Ohio State’s Road Game at Iowa Set for 3:30 Kickoff on CBS

Dan Hope — Monday, September 21, 2026 - 13:21

The kickoff time is set for Ohio State’s first trip to Iowa City in nine years.

The Buckeyes’ first game of October against Iowa is scheduled for a 3:30 kickoff and will be televised by CBS.

Next week’s game against the Hawkeyes will be Ohio State’s first trip to Kinnick Stadium since 2017, when the Buckeyes suffered a stunning 55-24 loss.

Ohio State has earned decisive wins in each of its last two games against Iowa (54-10 in 2022 and 35-7 in 2024), both in Columbus, but Kinnick has a reputation for being a tough place to play and the Hawkeyes will likely enter the matchup as a ranked team. The Hawkeyes are currently ranked 17th in the AP poll with a 3-0 record, but will put that ranking to the test this week as they face No. 18 Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Riley Pettijohn, Will Smith Jr. and Jeremiah Smith Lead Pro Football Focus' Highest-Graded Ohio State Players Against Kent State

Matt Gutridge — Monday, September 21, 2026 - 13:05

Need the bitter taste of a bad loss washed from your favorite team's mouth?

An order of Kent State should do the trick. The Golden Flashes were on the menu Saturday as Ohio State feasted to a 59-3 victory.

You likely have your thoughts on how Ohio State's players performed in the blowout win. Another set of opinions comes from Pro Football Focus, which grades every player after every game based on their snap-to-snap performance.

PFF's Grading Scale
ELITE	GOOD	ABOVE AVG.	AVG.	BELOW AVG.	POOR	VERY POOR
90-100	80-89	70-79	60-69	50-59	40-49	Below 40

We compiled the PFF grades for every Buckeye who played on either offense or defense against Kent State and highlighted the three highest-graded players who played at least 10 snaps against the Golden Flashes, led by defensive players Riley Pettijohn and Will Smith Jr., who were the only Buckeyes to receive grades above 90 against Kent State.

Offensive Ratings By Position

Quarterback

Julian Sayin: 83.1 (48 snaps)
Tavien St. Clair: 57.1 (6 snaps)
Luke Fahey: 55.0 (12 snaps)

Running Backs

Bo Jackson: 71.9 (18 snaps)
Ja'Kobi Jackson: 71.7 (15 snaps)
Isaiah West: 62.2 (15 snaps)
Favour Akih: 57.3 (12 snaps)
Stanley Jackson Jr.: 57.0 (3 snaps)
Legend Bey: 55.7 (3 snaps)

Wide Receivers

Jeremiah Smith: 83.8 (31 snaps)
Brandon Inniss: 76.4 (18 snaps)
Chris Henry Jr.: 75.5 (29 snaps)
Phillip Bell: 75.0 (14 snaps)
Brock Boyd: 68.8 (36 snaps)
Devin McCuin: 65.6 (15 snaps)
David Adolph: 60.1 (6 snaps)
Jerquaden Guilford: 59.5 (6 snaps)
De'Zie Jones: 59.5 (2 snaps)

Tight Ends

Frankie McAllister: 60.0 (1 snap)
Mason Williams: 60.0 (13 snaps)
Brody Lennon: 59.4 (3 snaps)
Bennett Christian: 58.0 (20 snaps)
Hunter Welcing: 54.8 (10 snaps)
Nate Roberts: 54.1 (33 snaps)
Max LeBlanc: 52.1 (10 snaps)
Nick Lautar: 49.2 (6 snaps)

Offensive Line

Joshua Padilla: 82.6 (15 snaps)
Gabe VanSickle: 75.5 (48 snaps)
Sam Greer: 70.6 (10 snaps)
Austin Siereveld: 70.2 (48 snaps)
Ian Moore: 69.8 (48 snaps)
Max Riley: 68.0 (18 snaps)
Luke Montgomery: 66.7 (48 snaps)
Carson Hinzman: 66.0 (48 snaps)
Carter Lowe: 63.3 (18 snaps)
Mason Wilhelm: 60.0 (3 snaps)
Jake Cook: 55.3 (29 snaps)
Deontae Armstrong: 55.2 (8 snaps)

Position Bests (10+ Snaps)
QB	RB	WR	TE	OL	DE	DT	LB	CB	S
Julian Sayin	Bo Jackson	Jeremiah Smith	Mason Williams	Joshua Padilla	Khary Wilder	Will Smith Jr.	Riley Pettijohn	Jay Timmons	Terry Moore
83.1	71.9	83.8	60.0	82.6	78.2	90.2	91.5	74.9	74.4

Defensive Ratings by Position

Defensive Ends

Khary Wilder: 78.2 (11 snaps)
Qua Russaw: 77.1 (23 snaps)
Darryus McKinley: 76.6 (4 snaps)
Beau Atkinson: 75.4 (17 snaps)
Dre Quinn: 71.7 (7 snaps)
Epi Sitanilei: 70.3 (22 snaps)
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 64.1 (22 snaps)

Defensive Tackles

Will Smith Jr.: 90.2 (17 snaps)
Jamir Perez: 83.4 (17 snaps)
Jason Moore: 81.9 (25 snaps)
Damari Simeon: 73.7 (13 snaps)
John Walker: 70.2 (20 snaps)
Eddrick Houston: 68.8 (15 snaps)
Emanuel Ruffin: 65.1 (4 snaps)
James Smith: 63.7 (14 snaps)

Linebackers

Riley Pettijohn: 91.5 (27 snaps)
Christian Alliegro: 83.0 (22 snaps)
TJ Alford: 80.7 (27 snaps)
Braxton Rembert: 70.8 (15 snaps)
Cincere Johnson: 69.2 (19 snaps)
CJ Sanna: 66.2 (5 snaps)
Payton Pierce: 54.1 (17 snaps)

Cornerbacks

Jay Timmons: 74.9 (27 snaps)
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 70.3 (32 snaps)
Jordan Thomas: 64.7 (9 snaps)
Inky Jones: 64.5 (13 snaps)
Cam Calhoun: 63.7 (13 snaps)
Miles Lockhart: 63.3 (8 snaps)
Dominick Kelly: 62.7 (13 snaps)
Deshawn Stewart: 62.6 (7 snaps)
Devin Sanchez: 61.6 (35 snaps)

Safeties

Terry Moore: 74.4 (14 snaps)
Earl Little Jr.: 73.6 (31 snaps)
Jaylen McClain: 70.9 (34 snaps)
Simeon Caldwell: 66.0 (12 snaps)
Blaine Bradford: 64.7 (14 snaps)
Leroy Roker III: 64.7 (13 snaps)

The Top Three

1. LB Riley Pettijohn (91.5)

Pettijohn's play against Kent State stood out as he received the second-highest defensive grade among all linebackers in the nation. His interception also bumped his coverage grade to 91.3, which is the best among all defensive players in the Big Ten for Week 3.

RILEY PETTIJOHN INT ‼️pic.twitter.com/QaF3UV5XiJ
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

2. DT Will Smith Jr. (90.2)

PFF saw great things in Smith's game against Kent State as he was ranked fourth in the nation among defensive tackles against the run (87.7) and seventh in overall defense (90.2). His rush defense grade was second-best among defensive tackles in the Big Ten.

3. WR Jeremiah Smith (83.8)

This is the second straight week Smith has ranked as a top-3 player for Ohio State by PFF. For the season, his 91.1 offensive grade ranks seventh in the nation among skill players (receivers, running backs and tight ends). Smith also has a remarkable 90.5 receiving grade for the season.

Smith also accomplished something else during the game on Saturday, but PFF doesn't have a grade for all-time records:

HISTORY MADE ‼️

Jeremiah Smith is now Ohio State’s all-time leading receiver. pic.twitter.com/r9VLl07Vgl
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

PFF's Weekly Top 3 Buckeyes
GAME	1	2	3
Ball State	QB Julian Sayin (93.1)	LB TJ Alford (91.8)	RB Ja'Kobi Jackson (88.0)
Texas	WR Jeremiah Smith (84.0)	LB Payton Pierce (75.9)	RB Bo Jackson (74.6)
Kent State	LB Riley Pettijohn (91.5)	DT Will Smith Jr. (90.2)	WR Jeremiah Smith (83.8)

Extra Points

How did the defensive tackles perform against Kent State? Every player in the unit graded above 63; James Smith (63.7) had the lowest score.
Chris Henry Jr. received a run-blocking grade of 80.2, which is higher than Joshua Padilla (75.0) and Gabe VanSickle (74.6), who were second and third on the team in run-blocking against Kent State.
Jamir Perez rumbled his way into the end zone and he also led the Big Ten in pass rushing (83.8). Fellow freshman, Khary Wilder, was second in the conference with a pass rush grade of 82.5.
Payton Pierce was Ohio State's highest-rated linebacker last week and Nate Roberts was the highest-rated tight end; this week, Pierce (54.1) and Roberts (54.1) are the lowest-rated among all Buckeyes who played at least 10 snaps against Kent State.
Ja'Kobi Jackson has a season running grade of 87.5, good for second in the Big Ten.
Jake Cook has more snaps in Snap Counts and this article than what PFF reported. Cook had 11 snaps in the Bison package, but PFF attributed those plays to Joshua Padlilla.
TJ Alford (90.5) has the second-highest defensive grade among linebackers in the conference.

