Sayin passes for 3 touchdowns, top-ranked Ohio State pulls away in second half to defeat Ohio 37-9

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ryan Day made an important discovery about his top-ranked Ohio State squad during the second half of Saturday night's game against Ohio University.

Despite the Bobcats getting close early in the second half, his team wasn't fazed.

After Chase Hendricks hauled in a 67-yard touchdown from Parker Navarro to get Ohio to 13-9, Ohio State scored on its next four drives and pulled away for a 37-9 victory.

“There’ll be some lessons learned tonight. But I was excited about the way that we didn’t panic. I think that’s a sign of growth and maturity,” Day said. “They score a touchdown and it’s easy to tense up in that moment. But everybody kept playing.”

Julian Sayin passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns and Jeremiah Smith found the end zone twice to lead the Buckeyes, who are 20-1 in regular season non-conference games in Day's seven seasons as coach.

Jayden Fielding's third field goal put Ohio State (3-0) up 16-9 before Sayin found Smith for a 47-yard touchdown and Carnell Tate for a 49-yard score to make it a three-score game.

Smith, who tied a career-high with nine receptions for 153 yards, put it out of reach by going around left end on a 17-yard reverse to make it 37-9 midway through the fourth quarter. The sophomore also became the fastest player in school history to reach 1,500 yards receiving, reaching the mark in his 19th game.

“We were driving down the field and couldn’t finish. That’s what we did in the second half,” Smith said.

Sayin completed 25 of 32 passes. He had his second straight 300-yard game but also had two interceptions.

Bo Jackson had 109 yards rushing on nine carries and Tate had five receptions for 101 yards and a TD.

The Buckeyes had 572 yards of total offense, including four plays of at least 42 yards, and held the Bobcats (1-2) to 181.

“Despite it being 16 to 9, we knew were in control over the game,” linebacker Sonny Styles said.

Navarro completed six of 13 passes for 94 yards. The senior suffered a wrist injury late in the first quarter and didn't come back until after halftime.

Ohio came in averaging 191.5 yards rushing in its first two games, but had only 68 against the Buckeyes.

“It just took us out of opportunities for more convertible third downs," coach Brian Smith said. "We try to put ourselves into situations where we can be really efficient, which allows us to control the clock, keep our defense off the field and we were in way too many third and longs, which isn’t a place anyone really wants to be there.”

Hendricks' 63-yard TD was the longest catch of his career. The junior caught the ball in stride at the Buckeyes 41, revered field, stiff armed an attempted tackle by Ohio State cornerback Lorenzo Styles Jr. at the 23 and then outraced other Buckeye defenders into the end zone. Ohio kicker Brack Peacock missed the extra point to keep Ohio State's advantage at 13-9.

Ohio: The Bobcats beat West Virginia last week and came within three points of beating Rutgers in the opener. They made it a game for 31 minutes at the Horseshoe before running out of steam.

Ohio and Notre Dame are the only schools to open the season with three straight Power Four opponents.

“It showed who we are. We went toe-to-toe with every single team we played. So, we just showed show what type of team we’re going to have," Hendricks said.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes made six trips into the red zone, but came away with touchdowns on only two. Three ended in field goals and the first possession was a turnover on downs after Sayin was sacked by Ohio defensive lineman Anas Luqman at the OU 9.

“I think we got to stay on schedule better in the red zone," Sayin said. "We got the third-and-long in the red zone, and that’s a little bit tougher because there’s not much space down there, but also just our timing in the red zone. It starts with me, and I’ve got to be on the same page with the receivers.”

Ohio: Hosts Gardner-Webb next Saturday.

Ohio State: Has a bye week before opening Big 10 play at Washington on Sept. 27.

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