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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. I'm Dan Hope joined by Andy Anders back in the home studio for this week's episode, as we prepare for the biggest game of the season to date, and maybe the entire regular season, not just for Ohio state, but in all of college football, as this is a number two versus number three matchup, Ohio state and Oregon, both undefeated. The two projected front runners.
This is what we thought this game was going to be. When we talked about it before the season, this is the game we've had it circled on our calendar. Even the likes of Ryan day and will Howard have acknowledged now that they've had this game circled on, on their calendar.
We've talked about that, that ramp up. It's been kind of a gradual ramp up here and now the ramp goes like this. And now this is where we are really going to get our first look at Weber Vista, Ohio state football team is a championship caliber team.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah. To extend the allegory probably too far, you know, you're going to go off the ramp here at kickoff and either you're going to take flight and if Ohio state wins this game, I mean, it'd be a, it'd take a collapse for them not to make the college football playoff. I would think if you win this game or you, you come back down to earth a little bit, not to say things crash.
If you lose this game, you can definitely afford to lose this game and still obtain all the goals you set out to achieve it, but it'll hurt your big 10 title odds, but you can still absolutely beat Michigan, easily make the college football playoff, win a national title. Um, those things, but this is honestly the biggest part of this is that it's the measuring stick in the ramp of you're now seeing what it looks like against a real team, who's another national title contender and Oregon. You look at the roster and what they've done this year.
I know some people might scoff at the Boise state or Idaho scores. Boise state's a really good team, but this is a team that on the, throughout its roster has a much more complete set of talent than any team Ohio state has played so far, I think most people would acknowledge that, but I think just in diving into this game and this matchup, there are a lot of areas where Oregon is going to challenge Ohio state and test a lot of the improvements we've seen in key areas throughout the early stretch of the season here. So as you enter this game, I think there's reason to have a lot of confidence. If you're an Ohio state fan in the strides that have been taken in the way they've looked these first five games, because you can only play who you play.
They can't help their schedule, but also, you know, plenty of reasons to also be concerned given how good this Oregon team is because it's not just Ohio state that's made strides, right?
[Dan Hope]
This Oregon team, I think has clearly made strides too. And I think if you're sleeping on this Oregon team because of the first two weeks, then you've probably missed the way they've played the last few weeks. And granted they haven't played any world beaters, but neither has Ohio state.
Maybe the best analogy you can draw between these two teams has been both playing Michigan state and Ohio state beat Michigan state 38 to seven. Oregon beat Michigan state 31 to 10. Ohio state's win a little bit more convincing coming at Michigan state in East Lansing.
So if you're, if you're going to do a head to head comparison, Ohio state would come out in front here. But Ben, you factor in the fact that Ohio state's got to fly across the country to go play in this game and to go play at Autzen stadium, where Oregon is 31 and one since 2019. If you just look at the last three weeks, big 10 teams have played 10 games where they had to travel across two time zones to play in the two or more time zones playing that game.
I'll ask that we'll have three this week, big 10 teams are, Oh, and 10 in those games over the last three weeks. And so there's always the question of how much does home field really matter. And, you know, ultimately this is going to come down to the players on the field and who's the better football team.
But I do think when you add that factor into this game for Ohio state, it just increases the difficulty level that much more going up against a team that is without a doubt, the most capable of challenging this Ohio state team than anyone they've played so far this year.
[Andy Anders]
Before we dive fully into the Oregon matchup, just a few more notes on the Iowa game, because there, there were some key things that are trends that are going to help Ohio state entering this Oregon matchup, I think. And, you know, I kind of hinted earlier at Ohio state taking strides in key areas. I think the number one question we both had entering the season was the offensive line, I think probably the number one question Ohio state fans had entering the season was the offensive line.
And as much as you can take from these first five games against some lesser competition, the offensive line has shown everything I think you wanted to see from them. Ohio state's been able to run the ball successfully. They've protected Will Howard great, only four sacks allowed on the season.
And some of that credit of course goes to the Chip Kelly scheme, goes to Will Howard able to escape the pressure in a few spots, but only 11 teams in the country, including Ohio state have allowed that few sacks or less on the season. And just qualitatively, right? As someone who loves offensive line play, watching this line work, Southman Loughlin has been such a massive boost game in game out to what they do.
Like Ryan Day has said in the past, he's like having a pro there at center, really setting the tone, setting the production, setting the assignments. Tegra Shibola was really impressive in this last game. I think there's a reason.
Austin Cerevel was working in with that right guard mix. It's the first time since Cerevel was starting at left guard. We've seen Tegra eat up all of those first team snaps at the position.
And it's because he was able to hold his mustard against a really, really good defensive tackle tandem that Iowa has get that push off the line. I think Josh Fryer, while I still have some concerns entering this week, given how good Oregon's defensive ends are, has shown again that he's excellent in the run game at the very least, and has maybe taken some steps as a pass protector. Again, bigger tests to come this weekend specifically.
The left side though, I would put that left side up against most of the rest of college football in terms of the offensive line. Donovan Jackson, on the whole, has been among the nation's elite guards, I think, since his return. And Josh Simmons has taken that next step that he needed, has always been a freakish athlete at the position.
He's a fantastic second level blocker, and I think Ohio State's used that in some spaces in the running game, but also a guy that can just, he has the strength to win on the line of scrimmage and the athleticism to protect the edge very well. So this offensive line has come together through five weeks in a way that I think I didn't anticipate even, but everything you wanted to see from this offensive line you have so far, with the caveat that this is the toughest challenge they'll have faced so far.
[Dan Hope]
But Iowa was the toughest challenge that that offensive line had faced so far in comparison to the first month. And they went out and rushed for 200 yards against a defense that hadn't allowed more than a hundred rushing yards in a game all year. So I think, you know, that was a real test for the offensive line.
And I think the offensive line passed that test. And so I think there's definite reason to go into this game with some real confidence in this offensive line to believe that this offensive line is legitimately better than it was a year ago. Now, like you said, I do think this is going to be another ramp up in terms of a test, and I think a lot of that has to do with how dynamic this Oregon team is at defensive end, particularly Jordan Birch.
He's a guy who was just named the big 10 defensive player of a week was, was really dominant in that game against Michigan state last week. You look at his stats on the year from just five games, he already has seven tackles for loss, five sacks, four pass breakups. So this is a guy who has the potential to wreak havoc off the edge.
And Chip Kelly touched on that during his press conference on Tuesday.
