Ohio State's Lorenzo Styles Jr. celebrates his 100-yard kick return for a touchdown (Photo by Ohio State Athletics)
Ohio State 48, UCLA 10
In the first quarter, the Buckeye defense forced a quick three-and-out, and the Ohio State offense got a solid drive going. A one-handed catch from Jeremiah Smith highlighted it, but most of that drive was on the ground. A one-yard Bo Jackson touchdown run finished it off. Before the first quarter ended, another drive would lead to a 41-yard Jayden Fielding field goal. Ohio State would lead 10-0 after the end of the first stanza.
In the second quarter, the Buckeyes had a time-consuming drive. They went for it twice on fourth down on this drive. The second time, on 4th down and 5, Julian Sayin makes a brilliant play. He rolls to his right and finds Bryson Rodgers for a touchdown. That would make the lead 17-0 in Ohio State’s favor.
The Buckeyes would have another drive that would end with a James Peoples 20-yard touchdown run. Peoples hit the hurdle button so well, I thought I heard the sound effect that Mario makes when he jumps in the Nintendo games. A 33-yard Jayden Fielding field goal would make it 27-0 Ohio State at the half.
Second Half
The second half got off to a rough start for the Buckeye offense. They struggled to move the ball until Isaiah West finally punched in a touchdown toward the end of the third quarter. But UCLA would get a touchdown of their own, and the score would look to be 34-7 Ohio State going into the fourth quarter. But Lorenzo Styles Jr. had other plans. He would return the UCLA kick over 100 yards and give the Buckeyes their first kick return for a touchdown since Jordan Hall against michigan in 2010.
The fourth quarter would begin with the score 41-7, Buckeyes. UCLA would get a field goal to get their total to 10 points. Lincoln Kienholz would sub in for Julian Sayin, and Kienholz would lead the Buckeyes on a touchdown drive that James Peoples would cap off with his second touchdown of the game. The Buckeyes would win 48-10, to move to 10-0. Ohio State has 13 straight seasons where, when they play at least 10 games, they get at least ten wins. Ohio State has double-digit wins in 19 of its last 21 seasons.
Heisman Hopefuls
Jeremiah Smith added another highlight with a one-handed catch, but not getting into the end zone may hurt his Heisman chances. He had only four catches for 40 yards before leaving the game with an injury. This season, he has 69 catches for 902 yards and 11 total touchdowns.
Sayin’s numbers weren’t helped either. He had the one touchdown pass to Bryson Rodgers. He was 23 of 31 (74.2%) for 184 yards. This season, he is 226 of 282 (80.1%) for 2,675 yards and 25 touchdowns. Sayin is still the most accurate quarterback in college football and is one big game against either that team up north or a potential Big Ten title game opponent away from being in a solid first place in the Heisman race.
Running the Dang Ball
Ohio State had been having trouble at right guard this season, but Gabe VanSickle played right guard, and the Ohio State running game came to life. A few of the big runs by Bo Jackson, James Peoples, and Isaiah West were over that right side, too. Ohio State’s rushing attack came alive with the passing game slowed. As a team, they would finish with 33 carries for 222 yards and four touchdowns.
They were led by Bo Jackson. The true freshman running back had 15 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown. Jackson has 849 total yards and four touchdowns this season. This was the first game of the season where Ohio State, being very generous with their running back rotation, didn’t seem to keep the rushing attack from getting on track. Jackson, West, and Peoples each averaged more than seven yards per carry. Whether it is 10 games being played, better guard play, or something else entirely, the Ohio State rushing attack had a great game and is hopefully peaking at the perfect time.
Rutgers
Next week, on Senior Day in the Horseshoe, the Buckeyes host Rutgers. After a 3-0 start, Rutgers has lost five of seven games. Their only Big Ten wins have been against Purdue and Maryland. You can never take anyone lightly in the Big Ten, but Ohio State should have no trouble against the Scarlet Knights and should be 11-0 heading into The Game. 11 wins seems like a magic number for a playoff berth lock in a Power 4 Conference, so Ohio State will probably have the internal mentality that a win over Rutgers means another trip to the College Football Playoff.
