Ohio State beat No. 1 Texas 14-7 on Saturday in the No. 3 Buckeyes season opener. The defense especially stood out in the win, but many different OSU players had a part in the win.
Here are the three players the BSB staff is giving Buckeye Leaves:
Sam Cipriani: Despite a defensive battle in Ohio State’s season opener, my Buckeye Leaf is going to Carnell Tate. The junior wideout had just two catches for 49 yards against the Longhorns, but the second was perhaps Ohio State’s most important play, and the most explosive offensive play for either team.
On second-and-7, up 7-0 with 13 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Tate burned his defender and quarterback Julian Sayin found the Chicago native over-the-top for a 40-yard reception and score. The dagger touchdown put the Buckeyes up 14-0 late in the game, essentially sealing Ohio State’s victory over Texas.
Bobby Gorbett: My Buckeye Leaf is going to Arvell Reese. The sophomore linebacker was a key part of the defense’s domination of the Longhorns’ offense. Reese totaled nine tackles, the second most on the team. Reese a first-year starter alongside “Block O” recipient, Sonny Styles, was also the only Buckeye to sack redshirt sophomore Arch Manning.
Reese’s big play came on a third-and-10 play the Longhorns ran from their own 47-yard-line with five minutes left in the first half. Reese’s sack forced one of several Longhorns punts.
Greg Wilson: Junior cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. gets my Buckeye Leaf. Realistically, this could have gone to any one of the Ohio State players in the secondary after the performance they had against Texas and Arch Manning. They held Manning to 17-of-30 passing for just 170 yards and one touchdown very late in the game. Much of his yardage also came late when the Longhorns were desperately trying to come back from a two-score deficit.
Mathews had the one of the more important plays of the game in the secondary in the third quarter when, on a second-and-12, Manning dropped and tried to find wide receiver Ryan Wingo on a post to the right side, but when Manning’s ball was short, Mathews jumped the route and came up with his, and Ohio State’s first interception of the season.
He almost forced another when he tipped another Manning pass in the air in the fourth quarter. Sonny Styles dove for the ball and had what seemed to be the second pick of the day, but after a long review it was ruled incomplete. Still, Mathews was a thorn in the side of the Longhorns offense all day.