[Chip Kelly]
I think his athletic ability for such a big player, you know, he's listed at six, five to 90, but he plays defensive end. Most guys that big are the interior defense alignment. So he, he's got, he's a really athletic guy and, you know, he, he had a huge game against Michigan state last Friday night, you know, and really kind of showed up.
I think he's, he's really starting to embrace that role that Tosh and Dan have put him in and, you know, you gotta know where he is on every play, but he's a, he's one of those guys that can disrupt the football game.
[Dan Hope]
I think based on what we've seen this year, but I, I think Ohio state's offensive line can hold its own against this Oregon defensive front, but, you know, I still have my questions. Okay. Okay.
If Josh Fryer is going to be blocking Jordan Birch for whole game, is he going to be able to consistently win that matchup against a guy who's as explosive, as gifted as Jordan Birch. And it's, and it's not just him. They have, uh, Matteo Yungla lay who, you know, people who follow Ohio state recruiting will remember, uh, that that was a battle that came down to a wire before he chose Oregon over Ohio state.
Uh, they've also got, you know, again, another really good defensive tackle tandem, Derek Harmon, who's a Michigan state transfer. That's a guy who Ohio state. Wanted, they wanted him out of a transfer portal.
And I think we can see why based on some of the defensive tackle depth issues that Ohio state has had so far this year, you know, he's a guy who could have helped Ohio state is probably that first defensive tackle off the bench this year. Instead, he's a guy they're now going to have to reckon with when they go to Oregon this week.
[Andy Anders]
Precisely. And that's where, again, I think the challenge is a step up from other games for this offensive line is specifically in the pass rush area, or I was going to be one of the best is one of the best run defenses in the country and that you pass that with flying colors, I think, especially in that first half 7.3 yards per carry, but this Oregon defensive front and really all three of the tests that Ohio state is going to fit the biggest games Ohio state has on his regular season schedule, Oregon, Penn state, Michigan, all three of those defensive fronts can really get off to the quarterback.
And so I think this is going to be a good measuring stick even for those games, but focusing here, Derek Harmon too, you know, guy that Ohio state was after in the transfer portal for a little bit, can rush the passer from the three tack, the tackle position has three sacks on the year to go with the three and a half we underlay has in the five that Birch has, and so you can't really shade to Birch and maybe like try and give additional help from your five man protection schemes in those sets because those other guys are real dangerous factors too, you might have to leave, think about leaving a tight end. If Josh Fryer does start struggling, leaving an extra protector in there to help give some extra time and of course, Dan Lanning is also a very creative defensive mind and that is going to play a role in maybe how Oregon tries to pressure and attack Ohio state.
So that, I think to your point, Dan, they've shown they can run the ball consistently and it's an area where you can maybe exploit this Oregon team who had issues against the run with Ashton, GT Heisman contender, Boise state's rushing offense is really legit, but Ohio state has the best tandem of backs in the country and an offensive line that has shown against one of the nation's best run defenses, it can run the ball.
So that I think you look at that matchup and you say, I like where Ohio state is at run blocking. Now this will be a bigger test as far as pass blocking than they faced so far. Another guy against Iowa who I think it was really important to take that huge step, but we'll face a new type of challenge this week is Sonny Stiles.
Sonny Stiles in that Iowa game to me was the single most improved player week to week. Some of the issues he had kind of freezing at times against Michigan state rectified. Now, Iowa, his assignment was kind of very one note, so to speak, where you're expecting Iowa to run the ball, you're expecting Iowa to try and hammer it down the field.
And so you could really, there wasn't a whole lot of changing looks to read and react to Sonny was able to point down field, get in the backfield, but man, he was, he was a bit of a game wrecker in that. Uh, I think just in his ability to come to the line of scrimmage and meet Caleb Johnson, there are seven tackles, two tackles for loss ties his career high exceeds his career high. Um, and really the, certainly the best we've seen Sonny play at linebacker.
I think the best offensive performance he's had period, but again, Terrence Ferguson, Oregon has a tight end this week. That is one of the best in college football and Sonny is going to match up with him in past coverage, uh, on several occasions, I'm sure more than several occasions will probably be the primary matchup for guarding Terrence Ferguson. And so he's going to have to a hold up in coverage, which is something that didn't get tested against Iowa last week and something Michigan state and Marshall really targeted Ohio state over the middle with these quick passes, but also now the look changes, you know, he's not going to be able to just really be confident in his run diagnosis when Oregon is doing so many different things and has a much more multiple offensive scheme, you don't know if it's the run or the pass or the RPO or what, what's necessarily coming at you in that sense.
And so, um, it's going to be a test of his play recognition and instincts. Have they really evolved or was it just that he had a simpler assignment against Iowa and it's going to be a test of his past coverage skills, but he took massive leaps, certainly in run defense. And I think overall just playing freer, which he talked about after the game.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, I think the defensive front six is certainly coming into this game with a lot of momentum based on how it played against Iowa. You look at what Caleb Johnson was doing going into that game, really outside of a couple of 28 yard runs that he had, one of which came against the backups on defense. The other of which was Cody and Sonny both missed a tackle.
And, uh, that was, you know, mostly an anomaly. I mean, outside of that, Cody and Sonny were very sure tackling on the day. So it was really just, you know, one bad play by the first team, one bad play by the second team.
Other than that, Ohio State bottled Caleb Johnson up. They held him to 30 yards on 13 carries. And so I think that is a very encouraging sign for this Ohio State run defense going into this game against Oregon.
And I think if you're looking at potential advantages for Ohio State, I think one of them that definitely could prove to be an advantage for Ohio State is that Ohio State defensive line against Oregon's offensive line, because Oregon's offensive line has had some moving parts this year. Uh, you know, one of their guys who was a projected starter coming into the year, Matthew Bedford, a transfer from Indiana. He's been battling a knee injury all year, hasn't played much.
So they've had some moving parts up there. Um, you know, haven't been, you know, elite in either pass protection or run blocking. And so I think that's one area where Ohio State's defensive line has a chance to potentially have an advantage in this game.
Now, I do think there's a couple of question marks here. I think one being the depth of the defensive line, particularly at defensive tackle, because, you know, you look at the way Ohio State used its defensive line in these first couple of big 10 games, not a whole lot of rotation, especially at defensive tackle against Iowa with Tyleek Williams back in the lineup. The good news is Tyleek Williams is back.
He looked as good as ever. And I think when he was in the game, when Ty Hamilton was in the game, when Jack Sawyer and JT to a mole hour in the game, that Ohio State defensive line was largely dominant. I think the question I have this week is okay.
