September 23, 2025 • 46 mins
With Ohio State off over the weekend, there was nothing for Buckeye fans to do but check out the other games around the country. Whether it was watching Clemson lose again, checking in on Michigan at Nebraska, or staying up late to see if Sparty could take down the men of Troy, there was plenty to watch on Saturday.
We start this week’s show with a look at the latest Ohio State players to lose their black helmet stripes over the last couple of weeks, becoming “official” members of the team. We also discussed Ross Bjork’s efforts to get Ohio State’s vacated wins from 2010 reinstated. If the NCAA suddenly doesn’t think it’s fair to punish players for the actions of their coaches, there should be no issue overturning those vacated wins, as Jim Tressel lying to the NCAA was the most serious offense of the bunch. The players themselves wouldn’t have had to trade/sell their own belongings to get tattoos in the era of NIL, so it sucks for them that they parted with keepsakes they might regret getting rid of with the benefit of hindsight.
After touching on the recent OSU news, we took our weekly lap around the B1G to see how other teams made out in Week 4 . Nebraska turned down some early points and it came back to bite the Huskers. Washington, Oregon, and Indiana look formidable, while Illinois and Wisconsin came out of Saturday not looking so hot. We also looked ahead to the matchups this weekend, although many teams around the conference are having their bye weeks. The Oregon-Penn State game and Ohio State at Washington are the marquee matchups on Saturday, so get your snacks ready.
Finally, we previewed the Buckeyes’ trip to the Pacific Northwest to take on Washington at Husky Stadium. There are few environments in college football as hostile for visitors, and it will be Julian Sayin’s first road start. We’re eager to see if the young signal caller continues to play calmly and throw accurately in the face of adversity. We also made our picks to click, selecting the players we think will shine for Ohio State on Saturday, and made our predictions on what the final score will be when the game concludes.
We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions below in the comments section or send us an email at SilverBulletsPod@gmail.com. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.
Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.
As always, thanks for listening!
0:20 - More Ohio State players lost their black stripes from their helmets, the Buckeyes could get their Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas back, and we tour the Big Ten’s other games to see who came out on top.
31:05 - The Washington Huskies present a difficult challenge on Saturday, and they’ll have perhaps the best offense the Buckeyes will face all season. We preview the matchup.
We start this week’s show with a look at the latest Ohio State players to lose their black helmet stripes over the last couple of weeks, becoming “official” members of the team. We also discussed Ross Bjork’s efforts to get Ohio State’s vacated wins from 2010 reinstated. If the NCAA suddenly doesn’t think it’s fair to punish players for the actions of their coaches, there should be no issue overturning those vacated wins, as Jim Tressel lying to the NCAA was the most serious offense of the bunch. The players themselves wouldn’t have had to trade/sell their own belongings to get tattoos in the era of NIL, so it sucks for them that they parted with keepsakes they might regret getting rid of with the benefit of hindsight.
After touching on the recent OSU news, we took our weekly lap around the B1G to see how other teams made out in Week 4 . Nebraska turned down some early points and it came back to bite the Huskers. Washington, Oregon, and Indiana look formidable, while Illinois and Wisconsin came out of Saturday not looking so hot. We also looked ahead to the matchups this weekend, although many teams around the conference are having their bye weeks. The Oregon-Penn State game and Ohio State at Washington are the marquee matchups on Saturday, so get your snacks ready.
Finally, we previewed the Buckeyes’ trip to the Pacific Northwest to take on Washington at Husky Stadium. There are few environments in college football as hostile for visitors, and it will be Julian Sayin’s first road start. We’re eager to see if the young signal caller continues to play calmly and throw accurately in the face of adversity. We also made our picks to click, selecting the players we think will shine for Ohio State on Saturday, and made our predictions on what the final score will be when the game concludes.
We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions below in the comments section or send us an email at SilverBulletsPod@gmail.com. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.
Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.
As always, thanks for listening!
0:20 - More Ohio State players lost their black stripes from their helmets, the Buckeyes could get their Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas back, and we tour the Big Ten’s other games to see who came out on top.
31:05 - The Washington Huskies present a difficult challenge on Saturday, and they’ll have perhaps the best offense the Buckeyes will face all season. We preview the matchup.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Hello, get everybody, Welcome back to another episode of the
Silver Bullets podcast. I'm Michael Citrow and I'm Chipmanegg Chip.