Game Coverage Box

component: football-game; sport: football; season: 2026; game: 2026-09-19; variant: coverage

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Yes, Kent State Really Got Beat That Bad: Ohio State’s Net Success Rate in 59-3 Win Was Off the Charts

Dan Hope — Monday, September 21, 2026 - 11:50

Ohio State’s net success rate was off the charts in Week 3.

After each week of the college football season, Dropback’s Parker Fleming (no, not that Parker Fleming) shares a chart showing the net success rate – which measures how many successful plays a team has vs. how many unsuccessful plays it has – of every FBS vs. FBS game. This week’s chart clearly shows which Week 3 game was the most lopsided.

DID WE REALLY GET BEAT THAT BAD?
Net Success Rates in Week 3 pic.twitter.com/HDtckEw0j8
— parker fleming (@statsowar) September 21, 2026

Ohio State’s net success rate of .6 means that the Buckeyes succeeded on 60% more of their plays over the course of the game than Kent State did in Ohio State’s 59-3 rout of the Golden Flashes.

In other words: Yes, Kent State really did get beat that bad.

By comparison, the only other team to reach a net success rate of .4 in Week 3 was Penn State in its 55-13 win over Buffalo.

Notably, the chart does not include Oregon’s 84-0 shellacking of Portland State, as Portland State is an FCS team. But against FBS competition, no one dominated their opponent more thoroughly than the Buckeyes in Week 3.

Game Coverage Box

component: football-game; sport: football; season: 2026; game: 2026-09-19; variant: coverage

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This Week in Our Dumb, Beautiful Sport: Ole Miss Gets Its Revenge, College Football Is Loaded at Quarterback

Zach Browning — Monday, September 21, 2026 - 09:20

College football spent all week promising us something special.

Lane Kiffin was going back to Oxford. Ole Miss fans had spent months waiting for him. The signs were ready. The boos were ready. The hatred was most certainly ready.

There was no possible way the actual football game could live up to everything surrounding it.

Then it did.

And somehow, that wasn't even close to the only ridiculous thing that happened Saturday.

Kentucky walked into Kyle Field and beat a top-10 team. NC State invented a new way to lose a football game. A Minnesota punt returner forgot where the sideline was. A college kid won $1 million for a second week in a row by kicking a football barefoot.

Oh, and apparently half the country has a really good quarterback now.

Week 3 was college football exactly as it should be.

THIS IS WHY COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS DIFFERENT

There are rivalries in professional sports. There is hatred in professional sports. But there is nothing in American professional sports quite like what happened in Oxford Saturday night.

Lane Kiffin's return to Ole Miss had been building for months. The coach who took Ole Miss to unprecedented heights was coming back wearing LSU colors, and the people he left behind had been waiting for him.

This wasn't just another big SEC game. It was personal.

That's one of the fundamental differences between college sports and professional sports.

Millions of people love the Dallas Cowboys. Almost none of them can say they are Dallas Cowboys. Unless you played, coached or worked for the organization, your connection to the Cowboys is ultimately that of a fan.

College sports are different.

Someone who graduated from Ole Miss is an Ole Miss Rebel. Someone who graduated from LSU is an LSU Tiger. They spent years of their life on that campus. They took classes there. They made friends there. They might have met their spouse there. Their parents might have gone there. Their children might go there.

The football team becomes attached to something much larger than football. That's how you get Saturday night in Oxford.

You get an entire fan base spending months waiting for one specific person, whom many have never even met personally, to walk back into its stadium. You get the kind of atmosphere that makes a regular-season football game feel like something people in attendance will tell their kids about 20 years from now.

“I was there when Lane came back.”

I spent all week wondering whether the game itself could possibly live up to everything surrounding it.

Somehow, it did.

There was a point where I thought Ole Miss might run LSU out of the building. There was a point when I thought LSU was destined to complete the comeback.

Yet when Ole Miss needed somebody to finish LSU off, Trinidad Chambliss did what Trinidad Chambliss does.

PARITY IS GOOD, ACTUALLY

I still think there's an upper tier in college football.

Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia, Miami, Texas, Notre Dame. Throw another team or two in there if you'd like, maybe it's Ole Miss after Saturday.

Those are the teams I look at right now and think can legitimately win the national championship.

After that? Good luck.

I don't know how much separates the 10th-best team in college football from the 30th. I'm not sure anybody does.

Kentucky walking into Kyle Field and simply being better than No. 9 Texas A&M for 60 minutes is the perfect example.

That wasn't some fluky upset where Kentucky needed three defensive touchdowns, a blocked punt and divine intervention. Kentucky went into one of the toughest environments in college football and deserved to win.

Mississippi State is 3-0. Florida is 3-0 for the first time in over half a decade. Louisville looks good. Florida State, which is very much not legitimately good, made Alabama sweat for a half. A week ago, Oklahoma State went from losing to Tulsa to beating Oregon.

There are going to be Saturdays this season where the 20th-best team in the country looks like the 50th-best team and the 40th-best team looks like the 10th-best team.

Good. That's what we should want.

More teams having a legitimate chance to win on any given Saturday is always good for the sport.

That doesn't mean I think 30 teams can win the national championship. I don't. By the time we get to December, I still think we'll discover that the list of teams actually capable of winning three or four straight playoff games is pretty short.

But the regular season is a hell of a lot more interesting when there are another 20 or 30 good football teams waiting underneath them.

The best teams should still be special. They just shouldn't be allowed to take Saturdays off.

THIS QUARTERBACK CLASS IS RIDICULOUS

No, every team in college football does not have a good quarterback. It just feels like it sometimes.

This is one of the deepest collections of quarterbacks I can remember seeing in college football in some time, and what makes it especially fun is that they aren't all concentrated at the sport's traditional powers.

Take Lincoln Kienholz.

I don't need another month to decide whether he's really good. He is.

Louisville just beat No. 16 SMU 41-31, and Kienholz once again put the Cardinals in position to win a big football game.

There are still mistakes. There will probably continue to be mistakes. That's part of playing quarterback.

But the mark of an elite quarterback isn't throwing for 400 yards against a team you're supposed to beat by 30. It's whether I trust you to put your team in position to win the game when it actually matters.

Kienholz keeps doing that.

I think Louisville is the second-best team in the ACC behind Miami right now, and I think the Cardinals are a borderline College Football Playoff team.

Whether the ACC is good enough to actually get two teams into the field is another question. But Louisville is legit.

So is Miami.

Darian Mensah has spent three weeks playing quarterback like somebody turned the difficulty down.

I was willing to dismiss some of it when Miami was playing defenses that might as well have been junior varsity teams. Then Mensah went on the road against Wake Forest, completed his first 24 passes and made a Power Four defense look like Florida A&M.

Wake Forest isn't particularly good. It also isn't Florida A&M. Mensah is elite.

Despite how good Mensah has been, I still think Trinidad Chambliss is the best quarterback in college football right now. Mensah isn't very far behind him.

And that's why I can't wait for Miami-Notre Dame in early November. Do this against that defense, and we can start having a serious conversation about whether Mensah has taken the crown from Chambliss.

Three weeks in and Darian Mensah is already rewriting the history books ✍️

✅ 24 straight completions Friday, tied for 3rd-most in a game in FBS history

✅ 35 straight completions over his last two games, an ACC record and one shy of the FBS record

✅ First FBS player in at… pic.twitter.com/cQ3uaOzyPT
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) September 19, 2026

Then there's Kamario Taylor.

He might be my favorite player to watch in the country right now, and he plays for Mississippi State of all places.

The combination of the arm talent and athleticism is absurd. Every time I turn on Mississippi State, Taylor does something that makes me wonder how many teams in the country would trade their quarterback for him tomorrow.

The best part of it all is that there's no place Taylor would rather be than the place he grew up rooting for and dreaming of helping rebuild.

Keelon Russell looked awesome against Florida State, too. I'm just not ready to put Alabama back among the true national championship contenders yet.

Russell is young. Really young.

I want to see what happens when it's late in an SEC game, the stadium is shaking, Alabama needs a touchdown and Russell has to go get it.

I think we're going to get there. I'm just not sure it's happening this year.

And somehow we've gotten this far without talking about Arch Manning, Julian Sayin, Drew Mestemaker, Dante Moore, Josh Hoover, Sam Leavitt, Aaron Philo, Kenny Minchey, CJ Carr or Gunner Stockton.

Sayin was a Heisman finalist last season. Manning is going to be one of the first quarterbacks drafted next spring. Hoover put up better non-conference numbers at Indiana than Fernando Mendoza and Kurtis Rourke did before him.

There are good quarterbacks everywhere, and that's great for the sport.

When the likes of Louisville and Mississippi State can trot out quarterbacks I genuinely want to watch every Saturday, it's probably not a coincidence that the middle of college football suddenly looks a whole lot more dangerous.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

WINNER: Will Stein

Three games. That's how long it took Will Stein to get a top-10 win at Kentucky.

I'm still not ready to call Kentucky a College Football Playoff contender or anything close to it. I don't think Georgia and the other SEC heavyweights are suddenly terrified of the Wildcats. But Kentucky looks like it's going to be annoying to play.

They're coached well. They play hard. And they just went into Kyle Field and beat Texas A&M because, for four quarters, they were the better football team.

I'm an Indiana guy, so complimenting Kentucky makes me a little nauseous. Thankfully, most of that hatred is reserved for basketball.

Still, let's move on.

WINNER: Jeremiah Smith

Jeremiah Smith is 21 years old and already owns Ohio State's career receiving-yardage record.

