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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 as Ohio State prepares to begin the second half of its regular season this week as the Buckeyes host Nebraska at Ohio Stadium. No Buckeyes game this past weekend as Ohio State was on its second bye week, but plenty of interesting games around the country in college football, and we got to start with the most important game of the weekend.
Andy, you returned to the Gridiron yourself to participate in the Chilla Coffee Turkey Bowl. How did it go?
[Andy Anders]
My annual tradition with my friends, and yes, it always feels good to revisit the glory days, so to speak. We won, and there's a lot of bragging rights tied up into this, you know, only doing it once a year. However, diss tracks were made, you know, one of my hobbies is I make rap music, so my friend who also has made music for a lot longer than I have, actually a couple of decades now, he released a diss track at me and my team, I released one back at him and his team.
I'd like to think mine was the better one, you know, I had the sharper flows, and you know, we went out and got the job done over the weekend. I had two touchdown catches and some more. My brother actually was the MVP, my little brother Garrett, who really didn't grow up in my friend group as much, but has been involved in some of these Turkey Bowls.
We last played in this two years ago, we didn't get to do it last year. He told me revenge had been on his mind for the last two years, and he went out and played like it on Saturday.
[Dan Hope]
Is there like an east side, a west side of Chilla Coffee for these rap battles here?
[Andy Anders]
Not that I can think of, but definitely we all came from the same part of Chilla Coffee, you know, so there's some blood there, there's some blood there, and you know, glory day moment of course, the play I'll always talk about probably for the rest of my life from that game, as silly as that might sound, is my brother actually, we were, it was a tie game with like two seconds left in the first half, and we were about 50 yards from the end zone, and so our quarterback just tossed it up, and he couldn't throw it far enough to get it to the end zone, when my brother, just to hail Mary, batted it up into the air, and I caught it and ran it in for a touchdown right before halftime. So that was the big play that I'll remember, but as far as the east side, west side, we're all from the same side of Chilla Coffee, so we ride together when we're not going to battle in the turkey bowl.
[Dan Hope]
Some sibling synergy there it sounds like, did you grade out as a champion?
[Andy Anders]
I think so, I'd like to think so, you know, and I was drawing up some plays in the huddle too, which, you know, not everyone who plays knows football very well, so I had to coach them up, tell them how to do a little bump and run and pass coverage, you know, the basics.
[Dan Hope]
If you guys want to hear Andy's rapping, go look up Tank on Spotify, my understanding is your rap name actually derived from your high school football nickname, is that correct?
[Andy Anders]
This is correct, well, I played for the Unioto Sherman Tanks in high school, but my username back in the day, when I was, like how I first got into writing was, I blogged on 11 Warriors as just like a user, and my username was Unioto Tank 55, Unioto my high school tank, and then 55 was the number I wore in football. I've used that username other places too, but they started calling me Tank on the message boards as a result of that, and then the nickname picked up a little bit in college, just as, you know, I was partying and playing sports and stuff, it kind of fit my personality, and since then, it's just carried over to the rap game for me now.
[Dan Hope]
This man had a nickname for partying, that's how you know he was going hard in college when you have a nickname for partying, but I mean, what an inspiration for all our listeners out there, I mean, any one of you who comments on the 11 Warriors forums could be hosting the show with one of us someday, you could be a beat writer for 11 Warriors someday, so quite a story fair for Andy, coming up from the streets of Chillicothe and the 11 Warriors forums to now being one of our beat writers here at 11 Warriors, and of course the co-host of Real Pod Wednesdays, let's get to some Ohio State football talk now. Ohio State, of course, you know, still stewing a little bit on that loss to Oregon, as that was the last game for the Buckeyes, but we talked a lot about that last week, you know, there was a lot of talk about it at Tuesday's press conference of Ryan Day, but you know, that was because he didn't have a press conference last week, so there were a lot of questions still to be asked about that game, many of which were, you know, asked and answered on Tuesday, but now it's time for the Buckeyes to move forward to a second half of the season, which we talked about it last week, is going to be a, I think overall, a more difficult half of the season than the first half.
Oregon, probably still the toughest game Ohio State's going to play in a regular season, but you know, we talked about that gradual ramp up to the Oregon game in the first half of the season, certainly it all culminates the second half of the season with that game against Michigan, but you don't get that same kind of gradual ramp up into that game, and certainly not into the next marquee game of the season, which is next week at Penn State, and so Ohio State really only has one week here to work through the issues that popped up in that Oregon game, as well as, you know, some injuries that it's dealing with and having to, you know, reset its depth chart a couple of positions. It's got to work through all that this week, because next week you go to Happy Valley for a game that right now looks like it's going to be a top five matchup against an undefeated Penn State team, and so that makes this a very important game, a game that I think we probably would be able to hype up as a little bit bigger of a test if Nebraska hadn't played the way it did last week, losing 56-7 to Indiana, really a very lopsided game there, and we'll talk more about the Hoosiers later, because again, we talk about some of the tests that are to come in the second half of this season.
That November 23 game against Indiana keeps looking like it could be more and more of a real challenge for the Buckeyes one week before they play Michigan, but for right now, the focus is on the Cornhuskers, and, you know, this is not a team that should beat Ohio State. This is a team that Ohio State should be able to beat comfortably, but that's not to say that this Nebraska team can't test the Buckeyes in certain areas.
[Andy Anders]
Absolutely. You know, I think you start with a quarterback who's very talented, if inconsistent, you know, Dylan Raiola not coming off the best game of his career there against Indiana, throwing three picks, but on the season has had some bright moments, had some high-impact games, 297 yards in the team's earlier overtime loss there to Illinois, and he's, I think people, if you follow Ohio State, know the talent that Dylan Raiola possesses. When you talk about five-star quarterback, Ohio State wanted him, didn't get him. Of course, he decommitted.
It was a funny timeline because he committed to Ohio State in May 2022, decommitted that December, committed to Georgia May 2023, decommitted that December and signed with Nebraska around early signing day. So this is a guy that Ohio State fans, if you follow recruiting even loosely, have probably heard of, and with good reason. I mean, he's got a lot of potential, can make a lot of really good off-platform throws and throws from spots where he's maybe moved out of the pocket and moved in different ways that can catch a defense off guard.
Of course, the Patrick Mahomes comparison has been out there and he's kind of fed into it at times too, but I think when you talk about the challenges Nebraska presents and the intrigue of this game, you probably start there at the quarterback position.