Is Ohio State even going to need to lean on those starting defensive tackles for four quarters? And if so, are those guys going to be able to hold up and play at that same high level for four full quarters? Or can someone behind them step up in a game like this where they're likely going to need to be able to lean on their starting defensive line for four quarters?
Kate Caden McDonald has flashed, but it still doesn't seem like Ohio State quite trusts him as a guy to play a lot of snaps in big moments. I think there has been a pretty clear drop off at free tech from Tyleek Williams to the backups bear. And, you know, Ryan Dave and mentioned it on Tuesday that, you know, that's one reason why Ohio State is using the rushman package on third downs, not necessarily that it feels a need to upgrade it interior pass rush over Tyleek Williams, because Tyleek Williams is a really good interior pass rusher, but because they, they want to maybe take some of those snaps off his plate when they can, because they don't have the depth they really want at free tech behind him. And so, uh, I, I think that, you know, that that's going to be one question this week is just, uh, with questionable defensive tackle depth, can those guys play at that same sustained level, uh, for four full quarters if they need to.
And then secondly, it goes back to what you said about the linebackers with the Iowa matchup, I think played very well into Cody Simon and Sonny Stiles as strengths, and that I think they're both guys who are at their best when they're able to come downhill and fly up a ball as, as run defenders. I think the questions you have with those guys come in past coverage, which maybe not what we expected to say about Sonny Stiles as a converted safety, but I think that's where he is right now. I think he's a guy who is better playing forward than he is playing backwards.
And I think he's going to get tested more in that area this week. And I, and I also think in, in, in general, I mean, Ohio state, we came into this year saying, you know, Ohio state should have the best pass defense in the country. I think it still can have the best pass defense in the country.
I don't know if based if what we've seen the last few weeks, but it has been the best pass defense in the country. And I think in particular, the question I have for this game is, is that quick underneath passing game, something Oregon might be able to exploit because you look at Oregon, what it's done for the passing game so far this year, completing 77% of its passes, that's the highest completion percentage in the FPS. This is an Oregon offense.
They're going to look to get the ball out quickly. They're going to look to complete those high percentage passes. We've seen Ohio state kind of playing off the ball a lot in coverage, not giving up those big plays.
And they've done a really good job of not giving up those big long explosive plays, but they have looked a little bit susceptible to that underneath passing game in, in this offense is going to really be the first one that can really test that in terms of that ability to turn those short, quick passes into longer gains because of a kind of weapons it has at wide receiver at running back, even at tight end, like you mentioned.
And so I think the run defense, I maybe wouldn't have thought I would be saying this a couple of weeks ago, but I think I go into this game more confident actually in the run defense than I do in the past defense, just because I think the run defense had a really big test last week and they passed it. Whereas I don't think this past defense has really had a great test yet. And we've seen just enough kind of holes in that, that makes me think they're going to have to tighten some things up this week against a really dynamic Oregon offense.
[Andy Anders]
I think you hit the nail on the head there. The one thing I'll add is that I'm interested to see the mix between press and off coverage in this game from Jim Knowles, because I feel like you always want to mix, right? You can't just go press every play.
Certainly can't go off every play. Um, but the, I think the balance there has been a little more off heavy than I expected when you have such a highly touted group of defensive backs. And I do think some of the quick game, like Davison Igbenosin, I've seen get some criticism from places in this first handful of weeks.
Maybe some of that was set back by the interception he had on Saturday and some other things he did. But to me, I think a lot of the plays that Davison has given up have been when he's an off coverage. And this is a guy who's a physical corner, first and foremost, likes to get his hands on receivers.
And also like teams are just running those underneath routes underneath the off coverage where you, you get a quick hitting slant or a hitch or something really fast out route, get the ball out of the quarterback's hands and just take advantage of the fact that the corner is nine or 10 yards off the ball. Uh, that to me, I think when you're worried about Oregon's quick game as much as you might be and hitting those passes over the middle, maybe Ohio state ramps up the aggression in terms of press. Now, of course that opens you up to more downfield shots, but if you're trying to limit what Oregon is, A, tried to do this season, what's worked against you this season, and I think you have faith too in Lathan Ransom and Caleb Downs playing deep and cleaning up some of those mistakes if they happen.
So that the balance in the scheme that Knowles decides to run within coverage is going to be interesting to me to follow this year. And I do think there's been some areas he opened, he's opened up the playbook at times. I loved the dime package splits with Lorenzo Stiles this weekend.
That was, uh, uh, even if, although Iowa had a, had a big gain on that play, um, I think their longest pass of the day, in fact, on that play, uh, Lorenzo gets a big hit on Kate McNamara. Um, and those kinds of things I think are cool to see different blitz looks, blitz packages that we maybe haven't seen since the 2022 season. How much of that do you involve it?
The other thing is though, I think people haven't realized maybe that Ohio state's been doing a really good job of getting pressure sending four in recent weeks, but only when the quarterback holds the ball longer than two and a half seconds. You know, if he's just going to take a three-step drop and zip it out of there, you don't have a chance to get after him. And that's what teams are doing a lot to the defense and what Oregon will try to do a lot to this defense.
Again, like we, like we've been saying, the quick passes over the middle and you can't just focus on the tight end because they have three great receivers too. We, we, we've touched on it a little bit, but Tez Johnson, Trey, Sean Holden, and Evan Stewart, Tez Johnson is going to be a bullet in a cough contender. It feels like he, he also had a big pump return touchdown.
So he's dangerous there, but 395 yards receiving. Been very productive for them. Trey, Sean Holden and Alabama transfer has made some nice highlight reel catches, has been productive.
And then Evan Stewart who had over 1,100 yards combined in two seasons at Texas A&M. So the, these guys, it's a little mix of some former transfers and stuff. And, and these, this receiving core is one of the more complete in the country.
Obviously Ohio state's is where, who you'd have at the top, but Oregon's receiving core, you cannot afford to focus on one area of the field defending the pass because of how many weapons they have, four established weapons between the three receivers and the tight end, so how you space it out. And those one-on-one match-ups are also going to be critical in your success, defending the pass and how much is Jim Knowles willing to put guys on an island, play press does Ohio state get hurt in those situations, all will be very interesting things to follow against a passing offense that can test you in so many different ways.
[Dan Hope]
One thing we can expect is that both, both sides of the ball are going to unveil some wrinkles that we haven't seen yet in this game, because I mean, they know, I mean, even though they all, they all say one game at a time and we try not to look ahead, I mean, everybody in the Woody knows like this is the game. It's all been ramping up too. And I think, you know, particularly on the offensive side of a ball, I felt like it was a pretty vanilla game plan from Chip Kelly last week compared to what we had seen in the first month.
