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Dan Hope and Andy Anders of Eleven Warriors bring you inside the Ohio State beat every Wednesday with a podcast covering everything you need to know about the Buckeyes.
Note: This transcript was AI-generated and has not been edited for errors.
[Dan Hope]
Welcome into real pod Wednesdays, Dan Hope joined by Andy Anders, as we are now just a week and a half away from a college football playoff, which I don't know about you, Andy, that's still kind of sinking in. We're, we're so used to the old system where the meaningful bowl games, post-season games typically don't happen until about new year's Eve. So to be just coming off of selection Sunday and now already gearing up for next week to be a playoff game week for the Buckeyes, it's certainly new territory.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, it's a rush that I guess you're not used to, like you said, as someone who covers this team, you know, it's just a few weeks in between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs and post-season play. And, you know, if they'd been in the conference championship game, it would have been even less. But, you know, you get the selection Sunday and then the national championship determining process starts just a couple of weekends after that.
So and then, you know, the college football playoff is going to go every week and it's just like, it's that NFL model, right, of like a short break and then you're right into the thick of it with, with these playoffs and speeding toward the end of the college football season.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. I mean, Ohio State season could end 10 days from now or it could end over a month from now because the national championship game isn't until January 20. So it's a little different than what we're used to in past years of you could kind of anticipate an end point, whether it was good or bad in the past.
But now there's kind of a wide range there, you know, a whole month of when the season could end. And certainly when the season ends could, you know, have a big impact on what the future of Ohio State football looks like even beyond this season. And so it's going to be, you know, quite a month ahead for the Buckeyes.
And of course, it all starts with that first round home game at night in Ohio Stadium on December 21, Ohio State hosting Tennessee. And we'll look a little bit at the big picture of a college football playoff bracket later in the show. But we got to start by just talking about this game, because this game is not going to be easy for the Buckeyes, as you would expect of Ohio State being the eighth seed, the last of the teams to earn a first round home game.
They've got, I would say, the toughest first round game of any of the hosting teams as they play the ninth seed in Tennessee. And you look at this Volunteers team on paper, this is a team that's ranked fourth in total in scoring defense. They're ranked eighth in total in scoring offense.
This is a team that's going to challenge the Buckeyes on both sides of the ball.
[Andy Anders]
I would agree with that. And I think, you know, the biggest matchup you all you go to when you talk about this game, of course, is on the Ohio State's offensive line facing this Tennessee defensive front, which has, you know, one of the best defensive ends in college football, James Pierce Jr., tied for eighth in the FBS with 52 pressures. He's gotten home consistently on the pass rush.
But I think the thing, too, about this defensive line is they are extremely disruptive in the run game. And when you talk about a weather that's going to be cold, it's going to be, you know, it's December 21st. It's going to be pretty chilly.
I think forecasts somewhere in the mid-high 20s, it looks like for that game, running the ball is going to be important. Running the ball and maybe an over-reliance on the run, of course, hurt Ohio State in a lot of ways against Michigan. And now you're facing this Tennessee defensive line.
It's Pierce, but it's also their defensive tackle tandem. These are guys that can get in the backfield and really disrupt what you're trying to do on the ground, moving the football.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. And I mean, just looking at their numbers on pro football focus, they have seven defensive linemen who have played over 200 snaps this year. They have a couple others that are just below that.
So it's not just one guy. This is a defensive line that's going to rotate players. They're going to bring in different bodies to try to keep those guys fresh.
And I mean, the numbers speak for itself. This is a defense that has 93 tackles for loss this year. That's ninth in the country and their fourth in the country in rushing yards allowed per carry with only 2.83. And so this is going to be a big test for this offensive line. And the big question right now with that offensive line is what's it even going to look like in this game? Because, you know, we've talked to Ryan day twice in the past week and both times he's brought up the fact that they're looking at different combinations, not saying what they're going to do yet, but both times he's mentioned both Joshua Padilla and Luke Montgomery, which tells you that there's a possibility you could have two Ohio State offensive linemen making their first career starts in this game.
We'll see if it plays out that way, but I don't feel like Ryan day would keep bringing up their names if there wasn't a real possibility that not even just one, but maybe both of those guys could be in a starting lineup for this game.
[Andy Anders]
Wouldn't completely surprise me, although it's not what I'd project per se. I think the one thing that was telling and kind of got loose, like Donovan Jackson had been floated around with moving back inside. I think we both thought that was unlikely.
And they said that's probably not going to happen, barring some unforeseen huge run from George Fitzpatrick in the next couple of weeks of practice that vault him into, like, can't keep him off the field at tackle. Don't see that happening. So, yeah, those are the two names that keep getting brought up.
What I think the best configuration of this line might be and what is worth looking at is Josh Padilla at center and Carson Hinsman at left guard, and the rest of it stays as it's been. To me, Carson was just so, so much better at that guard position when before the Seth McLaughlin injury and when he was against that in that Penn State game, right, when he plugged in after his Emma Hulsey got hurt and he did it at the end of the Nebraska game, but in the Penn State game, he was mauling dudes. And that continued as long as he was at left guard for Ohio State through the Purdue and Northwestern games, really was having a breakout season, wrote a whole feature about it after, you know, being probably the most maligned part of a pretty maligned offensive line unit in 2023.