Was a nice relaxing bye week for us. Didn't have
to sweat out any Ohio State games this week and
gave us an opportunity to maybe take a look at
some of the other teams in the Big Ten and
see how they're doing. And did you get a chance
(00:40):
to do that? Did you get a chance to look
around and see some of the other teams?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I did? Actually, it was enjoyable.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Good. Well, I didn't get to see as much as
I wanted. I had to cover a soccer game on
Saturday night. But I will say that I did get
to see a little bit of a few games, especially
the late game of USC playing in the late game
against Michigan State, and you got to see some of
(01:08):
the twelve o'clock action. But other than that, not a
whole lot in the middle of the day. But before
we go around the Big Ten a little bit and
talk about what happened and look ahead to next week.
In this bye week, we do have some news.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Sounds good, all right.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
We'll start with the Black Stripes, as we always like
to point out when Buck guys get their black stripe
removed from their helmet in practice so that they become
official Buck Eyes, as recognized by their teammates and coaches.
And in the last couple of weeks, we've had a
few of those, and we will start with September tenth,
(01:45):
when Jarquez Carter, a freshman defensive tackle, and freshman defensive
end Zion Grady both lost their black stripes. And then
on the seventeenth, a linebacker who has flashed already a
little bit this season, tj Alford, got his black stripe removed.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah, I would say out of the three, I'm not
surprised that Carter had his black stripe removed, just the
position he plays, the necessity of an interior defensive lineman.
Carter was one of those guys that was talked about
really kind of representing himself well during the spring, so
(02:25):
I'm kind of surprised that it has been this long,
but I'm happy to see that he had it removed.
Zion Grady getting some playing time against Grambling, and then
you mentioned tj Alford. He's definitely been flashing the last
couple weeks against Grambling and Ohio U. I think his
primary contributions will will be on special teams and you know,
(02:49):
let's hope that Ohio State has you know, comfortable wins
that allow him to be put into linebacker opportunities. So
congratulations since all of them.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Yeah, I'm not sure who's still left who hasn't gotten
their black stripe removed. It might be easier to find out,
you know, the list of those who have not gotten
their black stripes oft than the ones that have, because
the ones that have that list is pretty long.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yeah, I mean the guys that haven't. And I'm not
this is not meant to diminish or belittle anyone. I'm
kind of getting the impression that there might be some
injury issues that are kind of precluding them from being
able to participate. So and I think it's also the
(03:33):
fact that you know, like you said on you know,
for for example, TJ. Alford on the seventeenth, I think
traditionally it's usually the kind of thing where you see
black stripe removals during practice, you know, the leading up
to a game. The fact that you know, O High
State had this past week off for a bye week,
(03:54):
maybe they you know, were being just you know a
little bit more focused on you know, I guess you
could say, you know, just kind of working on some
fundamentals and not really scrutinizing that the freshmen. We'll see
if we start to see more and more freshmen get
there with their black stripe to removed.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah. The other news that was kind of eye opening
something that we kind of touched on a few weeks
ago about when you know, when the Michigan quote unquote
punishment came down, we talked about maybe the twenty ten
vacated wins would be reinstated. And it turns out ross
Byork is pursuing that, and I don't know if he'll
(04:35):
be successful or not, but that would include the Sugar
Bowl win over Arkansas.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah. He I listened to the interview. It was on
ninety seven point one the Ryan Day Show that airs
on Thursdays during the season, and he made he referenced
it in passing, saying that when he was at Ole,
miss he was he was part of an administration where
they had to wins. But he kind of made the
(05:02):
point of, hey, you know, we all remember being at
the Sugar Bowl, we remember hoisting the trophy. So I'm
not sure how intense of an effort it's going to be,
but I I like you, I think it's it's worth pursuing.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Yeah, and I think that ultimately, you know, the NCAA
has come out they don't want to they don't want
to punish the players for things coaches did. And of course,
the biggest thing in that twenty ten season was that
Jim Trussell lied to the ncaaa's That was the crux
of their punishment. It was a pretty severe one, we
thought at the time. And you know, the vacated wins,
(05:38):
if they were because of Jim Trustle, then why punish
the student athletes? And they went out and played hard
and won those games and won them fair and square,
so hopefully that it will be a successful campaign.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
All right, Jiff, let's go around the scores this weekend,
and we'll save Washington for last because they an Apple
Cup game against Washington State, and that, of course is
Ohio State's next opponent, and that will happen next week.
