Following Ohio State’s 34-16 road victory against No. 17 Illinois, we share the scores from Pro Football Focus, who grades every player after every game based on how they perform on a snap-to-snap basis.
We compiled the PFF grades for every Buckeye who played on either offense or defense in the Big Ten home opener and highlight the three highest-graded players who played at least 10 snaps against the Fighting Illini. There are familiar faces in the top three positions this week as it is comprised of the only three Buckeyes who have held the top spot this year.
PFF’s Grading Scale
ELITE
GOOD
ABOVE AVG.
AVG.
BELOW AVG.
POOR
VERY POOR
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
50-59
40-49
Below 40
1. QB Julian Sayin (86.0)
A pattern has developed for the highest-graded Buckeye. Sayin was in the top spot last week, and for the third time this season, the Buckeye with the best grade has been in that spot for back-to-back weeks. Sayin’s overall offensive grade of 86 and passing grade of 84 against Illinois were the second-best in the Big Ten. With that, his offensive (90.5) and passing (91.0) grades for the season are the highest among all starting conference quarterbacks.
PFF grade shows just how good Ohio State QB Julian Sayin has beenhttps://t.co/65yXrEqEY8
— BIGPLAY (@BIGPLAY) October 13, 2025
2. DT Kayden McDonald (85.5)
McDonald returns to the top three for the first time since his team-best Week 2 performance against Grambling State. His overall defensive grade of 85.5 was the highest among all Big Ten defensive tackles, and his score of 93.5 against the run was best in the conference and third-highest in the nation.
3. DE Caden Curry (79.0)
Curry filled up the boxes on the stat sheet against Illinois with two tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and a quarterback hit. His grades pass rushing (81.8) and tackling (75.5) were the best among Ohio State defensive linemen.
Extra Points
Sonny Styles earned a team-high grade in tackling (86.1).
Jermaine Mathews Jr. led the Big Ten cornerbacks in pass rushing (89.8).
Bennett Christian (40.2) had the lowest grade of any Buckeye, with Beau Atkinson (43.4) earning the lowest grade of any Ohio State defensive player.
Carson Hinzman was the team’s best pass blocker with a grade of 83.7.
PFFT
Sometimes the numbers and rankings from PFF don’t match the performances we see on the field or the stat sheet. Last week, Caleb Downs passed the eye test and his numbers looked good. The future NFL player finished the game against Illinois tied for second on the team with nine tackles, seven of which were solo stops. Downs also played a key role in directing the defense.
As good as his numbers were, the PFF staff found enough fault in his play to grade Downs as the weakest safety to play against Illinois and gave him the third-worst score (58.3) on the defense. Downs graded out well in run defense (77.8) and tackling (72.2) but was dinged in coverage (52.2) and pass rushing (56.6).
PFF’s Weekly Top 3 Buckeyes
GAME
1
2
3
Texas
DT Kayden McDonald
(82.4)
DT Will Smith Jr.
(80.7)
CB Jermaine Mathews Jr.
(78.0)
Grambling
DT Kayden McDonald
(93.6)
TE Jelani Thurman
(93.0)
QB Lincoln Kienholz
(88.1)
Ohio
DE Caden Curry (92.5)
LB Sonny Styles (89.2)
QB Julian Sayin (85.4)
Washington
DE Caden Curry (80.3)*
OL Carson Hinzman (80.3)*
OL Austin Siereveld (75.8)
Minnesota
QB Julian Sayin (91.9)
WR Carnell Tate (86.9)
S Lorenzo Styles Jr. (84.8)
Illinois
QB Julian Sayin (86.0)
DT Kayden McDonald (85.5)
DE Caden Curry (79.0)
*Curry and Hinzman tied for first against Washington.
Offensive Ratings By Position
Quarterback
Julian Sayin: 86.0 (65 snaps)
Running Backs
C.J. Donaldson: 65.6 (31 snaps)
Bo Jackson: 61.5 (20 snaps)
Isaiah West: 55.3 (3 snaps)
James Peoples: 52.0 (13 snaps)
Wide Receivers
Carnell Tate: 72.9 (50 snaps)
Jeremiah Smith: 67.4 (50 snaps)
Mylan Graham: 64.2 (8 snaps)
Brandon Inniss: 57.7 (34 snaps)
Tight Ends
Nate Roberts: 74.8 (8 snaps)
Max Klare: 64.6 (36 snaps)
Jelani Thurman: 63.8 (9 snaps)
Will Kacmarek: 62.2 (43 snaps)
Bennett Christian: 40.2 (20 snaps)
Offensive Line
Joshua Padilla: 67.5 (14 snaps)
Austin Siereveld: 66.4 (65 snaps)
Carson Hinzman: 64.8 (65 snaps)
Phillip Daniels: 62.0 (65 snaps)
Luke Montgomery: 58.9 (65 snaps)
Tegra Tshabola: 58.3 (51 snaps)
Position Bests (10+ Snaps)
QB
RB
WR
TE
OL
DE
DT
LB
CB
S
Julian Sayin
C.J Donaldson
Carnell Tate
Max Klare
Joshua Padilla
Caden Curry
Kayden McDonald
Sonny Styles
Davison Igbinosun
Jaylen McClain
86.0
65.6
72.9
64.6
67.5
79.0
85.5
71.5
78.0
68.1
Defensive Ratings by Position
Defensive Ends
Caden Curry: 79.0 (60 snaps)
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 66.3 (12 snaps)
Logan George: 59.4 (3 snaps)
Joshua Mickens: 59.4 (2 snaps)
Epi Sitanilei: 59.1 (2 snaps)
Beau Atkinson: 43.4 (24 snaps)
Defensive Tackles
Kayden McDonald: 85.5 (39 snaps)
Jason Moore: 74.5 (13 snaps)
Will Smith Jr.: 70.8 (31 snaps)
Tywone Malone Jr.: 62.7 (47 snaps)
Jarquez Carter: 58.5 (5 snaps)
Linebackers
Sonny Styles: 71.5 (69 snaps)
Payton Pierce: 66.7 (23 snaps)
Arvell Reese: 65.1 (64 snaps)
Riley Pettijohn: 61.9 (2 snaps)
Cornerbacks
Davison Igbinosun: 78.0 (53 snaps)
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 66.4 (67 snaps)
Devin Sanchez: 65.4 (65 snaps)
Bryce West: 63.6 (5 snaps)
Miles Lockhart: 61.8 (2 snaps)
Aaron Scott Jr.: 53.0 (19 snaps)
Safeties
Jaylen McClain: 68.1 (72 snaps)
Leroy Roker III: 62.6 (9 snaps)
Faheem Delane: 61.2 (2 snaps)
Caleb Downs: 58.3 (72 snaps)