[Dan Hope]
And especially because of what happened to Ohio State in its last game, where it allowed Dylan Gabriel to have a field day against that past defense. And so this past defense for Ohio State is already the unit that's really under a microscope going into this game. And this is going to be a legitimate test for that past defense.
And again, you mentioned it, Dylan Raiola, he was ranked, I believe he finished as the number two quarterback in the rankings for the 2024 class behind only Julian Sayan, who of course signed with Alabama and then transferred to Ohio State in January. And so those two guys are going to now be interlinked with each other over the next three years or however long they're in college. And it's definitely going to be probably an even bigger storyline in 2026, when there's a good chance Julian Sayan will be the starting quarterback for Ohio State and Dylan Raiola will still be the starting quarterback at Nebraska.
And I think, you know, when we're talking about that game in two years, I think there's a very good chance we're going to be talking about Dylan Raiola is one of the best quarterbacks in college football, because he's certainly shown glimpses of that ability. Now, I think as the competitions got tougher, he's also started to look like a freshman at times. But you know, this is still a guy who's completing 66.2% of his passes, 1592 yards, nine touchdowns. And I think maybe the biggest thing he's done this year as a freshman is I think he's given Nebraska hope. I mean, this is a program that you just look at the past decade is just underachieved year after year after year. And I think having a guy of Dylan Raiola's caliber again, I mean, Ohio State really wanted him, George really wanted him.
I mean, that says it all right there about the kind of talent that Dylan Raiola is and for Nebraska to be able to get him as its quarterback of the present and future. I think it gives Cornhusker fans, you know, even right now coming off a really bad loss, it gives them more hope for what this program can be and become over the next few years with Dylan Raiola quarterback, Matt rule as coach, I mean, they're five and two this year. I mean, barring a major collapse, Nebraska is going to be bowl eligible for the first time in quite some time.
And so you know, this is not a bad Nebraska team. You know, Ryan Day said it on Monday when he was asked about Nebraska on the radio. It's like, yeah, you know, you watch that film and it's like, I don't really know what happened to Nebraska in this game.
It kind of just got away from them because you look at their stats on the year. I mean, particularly defensively. I mean, they're ranked in the top 20 and, you know, total defense, scoring defense sacks as well.
And that's going to be certainly, you know, we'll get back to the past defense in a minute, but I think, you know, certainly one of the big things that we're going to be watching for in this game is how does Zen Mahalsky hold up at left tackle? Because Josh Simmons, Ryan Day confirmed Tuesday is out for the season with the knee injury he suffered against Oregon. And now Zen Mahalsky is going to get thrown in the fire.
I think we'd probably both agree that the way, you know, against Oregon, given the circumstances he played, okay, he didn't lose them that game, but also when you go back and watch the film, he wasn't great. And so I know that I certainly have some apprehension going into this game about is Zen Mahalsky really going to be good enough to be the guy Ohio state needs at such an important position. And this is going to be a legitimate test for him.
I mean, a bigger test is going to come next week against Penn state going up against Abdul Carter, who was one of the best edge rushers in the country. But, you know, this is a Nebraska team that's tied for 14th in the FBS with 21 sacks. They don't have, you know, any one guy who's like a superstar pass rusher, but they have a few guys there off the edge who can be disruptive.
James Williams, I believe you wrote on Monday that his nickname is a sack man. He leads the team with four sacks and 23 pressures. They have a former five-star recruit, MJ Sherman.
That's a guy who Ohio state recruited heavily. He started his career at Georgia. Now he's at Nebraska.
Uh, he he's been disruptive this year, two and a half sacks off the edge. And so, you know, this is going to be a legitimate test for, for Zen Mahalsky, uh, to see where he's at going into that game against Penn state next week. And you think about things we need to see from Ohio state in this game.
I don't know if there's anything that's higher on my list than to see Zen Mahalsky be able to hold up at that left tackle spot. And if not, then do you stick with Zen Mahalsky all game or do you have a plan B if it's ready to go, but you can also test out so that you have multiple options on the table going into that Penn state game next week.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah. A lot to cover there. I think to just circle back for a second, I, I, I write five things to know obviously every week.
And I love putting that piece together, not only because I get to talk about some fun history with these teams and dig into like Nebraska was called the bug eaters back in the 1890s for those who didn't know, which is after the Nighthawk birds that roam the great Plains and eat bugs. And, uh, I think it's funny, like, why not just call yourselves the Nighthawks? That's it.
That sounds much cooler than bug eaters, but, um, obviously in the 1900s, they called themselves the Cornhuskers, but in that same article, I made the point of talking to you. You mentioned Dylan Rayola giving the program hope that my title, my subheading there was Rayola of hope. And so when you get the head coach, right.
And you get the quarterback, right. That's when you really start to change the outlook of a football program of a football franchise. If we're talking NFL, uh, that's, that's the key.
Those are the first two things you really need to get the head coach, right. Get the quarterback, right. And Matt rule for all the hiccups he suffered with Carolina and how bad that tenure went.
He rebuilt Baylor from a one in 11 team to an 11 wind team in three years. So this is a guy with, I think a track record that's shown. Yes.
Went five and seven, his first year at Nebraska, but he wasn't left a good situation after the Scott Frost era. And this is a, it's a program overall. That's really been spinning its wheels since you could say Tom Osborne, but also, you back in the day in the early two thousands.
And since then they really just haven't been able to find that head coach to rebuild this program to the glory at once was, and I'm not sure it's as like attainable a goal for Nebraska to be that multi-time national champion powerhouse that it was in the nineties or around that era. But I do think there's hope. Like you said, there's hope in Lincoln.
And this is an incredibly proud fan base. I mean, 401 consecutive sellouts. And that's with, this is a team that hasn't had a winning season since 2016.
And yet they've still sold out every home game in that time. This fan base is so incredibly proud and really wants nothing more than to see this team succeed as all fan bases do. But getting back to topic at hand with because you're right.
This is the number one thing I'm watching coming into Saturday because Nebraska does have some pieces off the edge that can test him, test the Ohio state offensive line. And they're going to throw a variety of fronts and blitzes. I think the scheme of Nebraska is also a really interesting challenge for an offensive line replacing who I think we would agree was probably its best lineman thus far this season in Josh Simmons and putting Zen Mahulski at that left tackle position.
And look, I wrote about Zen in the off season before 2023. I remember this at the Peach Bowl. We got to talk to one, we got the opportunity to talk one-on-one with every player on Ohio State's football team.
They had a mass media day where everyone was available at a table. I got a one-on-one with Zen. I talked about him and preparing to be the starting left tackle last year.