Think about the receivers who have played there.

Cris Carter. David Boston. Michael Jenkins. Michael Thomas. Terry McLaurin. Garrett Wilson. Chris Olave. Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Marvin Harrison Jr. Emeka Egbuka.

Smith needed just 32 games to pass all of them.

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: He's the best wide receiver prospect since Calvin Johnson. When he walks into the NFL next year, I think he's immediately one of the five best receivers in the league.

That might be underselling him.

WINNER: Nate Sheppard

A Duke running back hit the Heisman pose Saturday.

The best part? It didn't feel completely outlandish.

Duke RB Nate Sheppard By Week This Season:

Week 1: 237 YDS | 2 TDS
Week 2: 188 YDS | 3 TDS
Week 3: 156 YDS | 3 TDS@DukeFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/UNajuFOq0J
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 19, 2026

Nate Sheppard has been one of the best running backs in the country through three weeks, so if the man wants to hit the pose after another three-touchdown game, I'm certainly not going to stop him.

Is he actually going to win the Heisman? Probably not.

But a Duke running back doing the Heisman pose in September and forcing us to at least acknowledge that he's been awesome is objectively cool.

Pose away.

WINNER: Mississippi State

Rank Mississippi State. And don't just stick the Bulldogs at No. 24 so everyone can pretend they did them a favor.

Mississippi State is 3-0. The Bulldogs just went to South Carolina and won. Kamario Taylor is one of the most entertaining players in the country.

Kamario Taylor is special pic.twitter.com/wQrVoKJgaf
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) September 20, 2026

The Bulldogs should be ranked higher. And while we're here, toss Taylor's name somewhere into the vast abyss of Heisman Trophy candidates.

I'm not saying he's going to win it. I'm saying I want his name on the graphic, at least somewhere.

LOSER: NC State

I don't even know where to begin.

NC State had the game wrapped up. Six seconds remained. The Wolfpack led Vanderbilt 31-28 and had the football.

Then they lost.

You can explain the strategy. You can explain why burning the remaining clock before taking a safety made sense.

I don't care.

You cannot lose that football game. It's inexcusable.

This wasn't some 60-yard Hail Mary where a defensive back accidentally tipped the ball into a receiver's hands. NC State voluntarily put itself in a situation where one catastrophic mistake could turn a win into a loss.

Then it made the catastrophic mistake.

Vanderbilt recovered CJ Bailey's fumble in the end zone and won 35-31.

It might be the most improbable loss we see all season. It might be the most improbable loss we see for several seasons.

pic.twitter.com/U8xSu0BWug
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 19, 2026

And I don't know how Dave Doeren recovers from it.

If the Doeren era ends sometime in the near future, we're going to look back at that fumble as one of the final nails in the coffin.

Some losses follow coaches around forever. That feels like one of them.

LOSER: Texas A&M

Texas A&M is in trouble. This wasn't Kentucky catching lightning in a bottle. The Wildcats were the better team, and that's alarming.

Marcel Reed looked bad. Texas A&M as a whole looked bad. And when you're trying to make a 12-team College Football Playoff, home games against unranked teams are the ones you cannot give away.

Maybe the Aggies eventually stack enough quality wins to make this irrelevant. But when we're sitting around in December arguing about the last few teams in the field, don't be surprised if we're talking about this game.

That is exactly the kind of loss that gets you left out.

LOSER: The NCAA FBS Oversight Committee

Remember Michigan-Western Michigan?

Of course you do. Michigan got an extra second, completed a Hail Mary and escaped with a 13-12 win.

Well, funny story.

The NCAA has now acknowledged that the proper replay protocol wasn't followed and that the outcome would have been different if it had been.

There's also nothing it can do about it now.

So congratulations to Western Michigan on becoming the first team I've ever seen lose a game the NCAA later acknowledged it should have won.

Michigan remains undefeated. Technically.

LOSER: Colorado

I was about to turn on Colorado-Northwestern. Then I checked the score.

Never mind.

That about sums up the current state of Colorado football.

The weirdest part of the Deion Sanders era right now isn't even that Colorado is bad. It's that the program has lost all of its juice.

Remember when everything Colorado did became national news? Every quote. Every transfer. Every game. Every pair of sunglasses.

Now? Nothing.

Colorado just lost 41-7 to Northwestern, and I'm not sure it even registered nationally. The circus was fun while it lasted.

THE BEST THING I SAW

College GameDay has created the greatest recurring segment in sports television.

This week's contestant was Ole Miss freshman James Whitehead.

The prize? One million dollars.

Whitehead took his shoes off, walked on the field barefoot and drilled a 33-yard field goal on his first attempt.

These random college kids go on gameday every week and make a field goal for a million dollars but your favorite teams kicker will miss a 20 yard field goal
— Dylan Holt (@DylanHolt_) September 19, 2026

College students used to go on GameDay hoping to get their sign on television. Now they're leaving with generational wealth.

HONORABLE MENTION: SPECIAL TEAMS GOT WEIRD

Rutgers called a fake punt pass with its punter standing in his own end zone.

That's awesome.

Toledo recovered an onside kick against Temple as part of an absurd comeback that eventually resulted in a 49-48 overtime win.

Duke opened its game against Stanford with an onside kick.

You know what? More of this. Every coach in America is obsessed with field position and playing the percentages.

Sometimes I want you to try something stupid. Onside kick everything.

WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

Javon Tracy had a punt-return touchdown.

I mean, he had it.

The Minnesota returner found open grass and had nobody between him and the end zone. So naturally, he stepped out of bounds.

Nobody forced him out. Nobody even really came close. He just... left the field.

Minnesota punt returner don't know that I've ever seen this before pic.twitter.com/uFXtQSWabV
— Amy (@amyknowsball) September 19, 2026

Minnesota won 41-7, so thankfully we can laugh about this. P.J. Fleck said after the game that he and Tracy had "a little discussion" about the play.

I would pay an unreasonable amount of money for the audio of that "discussion."

What are we doing here?

MY FAVORITE STAT(S) I SAW

We begin with Dylan Edwards, who apparently believes fumbling should be an international experience.

Edwards, a Kansas running back who previously played at Kansas State and Colorado, has seemingly accomplished something no FBS player has ever documented before: He has fumbled in three different countries.

The United States. Ireland. The United Kingdom.

Most players go their entire careers without fumbling on multiple continents. Edwards has done it in three countries.

FORCED FUMBLE BY THE SUN DEVILS

AND WE ALMOST GOT A 76 YARD BIG MAN TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/ecyuTqN6X7
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 19, 2026

Meanwhile, Indiana receiver Davion Chandler's first four career receptions all went for touchdowns. That's an objectively hilarious way to begin a college football career.

Unfortunately, Chandler eventually caught another pass Saturday that did not result in a touchdown. The streak is dead.

MY BIGGEST OVERREACTION: TRINIDAD CHAMBLISS SHOULD BE A TOP-TWO QUARTERBACK IN THE 2027 NFL DRAFT

Actually, I'll go further.

I think Trinidad Chambliss might have the best NFL career of any quarterback in the 2027 draft class.

I've seen enough. There are some plays every week where Chambliss does something that I'm not sure another quarterback in college football can do, or even has the stones to do.

The arm talent is off the charts. The off-platform creation is otherworldly. Pressure can completely destroy the structure of a play, and somehow Chambliss turns it into an opportunity.

Lane Kiffin CAN’T BELIEVE what Trinidad Chambliss is doing to LSU pic.twitter.com/xnQzQpJzFh
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) September 20, 2026

Most importantly, I trust him implicitly.

If Ole Miss has the ball with two minutes left and needs a touchdown, there isn't another quarterback in college football I'd rather have.

We saw it during Ole Miss' playoff run last year. We saw it again Saturday night.

There are reasons NFL teams will hesitate. He's small. He's old for a quarterback prospect. By the time his rookie season begins, he'll be 25 years old.

Those things matter.

But if Trinidad Chambliss were 21 years old and 6-foot-4, I don't think we'd be having much of a conversation about who should be the first quarterback drafted next spring.

Outside of Jeremiah Smith, I'm not sure there's a better player in America right now.

Arch Manning will be there. Dante Moore will be there. There will be quarterbacks with better measurables, younger ages and plenty of people telling us about upside.

That's fine. Give me the guy I want holding the football when everything has gone awry.

Give me Trinidad Chambliss.

Five Things To Know: New Illinois Quarterback Katin Houser Has Experience vs. Ohio State, Fighting Illini Have New Coordinators on Defense and Special Teams

Lyle Alenstein — Monday, September 21, 2026 - 08:30

It's on to Big Ten play.

Illinois

Fighting Illini

2-1 (0-0)

roster | schedule

Sept. 26, 2026 - 12:00 p.m. Et

Ohio stadium

Columbus, ohio

FOXOSU -27.5

And it starts with the oh-so-prestigious Illibuck.

Illinois will travel to Columbus, as Ohio Stadium will host its second straight Big Noon Kickoff to kick off conference play.

Like the Buckeyes, the Fighting Illini are 2-1 following the end of their non-conference schedule, but are 27.5-point underdogs against Ohio State.

As the Buckeyes look to start Big Ten play with a bang in Week 4, we take a closer look at the Buckeyes’ first conference opponent in Five Things to Know.

New QB, but a one-time familiar face

Luke Altmeyer exhausted his eligibility, so the three-year starting quarterback for the Illini, who transferred to Urbana-Champaign after losing the job to Jaxson Dart when he transferred from USC to Ole Miss, is now in the NFL as a member of the Detroit Lions' practice squad.

