The Buckeyes will be able to take a bit of a breather this week against Grambling St. and get any players who didn’t contribute against Texas on to the field. While it isn’t much of a question whether Ohio State is going to win this one or not, there are still other questions that could be answered against the Tigers.
Here are the five biggest questions Buckeye Sports Bulletin has for the Week 2 contest.
1. What will Julian Sayin be able to do without a conservative offensive approach?
Against Texas, Julian Sayin didn’t need to be a world-beater. He won’t need to be for at least a few more weeks moving forward (or maybe never if the defense continues the way it played against Texas), but the Buckeyes won’t need to be as conservative as they were against the No. 1 team in the country.
With Sayin likely being let loose and given the ability to throw downfield in this game and take some risks, how will the redshirt freshman look? He is going up against an FCS team in Grambling, but it will be his first time letting loose in a game setting, so there could be some stuff to work through.
But there also might not be. Ryan Day said after the 14-7 win over Texas that he felt like Sayin could have handled more than what the coaches gave him in the win over the former No. 1 team. Even the play when he missed Jeremiah Smith streaking to the endzone, Day said Sayin seemed to have a reason that made a lot of sense for not throwing the ball.
2. How much does Devin Sanchez play, and where?
It was only a mild surprise to see true freshman Devin Sanchez in when the Buckeyes went with a dime package both early in the win over Texas, and on the very last drive when a stop was an absolute necessity. It shows the trust he has built with his coaches extremely quickly.
But with Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Davison Igbinosun having the starting outside corner spots locked up, Ohio State might not need six defensive backs on the field all at once for most of its remaining matchups.
Sanchez won’t redshirt this season, obviously, so he’s going to get his time somewhere. How soon does he get some work on the outside this week? Another thing to look out for with Sanchez against the Tigers: will he get any work at the nickel?
If he can become an asset there, it seems more likely that he would have a chance at rotating with Lorenzo Styles Jr., who also played very well against Texas. But at the very least, it has already become obvious that Sanchez will be an important part of this Buckeye defense this season.
3. What do we see out of Bo Jackson?
You absolutely have to take into account the opponent the Buckeyes lined up against in Week 1, but James Peoples finished the game with 10 carries for just 20 yards. He seemed to be missing some of the gaps opened for him by the Buckeye O-line.
Again, it was Texas — almost certainly one of the top defenses in the country this season — so do we take that performance with a grain of salt? Peoples was assumed to be the starter by many before the season began, but will need to be able to perform in games like that if he wants to contribute.
True freshman Bo Jackson didn’t get into the game against Texas, but he very well could be the explosive runner that the Buckeyes need, if Peoples can’t end up providing that. I very much expect Peoples will still be able to be that for OSU, but he just needs a little more experience first. He will probably get a good amount of work the next few weeks and look good doing it.
But if Jackson comes out and is great as well, does he enter himself into the Carlos Locklyn rotation throughout the rest of the season?
4. Where does Ethan Onianwa get his work?
When Ethan Onianwa joined Ohio State, he was thought to slot in at left tackle, but by the time Aug. 30 rolled around, he only got on the field for 15 snaps, and all of them were at right guard.
He was on the field for the Buckeyes only extended drive that went for a rushing touchdown, so there is something to be said about that, but he received the lowest PFF grade of any OSU offensive lineman in the game.
It seems likely that he will get reps at both guard and tackle in this game, and probably the next one as well. But Ohio State is hoping that he can provide solid depth at both spots so that the linemen can get breathers if needed. But Phillip Daniels looked great against Texas’ pass rush, and he seems to have the starting right tackle spot completely locked down for the time being.
5. How much do we see Lincoln Kienholz?
Sayin has just one start under his belt, and the play calling was consrvative as previously mentioned, so it would make sense if Day wants to keep him on the field as long as he can so that he can get in more work.
But as everyone who watches football understands, the Buckeyes are one snap away from having to put Lincoln Kienholz under center, and that could last the rest of the season.
If Sayin looks great early on and the Buckeyes have a big early lead, how soon will Day and Co. remove him from the contest? When Kienholz does get in, will the play book still be open for him in a big blowout?
The Buckeyes are also only two snaps away from having to put true freshman Tavien St. Clair on the field. Will he see any action against Grambling, and if he does, will he be limited to practicing handoffs in front of however many fans remain in the stadium?