But he just hasn't maintained that momentum. And there's, look, as someone who played both positions in high school, and not to compare that experience with what these guys go through at the college level at Ohio State, you know, I was barely all conference for a D4 Ohio high school team. I'm not, you know, but they're two very different positions.
And snapping and stepping, it's a whole nother ball game when you talk about, like, having to deliver that ball in an accurate manner to the quarterback and also having to take that step. And also, you know, you're the center of everything in terms of setting protections for the line, leading the line. Everyone's, the pocket is set off of you, right?
There's a lot of things that go into playing that center position beyond just the blocking side of it. But on the blocking side of it, now, you've got a guy right in your face, 300 pound dude when you're at these guys' level, and you got to throw a ball between your legs and snap. And Carson struggled with that.
I think it's clear, both parts of it, because the snaps were not good against Michigan. Didn't have any, you know, didn't have any that resulted in turnovers, I guess, but lots that threw off the timing of plays. And just high, low, he rolled a couple.
Like, it was, it was not good. And I get you're facing down Kenneth Grant Mason Graham in that game, but I just think Carson Hinsman's much, much better position has been at guard. And if Josh Padilla is showing you something at center, the very brief glimpses we've gotten of him this season look sound, look decent.
You know, it was against backups and late stages of blowouts, but he mauled some dudes at Northwestern. You know, this is, I think that's configuration certainly worth looking at. And then, you know, Luke Montgomery's always been this highly touted prospect.
Can he start delivering on some of that promise? And if he does, then maybe he too was worth some consideration there along the interior.
[Dan Hope]
I agree with you. I think that we've seen enough at this point, but at least when we're talking about the rest of this season and what you're trying to do the rest of this season, Carson Hinsman is much better at guard than he is at center. And so I, I do anticipate that it's likely.
Carson Hinsman will move over back over to left guard. Now that's a risk because you're talking about putting a guy in Joshua Padilla, most likely at that center spot is, and it's not out of a question that Luke Montgomery could be in the mix at center too, because he did spend some time at center and preseason camp. We saw him out there getting some reps.
So it's not out of a question. He could be in that mix at well at center, but either way, you're talking about a guy who's never played really any snaps of significance stepping into play center, which as you mentioned is a really hard position. So it's a risk, but the reality is here.
There's not any great option here. Like you don't want to be in this position of going into the college ball playoff, not knowing what your starting offensive line is going to be, but clearly what they rolled out there against Michigan didn't work particularly on the interior. So I do think there's a very good chance.
We see Carson in the move back out to guard and that we see Joshua Padilla step in there at that center spot. And then, you know, the right guard spot, I think is interesting too, because, you know, Tegra Shibola has not killed it this year. I mean, I think that he, he, you saw some flashes from him earlier in the year, and I just don't think we've seen the progression that you'd like to see from him over the course of a year to really feel confident in him at right guard right now.
So I feel like that's a spot that could very well be open for competition here over the next week or two as well between Tegra Shibola, between Austin Searvelt and potentially Luke Montgomery as well.
[Andy Anders]
For me, again, it's the top matchup to watch going into this game, and I'm interested to see how it mixes in. We talked about the importance of running the football and obviously the offensive line will be big for that for Ohio State. On the flip side of things, the most successful consistent part of Tennessee's offense is running back Dylan Sampson, and I, you know, writing Five Things to Know this week, obviously you get a decent familiarity when you write that piece of the teams and what their strengths are, and I think just what stood out about Dylan Sampson is the consistency, right?
You talk about a guy who's 10 of 12 games this year for Tennessee, he's rushed for 100 yards. One of them in which he didn't was against UTEP because he got taken out early in the second half after he had already racked up 77 yards on 11 carries. That's 7 yards per.
He gets a regular number of attempts. He easily clears 100 in that game too. So he is week in and week out produced for Tennessee.
He's not, you know, I made the comparison, you know, he's not the biblical Sampson in that his name is made off of strength. Dylan Sampson, the name of the game is speed. I'd seen 40 times rumored as low as 4.35 for him. He's very fast and shifty out of the backfield, can gas you for big plays and chunks. But like I said, it's that consistency when you talk about a guy whose skill set is in those areas to still have the consistency to gain consistent chunks, produce game in, game out, I think is very impressive. And when you talk about the matchup of Ohio State's defense versus the Tennessee offense, I think that's the number one place you look to start slowing things down is containing Dylan Sampson.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. And if you look at, you know, their rushing stats on the year, it hasn't just been him either. I mean, his numbers have been phenomenal.
1485 yards, 22 touchdowns on 256 carries, one of the highest volume runners in the country, yet he's still averaged 5.8 yards per carry. But you look behind him, Deshaun Bishop has 433 yards on just 67 carries. That's an average of over six per.
You know, Nico, I am I like Nico, I screwed up the name there. Nico Iomalieva, the starting quarterback, he's been a running threat for him as well with 311 rushing yards and one touchdown. And then Peyton Lewis, another freshman, he has 262 yards on 54 carries.
