Kirk Herbstreit highlights Ohio State’s concerns ahead of Week 5 clash at Washington

Kirk Herbstreit recognizes Ohio State will be expected to win their Week 5 showdown on the road against Washington. However, there’s a couple reasons for pause when it comes to the Buckeyes’ chances this weekend.

Ahead of the showdown in Seattle, Herbstreit joined SportsCenter on Saturday to highlight some key concerns for Ohio State. He’s focusing on their defense and handling the raucous crowd as something that could work against the Buckeyes in Week 5.

“I think with Ohio State, it starts with their defense going up against Demond Williams — not to mention doing it in another tough environment,” Hersbtreit stated, via SportsCenter.

“Ohio State’s a great team, but we’ll see how they handle that. The other quarterback, Julian Sayin, making his first start in that kind of atmosphere.”

All told, Ohio State is 3-0 and coming off a bye week. They should be well rested and ready to rock. On the other hand, Washington is also undefeated, and they took Washington State to task their last time out. It won’t be an easy game for the Buckeyes.

Herbstreit isn’t the only one concerned about Ohio State’s ability to quiet Williams either. The Washington quarterback has the attention of Ryan Day, as he sung the Huskies star’s praises earlier this week.

“Whether it’s on the road or at home, a quarterback who can move with the quickness and the acceleration that he moves with is difficult. It’s a challenge,” Day stated, via a press conference. “But not only that, he’s very accurate with the football, makes good decisions, doesn’t turn the ball over, extends plays.

“He’s a weapon in the run game because he can equate numbers. He’s been very accurate. It’s a great challenge for our defense. I think he’s an excellent quarterback, and our defense is going to have to work hard this week to prepare.”

After playing sparingly in 2024, Williams has taken over the reins in Washington to great fanfare. He’s amassed 778 yards passing, six passing touchdowns, 220 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, all while throwing no interceptions.

Still, Washington remains unranked, and they’re flying a bit under the radar. If they defeat Ohio State inside Husky Stadium though, that won’t be the case anymore.

This one gets underway at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Herbstreit will be watching to see if the Buckeyes can come through, as everyone in Seattle is pining what would be a huge win.