Skull Session: Ohio State Must Get Healthy, Julian Sayin Needs Better Chemistry with the Buckeyes’ Backup Receivers and James Peoples is Surging at the Right Time

By Chase Brown on November 17, 2025 at 5:00 am
Julian Sayin
Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch
17 Comments

Welcome to the Skull Session.

This was a great moment during Ohio State's win over Notre Dame on Sunday:

And how about a two-BOOM Sunday?!

Have a good Monday.

 GOT CHEMISTRY? Julian Sayin threw for 184 yards and one touchdown in Ohio State’s win over UCLA, completing just 74.2% of his passes. That earns a just because it marks Sayin’s third-lowest completion percentage of the season — ahead of Texas (65%) and Illinois (70.4%) but behind some absurd numbers: Ohio (78.1%), Washington (78.6%), Purdue (81.8%), Minnesota (85.2%), Wisconsin (85.7%), Penn State (87%) and Grambling State (94.7%).

Sayin’s production dipped as he played without Carnell Tate for the second straight week, and Jeremiah Smith battled what Ryan Day called a “nagging issue” that left him limping before, during and after the game. Sayin and Smith still connected four times for 40 yards, but all of those catches came in the first half before Smith exited. In their absence, Sayin most often turned to Brandon Inniss, and the Ohio State captain responded with a career-high six receptions for 30 yards.

While Sayin delivered an impressive strike to Bryson Rodgers while scrambling, it was clear Saturday that he doesn’t have the same chemistry with Rodgers, Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham that he has with the starters. Some of the throws Sayin made are ones Tate and Smith routinely pull in — but not the second-team receivers. To be clear, it’s hard to fault Rodgers, Porter and Graham; after all, Smith is the best player in college football, and Tate boasts a ridiculous 92.3% success rate on contested catches.

Ohio State is a 33.5-point favorite over Rutgers, so I’d like to see the Buckeyes use what should be a comfortable win as a chance to get Tate and Smith healthy — and Sayin, for that matter, who hurt his ankle on a play where the referees clearly missed a roughing the passer call — and to help Sayin develop a better connection with Rodgers, Porter, Graham and even Inniss before the Buckeyes travel to Ann Arbor on Nov. 29 and enter the postseason.

 RUN THE DAMN BALL! Ohio State ran 33 times for 222 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday. How much of that came from the Buckeyes’ offensive dominance versus the Bruins’ porous run defense — they ranked outside the top 120 nationally entering the weekend — is up for debate. Still, I’m glad I get to write about the positives instead of the negatives after a game against a team that couldn’t stop a parked car.

Against UCLA, Bo Jackson led Ohio State’s backfield with Tecmo Bowl numbers: 15 carries for 112 yards and one touchdown. Isaiah West and James Peoples shined behind him, with West collecting 61 yards on eight carries and Peoples recording 42 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.

While Peoples received the third-most carries, he produced the best moment of the three running backs, a 19-yard touchdown in which he juked one UCLA defender (a little lingerie on the deck!) and hurdled another before running untouched into the end zone.

I mean, look at that vertical! It’s like he was wearing Moon Shoes!

Ryan Day said he was pleased with how all three of his running backs performed in Ohio State’s win, especially with CJ Donaldson out for the game with an injury.

“I thought the running backs ran hard,” Day said. “There were a lot of runs in there where we were making guys miss on the first level and the second level, in particular, James.”

Day said missed tackles will remain an area of focus for Ohio State, as will finishing plays downfield.

“It starts with the offensive line, and every play sort of looks the same to start with, but how are you finishing plays? We’re going to get on the film and make sure we’re finishing plays downfield,” Day said. “The blocking on the perimeter has got to be strong. And that comes down to effort and mindset. Everybody’s involved in the run game, and it starts with the offensive line, tight ends, Julian (Sayin is) involved. But at the end of the day, it seemed like the running backs were getting downhill and running physical.”

Rutgers should provide Ohio State’s running backs with another chance to build their confidence. Despite Greg Schiano’s reputation as a defensive specialist, the Scarlet Knights rank No. 125 nationally in run defense at 196.5 yards allowed per game (with an average of 6.55 yards allowed per attempt).

 THE PEOPLES CHAMP. I am proud of James Peoples. The maturity and humility he showed following the best performance of his still-young Ohio State career really impressed me on Saturday.

Peoples was one of five Ohio State players to meet with the media after the UCLA game, along with Julian Sayin, Brandon Inniss, Caden Curry and Lorenzo Styles Jr. In a nine-minute session, Peoples wore an almost-permanent ear-to-ear grin.

Ohio State’s RB3 behind TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins last season, Peoples admitted that this season hasn’t gone the way he expected. Nevertheless, he’s thankful to be where he is now.

“When it comes to football, man, just keep growing in my faith, growing as a person, as a player, and each day coming to work,” Peoples said of his experience this season. “It may not be going the way I intended it to go, but that’s life. At the end of the day, man, you just got to keep going. I’ve learned so much up to this point, man. I’ve trusted in my Father and the Lord God, and he’s keeping me going through this. Just keeping my head down, coming to work… celebrating with my team, my family and giving thanks to God.”

That’s truly an incredible response from a 19-year-old young man.

In addition to inspiring me on Saturday, Peoples also made me laugh more than once, but none more than during his exchange with Doug Lesmerises about his hurdle.

“Did you get a look at the hurdle on the sideline at all?” Lesmerises asked.
“I did. I haven’t checked my notifications and stuff like that,” Peoples replied.
“What does that look like to you?” Lesmerises continued, showing him a picture of the hurdle.
“That looks like perfect form,” Peoples said, before joking that Ohio State’s track and field coaches might try to recruit him this spring.

Perfect form; perfect response.

 HISTORY MADE. I have to end the Skull Session with Lorenzo Styles Jr.’s 100-yard kickoff return touchdown. We went 15 years without seeing one, for cryin’ out loud!

Shoutout Ryan Day, Nate Ebner, Styles and the rest of the kickoff return team for making history!

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Carmen Ohio" - TBDBITL.

 CUT TO THE CHASE. Former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar will receive a liver transplant Monday morning... Make way for the flock! Hundreds of sheep head through German city to their winter pastures... Roger Goodell: NFL close to adding a "couple more" international games... A peek inside the Colonna Palace, Rome's most exclusive tourist site.

17 Comments

Quick Hits: Ryan Day Says Jeremiah Smith Left Game Early Due to “Nagging” Injury, Julian Sayin Says He’s “Feeling Good Now” After Turning Ankle

Jeremiah Smith

Four-Star Defensive End Dre Quinn, a Former Clemson Recruit, Commits to Ohio State

Dre Quinn
View 17 Comments