And that was probably by design because you're saving some things up for this week, but that makes it all the more impressive that, you know, in a game where I didn't feel like there were quite as many bells and whistles in the run game, as there had been in the first four games, you still ran for over 200 yards against a really good Iowa defense. And so I think that's encouraging right there, but you, a lot of a game, they were kind of just running straight up run game and you still got 200 yards against a really good defense. Certainly we've seen what these weapons can do for this Ohio state offense.
I mean, a Mecca Buka had maybe the best game of his career against Iowa catching a career high for re-touchdown passes. Jeremiah continues to steal the show every week, had another spectacular one-handed grab against Iowa. And he's gotten so much of the attention, but a Mecca keeps reminding us that, you know, he's an elite wide receiver too, that Ohio state has two of the best wide receivers in the country.
And I think when you think about reasons to be confident in a game like this, so much of it starts at the fact that you have Jeremiah Smith and a Mecca Buka wide receiver, and you have Travion Henderson and Quinton Judkins at running back. You know, you talk about Oregon's weapons, but nobody has a better quartet of weapons in college football than Ohio state has in those four guys right there. And so that I think is something that gives you a lot of confidence going into this game.
I think the big question that, you know, I have, that a lot of people have going into this game is, is Will Howard ready for this moment? Will Will Howard rise to the occasion and be the guy that Ohio state needs him to be in a game like this, where Ohio state probably for the first time all year is going to need him to make big throws in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Now, again, I think he is also coming into this game with some momentum based on the way he played against Iowa.
He had more total touchdowns, four passing one rushing than he had in completions four. He did have the one bad interception late in the first half, but I think in the second half of that game, we really saw him get into a rhythm and really the whole team get into a rhythm. And I think that's another encouraging thing going into this game.
Now, Ohio state needs to start faster in this game than it did against Iowa. I mean, in general, outside of a Western Michigan game, Ohio state has been a bit of a slow starter this year. And so I think that's maybe a concerning thing if you're looking into this week's game, but I think the good thing is you feel like even if Ohio state falls into an early hole, like they're not going to panic.
They're not going to fall apart because they've consistently shown, especially coming out of halftime, I mean, they're 84 and three in the, in the third quarter of this year, uh, they rank very near the top of a country in both points scored and points allowed in, in, in the third quarter, uh, this season. And so I think the fact that they've shown, even when things don't go great early in the game, they can eventually turn it on again. This, this week is probably going to be the most real adversity they faced.
I don't think Ohio state has faced any real adversity yet, but I think the fact that they were able to come out and finish as strong in the second half as they did against Iowa, I think that's certainly something that gives you confidence going into this week's game. But I do think a lot of it comes back to will Howard. I mean, this is, you're going in a tough road environment.
The good thing with will is this is a guy who's a fifth year senior quarterback. He's played a lot of road games. He's played in a lot of big environments, so you feel better having an experienced guy going into a game like this than you do with a young quarterback.
Who's never played in a game like this before. You don't expect him to be, uh, you know, deer in the headlights. You don't expect him to, you don't expect the moment to be too big for him.
Um, but this is going to be the best pass defense he's faced. I mean, this is a Oregon secondary, but strong, they're allowing less than 5.5 yards per passing attempt this season. They rank ninth in the FBS in yards allowed per passing attempt just behind Ohio state, which ranks eighth.
And so this is going to be the biggest test for will Howard in terms of, you know, being able to find open receivers, being able to throw receivers open. We mentioned it's a really good pass rush up front. So he's going to have to be able to make more frozen under pressure.
Then he has in, in every game this year, I I've seen enough from will Howard to feel reasonably confident in his ability to handle this moment, but again, we haven't seen him in this situation yet at Ohio state, if you do look at his history, going back to his freshman year at Kansas state, he is just six and nine in, in road games as a starter. So, uh, I think he certainly got something to prove in this game and how he performs in this game. You talk about a measuring stick, maybe more than anybody, how he performs in this game is going to dictate the kind of confidence that Ohio state fans have in him going into the rest of the season.
[Andy Anders]
I think the thing about this Oregon secondary is they force you to execute with a lot of precision. I think they, and Kelly kind of touched on it today about how they never seem to really be like guys are never wide open against the secondary. It's always kind of, um, in close in phase with the defensive backs.
And one, one number that I think kind of backs that up is this Oregon team is second in the nation. And in past breakups, they're, uh, they get their hands on a lot of balls. They're in, they're in there with the receivers fighting.
And so I, they haven't played any receiving core like Ohio states because no other team in the country has a receiving core like Ohio states. So they're the best in the business at getting open, but that is going to force will to be accurate with his throws. And we've seen accuracy and a lot of stretches from him, but it's also going to force him to make great decisions.
The Stan Lanning defense is going to change the picture for him. A lot, uh, mixed coverages, mixed rushes, mixed fronts. They do a lot of different things in that area.
Um, and he's done it since he was George's defensive coordinator and ran one of the best defenses in college football history in 2021, you know, so that this is, um, this is a challenge in the secondary, I think in the total we've talked about will being that he doesn't need to be superhuman for Ohio state because of all the weapons around him. And also now because of the strides on the offensive line, but he does need to take care of the football. He needs to be a good decision maker and he needs to, um, be precise and accurate.
And those three things all become harder against this secondary and against this path rush too, I think, uh, in that execution element, making the right reads in the RPO game, knowing who to go to, recognizing coverages, these things that all go into quarterbacking, it's going to be a holistic test for him. I feel like, and again, to your point, Dan played in big games before, played in hostile environments before certainly has a lot of experience, but it's different with national title stakes. It's different with big 10 title stakes.
And that's what comes into this game. Maybe less so on the former because Ohio state could lose this and still get back to the playoff as long as they don't drop a couple more, but this is a top three matchup. He didn't experience any of those at Kansas state.
So there's a different level of intensity that comes with that. But also again, he does have experience. He's been on the road plenty of times before.
Autzen will be raucous. Uh, and I think to your point about starting fast, that's always a good way to silence a road crowd is if you can come out and build a lead early, kind of just lower the energy in the stadium a little bit, it makes it easier to communicate and execute and things of that nature on offense.
[Dan Hope]
And he said it Tuesday, he came to Ohio state to play in these games, or at least this is a part of a reason why he chose to come to Ohio state was to play in these kinds of games and Ohio state brought him in for these kinds of games. They brought him in because they wanted to have an experienced hand guiding the offense in these kinds of games. And so, uh, again, this'll be, you know, the test for him, uh, to see, uh, what he can do on this stage, uh, you know, as you said before, it seems like a possibility that Ohio state could have the advantage, uh, running the ball against this defense again, against.
