Week Seven: Ohio State Buckeyes
Date & Time: Saturday, October 17 at TBA
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
TV: TBA
Buckeyes at a Glance
Head Coach: Ryan Day
Entering his 9th as head coach at Ohio State
Record at Ohio State: 82-12 (55-5)
Overall Record: 82-12
Last Season: 12-2 ( 9-0in Big Ten) Loss in Cotton Bowl CFP Quarterfinal
Series History vs. Indiana
Record: 80-13-5
Last Meeting: Indiana won 13-10 in 2025 Big Ten Championship Game
Buckeyes Returning Leaders
Passing: Julian Sayin (301-391, 3,610 yards, 32 TDs 8 INTs)
Rushing: Bo Jackson (179 rushes, 1,080 yards 6 TDs)
Receiving: Jeremiah Smith (87 catches, 1,243 yards 12 TDs)
Tackles: Jaylen McClain (53 tackles, 3 PBUs)
Buckeyes Names to Know
Julian Sayin, Quarterback
Jeremiah Smith, Wide Receiver
Kenyatta Jackson, Defensive End
Buckeyes Preseason Predictions
Athlon: 1st in the Big Ten, National Title Game
Lindy’s: 11th in the Big Ten
Phil Steele: T-1st in the Big Ten
Sporting News: 2nd in the Big Ten
SP+: 1st Nationally
Impact Newcomers for the Buckeyes
Qua Russaw, Defensive End (Transfer from Alabama)
Earl Little Jr, Safety (Transfer Florida State)
Ja’kobi Jackson, Running back (Transfer from Florida)
Phillip Daniels, Offensive Tackle (Transfer from Minnesota)
Biggest Questions Facing the Buckeyes
How does Arthur Smith fit in as Offensive Coordinator?
Who emerges as the second and third options at wide receiver?
How do the Buckeyes replace Caleb Downs on defense?
Ohio State Program Preview
The Ohio State Buckeyes are 26-4 over the last two years, including winning the 2024 national championship, but there is a sour taste in their mouth after losing the final two games of the 2025 season to the teams that battled it out in the national title game, Indiana and Miami.
They will enter the season as the number one team in the Coaches Poll, but there are plenty of questions surrounding the Buckeyes. The biggest question is whether the offensive line can improve and play better against the top defenses in the country. The offense will have a new coordinator as former Pittsburgh Steelers OC Arthur Smith replaces Brian Hartline, who is now the head coach at South Florida. He’ll have plenty of weapons to work with, including a couple of Heisman candidates in quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Defensively, the Buckeyes will need to replace safety Caleb Downs and linebacker Sonny Styles, along with others who departed for the NFL. Downs was one of the most cerebral players in the sport and an eraser on defense. Ohio State reloaded through the portal with several big-time additions from other Power 4 programs.
The schedule is one of the more difficult ones in the sport. The Buckeyes play at Texas, Iowa, Indiana and USC while playing host to Oregon and Michigan. They will be battle-tested before coming to Bloomington as well.
Offensive Preview
The Ohio State offense sputtered in the postseason as they scored just 24 points in two games against Indiana (10) and Miami (14). The key to their struggles was the lack of protection of quarterback Julian Sayin. In those two games, the Buckeye offensive line allowed 10 sacks and 16 tackles for loss.
The offensive line returns three starters along that line and former Minnesota offensive lineman Phillip Daniels will start after transferring in 2024. He’ll play right tackle and OSU will move Austin Siereveld from left tackle to right guard. Daniels only has four starts to his name and allowed three sacks and 11 pressures last season, according to HUDLIQ.
Center Carson Heinzman returns and looks to improve on his numbers, but he did not allow a sack and just three pressures all year. Luke Montgomery and Ian Moore should fill out the left side of the line. Montgomery who has 16 starts over three years will be at guard and Moore at tackle.
Quarterback Julian Sayin enters his third year with the Buckeyes and second as the full-time starter. Last season, Sayin was the runner up to Fernando Mendoza in the Heisman Trophy race and should be on the short list again. He completed 77-percent of his passes for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns. He did throw eight interceptions. It will be interesting to see if Smith and head coach Ryan Day will ask him to do more in 2026.
The Buckeyes brought in Justyn Martin from Maryland (and UCLA before that) to be Sayin’s back up after Lincoln Kienholtz left for Louisville. Martin has played in six career games, but just one since 2024.
