So, you’re stuck in traffic on 315 or maybe you're stuck at a wedding you didn't really want to attend while the Buckeyes are kicking off. We’ve all been there. You can’t see the screen, but you need to know. Not just the score—you need the grit. You need to know if the offensive line is actually getting a push or if the secondary is playing ten yards off on a 3rd-and-short.
Tracking the Ohio State Buckeyes football play by play is basically a religious experience in Columbus. It’s the difference between seeing a "14-yard completion" on a sterile app interface and hearing the frantic, gravelly excitement of a live announcer describing Jeremiah Smith snagging a ball out of the air.
The 2025 Post-Mortem: What the Play by Play Told Us
Looking back at the 2025 season that just wrapped up, the play-by-play data tells a story that the final scores sometimes hide. Ohio State finished 12-2, which sounds great on paper until you realize those two losses came right at the end—the Big Ten Championship against Indiana (a 13-10 heartbreaker) and that 24-14 loss to Miami in the Cotton Bowl.
If you followed the play-by-play during that Miami game on December 31, 2025, you saw the trend early. Julian Sayin was slinging it—he finished with 287 yards—but the red zone play-by-play was a nightmare. The Buckeyes moved the ball, but they couldn't punch it in.
👉 See also: Meaning of Grand Slam: Why We Use It for Tennis, Baseball, and Breakfast
It’s easy to look at a box score and see "L 14-24." It’s much harder to swallow the play-by-play sequences where the Buckeyes had 1st-and-goal and came away with nothing. That's the nuance you get when you're following the action live rather than just checking the ESPN "Gamecast" dots every ten minutes.
Where to Find the Best Live Action
Honestly, if you aren't listening to Paul Keels, are you even a fan?
- WBNS 97.1 The Fan: This is the flagship. If you're in Central Ohio, this is the gold standard for Ohio State Buckeyes football play by play. Keels has that "Voice of God" quality, and Jim Lachey provides the kind of technical offensive line analysis that actually makes you smarter.
- The Official Buckeyes App: This is surprisingly solid now. They’ve integrated free live audio, so if you're out of state, you don't have to hunt for a sketchy pirate stream.
- SiriusXM: Channel 195 or 196 usually carries the home feed. Great for road trips through the mountains where 5G goes to die.
- The "Stat-Heads" Alternative: If you’re a nerd for data, the StatBroadcast feeds used by the press box are often available if you know where to look. They provide the exact down-and-distance and personnel packages faster than the TV broadcast.
Why Play-by-Play Matters More Than the Highlights
TV highlights are just the "greatest hits." They show the 50-yard bombs and the pick-sixes. But the play-by-play reveals the why.
✨ Don't miss: NFL Week 5 2025 Point Spreads: What Most People Get Wrong
Think about the Michigan game this past November. A 27-9 win. If you just saw the highlights, you saw a dominant defense. If you followed the play-by-play, you saw a grueling 15-play drive in the third quarter that took seven minutes off the clock. That drive didn't have a "highlight reel" play. It was 4 yards here, 3 yards there, a 6-yard out route on 3rd down.
That's the "death by a thousand cuts" that Ryan Day’s offense occasionally masters.
The Julian Sayin Factor
Watching the play-by-play evolution of Julian Sayin in 2025 was fascinating. Early in the season against Texas (that massive 14-7 win), the play-calling was conservative. Short drops, quick outs.
🔗 Read more: Bethany Hamilton and the Shark: What Really Happened That Morning
By the time the Buckeyes were dismantling UCLA 48-10 in mid-November, the play-by-play showed a totally different quarterback. You started seeing "Sayin pass deep left to Smith" appearing on the first or second play of drives. The aggressiveness changed.
The Best Ways to Follow Live Without a TV
- Social Media: Skip the "official" accounts if you want the real play-by-play. Follow beat writers like those from Buckeye Scoop or Bucknuts. They tweet every single snap, often including what the coaches are screaming on the sidelines.
- Game Threads: Places like the Ohio State subreddit or 11W have live game threads. It's a chaotic mess of emotions, but the play-by-play updates are lightning-fast.
- Radio Synchronization: A pro tip—if you're watching the game on a delay (like on a streaming service), try to pause your TV to sync it with the 97.1 The Fan audio. It takes some finessing, but hearing the local guys is 100x better than the national broadcast crews who spend half the time talking about the playoff rankings instead of the game in front of them.
Looking Ahead to 2026
The 2025 season ended with some questions about the offensive line, especially after those struggles against Miami. As we move into the 2026 cycle, the play-by-play is going to be under a microscope.
Keep an eye on the transfer portal additions. When the spring game rolls around, pay attention to the sequence of plays. Are they running more under center? Is the tempo increasing? These small details in the play-by-play logs are the early indicators of whether the Buckeyes will finally get back to the top of the mountain.
Actionable Next Steps
- Download the 97.1 The Fan App: It’s the easiest way to get the radio call anywhere in the world.
- Bookmark CFBStats: Use this site to look up "Success Rate" per play. It’s a better metric than total yards.
- Check the Weather: If you're following the play-by-play and see a lot of "Rush, 2 yards," check the wind speed at the Horseshoe. It usually explains the "boring" play-calling.
- Follow the "Chain Gang": On live play-by-play apps, look for the "expected points added" (EPA) per play to see who is actually winning the efficiency battle.
Tracking every snap is a grind, but for a Buckeye fan, it’s the only way to truly understand the game. Whether it’s a rainy October afternoon against Rutgers or a High Stakes showdown in Ann Arbor, the play-by-play is where the truth lives.