So they've got, you know, multiple options there. Dylan Sampson is very much their workhorse, very much their feature back. So you would expect that he's going to get a lot of touches in a game of this magnitude.
But they have other guys who can run the ball as well. So it is certainly going to be a big test for the run defense. Now, you know, kind of looking at that back of a big picture of both sides of the ball, you know, I think one of the big things that's important for Ohio State and Ryan Day in this game is you can't be single-mindedly obsessed with running the rushing battle again, because we saw that was the case against Michigan and we saw how that went.
And so winning the rushing battle is going to be important in this game once again, and it's going to be the biggest challenge for Ohio State in this game. But we could say there's some similarities when you talk about these two matchups between the Michigan game and the Tennessee game, you know, both teams have really good defensive lines and both teams are better running the ball than they are passing the ball. And I think you look at Niko Yamalieva.
He's a very talented quarterback, but he's been pretty up and down this year. He's only topped 200 yards in three of Tennessee's last 10 games. And so Ohio State should have the edge in the passing game again.
Now, Tennessee is a better passing defense, at least on paper than Michigan did. They come in 17th in the FBS. But Ohio State in terms of its weapons on the outside, you know, in terms of its quarterback, I think Ohio State has the better passing offense.
If they didn't use that to their advantage against Michigan, they need to be able to use that to their advantage in this game, regardless of what the weather is. They need to be able to use that to their advantage in this game if they're going to win this game.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, I'd agree. I think it was good to hear some recognition from Ryan Day at least a few days after the fact last week on Sunday, even a little bit, that they did lean too much on the running game in that Michigan game, and particularly the inside running game when you're talking about having this reshuffled interior offensive line. The one part of it that isn't reshuffled is the guy who was the weakest link of the original five, right?
Going up against those two defensive tackles from Michigan and just pounding your head against that brick wall time and time again to very little results. And the thing in this game is, like you said, you've got to be willing to get the ball out on the perimeter. It doesn't necessarily, again, and this was something else Day brought up, one extension of the running game for Ohio State has always been the receiver screen game.
Bubbles, tunnel screens, quicks. Ways to get the ball out in space and stretch defenses horizontally that can then help you run the ball inside later, or if that's where you find your yardage, kind of again playing an extension of the running game, that's where you do it. And that part of it was very absent against Michigan.
I think part of Ohio State's running game struggles, they did run the ball too much, I think, but they also didn't run it creatively enough. You've got to mix in different looks for the defense rather than just, again, pounding it between the tackles when you have, I think, a clear disadvantage there. So, they're going to have that disadvantage again in this game, I think, regardless of how the offensive line ultimately looks.
I don't expect them to be able to enforce their will against this Tennessee defensive line. You have to, you can't totally abandon the running game, but you've got to be willing to, if you've got to go like 70% pass, do it, you know. You've got to keep defenses honest, but that doesn't mean you have to run it the same way every time.
Just hit them with an off-tackle run. Hit them with a bubble screen. Hit them with a halfback slip screen, old school, you know.
I can't remember the last time I saw one of those from this offense. So, those are different ways to mix in and create different looks for the defensive front, create different looks that the defensive coordinators and everybody's going to see for Tennessee in this game, and open up, maybe, the running game. But again, be willing to lean on that passing game if you need to.
[Dan Hope]
I amaleava. I thought I had it down, and then you get here, you got the bright lights on you in front of a mic, and you just totally lose it. But I amaleava.
Gonna have to drill that one into my head over the next 10 days. Mentioned, of course, this idea of playing in cold weather in December at Bashoe. I mean, this is the kind of game that everyone's been talking about since we first heard, whenever it was, that this new playoff format would include first-round home games.
Everybody's kind of dreamed of this idea of teams from the South having to come up north to play in the cold. And there's going to be a couple of those games this year. You also have SMU going to Penn State to play in Beaver Stadium.
I think the question is, is this really going to help Ohio State? Because you just talked about it, Tennessee's the better running team in this equation. And so I don't know how much of an advantage that's really going to be to Ohio State, especially the fact that we're not talking about LSU here.
We're not talking about Arizona State here. We're talking about Tennessee. I mean, it gets cold enough in Tennessee and you look at their last game at a regular season that was in 40 degree weather.
They beat Vanderbilt 36 to 23 in that game. You look at the early forecast for this game, December 21 in Columbus. I checked AccuWeather on Tuesday afternoon, high of 41, low of 28.
Now that can always change, but we're not talking about like scary cold here. It'll be cold, but not like super bitter cold. And so I don't know how much of an advantage that's really going to be for Ohio State.
I think home field is certainly a great thing to have for Ohio State. And you certainly expect, especially if it's being a night game, especially if a novelty of the first ever CFP game of a shoe, you certainly expect it's going to be another raucous environment in Ohio Stadium. But I don't know how much I really think the cold weather aspect is really going to help the Buckeyes.
[Andy Anders]
I agree. And again, being at home is going to be an advantage always, I think, especially when you have, like you said, a crowd that's going to be riled up. But yeah, I just don't see it because of the rushing advantages, because of some of the struggles Ohio State has had on its offensive line.
When you're in the cold, man, it's all about the trenches to me. I always say football's won and lost from the trenches. It's a tired cliche I recycle constantly.