The superstar of Ohio State’s offense is wide receiver Jeremiah Smith who will enter his third and likely final year of college football. After a sluggish start to his freshman year in 2024, Smith has been as good as advertised and the best wideout in the sport.
Smith is a 6’3”, 223-pound speedster who can catch anything thrown his way. He has gone over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons and with Carnell Tate moving on to the NFL, Smith could close in on 1,500 or more yards.
With Tate out of the picture, the Buckeyes will look to Brandon Inniss and UTSA transfer Devin McCuin to be the second and third options. Inniss will line up in the slot most often. He made 36 catches for 271 yards with three touchdowns last season. McCuin, 6’ and 195 pounds, spent most of his time out wide at UTSA last season and led the Roadrunners with 65 catches for 726 yards and six touchdowns.
If either of those two are pulling away, freshman phenom Chris Henry Jr. is waiting for his chance. The number one receiver in the 2026 recruiting class is 6’5” and the son of former NFL player Chris Henry Sr. He is going to be the next great Buckeye receiver.
Bo Jackson will be the full-time starter this year after a freshman season where he ran for 1,090 yards. He will be more seasoned as a sophomore and continue his improvement from last season. Isaiah West who ran for 310 yards last season will back him up and Florida transfer Ja’kori Jackson comes in after running for 607 yards in two seasons with the Gators.
Legend Bey is a true freshman who has the talent to be the next great freshman at Ohio State, but he was suspended (and reinstated) during fall camp for a violation of team rules. He should factor into the rotation as well.
Ohio State’s top two receiving tight ends are gone in Max Klare and Will Kacmarek. Nate Roberts (6’4” 250lbs.) is ready to step into the starting role after playing in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2025. He made four catches for 30 yards.
Defensive Preview
The Buckeyes will have to adjust to life without All-American safety Caleb Downs who was the brains on the field for a stout unit in 2024 and 2025. The Buckeyes will have to replace their top four tacklers from a year ago including Sonny Styles, Arvell Reece and Caden Curry in addition to Downs. They have brought in portal help at every level however.
Former Florida State safety Earl Little comes to Columbus after leading the Seminoles with 76 tackles and four interceptions. He will play the boundary spot and Duke transfer Terry Moore will play the free safety spot. Moore has 118 career tackles and four career interceptions in three seasons with the Blue Devils.
Sophomore corner Devin Sanchez has breakout star potential after starting twice and playing in all 13 games as a true freshman. He’s a bigger corner at 6’2” and 198 pounds. Senior Jermaine Mathews will move into the other starting spot at corner after 15 starts over 41 career games.
Replacing Sonny Styles and Arvell Reece will not be easy as both were first round NFL Draft picks. The Buckeyes bring in former Wisconsin linebacker Christian Alliegro to plug the hole in the middle. Alliego was an 11-game starter for the Badgers and made 124 tackles, including eight sacks in three years.
Payton Pierce looks ready to step into the full-time starter role after playing in 26 career games. 15-game starter Jaylen McClain will play Ohio State’s hybrid backer-safety role called the ‘star’.
Kenyatta Jackson returns up front as the rush edge. He was a menace last year and has 9.5 career sacks. On the other end will be Alabama transfer Qua Russaw who made nine starts in two seasons with the Crimson Tide. John Walker (6’4” 324 lbs.) comes in after three seasons at UCF where he had 64 tackles and eight tackles for the Knights. He’ll play the nose tackle position while Eddrick Houston (6’3” 292 lbs) will play the three-tech defensive tackle spot.
Special Teams Preview
The lasting image of Ohio State’s special teams unit will be of Jayden Fielding shanking a short, game-tying field goal in the Big Ten Championship game. He has used up his eligibility and Ohio State brings in Connor Hawkins from Baylor. Hawkins was 18-22 on field goals with a long make of 54 yards.
Punter Joe McGuire is back after having a net average of 41.2 yards on 29 punts. He forced 15 fair catches and pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 12 times.
Inniss is the only player back with return experience, but he is now the second option at receiver, so look for the Buckeyes to use some of their depth at running back here, maybe even Legend Bey.
2026 FIRST GLANCE PREVIEWS
Week Six: Nebraska Cornhuskers
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