I'm sorry, Saturday night at Husky Stadium or Saturday day
at Husky Stadium. It's not the late game, it's the
(06:15):
middle time slot. But we'll get into this started on
Friday in a very important game for Rutgers, and Rutgers
was right there with Iowa at home through three quarters,
but in the fourth quarter Rutgers going to Rutger and
that's what happened is Iowa outscored Rutgers seventeen to seven
(06:37):
in the fourth quarter to win that game thirty eight
to twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, I saw that the tail end of it. Like
you said, it was kind of a collapse by Rutgers. Now,
the thing that is going to be interesting to see
is we talk about this all the time when it
comes to the teams within the Big Ten, certain teams,
you know, you kind of I don't want to say
that you a definitive number of wins, but you know,
(07:03):
Rutgers to get to that magic six number, it's going
to be extremely important that they win because their schedule
gets progressively more challenging as we get into the twenty
twenty five season.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yeah, and this was one of those ones we circled
to see if Rutgers is turning the corner, if they're
getting better. This is a game at home they need
to show us and win the game. And they were there,
but in the end, they couldn't get it done.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yes, exactly. Ethan kellick Man has had some you know,
costly plays at the end that that kind of doomed Rutgers.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
It only went twenty four of forty. That's not great
quarterback play, did not throw a touchdown, did throw an interception.
So quarterback play continues to be problematic. Not that Iowa's
quarterback play was fantastic in that game, either, but it
was it was better. Oregon and Oregon State played for
(07:56):
the Platypus Trophy, and which is a cool trophy. By
the way, Oregon, as we suspected, no trouble with Oregon State.
It was at Oregon and a forty one to seven
victory for the Ducks.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Yeah, Oregon's looking very formidable. I know, we'll talk about
the upcoming weekend, but Oregon just looks that they're doing fine,
even with all of the losses they had to the
transfer portal as well as the NFL.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah, Dante Moore look looks the part at quarterback, and
i Thy get a big game from Jaden Lamar rushing
the football, so Oregon gets the win there. One of
the more surprising scores, maybe not necessarily the winner of
the game, but the lopsidedness of the game is we
(08:47):
had a top ten Illinois team go to Indiana and
get absolutely pummeled sixty three to ten. It started with
a block, punt, scoop and score, and things just got
progressively worse for the line.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I all day, Yeah, I had anticipated in Indiana win,
but I certainly thought it was going to be closer.
I mean nobody, I don't think anyone, but maybe with
the accession of Kurt Signetti, thought it was going to
be a lopsided Indiana victory. And the challenging part now
for Illinois is this upcoming week and we'll talk about
(09:24):
it more. This upcoming week they welcome in USC, who's undefeated,
and you know, in a few weeks Ohio State, it
goes on the road there, they have to go out
to Washington. My point being is, I think if you're Illinois,
you're there. Had been talk about the college football playoff.
I think that road to the college football playoffs suddenly
(09:47):
became very, very narrow with the decisive loss to Indiana.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Yeah, it's going to be tough. Now they're going to
absolutely going to have to beat USC. I don't know
that they're going to be Ohio State to do get
the buck guys at home, and they're going to basically
have to win all of the other games. If they
don't beat Ohio State, they're going to have to win
all their other games to be in the conversation.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, I think that's fair.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Uh, fantastic looking quarterback for Indiana as Fernando Mendoza had
more touchdowns five than in completions two.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah. He he was one of the guys that the
in the transfer portal just kind of I don't want
to say that he was overlooked, but you know, you
certainly didn't get all of the hype, you know, coming
from cal But we were just talking about Indiana schedule.
