After Ohio State's 34-10 whooping of Purdue in West Lafayette, we share the game’s grades from Pro Football Focus, which 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 eighth game of the season and highlight the three highest-graded players who played at least 10 snaps against the Boilermakers. Like last week, the top three spots are held by Ohio State’s starting quarterback, a defensive tackle and its superstar receiver.
| 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 (89.2)
Are we living in a Bill Murray movie? For the fifth straight week, Sayin earned the highest grade among all Ohio State players. His passing grade of 88.8 against Purdue was the second-best in the nation among all quarterbacks with at least 25 pass attempts for Week 11, and his offensive grade of 89.2 was the best in the conference among QBs with a minimum of 25 passes.
For the season, Sayin continues to lead all quarterbacks in the FBS in offensive and passing grades. He has a 93.5 in both categories, as his passing grade is up from last week's grade of 93.1.
Julian Sayin to Jeremiah Smith for 6. Like clockworkpic.twitter.com/xqYxYb08hV
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 8, 2025
2. DT Kayden McDonald (88.3)
McDonald earned the nation’s highest grade among defensive tackles (88.3) for his play against Purdue. It’s the second week in a row that an Ohio State defensive tackle has been the nation’s best, as Eddrick Houston was PFF’s highest-graded DT of the week for his performance vs. Penn State.
McDonald's rushing defense grade of 89.4 was the second-best in the nation for DTs in Week 11, and his 87.6 overall grade for the season is the best among Big Ten players at his position.
KMAC Makin the difference
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 11, 2025
@KMac_DT was the Highest graded @PFF_College DT from Week 11, 88.3 pic.twitter.com/lsNyHujNAg
3. WR Jeremiah Smith (87.2)
Smith's receiving grade of 87.8 and his overall grade of 87.2 against the Boilermakers were the best in the Big Ten for the week among all players with at least four catches. For the season, Smith has improved by 2.3 points from last week and leads the nation with an offensive grade of 90.3 among receivers with at least two targets.
Smith was Ohio State’s third-highest-graded player behind Sayin and a defensive tackle for the second week in a row, with McDonald replacing Houston in this week’s top three.
Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith vs Purdue:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 8, 2025
10 REC
137 YDS
1 TD@OhioStateFB https://t.co/YmscUCoEBZ pic.twitter.com/iBTRwBJuSb
Extra Points
- Bo Jackson was the highest graded freshman running back (80.1) in Week 11.
- Austin Siereveld earned a grade of 89.5 in pass blocking, which was tied for second-best in the nation among tackles.
- Max Klare was graded with the Big Ten's best drop grade (hands) among tight ends with a score of 76.3 and had the team's best run-blocking grade with a 75.6.
- Zion Grady currently has a run defense grade of 84.2, which is third in the Big Ten among defensive ends.
- Beau Atkinson (34.8) had the lowest grade of any Buckeye with at least five snaps, with Nate Roberts (44.9) earning the lowest offensive grade of any Ohio State player.
- Sonny Styles leads all defensive players with a tackling grade of 91.6 for the season and his coverage grade (86.0) is a conference-best among linebackers.
- Carnell Tate ranks third in the Big Ten in offense (89.8) and receiving (89.5) for the season.
- Davison Igbinosun was the conference's highest-rated cornerback at run defense (77.0) last week.
- Caleb Downs led the team with a tackling grade of 82.6 against Purdue, but he has not been graded as one of Ohio State's three best players in any of the nine games this season.
Highest Graded Freshman Running Back from Week 11:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 11, 2025
Bo Jackson, Ohio State: 80.1@OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/VbjguVY2Xk
| 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) |
| Illinois | QB Julian Sayin (86.0) | DT Kayden McDonald (85.5) | DE Caden Curry (79.0) |
| Wisconsin | QB Julian Sayin (91.4) | WR Carnell Tate (82.5) | LB Payton Pierce (80.8) |
| Penn State |
QB Julian Sayin (92.7) |
DT Eddrick Houston (92.2) | WR Jeremiah Smith (90.1) |
| Purdue | QB Julian Sayin (89.2) | DT Kayden McDonald (88.3) | WR Jeremiah Smith (87.2) |
*Curry and Hinzman tied for first against Washington.
Offensive Ratings By Position
Quarterback
Julian Sayin: 89.2 (74 snaps)
Lincoln Kienholz: 67.6 (4 snaps)
Running Backs
Bo Jackson: 80.1 (25 snaps)
CJ Donaldson: 76.1 (14 snaps)
James Peoples: 75.0 (19 snaps)
Isaiah West: 64.8 (20 snaps)
Wide Receivers
Jeremiah Smith: 87.2 (59 snaps)
Bryson Rodgers: 64.0 (35 snaps)
Brandon Inniss: 60.6 (52 snaps)
David Adolph: 57.4 (8 snaps)
Mylan Graham: 52.4 (14 snaps)
Tight Ends
Max Klare: 74.7 (42 snaps)
Will Kacmarek: 63.0 (46 snaps)
Jelani Thurman: 49.0 (10 snaps)
Bennett Christian: 46.4 (25 snaps)
Nate Roberts: 44.9 (18 snaps)
Offensive Line
Ethan Onianwa: 76.8 (12 snaps)
Austin Siereveld: 75.6 (75 snaps)
Ian Moore: 67.3 (66 snaps)
Luke Montgomery: 66.8 (75 snaps)
Carson Hinzman: 62.4 (75 snaps)
Tegra Tshabola: 62.1 (65 snaps)
Isaiah Kema: 60.0 (3 snaps)
Carter Lowe: 59.2 (3 snaps)
Justin Terry: 57.0 (6 snaps)
Gabe Vansickle: 55.5 (13 snaps)
| QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DE | DT | LB | CB | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julian Sayin | Bo Jackson | Jeremiah Smith | Max Klare | Ethan Onianwa | Zion Grady | Kayden McDonald | Sonny Styles | Jermaine Mathews Jr. | Caleb Downs |
| 89.2 | 80.1 | 87.2 | 74.7 | 76.8 | 69.1 | 88.3 | 81.6 | 72.1 | 75.7 |
Defensive Ratings by Position
Defensive Ends
Zion Grady: 69.1 (15 snaps)
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 68.2 (32 snaps)
Caden Curry: 60.4 (34 snaps)
Joshua Mickens: 60.3 (5 snaps)
Beau Atkinson: 34.8 (9 snaps)
Defensive Tackles
Kayden McDonald: 88.3 (22 snaps)
Jason Moore: 78.0 (10 snaps)
Jarquez Carter: 60.3 (4 snaps)
Eddrick Houston: 58.3 (27 snaps)
Will Smith Jr.: 52.8 (15 snaps)
Linebackers
Sonny Styles: 81.6 (35 snaps)
Garrett Stover: 75.8 (1 snap)
Riley Pettijohn: 66.2 (11 snaps)
Arvell Reese: 61.6 (32 snaps)
Payton Pierce: 59.3 (23 snaps)
TJ Alford: 44.2 (5 snaps)
Cornerbacks
Bryce West: 75.3 (7 snaps)
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 72.1 (37 snaps)
Davison Igbinosun: 71.6 (36 snaps)
Aaron Scott Jr.: 54.2 (10 snaps)
Devin Sanchez: 52.9 (16 snaps)
Safeties
Caleb Downs: 75.7 (37 snaps)
Jaylen McClain: 74.6 (37 snaps)
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 64.6 (37 snaps)
Faheem Delane: 54.0 (10 snaps)
Leroy Roker III: 52.0 (10 snaps)
