Postgame Quotes vs. Texas
8/30/2025 3:53:00 PM | Football
No. 3 Ohio State 14, No. 1 Texas 7
Aug. 30, 2025 – Ohio Stadium - Columbus, OhioÂ
Attendance: 107,524
Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach
Â
On the atmosphere in the stadium…
Â
"I want to thank the fans. What an unbelievable atmosphere. I think it made a huge difference in the fourth quarter. I say all the time that it takes everybody, and the fans certainly brought it today."
Â
On Julian Sayin's debut performance…
Â
"I thought he handled himself well. 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."
Â
On Matt Patricia's coaching…
Â
"I know what kind of coach he is. I see him every day – you guys don't. All the work that you put in the dark doesn't come to light until this first game."
Â
On the importance of turnovers and fourth-down stops…
Â
"Spending time on these situations is what you know we do – making sure that we're prepared for them. But you have to go through it, and every time you get a fourth-down stop, it's like a turnover. The interception is huge, but when you start getting fourth-down stops in midfield, that's like getting a turnover."
Â
On the game plan to protect Julian Sayin and easing him in to the game…
Â
"You're the quarterback at Ohio State 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."
Â
On Arvell Reese's breakout performance…
Â
"Arvell has a lot of versatility. 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."
Matt Patricia, Ohio State defensive coordinator
On the environment of today's game...
"It's loud, man. This place is loud. I absolutely love the fans. You don't get that kind of noise in the NFL, so I was super appreciative of that."
On the secondary...
"I think everyone back there played really fast and really aggressive. I mean the communication between the players, Caleb's [Downs] unbelievable back there as a field general, just making sure he's calling out the coverages and adjustments or even some of the alerts that we have in those situations."
Julian Sayin, Ohio State quarterback
On how he handled the magnitude of the game..
"I was just going out there and focusing on my job. I think the defense played really well, obviously, and then the offensive line, and the receivers and the running backs ran hard. So it kind of made my job easy just trying to distribute the ball."
Â
On coming into the game prepared…
"I feel like I was really well prepared by my coaches, you know, Coach Fessler and Coach Day. They do a really good job of implementing the game plan and then sitting and watching tape with us."
Â
On the Ohio State defense…
"They're very fast, very physical, and Coach Patricia does a great job on mixing things up and keeping you on your toes as a quarterback. It's very hard to play against them."
Â
On the game day atmosphereÂ
"A big thank you to our fans. I think they were awesome today. The atmosphere and the energy in the stadium was unlike anything I've ever seen before, so it was awesome. Just having them behind us on third down when they were on offense, making it loud, making it tough on them."
Â
On the Ohio State fans…
"Having 100,000 in The Shoe, having all those fans behind us, great turnout from them. They lived up to their hype, and they did a great job on third down, making it tough for the Texas offense."
Â
On his mentality throughout the week…
"Just going out there and playing one play at a time. Just focusing on my job and execution of each play, and then just keep stacking plays."
Jermaine Mathews, Ohio State cornerback
On the statement the defense made with its play today…
"I think we showed the country that we didn't go anywhere and we're still the best defense in the country. I think it was our test to show the world what we can really do."
On Julian Sayin's performance in his first start…
"I think he played a great game for his first start. He managed the game for us. He was very poised. I knew he was ready for this moment. I've seen Julian for two years now; I knew he was going to be ready for this moment, and he showed out."
On how he and the team stayed composed with all the excitement leading into today…
"We don't really care who you are. We're going to go play our game, how we're going to play, and then we went out there and played Buckeye football."
On the difference between this year's defense compared to last year's…
"It's very different. We changed our fronts a lot. We didn't really do that the last two years. So, we switched up a lot of fronts. We changed the looks in the back end as well. So I think the defense is very complex for the opposing quarterback to read."
Carnell Tate, Ohio State wide receiver
On his touchdown reception in the fourth quarter...
"As a receiver you have to go make the play. Whether the DB is shorter than you or whether you're open, whatever you have to do. What happens to you when the ball comes, either a penalty is thrown, or you make the catch, and I made the catch."
On the atmosphere in the stadium ...
"It was electric. It was probably the best home game I've been to, other than the playoff game."Â
On finding a way to win...