And then there was the consideration they were going to move Josh Fryer over and then he was going to compete at right tackle with Tegra Shibula. Then they end up bringing Josh Simmons in. Josh Simmons plays left tackle.
Josh Fryer plays right tackle. He just faded from that competition so fast and it kind of made you forget about him. And he comes into this year as the backup.
And I wasn't sure when Josh went down if it would be Zen that went into the game because you also had George Fitzpatrick there. Austin Sehrabeld worked at tackle in preseason camp. Donovan Jackson's always been rumored like break class in case of emergency, could play tackle.
Tegra Shibula obviously worked at tackle last year as part of that same competition. A lot of options there for Ohio State at tackle, but none of them that you like really jump at and say, oh, this is the guy. So the way they talked about Zen, I sensed more confidence from Ryan Day on Tuesday than I did, I think, kind of coming off that Oregon game directly or even on his radio show last week, the one time he kind of addressed the public or the two times, the two radio show spots he did.
So I think this week is very telling because yeah, Nebraska has some guys off the edge that can threaten the quarterback, but it's all building up for Abdul Carter next week and what Penn State can do and getting after Will Howard and how is he going to hold up in those situations. Also going to see what they do schematically to maybe mitigate some of those concerns with Zen Mahalsky. How often are they leaving in tight ends or running backs to help chip, help just put a hand on that defensive end and assist him in those sorts of ways to try and ease him into this?
Because look, it's a lot to assume this role mid-season and you're thrown into the fire truly at Oregon, but even still going forward, it's a guy that's not played a lot even though he's in his fourth year in the program. So that is the top thing I'm watching these next two weeks, especially how does Zen Mahalsky adjust at that left tackle spot and if he struggles, how quick does Ohio State then go to another tackle option or do they?
[Dan Hope]
The challenge too is it's not just a matter of how will Zenz play compared to Josh Simmons. This has the potential to affect other spots on the offensive line too because you mentioned, you know, will they put more help on his side? You would think so.
Well, in the first six games, they've tended to give more help to Josh Fryer's side. We've talked about some of the issues that Josh Fryer has had dealing with speed rushers off the edge. Well, now if you have to shift that help over to Zen, now Josh Fryer could be in more one-on-one matchups and you think about him having to go against an Abdul Carter next week.
Will he be up to that task if he has to take him on one-on-one without much tight end help? So it's not just simply a matter of how far will the drop-off be from Josh to Zen. It's also a matter of if you then have to do more to compensate for him, is that going to affect other places on the line as well?
And of course, if you do get into that plan B, I think there's a good chance that plan B is then either moving Donovan Jackson or Tegra Shibola to left tackle. And if you do that, well, then you're certainly going to affect multiple positions. Now, I think the thing that is good about that scenario, if you have to go to it, is the fact that Austin Seierveld has played a lot.
And so I think if you had to put Austin in at one of those guard spots because you were moving Donovan or Tegra to left tackle, I don't think I would be super concerned about Austin at either of those spots. I don't know that he has been as good against the better opponents as maybe he was in those games early in the year. I mean, he did have some lapses when he was in the game against Oregon, but I think he's capable enough.
But I feel like if they had to go to Austin long-term at either guard spot, I wouldn't view that as a major, major concern. But I think, you know, that left tackle spot, like, you know, especially in pass protection, like that guy's got to be able to get the job done. And obviously what everybody's hoping for right now is that Zen Mahalsky will be able to get the job done.
Then you keep the rest of the offensive line intact and you minimize the disruption as much as possible. But I do think that the leash should be short on Zen in the sense that, you know, not to say that if Zen makes one mistake, you pull him out of a game because you got to give him a chance to play through his mistakes and to try to build some confidence in there. But let's just say I'm not predicting this.
I'm not rooting for it or anything. I'm just kind of laying out the hypothetical scenarios. If Zen struggles for the entire first half, then I think you've got to have that plan B ready to then say, okay, we're going to try something different here in the second half because you need to see what you have, what combinations can work going into next week's game against Penn State.
[Andy Anders]
Again, I think you hit the nail on the head with that. And I think that not just Josh Fryer, it's going to be a test for Donovan Jackson, for Seth McLaughlin, for the entire offensive line, really, in terms of that chemistry, because you've got to communicate down the line, you've got to set protections, you've got to coordinate double teams in the run game, play off of each other. There is a real thing about being used to playing with one guy for two years in the chemistry that Donovan Jackson and Josh Simmons have been able to develop.
And now you plug someone new in there. That's another element of this along with the Josh Fryer element Okay, who are you helping with a tight end in pass protection, or in the run game? Those are all considerations you have to make along the offensive line sticking with the injury front and how some of that is playing out.
It's been circulating that Lathan Ransom has sustained an injury in practice. We didn't get anything from day when he was asked about it either Monday or Tuesday to clarify what Lathan status is the undertone of it. I mean, if he was healthy, you think he might come out and say, hey, Lathan's fine, right?
But not to speculate too much, but it does pose questions about, okay, who's that next guy up at safety? And the first thought that came into my mind and thinking is, well, Malik Hartford probably, right? Malik Hartford saw him in action as a freshman last year, played in some spots, even got in for a snap against Michigan.
You have him, you have Jalen McClain, who's a freshman, but then also some nickels have entered that conversation and playing Jordan Hancock deep, playing Lorenzo Stiles Jr. even deep. Guys that, you know, we haven't seen work at safety, but apparently might have the versatility to do so. That's another option in the flexibility that it provides.
Also helps to have Caleb Downs, who I think you could very comfortably plug into any of the three spots, free safety, strong safety, or nickel, which is why I thought the most logical option was to slide Caleb over to strong safety to replace Lathan. And then Malik Hartford plays what feels like his more natural free safety position. But it's, I mean, it's hard to get any clarity on it when the head coach won't even say whether or not Lathan is hurt.
Partially understand that, right? Because sometimes it's like, what's the point of keeping this injury a secret? And then this case, it might help Nebraska prepare if you reveal what the exact plan is.
I kind of understand that. It is just frustrating though sometimes to not get clarity on these kinds of things. And it does kind of hinder a discussion about it in some respects.
But I guess, Dan, what is your entire takeaway just about this situation? And who do you think would ultimately be that guy if Lathan Ransom is unable to go Saturday?
[Dan Hope]
Well, the reality is in terms of Nebraska's preparing is, I mean, it's been out there. I mean, it's been floating around out there for a few days. And it's like, you know, it was going to one way or another, like it was going to be written about today, because a lot of us on the beat have heard that, you know, he did suffer an injury in practice last week.