Easily the best running back they face because he's probably the best running back in the country. Uh, Oregon allowed Ashton Jeanty to have a big day in total. Boise state had 221 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 6.7 yards per carry. And so that could be a blueprint for Ohio state to be able to follow him. This game now against the four other teams, Oregon has played. Held their opponents to 71 and a half yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry. So again, I think you don't want to just look at one game. I don't know that you necessarily want to look at that Boise state game and go. Yeah.
Oregon's run defense isn't any good because they've been really good against everyone else they've played, but it does show they're at least susceptible and again, the other teams they played did not have one back, let alone to the caliber of Quinton Judkins and Travion Henderson. And so if this offensive line can continue to play the way it's played, you would think Ohio state is going to have, be able to have some success moving the ball on the ground. There was clearly a concerted effort to get will Howard going in the quarterback run game this past weekend as well, which I think suggests that's something they want to have in their arsenal for this game against Oregon.
And so I think in an ideal world for Ohio state, you start fast. You are able to move the ball on the ground early and you are able to run to set up a pass. And if you can do that, then you can take pressure off of will Howard's shoulders.
You're hoping that, you know, your run game will be effective to where you don't need will Howard to do a lot of spectacular things in this game. You just need him to manage the offense, uh, consistently and, and make smart decisions. And I think probably the most important thing for will Howard is avoiding mistakes like that interception we saw against Iowa, like that interception we saw against Michigan state.
It seems like he's had a tendency to once or twice a game, make a head scratching decision that sometimes leads to a turnover. Other than that, like his decision-making has been really good. I think he's done a really good job of going through his progressions.
He's shown that he can throw the ball with accuracy, especially in the short to intermediate areas, you know, hasn't been great as a deep passer. So you're, you're probably hoping you don't have to take a ton of deep shots in this game, but he's shown at least capable of doing that. I mean, you look at like the pro he had, the intermediate pro on the touchdown to a Mecca Buka.
I mean, that was an elite pro, uh, that he made against Iowa on a Mecca Buka second touchdown. So he has the capability to make big plays. You hope that you don't need him to do a ton of spectacular things himself, because that would mean that your run game is working, but in a game that I think we both expect to be tight in the fourth quarter, he needs to at least have that capability to, to make a couple of big bros.
And this is certainly a game where you need to make Oregon's defense. At least take your ability to throw a ball down the field. Seriously.
[Andy Anders]
If you connect on one deep shot, that's all it takes. And, uh, I think Jeremiah Smith has the ability to really be that guy where, you know, eff it Jeremiah down there somewhere you might do once or twice in this game. Unless it's into double coverage or something, take that shot at some point.
It's going to be there. And he turns 50 balls, 50, 50 balls into 70, 30, 80, 20 balls. Right?
So this is, you, you, you connect on one of them. It opens up so many other things for the offense, because now those safeties have that just split second of hesitation where it's like, okay, I got to stay back a little bit, uh, and, and respect that part of the game, I can't just come out and defend the underneath stuff, the sideline stuff. I do, again, to your point, expect Chip Kelly to open the playbook a lot and do more to stretch the defense horizontally.
We've seen plenty of it. The first five games, the screen game has been a huge part of that, uh, outside zone plays and outside run plays and shotgun toss and, and these things have also provided some of that stretch horizontally to a defense, but I think there's more you can get into in the playbook with those kinds of things. You saw one example, a new play I saw against Iowa that they ran against Graham, they, they had Will Howard under center and ran a wide receiver quick with Jeremiah Smith coming across the field, handed off behind, turned into a really nice game.
Uh, they, they've obviously done the, they scored on the end around to Jeremiah against Michigan state, but that was new to do it under center and show that motion coming across the field, which I think was intentful because you come out under center and see that motion. Now, if you're Oregon, the light bulb goes off. If I'm a defender, oh, I saw that in film and now maybe you can do a different action off of that.
So all these little seeds that are planted there, I, this is why I love the nuts and bolts in the chess match of football, and I think it's going to be a beautiful chess match between Chip Kelly and that Dan Lennon landing defense on Saturday.
[Dan Hope]
I think if you're looking for reasons to be optimistic about Ohio state going into this game, I think one that does look promising for the Buckeyes is the situational football battle and where Ohio state has performed really well. And some of those situations, even relative to Oregon, I think a big one that stands out is red zone efficiency because Ohio state has scored on every red zone possession this year. They have 20 touchdowns in one field goal and 21 trips to the red zone.
Oregon, on the other hand, ranks 94 from a country and red zone scoring percentage, 45th in red zone touchdown percentage with 14 touchdowns, three field goals, and the advantage that Ohio state appears to have in the red zone flips to the other side of a ball as well, because Ohio state has allowed just three touchdowns in the red zone. They've only allowed opponents into a red zone five times, but they've allowed only three touchdowns, zero field goals. They rank third in the FBS and opponent red zone scoring percentage.
Oregon on the other hand, ranks 105th and opposing red zone scoring percentage 68th and red zone touchdown percentage with seven touchdowns and four field goals allowed in 12 tries. And you think about what this game is going to be, at least what I think it's going to be, I think it's going to be a one score game, probably very likely a less than three or four point game. The difference between a touchdown and a field goal and the red zone could absolutely make or break the difference between winning and losing this game.
And so when you see those numbers for Ohio state, I think that's one thing that gives me confidence to think if Ohio state can continue to be as effective as it's been in the red zone on both sides of the ball, and again, big if, because this is the best team Ohio state has faced, but if Ohio state can have that actual advantage in the red zone in this game, that could make the difference between winning and losing this game.
[Andy Anders]
Absolutely. I had a wise coach once tell me that any football game that's reasonably close for all the analysis, for all the talk and all the complexities that go into football can usually be boiled down to a handful of plays and in Ohio state's coaches have said similar things before. Uh, that's why situational football is so important.
That's why punching it in on third and goal or getting that red zone touchdown instead of that field goal is so critical. And I think third down is also a huge example of that converting one third down, and then you eventually score a touchdown on a drive versus getting off the field could also be the difference in this game. I think Ohio state's done great situationally this year, and that's been a real strength for them.