But in the cold, especially so. Because when you get hit in the cold, it hurts a lot more. The ball hits your hands harder.
Everything just feels a little more punchy, a little more intense in terms of the pain you feel on a football field. That's how I think it changes things. And why there's always such an emphasis on running the football and playing physical and playing tough when it's cold weather is because you just feel the impact of those hits more.
And so when you're talking about a game that Ohio State might have to win with its physicality, you look at those question marks on the offensive line and they are concerning. But again, got to be willing to lean on. Just because it is cold doesn't mean you can't throw the football, can't have success through the air.
It's not supposed to be an extremely windy day, maybe a light breeze. You know, nothing too drastic in Ohio Stadium. I think you've got to be willing to take those shots on the outside when you get them, as we've already stated.
Now, we'll make our predictions in the future for this game. But what is your next week? Yes, next week.
But what is your percentage level of confidence right now that Ohio State can get this one done, Dan?
[Dan Hope]
I'll go 60 percent. I think in the home field, like if this game was in Knoxville, I might say 40 percent. But I'll say 60 percent.
I think Ohio State is overall the more talented team. I think Ohio State should win this game. But a lot of it goes back to that offensive line.
We saw how that derailed Ohio State in the Michigan game. Can they figure something out up front that allows them to get their offense back on track to win this game? I think, again, I haven't made a score prediction yet, but I think it's probably going to be a fairly lower scoring game just because both these teams have really good defenses.
But you've got to be able to be more effective offensively than you were in that Michigan game. You think back to the last time Ohio State went into a postseason game with a reshuffled offensive line. That was just last year in McCotton Bowl.
And we saw how badly that went. And so you have to be able to avoid a repeat of that. And so I'll go 60 percent.
As I sit here right now, I think Ohio State wins, but I'm not extremely confident in it.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, see, that's the number I was going to. I guess I'll ride 65. I think maybe a tiny, tiny bit more confident.
Home field advantage definitely plays a part in that. And I think that if the lessons have been learned, as they seem to maybe indicate they have been in the weeks since that Michigan loss, then maybe I trust Ohio State's offense a little more to spread it around. Because the fact is, since the Oregon game, this defense has been elite.
And yes, Dylan Sampson is really good. Yes, Nico Iomaleava presents a challenge for them on the ground. And they've had problems with mobile quarterbacks at times, too.
But I think for one thing, Tennessee hasn't been able to gain yards consistently passing the ball. And it's hurt them in some of their bigger games this year, their losses, particularly the loss to Arkansas, which was the biggest blemish on their resume. And I think if you're at all one dimensional against this defense, you're going to have a really, really hard day.
And they've defended the run great this year, on the whole. You know, really did it against Michigan, too, outside of the one Kalel Mullings broke to set up the game winning field goal at the end. But the defense had been, you know, we've gone through that a lot of times at this point.
But to me, I think Ohio State's defense in the cold and the offensive lessons learned that hopefully they'll be willing to spread the ball out more and use those weapons outside and run it in more creative ways. That to me gives me just a tiny bit more confidence. I think I'm settling it right about 65%.
[Dan Hope]
The line opened at seven and a half points. It seemed to briefly go down to seven. And now it's back up to seven and a half.
So at least the odds makers do seem to think, you know, this is a game that Ohio State should win. But what do you think of that spread, Andy? Do you like the seven and a half point spread?
A little too high? What do you think?
[Andy Anders]
Uh, a touchdown feels right to me. Honestly, I think that just because of, again, home field and the completeness of Ohio State's team when it's functioning at its best. To me, I think warrants about a touchdown difference.
That's the separation I see between these two teams. Now, it could ultimately play out a lot closer. And Tennessee could even go and obviously win this game.
I'm definitely not writing any of those possibilities off. But, you know, touchdown feels about right to me.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, I think I'm more in like the four to six point range. I mean, to me, I don't know. I think if I was betting on a side in terms of a spread right now, I would bet on Tennessee.
But we'll make our actual score predictions next week. Still got a week to kind of decide what I want to go with in terms of my score prediction. So we'll get to that a week from now.
Obviously, for the Buckeyes themselves inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, they need to just focus on beating Tennessee because this game is not going to be easy. But we, you know, if sitting here as media members can take a little bit of a look ahead and just kind of a whole overall picture of the college football playoff for the Buckeyes. And it's not going to be an easy path in terms of the good news for Ohio State is they still have a chance to win a national championship.
The bad news is you if you project out the favorites winning in all the other games, you know, the teams you would expect to win the other games. Ohio State, if they beat Tennessee, faces a path of having to be Oregon on the West Coast and the Rose Bowl, Texas in Texas and the Cotton Bowl and Georgia in Georgia to win the national championship. So while Ohio State's going to have that home field advantage for the first game, it could very much feel like it's playing in a road game in each of the last three games.
With that in mind, seeing the bracket and what Ohio State's draw is, how does that impact your level of confidence, whatever that might be, that Ohio State could make a national championship run?
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, I mean, it certainly doesn't help my level of confidence, I would say. I think Oregon, that rematch is one that this team will be very excited for if they beat Tennessee. I think they're definitely eager to get that win back from what happened in Eugene earlier this season.