He was going to be asked about it today. And his non-answer is still an answer in a sense, because when he was asked about it, he said, yeah, we're not going to get into any other updates on injuries today. But then when he was asked about Quenshawn Judkins undergoing a hand procedure last week, he said, Quenshawn's good and he expects Quenshawn to play.
So if Lathan was totally fine, you would think he would just say, yeah, Lathan's good. We expect him to play. Because that's typically what he does when he expects somebody to play.
The fact that he didn't want to answer it would suggest that yes, he did in fact suffer an injury and his status, at least for this week's game is in doubt. And I don't, I do understand him not wanting to say anything about it because of the fact that it did happen in practice. It wasn't an injury, but it happened in a game.
And so, you know, he can't sit up there and say, yeah, you know, oh, Josh Simmons got hurt. Like we all saw Josh Simmons got hurt. Like it's out there.
And we'll cast Merrick got hurt against Oregon. That was out there. The Lathan thing, there's no, you know, video of it for us to watch or anything to like, see that he got hurt.
So I don't blame him necessarily for not wanting to talk about it. But you know, I think certainly that I would be surprised if, if Lathan Ransom played this week, just based on the fact that it is our understanding that he did suffer an injury in practice last week. And there has been nothing to, you know, douse the flames of the idea that he's likely going to miss at least some time.
I mean, it doesn't sound like it's a, you know, season ending deal, but it's probably going to miss some time. And so it is another big question going into this game, because, you know, I remember before the season, we had our conversation about ranking the positions and which groups had the most in Leafs depth. And I'm pretty sure we said offensive tackle was the number one position.
We were worried about the depth and safety was the number two position where we were about the depth. And so the depth at those two positions are now the ones that are really the first ones where the depth are really being tested this year, because Ohio state managed to get through those first five games without any long-term injuries. But now they've got a few injuries that they're dealing with.
And I think, you know, this one at safety is a big question mark because of the fact that the way they've used the safety so far this year, Lathan and Caleb have taken every first team snap. And then Malik and Jalen are the only ever guys who have played any, any snaps at that safety position. And so, you know, it does leave questions about, okay, who's the next man up, you know, who else can they rely on behind those guys?
My guess, as we sit here today on a Tuesday afternoon would be that Malik Hartford will be the second starting safety against Nebraska. And I would guess that he would start up a strong safety position. I think, you know, generally if you have a guy you really trust at that free safety position, I don't think you're going to want to move that guy out of that position for somebody that is less proven that maybe you don't trust as much.
And so I would be surprised if they moved Caleb out of that adjuster position. Now, I think the way that they utilize Caleb in the defense, that could certainly be adjusted based on this, you know, maybe, you know, his alignments on certain plays might change because you don't have Lathan Ransom, who like downs, you know, there are two guys who are really good at coming downhill and being missiles to the ball and, and, and making, you know, plays closer to the line of scrimmage.
You know, Malik Hartford is not as proven in that regard. And so I think, you know, there, there could certainly be scenarios where, you know, the way you utilize those two positions is a little different when Malik Hartford is the bandit or a strong safety versus Lathan Ransom. But I would guess that Caleb downs is still going to stay at free safety.
It's not out of a question that Jalen McClain could be that next guy up at strong safety either. I mean, he was actually the first guy that Ryan Day mentioned when I asked him about, you know, who the next guy up at safety, though, he did say both Jalen and Malik, but you know, Jalen McClain's a guy that they really like, and he is that more natural, strong safety. And so it'll be interesting to see, do they do what they've done all year?
Do they put one guy in there and stick with that guy the entire game? Or do we maybe see both of those guys get in there? Or do we potentially even see, you know, Lorenzo or Jordan move into that spot?
You know, could we see, I don't know how much they're going to use the free linebacker package in this game, but you know, let's say Malik starts at strong safety and Jordan Hancock starts at nickel. You know, if they put a third linebacker in the game, do they move, do they take Malik out of the game instead of Jordan and move Jordan over to play safety? I think those are all things that could factor into this conversation.
Malik started strong safety, but are there situations where maybe they take him out of the game for Lorenzo and have Lorenzo play as that, you know, fifth defensive back? So, you know, a lot of things for Ohio State to consider there. You know, obviously, you know, some of it is going to depend on, you know, what's the prognosis for Lathan Ransom?
Because, you know, if it's just a one week thing, you can probably get away with just plugging somebody in there this week. If it's something where he might not be available for a really big test next week against Penn State, then it goes back to like the offensive line conversation where you might want to test out multiple different options in that spot this week so that you know what you have going into next week against Penn State. And so that's going to be an interesting situation to monitor.
But, you know, certainly, you know, as we start the second half of the season, you know, two of the positions where we felt like the depth was most precarious coming into the season are being put to the test right now.
[Andy Anders]
It's funny how that works and one on each side of the ball, right? Offense, defense, you get these major tests of what you have behind your starters of how you developed that in preseason camp and in the early stretches of the season when you got to play down your bench, get these guys some reps. You hope it pays off now.
Like you said, that the rotations will be really interesting to monitor and exactly how they address that opening at strong safety, assuming Lathan Ransom cannot play this week. Kind of off of the injury stuff, you know, we talked a lot about after the Oregon game, the issues on defense, addressing those, and I thought it was good to hear Ryan Day embrace that just because there's a lot of statistics floating around that are out there about how Ohio State's actually got a really good pressure rate this year. They're getting a lot of pressures on the quarterback.
JT Tuomo-Law and Jack Sawyer apparently lead the Big Ten defensive end wise in pressure percentage, but they aren't getting home and that's clear that Ryan Day is also seeing that, is also seeing the frustrations of, and we'll talk about the secondary in a moment because it's all in tandem, but I've heard the adage since high school when I played, my coach used to say it, Jim Knowles has, you know, he says coverage and rush working together, that's his whole famous saying.
I always say pressure beats coverage. If you're hitting a quarterback before he can throw the football, he's not completing a pass, you know, it doesn't matter if the receiver's open or not. So to me, I think pass rush is where you start in terms of fixing the passing game, pass defense issues that hurt Ohio State against Oregon, and to me, I think it's schematic as much as anything else.
I can't remember the last time I saw Ohio State run a twist or a knot or a ton. We went over this on last week's podcast, but Day, in response to Nick Saban calling their pass rush scheme antiquated on Friday, Day didn't disagree with what the multi-time national champion had to say on Tuesday.
[Ryan Day Q&A]
When Nick Saban says that Ohio State's pass rush is antiquated, do you agree with that after what you saw last week? You prepared for a lot of offenses and he knows a lot of defense. Is that an accurate description?