They have some challenging games upcoming, like they have to
travel out to Oregon later on in the season, they
(10:44):
have to travel out to Penn State. So they still
have room for for like a you know, like more
room for for air margin for air, if you will,
than Illinois. But it's just very impressive to see the
job that Kurtzignetty's doing with Indiana.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Yeah, and you wonder if he keeps doing this well
with Indiana, how long is he going to stay at Indiana.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Well, he just signed last year, So I think that
that buyout would be kind of very cost prohibitive for
just about anyone.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, that won't necessarily stop an SEC school from trying
to poach him. I'm thinking about a team that maybe
plays very close to where I live up in Gainesville,
could probably use some help. And there's a team in
South Carolina that's not doing very well right now.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Oh exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Anyway, sixty three ten in Indiana set's a new Big
Ten record for most points scored on a Top ten opponent,
breaking Ohio States record by scoring sixty three on the
fighting Berts that didn't put up much of a fight.
One of the games that I did get to see
was Michigan at Nebraska and Michigan wins this thirty to
(11:56):
twenty seven. And I felt like Nebraska away opportunities to
score points early in this game and it ended up
costing them.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Yeah, I agree with you. I thought kind of the
you know, the idea of let's go for it on
fourth down when they were within field goal range. I
understand the sentiment there, but in hindsight, Matt rule should
have just you know, take the points. And I kind
(12:25):
of look at this game is kind of all right,
now you have the blueprint for both teams. And what
I mean by that is with Nebraska, all right, they
obviously have some some major deficiencies at stopping the run.
So if you're an upcoming opponent of Nebraska, that's how
I would attack. And conversely, if you are going to
(12:46):
be playing Michigan, you know full well all they want
to do is run. So easier said than done, but
that's kind of you know, the I think the defensive
strategy is if you can shut down their running game.
I realize there's a lot of hype and pray going
to Bryce Underwood, but the reality is he's more of
a threat as a runner than a passer still at
this point. So I just think I think, you know, Michigan,
(13:10):
they went on the road, congratulations. I thought Nebraska was
going to win the game. But I agree with you, Michael,
I thought that Nebraska they let some opportunities slip away.
So it's got to be one of those moments of
regret for Matt Ruhlin and the corn Huskers.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Yeah, have some mistakes from Dylan Royola in this game
to give Michigan a good field position, and Michigan also
the bulk of their yards came on like four big
plays in this game. Yes, so that game was there
for Nebraska and they failed to take it, and things
just I guess the status quote just keeps being the
status quote in Big Ten. Yeah, exactly. Purdue played a
(13:49):
non conference opponent when on the road to play Notre Dame,
and the game ended fifty six to thirty. But the
game wasn't as close as that.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
No, but Purdue, they're doing kind of what I thought
that they would. And what I mean by that is
just being kind of a pest, you know, like the
fact that you know, at the half they were down,
but they weren't out. I mean like it was basically
in the third quarter when Notre Dame pulled away and
the game was essentially done. Well, my point is is,
(14:21):
like I think if you're Purdue, you have to kind
of take some solace that, all, right, compared to the
results of last year when Notre Dame did whatever and
whenever they wanted to to the boiler Makers, I think
Purdue at least they're putting up more of a better
showing so far this season.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Yeah, Produce problem is appears to be defensively they oh yeah,
they didn't do a whole lot of stopping Notre Dame.
Notre Dame don't really have to throw the ball that much,
but Jeremiah Love at one hundred and fifty seven yards
and two touchdowns only nineteen carries, so Purdue goes down.
They are two and two overall. I should have been
given everybody' records. Iowa and Rutgers are both three and
(15:01):
one overall. Iowa one and OH and the Big Ten
Rutgers oh and one. Oregon played non conference there four
and OH, Illinois and Indiana Illinois three and one, Indiana
four and O Illinois obviously OH and one in league
play Indiana one and OH. Michigan is three and one.
Nebraska is three and one, and of course Michigan one
(15:22):
and OH in Big Ten, Nebraska owen one in Big Ten.
Due did not play a conference games. They're two and two.
Michigan State went to USC. This game started very late
on the East coast seven eleven thirty eastern start time.
Michigan State kind of hung around for a while and
they made it a one score game in the third quarter,
(15:42):
and then they just couldn't hold on. They just defensively
could not get stops, especially on some critical third downs,
and USC wins at forty five thirty one. Michigan State
scored a late touchdown. It really wasn't as close as
it was a three touchdown game until the last couple
of minutes, and USC wins big. They're four and oh
two and oh and big ten play. Michigan State is
(16:04):
three and one, oh and one and big, big ten play.