"We went into this game with no expectations. It was just by any means necessary. Go out there and go win. We don't care who gets the ball, as long as it was a win. A lot of week one match-ups all across the country have had a lot of interceptions, turnovers, and ball security, so we knew we had to go out there and win by any means."Â
On the defense taking the pressure off the offense...
"It shows that we can go out there and have more than one drive, more than 10 drives a game. I think we are averaging 10 drives a game now, so as long as they're going out there and making plays, we have got more opportunities to get the ball, to get the drive started, and then go out there and put up more points."
Luke Montgomery, Ohio State, offensive linemanÂ
On the game atmosphere...
"You know, not many times you get the play number one team at your house, during week one. So it was pretty cool."Â
On Julian Sayin's performanceÂ
"Great. Composed. That's what we needed from the start. Just no distraction outside. And I thought he did a hell of a job just executing."Â
On how important it was to keep the pocket clean...
"Super important. I told Julian, 'We got you all day no sacks. You're going to be pretty clean. We're going to get you right. Just do your job; we got you with everything else. Just do what you got to do to get us to win. We'll do everything else.'"Â
Kayden McDonald, Ohio State defensive tackle
On the defense's goal line stand...
"We did it last year. All my guys, Kayden (McDonald), Eddrick (Houston), Will (Smith Jr.), all those guys, we came together because we have to be strong in the middle. We were ready for the moment. It was a big game, the first game, and we were very prepared."
On the defense forcing turnovers...
"We knew it was going to be a scrappy match-up against the number one team in the country. They put on pads how we put on pads, so we just wanted it more, and it was going to show. Just keep building off of it."Â
On the depth at defensive tackle...
"It's just one game, you know. I feel like we worked really hard in the offseason, and it showed today. We just have to keep building off of it and just keep going." Â
Â
Aug. 30, 2025 – Ohio Stadium - Columbus, OhioÂ
Attendance: 107,524
Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach
Â
On the atmosphere in the stadium…
Â
"I want to thank the fans. What an unbelievable atmosphere. I think it made a huge difference in the fourth quarter. I say all the time that it takes everybody, and the fans certainly brought it today."
Â
On Julian Sayin's debut performance…
Â
"I thought he handled himself well. 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."
Â
On Matt Patricia's coaching…
Â
"I know what kind of coach he is. I see him every day – you guys don't. All the work that you put in the dark doesn't come to light until this first game."
Â
On the importance of turnovers and fourth-down stops…
Â
"Spending time on these situations is what you know we do – making sure that we're prepared for them. But you have to go through it, and every time you get a fourth-down stop, it's like a turnover. The interception is huge, but when you start getting fourth-down stops in midfield, that's like getting a turnover."
Â
On the game plan to protect Julian Sayin and easing him in to the game…
Â
"You're the quarterback at Ohio State 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."
Â
On Arvell Reese's breakout performance…
Â
"Arvell has a lot of versatility. 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."
Matt Patricia, Ohio State defensive coordinator
On the environment of today's game...
"It's loud, man. This place is loud. I absolutely love the fans. You don't get that kind of noise in the NFL, so I was super appreciative of that."
On the secondary...
"I think everyone back there played really fast and really aggressive. I mean the communication between the players, Caleb's [Downs] unbelievable back there as a field general, just making sure he's calling out the coverages and adjustments or even some of the alerts that we have in those situations."
Julian Sayin, Ohio State quarterback
On how he handled the magnitude of the game..
"I was just going out there and focusing on my job. I think the defense played really well, obviously, and then the offensive line, and the receivers and the running backs ran hard. So it kind of made my job easy just trying to distribute the ball."
Â
On coming into the game prepared…
"I feel like I was really well prepared by my coaches, you know, Coach Fessler and Coach Day. They do a really good job of implementing the game plan and then sitting and watching tape with us."
Â
On the Ohio State defense…
"They're very fast, very physical, and Coach Patricia does a great job on mixing things up and keeping you on your toes as a quarterback. It's very hard to play against them."
Â
On the game day atmosphereÂ
"A big thank you to our fans. I think they were awesome today. The atmosphere and the energy in the stadium was unlike anything I've ever seen before, so it was awesome. Just having them behind us on third down when they were on offense, making it loud, making it tough on them."