Well, when it doesn't work, I mean, it's accurate, you know, it's not working. So there's a lot of different ways to do it. There's, you know, different strategies on how to go do that, but when you have the results that you do right now, then certainly it's not working and that has to change.
[Dan Hope]
I think Ryan Day is saying all the right things this week about fixing that defense. He was on the radio Monday and he was asked, which side of a ball have you spent more time with over the past week? And it was very direct, succinct answer, the defense.
And, you know, he said it when you asked him on Tuesday about, you know, the pressure rate. You know, I'm not happy about anything, but I'm definitely not happy with what we're getting out of our pass rush right now. So I think there have certainly been a lot of tough conversations this week between Ryan Day or the last two weeks really between Ryan Day, Jim Knowles, and Larry Johnson about what they need to do to get that pass rush going.
And I think there's certainly an understanding between all of them that they have to be better at rushing the quarterback in these big games. If Ohio State wants to achieve its goals this season, it has to be better at putting pressure on the quarterback in these big games. And I think there's a recognition of that.
I don't know that we're really going to be able to evaluate Ohio State's improvement on that really until next week, because it's really the pattern of Ohio State struggling to rush the passer in big games. You know, it's really been kind of a big game specific thing. I mean, typically in games where they have the talent advantage, Ohio State usually does well rushing the passer.
It's in these real matchup kind of games where we've seen Ohio State struggle more in that regard. But nevertheless, this is an opportunity for a pass rush to build some momentum, to have a, you know, get right kind of game, if you will. Nebraska has given up 13 sacks in four Big Ten games.
And so, you know, there should be the opportunity there for Ohio State to get some sacks and show that it can put more pressure on the quarterback. I would think if you're working on more creative stuff to do, you're probably not going to unveil all of that this week because you want to save some of that up for next week when you're going to go into a tougher challenge against Penn State. Nevertheless, I think you'd probably like to see a few new wrinkles this week just to put some stuff on film.
You'd like to see Ohio State experiment with some different things. I'm not really sure which way that's going to go in terms of will we see Ohio State experiment more of a pass rush this week? Will they kind of keep it vanilla and, you know, maybe try to, you know, lull Penn State into thinking they're not going to, they're going to continue to just do the same thing and pass rush them and maybe have some things saved up or maybe they'll just go into Penn State and do what they've been doing and hope it works better.
I think that would be the worst option, but you never know. We're going to have to see how it plays out over the next couple of weeks. But, you know, certainly, you know, we talk about things that are going to be under a microscope in this game.
The pass rush is certainly one of those things. You know, I'm going to set the goal at four sacks. I'd like to see four sacks from this Ohio State defense on Saturday.
I think that would be a good day to get things going back in the right direction for that pass rush.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, and Nebraska is going to throw the football. Look, on the scheme thing, for me, it's a mix of you need to build confidence and you need to put up some sacks and get that because when there's an energy to the defense, when there's a ferociousness to the pass rush, I think that adds so much to it. It is funny, though.
I mean, Ohio State got after the quarterback great the last two times they played Penn State. I mean, you look back at last year and what they did. Oh, Penn State starting 0 for whatever.
Like, what was it? 13, 12, 13 on third down. A lot of that was the pass rush and JT Tuimolo having big games against Penn State obviously had one of the greatest performances in team history two years ago in State College.
But even last year, he and the rest were really getting into the backfield in that game. So maybe Penn State is exactly what they need for that. I think schematically, though, there are specific blitzes that maybe you would hold, you know, there's a lot of creative ways to get after a quarterback and show pressure here, but actually send it here, etc.
You know, when you're sending five or six, I would just like to see more creative ways to send four. That's all I'm asking for this week. I want to see simulated pressures.
And I don't know how much the general fan knows about simulated pressures, but basically that's acting like you're going to send more than four, but only sending four. And just forcing the offensive line to account for more guys than you're actually sending to create one-on-one matchups and free up those guys like Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimolo out. The reason I think the scheme is getting harped on so much and why it's so warranted to be talked about is that Oregon was just basically able to neutralize JT and Jack on so many plays because they have multiple blockers for them.
And when you're not simulating pressures, when you're not forcing an offensive line and a passing unit to account for those extra bodies, you're not going to get those one-on-one matchups to let those guys go do their thing. There were opportunities for them, sure, but I think you need to just show a blitz and bail. Do a stunt up front when you're only sending four guys.
I don't think that's going to reveal too much on film for Penn State, but it is a way to effectively get after the quarterback while not sacrificing things in coverage. And this is a topic Nick Saban brought up specifically. Simulate some pressures.
Find more creative ways to just send four. You don't have to unveil your entire arsenal of blitzes where you're sending five, six, even seven guys, casino style, but send four in more creative ways. That's I want to see this week out of this scheme.
And mix the fronts too. Throw an odd front in there every now and then. I know you want to just play straight up because you're confident in the guys you have up front, but just mix the fronts, change the looks.
Georgia got Texas to jump into five false starts this Saturday just by shifting right before the snap on the defensive line. Little things like that are so creative. It's like what you do on offense with motion.
And disguising and changing the looks. Do the same thing defensively. And I just don't think there's been enough of that in the Ohio State scheme.
Okay, off the soapbox now. Denzel Burke. I think that more than anyone, of course, he got gut checked last week.
And Denzel's a guy that I do think has the metal to respond and have a great second half of his season. This entire team, it's a microcosm for me. Maybe the entire team needed a wake up call.
And you look back and we've talked about it before. You look back at some of the previous national championship teams, be they Ohio State, be they other schools, they lose a game. And then, pardon my French, they get their shit together.
They get that fire lit under them like Will Howard and others have talked about in the weeks since. You get a little more motivation and you realize, these are real issues we need to address. We're not the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Nothing is being handed to us just because we returned so many seniors and got all this talent from the transfer portal. It's a realization that maybe the team needed to have and just get that extra wave of motivation. Not that they didn't have great leaders before who weren't motivated, but it's just that reminder of, hey, there's work to do and not where you need to be yet to go win that national title, to accomplish all your goals.
So I think for me, Denzel is kind of a microcosm of that. For the whole team of, you got gut checked at Oregon, top three game on the road, sure. How do you respond?
[Dan Hope]
Well, Denzel said it earlier this year. He had said before after one of the non-conference games, he said, I wish we played somebody better. We had a bigger game here earlier in the season to see where we're at.