Do I like Ohio State in that rematch? Not especially with some of the offensive line concerns. I don't, this Tennessee team will have been the best crop of weapons, probably, skill position talent they've faced since that Oregon game.
But maybe throw Indiana in that mix too. But I just, I don't think, it's hard to contend and know exactly how that secondary would hold up in a rematch. So then you have Texas, who is, I think, a really good, well-rounded team, but it does have its own flaws.
The part is like the accumulation of it, right? The fact that they're going to have to face these teams one right after the other, right after the other, right after the other. You've already got an offensive line that's banged up.
You've got to try and stay healthy through this run. And the fact that Oregon's going to have that buy, I think, is a pretty sizable advantage for the Ducks. Of, you know, playing Texas and Texas and Georgia, and Georgia would definitely expect, if those are the matchups, to be hostile environments, at least with Oregon.
I think after Rose Bowl, a lot of Buckeye fans in that area of the country could be a fairly evenly split crowd, maybe a little more Oregon or a little more Ohio State for that game. But I just think the accumulation of it, right? When you talk about having to beat all these really good teams back to back to back is what makes it the most daunting.
And what I will say, however, is that I think Ohio State's capable of beating any team in the country this year because every team is flawed right now. Every team has that game or two you look at outside of maybe Oregon, but even Oregon had some close games with some weaker foes. Every team has, like, a list of flaws you can find with them right now.
And Ohio State still has a ridiculous amount of talent on its roster. So I think they're capable of beating anyone they'll face. But I think the fact that you're going to have to face the best, I think we agree, the best non-hosting team in the first round, the number one seed in the second round, and then possibly Texas and Texas and Georgia and Georgia.
I'd say Texas is certainly very likely, given the path they have. That accumulation of all of that, I think, is what makes you sit back and say, OK, this would be a pretty tough title run.
[Dan Hope]
I haven't done my bracket projection yet or whatnot, but if Ohio State and Oregon were on opposite sides of the bracket, there's a very real possibility I would project them to meet in the national championship game. So the fact that they are meeting in the quarterfinals, I actually, from an objective standpoint, not an Ohio State-focused standpoint, I actually feel bad for Oregon because they went undefeated. They should be rewarded with the easiest path to, at least for semifinals, and they did not get that.
I mean, even if Tennessee beats Ohio State, either way, they're going to have to play a really good team. And not to say that any of these teams, I mean, all the teams in the playoff are really good teams. But I don't think anybody's going to look at the bracket and say, man, Oregon got a good break the way this bracket was set up.
Some of that goes into more offseason conversations about the possibility of changing the way this format works. Because I think we knew kind of all season, the way things were playing out, that the number one seed was not necessarily going to get that real advantage that it should have because of the fact that you've got conference champions getting those first round buys. I think you could definitely make a case that the five and six seeds, Texas and Penn State got better draws than the one and two seeds.
Because yes, they have to play that extra game, but Texas favored to beat Clemson and Penn State favored to beat SMU. And then theoretically, I think Penn State is going to be favored to beat Boise State and Texas is going to be favored to beat Arizona State as well if they win those games. So you could argue that they actually got better draws because they lost in the champ conference championship games to Oregon and Georgia than the winners who actually got those buys.
And so that's more of a conversation for the future, but I do think it's a tough break for Oregon to a degree though. Dan Lanning, I think is probably one of the last coaches who would complain about it because I think he's a guy who just has a lot of natural confidence and is going to be confident in his team no matter what draw they give him. I do want to ask you quickly, Andy, don't want to rehash for Ryan Day stuff too much because we've already talked about that a couple of times.
It will be talked about more, but we talked last week. I had the stance of, I feel like Ohio State needs to win the first round game for Ryan Day to keep his job. I'm not sure beyond that.
You were of the opinion that Ohio State needs to win at least two games for Ryan Day to keep his job. Has your opinion changed at all knowing that Ohio State would now play the number one seed in that second game?
[Andy Anders]
I would still say so. Yes. And it's because of the same reasons I laid out last week.
You know, for me, Day is on the chopping block because he hasn't achieved thus far four years in a row the three goals he sets out to achieve at the start of each year. And that Michigan game, that rivalry game, I think should always hold its importance. And this, again, might be biased as someone who was born and raised in Ohio and grew up in this rivalry is that game should hold the outcome for coaches.
That's the job you get into. If you can't win that game, you shouldn't be the coach at whichever school. That's just the breaks of it.
Now, you have the counter argument of, well, Michigan waited for Jim Harbaugh to go 0-5 and look how that turned out. But I just think the fact that you were favored so heavily this year, this loss was unacceptable, as I said. And so for me, Day has to earn his job back.
And that takes something doing beyond what's expected, beyond that they're favored to be Tennessee at home. Tennessee is, you know, Tennessee on paper isn't the same caliber quite as Ohio State. Maybe that's not the best way to put it.
I think Ohio State's a more talented team than Tennessee, even with its offensive line injuries. I think this is a game Ohio State should win. Then you go and play a game that you've got to play up a level.
You've got to play Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Like we've said, it could be a crowd that favors Oregon, but it's the number one seed. It's right now one of the presumptive national title favorites.
