Will youth be served as top-ranked Buckeyes host Grambling State

No. 1-ranked Ohio State, fresh off a win over previous No. 1 Texas, will be back on its home field at Ohio Stadium today as the Buckeyes host Grambling State from the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the FCS ranks. The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised by the Big Ten Network.

Click here to participate in our OSU-Grambling Game Day Thread on the Front Row message board.

As always, we have our Ten Pressing Questions feature to prepare you for today’s game. We will provide the answers in our Answering The Questions column. Here we go:

* 1. Can Julian Sayin take the next step? – Sayin, a redshirt freshman, had a great debut as a starter as he completed 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown in the win over Texas. Now comes Grambling State and an opportunity to throw the ball around the yard a little bit. If Sayin can get 25-30 passes in 2-1/2 quarters of work, I’d call that a successful venture.

* 2. Will Lincoln Kienholz get some snaps? – Kienholz has really only played meaningful snaps in one game, and that was the forgettable Cotton Bowl vs. Missouri in January 2024. It is important that the third-year sophomore can get into the game and throw 10-15 passes himself. Ryan Day said the coaches are confident they can also win with Kienholz. But getting him some experience would definitely help.

* 3. Can the Buckeyes hit the reset button on the running game? – Ohio State netted just 77 yards rushing in the win over Texas. Granted, Texas is reputed to have one of the best front sixes in college football. CJ Donaldson had 67 yards on 19 carries with a 1-yard touchdown on a fourth down. James Peoples came off the bench and netted just 20 yards on 10 carries. He needs to get it going.

* 4. Is this the day Bo Jackson makes his first big splash as a Buckeye? – Jackson is a member of a talented freshman class for the Buckeyes. The running back from Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph did not play in the win over Texas. If the others continue to struggle, maybe Jackson can shake things up.

* 5. Can the Buckeyes get Jeremiah Smith going? – Smith’s numbers vs. Texas were pedestrian by his standards as he finished with six catches for 43 yards. He did convert a pair of critical third downs, but also had a couple of dropped passes – one more than he had all of last year. Hopefully, the ball will be rolling Smith’s way early and often. Brandon Inniss had two catches for 8 yards last week. Carnell Tate had a 41-yard TD grab among his two catches.

* 6. Can the Ohio State front four exert pressure on Grambling QB Czavian Teasett? – Teasett threw for 203 yards and three TDs in a win over Langston from the NAIA ranks last week. OSU had one sack against Texas and it was by linebacker Arvell Reese. The new Ohio State front four played its role in hemming Texas’ Arch Manning into the pocket and letting the coverage take full effect. But it would be good to see OSU’s new end contingent break through a few times against the outmanned Tigers.

* 7. Can Arvell Reese continue his stellar play? – Some people watched the Texas game and made the observation that Reese may have been the best player on the field. He certainly made his presence felt as a run stuffer, pass rusher and even in some coverages. He is just scratching the surface of what he can do, it seems.

* 8. Is the Ohio State secondary back to Best In America? – I doubt whether this game will give us a definitive answer to that. But the opener against Texas was spectacular. CB Davison Igbinosun was penalty-free and deflected a fourth-down pass in the end zone. CB Jermaine Mathews Jr. had an interception. CB Lorenzo Styles Jr. seemed to be everywhere. Safety Caleb Downs made the final stop on a fourth down and commanded the new defense like a maestro. Safety Jaylen McClain had a great starting debut as well.

* 9. Can the Buckeyes serve their youth in this game? – It will be important for the backups on the offensive line to log some reps here. That includes the likes of Josh Padilla at center, Gabe VanSickle at guard and Ian Moore at tackle. Others to watch out for … Jackson at running back, Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham at wide receiver, Will Smith Jr. at defensive tackle, Payton Pierce at linebacker and Devin Sanchez, Bryce West and Aaron Scott in the secondary.

* 10. How bad could this get? – Over the last three years, Grambling has lost three games to FBS teams by an average of almost 50 points. Ohio State has hosted four FCS teams previously and won those games by an average of almost 45 points. The worst of these was in 2013, when the Buckeyes spanked Florida A&M 76-0. Could it really get that bad?

* Bonus Question 1: Is Ohio State really the nation’s No. 1 team? – The Buckeyes have the attention of the nation’s poll voters. OSU moved to No. 1 in the AP poll during a season for the first time since 2015. OSU got first-place votes from 55 of the 66 AP poll voters and from 59 of the 67 voters in the coaches poll. But they also need to go out on the field and prove it by playing a clean game and winning decisively.

And, hey, also be sure to enjoy all three bands – the OSU marching band, the OSU alumni band, and the World-Famed Grambling Tiger Marching Band.

We will let you know how they do. Enjoy the game and check out Bucknuts.com later today for all of the coverage.