Â
On the Ohio State fans…
"Having 100,000 in The Shoe, having all those fans behind us, great turnout from them. They lived up to their hype, and they did a great job on third down, making it tough for the Texas offense."
Â
On his mentality throughout the week…
"Just going out there and playing one play at a time. Just focusing on my job and execution of each play, and then just keep stacking plays."
Jermaine Mathews, Ohio State cornerback
On the statement the defense made with its play today…
"I think we showed the country that we didn't go anywhere and we're still the best defense in the country. I think it was our test to show the world what we can really do."
On Julian Sayin's performance in his first start…
"I think he played a great game for his first start. He managed the game for us. He was very poised. I knew he was ready for this moment. I've seen Julian for two years now; I knew he was going to be ready for this moment, and he showed out."
On how he and the team stayed composed with all the excitement leading into today…
"We don't really care who you are. We're going to go play our game, how we're going to play, and then we went out there and played Buckeye football."
On the difference between this year's defense compared to last year's…
"It's very different. We changed our fronts a lot. We didn't really do that the last two years. So, we switched up a lot of fronts. We changed the looks in the back end as well. So I think the defense is very complex for the opposing quarterback to read."
Carnell Tate, Ohio State wide receiver
On his touchdown reception in the fourth quarter...
"As a receiver you have to go make the play. Whether the DB is shorter than you or whether you're open, whatever you have to do. What happens to you when the ball comes, either a penalty is thrown, or you make the catch, and I made the catch."
On the atmosphere in the stadium ...
"It was electric. It was probably the best home game I've been to, other than the playoff game."Â
On finding a way to win...
"We went into this game with no expectations. It was just by any means necessary. Go out there and go win. We don't care who gets the ball, as long as it was a win. A lot of week one match-ups all across the country have had a lot of interceptions, turnovers, and ball security, so we knew we had to go out there and win by any means."Â
On the defense taking the pressure off the offense...
"It shows that we can go out there and have more than one drive, more than 10 drives a game. I think we are averaging 10 drives a game now, so as long as they're going out there and making plays, we have got more opportunities to get the ball, to get the drive started, and then go out there and put up more points."
Luke Montgomery, Ohio State, offensive linemanÂ
On the game atmosphere...
"You know, not many times you get the play number one team at your house, during week one. So it was pretty cool."Â
On Julian Sayin's performanceÂ
"Great. Composed. That's what we needed from the start. Just no distraction outside. And I thought he did a hell of a job just executing."Â
On how important it was to keep the pocket clean...
"Super important. I told Julian, 'We got you all day no sacks. You're going to be pretty clean. We're going to get you right. Just do your job; we got you with everything else. Just do what you got to do to get us to win. We'll do everything else.'"Â
Kayden McDonald, Ohio State defensive tackle
On the defense's goal line stand...
"We did it last year. All my guys, Kayden (McDonald), Eddrick (Houston), Will (Smith Jr.), all those guys, we came together because we have to be strong in the middle. We were ready for the moment. It was a big game, the first game, and we were very prepared."
On the defense forcing turnovers...
"We knew it was going to be a scrappy match-up against the number one team in the country. They put on pads how we put on pads, so we just wanted it more, and it was going to show. Just keep building off of it."Â
On the depth at defensive tackle...
"It's just one game, you know. I feel like we worked really hard in the offseason, and it showed today. We just have to keep building off of it and just keep going." Â
Steve Sarkisian, Texas head coach
On Ohio State's ability to maximize opportunities...
"Lots of credit to Ohio State. They played a really disciplined game; zero turnovers, only two penalties. They took advantage of their opportunities when they got them."
Â
On the atmosphere at Ohio Stadium...
"We went for it in a tough place against a good team, but we'll get back on the horse, and we'll play good football this season"
Â
On Ohio State's defense...
"I think that they have a very good secondary, and I thought their ability to disguise coverages in the first half was at an elite level. I think that starts with Caleb Downs. He's very savvy. He's very smart. They're able to hold coverages."
Â
On his takeaways from the game...
"Ultimately, we had opportunities to score points, and we didn't and so we have to keep digging into our ability to score and we have the opportunity to do so. We have to make a couple throws, we have to make a couple catches and we have to make a couple better calls."
Â
Players Mentioned
SAF
/ Football
DL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
LB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football No videos available.