And so for me, that would be earning his job back. And that's kind of where I've stood on the matter. Do I have an inkling, really, of what Ohio State would view it as?
No. Where exactly Ross Bjork's head is, right? What do I think would happen if they won the first round playoff game and, say, kept it close with Oregon?
I might say I would more likely than not think Day keeps his job. But in my personal opinion, he should need to go out and prove that with this loaded roster, he's capable of approaching a national title, approaching the goals he set out for. Because, you know, Ryan's a great person, I think, as far as coaches go.
And he's done a lot of great things at Ohio State. And I'm not even saying he's a bad coach, but that's the job. And you have not met the requirements of the job, in my eyes, at least.
[Dan Hope]
Now, while Ohio State is gearing up for the college football playoff, it also has to navigate the transfer portal, because the transfer portal opened on Monday. And while we don't necessarily know if Ryan Day will still be Ohio State's coach next year, we don't necessarily know what exactly Ohio State's coaching staff will look like next year. They have to prepare right now as though they are all going to still be there in 2025, and that they're building their roster for 2020, for 2025, while still finishing out the 2024 season.
And it's not an ideal scenario for everybody. Again, more of an offseason conversation about whether the calendar should be the way it is. But it's the reality of the situation right now, where you're looking at an Ohio State team that's going to lose at least 16 of its starters after this season, those being 15 seniors and Josh Simmons already declaring for the NFL draft.
And so Ohio State has to be active in the transfer portal. I think Ryan Day has to be active in the transfer portal as part of building his case for keeping his job. Because if you lose in the first or second round, you're certainly going to have a better argument for keeping your job for another year if you've already gone out and landed some talent in the transfer portal.
Whereas if you don't do much in the transfer portal and then lose in the college football playoff, that could be all the more reason for Ohio State to look at making a change. And so we certainly expect Ohio State to be active here over the next few weeks in trying to bring in transfer portal talent. So far, Ohio State's only lost five players to the transfer portal.
Those being Devin Brown, Kojo Antwi, Jaden Bowerd, Miles Walker, and Gabe Powers. No real surprises there. I mean, all of them faced an uphill battle to starting jobs at Ohio State.
I think certainly Devin Brown, the most notable of those exits, though we've talked about it before, the expectation is that Julian Sands is going to be the starter at Ohio State next year. And so I think, you know, for Devin Brown, it's a logical move at this point in his career to go elsewhere for next season, where he'll probably have a better chance to compete for a starting job next season. He is staying for the college football playoff, which is good for quarterback depth.
But I will pose the question to you, Andy, do you think Devin Brown should still be the number two quarterback for the college football playoff, or should Julian Sands be the next man up if anything happens to Will Howard?
[Andy Anders]
To me, I think that should be an open competition during practice leading up to the college football playoff. Nothing in Devin Brown's play when he got into games this year indicated to me that he was head and shoulders above where Julian Sands probably is or could be. And the fact that Devin entered the transfer portal, I think it's confirmation that the is seeing enough from Julian to say, yeah, he's the guy next year, right?
So that needs to be an open competition. Devin has the veteran experience. There's reasons that you might still want to lean on Devin as the number two guy.
And I don't think, you know, as long as Devin's here, he is going to want to win a national championship too, I'd imagine. So if you need him in a situation, I think he'll go out and give you his best. He's not going to hold something back because he's transferring later.
But to me, I think it should be an open competition because there's at least something here to say that Julian Sands is showing something in practice to warrant Brown going ahead and jumping in the portal now. So if that's the case, then maybe he should be the number two quarterback just based on merit, just based on play and where his development already is. So that would be my answer to it is I think you should have an open competition over the next couple of weeks to see who Will Howard's backup ultimately is.
[Dan Hope]
I agree with that. I think, you know, I think the door should be as open as it's been all year to where if Julian Sands is showing you something in practice, that that door should be wide open for him to have the opportunity to move up the depth chart here because of the fact that, you know, Devin Brown's leaving. It's not so much to punish Devin as it is to just save it.
You know, if, you know, I think we've talked about it in the past. If something was to happen to Will during the regular season, we may have had more confidence long term in Julian if they felt he was ready. And so, you know, it does make you question a little bit like maybe they should have gotten Julian some more reps during the season because you could kind of see this coming at some point.
But, you know, the past is the past. You've got to focus on right now. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
You know, maybe irrelevant, you know, because you hope that Will Howard, nothing happens to him. You know, he probably plays every snap at quarterback in the college ball playoff, regardless of how long you go. So it may be a moot point, but I do agree with you.
That should be an open competition here over the next week or two going into that game against Tennessee. Now, as we look forward to potential transfer additions for Ohio State, I don't think there's any question what the number one priority is for Ohio State based. We've talked about it.
I'll show about the biggest problem for Ohio State right now. Offensive line. I mean, it's it's already a problem right now, and it could be an even bigger problem next year because Donovan Jackson's not going to be there anymore.
Josh Simmons ain't gonna be there anymore. Seth McLaughlin ain't gonna be there anymore. Josh Fryer ain't gonna be there anymore.
