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Adam King and Tyvis Powell break down Ohio State's road win against Washington and look ahead to Saturday's primetime matchup against Minnesota at Ohio Stadium.
Ohio State vs Washington Game Recap: https://www.10tv.com/article/sports/football/ohio-state-football/ohio-state-vs-washington-updates/530-cfb9d267-c744-43de-a733-4eba2d9c6a2f
The Buckeyes (4-0) limited the Huskies (3-1) to 234 total yards in front of 72,845 fans at Husky Stadium, Washington’s largest crowd since Sept. 28, 2010, against Nebraska. In the process, Washington had its 22-game home winning streak broken.
“I think it’s a great reference point to come into a stadium like this,” coach Ryan Day said. “This is a great environment. I thought that the fans on their end were loud and showed up in a big way.”
Ditto for Ohio State’s Caden Curry, who set career highs with three sacks, five tackles for loss and 11 total tackles. The Buckeyes brought down Washington’s dual-threat quarterback Demond Williams Jr. three other times, and the Huskies converted just one of 11 third-down attempts.
Curry said Ohio State knew that containing Williams would be a key to victory, and that in turn brought out the best in the defense.
“You love to see the pressure put on you as a defensive line,” Curry said. “I feel like our defensive line this year’s just a bunch of no-names. We just go out there, we just try to ball, we try to play as hard as we can.”
The Buckeyes’ offense, meanwhile, slowly but surely grinded down the Huskies’ defense, especially in the second half. Julian Sayin completed 22 of 28 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns, the latter of which was an 18-yard strike to CJ Donaldson to give Ohio State a commanding 24-6 lead.
With 1:08 left in the first half, Sayin also found Jeremiah Smith for an 18-yard touchdown pass that gave Ohio State a 7-3 lead it would not relinquish. On third-and-11, Sayin avoided a seven-man blitz to locate Smith.
“Down 3-0, that was a huge play for the offense …” Sayin said. “We really needed that, and I think the whole offense executed that very well.”
It was the Buckeyes’ defense, though, that truly impressed, just as it has a third of the way through the regular season under first-year defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Including two field goals by Grady Gross on Saturday, Ohio State’s defense has yielded just 22 points this season, and only two touchdowns.
For as stellar as the Buckeyes’ defense was in 2024, it continues to demonstrate on a weekly basis why it could be as good — if not better — in 2025.
“I’m not surprised, but it’s exciting,” Day said. “It’s exciting to see the capability, the potential. And I think if we can all stick together as a team, we’ll have a chance.”