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Dan Hope and Andy Anders of Eleven Warriors bring you inside the Ohio State beat every Wednesday with a podcast covering everything you need to know about the Buckeyes.
Note: This transcript was AI-generated and has not been edited for errors.
[Dan Hope]
Welcome into Real Pod Wednesdays. Dan Hope joined by Andy Anders as we are now one week into the Ohio State football season, a little cooler out in Columbus this week. So still warm, but starting to feel like fall now.
Football season is in full swing. The first full week of the college football season is now complete. And it certainly feels like it is that time of the year.
Still feels a little bit like preseason for the Ohio State football team as the Buckeyes started their season against Akron, play Western Michigan this next week. And so we're still a few weeks away from a real marquee game for this Ohio State football team. But we got our first look at the Buckeyes on Saturday.
And, Andy, we said it last week, but anything short of perfection against Akron might get seen as a disappointment with all the hype that Ohio State entered the season with. And, yeah, that's pretty much kind of how it happened, right?
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, I would say so. I think there was a lot of panic around some things that maybe you try to pump the brakes on a little bit. It was funny because during games I always have my group chat with my friends who are all still fans, and I'm a reporter.
We all went to Ohio State together. You get that kind of knee-jerk reaction that's always good to have a perspective on as a reporter, I think, and to know what people are concerned about. But the questions have always been evident with this team about the offensive line, and I think that's the top area of concern people have right now.
And the run blocking, there were inconsistencies in the first half. The offense took time to get off the ground. And so that's enough for people against a team like Akron to say, hey, stuff needs to change, stuff needs to be stepped up, especially from that position group, I think.
And there were some other things you saw on the offensive side, I think, that created some of those inconsistencies. But there were still a lot of good positive takeaways, I think, to be had from that game if you're an Ohio State fan. And for me, too, it's just great to have eyes on a real game again.
All offseason you miss it, and you see what you see in practice, but you really don't know until it's put on the field where guys are. And I think we did get some good indicators of where certain people are, some of the strengths of the team, some of the early things they need to improve on. And also it's week one, right?
The old cliche, you take the biggest steps from week one to week two. So certainly expect Ohio State to take some steps this week. And I even go back to that 2019 team that looked kind of sluggish to start against Florida Atlantic.
And Florida Atlantic, maybe that score was closer than it should have been at the start of that season. And people kind of use that as the benchmark team for Ryan Day and the best team he's had to date with this team trying to meet or exceed that team. So a lot of teams have struggled week one.
It's week one. I think that's the other thing you have to keep in mind is that this is certainly not what the team is going to look like even in a month, but certainly by November.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. I mean, we're going to look around college football later in the show at some of the, you know, other games that played out in week one. And there were certainly you know, some teams that got some scares some teams, particularly in the ACC that are off to really rocky starts.
And so you know, plenty of teams that would like to have done better in week one Ohio State, maybe among them, but Ohio State won by 46 points. I mean, you know, how much better did they really need to do? Right?
I mean, they won by 46 points and we've talked about this before. You know, I think the thing about Ohio State a lot of times, especially in these kinds of games is I think a lot of times people kind of form their opinions in the first quarter of a game. And then that's just kind of the opinion for the rest of the game.
So if they start out slow, no matter what they do the rest of the game, like that's what gets focused in on. Whereas you mentioned that Florida Atlantic game. If I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure Ohio State was up 21, nothing after prepossessions in that game.
And then they only won by 24. But I mean, I can remember people in our Slack channel back in 2019, declaring that Ohio State was going to win the national championship in the first quarter of that Florida Atlantic game, because that's how good Justin Fields and the Buckeyes looked at the start of that game. So again, I think sometimes people kind of lock in their opinions early in the game, and then there's really nothing that can be done to then, you know, change those opinions.
I mean, even on the offensive line perspective here, which we've talked about all off season is the biggest question mark for this team. And it still is certainly after week one, but Ohio State did not allow any sacks in this game. And I thought watching the game back, I didn't think the run blocking was terrible.
Like there were some moments that they weren't great, but like, you're never going to be great on every play. I mean, I thought watching it back on replay, that I thought the run blocking got better as the game went along. It wasn't as dominant as maybe people would like to see against Akron, but you factor in the fact that they were without their best offensive lineman and Donovan Jackson.
You had two guards in there, Austin, Sarah, Veltegra, Shibola, who really haven't played at all. You, you have to expect that there's gonna be some growing pains. In week one, when you are breaking in, you know, particularly on the offensive side of a ball.
I mean, you expected the defense to hit the ground running because literally every player in the starting lineup, with the exception of CJ, with CJ Hicks, because of Cody Simon being out, you know, every other player in that starting lineup has been a starter, either at Ohio State or Alabama before. So you expected the defense was going to come out firing and they did holding Akron to only six points, scoring 14 points by themselves with two touchdowns. You know, I think I certainly expected that the offense was going to have some more growing pains to work through in this first game.
And that's what we saw where, you know, it was not a great first half by the offense, you know, only scoring on two of their six for only scoring touchdowns on two of their first six possessions, but then finishing stronger in the second half scoring touchdowns on all three possessions before Will Howard and the starters started to come out of the game. And so I think, you know, as we go a few days out from that first game, I come out of it feeling like it pretty much went the way it was supposed to go. I mean, yeah, Ohio State didn't cover, but the spread was 50 points.
So, you know, I, I feel like it pretty much went the way it was supposed to go. Now, you know, it was clear, you know, talking to Ryan day on Tuesday that he wants to see more, but he, he and the Buckeyes are not satisfied with how they played in week one. And they shouldn't be because the expectation for this team is to co-win a national championship, which means you're going to have to keep getting better.
If you want to go achieve that goal, but I certainly don't come out of week one thinking, Oh, you know, I'm going to, I'm no longer think Ohio state's going to win the national championship when I picked them to a week ago. I mean, yeah, the offensive line is going to need to get better, but I never personally expected the offensive line was going to be a wrecking crew in week one. I mean, I remember being asked in a weekly chat on 11 warriors.
