OPPONENT: Grambling St. (1-0, 0-0 SWAC)
Ohio State got through the big opening week with a 14-7 win over Texas that will likely put the Buckeyes in the No. 1 spot in the AP poll when it releases on Tuesday.
Now the Buckeyes should have a bit of a break relatively with FCS Grambling St. headed to Columbus on Sept. 6. Head coach Ryan Day said after the game that he saw a lot of things that the Buckeyes will need to work on, and playing against the Tigers on Saturday will be the perfect opportunity for players to get in-game reps.
It’s also likely that the starters won’t be on the field for long, so any redshirt candidates could get their chance to show off the work they have been putting in during practice as well.
Quarterback Julian Sayin was forced to be more conservative in the win over Texas, but now he will get the chance to let loose and work through any mistakes he might make if he needs to do so.
Grambling St. is led by Mickey Joseph, former Nebraska interim head coach. He also was the wide receiver coach for at LSU from 2017-19, the team that boasted the talent of Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Terrace Marshall Jr.
It is Joseph’s second season at the helm of the Tigers of Grambling. He led them to a 5-7 record in his first season, but after making changes over the offseason to try to make the program his own, he knows that now is the time to prove himself if he wants to stick around.
“If you look around college football and the state of college football when it comes to coaches, you have to be careful in year two because in year two, they can let you go,” Joseph told KTVE 10 News in July. “You’ve got one more year left on your contract. I have no years left on my contract after this.”
An upset over Ohio State would be enough on its own to keep Joseph around another year, but with how unrealistic that is, the Tigers likely aren’t worrying too much about how they look in Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
But their Week 1 55-7 win over Langston was a great start. Transfer quarterback C’Zavian Teasett was 20-of-25 passing in his first game at Grambling for 203 yards and three touchdowns after winning a quarterback battle over Ashton Frye in camp.
Teasett will be throwing to Nicholas Howard, Tyson George and Tylon Williams, among many others. In the blowout win, 11 players had at least one catch for the Tigers. But George led the way in yards with 63 on three catches, most of those coming from a 55-yard touchdown.
The Buckeyes were able to hold Texas to just seven points in Week 1, but did give up 166 rushing yards. It was a game plan that worked very well, especially with the secondary locking down Longhorn pass catchers as well as they did.
The Tigers running backs will be Tre Bradford and Byron Eaton, who are set to split carries. They ran for a combined 109 yards on 13 attempts in the season opener.
On the defensive side of the ball for Grambling, defensive end Bryce Cage will likely be the biggest threat to OSU’s offense as the only returning starter on the defensive line. If Ohio State’s offensive line looks anything like it did against Texas’ stout pass rush, Sayin should have all kinds of time in the pocket to work with, and running backs CJ Donaldson and James Peoples should be able to find big gaps to run through.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
- DE Bryce Cage — Was the second leading tackler on the 2024 team with 49 stops, 11 for loss and four sacks coming off the edge. He also added five quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.
- QB C’Zavian Teasett — Was with SWAC West champion Southern last season and threw for 941 yards and six scores. In his first game, he showed off his accuracy when he was 20-of-25 passing for 210 yards. He, like Sayin, also dealt with his pass catchers dropping a couple of passes.
- RB Byron Eaton — A talented freshman with good speed in the backfield. Rushed for 53 yards on seven carries in the first game for a touchdown.
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the first time ever that Ohio State and Grambling play each other.
Check back every Monday at BuckeyeSports.com for a brief preview of the Buckeyes’ upcoming opponent, with stories and features throughout the week.
| Date | Opponent | Location | Time/Result | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 30 | Texas | Columbus | W, 14-7 | Fox |
| Sept. 6 | Grambling | Columbus | 3:30 p.m. | BTN |
| Sept. 13 | Ohio | Columbus | 7 p.m. | Peacock |
| Sept. 20 | Off | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Sept. 27 | at Washington | Seattle, Wash. | TBA | TBA |
| Oct. 4 | Minnesota | Columbus | TBA | TBA |
| Oct. 11 | at Illinois | Champaign, Ill. | TBA | TBA |
| Oct. 18 | at Wisconsin | Madison, Wis. | TBA | TBA |
| Oct. 25 | Off | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Nov. 1 | Penn State | Columbus | TBA | TBA |
| Nov. 8 | at Purdue | West Lafayette, Ind. | TBA | TBA |
| Nov. 15 | UCLA | Columbus | TBA | TBA |
| Nov. 22 | Rutgers | Columbus | TBA | TBA |
| Nov. 29 | at Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. | Noon | Fox |
Photo via Grambling State Athletics