Uh, and you mentioned red zone being a huge advantage for Ohio state relative to Oregon, not as huge, but they do have a better third down rate on both offense and defense than the ducks. I think turnovers are an area where Ohio state has a significant advantage, plus four turnover margin on the year versus Oregon's minus one. Uh, and most of it is because Ohio state's defense has forced more turnovers than Oregon's has the offensive giveaway numbers are similar, but Ohio state's defense, uh, this year turnovers were a huge point of emphasis and they forced nine so far that's in top quarter of the country taught high, the higher end of the, they're not like number one in forcing turnovers in the country, but they are up there relative to Oregon. And I think maybe some of the mistakes you could force from this offense, uh, and maybe you change the picture on Dylan Gabriel and get them to make a mistake.
If, if you can get a turnover in this game or you get two and give one away, winning the turnover battle is massive. Um, and I think if you're looking for two areas that could decide the game, uh, just numbers wise, I think. Red zone efficiency, like you pointed out is going to be huge on both sides.
I think the turnover battle is going to be huge on both is going to be huge in determining the outcome of this game, especially when you talk about on the road, turnovers can generate such a huge boost of momentum for the home team. So, uh, those are two areas I think you look at and you say Ohio state could have an advantage in these and if they do, it can go a long way in determining the outcome of the matchup game.
[Dan Hope]
As I mentioned earlier, Ohio state is going to have to break a trend, uh, for big 10 teams, uh, making long road trips so far this year, uh, overall big 10 teams are just two in 10 this season in games when traveling across two or more time zones this year. Of course, uh, this is happening a lot more often in the big 10 this year, because this is the first year of a big 10 having West coast teams of Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA. The first time Ohio state has to do it.
Actually the first time Ohio state will play a regular season game on the West coast since 2013, when urban Myers Buckeyes went to Cal, they were supposed to go to Oregon in 2020, but we all know what happened in 2020 with a non-conference schedule and such. And so this is going to be a new experience for Ryan day and for his Buckeyes, but when I asked Ryan day on Tuesday about, uh, if he was concerned about those numbers on the long road trip, he seemed very unconcerned.
[Ryan Day]
Yeah. I don't really see it as much of a challenge that way. I think it's a four and a half hour flights, a couple hours, more than Nebraska, and we're going to stay on East coast time.
And I think we've got a good plan. Um, you know, we're going to stay on our time schedule and it, um, you know, the way that, you know, with the time of the game and everything fits kind of how we practice. So, um, you know, we're not going to look too much into it.
[Dan Hope]
Now, giving some context to those numbers, when you look at the games that the big 10 teams have lost those 10 games, only two of them was the team that lost actually favored to win those games. That was actually USC in both of those games, USC's lost to Michigan on the road and lost to Minnesota on the road. And so Ohio state coming into this game as a three and a half point betting favorite last I checked on Tuesday afternoon, Ohio state, of course, being better than all these teams that have lost road games so far in the big 10 this year as the number two team in the country.
And so those teams struggles, uh, are not necessarily analogous to Ohio state because of the fact that. Ohio state is a better team than those teams that have lost games. And in many cases, a significantly better team, but Oregon is also a better team than most of the teams that have won those games, excluding Oregon themselves, hosting Michigan state at Autzen stadium.
And when you look at Oregon's track record of success at Autzen stadium, I do think that when you're thinking about this game, the, the, the, the road versus home factor is not something that can be discounted here. I mean, especially just looking at college football in general. I mean, you look at what happened this past week, the amount of massive upsets that happened, even close to home road games with Vanderbilt beating Alabama and Arkansas beating Tennessee and, uh, Texas A&M thumping Missouri, it, it, it is harder to win on the road than it is to win at home.
That it does not mean that Ohio state cannot win this game, but it does add another variable that Ohio state has to overcome and what we expect is going to be a very competitive game, regardless of it was, if regardless of if it was being played at the shoe at Autzen stadium or somewhere else.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah. It's weird because this is the first time in my Ohio state career covering Ohio state that you you've had to talk about this scenario where they fly out for a weekend trip and have to play a team on the West coast. I've covered games on the West coast before Rose bowl, um, those sorts of things, but you, in a bowl trip, you get a week to adjust your sleep schedule and figure things out.
And the strategy of flying out there Friday, mid morning and maintaining the East coast schedule is interesting. Um, you read about what causes jet lag, which is, is funny. I just think like these are things you don't normally think about, right?
Like what causes jet lag? What throws a player off sleep is going to be an important factor for this Ohio state team. Like you have to stay on your circadian rhythm.
That's your body's day night cycle, kind of your internal clock, right? You go to bed at this time, typically, and wake up at this time. Technically it's going to be, you're going to have to go to bed three hours earlier on a West coast clock than you did, uh, on the East.
And so, um, Figuring that part of it out and making sure your players are properly rested, properly adjusted to maybe the travel, just like having that long flight doesn't lay you down kind of a thing is going to be an interesting part of this. Uh, it's just fun to kind of consider and think about like, This isn't a video game. You don't get to just plug your players in.
And, um, I think that's something people always forget when you're watching. Athletes is like you, these guys may have had a bad week. It's in their social lives or their family lives may have not slept well, maybe under the weather and some X to some extent, maybe haven't eaten right.
Like the, um, Ohio state does as good a job as anyone in the country of managing player nutrition, player sleep, all that stuff. But, uh, it's going to be important. It's going to be important for this game that the team is properly rested in terms of sleep, um, and properly adjusted, uh, to whatever extent they need to be, to be at their best physical condition going into this game.
Uh, because again, any small deviation in that sense could be the difference in the outcome. And to your point, again, it's just categorically harder to play on the road than it is at home. And I had trouble picking the winner of this game for a while, because I wasn't sure, like if this were played in the shoe or played in a neutral site would have been Ohio state in a heartbeat.
But, um, this game becomes a lot. There's a lot more that goes into this game beyond just what's on the field and how good each team is. You have to factor in Autzen and the travel.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. I can tell you that my circadian rhythm is probably not going to be on point for this game because I think for flight lands in Portland at like 1245 AM, which is 3 45 AM Eastern time. So, uh, I might be a little bit jet lagged, a little bit tired on Saturday.
I will do my best to forge through it. But I know it's like, even for me, it's like, you know, like, you know, sometimes these road trips, you don't get as much sleep as you should. And it makes it harder to do your job.
And I'm not having to do a physically demanding job of, of running at full speed and tackling or getting hit for three hours. So I can only imagine if you have any deviation in your sleep and your nutrition and whatever, how that could affect you in a game like this. If this game was against UCLA, we wouldn't be talking about this because we would just assume they're going to be fine because UCLA isn't very good.
It's because we're talking about a team that is really good in Oregon that, you know, these little things have the potential to make the difference we'll get into our predictions in just a few minutes, but before we get into that, Andy, what do you see for Ohio state to win this game? What do you see as the number one key to the game for the Buckeyes?
