Ohio State football flexed its muscle in the passing game during a 38-14 win against Penn State to advance to 8-0.
Redshirt freshman Julian Sayin’s deep-ball accuracy helped the Buckeyes march down the field quickly. The redshirt freshman had only three incompletions on the day, completing 20 of 23 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns. Sayin’s performance marked his second straight game with at least 300 passing yards and four passing touchdowns.
After allowing two touchdowns in the first half against Penn State, Ohio State’s defense found its footing and held the Nittany Lions scoreless for the remainder of the game. Safety Caleb Downs snagged his second interception of the year in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
How did the Buckeyes grade in their win? Leaves are awarded on a zero-to-five basis.
Ohio State offense (4 leaves)
I’ll let Ryan Clark state the obvious:
Julian Sayin is a Dude!! Need to talk about him more.
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 1, 2025
Sayin’s performance made him the Heisman Trophy favorite. On the first drive, he completed 6 of 6 passes for 71 yards while Ohio State rushed the ball five times to open up with a balanced attack. On third down in the red zone, Sayin perfectly executed a run-pass option, reading the safety’s downhill motion and finding Jeremiah Smith in single coverage for a score. The Buckeyes marched 89 yards on 11 plays, and it was their second week in a row with a touchdown on the opening drive.
For all the success in the passing game, the Buckeyes’ offensive line whiffed on blocking assignments throughout the second quarter. The crumbling pocket forced a rare Sayin scramble to convert a third down. Two plays later, Sayin threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Tate, who caught the underthrown ball through contact.
Sayin again found Tate downfield and wide open for a 57-yard pass to the 4-yard line, and OSU scored a few plays later. The next drive, Sayin sailed the ball downfield again, this time to Smith for another 57 yards, leading to yet another touchdown and a safe lead.
Penn State’s defense had allowed only one pass longer than 40 yards through seven games.
Julian Sayin has completed three of them — 45 yards, 57 yards and 57 yards — through three quarters.
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) November 1, 2025
And if you forgot that Smith is the most coveted receiver talent in college football, he gave another reminder, hauling in a tipped pass with one hand for his second touchdown of the day.
Like last week, a near-perfect passing game wiped away some mistakes from the Buckeyes’ run game. Things got stressful for the Buckeyes when C.J. Donaldson fumbled deep in their own territory. The turnover led to a Penn State touchdown with seconds remaining in the first half.
If it were not for Bo Jackson’s 51-yard run in the fourth quarter, Ohio State would have gone another game without a 100-yard rusher. Take away that run and the Buckeyes averaged less than four yards per carry on the day, showing that effortless success in the passing game continues to lead Ohio State’s high-powered offense.
Ohio State defense (3 leaves)
Before the Penn State game, Ohio State’s defense held all opponents to 12 points combined in first-half scoring. Terry Smith’s Nittany Lions put up two touchdowns to the Buckeyes’ surprise in the first half.
While Matt Patricia’s unit forced two straight punts to start vs. Olentangy’s Ethan Grunkemeyer, the Nittany Lions’ offense used several short-yardage plays for a 16-play touchdown drive. Grunkemeyer had ample time to convert two third-down passes from medium-distance throws with minimal pocket pressure. Penn State’s running back duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicolas Singleton chunked out runs and made just enough defenders miss to continue chipping away yardage on drives.
Entering this game, Ohio State’s third-down defense was the best in the nation and held opponents to a 21.05% conversion rate. The Nittany Lions smashed that statistic, converting on third down eight of 15 times.
The Buckeyes’ defense had short-term memory and looked like its usual self in the second half, recording its first sack in the third quarter, and the typical pressure Ohio State applies followed. Penn State sputtered on offense in the second half and came up with 60 yards and no scores to show for it. Caleb Downs’ second interception of the season sealed the deal for Ohio State and wiped away the defensive struggles in the second half.
Ohio State special teams (4 leaves)
One kick-catching interference, one 22-yard field goal, one 43-yard punt and one nine-yard punt return for Brandon Inninss earns Ohio State’s special teams unit four buckeye leaves for an uneventful yet successful day.
Ohio State coaching (4 leaves)
Coaching is all about making adjustments. Keeping a slow and steady rhythm to start, Ohio State scored two touchdowns and a field goal on three offensive drives in the first half. But up only 17-14 against an unranked Penn State team with an interim head coach and backup quarterback, things quickly shifted for Ryan Day’s squad.
The change was evident in the offensive play-calling, with Brian Hartline opting to give Sayin multiple chances to chuck the ball down the field for Smith and Tate. Ohio State’s offense got to the red zone quickly and got out of a stressful score margin almost immediately in the second half.
After Grunkemeyer found success in the first half with minimal pocket pressure, Patricia turned up the heat and had much more aggressive line play, causing errors in all facets of Penn State’s offense. The correct adjustments were made by the coaching staff after a close score at half.
Fun factor (4 leaves)
It was fun listening to Gus Johnson lose his mind when Smith somehow came down with his second touchdown grab. The internet certainly had some thoughts about his questionable suit-shirt-tie combination.
While this game at the beginning of the year projected Penn State to be in a much better situation, a close first half and several highlight touchdowns kept this No. 1-vs.-unranked matchup fun and fresh. Kudos to Brutus for a high-flying entrance to kick off his birthday bash.
Brutus zip lines into Ohio Stadium before Penn State game
Watch Brutus Buckeye zip line into Ohio Stadium before the matchup against the Penn State game.
Penn State (3 leaves)
Making this a one-score game at half is impressive, and Terry Smith deserves credit for keeping it close. Grunkemeyer had one of the tallest tasks ever for a backup quarterback in his second game starting, playing against the team he grew up idolizing in the stadium he grew up 20 minutes away from. He led two touchdown drives in the second quarter that had Buckeye fans worried for a second.
For an unranked Penn State team close to rock bottom, the Nittany Lions put up an honest fight in the first half of the game before losing their fire.
Officials (3 leaves)
There’s only one official call that needs to be discussed from this game: Are we sure this was not targeting by safety Caleb Downs?
To start the fourth quarter, Downs hit Penn State receiver Khalil Dinkins with a blindside helmet-to-helmet bash that was originally called for targeting. Had the call stood, Downs would have been ejected from the game and disqualified from the first half of the Ohio State-Purdue game Oct. 8.
But in a surprise ruling − one that Downs was clearly surprised by − the officials overturned the call and left the hit as an unnecessary roughness personal foul. Perhaps officials believed Downs made more contact with his lead shoulder rather than the crown of his helmet. While the targeting penalty is brutal to the offending player, this one appeared to be clear targeting by definition and was a shocking overturn.
Dan Aulbach can be reached at daulbach@dispatch.com or @aulbachdan on X.