COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the world of college football, there are teams that win with methodical precision and teams that win with overwhelming talent. Then there’s the 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes, who possess a nuclear option that may render all their flaws irrelevant.
The first half against Ohio University wasn’t pretty. It was, as the Buckeye Talk podcast hosts described, like watching “your favorite team at night spend 30 minutes having practice.” Personnel packages changed seemingly every play. Execution was spotty. Red zone opportunities fizzled.
Then, as if flipping a switch, Julian Sayin started launching missiles downfield that transformed the entire complexion of the game.
“This team is really, really dangerous because like there might be a moment this year where to, you know, pardon my French, they’re farting around for a few quarters, right? They don’t look great for two and a half quarters and then all of a sudden Jeremiah Smith does something and you’re like, ‘Oh, wow. The offense, oh wait, there goes Bo Jackson. Hip hip hooray.’ All of a sudden, they turned 14 points in four minutes because they are that explosive,” said Andrew Gillis on the podcast.
This isn’t just hyperbole. Against Ohio, Sayin threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns. Jeremiah Smith hauled in nine catches for 153 yards. Carnell Tate added five catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. And Bo Jackson broke off a 64-yard run that showcased his game-breaking ability.
The question is whether this big-play potential serves as an insurance policy or a crutch. Can Ohio State rely on explosive plays to bail them out against elite competition, or will their first-half inconsistencies and red zone struggles eventually prove fatal?
As Stephen Means pointed out on the podcast: “You can’t be great between the 20s, but then you get to the red zone areas and you can’t score, right? They got to be able to do that. But right now it’s a small issue and it only becomes a big issue when it becomes a big issue, right? And it will maybe it will or Julian’s gonna find Jeremiah Smith for a 47-yard bomb. He’s going to find Cardinal Tape for a 40-yard catch- It solved so many issues that quickly to where it doesn’t mean it’s excusable that you have these issues.”
This is the fascinating dichotomy of Ohio State’s offense. They can struggle for extended stretches, fail to execute in critical situations, and still overwhelm opponents with sheer talent and explosiveness.
The Buckeye Talk hosts raised the crucial question that will define Ohio State’s season: “Do we look at some of the stuff we saw early in this game? And do we go, they got two weeks, they’ll figure it out, they’re fixable, they’re not really a big deal, or are these the first signs of how Ohio State loses a football game?”
With a bye week ahead and Big Ten play looming, Ryan Day has time to address the red zone issues and first-half inconsistencies. But even if those problems persist, this Ohio State team has an ultimate trump card – the ability to score from anywhere on the field in seconds.
As college football has shown us many times, when you can flip a game with one play, you’re never truly out of it. And right now, no team in America has more flip-the-game potential than the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
Why Ohio State’s big-play offense makes the Buckeyes virtually unbeatable