I think it was last week. I was asked, you know, if I would compare this offensive line to the 2014 offensive line that won the national championship. And, you know, I said, I, you know, I don't know if it's going to get to that level because they were pretty dominant at the end of the season.
But the one thing that I did think was comparable was that I think this offensive line can get better as the year goes along. I mean, you think back to that 2014 season, I mean, that offensive line was awful against Virginia tech and they, they lost that game. And then they ended up going on to win the national championship.
And so there's a lot of time to grow. And the good thing with this team is you've got, you know, two more true warmup games coming up against Western Michigan and Marshall. You got Michigan state after that, which did not look very good in its opener.
And so you've got time to work through the kinks, you know, certainly going into week two, you know, I think two big points of emphasis are going to be more consistently along the offensive line and starting out faster on offense.
[Andy Anders]
I think those are all excellent points, Dan and the offensive line. You know, I I've been saying that too, that there's it's going to take time to gel, especially when you don't have Donovan Jackson in there, who's going to be such an anchor for this unit. And I think where some of the run blocking issues did appear, they're coachable things.
Now it's up to the coaches to fix those things. But if, if guys are coming through on blocked, if guys, if there's just missed assignments and miscommunications, things like that, where the fits aren't hitting right, those, those are all things that you can fix on tape, fix and film, go back. And that's what these tune up, tune up games are for.
I think the other really encouraging sign where you mentioned first half versus second half, Will Howard didn't throw an incompletion in the second half. Will Howard, I think to me already proved he's an upgrade over Kyle McCord and not necessarily by the stats he produced on Saturday, which were solid. But just the pocket presence and the scramble ability and the decision making, you know, I think there were some comments I made during the game, just in the press box to people about, you know, he was maybe, I thought he was maybe staring down receivers, but to me, I look back and I think I was wrong in that, in the sense that he was making quick throws to reads that, you know, he was just trusting a guy to get open and make a play and just getting the ball out quickly. And Will said, yeah, you know, maybe there are moments where I need to be better about reading defenses and processing. He said that in his press conference on Tuesdays and things along those lines.
But, you know, I think that where it's good is to have that decision maker who's willing to under pressure, get the ball out when he needs to, but also someone he's, the reason he didn't get sacked, there were multiple plays. You sit there and you go, Kyle, McCorkin, second play, you know, he has a great ability to avoid the rush and extend plays. I think there's going to be more opportunities for him to actually scramble throughout the year that he's going to take advantage of.
And he talked about, he felt like there were times he could have scrambled that he wished he would have in that game, but he still showed the ability to do it. He had a really nice first down run there at one point that led to Jeremiah Smith touchdown after Jeremiah had just committed a penalty. That was the second touchdown Ohio state scored.
Will scrambles to pick up a third and long, and then a couple of plays later, he tosses it to Jeremiah in the end zone. So little things like that, Ryan Day said it, or it might've been Chip Kelly on Tuesday. If you can pick up the chains, move the chains on a couple of third downs throughout the game, that is a massive swing in how it's going to unfold.
And so that running ability, that pocket presence, and in the second half, efficiency from Will Howard, all good signs in terms of Ohio state's quarterback situation in 2024.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, I think there's a very noticeable difference after watching Kyle McCord last year, just in his athleticism and his pocket presence. I think those are really the two areas where you really see a clear upgrade there in terms of his ability to extend plays outside of the pocket. Like you said, I mean, there was, there was one play I remember where there were two guys coming at him and he just kind of sidestepped.
One of them stepped up for the other. And I think he threw the ball away out of bounds, but like, that's still a good play by the quarterback because he's had a less athletic quarterback or a less, you know, present quarterback, maybe probably get sacked on that play, you know, to throw the ball away and live to play another down, you know, those are the kind of plays that he, you know, has to make for, you know, this offense, you know, to take that next step.
And so I think that, you know, that's one area where you, you can certainly see, uh, Will Howard, you know, bringing a different element, uh, to this offense from where he was last year. And then, you know, the accuracy I think was, was really good in this first game. I mean, we talked about it all off season.
That was the big question, particularly in the spring, but there were not many. Inaccurate throws from, well, I mean, even though we had 11 incompletions, I mean, there were a couple that were dropped. There were a couple of pros.
I think they're in the first half where, you know, he, he threw it, you know, to a guy who was, you know, covered. There was really not much chance of completing that pass. So there's a couple of pros that he'd probably like back, you know, obviously I think the one play that, you know, you can single out as a play that, you know, he can not make him a bigger games is, uh, late in the first half, uh, when he made the decision, you know, under pressure to, you know, basically falling backwards, throw the ball back across his body, to Travion Henderson behind the line of scrimmage, that ball easily could have been scooped up and scored by Akron. And if that happens, like that's a really close game going into halftime.
And so that's a play that he cannot make, but other than that, I mean, that's really was really the only one glaring play in that game that, uh, you can really single out and, and say that was a bad play by Will Howard. I think, you know, otherwise I think he was really sharp. And I think the accuracy issues that we saw in the spring, we're not there.
And so I think it's really encouraging to see the, the ball placement on some of his pros. It certainly leaves me coming out of that first game with a lot of optimism about what Will Howard can be for this Ohio state offense this year.
[Andy Anders]
I think the other big revelation in this game, well, not revelation per se, but, uh, the other sort of big, you know, just statement in this game was Jeremiah Smith. And you talk about six catches for 92 yards and a great debut. We've been talking about it all off season.
I've made the prediction for a thousand yards. He's already on pace in, in year one here with an, with this 92 yard game. But I, I, I always felt like he was going to eventually emerge as the number two guy behind a Mecca.
He actually had more targets than a Mecca. He had the most targets of any Ohio state pass catching option in week one. And I think there was a real, I don't know if that's going to be the case for the whole season.
I think there was a real, um, priority from Ryan day from chip Kelly to get him involved in the offense and get his feet on the ground and set in week one, because they know he's going to be a huge part of it. Um, and a huge part of the plan going forward. And what Jeremiah has done and accomplished is he's gotten some of those freshmen lumps out of it.
You know, you hear all these things and you see all these things about them in the off season, and we've pushed all the hype we can about him. Uh, he is human and he drops his first pass. The first pass thrown to him as a Buckeye on a play that was such a beautiful design.