In turn, Illinois grabbed its starting quarterback from the transfer portal this year, landing a pledge from Katin Houser. He was an Elite 11 finalist in high school as a product of California powerhouse St. John Bosco, which led to him committing to Michigan State.

He started seven games for the Spartans, completing 112-of-191 passes for 1,130 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions, but then transferred to East Carolina following the dismissal of head coach Mel Tucker. He started at ECU for the last two seasons, where he completed 418-of-653 passes for 5,306 yards, 37 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

Houser then transferred to Illinois for his final year of eligibility, where he's gone 60-of-81 on passing attempts for 758 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions through three games.

WHAT A BALL from Katin Houser.

Big Ten Football: Southern Illinois at Illinois on Peacock pic.twitter.com/nMDnSNinxz
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 19, 2026

And it'll be Houser’s second start against the Buckeyes. In 2023 for Michigan State, his fifth start came against Ohio State. In a 38-3 loss for the Spartans, he went 12-for-24 with 92 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.

The Robby Discher replacement

Robby Discher was officially hired to the Ohio State coaching staff in February, where he became the program's first full-time special teams coordinator since firing Parker Fleming after the 2023 season. Ohio State’s special teams were run by quality control coach Rob Keys and program assistant Gunner Daniel the previous two years.

Discher led an Illini specialist unit a year ago in which kicker David Olano went 20-of-23 on field goals and punt returner Hank Beatty led the conference in yards per return with 14.1.

In turn, the Illini promoted from within to replace Discher, naming Chris Hurd to the role. Previously, he had been the senior special teams assistant since 2024 after joining Illinois as a special teams analyst in 2023.

#Illini Bret Bielema on the promotion of Chris Hurd to special teams coordinator: pic.twitter.com/BeomE4pjwi
— Glenn Kinley (@glenn_kinley) February 12, 2026

Prior to being on staff with the Illini, Hurd was on staff under head coach Bret Bielema at Arkansas and also had stints with Akron, Chattanooga, FAU, another season at Arkansas, Tennessee, Cisco College and North Texas.

New defensive coordinator

After a 2025 season where Aaron Henry had eight of his 11 starters on the Illinois defense earn All-Big Ten honors, he joined the Notre Dame staff as a defensive backs coach, replacing Mike Mickens, who was hired by the Baltimore Ravens to coach its secondary.

As a result of Henry's departure, the Fighting Illini brought in Bobby Hauck to run a 3-3-5 defense that he learned from former San Diego State head coach Rocky Long. Hauck is a longtime head coach who went 166-92 over 20 seasons leading the programs at Montana and UNLV.

As the head coach at Montana for the last eight years, Hauck’s defenses ranked in the top five of the Big Sky in scoring defense, total defense and sacks every season. His defenses ranked in the top 10 in the FCS in turnovers forced in three of his final five years at Montana, including finishing third nationally last season with 27.

As for Illinois, through three games it hasn't been that great, allowing 23 points to UAB in Week 1 and 31 to Duke in Week 2 before holding Southern Illinois to 10. The defense has allowed 386 yards per game, which is 107th in the country, and also has given up 27 points per game, which is 100th.

Hauck was hired by the Illini after announcing his retirement from Montana, who he led to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs in 2025.

Five days ago Bobby Hauck had this to say about the state of division 1 college football. https://t.co/Fy5RS1hypc pic.twitter.com/D4KHmT1yhu
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) February 9, 2026

Scott is a player to watch

In recent years, Illinois has had success developing defensive backs in the secondary and getting them to the NFL, notably Devon Witherspoon, Sydney Brown, Nate Hobbs and Kerby Joseph.

The next pro prospect from Illinois’ defensive backfield is safety Xavier Scott, who will be off to the NFL next season after his fifth and final year with the Fighting Illini.

In his first four seasons, he appeared in 39 games. His 2025 campaign was cut short due to injury, earning him another year of eligibility as he filed for a medical redshirt after suiting up in three contests. But in those four seasons, Scott notched 127 total tackles, 27 pass breakups, six interceptions and three fumbles.

❌ is back.

Xavier Scott, who played just three games last season due to injury, is healthy and excited to join @IlliniFootball's talented secondary. pic.twitter.com/1x4uaeoIoW
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 22, 2026

Through the first three games of this season, Scott has nine total tackles and a pass breakup, and will certainly provide a good test for the Ohio State pass-catchers as Big Ten play begins.

The Illibuck

There was no way I was going to mention this at the top of the article and not give it a subhead of its own.

The Illibuck tradition came to be in 1925 with a live turtle named Illibuck awarded to the winner. The live turtle, which was supposed to represent longevity for whoever won the matchup, was replaced by a wooden turtle in 1926 after the death of the original Illibuck.

Illinois and Ohio State first played football in 1902, and the two teams became regular Big Ten opponents. The Illibuck tradition commemorates their rivalry to this day even though they no longer play annually in the expanded Big Ten.

The two squads have met 103 times, with the Buckeyes holding a 69-30 advantage and the four other games resulting in a tie.

Snap Counts: Brock Boyd Leads Wide Receivers in Playing Time, But Khary Wilder Plays Only 11 Snaps As Ohio State Plays Deep Into Bench vs. Kent State

Dan Hope — Monday, September 21, 2026 - 07:05

Ohio State took advantage of another opportunity to play deep into its bench in its final non-conference game of the season against Kent State.

38 Buckeyes saw playing time on offense while another 37 played on defense as Ohio State routed the Golden Flashes, 59-3. The Buckeyes played down to at least the third row of the depth chart at every offensive and defensive position group, testing their depth in what will likely be one of their last opportunities this season to give their backups extended playing time.

Buckeyes who saw their roles increase against Kent State from previous weeks included freshman wideout Brock Boyd, who played the most snaps among all receivers against the Golden Flashes. On the offensive line, Gabe VanSickle made his first start of the season at right guard and played all 48 snaps with the first-team offense, while Jake Cook played the biggest role of his Buckeye career to date as he played the sixth offensive line spot in the Bison package.

Defensive players who saw expanded roles against Kent State included defensive end Qua Russaw, defensive tackle Jason Moore and linebackers Riley Pettijohn and TJ Alford, who led or tied for the lead in snaps at their respective position groups. One player who surprisingly didn’t see a big increase in snaps, however, was highly touted freshman pass-rusher Khary Wilder, who continued to see little playing time outside of the third-down Rushmen package even with starting defensive end Zion Grady sidelined for the game due to injury.

Our full report on how many snaps each Buckeye played on offense or defense against Kent State is below. Snap counts are courtesy of Pro Football Focus’ premium statistics, though a couple of snap counts along the offensive line were corrected to account for discrepancies we noticed while rewatching the game. (Note: Special teams snap counts are not included as they had not been published by PFF as of Sunday night.)

Quarterbacks

Julian Sayin: 48
Luke Fahey: 12
Tavien St. Clair: 6

Ohio State’s quarterback depth chart behind Sayin came into clearer focus against Kent State. Fahey, who replaced Sayin on Ohio State’s second possession of the second half, played four drives as Ohio State’s No. 2 quarterback before St. Clair entered the game for the Buckeyes’ final two possessions.

Running Backs

Bo Jackson: 18
Ja'Kobi Jackson: 15
Isaiah West: 15
Favour Akih: 12
Legend Bey: 3
Stanley Jackson Jr.: 3

Bo Jackson played his lowest snap count since he became Ohio State’s starting running back last season, as the Buckeyes split snaps nearly evenly among their top three running backs against their overmatched opponent.

Bey likely would have seen more playing time, too, but the freshman running back injured his ankle on his only carry of the game and did not return.

With Bey and Anthony “Turbo” Rogers sidelined by injuries, Akih and Stanley Jackson Jr. were the Buckeyes’ running backs for their final five possessions of the game, with both making their Ohio State debuts.

Wide Receivers

Brock Boyd: 36
Jeremiah Smith: 31
Chris Henry Jr.: 29
Brandon Inniss: 18
Devin McCuin: 15
Phillip Bell: 14
David Adolph: 6
Jerquaden Guilford: 6
De'Zie Jones: 2

While Inniss and McCuin started alongside Smith, as usual, Boyd and Henry each played a starter’s amount of snaps against Kent State as the two freshmen rotated in with the starters before continuing to play into the fourth quarter with Fahey and the offensive backups.

Bell, the Buckeyes’ No. 6 receiver, also continued to rotate in with the starters vs. the Golden Flashes.

Adolph, Guilford and Jones finished out the game as the third-string receivers on the Buckeyes’ final two possessions with St. Clair at quarterback.

