Ohio State RB Bo Jackson Proves Himself Against Michigan's Stout Defense

After losing four consecutive games to the Michigan Wolverines, the Ohio State Buckeyes finally found themselves on the winning side of The Game this Saturday afternoon.

While many were scared that head coach Ryan Day would try and focus on the run game instead of his incredible wide receiving corps, the Buckeyes' offense attack played a key role in the victory. Quarterback Julian Sayin managed to complete 19 of his 26 pass attempts for 233 yards and three touchdowns, proving that he is fully capable of handling big moments.

However, Sayin and the Buckeyes’ talented pass-catching core were not the lone contributors in Ann Arbor, as freshman running back Bo Jackson stepped up in a massive way in Week 14.

In a game where every player on offense is needed to dominate, Jackson took care of the team’s run game, tallying 117 rushing yards on 22 carries. His incredible performance also included four catches for 48 yards, as Jackson finished with the second-most receiving yards behind junior Carnell Tate.

Coming into Saturday’s matchup, the Wolverines’ defense did an excellent job of limiting opposing teams’ run game, ranking No. 3 in rushing yards allowed per game in the Big Ten Conference with 94 yards. This led to fans believing that Day would finally learn his lesson from the prior season and lean on the passing game.

To be fair, Day did focus on the passing game early in the contest, which gave Ohio State the opportunity to unleash Jackson on the ground.

The Cleveland, OH native kicked off the game with a huge 36-yard run on the second drive, which ultimately paved the way to the Buckeyes' first field goal of the game.

In addition to the big gain in the first quarter, Jackson finished with three rushes for 10+ yards while maintaining an average of 5.3 yards per carry.

Ohio State’s running back core suffered multiple significant blows following the team’s National Championship run, with both TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft.

This led to Day landing former West Virginia running back CJ Donaldson in the transfer portal to pair with James Peoples.

Unfortunately, it was clear that the combination of Donaldson and Peoples would not be sufficient against top-tier talent. Jackson saw the opportunity to be a difference maker as a freshman, and has yet to look back this season.

Now, Jackson will once again play a key role on offense when the Buckeyes take on the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten Conference Championship.