SEATTLE — Ohio State got in its own way in its Big Ten opener against Washington, and now it finds itself in a dogfight.
Its first possession stalled in the red zone as it continued to show it can move the ball against anyone, but will struggle to punctuate drives with touchdowns. Then Brandon Inniss fumbled what would have been a quality punt return to give the Huskies back the ball. That left the Buckeyes with one possession in the first quarter to Washington’s three. But thanks to an elite defensive effort so far, three is also the number of points Washington got out of that.
Latest Ohio State Buckeyes news
Which freshmen made Ohio State’s first travel roster against Washington?
No. 1 Ohio State vs. Washington: Live updates from the Big Ten opener
How to watch Ohio State football game for free today
Ohio State football’s injury report vs. Washington features good news for Buckeyes
The defense is doing its part. It took Jedd Fisch’s team three drives to figure out how to move the ball on Matt Patricia’s defense. Meanwhile, the offense shot itself in the foot, then chose to be conservative by repeatedly trying to establish the run even though Washington’s secondary was compromised, missing top cornerback Tacario Davis, plus its No. 1 backup. As a result, it started true freshman Dylan Robinson.
That should’ve been all the motivation the Buckeyes needed to have the green light to finally let Julian Sayin loose.
This was Sayin’s chance to put himself in the conversation to be the Big Ten’s best quarterback, with Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate being the perfect weapons to help him do that. But here we are in another big game environment, and the coaching staff chose to play it safe. Only this time, the environment wasn’t in their backyard, so the longer the Buckeyes waited to unleash their best asset, the more they allowed a hostile crowd to make an impact.
The good news for the Buckeyes is Washington failed to capitalize on Ohio State’s inability to show up and be the offense people think it can be.
Then the Buckeyes put a band aid over everything with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Sayin to Smith to close out the first half.
Ohio State spent the first half playing with its food and was its worst enemy. Washington spent the first half playing with fire. The result was a 7-3 lead for the road team, which will also get the ball first when play resumes.
The elite offense we all anticipated coming into the season is the one that needs to come out of the locker room after halftime. It’s on the head coach, quarterback and offensive coordinator to ensure that happens.
One side is doing its part to ensure the Buckeyes win a 20th-straight road game against an unranked opponent. The other side needs to start doing its part.