Tight Ends

Snap Tracker: Offense
POS	PLAYER	BSU	TEX	KSU	TOTAL
QB	JULIAN SAYIN	47	65	48	160
QB	LUKE FAHEY	15	0	12	27
QB	TAVIEN ST. CLAIR	13	0	6	19
RB	BO JACKSON	28	42	18	88
RB	JA'KOBI JACKSON	18	21	15	54
RB	ISAIAH WEST	19	2	15	36
RB	LEGEND BEY	10	1	3	14
RB	FAVOUR AKIH	0	0	12	12
RB	STANLEY JACKSON JR.	0	0	3	3
WR	JEREMIAH SMITH	36	56	31	123
WR	DEVIN McCUIN	37	50	15	102
WR	CHRIS HENRY JR.	38	9	29	76
WR	BRANDON INNISS	24	33	18	75
WR	BROCK BOYD	20	12	36	68
WR	PHILLIP BELL	20	9	14	43
WR	JERQUADEN GUILFORD	15	0	6	21
WR	DAVID ADOLPH	8	0	6	14
WR	DE'ZIE JONES	7	0	2	9
TE	NATE ROBERTS	24	42	33	99
TE	BENNETT CHRISTIAN	16	25	20	61
TE	MASON WILLIAMS	23	23	13	59
TE	MAX LeBLANC	10	0	10	20
TE	HUNTER WELCING	9	0	10	19
TE	NICK LAUTAR	8	0	6	14
TE	BRODY LENNON	5	0	3	8
TE	FRANKIE MCALLISTER	0	0	1	1
OL	AUSTIN SIEREVELD	47	65	48	160
OL	CARSON HINZMAN	47	65	48	160
OL	IAN MOORE	47	65	48	160
OL	LUKE MONTGOMERY	47	65	48	160
OL	GABE VANSICKLE	43	7	48	98
OL	PHILLIP DANIELS	32	58	0	90
OL	JAKE COOK	28	0	29	57
OL	CARTER LOWE	28	0	18	46
OL	JOSHUA PADILLA	28	0	15	43
OL	DEONTAE ARMSTRONG	28	0	8	36
OL	MAX RILEY	0	0	18	18
OL	SAM GREER	0	0	10	10
OL	MASON WILHELM	0	0	3	3

Nate Roberts: 33
Bennett Christian: 20
Mason Williams: 13
Max LeBlanc: 10
Hunter Welcing: 10
Nick Lautar: 6
Brody Lennon: 3
Frankie McAllister: 1

Roberts played the most snaps among tight ends for the third game in a row to start the season. Christian and Williams saw most of their snaps in multi-tight end packages, which Arthur Smith and the Buckeyes continued to use frequently against Kent State.

Every single tight end on the roster saw playing time against the Golden Flashes. Welcing and LeBlanc got in the game early in the second half as Ohio State’s fourth and fifth tight ends. Lautar, Lennon and McAllister all played on Ohio State's final two possessions of the game, with McAllister – a walk-on freshman – making his Buckeye debut on the game’s final play.

Offensive Linemen

Ian Moore: 48
Luke Montgomery: 48
Carson Hinzman: 48
Gabe VanSickle: 48
Austin Siereveld: 48
Jake Cook: 29
Carter Lowe: 18
Max Riley: 18
Joshua Padilla: 15
Sam Greer: 10
Deontae Armstrong: 8
Mason Wilhelm: 3

With Phillip Daniels sidelined by an injury he suffered against Texas, Siereveld took his place at right tackle while VanSickle made his first start of the season at right guard against Kent State.

Moore, Montgomery, Hinzman, VanSickle and Siereveld all played every snap through the opening drive of the third quarter. Cook joined them on the field for 11 plays as a sixth offensive lineman in the Buckeyes’ Bison package.

Ohio State’s second-team offensive lineman after the starters exited the game consisted of Lowe at left tackle, Cook at left guard, Padilla at center, Riley at right guard and Armstrong at right tackle. Riley, who moved up to the second unit at RG with VanSickle starting, was one of three freshman offensive linemen who made their offensive debuts against Kent State. Greer replaced Armstrong for four of Ohio State’s final five possessions at RT, while Wilhelm took Padilla’s place at center for the final drive of the game.

Defensive Ends

Qua Russaw: 23
Epi Sitanilei: 22
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 22
Beau Atkinson: 17
Khary Wilder: 11
Dre Quinn: 7
Darryus McKinley: 4

With Zion Grady sidelined, Russaw made his first career start opposite Jackson and had the most snaps played by an edge. Sitanilei and Atkinson also mixed in with the first-team defense at defensive end.

Buckeye fans expected to see Wilder play more with the flashes he showed in Ohio State’s first two games of the season, but he ended up playing only 11 snaps. Like in the Texas game, all of his snaps with the first-team defense came in the third-down Rushmen package. Ryan Day said after the game that the Buckeyes view him as a starter in the Rushmen package, but are intentionally having him focus on that role to start his career as a freshman.

“For the third-down packages, we feel like that's a really good option for him to get as we get into conference play and some of the more matchup games,” Day said of Wilder. “Right now, that's where his first step is; get in the packages third down, go get the quarterback, put that in and really allow him to own that right now.”

Ohio State’s other two freshman defensive ends, Quinn and McKinley, made their second game appearances of the year with the backups in the fourth quarter.

Defensive Tackles

Jason Moore: 25
John Walker: 20
Jamir Perez: 17
Will Smith Jr.: 17
Eddrick Houston: 15
James Smith: 14
Damari Simeon: 13
Emanuel Ruffin: 4

Moore’s ascent up the depth chart continued against Kent State as he played the most snaps among defensive tackles. Moore tied with Will Smith Jr., who played his highest snap count of the season to date in Week 3, for the team lead with five tackles, including a sack split between them in the third quarter.

Houston and Walker started at defensive tackle for a third straight week. James Smith also rotated in with the starters, but his day was cut short in the third quarter by a wrist injury significant enough that he was carted back to the locker room.

The freshman trio of Perez, Simeon and Ruffin all saw playing time in the second half. Perez tied for the third-most snaps among defensive tackles and delivered one of the game’s top highlights as he returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown.

JAMIR PEREZ SCOOP-AND-SCORE ‼️pic.twitter.com/DSq0oXOhVx
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

Linebackers

Riley Pettijohn: 27
TJ Alford: 27
Christian Alliegro: 22
Cincere Johnson: 19
Payton Pierce: 17
Braxton Rembert: 15
CJ Sanna: 5

While Pierce and Alliegro started at linebacker for a third straight game to begin the season, the sophomore tandem of Pettijohn and Alford played the most snaps at LB, just as they did in the season opener.

Johnson, the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 recruiting class, made his Ohio State debut in the second half as the fifth linebacker to enter the game. Fellow freshmen Rembert and Sanna also saw playing time in the second half for their second game appearance as Buckeyes.

Snap Tracker: Defense
POS	PLAYER	BSU	TEX	KSU	TOTAL
DE	KENYATTA JACKSON JR.	35	68	22	125
DE	QUA RUSSAW	0	36	23	59
DE	BEAU ATKINSON	26	11	17	54
DE	EPI SITANILEI	20	7	22	49
DE	KHARY WILDER	17	5	11	33
DE	ZION GRADY	26	6	0	32
DE	DRE QUINN	7	0	7	14
DE	DARRYUS McKINLEY	4	0	4	8
DE	NATE RIEGLE	6	0	0	6
DT	JOHN WALKER	20	54	20	94
DT	EDDRICK HOUSTON	23	54	15	92
DT	JASON MOORE	21	27	25	73
DT	JAMES SMITH	17	40	14	71
DT	WILL SMITH JR.	16	14	17	47
DT	JAMIR PEREZ	4	0	17	21
DT	DAMARI SIMEON	6	0	13	19
DT	EMANUEL RUFFIN	2	0	4	6
DT	ASHTON YEAGER	2	0	0	2
LB	PAYTON PIERCE	26	67	17	110
LB	CHRISTIAN ALLIEGRO	29	51	22	102
LB	RILEY PETTIJOHN	30	37	27	94
LB	TJ ALFORD	34	26	27	87
LB	CINCERE JOHNSON	0	0	19	19
LB	BRAXTON REMBERT	3	0	15	18
LB	GARRETT STOVER	12	0	0	12
LB	CJ SANNA	1	0	5	6
LB	TY HOWARD	5	0	0	5
LB	ALEC DELSIGNORE	2	0	0	2
LB	ZACH HAYES	2	0	0	2
LB	ELI RIGGS	1	0	0	1
CB	DEVIN SANCHEZ	37	76	35	148
CB	JERMAINE MATHEWS JR.	36	76	32	144
CB	JAY TIMMONS	33	62	27	122
CB	CAM CALHOUN	27	1	13	41
CB	DOMINICK KELLY	22	0	13	35
CB	JORDAN THOMAS	15	0	9	24
CB	BRENTEN "INKY" JONES	0	0	13	13
CB	MILES LOCKHART	0	0	8	8
CB	DESHAWN STEWART	0	0	7	7
S	JAYLEN McCLAIN	41	80	34	155
S	EARL LITTLE JR.	30	71	31	132
S	SIMEON CALDWELL	24	5	12	41
S	TERRY MOORE	19	0	14	33
S	LEROY ROKER III	12	0	13	25
S	BLAINE BRADFORD	0	0	14	14

Cornerbacks

Devin Sanchez: 35
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 32
Jay Timmons: 27
Cam Calhoun: 13
Brenten “Inky” Jones: 13
Dominick Kelly: 13
Jordan Thomas: 9
Miles Lockhart: 8
Deshawn Stewart: 7

Sanchez played the most snaps of any Buckeye defender against Kent State as he was on the field for every play through the Golden Flashes’ second possession of the third quarter. Mathews came out of the game one drive before Sanchez, with Calhoun taking his place as the first cornerback off the bench. Timmons made his second consecutive start at nickelback and played the third-most snaps among corners.

Kelly replaced Sanchez at outside cornerback while Thomas replaced Timmons in the slot on Ohio State’s third defensive series of the third quarter.