I I'm not sure I've ever seen a more gorgeous tunnel screen, three linemen running downfield in front of them with a caravan of green grass. And he just drops them all. And most freshmen get taken out after that play.
Most freshmen don't stay on the field, but now Jeremiah comes back out. Next drive has two massive catches that convert third downs, and then has a spectacular touchdown grab to sort of announce his presence and goes out and balls the rest of the game, save for one penalty where he lined up in the backfield when he shouldn't have been. He even talked about it being a relief that he got his first drop out of the way.
He's not going to drop many passes at Ohio state, uh, but to get those sort of freshmen hiccups out of the way, I think it was definitely a goal for Ryan day and chip Kelly to kind of filter out those early mistakes that Jeremiah was going to make as any freshman does and really set the stage for him to be a huge part of the offense going forward.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. It's a reminder that he is human, but then you see the plays he made and you go, yeah, but he's, he's a pretty special human out there. The things that he can do, man.
I mean, he's, you know, he, he's a special player and you can just see it that, you know, he, he moves differently than what you typically see from a freshman out there. And, you know, the fact that Ryan day said after those mistakes, he said, yeah, you know, nobody better than I, like, we knew he was going to work through it. Like, that's just not the way you typically heard coaches talk about freshmen.
I mean, I asked chip Kelly on Tuesday and I kind of knew the answer. I just wanted to hear what he would say was like, you know, what gave you the confidence to feature him so prominently in the offense in game one? And he's like, yeah, I've been here since March.
We, we've been seeing this all off season long. It's no secret, but he's going to be a featured player in our offense. And you know, that's, I think the big takeaway from this game is like, it already feels like he's a go-to guy in this offense.
I don't know if you go, I go as far as to say he's already the number one receiver when you've got a Mecca Buka, but, but he's right there. Like he's a guy who is going to be a major part of this offense all year long. And I'm going to guess, Andy, you're probably feeling pretty good about your, your preseason prediction, but he's going to get a thousand yards this year.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah. I I'm feeling pretty confident on this point.
[Dan Hope]
We go to the other side of a ball. Certainly as, as I mentioned before, an outstanding start for the defense to give up only two field goals and score two touchdowns. You know, that's always going to be a good day for the defense.
And particularly with that being a big off season point of emphasis for the defense, that they want to force more turnovers. They want to make more big plays on the defensive side of a ball. We, we saw that, you know, last year Jim Knowles kind of shifted from that, you know, really aggressive defense in 2022 to being more of that, you know, bend, but don't break a little bit kind of defense in, in 2023, you know, this year, they really want to kind of, you know, mesh that all together.
So where, you know, they're not giving up the big plays that plagued them at the end of the 2022 season, but they, they want to get back to making more big plays, you know, making those kinds of game changing plays around the line of scrimmage. And I think we saw that in this game now, granted, I do think we should qualify that with, with, when you look back to last year, Ohio state had two defensive touchdowns against Western Kentucky last year, too. So we need to see it against better competition before we can really say that, Oh yeah, the defense is going to make so many more big plays this year.
You expect that to happen against Akron. So we do have to see it against the better teams before you can really call it a trend, but it's certainly an encouraging start for this defense. And I think the thing that's really encouraging is, you know, we, we expect to see JT to a mole allow in Jack Sawyer and, you know, Leif and ransom guys like that make plays and they, they all sure did in this game.
But when you also see guys like Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson and Mitchell Melton and Edrick Houston and Arvell Reese making plays, that I think is really encouraging because it shows you that yeah, that defense, I talked about it before, but they have, you know, when Cody Simon's healthy, every one of those guys is a returning starter from a college football team from last year. Like that's great experience to have in that starting lineup. But this defense also has a ton of debt.
Yeah.
[Andy Anders]
And to me, you know, it's interesting to talk about and look at those backup defensive ends and figure out just how they're going to be deployed in the bigger games when it matters and see that plan incorporated. Everyone all off season was saying, Oh, you know, Larry said in the past, he's going to play more depth, but will he really? And then he really did against Akron.
They rolled pretty heavy. And again, it's will that play out against Oregon? I don't know yet, but they, those guys all looked plenty capable of playing and all made like the defensive ends in this game, JT and Jack looked like two of the best in America as we expected, you know, and they didn't play that much.
JT had a sack and a half Jack. I think Ben Finley is going to have nightmares about Jack Slayer for about a month. How many times he got rocked in the backfield, but those two look like superstars.
And you had Kenyatta Jackson jr. Looking like a really just quality speed rusher, getting pressure off the edge, using spin moves, using speed rushes to get around the end. You had Caden Curry who looked really balanced in both run and pass defense and forced the fumble that Lathan Ransom scooped and scored for a touchdown for Ohio state and Mitchell Melton.
To me, I think has a pretty unique skillset in this defensive end room where he's the most linebacker, like of the defensive ends. I feel like I think he can stand up and play almost like a three, four linebacker would, you know, one of those edge guys that's sort of a blend of pass and run defense and can really make plays in space, has some speed, has some strength. I'm not saying he should move to linebacker, R.
Bell Reese, but I'm saying you talk about the Jack position, what used to be involved in this defense. I think Mitchell brings Jack qualities to a defensive end. And so all those guys kind of have a different skillset coming off the bench.
Jim Knowles has been using the chess pieces through one week. You wonder how much those chess pieces will be used in the future, especially as you're trying to keep Jack and JT fresh. CJ Hicks to me in this game and it's week one.
And we again are pumping the brakes on everything good and bad that we saw in this week, but CJ looks great when you line him up on the line of scrimmage and you let him blitz, you know, he had the sack. I think traditional linebacker things, playing in space, reading, diagnosing offenses and what's happening on a play. He still seems a step behind out there.
And that is where R. Bell was just flying sideline to sideline and making plays in that traditional linebacker role. And so CJ can still improve, but I think R.
Bell, what you saw in terms of his athleticism, awesome pursuit on a couple plays. I mean, he's running down plays from the backside of week one. And this is a guy who's hasn't been playing the position, you know, really a whole year at Ohio state yet.
