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Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) runs during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium in Seattle on Sept. 27, 2025. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Three takeaways from Ohio State's 24-6 win over the Washington Huskies

Originally posted on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI
By Ty Kohler | Last updated Sep 27, 2025 7:17 PM ET

For the first 30 minutes of action, the Ohio State Buckeyes struggled on their first road trip of the season, battling the Huskies in Washington.

It wasn’t until the first half was nearly over that the quarterback Julian Sayin, who was making the first road start of his career, settled in and came to life.

From then on, it was all Ohio State as they took down the Huskies 24-6 to move to 4-0 on the season. Here are three takeaways from the win.

1. Mistakes allowed the Washington crowd to stay in the game

On the first drive of the day, the Ohio State defense forced a three-and-out, and the Buckeyes seemed like they were ready for their first road trip.

A bad punt from Washington gave the Buckeyes great field position, and the offense began to drive. Inside the 10 though, the Huskies began to take the momentum. Sayin came up short of a first down a scramble, and the powerback CJ Donaldson was held short on fourth down.

A few plays later the Buckeyes made another mistake with Brandon Inniss fumbling on the punt return. Despite struggling with penalties, the Huskies were allowed to control the game from here.

They marched into field goal range to take a lead, the first time Ohio State trailed this season, and could have kicked a second but opted to fake the field goal and go for a touchdown. Luckily the defense made the stop, but all this allowed the crowd to dictate the game.

Crowd noise played a factor the entirety of the first half, and it was a major contributor to Ohio State’s slow start.

The Buckeyes made the adjustments they needed to retake the game in the second half, but against a team like Michigan or Illinois, the Buckeyes need to deal with the crowd noise faster.

Hopefully the slow start was just first away game nerves, and not a problem that will follow Ohio State this season.

2. Julian Sayin got comfortable on the road

On the first few drives of the game, Julian Sayin was just 2/4 throwing the football for nine yards.

The offense was trying to feed a run game that wasn’t working yet, not allowing Sayin to get into any kind of rhythm, and keeping playmakers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate out of the game.

It wasn’t until the final Ohio State drive of the first half where Sayin finally began to prove his poise. He threw over 50 yards on a 10-play, 73 yard touchdown drive that ended with Sayin finding the Heisman-hopeful Smith for an 18-yard touchdown, giving the Buckeyes some confidence and momentum at the break.

From then on, Ohio State scored on every drive until the final possession of the game.

Sayin finished the game 22/28 for 208 passing yards and two touchdowns. Sayin looked calm under pressure, including a touchdown pass to Donaldson on a crucial fourth down that sealed the game.

Sayin’s confidence and great play freed up the rest of the offense. Bo Jackson, who led the team in carries, rushed for 80 yards. Smith caught eight passes for 81 yards. Tate and Inniss combined for another 67 yards.

Sayin definitely had some young quarterback mistakes, but showed an incredible amount of potential in his first road game, hopefully giving the Buckeyes and Sayin plenty of confidence for the future.

3. The Buckeye’s front seven is legit

Washington came into the game with one of the nation’s highest scoring offenses. Running back Jonah Coleman came into the game with nine rushing touchdowns in just three games, the most in the nation.

Demond Williams scored eight total touchdowns this year with his arm and legs combined.

The Washington offense did not score a touchdown against the Buckeyes. Coleman had 70 yards, Williams had -28 rushing on 13 attempts. Ohio State had six sacks and nine TFLs. Caden Curry, Kayden McDonald, Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese and the rest of the Ohio State front seven came to play, and dominated.

Ohio State controlled the trenches and forced Washington to throw, and even though Williams was 18/22 for 173 yards, he faced constant pressure, and that allowed the Ohio State defense to win.

The defense would bend, but more importantly, they would not break. This Buckeye front seven will be a pain for any offensive coordinator to deal with this season.

This article first appeared on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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