The reality is they didn't get to see where they were at as a defense until last week's game. And now we saw where they're at and they're, they're not as good as we thought they were, as they probably thought they were. And so, you know, they do have a lot of things that they need to fix.
And I do think, you know, to your, you know, coach's adage point, I think it does start up front. I think it does start with that pass rush. And, you know, I think Jack Sawyer and JT are really good players.
I think this entire defensive line, especially the starting four are really good players. I think they can and still should be the best defensive line in the country. You know, I know I've seen some fan commentary out there like, oh, they, they should bench Jack and JT.
I totally disagree with that. I mean, you, you mentioned the numbers of, you know, from a pressure rate standpoint, they're one in two in the big 10 right now. So I still think they're in excellent defensive end tandem.
I don't think either of them is Chase Young, Nick Bosa or Joey Bosa though. And I think that's where some of it comes in of needing to be a little more creative of a pass rush. As I think, I don't think either of those guys is going to consistently win straight up as, you know, a Chase Young or a Nick Bosa or a Joey Bosa did at Ohio state.
So I think you need to do a little bit more to help those guys schematically, uh, than, uh, you know, they've done so far this season specifically in that Oregon game. And, you know, and the same might be true for Denzel Burke, because, you know, a lot of that game, it was just Denzel out there one-on-one on an Island. And, you know, he likes that, like he wants that, but obviously it didn't work out against Oregon.
And so, you know, this is going to certainly be a big week for him. Uh, you know, again, this is not going to be the same kind of test as he faced against Oregon or that he will face next week against Penn state. So you expect him to be, uh, dominant in this game, but nevertheless, if he can be that, you know, that can build some momentum for him, but, you know, you got to look at those things too about, okay, how can we help, uh, Denzel more in the coverage game?
So, but it's not, you know, all just on him, obviously, you look at those big plays, he gave up, you know, well, one reason why is because they weren't getting any pressure on Dylan Gabriel that allows those double moves to develop and, and for Dylan Gabriel to throw the ball deep. So it all works together. You can't just pin it on, oh, Denzel Burke had a bad game.
That's why we lost. Like it, it, it was a factor. It was, it was a big factor, but it wasn't the only factor, you know, that the whole defense, there's things everybody on that defense can do better.
And certainly that Jim Knowles can do better as a defensive coordinator to scheme the things up and put those guys in the right position to, to yield better results. And it's not going to be as easy to do that without life and ransom. If he does have to miss time at that strong safety spot, but this is still a defense that's loaded with talent.
I mean, this is a defense again, on paper talent wise should be the best defense in the country. And so we're not going to learn based on this week's game, whether Ohio state's defense is that can be, that is, you know, as, as returned to that form. But, you know, as we talked about at the top, you know, Dylan Raul is a talented quarterback.
This Nebraska team is better than recent Nebraska teams and they're more dangerous than recent Nebraska teams have been. And so, you know, I think Ohio state can still go out with a dominant performance, can still make a statement in this game, build momentum in this game, going into that game next week against Penn state, Ohio state is favored by 25 and a half points, which on one hand feels like a big number. On the other hand, Nebraska lost by 49 points to Indiana last week.
And so the books only have Ohio state beating Nebraska by about half as much as Indiana did. What say you, Andy, do you think the Buckeyes cover? What's your score prediction for this game?
[Andy Anders]
I have it at Ohio state 38 Nebraska 10. I do think the defense responds well, as well as they can against Nebraska. Still some hiccups maybe here or there on the offensive end.
I think Zen Mahalsky at some point will cost them points. Not again, not to pick on Zen, not that he can't become a really good tackle this season. I just think there's going to be some lumps settling in with that new group and maybe there's a sack he gives up.
Maybe there's a snap through in the run game, whatever it is. I think a drive is going to stall out because the offensive line isn't up to that same level. Josh Simmons, regardless of how good Zen is going to be this year, what level he can get to, I don't think it's going to be the same as Josh Simmons, who was one of the best tackles in the country, playing like one of the best tackles in the country before his injury.
There's going to be some drop off on the offensive line. And for me, I think that's worth a stall out of a drive and why I'm choosing 38 instead of a score in the 40s for Ohio State. But I still expect them to win comfortably.
I still expect the defense to take strides and overall the offense to look really good. I think there will be maybe some hiccups adjusting to that new offensive line.
[Dan Hope]
I'm going 45 to 10 Ohio State. I don't think Nebraska is going to let this game get quite as out of hand as last week's game did against Indiana. But you know this Ohio State team is going to go into this game hungry to make a statement after two full weeks to stew on that loss to Oregon.
I think going up against Dylan Rayola only adds a little bit more to that for that defense too, of you know wanting to show him what he's missed out on by choosing not to come to Ohio State. And so I do think that Ohio State is going to dominate this game at the end of the day. And I'm going with a 45 to 10 win for the Buckeyes going into that game against Penn State.
And you'd certainly like to take care of business comfortably in this one. You don't want to have to have a game where you really have to grind it out going into what we know is going to be a tough game next week for the Buckeyes when they make the trip up to Beaver Stadium to play Penn State in that game. I think we would still agree that Penn State is the toughest team remaining on Ohio State's regular season schedule.
I don't think we would have anticipated going into the season is that Indiana might be the second toughest team on the second half schedule for Ohio State. Now I think might's too soft a word. I think now Indiana is the second best team on Ohio State's schedule for the second half of regular season.
You could even make a case for number one. I wouldn't go there yet because you know Penn State's a top five team and Ohio State has to play Penn State on the road while it will get to host Indiana at home. But man the Hoosiers I mean I said it before the season I thought the Hoosiers were going to be better than people thought.
But I didn't think they were going to be this good. And that was quite a statement that they made last week against Nebraska beating them 56-7. And you look at Indiana's schedule for the rest of the season they play Washington this week.
That might be their second toughest game the rest of the season outside of OSU. Then they've got Michigan State, Michigan who's been struggling, and Purdue. And so there's a very real chance that Indiana could be an 11-1 college football playoff team.
And what a job Kurt Signetti has done to get the Hoosiers in this position.
[Andy Anders]
This Indiana team is one I've been rooting for all year. And I think like you I picked them to I thought they were going to win more games than people were expecting. And back to what I said earlier about Nebraska man they've got a great head coach.
Clearly Kurt Signetti his track record the things he did and the game he talked coming in he's backed it up right. And they could very well be an 11-1 team that has a home playoff game in the first 12 team CFP. And if Ohio State beats Penn State that now becomes the game you have to win to get to the Big Ten title game which is crazy and fun.