So what R. Bell Reese could become, he's got a real shot to be the backup behind Simon and styles, even, you know, kind of contend with Hicks a little bit, a guy that should be on the field. And I think Ryan day touched on it pretty well on Tuesday.
[Ryan Day]
Well, the way that R. Bell played, he deserves, you know, more reps. But I think it has to do with his preparation.
And there was a moment last week where, you know, his preparation was just okay. And then, you know, there was, there was a point in the week where he really dug in and did a really good job with his preparation. And I think Jim and James would, would tell you the same thing.
And I think that allowed him to play fast. So that's a big part of playing linebacker. There's just a lot that comes with it.
I mean, I, I review their, their tips and their tests every week. And there's a lot in that packet. So he had to prepare at a high level.
And once you do that, then the game can slow down for you. And so if he continues to do that, you see the athletic ability, I mean, and the strain, that's what I liked the most. I mean, some of those reps that he had, I mean, he's going as hard as he possibly can from point A to point B and we can build what we can build on that.
I mean, any coach in America would love to have somebody like that. So if he keeps going like that and keeps with his preparation, then he's going to keep building.
[Dan Hope]
It's going to be interesting to see if Cody Simon does not play this week, which is still up in the air. Ryan Day said on Tuesday that both Cody Simon and Donovan Jackson are day to day. And you get the impression they're going to be conservative with both of those guys, you know, recovering from preseason injuries.
If they're not 100% fully good to go, they'll hold them out for another week because it's just Western Michigan. And, you know, you don't want to rush those guys back. Before the really big, important games where you're really going to need those guys on the fields come up.
So we'll see what happens there, but it'll be interesting to see if Cody can't go or if, or if he does go, but maybe they just choose to limit his reps to kind of ease him back in. Will Arvell, you know, get the start next to Sonny or will, you know, if Cody does play, will he be that first guy off the bench? Cause I think there's a definite case for that.
You know, I think we saw on Saturday, why Arvell was getting so much hype in the preseason, because I think he's a guy who's going to be a really good linebacker for Ohio state sooner than later. And I think he showed, he's a guy who deserves to be in that mix this year. I mean, again, it's only Akron.
So we got to see how he plays against a bigger competition, but I think certainly an encouraging star and it, and it does lead to some interesting conversations about CJ Hicks because for two years, there's been a lot of people going where CJ, where CJ, why doesn't CJ play more? And this is kind of what they've been saying. The coaches have been saying about him for two years is like, we really like CJ.
We think he's got talent, but like he's better. You know, that was why they talked about putting him at Jack last year, because it was like, we think he's better when you kind of direct him where to go, rather than when he has to make that quick decision. Like, I think that's the thing that stood out to me watching Arvell, especially rewatching the game on film is his instincts.
Like you could see that Arvell has those natural instincts that you need at the linebacker position. I think that's something that CJ Hicks is still developing. And it's interesting when you think about maybe not so much this year, because they, they just really don't need that Jack position this year because of that defensive depth, defensive end depth you just talked about.
But, you know, I think ahead to next year, like theoretically, let's say Sonny Stiles chooses to stay at Ohio state for his senior year. And you have been Arvell Reese coming up, you know, his next year, a year, if Sonny Stiles stays at Ohio state, does CJ Hicks potentially become a Jack next year when they're not as deep at defensive end? Do you potentially turn him into that kind of edge rush kind of player next year?
Could we even see a little bit kind of mixed in as this year goes along? I think it's an interesting conversation to have, especially if, you know, Arvell can really solidify himself as kind of that backup, because then that kind of allows you to maybe experiment a little more with CJ and try to find the role that utilizes his skillset best. Cause you know, we could, you could see it on the sack that he had against Akron.
Like he does have talent. He can be a difference maker, but I think there's still a ways for, I don't think he's still quite there yet to where they, they want him to be, to be that every down linebacker for them. And I think you saw that on Saturday that at least looked like through one, again, just one game sample size, but you know, this is also a guy we heard was defensive player of the game.
And one of our scrimmages in the preseason that, you know, Arvell's maybe a step ahead of where CJ is in terms of being that all around linebacker. And Hey, you know, Gabe powers too, as a guy, I mean, he didn't play much on Saturday, but when he got in the game, he picked off a pass that Edric Houston deflected and returned it for a touchdown. So that's how you take advantage of your reps that you do get and make a case that you deserve to play more in the future too.
So questions about how to best utilize CJ Hicks aside, I feel really good about the linebacker depth coming out of that game. Cause I mean, you gotta give credit to Sonny styles. Like he's been practicing it.
He's a first time linebacker. That was his first game ever playing like ever, like even like high school. That was like his first time, like ever playing a game as a full-time linebacker.
And he was the guy, the first game for Ohio state using the helmet communication. He was the guy getting those signals and calling them out to the defense. So you gotta give Sonny styles a lot of credit.
I think he did a great job moving over into that Mike linebacker role and handling that responsibility and showing he could be a full-time linebacker and then deceive away. Arvell stepped up coming in off the bench, you know, to see Gabe powers make a play when he come in there to see CJ Hicks, even if it wasn't a perfect game to go in there and make, make a big play. You know, I, I come out of that game, certainly feeling good about what we've seen from the linebacker depth, even if that's still the position, but still the slight question mark on defense.
I think there's a lot you saw in week one that gives you a lot of reason to be encouraged about what that group's going to be going forward. Especially once Cody Simon is back of a mix.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, I think that was a theme even coming into the season that we had discussed previously is that this linebacker depth might be more of a strength than we kind of gave it credit for in the spring. Just the number of guys there, the top line, I think still has some things to prove Sonny. I stepped up big time filling in as a Mike when he's been practicing at will all camp all off season.
And I'm sure they've worked him at Mike too. Obviously they work their linebackers across, you know, they cross train, but the way he stepped up in that game, I think it's, I still want to see what he is going to do when Cody Simon is back and he's playing the will full time. We just talked about CJ having some things to prove, but now you have a guy that you feel really good about the ceiling of an RBL Reese.
And if CJ doesn't get there, well, you have that option and Gabe power's doing some things. I think outside offense and defense, the biggest special teams revelation we had in this game was Brandon Ennis, man. I tweeted it out.
