Following Ohio State's last game of the season, a disappointing 24-14 defeat to Miami, 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 14th game of the season and highlight the three highest-graded players who played at least 10 snaps against the Hurricanes. For the first time this season, Payton Pierce graded out as Ohio State’s best player.
| 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. LB Payton Pierce (97.5)
Pierce's score of 97.5 is the highest for a Buckeye player in any game this season. In fact, his grade against Miami was the highest of any offensive or defensive player during the bowl season. Pierce's 97.5 is almost six points higher than the second-highest graded linebacker, Pittsburgh's Rasheem Biles, who had a 91.7 against East Carolina.
Perhaps more impressive is Pierce's 99.9 grade in rush defense against Miami. This number is a full nine points higher than Hawaii defensive lineman Carsen Stockinksi, who graded out at 90.9 against the run.
This marks the first time this season for a linebacker to take the top spot among Ohio State's players for a game. Surprisingly, Pierce is the only linebacker to be rated in the top three among Buckeye players this season, despite backing up Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles all season.
2. WR Jeremiah Smith (84.1)
During bowl season, Smith led all Big Ten receivers with seven catches and only trailed USC's Tanook Hines (90.5) for the highest grade among the conference's receivers with at least two catches in a bowl game.
Smith finished the season with an overall offensive grade of 90.7. That is one-tenth of a point behind USC's Makai Lemon for the best overall grade among receivers this year.
3. S Caleb Downs (83.3)
Downs finished as one of Ohio State’s three highest-graded players for the second time in three games to end the season.
The unanimous All-American led Ohio State's defenders in coverage (87.2) against Miami and also had the best grade in run defense among the Buckeyes in the secondary.
Extra Points
- Kayden McDonald had the highest tackling grade (77.8) among all defensive tackles during bowl season. McDonald also finished the season as the Big Ten's best defensive tackle with an overall defensive grade of 86.7, and he also had a conference-best grade of 91.2 in rush defense among the conference's players in his position group.
- Jermaine Mathews Jr. led the team with a tackling grade of 82.8 in the Cotton Bowl.
- Austin Siereveld and Gabe VanSickle earned pass-blocking grades of 0.0 against Miami. Army's Ned Brady and Minnesota's Marcellus Marshall were the only other players to grade out with a 0.0 in pass-blocking in a bowl game.
- Gabe VanSickle (36.1) had the lowest grade of any Buckeye who played at least 10 snaps against Miami, followed by fellow offensive linemen Phillip Daniels (47.4) and Austin Siereveld (48.3).
- Lorenzo Styles Jr. (29.6) earned the lowest grade of any Ohio State player against the Hurricanes, but played only eight snaps before leaving the game with a shoulder injury.
- Sonny Styles finished the season with a tackling grade of 91.6, which was the best in the nation. He was also the highest-graded Big Ten Linebacker in overall defense (88.2).
| 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) |
| UCLA | RT Phillip Daniels (90.1) | TE Nate Roberts (87.9) | RB James Peoples (86.7) |
| Rutgers | DE Caden Curry (92.8) | CB Davison Igbinosun (90.6)# | TE Jelani Thurman (90.6)# |
| Michigan | QB Julian Sayin (82.0) | DT Tywone Malone Jr. (80.0) | S Caleb Downs (78.4) |
| Indiana | DE Caden Curry (85.6) | DT Kayden McDonald (77.3) | WR Jeremiah Smith (75.1) |
| Miami | LB Payton Pierce (97.5) | WR Jeremiah Smith (84.1) | S Caleb Downs (83.3) |
*Curry and Hinzman tied for first against Washington.
#Igbinosun and Thurman tied for second against Rutgers
Offensive Ratings By Position
Quarterback
Julian Sayin: 75.3 (60 snaps)
Running Backs
Bo Jackson: 71.2 (28 snaps)
CJ Donaldson: 69.9 (31 snaps)
Isaiah West: 60.0 (1 snap)
Wide Receivers
Jeremiah Smith: 84.1 (60 snaps)
Brandon Inniss: 67.4 (34 snaps)
Mylan Graham: 60.6 (1 snap)
Carnell Tate: 56.5 (59 snaps)
Tight Ends
Will Kacmarek: 75.5 (33 snaps)
Bennett Christian: 59.8 (2 snaps)
Max Klare: 54.2 (5 snaps)
Offensive Line
Carson Hinzman: 69.0 (60 snaps)
Ian Moore: 64.3 (31 snaps)
Luke Montgomery: 58.9 (60 snaps)
Joshua Padilla: 57.6 (42 snaps)
Austin Siereveld: 48.3 (29 snaps)
Phillip Daniels: 47.4 (60 snaps)
Gabe VanSickle: 36.1 (18 snaps)
| QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DE | DT | LB | CB | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julian Sayin | Bo Jackson | Jeremiah Smith | Will Kacmarek | Ian Moore | Caden Curry | Tywone Malone Jr. | Payton Pierce | Devin Sanchez | Caleb Downs |
| 75.3 | 71.2 | 84.1 | 75.5 | 69.0 | 64.8 | 65.0 | 97.5 | 70.9 | 83.3 |
Defensive Ratings by Position
Defensive Ends
Zion Grade: 77.1 (3 snaps)
Caden Curry: 64.8 (60 snaps)
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 63.3 (63 snaps)
Defensive Tackles
Will Smith Jr.: 68.5 (8 snaps)
Tywone Malone Jr.: 65.0 (12 snaps)
Kayden McDonald: 61.8 (8 snaps)
Will Smith Jr.: 68.5 (8 snaps)
Jason Moore: 61.2 (1 snap)
Eddrick Houston: 50.9 (50 snaps)
Linebackers
Payton Pierce: 97.5 (10 snaps)
Arvell Reese: 73.1 (63 snaps)
Sonny Styles: 65.4 (63 snaps)
Cornerbacks
Devin Sanchez: 70.9 (43 snaps)
Davison Igbinosun: 70.4 (62 snaps)
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 59.2 (61 snaps)
Safeties
Caleb Downs: 83.3 (63 snaps)
Leroy Roker III: 76.4 (4 snaps)
Jaylen McClain: 74.1 (63 snaps)
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 29.6 (8 snaps)