But I'm with you, I kind of believe the Spartans
are starting to get there. They need to. They need
to beef up the defense and especially against the run.
They were not very effective against the run against USC.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
No, they weren't. And it's going to be interesting because
they're going to be off this coming week. They have
a bye week. But we were just talking about in Nebraska,
so it's going to be interesting to see how each
team responds, you know, after having a disappointing loss, you know,
and the fact that Michigan States are going to go
(16:42):
on the road to Nebraska to see, you know, how
they respond.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah. One of the games that we thought would be
an interesting one was Maryland at Wisconsin and see what
Maryland would be able to do against a more physical
opponent and Wisconsin. The defensively was Wisconsin looks okay. The
only game that they've really given up points is the
road game at Alabama, which is understandable. And in this
(17:07):
one they lose twenty seven to ten. Just no offense
for Wisconsin and an ugly scene in Madison at halftime
is the crowd was chanting fire fickle and Maryland improves
the four and oh one to oher in Big Ten play.
Wisconsin drops to two and two to zero to one
in Big Ten play. And I feel like maybe Luke
fickles buyout is going to save him, but things have
(17:31):
to get better in Madison or he you know, somebody
will pay up and help buy out that contract.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Yeah, I mean it was. I watched that game, and
I mean from my perspective, I mean the game was
over at halftime. I mean it was twenty to nothing. Wisconsin,
like you said, couldn't do anything offensively. And I get
it the fact that Billy Edwards Junior is out who
is their projected starting quarterbacks, and Danie O'Neills there is
(17:59):
has been playing quarterback for the Badgers. So much of
this though, I think back to you know, and we
talked about this. You know, over the last couple of years,
self inflicted mistakes by Luke Fickle by coming in saying
we're going to do have an air raid offense when
you really didn't have the personnel to do it, either
along the offensive line or at the quarterback or receiver positions.
(18:23):
And now he's trying to get back to what they
used to do, but they really don't have, you know,
the traditional running game that that we've kind of grown
accustomed to are associated with Wisconsin. And yeah, it was.
It was bad, you know, like it was it was
audibly apparent to hear the fire Fickle chance as the
as the team was leaving the field. I don't know
(18:46):
what the answer is. I agree with you. I think
that the buyout is very cost prohibitive for Wisconsin. But
things they may not. Wisconsin may not win another game,
and somebody might just say enough and enough with the
Luke Fickle experiment and let's move forward.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
It's a shame, you know. I was talking to somebody
the other night about this, and it was like, I
don't think that he's a bad coach. I don't think
he's a worse coach at Wisconsin than he was at Cincinnati.
Somebody pointed out that, you know, he's now he's recruiting
against better schools, but I don't actually think that's true.
I think at Cincinnati he was taking players there that
were going that you might ordinarily go to a better school,
(19:27):
and it Wisconsin, he could do the same thing. I
just don't feel like he's got Maybe it's the staff
for whatever reason, they're not recruiting. Well, I don't know
if there's an nil problem with Wisconsin that could be
part of it. But you know, he's still capable of coaching.
And you know, if if Matt Patricia moved on, I
would have no qualms about Ohio State adding him as
(19:47):
a defensive coordinator.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah. I think it's it's interesting because you know, when
you when you look back on his career at Ohio State,
I mean we kind of earlier in the segment talking
about the twenty ten Ohio State records possibly being reinstated
and Jim Trussell being forced out, and Luke Fickle was
thrust into that position as Ohio States head coach and
(20:14):
did the best as he as he could, I thought,
you know, considering the circumstances, and then kind of all right,
went back to being an assistant for urban Meyer and
the the position, the opportunity presented itself at Cincinnati. I
thought he did a great job there. We were just
talking about Michigan State. Michigan State tried to hire Luke
(20:37):
Fickle and he turned him down. He didn't want to go.
