Five Things: Banged Up Buckeyes Ride Run Game to Throttle UCLA, 48-10, Remain Undefeated

With Carnell Tate sidelined for a second-straight game and Jeremiah Smith playing only the first half, Ohio State leaned on it's run game and <checks notes> special teams (?!) to blow out UCLA, 48-10, last night in Ohio Stadium. 

The win improved the Buckeyes to 10-0 on the season and marked the 1,000th win in school history (including the 12 victories in 2010 the NCAA tried to Man In Black from our memories).

Tate's absence was somewhat expected after he sat out at Purdue last week but Smith showing up on the pregame injury report as questionable was a new development and quite frankly, after seeing Smith limp noticeably to and from the locker room at halftime, maybe he shouldn't have played at all. That aside, Ryan Day said postgame he's not worried about the health of Tate or Smith as OSU moves forward. 

With an already terrible UCLA team playing without it's starting quarterback in Nico Iamaleava, Ohio State could've played reserves for the full 60 minutes and won comfortably. 

Playing without his top two targets, Julian Sayin wasn't quite as sharp as we've gotten used to, completing 23-of-31 passes (74.2%) for 184 yards with a touchdown. For the first time this season, Sayin threw three straight incompletions (!) but he also had his typical moments of elite ball placement and throwing guys open.

Ohio State nearly doubled up the Bruins in total yards (440-222) and held a 25-8 edge in first downs as the Buckeyes scored on 7-of-9 possessions while UCLA didn't even run a play in OSU territory until its 8th drive of the night which ended with a touchdown just before the third quarter expired. 

So yeah, another lopsided victory for the Buckeyes who will now face Rutgers next Saturday before ending the regular season in Ann Arbor in two weeks. 

Before looking ahead to what's next though, here are Five Things from a thorough beat down of the overmatched Bruins. 

BO LEADS RUN GAME RESURGENCE

Ryan Day's made it clear for months he's juggling keeping his running back room fresh while giving guys enough carries to develop. While I understand and agree with the logic it has been tough at times watching freshman Bo Jackson not be able to get into a rhythm because I feel he has the ability to be a 25 carries per game back. 

Last night Jackson had 15 of the team's 25 carries through the third quarter, racking up 112 yards and a touchdown on 7.5 per attempt. Seven of his carries moved the chains as he showed improving vision alongside his typically strong cutting and tackle breaking ability. 

The 15 carries were his second-most this season (Washington, 17) and the 112 yards were a career-high, marking the third time this season he's gone for 100+ on the ground. 

CJ Donaldson didn't play last night so maybe that was a bit of a factor but it feels like Jackson is on track for another "load management" type game next week before he sees his carries increase closer to 20 versus Michigan and beyond. 

With Jackson leading the way and Isaiah West chipping in 61 yards, Ohio State rushed for season-highs against power four teams of 222 yards, 6.7 yards per carry and four touchdowns. 

Admittedly, I'm pessimistic by nature, but it's worth noting there's only five FBS teams giving up more yards per carry (5.18) than the Bruins this season. Point being, I think Jackson's going to see a workload increase starting in two weeks which should help the run game but I don't yet think there's enough evidence to say Ohio State can lean on it as a strength in matchup games. 

IN STYLE(S)

Even before nickel back Lorenzo Styles Jr. looked bad way back in mid-September in allowing Ohio's Chase Hendricks to take an intermediate throw and run 67 yards for a touchdown, via poor coverage and worse tackling, he's caught flak from some OSU fans as being the weak link in the secondary. 

With all the talent around him on the back end, he's not a better prospect than Caleb Downs, Jermaine Mathews Jr, Davison Igbinosun and probably Jaylen McClain but I think he makes more plays than he gets recognized for. And frankly, I know everyone's super high on five star freshman Devin Sanchez - I think he'll be great in time as well - but right now Styles is far and away OSU's 5th best member of the secondary. He's also an incredibly versatile player that brings a veteran presence. 

Last night he did a little bit of everything, showcasing that versatility. 

The highlight was obviously this 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown marking the first time since the iPad was released to the public (2010 - The Game to be exact) that Ohio State took a kickoff to the house. 

STYLES KICK RETURN TOUCHDOWN TO THE @OhioStateFB

:NBC pic.twitter.com/n2n2mmHQQu

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2025

In addition to his touchdown, Styles chipped in a tackle on punt coverage and four stops on defense - three of which came in run support with no carry going for a first down. 

I appreciate the dude's willingness to do anything in support of a win and I'm glad he got some shine last night for his touchdown even if a lot of fans may not always recognize his generally solid, versatile play. 

INNISS STEPS UP 

Another guy in the same camp as Styles Jr., slot receiver Brandon Inniss works in the shadows of the two best receivers in college football, which limits his opportunities in the pass game but he's typically ready with Julian Sayin looks his way. He's also a factor in other ways for this team. 

Last night, with Tate out and Smith limited, Inniss chipped in a career-high six catches on seven targets with three of his receptions moving the chains on either third or fourth down. 

His first conversion, on 3rd-and-4, came as Sayin made a perfect throw on a crossing route into an extremely tight window. Sayin's throw was incredible but it was also a very difficult catch to make and Inniss did so for eight yards. Ohio State would kick a field goal on the drive to take a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter. 

Inniss came through on OSU's next possession with a 7-yard catch on 4th-and-5 to keep a touchdown drive alive to make it 17-0. 

Midway through the third quarter, facing 3rd-and-7, Sayin again looked for Inniss and he came through with a 9-yard connection extending a touchdown drive capped by a West jaunt to make it 34-0 good guys. 

Inniss also added a 5-yard carry and continued to serve as OSU's lead punt returner. He only had one return for three yards last night but it should be noted he's still inside the top-20 nationally with an average of 11.38 yards per. 

DEFENSE HANDLES LIGHT WORK

I doubt Matt Patricia entered last night's game too concerned especially once it was reported Nico Iamaleava wouldn't play due to a concussion but still, Ohio State's defense turned in another suffocating performance, particularly in the first half as the Buckeyes took a 27-0 lead into the break. 

Backup signal-caller Luke Duncan was actually way more serviceable than I expected but the OSU defense overwhelmed the Bruins holding them to 50 total yards, two first downs and 2.4 yards per play across the first two quarters. 

In fact, no UCLA drive generated more than 20 yards in the first half with five possessions resulting in five punts. 

I'm sure the Buckeyes aren't breaking their hands patting themselves on the back for shutting down UCLA's abysmal offense but it was another instance of the unit avoiding complacency and playing fundamentally sound which also enabled the reserves to gain more seasoning. 

The Buckeyes didn't register a sack for the second straight game but Patricia also kept it pretty vanilla because that's all OSU needed to hold UCLA to 222 total yards including a mere 68 on the ground (2.7 ypc). 

PLAY TIME IS ALMOST OVER 

With one more tuneup to go before Ohio State heads to Ann Arbor, Day and company have just under two weeks to maximize player health, optimize the run game and strategize exactly what they do and don't want on tape. 

It feels like Day has been extremely purposeful spreading carries around in the run game, running the offense at a slower pace in part to avoid wear and tear, and generally deploying load management strategies where deemed applicable across the roster with an eye on peaking in late-November and beyond. 

We keep hearing things about how Day has a different look in his eye and he's now had almost a year to think about how to he wants to attack Michigan week and the Michigan game plan. Maybe subtle but even moving up the TBDBITL visit to practice on the schedule had a distinct purpose.

Now the Buckeyes only have to get through one more layup in the form of Rutgers for Day to have his crack at righting the wrongs of the last few years in The Game. Anybody got a time machine?