Jones, a core special teams player for the Buckeyes, and Stewart both saw the first defensive playing time of their Ohio State careers at outside cornerback in the fourth quarter. Lockhart took over at slot cornerback in the fourth quarter for his first snaps of the season.

Safeties

Jaylen McClain: 34
Earl Little Jr.: 31
Blaine Bradford: 14
Terry Moore: 14
Leroy Roker III: 13
Simeon Caldwell: 12

McClain played every snap through Kent State’s second drive of the third quarter, except for one play where he had to come off the field after briefly receiving medical attention. Little, as he did in Ohio State’s first two games, was a mainstay with the first-team defense in base packages but subbed out in favor of Roker and Caldwell when the Buckeyes put their dime defense on the field.

Roker and Caldwell also played the final two drives of the third quarter as Ohio State’s second-string safeties. Moore and Bradford took over as the Buckeyes’ third-string safeties for the fourth quarter, with Bradford making his Buckeye debut.

Game Coverage Box

component: football-game; sport: football; season: 2026; game: 2026-09-19; variant: coverage

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Skull Session: Ohio State Fans Should Appreciate Jeremiah Smith While He’s Here, Brandon Inniss Says Julian Sayin Owned Up to Missing Him for a Touchdown Against Kent State

Chase Brown — Monday, September 21, 2026 - 04:55

Welcome to the Skull Session.

This is cleannnnnn.

✔️ pic.twitter.com/DQTHYddRrq
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 21, 2026

Have a good Monday.

ONE OF THE ALL-TIME GREATS. While Jeremiah Smith is still wearing an Ohio State uniform, let’s appreciate his greatness.

Smith broke Ohio State’s all-time receiving yards record on Saturday, surpassing Michael Jenkins’ previous mark of 2,898 yards. After the game, The Columbus Dispatch’s Rob Oller asked Ryan Day where Smith ranks among the program’s best pass catchers.

“It’s hard to put anybody above him. It is. It’s hard. Thirty-three games to break the all-time leading receiving record at Ohio State,” Day said.

When asked to rank Jeremiah Smith among Ohio State's all-time great receivers, Ryan Day said, "It's hard to put anybody above him. It is. It's hard.”

Here’s Day on Smith’s legacy at Ohio State pic.twitter.com/Lp8GNcyKWd
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

Thirty-three games.

Sheesh.

But that’s not even the best part of the quote.

It’s hard to put anybody above him at a program that’s had Cris Carter, Joey Galloway, Terry Glenn, David Boston, Jenkins, Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn Jr., Michael Thomas…

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Terry McLaurin, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.

And Smith ranks above them all.

Just look at what JSN is doing in the NFL. He had nine catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns against the Cardinals on Sunday, after catching eight passes for 122 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots in Week 1.

And Smith ranks above him.

Side note: I need the Cardinals to trade Marvin Harrison Jr. because I genuinely don't understand how this is happening. Through two games this season, Harrison has one catch on four targets. Four targets! For a player the franchise drafted No. 4 overall in 2024! That’s absurd.

Anyway, back to Smith.

The Ohio State star has now broken the program’s all-time receiving yards record, and he’s motivated to break the receptions and receiving touchdowns records, too.

Someday, we’ll look back at those records and remember how great Smith was.

But I don’t want to wait until then to appreciate him.

Jeremiah Smith said “it means a lot” to break Ohio State’s all-time receiving yards record, but he still has (at least) two more records to break pic.twitter.com/URqIseTyec
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

We should not take for granted that Smith was exactly as advertised. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 class and the No. 1 wide receiver in the country. That’s rare territory. But it was completely warranted for a player who became a Day 1 starter and helped lead the Buckeyes to a national championship as a freshman.

Before he leaves Ohio State, he’ll have a Biletnikoff Award and maybe even a Heisman Trophy. I’d love to see him win another national championship, too. Whatever happens, it’s been a pleasure to watch No. 4 in the Scarlet and Gray.

So while he’s still in Columbus, let’s soak in every catch, every record and every ridiculous play. We’re watching one of the all-time greats, and I don’t want to wait until he’s gone to appreciate it.

SPREADING THE LOVE. After Ohio State’s loss to Texas, one of the main questions I — and many others — had about the Buckeyes was: Who would emerge as the team’s No. 2 pass catcher behind Jeremiah Smith?

While Ohio State’s bounce-back win over Kent State didn’t provide a definitive answer, several Buckeyes flashed. The three I’ll write about in this Skull Session are Brandon Inniss, Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd. I’ll discuss Inniss here and the freshman duo in the next section.

Inniss had the play of the game against Kent State — at least until 349-pound defensive tackle Jamir Perez’s 11-yard scoop-and-score and a 10-out-of-10 Sexy Dexy dance.

With zero seconds left in the first half, Ohio State attempted a Hail Mary to put seven more points on the board. Julian Sayin took the snap from Carson Hinzman and rolled out of the pocket as the Buckeyes’ receivers sprinted toward the end zone. After running around a well-timed block from Gabe VanSickle, Sayin launched the football nearly 60 yards downfield, and somehow, Inniss came down with it.

BRANDON INNISS DOWN THERE SOMEWHERE ‼️pic.twitter.com/IuoruhViyH
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

The two-time captain should have had a second touchdown in the blowout win. Unfortunately, Sayin missed the wide-open Block O and took a sack that resulted in a turnover on downs.

Inniss said Sayin owned up to the mistake on the sideline.

“I missed you,” he recalled Sayin saying. “It was my fault.”

pic.twitter.com/4vyHld1pqU
— Colton Denning (@Dubsco) September 19, 2026

Inniss wanted to score, but having played quarterback in high school and wide receiver in college the past three years, he understands quarterbacks have a lot on their plates.

When asked how his conversations with Sayin have evolved over the past two seasons, Inniss said they’ve grown as Sayin has become more vocal on and off the field.

“As he became a lot more vocal, we had a lot more conversations like that, open conversations,” Inniss said. “It took a lot of time just to talk and figure it out. So what we do is sit in one-on-one meetings and just watch the film together, pick each other’s brains on certain coverages — where he would like me to be in certain coverage, stuff like that.”

If the quarterback and wide receiver can get on the same page, Inniss is the answer. A five-star prospect with three-plus years of experience in an Ohio State uniform — of course he is. He should be!

Inniss is a willing blocker, creates space on short and intermediate routes and can make defenders miss with the ball in his hands.

Oh, and there’s this: Lyle Alenstein mentioned on After Carmen that he’s never seen Inniss drop a pass on third down. He’s right. That’s because Inniss has just one drop on 77 career targets, and it came during Ohio State’s blowout win over Purdue in 2024.

Inniss is a team-first player who makes plays when they matter most.

That’s exactly what the Buckeyes need from their WR2. If Inniss and Sayin can get on the same frequency, Ohio State might have its answer.

GOT FRESHMEN? Chris Henry Jr. is 6-foot-5, 210 pounds. I haven’t seen too many 6-foot-5 humans move this fast, let alone 6-foot-5 football players:

CHRIS HENRY JR. pic.twitter.com/Nz7KIPuYEK
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

Henry’s House Call was one of two moments that impressed me on Saturday. He also had a downfield block that helped Bo Jackson record an explosive run. I promise Ryan Day, Arthur Smith and Cortez Hankton loved that rep when the team watched film on Sunday.

Chris Henry Jr. doing the dirty work pic.twitter.com/oB5evGM9WJ
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

Brock Boyd also shined in Ohio State’s win. The three-star freshman entered the game with one catch for 22 yards against Ball State and a smooooooth route against Texas. In Week 3, he hauled in four catches for 66 yards, including this awesome sideline grab where he showed great awareness to keep not one, but two feet in bounds and move the chains for the Buckeyes.

BROCK BOYD pic.twitter.com/CzHHGGE5IF
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

Boyd was wideeeeee open on the route, but Luke Fahey — another freshman! — had to make the throw across his body while escaping a Kent State blitz. That caused the ball to trail toward the sideline instead of the end zone.

Be it Inniss, Henry, Boyd or another Ohio State wide receiver, the Illinois game will be an excellent test of which Buckeye could emerge behind Jeremiah Smith.

Bret Bielema’s Illinois teams have consistently featured talented defensive backfields. Devon Witherspoon went No. 5 overall in the 2023 NFL draft and won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks last February, while safeties Kerby Joseph, Sydney Brown, Miles Scott and Quan Martin have also carved out roles in the NFL.

This year’s Illinois team features Xavier Scott, who missed all but three games in 2025 because of an ankle injury. The 2024 first-team All-Big Ten honoree has six career interceptions and has recorded nine tackles with one pass breakup through the Illini’s first three games. Defensive back Juice Clarke, who has three pass breakups this season, is another name to know in the passing game and should challenge Ohio State’s receivers in Saturday afternoon’s matchup.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME. Ohio State named two Players of the Game after the team’s 59-3 win over Kent State, selecting Jeremiah Smith as Offensive Player of the Game and Riley Pettijohn as Defensive Player of the Game.

https://t.co/NtZENMqCm3 pic.twitter.com/ovXXI0hM0S
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 20, 2026

Playmaker ‼️ https://t.co/HDhI2upgqB pic.twitter.com/3j8XtZsNoc
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 20, 2026

Smith’s accolades were well-documented in the opener, but let’s talk about Pettijohn and why — if I may be so bold — he deserves starter reps in Matt Patricia’s defense.