So yeah, I agree with you. I don't think he's
a bad coach. But something I just the thing that
I'll always go back to if it doesn't turn around,
is why, you know, like, Okay, Luke, why did you
think that you needed to dismantle what had been successful
offensively for so many years under Barry Alvarez and you know,
(21:02):
brought by Lama and you know and others. Why why
did you dismantle that? And you know, think that that
was going to be a winning formula. That would be
the that would be the question if this doesn't work out.
But I'm hoping it does turn around.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Yeah, And finally Washington at Washington State, a very convincing
fifty nine to twenty four win against the Cougars are
not what they once were, but you know, a rivalry
game on the road that's pretty significant. Whin One thing
that you have to be impressed with is the play
of Demand Williams junior. He had two hundred ninety eight
(21:40):
yards and four touchdowns passing. He also ran for eighty
eight yards in a score. And that is a player
that Ohio State is going to have to deal with
on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Yeah, Demond Williams, We'll talk about it in the next segment,
but he definitely he's a He's a dual threat as
a as a passer and as a runner. So, like
you said, Michael, he's going to be somebody that the
Buckeyes defense is going to have to account for at
all times.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Huski's are three and zero on the season and Washington
State dropped to two and two. Although unless they play
another Big Ten school, which I don't think they do,
I think they're out of our story exactly. All right,
let us look to Week five and one of the
things that we I've already mentioned is that the Buckeyes
(22:29):
will go to Washington and that I expect this to
be the best offense that Ohio State faces this season.
It's a better offense than Penn States, it's a better
offense then Michigan's. And if they end up playing Oregon
or Indiana in the in the Big ten championship game.
You know, maybe that's as good an offense, but they
(22:49):
won't play a better one.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Interesting. Yeah, I never thought about it that way. I
definitely know that they are. They're a kind of team
that I think the national media has largely overlooked. And
you know that's partly because you know, let's face it,
you know, the fact that people, I think are still
getting used to the idea of West Coast teams being
(23:12):
in the Big Ten. But I think last year it
was a rough transition and a lot of respects for Jedfish,
but this is this is his program, now, make no
mistake about it. I mean, like these guys that we're
going to be talking about, I think, you know, if
they have a respectable performance against Ohio State, they will
(23:33):
gain a lot of attention from the national media.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Yeah, and I expect that to be a close game.
So we'll but we'll talk about it a little later
with our predictions and all of that. A little bit
of a light slate in the Big Ten this week.
Chip on Week five as some of the teams enjoy
their bye week. USC however, as you mentioned, will go
to Illinois. That's a noon game. There's no crazy Thursday
or Friday games this week in the Big Ten on
(23:58):
Saturday at noon US at Illinois, and I would have
I would have had that game as almost a pickham
prior to this weekend. But I have serious questions about
the Illinois offense.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Now, yeah, I don't blame you. I think everyone does
because Illinois part of the the concerns that they had
against Duke was their offensive line struggled against Duke's pass rush.
Well that was on full display against Indiana. So USC's
defensive line is very formidable. So I agree with you.
(24:33):
I think USC, even with the you know, the fact
that their their body clocks are going to be feeling it.
It's like nine in the morning for them, I think
USC is well positioned to go into Champagne and do
some damage.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Yeah. I think it's only fair though that they get
the nine am body clock game after one week after
their opponents got the eleven thirty at night. Yeah, body
clock game.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
I agree with you, so U.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
I mean, it's a it's not a great situation, but
I think that the schedule makers made the most of
it right. Rutgers goes to Minnesota. That's also a noon
game that's on the Big Ten Network. Uh, the USC
Illinois game is the Fox Big Noon Saturday. Rutgers Minnesota.
I think this is a coin flip game. I think
(25:20):
Minnesota will win because they're at home. Rutgers could win
it and they may need to win it. Now.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Absolutely, when you look at Rutgers schedule, you know, just
the full schedule that that they had, you know kind
of what I was just talking about, the fact that
they're going on the road. They they have a bye week,
but they they go to Washington. I mean, they host Oregon,
they go to Illinois, they go to Ohio State. Later
(25:49):
on they played Penn State. I mean, there's not a
lot of games where you're gonna say, oh yeah, like Rutgers,
they they're going to be a favorite and not that.