I think a lot of people have said it. It feels like he's going to return. He's going to break that 10 year drought that Ohio state has without a return touchdown this year.
From what you saw in that game, I mean, just some really impressive work. Ohio state returned 75 yards worth of punts, had 75 punt return yards in 2023. Brandon got 60 by himself, uh, on Saturday and had a 21 yard return called back.
That would have surpassed that 75 yard mark as it stands, as it results on the field, he had 60 pop return yards, but it was still awesome. Um, and, and the shiftiness, I think, you know, a Mecca book, uh, is a really good, was a really good returner for Ohio state when he filled that role. But I actually like Brandon better as a punt returner, just because I think he's a shiftier athlete and you want somebody who can weave in and out, make people miss, do those sorts of things.
Not that a Mecca can't, but I think Brandon Ennis, that's a real strength for him. And he's really bursty as an athlete accelerates really well and does have good top end speed. So pop return kind of seemed like they were going to roll some guys after how Brandon Ennis started the game.
And after his first few pop returns, I think it became clear. He's this team's pump returner going forward. Um, and it was his aggression to getting up there, fielding every pop, returning the ones he could.
Uh, and, and that was a big point of emphasis for the team in the off season is day discussed on Tuesday.
[Ryan Day]
We worked hard in this off season on special teams. I think I shared with you that, you know, each of the coaches now own it and, um, you know, Rob keys is overseeing it and I'm a big part of it, um, on a daily basis now. And one of the studies that we did was, you know, every time the ball hits the ground on, on a turf field, you know, there's, um, you know, an average of like 10 yards a roll there.
So, you know, we want to make sure that we're aggressive and feeling those punts at the same time. We can't be foolish because some of those punts, you know, you just, you put yourself at risk of, of, of a, um, of a fumble. So, uh, the first thing we've got to do is get the ball back.
That's number one. Second thing we're trying to do is field it. Um, again, especially on a turf field when that ball can really roll, you've seen some really poor punts just kind of take off on the turf.
And so we tried to eliminate those. We think that those are, well, Brandon Ennis's example, a couple, a couple of those on Saturday, uh, in particular, the one that he returned, it was rolling down probably inside the 10 yard line. He stopped it and then returned it back.
That was probably three or four first downs on offense. It's a big deal. So, uh, we're trying to educate our guys.
We're also going to be sound and make sure that we get the ball back and win the turnover battle.
[Dan Hope]
I think Ryan Day thinks Brandon Ennis is going to score a touchdown this year too. I mean, he said it last week. It was kind of jokingly, but you know, when Jim Lachey asked him at the very end of his, uh, radio show appearance, he said, are we going to finally see a return touchdown this year?
And, and, and Ryan, you know, kind of laughed and said, yeah, I can guarantee it. We're going to, we're going to, we're going to see a return touchdown this year. So I think there's absolutely been a point of emphasis on being more dynamic in the return game this year.
And I think we saw that with our own eyes again, you know, it could look a little different against an Oregon or a Michigan or a Penn state than it does against an Akron. You know, a team that has better athletes, you may not get as many opportunities where you have as much room to run as he did in this game. But it was clear.
I think that's something that really stood out about watching Brandon is, I mean, you have a shiftiness to speed. He's got all that, but it's just the fact that it looked like every time the ball went up, it's like, he's looking to make a play with the ball. You know, or I think in the, in, in recent years, a lot of times of Ohio state's returns, it's kind of looked like you have just fair catch it.
You know, it's, it's just kind of been the trend. They haven't tried to do a ton in terms of explosive plays in that area. And I think it's clear there's been an emphasis.
You certainly get the impression that yeah, there's no special teams coordinator per se this year, but special teams has nevertheless been a big point of emphasis for this Ohio state football team. You know, we talk so much about the offense and defense, but I think they've also recognized that if they want to be that national championship team, they need to be better on special teams too. And I think, you know, it was an, it was an encouraging start.
There were, you know, still a couple of penalties on, you know, special teams, but they'll certainly want to get cleaned up. But punter situation is still not quite settled because you, you can tell like, they really want like Nick McLarty to like be what they think he can be because he's got such a big leg, but you can tell like, they really want him to get there to where he can be a guy that's really flipping the field at that big leg, but he's not quite there yet. And so, you know, Joe McGuire's the guy for now, I think he had a good first game in that role.
We will see if he, you know, continues in that role all year long or if Nick McLarty can start to show them the consistency and practice that they need to see to, to put him out there in games, you know, maybe in one of these upcoming games, if Ohio state can build a comfortable lead, maybe they at least get him out there late in the game for a punt. Ryan day did say after a game Saturday, he kind of regretted that he didn't do that. You know, after they had to punt with the one drive that Devin Brown was in there in the fourth quarter.
And so we'll see, you know how that continues to play out, but it does seem like, you know, Joe's a solid option there right now in, in terms of the punting.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah. Consistency is going to be important. You know, it's nice to have that guy that can boot at 70, 80 yards, but if, if you're going to get a 20 yard shank with that in a game, it kind of nullifies any gains made off of that one long booty hat, you know?
So you look for McClarty to continue to develop that consistency. I'm sure he will. And for now it's, it's a fun story if nothing else to, to see a walk on, you know, go out and win the job in week one.
And Joe McGuire showed he can provide Ohio state, what it needs at punter. And you hope the punter doesn't have to be too involved. You know, that's another part of this is go score touchdowns.
And then it doesn't matter who the punter is. We spent a lot of time dwelling on this game, probably time to talk a little about Ohio state's next opponent here, Western Michigan coming up this Saturday at night, you know, the old SpongeBob quote, it's at night with the Broncos. And this is a team that coming into the year, you said second easiest game on the schedule for Ohio state after Akron, but they gave Wisconsin a real scare last week.
This is the game. This is a game that Western Michigan led in the fourth quarter, 1413, Wisconsin is punting the ball back. It takes an odd bounce.