You know, this is you talk about the primary starters from this season before injuries hit four of those five guys are going to be gone next year. So Ohio State, they need to add. I mean, I think they need to add at least three offensive linemen who can come in and compete for starting jobs.
You could make the case for as many as four or five, but there's no question that Ohio State needs to add some offensive line talent in the portal. That is a reflection on the fact that Ohio State has not recruited that position as well as it's needed to over the last few years. But the reality is, I think especially at offensive tackle, it's it's hard to identify two guys who will be on the roster next year but are coming back who would be great options to start at offensive tackle.
And so Ohio State definitely needs to bring in some offensive line talent. The good news is only a couple days in, we've already seen quite a few intriguing offensive line options enter the portal. Looks like the top early target is Northwestern guard Josh Thompson, who has an official visit scheduled to Ohio State later this week.
But there's been a lot of other names as well that are intriguing. And so very important here, certainly for someone like Justin Fry, if he's going to have any hope of keeping his job, to be very aggressive over the next few weeks in trying to land some top transfer offensive linemen.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, not just the four of the five original starters for this Ohio State offensive line going, but the best four. And because, you know, Tegra Shibulla, we've said it has been the weakest, most inconsistent link of that original starting five. Not to say that he can't take strides and turn into a really good offensive lineman next year, but you've got to rebuild almost this entire unit.
And the problem is where I think Fry actually deserves some credit this season as a developer, because looking at what that offensive line was before the Josh Simmons injury and how they were really emerging as one of the better offensive lines in the country, I think, if not at least the Big Ten. Josh Simmons goes down, they struggle for a week, you respond by Carson Hinsman taking a massive leap at guard. And so these developments, I think Fry again deserves some praise for getting these guys ready to play, at least before the Seth McLaughlin injury.
Now, you expose the lack of depth in your unit because this is where Fry is completely face-planted in this time at Ohio State. He just hasn't recruited the position well enough. And I think it's a lack of depth, mainly, that shows when you have these kinds of injuries.
He hasn't cast a wide enough net, taken some limited classes where, you know, like even this class, Carter Lowe's a fine prospect, a really good prospect, I think. But you have two other guys in that offensive line mix who are, you know, Jake Cook's more of a project. And they're not that star quality, they're that premier Ohio State offensive lineman quality.
You could have gotten some of those high-end four stars, but you threw all your eggs into the David Sanders basket. And we've talked about this before, you know, you don't ultimately get that five-star fish that you were after. And so, your offensive line class is, again, pretty thin in the end.
And so, you have to be able to win those battles. And if you're not going to win those battles, well, yes, you better go out and recruit the hell out of the portal. Because that's the only way I can see this Ohio State offensive line really building again for next year.
They do not have the pieces on tackle at roster. They just don't at tackle on this roster. They just don't.
Zin Mahalsky, George Fitzpatrick are like your top two options going into next year. And neither of those guys, certainly not Zin. And when you consider that Donovan had to slide out to offensive tackle in the first place, neither of those two guys have shown you anything to indicate they're going to be an Ohio State caliber starting offensive tackle.
And so, the good news is, like you said, I think completely different from last year is there are a lot of really good offensive lines options out there in the portal. You can look at someone like Isaiah World or you look at a T.J. Shanahan out of Texas A&M. Like, these are guys with experience.
These are guys with pedigree, with great physical tools. I think Ohio State has great options to go out and rebuild its offensive line through the portal. We've seen teams completely reconstruct through the portal in the modern age.
Indiana being maybe the prime example this year of you can turn, you know, you're not talking about turning a whole team around like Indiana did, but turning an entire position room around, I think, is feasible through the portal. And so, if you've got to go out and get, like you said, four or five guys even, I think that's got to be on the table. You have to be willing to upgrade wherever you can.
And that discussion then, for me, centers around the interior because while it's obvious Ohio State needs transfer tackles, I think they should be aggressive about interior guys in the transfer portal, like Josh Thompson, because who's to say that at least you could breed some competition, right? I really don't know where Luke Montgomery, say, is in the progression of his career. Austin Saravel looked strong early in the year, had some struggles.
Tager Chabolo, we've talked about his inconsistencies. You're losing Seth McLaughlin. Like, I think there's some names on that interior offensive line for Ohio State that have promise.
I think Carson Hinsman for next year is a nice promising player. So is Luke Montgomery. But you can bring in linemen, if you have the potential to bring in interior guys who are an upgrade, you do it.
And I think that's what Ohio State has to keep, an open mind and an aggressive mindset when it comes to recruiting offensive linemen out of the port.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, I mean, I think on the interior offensive line, I mean, I think it's really the same group of guys we just talked about. Carson Hinsman is Josh Padilla. It's Luke Montgomery.
It's Austin Saravel. I think Tager Chabolo's future might be at tackle. And I think there's a possibility he could be the starting right tackle next year.
I think that that's the position they liked him best at before they moved him inside of necessity this year. And so I think there's a possibility he's in that tackle mix next year. But I think all those other guys have the potential to be high quality starting interior offensive linemen next year.
Another year of development. Some of this may be evaluated based upon how whatever the lineup is in the college football playoff performs too. But I agree with you if there's a guy up there like a Josh Thompson, whoever it might be who has proven they can play at a really high level and you can come in and be a plug and play upgrade.
