled former Heisman Trophy frontrunner John Mateer. Manning went 21-of-27 for 166 yards and a touchdown, while Mateer finished 20-of-38 for 202 yards and three interceptions.
Stock Down
Leaning a Bit Too Much on the Run Game
Yes, it was a great win overall for Ohio State against Illinois. Playing ball control remains a sage strategy when the Buckeyes’ defense is dominating as it is. But there were 34 called runs against 28 called passes for an OSU squad that’s clearly been better throwing the ball thus far this year. Ohio State averaged a meager 2.9 yards per carry against the Illini. The run game does need to be solved for bigger games ahead, but it feels like quarterback Julian Sayin has earned more on his plate as well.
Punt
Joe McGuire got his largest sample of punts since Week 1 against Texas and his performance continues to leave much to be desired. He averaged just 37.8 yards per boot against Illinois with a long of 41 yards. There are clearly still consistency issues with mega-legged backup Nick McLarty, but one of the duo needs to solve something to help Ohio State do a better job in the field position battle.
Michigan
USC dominated the Wolverines 31-13 despite multiple red zone turnovers, dropping Michigan’s record to 4-2 in 2025 and Sherrone Moore’s record to 11-7 as the program’s head coach, excluding two wins he was suspended for this season. The Wolverines still have a plethora of issues on offense, which does nothing to ease the anxiety of Buckeye fans about The Game after four straight losses to the Maize and Blue.
Arizona State
My preseason Big 12 championship pick is not looking the part six games into its 2025 campaign. The Sun Devils were eviscerated 42-10 by Utah on Saturday, dropping them to 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in conference play. Arizona State faces the Big 12’s new favorite, No. 7 Texas Tech, next. A second loss there in league play likely dooms the team’s conference title and College Football Playoff hopes.
James Franklin
It was time for Franklin and Penn State to part ways. A word of caution to the Nittany Lions, however: Many programs would murder to have good 10-win seasons consistently, as you did under Franklin. Be sure this next hire doesn’t lead you down the trail of what Nebraska became after firing Bo Pelini or Auburn became after firing Gus Malzahn, coaches who brought similar levels of “good” to those programs without winning championships that their fanbases and administrators demanded.
Those teams are yet to return to that “good” echelon. Penn State will have to avoid those ever-so-hard-to-see pitfalls.