And I love college football and the new 12-team playoff because they might not have been in that mix as an 11-1 team or probably wouldn't have wouldn't have been period in the four-team structure. They would have go 11-1 lose to Ohio State you probably don't get in the playoffs if you're at Indiana because you're not in the Big Ten title game at that point. So really have enjoyed watching the Hoosiers this year.
I think one Big Ten team that didn't look nearly as impressive this weekend like to your point it's Michigan and just how the mighty have fallen you know. Who's to say how much not having you know signals not having Connor Stallions that element of the program anymore affects things or whatever. But regardless of what happened in the past this offense this Michigan offense this year is just atrocious and they can't figure out the quarterback situation.
It seems like they really don't have good options no offense to either of Davis Warren or Alex Orji or Jack Tuttle there but they you can't solve the quarterback. You have an offensive-minded head coach who has not been able to coach up that side of the ball to get where it needs to go for Michigan to be you know competitive. And I expected Michigan to not perform to a their preseason ranking or be competitive really atop the Big Ten.
I don't think I expected them to be sitting here off of another loss and just looking as bad as they've looked this year. And I said a while ago that I wasn't sure what to make of the Michigan USC game that was played way earlier this season because I wasn't really sure how good either of those teams are. And I think over time it's proven that really that wasn't a game that should have inflated Michigan's resume much at all because I think we've both we've seen now as the seasons played out that neither of those teams are actually very good.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah USC is now three and four. They have lost three straight games their most recent loss coming to Maryland and so a rough first year in the Big Ten so far for Lincoln, Riley, and the Trojans. And certainly I think you know I think back to what I was thinking about both of these teams for a month ago.
I definitely came out of that game thinking those two teams were better than they actually are. And going back to Michigan I mean yeah you could say oh you know how much does not having Conor Stallions have to do a fair step back? How much does not having Jim Harbaugh or Jesse Minner have to do if a step back?
But it really all starts with the fact that they just don't have a quarterback right now. I mean they've gone through three different quarterbacks and none of them have played well. You know J.J. McCarthy is not walking through that door. And that that that's the big difference here. I mean that that's the reality is their quarterback play. I mean we're not just talking about some of the worst quarterback play in the Big Ten.
We're talking about some of the worst quarterback play in the FBS period. I mean they just have not been able to find a quarterback that's that's that's good enough for them to beat really good teams. And that's why you go into this week's game against Michigan State.
This game this week could determine whether Michigan the defending national champions a team that went undefeated last year this week could determine whether or not Michigan gets full eligibility because they're now four and three with that 21-7 loss to Illinois. They still have to play Oregon, Indiana, and Ohio State. They're not going to be favored in any of those games.
And so they probably have to win this week's game against Michigan State and then their November game against Northwestern if they're going to get to a bowl game. And that's not a given this week going up against Michigan State. Michigan State coming off of its best win of the season over Iowa.
I think you saw Aiden Childs make some step forwards in that game. Michigan is a five-point favorite. I think I would still pick Michigan to win that game, but it's going to be an interesting one Saturday night in the big house.
[Andy Anders]
Right and it is more than just quarterback too. Of course the the new offensive line they had to replace everyone on that offensive line and it has not held up. Been nearly the tip of the spear as Jim Harbaugh likes to say that it was in his tenure.
And a program that was so offensive line driven in so many ways in the past just hasn't been able to get that unit figured out either and get those successes. It's all that on the offensive side of the football really um outside of maybe Cedric Mullings who's you know been well Mullings Mullins uh has been a good running back but playing behind an offensive line that isn't paving the way for him as well as it has for others in the past. And as far as that Michigan-Michigan State game goes it'll be interesting to see if how far Michigan would have to fall if they lose that game.
If they don't get bowl eligibility how far Michigan would have to fall for it to be show mores on the year there. And it's funny now too because it almost like that Indiana-Michigan at the end of the year you're now much more worried about the Indiana game I think than you are that Michigan game still even though Michigan's beaten Highland State three straight times and still a reason you know it's a it's a rivalry game. You don't take that for granted ever especially given how the last few years have gone but it's just it's been almost staggering how far Michigan especially on the offensive side of the ball has fallen.
[Dan Hope]
I will say before we move on here like you yeah you cannot look past the Michigan game like you cannot just write off the Michigan game. Ohio State has lost to Michigan three years in a row. It's still the must win most important game for this season for Ohio State period.
The pressure is still going to be I mean the pressure is going to be on both teams because Michigan you know who knows Michigan might be fighting to you know get to bowl eligibility in that game but the pressure is really on Ohio State to win that game and you think back to the last time Ohio State had to play a really big game the week before Michigan. It was in 2021. Michigan State came into Ohio Stadium as a top 10 opponent.
Ohio State won that game 56 to 7. They looked great and it seemed like everything was rolling on all cylinders going into the Michigan game and then Michigan runs all over them the next week and Ohio State loses to Michigan 42-27 and so I think ideally you would like to have a kind of that gradual ramp up into the Michigan game and going into the year we thought Ohio State was going to get that with Purdue Northwestern and Indiana and still probably should get that against Purdue and Northwestern but now that Indiana game I mean I think the good thing about it is you don't really look at it as a trap game anymore because Ohio State cannot afford to look past Indiana. They have to take Indiana seriously.
I think the one drawback you'd look at and go okay if Ohio State has to put everything into beating Indiana which it might because Indiana right now leads the nation with 48.7 points per game so Ohio State's defense better be prepared for that game. If Ohio State's defense plays like it did against Oregon that suddenly becomes a very dangerous game and so Ohio State is going to have to become ready to play Indiana. You know it would certainly help for Indiana if Curtis Rourke is back for that game.
He's going to be out at least one week with a thumb injury. He suffered against Nebraska but Taven Jackson looked pretty good when he came into that game too so you know that that Indiana game is a game now that Ohio State is going to have to come to play in and they're going to have to make sure that they can sustain that intensity for two weeks there at the end of a regular season going from you know playing Indiana to then playing that rivalry game.
[Andy Anders]
Elsewhere of course the big game this week was Georgia versus Texas. Battle for really that you know who's going to be the new top dog in college football even though Georgia had lost a game. Go in and you beat Texas on the road 30 to 15.
Really a game that never felt that close. Texas kind of tried to make a comeback in the second half but really never got into that the thick of that game after Georgia pulled ahead early and Texas just had nothing going offensively in the first half and you're down 23 nothing at halftime end up losing 30 to 15. Now last week talked about you're in the phase of college football season where you're asking is anybody good and we thought Texas is good.
