The Ohio State Buckeyes accomplished every mission they aimed to against the Texas Longhorns during their 14-7 Week 1 victory at the "Shoe" on Saturday.
As The Columbus Dispatch's Brian Hedger noted, OSU's play-callers on both ends of the ball, offensive coordinator Brian Hartline and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, were able to slow the game down exactly as they envisioned.
The great Woody Hayes' name was evoked, with Hedger believing the 205–61–10 Buckeyes head coach would've loved OSU's performance against Texas.
"It wasn't pretty by the modern standards of college football, but No. 3 Ohio State's gritty 14-7 toppling of the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns in a pageantry-filled opener Aug. 30 at Ohio Stadium was something for purists to savor," Hedger wrote.
"Woody Hayes would've loved this one.
"Anyway, there wasn't a lot of offense, and that was A-OK by Ohio State. That's largely how the Buckeyes' coaching staff drew up its game plan against the Longhorns. Gritty and tough, like overcooked steak, was the point."
Hartline and Patricia earned their keep on Ryan Day's staff with the win against the Longhorns. ESPN's Bill Connelly sent a warning before the season that the two needed to justify their salaries and seats.
"In terms of raw recruiting rankings, Ohio State is going to have more talent than every team on its regular-season schedule except maybe Texas in Week 1. (The Buckeyes will have more than almost anyone they might play in the CFP, too.) In Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs, the Buckeyes might have the best offensive and defensive players in the country. Talent wins, and Ohio State will win a lot this season. But at some point, two new coordinators will be asked to earn their salaries," Connelly wrote.
"On offense, Ryan Day is handing the reins to Brian Hartline, who served as coordinator -- with Day still calling plays -- in 2023 when the Buckeyes crashed to 34th in offensive SP+. When Day decided to give up playcalling, he brought in Chip Kelly to take the job and won a national title with him. With Kelly off to the Las Vegas Raiders, it is Hartline's turn again. We'll have no idea if he's ready to be a master playcaller until we see him calling plays. And when Jim Knowles left for Penn State, Day replaced him with Matt Patricia. As I wrote in my Big Ten preview, 'he has loads of NFL experience and was mentored by Bill Belichick, but the last time he performed well in any capacity (from a statistical standpoint) was 2016.' Is he ready?"
So far, so good.
Ohio State hosts the Grambling State Tigers this Saturday.