Buckeyes starch Arch, hook Texas 14-7

    All the talk entering the Texas Longhorns' visit to Columbus was about the latest Manning to step forward into the limelight and his coronation as the frontrunner to win the next Heisman.

When the Texas Longhorns left Columbus, the talk was how the Ohio State defense neutered the Horns in a 14-7 Buckeye victory. 

Julian Sayin threw a forty-yard touchdown pass and C.J. Donaldson rushed for a one-yard score. Still, the stars were the Ohio State defense, which stopped Texas on fourth down four times, including a goal-line stop that left the Texas version of the Philadelphia Eagles' vaunted "Tush Push" stone-cold stunned.

Ohio State improved to 1-0 and will face Grambling next week.

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1) Ohio State's defense under new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was the standout.

They harassed Arch Manning incessantly, despite finishing with just one sack, and showed a constantly morphing front that understandably confused the inexperienced Manning.

2) Matt Patricia was looked at as damaged goods after an ineffective run as head coach of the Detroit Lions, and with the loss of Jim Knowles to semi-rival Penn State, it was fair to wonder if there would be an adjustment period for the defense.

The season has only begun, but Patricia's defense looked very good against an offense that is as talented or better than any they will face in the regular season.

It's early, but an excellent game to start the season.

3) I've always liked the Manning family.

I was a fan of Archie as a child, and rooted for Peyton and Eli, but it does feel good to slow the Arch Manning train a bit.

Arch Manning is more likely than not to be a fine quarterback, but it would be nice to see some quality play before handing him a Heisman because his uncle was robbed of one.

Oh, too soon for that?

4) One thing that did surprise me?

Arch Manning's throwing mechanics.

Manning throws very oddly, with a motion that reminded me of 1990s Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Juan Guzman. Manning throws with a lot of action from his arm and shoulder, with a violent whipping motion.

I wonder if that will hurt his durability as his career moves forward?

I also question his mechanics from a family that tutors passers.

5) Julian Sayin was the top prep quarterback in 2015 (Arch Manning was the top-rated QB in 2014), but had become the second banana in pre-game hype.

Sayin only threw for 126 yards (13 of 20) but was hurt by first-half drops (two from Jeremah Smith).

Ohio State kept it basic for Sayin and only his scoring throw to Carnell Tate was a downfield toss but by keeping it simple, Sayin's play wasn't going to cost Ohio State the game.

6) Sayin was also hurt by multiple drops early, two by Jeremiah Smith and one on an early game fourth down that was thrown perfectly to tight end Max Klare.

Drops happen and first game wrinkles are expected, so considering the quality of those two players, those struggles aren't likely to continue.

7) Smith finished with six catches for forty-two yards as Texas double-teamed him often but I do think Brian Hartline might have tried too hard to force his star into the offense.

As great as Smith is, he might have been used better on some plays to help others have one on one coverage in shots downfield as in the score to Carnell Tate.

8) The running game was more effective with West Virginia transfer C.J Donaldson ( 19 carries for 67 yards) than with James Peoples (10 for 20 yards).

Donaldson may not have the speed of Quinshon Judkins but his strength inside is a plus.
I like Peoples as a back but he may need this season to be a feature back next year.

9) Caleb Downs is the best defender in the nation but by the end of the year, the player that will be raved about is linebacker Arvel Reese.

Reese was all over the field and even when he didn't make the play, Reese was near the ball and allowed others to make the stop as Texas needed to account for Reese.

10) The fourth down goal line stop on the Arch Manning sneak will be talked about for years and if NFL teams are watching, the seed for stopping the "Tush Push" may have been planted in Columbus.

Watching the play (and I'm not positive on the players who did what) Edrick Houston,  Kayden McDonald, and Caden Curry each had a position with one going low to clog the blocker, another meeting Manning straight up and the third (Curry I think) diving over the top.

I'll be interested to see if teams use this tactice against the Eagles and others this season.

11) Ohio State's schedule eases a bit with games against Grambling and Ohio U before an off week and their first road test against Washington.

I'm not sure about Washington's roster but traveling to Seattle after last year's loss in Oregon does give me a little pause.

Ohio State completes coaching staff

    The Ohio State Buckeyes were down to the final of three coaching staff positions that needed to be filled and the team pulled a mild surprise in former New England Patriots defensive coordinator and Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia as their replacement for Jim Knowles as their defensive coordinator.

Ohio State earlier had promoted Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator and play caller and hired Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen as their new offensive line coach.

Hartline was expected to have a chance for the offensive coordinator position, and was regarded as the favorite, if he pushed for it, due to his value as a recruiter and developing wide receivers, where he is the best in the sport.

Ohio State wasn't going to take a chance on losing Hartline and promoting was the easy call, especially if Ohio State hires a veteran coach soon to help Hartline progress into the job.

Tyler Bowen hasn't coached the offensive line since 2017 at Maryland but his three years at Virginia Tech as their offensive coordinator should help Brian Hartline before that, Bowen was the tight ends coach at Penn State, where the Nittany Lions have put four tight ends into the pros in recent years and expected first rounder in the upcoming draft Tyler Warren, all were recruited by Bowen.

It's hoped that Bowen's recruiting prowess will improve the only area where Ohio State's recruiting has flagged a bit in recent years.

Bowen's hiring was a mild surprise, although his name did receive some mention as a candidate coming up to the hire but the real surprise was the hiring of Matt Patricia as the defensive coordinator.

Patricia was the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots from 2012-17, winning two Super Bowls as their DC and leading them to one of the best defenses in the league before moving to Detroit for three seasons as the Lions head coach, where he finished with a 13-29-1 record.

Patricia returned to New England for two seasons and moved to Philadelphia in 2023 as an advisor before taking 2024 away from football, where he was reported to have spent time with Bill Belichick studying the college game.

Patricia hasn't coached in college since 2003 when he was on the Syracuse staff as a graduate assistant, so it'll be interesting to see if he needs any adjustment time to familiarize himself with the college game.

Patricia's rapport with players has been questioned after many difficulties with players with the Lions, although I haven't seen issues with him from his Patriots background, perhaps it was a situation of a young coach in a position he simply wasn't ready for.

Patricia's name wasn't mentioned as a candidate until a day before accepting the job. Most thought that Ryan Day would promote Matt Guerreri and Tim Walton to co-defensive coordinators.

Patricia's hiring has brought questions from Buckeye fans who wonder how much Patricia had to do with the success of the New England defenses on a team coached by Bill Belichick and that's a fair question to ask.

My response would be this-  Patricia is a proven defensive coordinator, who won't do a lot of recruiting, and lots of schemes and masterminding plans.

Plus, I think we could be here as soon as next year looking for a new defensive coordinator. Patricia is attempting to clear his name from the Detroit fiasco and would rather work in the NFL.

This trio of hires seems to have the potential to be great, but with a mix in the middle, it could fail.

The jury is out.