Julian Sayin was almost perfect in his two quarters of play in leading top-ranked Ohio State to a 70-0 bludgeoning of Grambling State on Saturday before a non-sellout crowd of 100,624 in Ohio Stadium.
He completed his first 16 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns, including two to Jeremiah Smith in the opening 19 minutes as the Buckeyes raced to a 28-0 lead.
The 16 completions in a row to start a game is a Buckeye (2-0) record. The previous record for completed passes in a row to start a game was Will Howard’s 13 in the CFP title game in January.
C.J. Stroud holds the record for consecutive completions with 17 vs. Michigan State in 2021.
Sayin, Smith and other starters did not play in the second half. Sayin was 18 of 19 for 306 yards and those four TDs plus an interception on his 17th attempt.
Smith had five catches for 119 yards and Carnell Tate added five catches for 65 yards as the Tigers (1-1), an FCS school, were overwhelmed.
Buckeye Blitz
Grambling State offered little resistance on the opening drive of the game when Ohio State showed tempo and imagination to take a 7-0 lead at 12:39 on a 47-yard strike to tight end Will Kacmarek.
Brandon Inniss returned the kickoff 17 yards to the 17. On the first play he caught a pass for 12 yards to the 29 and two plays later the receiver took a handoff from Sayin and rambled eight yards for a first down at the 41. Tate gained eight on a catch and Smith’s grab for four yards earned a first down at the Grambling 47 to set up the ball down the middle to the open Kacmarek at the 25 and he went untouched to cap the six-play, 83 yard series in 2:16.
The second score was considerably quicker, needing only 12 seconds for Smith to go 87 yards on the pass from Sayin at 8:54 after a Grambling punt.
Somehow the best receiver in the country was alone at the OSU 45 and then it was off to the races and a spot in the record books
It tied for the fourth longest play from scrimmage in Ohio State history and was the second-longest pass play in program history behind a Kenny Guiton to Devin Smith 90-yard TD at California in 2013.
The Buckeyes went 65 on seven plays using 3:19 to go up 21-0 at the 4:10 mark.
Peoples ran for 12 and tight end Jelani Thurman had a 19-yard reception of 26 yards to the 27. Smith followed with a 6-yard catch. Sayin went back to Kacmarek for eight yards to the 6. The QB recovered his own fumble for a seven-yard loss before Tate made a back-shoulder catch along the left line in the end zone.
Sayin to that point was 10 for 10 for 218 yards, or 15 more yards than OSU gained against Texas in the opener.
Grambling had a chance to get on the board but Theodore Caballero sent a 36-yard field goal attempt to the right. The big play was a fourth-and-1 at the 50 when Andre Crews burst through the line for 19 yards.
The Buckeyes quickly responded on their next possession with an 80-yard drive that took six plays and 2:46 to go up 28-0 at 11:38 of the second quarter.
CJ Donaldson ran for nine. Tight end Christian Bennett had a 1-yard catch and Smith a 13 yarder to the OSU 43. Tate then made a 40-yard catch to the 17 and Inniss hauled in a throw for eight yards. Smith on the next play had a nine-yard catch for his second TD.
That made Sayin 15 for 15 for 289 yards. After Caleb Downs made an interception at the Grambling 21, Sayin had a one-yard completion to Tate before ending his streak when he was intercepted at the 1 by Tyrell Raby.
OSU made it 35-0 with 57 seconds in the half on a two-yard run by Donaldson. It began with Tate 7-yard catch at the OSU 45. Later, Peoples ran for 10 and Donaldson ripped off a 27-yard gain to the 9 and he then carried for four, three and the score at the end of an eight-play, 62-yard 3:19 drive.
The Buckeyes outgained the Tigers 393 to 113. Sayin was 18 of 19 for 306 yards while Smith had five catches for 119 yards.
More Of The Same
The third quarter did not start well for the FCS school. On the second play, Kayden McDonald forced a fumble by C’zavian Teasett and Riley Pettijohn scooped it up and ran 23 yards to make it 42-0 just 10 seconds into the second half.
Lincoln Kienholz replace Sayin on the first series of the third quarter at 12:04 and he guided the Buckeyes 76 yards in 3:40 with the last of nine plays an 11-yard run for the first career TD for freshman Bo Jackson.
Peoples had runs of nine and eight Bryson Rodgers had a reception to the 11 prior to Jackon’s score.
Pettijohn forced a fumble and Epi Sitanilei recovered it at the Tigers 41 and three plays later, freshman Isaiah West ran up the middle from 12 yards for his first score as well for a 56-0 lead at 6:16 of the third. On the previous play, Mylan Graham had a 23-yard catch.
A Thurman four-yard catch from Kienholz made it 63-0 five seconds into the fourth quarter. The possession lasted 4:24 and used eight plays to go 53 yards. Jackson had five carries for 31 yards on the drive.
Freshman QB Tavien St. Clair made his first appearance midway through a drive that began with 10:39 to play.
Sam Dixon got the final score with a run from the 1 with 31 seconds left on a drive that Jackson had a 51-yard run. He rushed for 108 yards and a TD on nine carries, all in the second half.
