In Ohio State's win over Northwestern, the Eleven Warriors staff thinks three Buckeyes stood out above the rest as we named wide receiver Carnell Tate, linebacker Sonny Styles and defensive end Jack Sawyer as our Three Stars of the Game.
First Star: Carnell Tate
A Chicago native, Tate shined at Wrigley Field, collecting four receptions for 52 yards and two touchdowns. The performance came amid an emotional homecoming for the sophomore wide receiver, who returned to the place he grew up after his mother, Ashley Griggs, was killed in a shooting in July 2023.
“It was a lot of high emotions and stuff like that, but I had to manage it,” Tate said. “The biggest thing is being back in front of all my family. They expected a lot coming back home, so they wanted me to put on a show. But I just had to wait and see if the ball found my way.”
It did.
Tate’s first touchdown came on a play designed for Tate, as the 6-foot-3, 191-pound pass catcher beat his man to the end zone on a fade route, leaped into the air and hauled in a 25-yard score. His second touchdown came on a play designed for Emeka Egbuka, yet Tate still ended up with a target, reception and score — this time from 8 yards out.
Chicago's own Carnell Tate scores a touchdown at Wrigley Field pic.twitter.com/RaPAIbS5i3
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 16, 2024
Chicago's own Carnell Tate scores ANOTHER touchdown at Wrigley Field pic.twitter.com/u54lwqhmMJ
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 16, 2024
“We say all the time that the game doesn’t care what you’ve been through. When you cross that line, when you go out on the field, the game doesn’t really care. But we do. His teammates do. His coaches do. The people who know Carnell care a lot about him,” Ryan Day said. “The way he’s handled himself is an example to everybody. We care a lot about him. To see him get two touchdowns in his hometown in front of a big — I think he had over 25 people here watching him — I know it means a lot to him. It also means a lot to us. We’re really happy for him today.”
And so were we.
Second Star: Sonny Styles
Two sacks and two pass breakups? From a linebacker? That kind of stat line doesn’t appear often, but it did for Styles against Northwestern — and Day took notice of it.
“We need Sonny to be as productive as he was today,” Day said. “When you can do it man coverage, you can do it zone coverage, you can blitz and you start to mix in all these different things you can do, then you become more of a weapon.”
A weapon. That’s a good term to describe how Styles looked on Saturday. In his 10th appearance and start as a linebacker, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound athlete collected six tackles, two sacks and two pass breakups. He has now recorded 20 tackles, three sacks and three pass breakups in Ohio State’s past three games.
Sonny Styles pic.twitter.com/FUWlSnb3rp
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 16, 2024
“It feels good,” Styles said of his recent hot streak. “I think I made the plays I should have. Like, the plays that were there, I made them. I think I missed out on some plays, too. I’m kind of more focused on those plays that I didn’t make. There are issues, always.”
Styles doesn’t plan to let those issues slow him down, however. He plans to be free.
“I’ve always been confident in my voice,” he said. “I think I always know what I’m doing. I’ve been coached really, really well. It’s never really about knowing what I’m doing. I think it’s more about letting myself go. Don’t be thinking. That’s something I’ve been trying to battle — not overthinking things.”
That will be crucial next weekend against a top-five Indiana team.
“They’re a great team,” Styles said. “They’ve got a great coach. They’ve got some great players. I’m excited to play them. I think it’s gonna be a great matchup.”
Third Star: Jack Sawyer
Sawyer had a late-season breakout in 2023. Could another be around the corner in 2024?
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end was all over the field on Saturday, collecting a career-high seven tackles and three quarterback hurries. Sawyer also forced a fumble in the contest, knocking the ball loose from quarterback Jack Lausch on Northwestern’s first possession.
Fumbleeeeeeeeee pic.twitter.com/yU14yGBrxz
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 16, 2024
His performance comes one week after Day called him and Tuimoloau “disruptive” in Ohio State’s win over Purdue. Sawyer had five tackles, a half-sack and a scoop-and-score in the game.
This season, Sawyer has collected 38 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one defensive touchdown.
| OPPONENT | FIRST STAR / ★ | SECOND STAR / ★★ | THIRD STAR / ★★★ |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKRON |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 6 catches, 92 yards, 2 TD |
LATHAN RANSOM, S 9 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FR, 1 TD |
JT TUIMOLOAU, DE 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks |
| WESTERN MICHIGAN |
QUINSHON JUDKINS, RB 9 carries, 108 yards, 2 TD |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 5 catches, 119 yards, 1 TD |
JACK SAWYER, DE 3 tackles, 1 sack |
| MARSHALL |
QUINSHON JUDKINS, RB 14 carries, 176 yards, 2 TD |
TREVEYON HENDERSON, RB 6 carries, 76 yards, 2 TD |
EMEKA EGBUKA, WR 5 catches, 117 yards, 1 TD |
| @ MICHIGAN STATE |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 6 touches, 102 yards, 2 TD |
CALEB DOWNS, S 6 tackles, 3 solo, 1 TFL |
EMEKA EGBUKA, WR 7 catches, 96 yards, 1 TD |
| IOWA |
EMEKA EGBUKA, WR 9 catches, 71 yards, 3 TD |
JACK SAWYER, DE 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF |
WILL HOWARD, QB 21-25, 209 yards, 5 total TD, 1 INT |
| NEBRASKA |
JORDAN HANCOCK, DB 5 tackles, 1 FF, 1 INT |
CODY SIMON, LB 8 tackles, 3 TFL |
CARNELL TATE, WR 4 catches, 102 yards, 1 TD |
| @ PENN STATE |
THE OFFENSIVE LINE 176 rushing yards |
DAVISON IGBINOSUN, CB 4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU |
CODY SIMON, LB 10 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack |
| PURDUE |
TREVEYON HENDERSON, RB 9 touches, 128 yards, 1 TD |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 6 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD |
JT TUIMOLOAU, DE 4 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 FF |
| @ NORTHWESTERN |
CARNELL TATE, WR 4 catches, 52 yards, 2 TD |
SONNY STYLES, LB 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 PBU |
JACK SAWYER, DE 7 tackles, 3 QBH, 1 FF |
As the season continues, we’re tracking the stars (or points) each Ohio State player receives in 2024. Here's how we'll do it: Each time a Buckeye earns the first star of the game, that Buckeye adds three points to their season total. Then, the second star and third star add two points and one point to their totals.
| RANK | PLAYER | FIRST STAR / ★ | SECOND STAR / ★★ | THIRD STAR / ★★★ | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JEREMIAH SMITH | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | QUINSHON JUDKINS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| T3 | EMEKA EGBUKA | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| T3 | TREVEYON HENDERSON | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| T5 | CARNELL TATE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| T5 | JACK SAWYER | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| T7 | JORDAN HANCOCK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| T7 | THE OFFENSIVE LINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| T7 | CODY SIMON | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| T10 | LATHAN RANSOM | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| T10 | CALEB DOWNS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| T10 | DAVISON IGBINOSUN | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| T10 | SONNY STYLES | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| T10 | JT TUIMOLOAU | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 15 | WILL HOWARD | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
