Sayin led Ohio State to its seventh victory over a No. 1 team but first in the regular season since 1985 when it beat No. 1 Iowa.
“I thought he handled himself well,” Day said of Sayin. “I thought he took care of the ball, made some throws when he needed to. A couple times when it wasn’t there, he did not force it.”
Sayin did not throw an interception in his first start.
“You’re the quarterback at Ohio State,” Day said, “and you’re playing No. 1 Texas against one of the top defenses in the country, which we have a tremendous amount of respect for. The one thing we didn’t want to do — and I didn’t want to do — was put him in a bad spot, which is not fair to him. Now, coming out of it, quite honestly, I think he probably could have handled more.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Strong performance: Junior linebacker Arvell Reese recorded nine tackles and Ohio State’s only sack, the first of his career. He also had the first pass breakup of his career.
Reese was one of eight new starters on Ohio State’s defense.
“Arvell has a lot of versatility,” Day said. “He has everything it takes to be a dominant linebacker. What I saw today was a guy who can run sideline to sideline, but can also hit and come off the edge, which he did some today.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Memorable moment: The only sure thing about Saturday at Ohio Stadium was that Lee Corso would pull on the Brutus Buckeye head and pick Ohio State to pick Texas.
Corso did just that at the close of his last appearance on ESPN College GameDay. His longtime GameDay partner, Centerville High School graduate and former Buckeye Kirk Herbstreit, sat next to Corso as he said, “Give me my first love,” and picked the Buckeyes.
Corso started the tradition when he picked Ohio State to beat Penn State in 1996. He was right then and right Saturday.
Ohio State’s marching band honored Corso by spelling out his name in a pregame performance. Fans in the student section wrote Corso’s name on their chests. Others chanted his name.
Looking ahead: Ohio State plays Grambling State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Grambling beat a NAIA program, Langston University, 55-7 in its season opener Saturday.
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