Ryan Day made it clear that last year’s Big Ten Championship loss is in the past, but he also knows the challenge ahead. From Indiana’s defensive front and Ohio State’s offensive-line adjustments to Julian Sayin’s continued development, there are several storylines worth watc…

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Julian Sayin threw four touchdown passes, Jeremiah Smith continued to make explosive plays, and Bo Jackson helped lead a rushing attack that finished with 207 yards. Defensively, the Buckeyes held Maryland to just 146 total yards,…

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Now, the focus shifts to Maryland.

With the Terrapins coming to Columbus, there are plenty of questions to answer. Can Ohio State continue to establish its identity in the running game? How will Julian Sayin and the passing attack build on their recent success? Can the defense carry its performance against Iowa into another week? And what matchups could give the Buckeyes an advantage on Saturday?

With Slate out, Jeremy is riding solo to break down the matchup, examine the offensive and defensive keys to the game, and explain what he wants to see from Ohio State as Big Ten play continues.

The Buckeyes have momentum, but the challenge is turning one strong performance into consistent football week after week.

Ohio State went into Kinnick, controlled the line of scrimmage, ran the football, held Iowa to just 39 rushing yards and walked out with a 31–14 win over an undefeated, ranked Hawkeye team.

But what did we actually learn?

Are we looking at the best version of Ohio State yet? Did Iowa prove the Buckeyes are becoming a more physical football team? And before we start talking seriously about another national championship run, what still needs to be cleaned up?

On this episode of BFB, we’re taking your big-picture questions coming out of Iowa and breaking down what that performance really tells us about this Ohio State team.

Four questions. One big conversation: How good can these Buckeyes be?

The Buckeyes jumped on Iowa early, played physical football on both sides of the line of scrimmage, and built a 24–6 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Then Iowa made its push.

And that’s where this game really told us something about Ohio State.

The Buckeyes didn’t panic. They didn’t gi…

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Ohio State is 3–1, Iowa is 4–0, and the Buckeyes are heading to Kinnick for a matchup between two ranked teams that have already shown they can win games in different ways.

Iowa just went into Ann Arbor and beat Michigan. Ohio State is coming off a 42–19 win over Illinois, but that game also exposed some things the Buckeyes need to clean u…

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Ryan Day and Kenyatta Jackson both addressed the media Tuesday, and there was a pretty clear theme running through both press conferences:

Do your job.

Day talked about defensive execution, creating more pressure, getting more production from the defensive line and not trying to get too cute against Iowa.

Jackson was even more direct, talking about “hero ball,” gap discipline and the importance of playing all 60 minutes.

So what should we actually take from those comments?

On this episode of Buckeye Film Breakdown, we’re breaking down the biggest messages from the Day and Jackson pressers, what they tell us about the Illinois film, and what Ohio State needs to correct before heading to Iowa.

Ohio State built a 28–10 halftime lead against Illinois, but the Illini didn’t simply go away. They continued to run the football, made some explosive plays and put pressure on the Buckeyes to answer.

And Ohio State did.

A 19-play, 97-yard drive. Another touchdown from Jeremia…

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Now the real season begins.

Illinois comes to Columbus with a new-look defense, an efficient quarterback in Katin Houser, a dangerous receiving threat in Collin Dixon and a defensive scheme designed to create chaos and negative plays.

For Ohio State, this is about more than simply winning the Big Ten opener.

Can the…

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Now the real work begins.

Ryan Day met with the media Tuesday ahead of Ohio State’s Big Ten opener against Illinois, and there was plenty to unpack. Day addressed the areas that still need to improve, including third down, finishing drives in the red zone, special teams and the running game. He also challenged his runn…

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And after what happened in Austin, that’s exactly what Ohio State needed.

The Buckeyes took care of Kent State 59–3, jumped out early, played a ton of young players, and finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 2–1 record.

Now, we’re closing the door on Kent State.

There are plenty of positives to take fro…

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What does Ohio State do next?

The Buckeyes walked out of Austin with a loss, but they also walked out with a pretty clear picture of what this team can be — and what it still needs to become.

Ohio State showed it can go toe-to-toe with an elite team on the road. Jere…

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What does Ohio State do next?

The Buckeyes walked out of Austin with a loss, but they also walked out with a pretty clear picture of what this team can be — and what it still needs to become.

Ohio State showed it can go toe-to-toe with an elite team on the road. Jere…

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A 20-point lead. One quarter to play. Then everything changed.

The Longhorns stormed back with 21 unanswered points, scored the go-ahead touchdown with 25 seconds remaining, and escaped with a 24–23 victory.

So what happened?

On the BFB Monday Debrief, we’re going back through the game and breaking down the biggest moments, the fourth-quarter collapse, the decisions that changed the game, and what we actually learned about this Ohio State team.

Was this a case of Texas making the plays it needed to make?

Did Ohio State get too conservative?

Where does the blame belong?

And perhaps most importantly:

What does this loss mean for the Buckeyes moving forward?

No panic. No excuses.

Just the BFB breakdown.

We’ve talked about Arch Manning. We’ve talked about Jeremiah Smith. We’ve talked about Julian Sayin. We’ve gone back to the film to see how Texas plans to defend No. 4.

Now it’s time to get into the parts of this game that could ultimately decide it.

On this episode of Buckeye Film Breakdown, Jake Burns joins us to br…

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Against Ball State, Sayin completed 21 of 25 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns. But now comes the test that matters: Texas.

On this episode of Buckeye Film Breakdown, we’re asking a simple question: What does Ohio State actually need from Julian Sayin to beat the Longhorn…

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Ohio State heads to Austin for a top-five matchup with Texas, and this is where we start finding out what this team really is.

We break down what we learned from both teams in Week 1, the biggest matchups to watch, and the questions Ohio State has to answer against the Longhorns.

Ball State was the opener. Texas is the test.

Julian Sayin looked every bit like a second-year starter, completing 21 of 25 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns. His connection with J…

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Jake Burns of ⁠Browns Film Breakdown joins Jeremy and Coach Slate to take a deeper look at what Ohio State fans should expect from Arthur Smith’s offense. From multiple personnel groupings and tight ends to motion, the run game and play-action, we discuss the concepts that could begin shaping a new offensive identity in Columbus. Ohio State’s debut under Smith is one of the biggest things to watch Saturday.

Then it’s prediction time. We make our bold predictions for Week 1, identify players who could make an immediate impact and put our final Ohio State–Ball State score predictions on the record.

The talking is almost over. Now it’s time to see what Arthur Smith and the 2026 Buckeyes actually have.

Ohio State opens the 2026 season against Ball State, giving us our first chance to see what this version of the Buckeyes actually looks like when the lights come on.

Jeremy and Coach Slate break down the Week 1 matchup, what Ball State brings to Columbus, where Ohio State should have the biggest advantages and the playe…

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