[Andy Anders]
I think the matchup that is pivotal is Ohio state's defensive tackles against Oregon's interior offensive line, because I think that's where I could see the biggest mismatch occurring on Ohio state side in their favor, Tyleek and Ty. Those two played awesome last week and Ty especially, man, five tackles, a strip sack, like those two are a fantastic defensive tackle tandem and can they sustain it for four quarters? If Ohio state shortens the rotations, right?
We talked about it earlier. I think that this Oregon interior offensive line has some inexperience. Their center is a first year starter and we saw in his second year and we saw how much that of a struggle that can be with Carson Hinsman at Ohio state last year and they had to move who was their left guard last year, he's playing right guard now, and he's had some issues.
I think that interior offensive line of Oregon versus Ohio state's defensive tackle tandem, if you can stop Oregon's running game, which has been pretty inconsistent this year, average three yards per carry or less in those first two games have had a couple of better games since, but even a couple of weeks ago, they only had 4.3 yards per carry. And so that Oregon running game has been inconsistent. If you can force them to become one dimensional through really good defensive tackle play, getting penetration, that can be the difference, I think, and just getting that extra stuff that you need.
I think on the offensive side, it's going to come down to the pass protection. Giving Will Howard, giving those guys time to work in the receiver room and get open. I think Josh Fryer, this is a huge test for him, whether against Matei Uyangalole or Jordan Birch, those are two guys that are really going to test them.
So I think for me, it comes down to the trenches. Big surprise. Can the defensive tackles dominate for Ohio state and kind of take over in some situations and really win?
And then on the offensive side, can you hold up and do what you need to do against Oregon's pass rush to give these guys some time, defensively too, I would throw back in again, those quick passes over the middle and how you defend them against this tight end and against this receiver trio for Oregon, how you defend that is also going to be key. So those are the three things I think that I'm watching for in this game as keys to victory for Ohio state.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. Even though it's a completely different matchup than last week, I think that key that we talked about last week is just as important this week of can you win the ground game? When you have a ball on offense, I think if you can run the ball consistently, if you can put together drives of your ground game, I think that's going to go a huge way in this game, because I think the more you can take your offensive line out of those situations where they're going to have to pass protect for a long time, the better off you're going to be, I'm more confident in Josh Fryer, moving people in the ground game and running the ball than I am with him having to hold up one-on-one against Jordan Birch and pass protection.
And so I think if you can get your run run game going on offense, I think that's going to go a long way toward Ohio state's chances of winning this game. If this becomes a game where you have to put the ball in Will Howard's hands to make a lot of big bros down the stretch, my confidence in Ohio state winning this game drops, and so I think the ability to run the ball throughout the game and to be able to take pressure off of your passing game and your pass protection, to me, I think that's a big key for Ohio state. And then again, flipping it to the other side, I think the more you can put Dylan Gabriel and that Oregon offense into situations where they have to hold onto the ball, they have to throw the ball down the field, it's burden long and you can give your pass rushers a chance to tee off, I think that is going to certainly be a recipe that you want if you're the Ohio state defense.
I think if you allow them to pick you apart and drive efficiently down the field, then it could be a long day for you as Ohio state. But I think if you can make stops on first and second down, if you can put those, if you can put Oregon into situations where it's gonna have to hold up against your pass rush, I think Ohio state will be able to get home against the quarterback. I think it can force Dylan Gabriel into making some mistakes that can allow Ohio state to have a chance to flip this game in its favor.
And so I think those two things are important and something we haven't talked about yet, but we should mention to special teams are gonna be crucial in this game too. I mean, we've seen in big games like this in recent years, we've seen Ohio State, some of those games, Ohio State lose them in part because their special teams made mistakes. This is an Oregon team, you look at their only real competitive game of this year, the least game that came down to a wire was that Boise State game.
They had a kick return touchdown and a punt return touchdown in that game. So you can't let Oregon make game changing plays in the return game, and you've got to execute consistently. We haven't seen Jayden fielding in a lot of spots where they need him to make a big field goal, this could be the kind of game where you need him to do that.
And so I think special teams is gonna be an important factor in this game as well. You don't necessarily have to do anything spectacular on special teams to win the game, it'd be great if you did, but I don't think you have to. But you can't lose the game on special teams.
I think that's something we've seen Ohio State do sometimes in recent years. They can't allow that to happen in this game. One player, Andy, if you had to pick one player who's an X factor for Ohio State in this game, who do you go with?
[Andy Anders]
I'm gonna go with Carnell Tate in his return. Great defenses are great at, or even just really good defenses are great at taking away the guy that they don't want to beat them. Or maybe the two guys that they don't want to beat them.
And I think this secondary is good enough that if they shade Emeka, if they shade Jeremiah, they can take one of those away. I really think Carnell is as good as you get at number three as a receiver in the country. We've talked about that before.
And he's a guy that if Oregon focuses too much on those other two, can really do some great things in the passing game. And has been a weapon as a blocker on the perimeter in the screen game too. Versatile, can move around formations.
I think that, that to me is a guy that it's kind of back of mind a lot in this Ohio State offense, and that could play to his benefit. Because he's a really good receiver and has shown to be a really good receiver when he has gotten his targets this year.
[Dan Hope]
I'm gonna go Caleb Downs. This is the kind of game that's why you brought in Caleb Downs. This is the kind of game where you need a guy like Caleb Downs at the back end of that defense.
And again, this is the first offense Ohio State has really faced that they're gonna be able to consistently test you in both the pass and the run game. That's where a guy like Caleb Downs can be so crucial. His ability to take away that middle of the field and coverage, as well as what we've really seen from him as he's been activated the last couple weeks coming downhill, making big plays, blowing up run plays, blowing up screens.
This is the kind of game where you need Caleb Downs to be at his best. This is the kind of game where I think the impact Caleb Downs can make from that safety position could make a difference between winning and losing the game. And so I think Caleb Downs is gonna be a really important player for this defense.
And I think there's a chance we come out of this game on Saturday saying, man, getting Caleb Downs in the transfer portal is one of the reasons why Ohio State wins this game. If Ohio State does in fact win this game, Andy, I think you've tipped your pick a little bit about where you're going on this game. But I'll ask you straight up now, does Ohio State win?
What's your level of confidence that Ohio State will win? And what is your ultimate score prediction?
[Andy Anders]
Yes, my confidence level has risen in the last week just cuz I always think football comes down to the trenches more than anything. And I think Ohio State has an advantage overall. Oregon's D line versus Ohio State's O line is pretty close, honestly, with the strides Ohio State's offensive line has made.