Look, I like Payton Pierce and Christian Alliegro. Both players bring desirable traits. Pierce is a leader who keeps the defense organized, while Alliegro is versatile enough to line up in multiple spots.

But Pettijohn is built different, and you can see it.

Pettijohn flashed against Texas, recording three tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack against the Longhorns. Then, in just 27 snaps against Kent State, he recorded three tackles and his first career interception.

According to Pro Football Focus, Pettijohn was Ohio State’s highest-graded player against the Golden Flashes with a 91.5 overall grade. His 91.2 coverage grade was particularly impressive for a linebacker, while he also posted a 79.2 tackling grade and a 75.9 run-defense grade.

For comparison, Alliegro was Ohio State’s second-highest-graded linebacker at 83.0, followed by T.J. Alford at 80.7 and Cincere Johnson at 69.2. Pierce graded at 54.1.

Now, PFF grades aren’t the be-all and end-all. And yes, Kent State is Kent State.

But Pettijohn has now flashed against Texas and Kent State, and his skill set gives Patricia something I’m not sure the other linebackers can quite replicate.

He’s not Sonny Styles or Arvell Reese. Let’s not get crazy! Those two were special.

But of Pierce, Alliegro, Alford and Cincere Johnson, Pettijohn is the closest thing Ohio State has to the kind of athletic linebacker we saw flying around the field for the Buckeyes last season, and that’s worth exploring.

I say give the sophomore some starter reps and see what happens!

SONG OF THE DAY. "Carmen Ohio" - TBDBITL.

CUT TO THE CHASE. In Buffalo and elsewhere, NFL players find grass to be the better choice over artificial turf... Meet Earth’s newest wild cat species, the first named in over a century... A childhood rite moves indoors as kindergartners learn to ride bikes in school gyms... Cubs’ Alex Bregman, hit in face by foul ball, posts photo of swollen eye... John Mateer didn't see his wide-open WR. The Oklahoma crowd pointed him out...LSU's Lane Kiffin takes one last parting shot at Ole Miss.

Three Stars of the Game: Jeremiah Smith, Jamir Perez and Riley Pettijohn Earn Top Honors for Their Performances Against Kent State

Chase Brown — Sunday, September 20, 2026 - 16:00

Another Ohio State win, another Three Stars of the Game.

This week, the Eleven Warriors staff selected Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, defensive tackle Jamir Perez and linebacker Riley Pettijohn as the top performers in the Buckeyes' 59-3 win over Kent State.

First Star: Jeremiah Smith

When you become Ohio State’s all-time leader in receiving yards — in your 33rd career game, no less — you earn the First Star.

Smith didn’t have his best performance in an Ohio State uniform, catching just five passes for 85 yards, but it was one of his most memorable. He etched his name into the Buckeyes’ record book by surpassing Michael Jenkins’ career receiving yards record of 2,898 yards. Jenkins congratulated Smith in a video Ohio State played on the scoreboard and later posted to social media.

pic.twitter.com/sWUDKd8RVA
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

When asked to rank Smith among Ohio State’s all-time great receivers, Ryan Day said it’s hard to put another player ahead of the third-year Buckeye.

“It’s hard to put anybody above him. It is. It’s hard. Thirty-three games to break the all-time leading receiving record at Ohio State,” Day said. “I think that speaks more than anything to him, his mindset, his discipline, what he does every day.”

Smith called himself blessed to break the record Saturday, but his job isn’t finished.

“I got two more to get — Chris Olave’s touchdown record and Emeka Egbuka’s receptions,” Smith said with a smile.

Second Star: Jamir Perez

We’ll start this section similar to the first: When you become the heaviest player to score a touchdown in Ohio State history, you get a star. It might not be the First Star, but the Second Star is still pretty good.

Or is it… pretty sexy?

After recovering a fumble and returning it for a touchdown against Kent State, the 349-pound Perez hit the Sexy Dexy, a dance named after Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence’s big-play celebration.

JAMIR PEREZ SCOOP-AND-SCORE ‼️pic.twitter.com/DSq0oXOhVx
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

“Terrible ball security,” Day joked after the game. “But you can see the sideline, and to me that’s what I’m looking for. The whole sideline going out on the field and celebrating as a team. I think you saw some of that today. We have to do that. We have to celebrate as brothers, and when you get excited for someone else’s accomplishments, almost more than yourself, then we have something going, and to me that was most important there.”

Third Star: Riley Pettijohn

At this point, we have to keep the theme going. When you intercept a pass, you get a star. It might not be the First Star or the Second Star, but the Third Star is still pretty good!

Pettijohn flashed in Week 2 against Texas, collecting three tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack. He continued to impress in his 27 snaps against Kent State, recording three tackles and his first career interception.

RILEY PETTIJOHN INT ‼️pic.twitter.com/QaF3UV5XiJ
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

Pettijohn was Ohio State’s highest-graded player against Kent State, according to Pro Football Focus. The sophomore linebacker led the Buckeyes with a 91.5 overall grade, including grades of 91.2 in coverage, 79.2 in tackling, 75.9 in run defense and 60.0 in pass rush.

For what it’s worth, Christian Alliegro was Ohio State’s second-highest-graded linebacker at 83.0. Behind Pettijohn and Alliegro were T.J. Alford (80.7), Braxton Rembert (71.7), Cincere Johnson (69.2), C.J. Sanna (66.2) and Payton Pierce (54.1).

ELEVEN WARRIORS STARS OF THE GAME
OPPONENT	FIRST STAR / ★	SECOND STAR / ★★	THIRD STAR / ★★★
BALL STATE	JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 8 catches, 151 yards, 2 TDs	JULIAN SAYIN, QB 21-25, 320 yards, 4 total TDs	DEVIN MCCUIN, WR 6 catches, 97 yards, 1 TD
KENT STATE	JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 5 catches, 85 yards	JAMIR PEREZ, DT 2 tackles, 1 PBU, 1 FR, 1 TD	RILEY PETTIJOHN, LB 3 tackles, 1 solo, 1 INT

As the season continues, we’ll track the stars — or points — each Ohio State player earns throughout 2026. Here’s how it works: Each time a Buckeye earns First Star of the Game, they’ll add three points to their season total. Second Star is worth two points, while Third Star is worth one point.

ELEVEN WARRIORS THREE STARS OF THE GAME
RANK	PLAYER	FIRST STAR / ★	SECOND STAR / ★★	THIRD STAR / ★★★	POINTS
1	JEREMIAH SMITH	2	0	0	6
T2	JULIAN SAYIN	0	1	0	2
T2	JAMIR PEREZ	0	1	0	2
T4	DEVIN MCCUIN	0	0	1	1
T4	RILEY PETTIJOHN	0	0	1	1

Ohio State Drops to No. 7 in AP and Coaches Polls After Ole Miss Beats LSU to Leapfrog the Buckeyes

Rodney Potts — Sunday, September 20, 2026 - 14:50

Despite a resounding 59-3 win over Kent State, Ohio State comes in at No. 7 this week in both the AP and Coaches Polls, dropping one spot in each set of rankings.

The highly-touted top-10 matchup between Ole Miss and LSU Saturday night practically guaranteed the winner to overtake the Buckeyes in the rankings. Ole Miss jumped all the way up to No. 4 in the AP Poll after its 32-24 victory in the game of the week. The Rebels climbed only to No. 6 in the Coaches Poll.

Texas stays locked in at the top spot in both rankings, receiving 58 first-place votes in the AP Top 25 and 46 votes in the Coaches Poll.

Georgia, Indiana, and Miami also received first-place votes in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll. Ole Miss received three votes for first place in the AP Poll, and Notre Dame received two in the Coaches. Ohio State received no first-place votes in either poll.

The Big Ten still has seven teams ranked in the AP Poll this week: Indiana (fifth), Ohio State (seventh), USC (12th), Penn State (13th), Iowa (17th), Michigan (18th), and Oregon (20th).

In the Coaches Poll, the Big Ten has eight teams ranked: Indiana (fourth), Ohio State (seventh), USC (12th), Penn State (14th), Oregon (16th), Iowa (17th), Michigan (18th), and Washington (23rd).