Ohio State is in no position to not go after that kind of guy. You know, and I think again at tackle, I think it's an absolute must. I think Tegra Chabolo could be an option next year.
I think Ian Moore is a guy that they like for his developmental potential, but hasn't played much this year as a true freshman. You don't know how ready he would be a year from now. I think the guys they brought in, I think all three of those guys in the recruiting class have the potential to be future starters at Ohio State.
I think certainly Carter Lowe. I think Javon McFadden's got some upside. I think Jake Cook's a guy, probably a longer term development guy, but you look at the improvement he made over the course of his high school career.
I certainly don't rule out the possibility that he can be a guy who develops into a, you know, very good center for Ohio State down the line. The problem is you're not counting on those guys to come in and play as freshmen. It's you've talked about it before.
Offensive line is the most developmental position in football. So the problem is you talk about it. You have guys, you know, fourth and fifth year guys like Zen Mahalsky and George Fitzpatrick where they just haven't shown anything to this point in their career to make you believe they're going to be ready to go in and be starting offensive tackles next year.
So that's where you really have to supplement that in the transfer portal. And this is the new world of college football is if you have a deficiency at the position, you need to go address it in the transfer portal or you get left behind. And so I think it's clear offensive line is the number one area where Ohio State needs to do that.
I think, you know, the two other positions that I think stand out to me, I think kicker is a position that stands out. I think that kind of just goes back to what I just said, where I think last year they felt good enough about Jaden Fielding where it's like, we're just going to roll with him. And then obviously that backfired on them in the biggest game of the year.
And it played a very direct result in Ohio State losing to Michigan. So I think because of that, at the very least, you've got to go bring someone else in at kicker to compete with Jaden Fielding next year. I mean, you could make the same case at punter as well, though.
I'm not as sure on that one because you still have Nick McLarty. You're hoping he's going to develop into what you think he can be. You already brought in another transfer punter last year and Anthony Vennari.
So don't know if there's quite as big a need at punter as kicker, but I do think kicker, they need to bring in somebody to at least compete and push Jaden Fielding at that spot. And then I think defensive line as well. I think you probably need at least one defensive end and at least one defensive tackle because you're losing all four of your starters from last season.
And I think you could have a good starting defensive line with the guys you have coming up with, you know, Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson on the outside, Edric Houston and Caden McDonald on the inside. You know, there's some different things you could do there. I mean, maybe CJ Hicks becomes an edge player next year.
We'll see. But I do think at both of those spots, the depth right now is not where you need it to be. And ideally, if you want to have more of a real rotation next year in terms of more guys rotating in and playing on a regular basis, I do think you're going to need to supplement what you have right now at both of those positions with all the guys you have walking out the door.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, I'd agree. And you inarguably need to bring in a kicker to at least compete with Jaden Fielding. Like you said, I think coming off of that Michigan game and the inconsistencies even going back to when he, you know, booted three straight kickoffs out of bounds against Marshall.
I know he tweaked something, but you've had these inconsistencies pop up with Jaden Fielding at times and it's just time for a reevaluation at that position. But yeah, to your point, I think defensive line, they do have a pretty good starting four there next year. I think I prioritize defensive tackle depth as much as anything too.
Because I think the next guy's up at three-tack behind Edric haven't shown a lot this year. We were expecting, I think, more out of Jason Moore, no pun intended, more out of Hiro Kanu. Some of these names that, you know, we were expecting to be real parts of the defensive tackle rotation just never showed that level of play that you needed from them.
Throw a Taiwan Malone in there. You know, the defensive tackle spot, I think, has been kind of lackluster in terms of the depth pieces outside of Edric Houston starting to take steps as a freshman, coming in as a five-star prospect. And I think Caden McDonald's been really good as a nose guard this year.
At defensive end, I think you can feel pretty good about those first two starters, right? Kenyatta Jackson, Caden Curry. I think they've shown flashes.
I think they have the pedigree. They have the talent. Another year of development and a year of confidence getting instilled in them to be those starters.
You could be really happy with having that as your starting tandem at defensive end. But the question is then depth, right? And behind those two, you don't really have anybody that showed you much, unless maybe Mitchell Melton comes back for yet another year.
But Dominic Kirks and Joshua Mickens, really, Kirk's a freshman, just came in. Mickens hasn't done much here in year two. You just don't have guys at the defensive end position behind those two that have shown you a lot.
So depth is going to be really important. And I think Ohio State has shown this year too. They're at their best when they're rolling some defensive linemen, when they're keeping their top guys fresh.
And Kaden Curry plays with a relentless motor. Jackson's a speed rusher off the edge. I think those are two guys that are going to expend energy doing the jobs they do come next year.
So you need at least one other option that you can depend on at that position to produce, to hold up in the run game, to get after the quarterback, do the things that defensive end does.
[Dan Hope]
Well, we'll continue to cover the developments in the transfer portal as they happen. But of course, the primary focus here is going to be on the college football playoff as we prepare for Ohio State to host Tennessee 10 days from today at Ohio Stadium. And so we'll be back next week to preview that game more here on Real Pod Wednesdays.
We hope you'll join us then. Have a great week.