And we're gonna get, again, a real test and pass protection at the very least, looking at what Boise State was able to do running the football. And I mean, I like Oregon's defensive tackles and linebacker court. But this interior offensive line for Ohio State, especially, has been a real strength running the football, the whole offensive line, really, running the football in particular, right?
And so I think Ohio State has a real advantage D line versus O line on the defensive side of the ball. So for me, I have my score as Ohio State 34, Oregon 27. I mentioned, again, I mentioned before tipping my pick, obviously, that I think Ohio State is gonna win this game.
I would win this game by multiple scores if it were at home or at a neutral site. But at Autzen, and with all the travel considerations, it is gonna have a little bit of a factor. I think it deflates the margin a little bit.
But I have 34, 27, Ohio State, winning by a touchdown. I kind of floated in between three to seven points as the margin for my pick. But I do think that advantage in the trenches, the experience that Ohio State has is gonna be important on the road.
And the situational successes that they've had this year, red zone, third down, turnovers, like we talked about earlier. All those, somewhere in that mesh of factors, situationally too, I think Ohio State's gonna win on a key player too, to be able to pull out this victory. My overall level of confidence, again, with all the travel that you think about, and Oregon's a really good team, and you're on the road, and you can ultimately afford to lose this game.
Afford to lose this game if you're Ohio State, not that you should ever enter a game thinking like that, but you ultimately can. I would put my level of confidence at about 65% right now. I'm more confident than not, but there's definitely part of me that's like, Oregon could go out and win this game.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, I'm right around 50%, to be honest. I mean, I've really gone back and forth over the last couple days on who I'm gonna pick to win this game. I mean, I said before of a year, I picked Oregon to win this game.
I said a few weeks ago when I did my updated Big Ten record projections on my website that I was still picking Oregon to win this game. And I don't know that anything has really changed in my evaluation of these two teams to where it's like, I'm so much more confident now that Ohio State will win this game than I was three weeks ago or six weeks ago. When I was saying, I think Ohio State's gonna win the national championship, but I'm not sure if they're gonna win this game.
And the biggest reason for that is the fact that it is on the road. It's hard to win on the road. It's hard to win every game.
I mean, you just, again, you see what's happening. Alabama losing to Vanderbilt. I mean, Tennessee losing to Arkansas.
I mean, good teams sometimes lose to teams that are not as good as them. And so while I think Ohio State is the better all around team, although I say I think, I don't know, because we haven't seen Ohio State play a team of this caliber. So I think Ohio State is a better team than Oregon.
I don't know that because we haven't seen Ohio State play a true matchup game like this yet. But I do think Ohio State is the better all around team. Like you said, I think Ohio State's defensive line could have an advantage against Oregon's offensive line.
I think as good as Oregon's offensive weapons are, I think Ohio State's are even better. And so I do think Ohio State has some advantages in this game. I think the biggest advantage I see for Ohio State is what we talked about before with the red zone efficiency that these teams have had.
And when I started thinking about score predictions, I said to myself, okay. I don't think Ohio State's gonna cover. I'm not thinking Ohio State's gonna cover because I think this is gonna be a three point game or less.
I think it's gonna be that close of a game. I think this is gonna be a game. I think there's gonna be at least one lead change in the fourth quarter.
I think it's gonna come down to that final drive and who can make a play on either side of a ball to go out and win or lose the game. When I started thinking about all that and factoring that into a score prediction, you start thinking about, okay, this could be the difference between a field goal or a touchdown versus two field goals. And you look at those red zone numbers and you go, well, Ohio State has done a great job of finishing off drives with touchdowns this year.
They've also done a great job of not allowing their opponents to finish drives with touchdowns this year. And when I thought about that, that's where I ultimately came to in my final score prediction, and I have Ohio State 28, Oregon 27, same Oregon score as you. Not quite as many points for Ohio State, but I think Ohio State's ability to finish with touchdowns and to hold opponents, I think Oregon is gonna have some drives in this game.
I don't think Ohio State's defense is gonna look invincible in this game. I think Oregon is gonna put together some drives. But this Ohio State defense has been really good at not allowing drives to turn into touchdowns.
I think this Ohio State defense is gonna be able to do that a few times. And I think that might make the difference for Ohio State to win a very close game. And so because of that, I am going with Ohio State 28, Oregon 27.
[Andy Anders]
You had loosely mentioned to me last week that you were thinking about a one point margin for this game. And I think it's apt just to say that this will be a really close game and it's gonna come down to a few plays. I totally agree with that assessment.
I don't really see a blowout happening in either direction. If it does, obviously, I would expect it to be Ohio State that does it. But I'm expecting a great game.
I won't be there. I'll be watching from home. But Dan and our lovely photographer, Garrick, will be on the road there in Eugene ready to take this one in.
I'm excited to watch the great football game, though. And it's gonna be a weird thing for me to be on the couch watching an Ohio State game. That hasn't happened since, I think, 2021.
Yeah, I was covering the team the last two years. So, yeah, I actually kind of look forward to that experience of just sitting on the couch eating some snacks and working at the same time.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, to be clear, you will still be working.
[Andy Anders]
I will very much be working.
[Dan Hope]
You will still be covering the game and will still be as much a part of our coverage plans as always. As a company, we have to make some smart budget decisions this year. Because we're hoping that we're gonna get to go cover pre-college football playoff games, and that could be pretty expensive.
And so we did have to make the business decision to limit our expenses by only having two of us travel to this game. But Andy will certainly be missed in Eugene, but we'll still be in constant communication, of course, as all of us at 11 Warriors will be providing tons of coverage of this Ohio State, Oregon matchup. All week leading up to the game, during the game, on Saturday night, and then after the game, all into next week.
Ohio State has a bye next week, but I think win or lose, we are gonna have plenty to talk about on next week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays, because games don't get a whole lot bigger than this. Number two versus number three, I mean, we've talked about this game so much. We just spent over an hour talking about it again.
I think we're excited to talk about it for a few more days and then actually watch this game, actually see it play out. It's gonna be very exciting to watch the Buckeyes play in a top three matchup. These are the kind of games that it's all about.
These are the kind of games that we get excited for and it really can make or break a season. Yeah, it's a little bit different than some past years in the sense that this is not a CFP elimination game, but this game sure as heck still matters. And this is sure as heck a game that Ohio State wants to win and Ohio State wants to go make a statement in as it closes out the first half of the season, and so lots more to come on 11warriors.com.
And we hope you'll join us again next week on Real Pod Wednesday.