It's one of their, it's one of the members of the pump return team for Western Michigan recovered by Wisconsin. They go score a touchdown, go on to win the game 28 to 14, but they had real shots to beat Wisconsin. Now I'm sure we both think Ohio state's a much better team than Wisconsin is, but maybe, you know, there are reasons to say this could be a stiffer test for Ohio state than Akron was Dan.
Would you agree?
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I guess the team that had a fourth quarter lead against a big 10 team last week. So yeah, I think without a doubt that this is a, you know, step up in competition, how big of a step up?
We don't really know yet because it is only one week. And I think, you know, one thing that chip Kelly and will Howard both pointed out on Tuesday was that Western Michigan's defensive scheme is a lot different than what it ran last year and actually different than what their new defensive coordinator, Scott power ran at Louisiana tech. And so it's very likely that Wisconsin was not prepared for the kind of defense it saw.
And that probably played a significant part in Western Michigan's defensive success. And so I think the question will now be for Western Michigan is now that Ohio state will have a game of film to watch and prepare for their new defensive scheme. Can Western Michigan replicate the defensive success it had against Wisconsin, especially when you factor in that now they've got to go up against the Jeremiah Smith and Emeka, Buka and Travian Henderson and Quinn, Sean Judkins and Carnell Tate and will Howard.
It's a little bit more of an explosive offense in terms of skill position playmakers, but Ohio state has in comparison to Wisconsin. I think that, you know, Western Michigan's defense is better than Akron's. I think that, you know, Ohio state should still be able to have a good amount of success against this Western Michigan defense.
And I think, you know, on the other side of a ball, it's hard to envision the Broncos scoring too much on the Buckeyes defense. And they do have a good running back. Jalen Buckley.
He was a 1000 yard rusher in 2023. He had a solid season opener, 64 yards, two touchdowns on 16 carries against Wisconsin. But I don't think anything in a passing game scares you much with this Western Michigan offense.
They were ranked 95th and pass a rating a year ago. They had 141 yards on only 19 passing attempts against Wisconsin. And so, you know, there's a reason why Ohio state is favored to win this game by 38 and a half points.
I think on paper, this is still a matchup that certainly favors Ohio state, but I do think you have to look at what Western Michigan did against Wisconsin last week and say, you can't just overlook this team. You can't just assume that it's going to be a cakewalk because this team showed last week, they could go into another big 10 teams home stadium and really compete with them.
[Andy Anders]
I'll be interested to see what it looks like week one to week two for the Western Michigan defense. When you talk about, you know, they got the surprise Wisconsin with their scheme last week, and now you have a week to draw it up. If you're Ohio state and the strides, the offense is able to take from week one to week two, particularly running the ball against such a look.
And trying to, you know, get more consistency on the ground is the key here. And, you know, it's, it is another tune-up game, but it's like you said, it's one you can't sleep on, especially when you're trying to take more steps and build for a championship later in the season. You want to start fast in this game.
I think that's one of the main things you want to look for from Ohio state. And this is that, can you get an early lead? Can you put your foot on the gas pedal early and, and build a couple of scores of an advantage and really just let it play out the rest of the game, build from there, get the starters out early, all those good things.
Because they, you know, they didn't do that as much in week one. And now that you did put that second half on the field against Akron, that looked much better, much cleaner on offense, does that carry over into game two? And it's a more complete performance where you also start fast.
So those are kind of the main things I'm watching for is, do you get a fast start on offense? And also the guys we just mentioned, you know, I'm interested to see Cody Simon, if he's back this week, you know, good, but I imagine we'll still see CJ Hicks and Arvell Reese in this game. Does their week one performance, good or bad, match what they, week two performance, good or bad, match what they did in week one.
A lot of those depth pieces and, and seeing also if Donovan Jackson comes back exactly what this front five looks like altogether.
[Dan Hope]
When I think about making a prediction for this game, I'm kind of right there on the line on whether Ohio state is going to cover a spread in this game. I think it's a good spread. You know, I think that 38 point number makes a lot of sense and that's kind of right where I'm at with it.
When I make a score prediction for this game, I'm going to go Ohio state 45, Western Michigan seven. I do think that this is a better defense than Ohio state faced in week one. And I also think this is a team you look at last year, they only lost 13 turnovers, Western Michigan did.
So I don't expect two defensive touchdowns again. I think this is a Western Michigan team that's going to, you know, take a little bit better care of the football. And so, you know, I, I, I mean, I wouldn't be shocked if, if Ohio state goes out and, you know, puts up 50 plus points in this game.
I think they're going to certainly be motivated to do that on the offensive side of a ball. And I, I think, you know, defensively, I, I think, you know, double digits would, would be a disappointment in this game. Cause I, I, you know, they, they scored 14 against Wisconsin last week, you know, Ohio state's defense is better than Wisconsin's.
And I think that, you know, they don't have, you know, at least on paper of a firepower that they really should be able to score a lot of points against this Ohio state defense. And so I wouldn't be surprised if Ohio state covers, but I'm not going to bet on it. I'm not going to quite go there.
45 to seven feels right to me. How about you, Andy?
[Andy Anders]
I have 48, three. I do think Western Michigan's defense is enough to have a better result than Akron did. Obviously Akron allowed 52 points to the Buckeyes.
And I also think these teams, you know, these, these group of five teams that Ohio state is playing in the first few weeks are trying to play some ball control. We certainly saw that from Akron who had a six minute drive where they only got two first downs. So that, that is something that I think will lower the score in some of these games has already lowered it against Akron.
Because if you think about the offense only scored 38 points, you had the two defensive touchdowns and they got a short field for their field goal off the other turnover. So there is, I think again, some value in what Western Michigan brings defensively at 48 is six touchdowns on two field goals. I think they're going to be able to get some stops in this game.
Maybe as Ohio state is still working to iron out those wrinkles. However, I do think we see more consistency from Ohio state's offense in this game. I do think, you know, the old cliche about you take your biggest steps week one to week two is true.
And I think this defense is, they want to get a shutout, but I think they follow field goals.
[Dan Hope]
We talked about it at the top of the show. If you thought, you know, Ohio state's season opener was a little underwhelming. Well, you should be feeling a lot better than, you know, maybe some other fan bases felt about their, their week one performances.
