The Ohio State Buckeyes are 3-0 with a win over a top-10 team, but like every team in the history of sports, has things to work on to get closer to perfection. Being up by a single touchdown at home over the Ohio Bobcats is pretty convincing proof this team isn't perfect, even if they won with an on-paper dominant 37-9 final score.
FOX Sports' Michael Cohen believes there's "plenty" for the Buckeyes to work on during their bye week ahead of a September 27 matchup with the Washington Huskies in Seattle, a somewhat obvious point but one that's poignant in the wake of an underwhelming effort at home for an in-state rivalry game.
"The final score reflected a fairly comprehensive victory for Ohio State, which wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule on Saturday evening, but the performance itself was a mixed bag. On one hand, the Buckeyes held their third consecutive opponent to nine points or fewer under new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, and now they’ll enter a bye week with the No. 2 scoring defense in the country at just 5.3 points per game. On the other hand, a 67-yard touchdown pass from Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro to wide receiver Chase Hendricks trimmed Ohio State’s lead to 13-9 with 14:07 remaining in the third quarter," Cohen wrote.
"An uneven showing for the Buckeyes’ offense included a second consecutive 300-yard game for quarterback Julian Sayin, who completed 25 of 32 passes with three touchdowns, and the first 100-yard rushing game for freshman tailback Bo Jackson, the No. 161 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle. All-American wide receiver Jeremiah Smith even set a career high with nine receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown. But Sayin also tossed two interceptions — his second and third INTs in the last two games — and the Buckeyes did not score a touchdown until the 2:26 mark of the second quarter after turning the ball over on downs to begin the game and then settling for two field goals. There is plenty for head coach Ryan Day and his staff to address before conference play begins at Washington on Sept. 27."
OSU is the standard in college football. If any team has taken over the Alabama Crimson Tide's mantle in the NIL era, it's the Buckeyes. Day is winning in a way that scared Nick Saban away: spending big on talent.
The Ohio State University's donor base has shown out, and there's an all-in investment on the entire athletic department. The Buckeyes are the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Lakers teams of the early aughts.
A championship is expected, and any imperfection is amplified, though oftentimes warranted.
Good thing Day has the week to soul-search before hitting the West Coast for the beginning of Big Ten play.