Now looks like Texas just got an easy schedule. I mean even as Michigan was tumbling down and losing some of these games before I was still thinking Texas should get credit for beating them in the fashion they did on the road in the big house you know all that stuff season opener like I still thought that's an impressive win but it turns out Texas just really hasn't played a a true challenge much like Ohio State before two weeks ago when they had to face Oregon. Texas just didn't have that big marquee test yet thought they had it but they didn't in reality and then they got the reality check against Georgia who I mean Georgia's defense is good big surprise Dan. This Georgia defense really is the reason that they were able to win this game and really never have it in doubt in the fashion that it was creating big plays creating turnovers sacking the quarterback like I said the scheme was gorgeous just mixing fronts mixing pressures showing it here it comes here you know there's there's just so much that schematically Georgia did to free up its rushers in that game and also just ridiculous talent across the board because Kirby Smart is maybe the best recruiter in the sport right now so always going to have an arsenal of talent there and Georgia back on top now.
Do you think they're the team to beat for the national title Dan?
[Dan Hope]
They might be I mean I think there's really no clear front runner right now and it kind of goes back to what we were saying last week where you know I think every team in college football right now there's not that one team that like oh they're a behemoth how can anybody beat them I think every team has flaws this year and I think you know in terms of rankings Oregon is the clear number one right now and deservedly so but when you when you bring that back to Ohio State and you know maybe some of the more doomsday projections out there for Ohio State because Ohio State lost that game you know Ohio State lost by one point on the road in a game it easily could have won against the team that's now the clear-cut number one team in the polls and so you know anybody who's writing off Ohio State oh this team can't win a national championship because they lost that game I think that's silly because there's nobody else out there that's like oh I mean this team is clearly better than Ohio State or anybody else I mean I think you know Georgia has the the best odds now once again to win the national championship and I think deservedly so I think people would maybe gotten a little down on Georgia after that Alabama loss a few games that were closer than maybe they should have been against other SEC teams but you know Georgia's still really good I mean I still think Ohio State and Georgia have the two best rosters in the sport I predicted before the season that Ohio State and Georgia would meet in a national championship game I will still not be surprised one bit if that ends up happening because I think they still have the two best rosters in the sport but I think you know everybody's got some flaws and I don't think Texas is a good team I still think Texas is a national championship contender team but I think you know their flaws got exposed in that game much like you know with Ohio State the week before and so I think you know there's a lot of parody at the top of college football this year which is a good thing it makes it exciting to watch and a very fascinating playoff race here over the next couple of months but I think you know the reality is right now in college football that you know everybody's beatable there's nobody who's this unbeatable team and you know I think that's something that Ohio State fans should be glad to see because there's obviously things that Ohio State needs to work on going into the start of the second half of the season there's obviously some concerns right now just about injuries with you know Josh Simmons and Leif and Ransom but I still think the Buckeyes are as capable as anybody of winning the national championship maybe we're not as confident as we were before the season about Ohio State winning at all because of some of the flaws that we saw against Oregon because of some of the injury concerns that have popped up but I still there's not one team out there that I go man Ohio State couldn't beat this team I think Ohio State could beat anybody I think there's you know 10 teams that could beat Ohio State but I think Ohio State can beat anybody and so that's why as we get into the second half of the season you know so much of it is going to continue to be through that lens at least the way people are going to view it of is this Ohio State team national championship caliber but they can't look that far ahead yet right now because right now they just got to focus on winning every game one game at a time because Ohio State as we talked about last week you know still very likely controls its destiny in the Big Ten championship game race it still controls its own destiny I mean if the Buckeyes win out even in the unlikely scenario where Wisconsin wins out and Ohio State gets left out of the Big Ten championship game Ohio State if it if it goes 11 and one of a regular season will be in the college football playoffs so Ohio State still controls its own destiny in terms of making the CFP but lose another game and then that conversation gets a little bit murkier and so right now the focus for the Buckeyes has to just be on just winning one game at a time starting this week against Nebraska but also certainly knowing that there's a lot of things the Buckeyes need to work on this week and get better at quickly knowing that they're going to face one of those teams that is certainly capable of beating them next week at Penn State.
[Andy Anders]
It's interesting the parallels between Texas and Ohio State in terms of having flaws exposed because with Texas and I think with Ohio State there were some flaws that you weren't expecting like for Ohio State that was Denzel Burke who expected to be one of the best corners in the country this year having a career bad game for Texas it was the offensive line in that Georgia game and this was a Texas offensive line that was supposed to be like the best in college football an offensive tackle tandem that was supposed to be like both those guys day one day two NFL draft type prospects and they played awful I mean that so I think it's another thing that if you're an Ohio State fan you watch that game maybe you could take some solace in it's like hey other guys who were supposed to be elite on other teams also struggled unexpectedly in these games and cost their their teams in some ways and so it's all the process of working out those flaws and how you address them and no one team is rising above the rest very much right now in college football Oregon obviously undefeated with the Ohio State win should be up on that pedestal in Georgia now that it beat Texas but you know you even look at Alabama who beat Georgia they're on the brink of college football playoff elimination after losing to Tennessee this weekend and they still have Missouri LSU left on the schedule losable games that could see the tide eliminated from the playoffs and I think if you lose that third game you're you're probably almost definitely out of the CFP although you know there there there are if you look back at the history there there have been rare examples of nine and three teams kind of around that 12 ranking in the final version of the AP poll at the end of the regular season but we'll see that that would take another level of chaos I think to get a three loss team into this 12 team CFP and because there's going to be a lot of great two loss teams this year you look at even like a conference like the big 12 where there's so many teams that are kind of in that like top mix again love the 12 team CFP and what it's done for the intrigue of watching all this stuff shake out as we enter the last weekend of October and really into November where all this is going to get really fun and then Ohio State plays Penn State to start that November schedule for the Buckeyes but uh you know for now focus on Nebraska and addressing those flaws that appeared at Oregon yeah it's going to be a heck of a six
[Dan Hope]
six to seven week race to the finish here with the last six week of a regular season and uh the Big Ten and other conference championship games we know Ohio State will be playing at least all of the next six weeks hopefully playing the next seven weeks so lots more coverage to come here on Real Pod Wednesdays and on 11 Warriors Ohio State once again plays Nebraska at noon on Saturday on Fox we will be there at Ohio Stadium lots of coverage of that game to come on 11warriors.com and then we'll be back next week to talk about that and begin looking ahead to that massive showdown between the Buckeyes and Penn State and Happy Valley so we hope you'll join us again next week have a great rest of your week.