I think certainly in the big 10, I mean, you talk about, you know, two of the teams we're going to be talking about all year as a major competition for Ohio state are Oregon and Michigan. And it was not a particularly great opener for either of those teams, particularly Oregon, Who was in a one score game in the fourth quarter with Idaho and FCS team and eventually won 24 to 14. Now it was a weird game for Oregon because they out gained Idaho 487 to 217.
Like when you look at all the other stats, it looks like Oregon should have won this game very convincingly yet. It didn't. And so I don't know that I take a whole lot away from that game.
Like, you know, it doesn't change my opinion that Oregon is Ohio state's top competition. The big 10 this year, it's kind of just more of a weird game than anything else. But I think it's a, it's right there.
That's a great indicator of like season openers can be weird. And I do think for Oregon, you know, they go into a week to, you know, they need to play a lot better because they, they host a Boise state team that, you know, I think is probably the top contender for that group of five birth and the CFP and they're going to be a dangerous opponent. They ran for 371 yards and seven touchdowns in week one, 267 of those yards and six of those touchdowns were by Ashton Shanti.
They're outstanding running back. And so Oregon is going to need to step up its game in week two to, to avoid a potential upset. Now Boise state did give up 45 points in his first game.
So I'm not going to go as far as to say, I think Boise state actually will pull off the upset. I think Oregon probably will win that game by multiple scores and they'd probably really like to win it, you know, in very convincing fashion as, as kind of a statement after that week one, but you know, that's a game, you know, we're, we're probably still going to be, you know, in the press box for, you know, a good amount of that game, a 10 o'clock kick on everyone's favorite network, that being Peacock. But that's going to be an interesting game.
I I'm certainly interested to, you know, catch at least a little bit of that one and, and see how it goes, because I do think that, you know, certainly based on how they played last week, Oregon's got to step up its game here going into week two.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, I'd absolutely agree on that assessment. I think another team that's definitely going to have to step up its game in week two is Michigan, seeing as they play Texas, who could be a national title contender this year. And Michigan didn't exactly look like world leaders in week one either, you know, ended up winning 30 to 10 against Fresno state, who's a quality group of five team, but much of the game didn't look that dominant.
They didn't, you know, that that's a score that's, I think was a lot closer than it might indicate it was close for a while. And definitely a lot of questions remain in that quarterback position. Alex Orji didn't start, they only had 121 passing yards as a team.
And now Michigan has proven in the past, they can win big games, running the ball. So, you know, obviously the famously second half against Penn state last year, they didn't throw it and still want, and you know, we're able to just run it and win the game. But the concerns that Michigan had coming into this year on their offensive line at quarterback, where does that sound familiar have been amplified by this Fresno state result, I think, and they've got a lot of things to prove as the season goes on with all the talent they've lost with the coaching change.
And Texas is, you know, Texas is coming and that's going to be a real measuring stick. So it's interesting with both of those teams, Oregon and Michigan get kind of a better measuring stick in week two to see if the week one result was just a fluke, was just week one hiccups, or is, are these more sort of systematic issues with these teams that are going to linger throughout the year. And, and so be very interested in both those games.
Although obviously Texas has a much bigger test than Boise state. The Boise state is pretty good.
[Dan Hope]
I think Michigan's issues are more concerning coming out of week one than Oregon, because, you know, Michigan, you know, Davis Warren, he was the starting quarterback for Michigan. He had just 4.7 yards per attempt, 15 to 25 for 118 yards as of a starting quarterback. And, and the running game was, was not great either.
They only averaged 4.4 rushing yards per attempt. Donovan Edwards had only 27 rushing yards on 11 carries. And so I think Michigan's offense, I mean, we've talked, you know, plenty before.
I mean, we still expect Michigan's defense to be really good this year, but that offense has some major, major question marks and they've got to play Texas. They've got to play Oregon. They've got to play Ohio state.
The first real big test for them this weekend, you know, I would be surprised if Michigan wins that game. I think, you know, Texas is a seven point favorite. I, I probably like Texas's chances of winning that game by multiple scores based on, you know, what, what they are as a team.
And I think they're certainly have a lot more firepower on offense than Michigan does with Quinn Ewers leading the way. And so that will be certainly a game to watch on Saturday. Noon on Fox, looking forward to watching that one before we head down to Ohio stadium to cover the at night game against Western Michigan for the Buckeyes, a very good week all around vote for the big 10 as, as a big 10 went 17 and one in week one, Minnesota suffering.
The only loss in a game. They really probably should have won as they lost to North Carolina. When Dragan Kesich, who was the big 10 kicker of the year last year, missed a potential game winning field goal.
So, you know, really good week for the big 10. I think Penn state off to an impressive start beating West Virginia, 34 to 12, you know, drew our, didn't throw it a ton, but he still had 216 yards on just 17 attempts, 11 completions, three touchdowns. Trey Wallace, their wide receiver had a really good game.
You know, he's a guy who was injured a lot last year, but people were excited about in state college. If he can stay healthy, he has a potential to be that number one receiving weapon that Penn state really didn't have last year. And if, you know, he can merge and if drew our can take a step forward, build off a strong week, one, you know, Penn state, you know, we've talked about it before.
I think to me, I think they're ahead of Michigan in the pecking order in terms of big 10 for rats because of, you know, the fact that I think their offense is going to be a lot more explosive than Michigan's is going to be this year. And then USC as well. You know, when we, when we talked about, you know, we did our big 10 preview episode.
I don't know how high either of us was on USC, but I think I'm definitely higher on USC now after week one, that I was going in because USC getting a big win over LSU in Las Vegas, 27 to 20. I was really impressed by Miller Moss. You know, he had a great bowl game for USC last year and then built on that with a really good start to the season for USC in that game.
And then, you know, the big thing for USC is they only allowed 20 points. I mean, I think Garris Garrett Nussmeier looked good for LSU too. But the thing we saw from USC in that game on Sunday night is, you know, they, they weren't letting LSU finish off drives and as dismal as things were for the last couple of years with Alex Grinch calling the shots.