AP Top 25 — Week 3
Rank	Team	Record	Conference	Points	Change
1	TEXAS	3-0	SEC	1,706 (58)	–
2	GEORGIA	3-0	SEC	1,580 (3)	–
3	NOTRE DAME	3-0	FBS Independents	1,517	–
4	OLE MISS	3-0	SEC	1,488 (3)	▲ 4
5	INDIANA	3-0	Big Ten	1,467 (4)	▼ 1
6	MIAMI (FL)	3-0	ACC	1,445 (1)	▼ 1
7	OHIO STATE	2-1	Big Ten	1,415	▼ 1
8	ALABAMA	3-0	SEC	1,182	▲ 2
9	BYU	3-0	Big 12	1,090	▲ 2
10	LSU	2-1	SEC	1,078	▼ 3
11	TEXAS TECH	3-0	Big 12	1,067	▲ 2
12	USC	4-0	Big Ten	907	–
13	PENN STATE	3-0	Big Ten	850	▲ 1
14	TENNESSEE	3-0	SEC	826	▲ 1
15	UTAH	3-0	Big 12	752	▲ 2
16	LOUISVILLE	2-1	ACC	692	▲ 7
17	IOWA	3-0	Big Ten	561	▲ 1
18	MICHIGAN	3-0	Big Ten	432	▲ 1
19	MISSOURI	3-0	SEC	369	▲ 1
20	OREGON	2-1	Big Ten	364	▲ 1
21	FLORIDA	3-0	SEC	269	▲ 6
22	SMU	2-1	ACC	212	▼ 6
23	TEXAS A&M	2-1	SEC	202	▼ 14
24	MISSISSIPPI STATE	3-0	SEC	179	▲ 8
25	HOUSTON	2-1	Big 12	127	▼ 3

USA Today Coaches Poll — Released September 19
Rank	Team	Record	Conference	Points	Change
1	TEXAS	3-0	SEC	1807 (46)	–
2	GEORGIA	3-0	SEC	1742 (16)	–
3	NOTRE DAME	3-0	FBS Independents	1636 (2)	–
4	INDIANA	3-0	Big Ten	1613 (9)	–
5	MIAMI (FL)	3-0	ACC	1552 (1)	–
6	OLE MISS	3-0	SEC	1501	▲ 3
7	OHIO STATE	2-1	Big Ten	1473	▼ 1
8	ALABAMA	3-0	SEC	1309	▲ 2
9	BYU	3-0	Big 12	1089	▲ 4
10	TEXAS TECH	3-0	Big 12	1079	▲ 2
11	LSU	2-1	SEC	1067	▼ 4
12	USC	4-0	Big Ten	1057	▼ 1
13	TENNESSEE	3-0	SEC	833	▲ 1
14	PENN STATE	3-0	Big Ten	814	▲ 1
15	UTAH	3-0	Big 12	743	▲ 2
16	OREGON	2-1	Big Ten	594	▲ 2
17	IOWA	3-0	Big Ten	580	▲ 3
18	MICHIGAN	3-0	Big Ten	545	▲ 1
19	LOUISVILLE	2-1	ACC	519	▲ 8
20	TEXAS A&M	2-1	SEC	447	▼ 12
21	MISSOURI	3-0	SEC	382	▲ 1
22	FLORIDA	3-0	SEC	370	▲ 4
23	WASHINGTON	3-0	Big Ten	251	▲ 1
24	OKLAHOMA	2-1	SEC	213	▼ 3
25	SMU	2-1	ACC	162	▼ 9

College football didn’t see many major upsets this week. The only two ranked teams that fell to unranked opponents were previously No. 25 Virginia in their loss to West Virginia, and then-ranked No. 9 Texas A&M losing 31-21 to Kentucky.

Ohio State’s Blowout Win Over Kent State Wasn’t Perfect, But “It Was Good To Get A Win”

Lyle Alenstein — Sunday, September 20, 2026 - 12:49

Braxton Rembert laid the hit on Kent State, and in came 349-pound Jamir Perez to pick up the loose ball, cashing in on a scoop-and-score touchdown to put Ohio State up 56-0 at the start of the fourth quarter.

"I'm not really in a joking mood right now," Day said postgame. "But is he the heaviest guy to ever score a touchdown in Ohio State history?"

Per Eleven Warriors researcher Matt Gutridge, the defensive tackle is, in fact, the heaviest in school history to cross the pylon.

If my research is correct, Jamir Perez is the heaviest Ohio State player to ever score a touchdown: pic.twitter.com/khUwhoVTOj
— Matt Gutridge (@BuckeyeStatsFB) September 19, 2026

"Terrible ball security," Day said with a laugh. "But you can see the sideline, and to me that's what I'm looking for: the whole sideline going out on the field and celebrating as a team. I think you saw some of that today. We have to do that. We have to celebrate as brothers, and when you get excited for someone else's accomplishments, almost more than yourself, then we have something going, and to me that was most important there."

Day said Ohio State will have to get Perez under control after that one, as he was unsure what to make of him hitting the "Sexy Dexy" celebration.

But what he did make of Saturday's 59-3 win over Kent State was that it was good to get back in the win column after the heartbreaking 24-23 defeat to Texas a week ago, seeing his team in a positive state and getting players deep on the depth chart snaps. There really was no doubt that the Buckeyes were going to dominate in this one, even if the play on the field wasn't perfect; at the end of the day, a win is a win.

"Regardless of the opponent, you want clean execution on offense, and you want a bunch of running and hitting on defense, and energy, and passion, and violence running around, which I thought we did," Day said.

It was a relatively clean day for Ohio State, with the only true miscues coming from the starters on the offensive side of the ball, as its second and third-to-last drives of the first half resulted in turnovers on downs, with Julian Sayin notably missing a wide-open Brandon Inniss. But then Sayin hit Inniss for a 49-yard touchdown on a Hail Mary on the final play of the first half, so all's well that ends well, right?

BRANDON INNISS DOWN THERE SOMEWHERE ‼️pic.twitter.com/IuoruhViyH
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 19, 2026

Well, not quite. Despite the win over the Golden Flashes, a domination like the one on Saturday still doesn't hit quite the same as what it would've felt like to beat the Longhorns. There are also still things that need to be figured out against better competition, and let's face it, Ohio State isn't getting those answers from a victory over Kent State.

Will Sayin return to last year's form after some struggles against Texas? Will a second pass-catcher emerge? Can the pass-rush step up? Can the young guys make an impact?

In due time, these will have answers, whether good or bad for Ohio State. But in the meantime, they didn't need those results against Kent State — it was about going out there and playing ball.

"It kind of felt like in practice, you kind of could feel the effects of that last game still ... I think it was that first time we needed to get back on the field, even in practice, but in the game as well," Inniss said. "It was good to get a win, go back and watch the film, and get to Illinois."

Getting to Illinois is right. The Buckeyes still have their entire season ahead, with all their goals still in reach. But now it's go time for Ohio State, and while there are certainly things that need to be cleaned up heading into Big Ten play, everyone in the program remains confident moving forward.

"It just shows you that you can't be broken, you know what I mean? Stuff like that could happen," safety Jaylen McClain said of the loss to Texas. "That's obviously something that could happen in the season. It's just all about responding."

Ohio State’s Road Game at Iowa Set for 3:30 Kickoff on CBS

Riley Pettijohn, Will Smith Jr. and Jeremiah Smith Lead Pro Football Focus' Highest-Graded Ohio State Players Against Kent State

Offensive Ratings By Position

Quarterback

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Line

Defensive Ratings by Position

Defensive Ends

Defensive Tackles

Linebackers

Cornerbacks

Safeties

The Top Three

1. LB Riley Pettijohn (91.5)

2. DT Will Smith Jr. (90.2)

3. WR Jeremiah Smith (83.8)

Extra Points

Game Coverage Box

Yes, Kent State Really Got Beat That Bad: Ohio State’s Net Success Rate in 59-3 Win Was Off the Charts

Game Coverage Box

This Week in Our Dumb, Beautiful Sport: Ole Miss Gets Its Revenge, College Football Is Loaded at Quarterback

THIS IS WHY COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS DIFFERENT

PARITY IS GOOD, ACTUALLY

THIS QUARTERBACK CLASS IS RIDICULOUS

WINNERS AND LOSERS

WINNER: Will Stein

WINNER: Jeremiah Smith

WINNER: Nate Sheppard

WINNER: Mississippi State

LOSER: NC State

LOSER: Texas A&M

LOSER: The NCAA FBS Oversight Committee

FBS Oversight Committee Confirms Western Michigan Should Have Beaten Michigan, But Says It Can’t Change Result of Game

LOSER: Colorado

THE BEST THING I SAW

HONORABLE MENTION: SPECIAL TEAMS GOT WEIRD

WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

MY FAVORITE STAT(S) I SAW

MY BIGGEST OVERREACTION: TRINIDAD CHAMBLISS SHOULD BE A TOP-TWO QUARTERBACK IN THE 2027 NFL DRAFT

Five Things To Know: New Illinois Quarterback Katin Houser Has Experience vs. Ohio State, Fighting Illini Have New Coordinators on Defense and Special Teams

New QB, but a one-time familiar face

The Robby Discher replacement

New defensive coordinator

Scott is a player to watch

The Illibuck

Red Grange, Rivalry and Death: The History of Illibuck

Snap Counts: Brock Boyd Leads Wide Receivers in Playing Time, But Khary Wilder Plays Only 11 Snaps As Ohio State Plays Deep Into Bench vs. Kent State

Quarterbacks

Three-Star Freshman Luke Fahey Emerges As Ohio State’s No. 2 Quarterback Over Five-Star Sophomore Tavien St. Clair

Running Backs

Legend Bey Leaves Ohio State’s Game vs. Kent State in Second Quarter with Ankle Injury; Ryan Day Hopeful He'll Return Next Week

Wide Receivers

Jeremiah Smith is Ohio State’s All-Time Leading Receiver

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Ends

Defensive Tackles

Linebackers

Cornerbacks

Safeties

Game Coverage Box

Skull Session: Ohio State Fans Should Appreciate Jeremiah Smith While He’s Here, Brandon Inniss Says Julian Sayin Owned Up to Missing Him for a Touchdown Against Kent State

Three Stars of the Game: Jeremiah Smith, Jamir Perez and Riley Pettijohn Earn Top Honors for Their Performances Against Kent State

First Star: Jeremiah Smith

Second Star: Jamir Perez

Third Star: Riley Pettijohn

Ohio State Drops to No. 7 in AP and Coaches Polls After Ole Miss Beats LSU to Leapfrog the Buckeyes

Ohio State’s Blowout Win Over Kent State Wasn’t Perfect, But “It Was Good To Get A Win”

349-Pound Defensive Tackle Jamir Perez Records Scoop-and-Score Touchdown