The Ohio State football program faced a lot of doubts about its ability to take down Texas in the first game of the season. Texas came in ranked as the number-one team in the country, despite having lost to the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl last season, which was the last game they played.
Despite having just lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes, that didn't keep linebacker Colin Simmons from talking a little trash to Ohio State. He seemed to target Julian Sayin with a social media post. Ohio State took that to heart and made sure that Simmons wasn't going to be able to do much.
The Buckeyes took down the Longhorns 14-7 in a defensive battle. Even better than that, they made Simmons eat his words because he was not effective at all. In fact, it was like he wasn't on the field at all. Ohio State made sure that Sayin was protected properly against him.
The Ohio State football team made sure Colin Simmons was a non-factor
In the opening game against Ohio State, Simmons had just one solo tackle. He didn't have a single sack and had a facemask that nullified a safety that would have given Texas a couple of points. In fact, it was like Simmons wasn't even in uniform on the field.
Simmons is allegedly the best defensive player that the Longhorns have. The Buckeyes made sure that they did enough on the offensive end of the field to win the game. Julian Sayin was kept clean in the pocket, as he only faced one pressure in the game. The offensive line was mostly fantastic.
When the polls come out on Monday, the Buckeyes should be the new number-one team in the country. Beating the top-ranked team in the country should give them the opportunity to jump up in the polls. Perhaps Simmons should have thought better than to talk big before the game started.
Simmons is still a very good football player. He likely won't have another game like this for the rest of the season. He is a good edge player who can wreak havoc on a game when the opponent isn't prepared for him. Simmons just gave the Buckeyes some extra motivation to make sure he was taken care of.
Ryan Day has to be very pleased with what he saw from his offensive line in the opening game of the year.