It certainly looks like USC has figured something out on defense. I don't think they're going to be an elite defense by any stretch of a means, but if, if they can be even an adequate defense with some of the weapons they have offensively, now they become a team. We have to watch them a big 10 as well.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, they did a great job of playing Ben, but don't break against LSU. I think that was the thing that stood out to me watching that game is that yeah, LSU was putting drives together, but they weren't scoring a whole bunch. And sometimes that's just a massive improvement over, you know, literally one of the worst defenses in college football last year under Alex Grinch.
And, you know, he makes you scratch your head and wonder, well, how did he ever get that job in the first place? But as great a result as that was for the big 10, as great of a week as it was for the big 10, a couple of the ACC's expected top contenders looked pretty bad in week one. And one of them had already looked pretty bad in week zero.
And that is Florida State, who is now 0-2 after losing to Boston College. And this is a game that really out of Florida State's in a position where you're an ACC team, you already have a little more of an uphill climb to the playoff than some top big 10 and SEC contenders do, I think. And you really can't afford to lose another game to get the playoffs.
I don't think like you go nine and three in the ACC and the quality of losses, you know, that you talk about two unranked teams that who knows could end up being quality ranked teams by the end of the year. But this really feels like Florida State, you reflect on last year and the debate about them entering the last 14 college football playoff after a 13-0 season, but then they didn't look that great. Obviously we're shut out.
And now it's like ever since then, they have, they've just, they've lost three straight games. And so, A, reflects last year's playoff committee, even though this year's team is different than last year's team, you have a massive downgrade at quarterback, I think from Jordan Travis to DJ Uyandale, who just has looked awful these first two games. But, you know, I think a lot of questions are being asked at Florida State right now, and they're struggling for answers.
They looked really bad at the line of scrimmage. I think both sides of the ball might've been the biggest undoing of them in both the Boston College and Georgia Tech games. And to see them punting the ball down to scores with, you know, like seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the fans are just filing out of the stadium.
It's like, it's kind of surreal to think of where they were several months ago and feeling like they got snubbed from the playoffs. And now they are, they're almost out of playoff contention three weeks into the first round of the 12 team playoffs. So, and then Clemson really, it feels like Dabo's program has fallen from the ranks of the elite.
I don't think a lot of people were picking them to beat Georgia. When you talk about Georgia being number one team in the country, but 34-3, that game just never looked close. They didn't look like they belonged on the same field.
And that to me, you know, those are two of the top ACC contenders that have really fallen on hard times. And it's, it's been several years since Clemson didn't lose three games in a season, which it's kind of stark. When you think about how much of a power they were at the peak of Dabo Sweeney's tenure, maybe hit the transfer board a little bit, maybe change your philosophy, just saying, just saying.
But now with those two teams falling on hard times, I think maybe it's Miami who's kind of rising to the top here. 41-17 over Florida. That was just a dominant performance by the Hurricanes.
And it feels like they, it's only week one again, but they're kind of rising to the top of the ACC when you look at the results that Florida State and Clemson have put out there. So, but really bad result for Billy Napier and his future there. But really good result for the Hurricanes.
And Dan, just, just your overall thoughts on what was a pretty informative weekend for the ACC, it feels.
[Dan Hope]
You could look at all the power conference teams and Florida State is literally the one that's now closest to be eliminated from a playoff because they've already got two losses. I mean, they, they do not control their own destiny in any way at this point now, because they've already lost two conference games. Like they could win out and potentially not make the ACC championship game, depending on how things play out.
So I think they absolutely have to win out at this point, pretty much to have any chance of making the college football playoff. And they've got plenty of tough games to come on their schedule. And so certainly is not looking too good down there in Tallahassee for that team, which I think certainly wanted to make the college ball playoff this year after getting snubbed last year.
And yeah, I mean, Clemson, I mean, it looks like a lot of the same problems we saw from them last year, but their offense just isn't very good now. Granted, Georgia looked like the number one team in the country. They justified why they were ranked ahead of Ohio state in a preseason polls because they were dominant in that game.
I mean, we talked about it before the season, we expect Georgia to be Ohio state's top competition for a national championship this year. And that certainly looked to be the case of how well Georgia played in week one. So Georgia is certainly going to be a team to reckon with all year long.
And I think they're going to be very much at the top of that national conversation all year long, but Clemson certainly they've got to find something on offense quickly. If they're going to, you know, be in the playoff mix this year. And I agree with you.
I think Miami, you know, right now after one week, they look like the team to beat in the ACC right now. You know, I think it's too early to say the U is back, but I think it's a, it's a promising start. And you look at their schedule for Florida state and how being unranked, they don't play any team the rest of the year on their schedule.
That's currently ranked better than 22nd. And so they've got a favorable schedule to where you'd think they've got a pretty good shot of, of, you know, winning the ACC and, and being a college football playoff team this year. So, you know, we'll, we'll see how it goes, you know, not really any tests for them in the next couple of weeks as they play Florida, a and M and ball state.
But I think it's very encouraging if you're a Miami fan to see what we saw from a hurricanes and week one. I mean, I know you, you and I were both big on the cam ward train. We were talking about quarterbacks that Ohio state could pursue.
Will Howard, great debut. You know, if we'll Howard continues to play like that, there won't be any questions about whether Ohio state took the right guy, but it did seeing the way cam ward played week one did. I did feel validated for saying back in December that I thought he was the transfer quarterback they should pursue because I saw him on Tuesday on some early lists as a Heisman front runner.
So, you know, he's I think he's certainly making a big impact already on Miami. I think he and that team are going to be a lot of fun to watch this year. And college football in general is going to be a lot of fun to watch week two coming up.
As we mentioned, you know, Texas, Michigan, Oregon, Boise state, certainly two of the most interesting games, not only in the big 10, but around the country this week, but Ohio state will be hosting Western Michigan at night at Ohio stadium, 7 30 PM, big 10 network. We will be there in my shoe and we'll have lots more coverage, including our post game breakdown video, which is new this year. We'll be doing that from the shoe after the game, as well as lots more coverage to come on 11 warriors.com and 11 warriors YouTube channel. So we hope you join us there. Thanks again for listening in to another episode, a real pod Wednesdays, and we'll catch you next week.