Not that greg she wants to put any kind of
limits on what the Scarlet Knights can achieve. But when
you're facing a competitive schedule like that, I mean, you
have to in the back of your mind be thinking
(26:11):
we need to get to six to continue playing in
the postseason. So you're right, I think this is going
to be a real big game for the Scarlet Knights.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
There are two games at the same time as Ohio, State, Washington,
and one of those is Indiana at Iowa. I feel
like Indiana is going to collabor Iowa.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
I wouldn't be surprised. I think Indiana is feeling very
very confident as well they should be. And Iowa, yeah,
I think they should be feeling proud of themselves for
the way that they hung tof against Rutgers on the road.
But this is a far more formidable opponent than what
(26:51):
they just faced with the Scarlet Knights.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Yeah. Now, the thing about Iowa you got to watch
is the special teams, because Rutgers did not have a
good special team's day against Iowa. But I feel like
Mendoza is a much better quarterback than Iowa's quarterback, and
I feel like he's he's going to lead them to
a win.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah, I can see that, all right.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Uh, Ucla goes to Northwestern and this would be a
game that I might expect maybe Ucla could get a
win here, but I don't think you CLA can get
a win here. I think Northwestern is going to beat them.
I do not think that UCLA is a very good
football team.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
No, I mean it kind of imploded in the non
conference and you know, it's a shame, you know, Deshaun
Foster lost his job. I think Ucla now is just
a matter of playing for pride.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
You know, it's going to be interesting to see because
so far, and I realized, you know, we're recording this,
things can change. But so far, even with the with
the firing of Deshaun Foster, you haven't seen anyone's announced
that they were going to be entering the transfer portal.
Things can change. I mean, I think you have thirty
days to do that. Now they're they're recruiting has has
(28:09):
completely bottomed out. I mean, like all the guys who
were verbally committed announced that they are, you know, withdrawing
their commitments to to UCLA. So the fact that it's
a cross country trip, you really don't know what they're
going to do. I mean, they there, they mutually parted
ways with their defensive coordinator as well. So I'm going
to agree with you. I think Northwestern will win this one.
(28:31):
But I think this is gonna certainly, you know, it's
not going to be a game that's going to be
lighting up the scoreboards in any capacity.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yeah, that game's a big ten network. The Indiana Iowa
Games on Peacock, and yeah, it's things aren't good for UCLA.
And as I've seen a lot of people around the country,
a lot of the national writers say, Ucla they've got
to figure out what they want their program to be.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
M hm.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
And then the night game on NBC and Peacock. The
only night game in the Big Ten is Oregon at
Penn State, and that is a marquee matchup, and that
very well the winner of that will probably be in
the Big Ten title game. Maybe both teams will be
in the Big Ten title game, depending on how things
shake out.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
You never know, I mean, stranger things have happened.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
You know.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
It's the kind of thing where I think right now
Penn State is favored, but it's I mean it's marginal.
I mean, it is not anything by any stretch. Should
Penn State fans be thinking, oh, you know, we have
the white out, which means that we're a clear cut favorite.
Like I said earlier, I think Oregon is a very
(29:42):
formidable team, and if I was a Penn State fan,
I'd be a little nervous about the fact that, yeah,
you're undefeated, but you really haven't played anyone and that
non conference schedule now Granted, you can make the same
kind of argument about Indiana, right, you know, like they
didn't really play anyone, but they came out, took care
of business against Illinois and showed that they're they're for real.
(30:04):
I think with Penn State, this is a different team altogether.
Oregon offensively, it's very explosive. They haven't they haven't had
to play against a team like that, So we'll see.
I'm thinking Oregon's gonna do it, but stranger things have happened.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Yeah, Oregon will be playing the best defense it's faced
so far, and Penn State will be playing the best
offense it's played thus far, and both of them by
wide margins. I agree with that Oregon may be the
best offense they'll see this year unless Ohio State has
a better offense than Oregon, and I don't know how
to compare them at this point. Yeah, so we'll see
(30:42):
how it turns. It turns out, but I'll definitely have
eyes on that one on Saturday night and after the
Ohio State game, and so Chip, we will turn our
attention to Ohio State. Washington will do that right after this,
(31:03):
and Chip we are back the buck eyes against Washington
and this is going to be a massive game. Washington
was not ranked entering this weekend. I anticipate that they
will be ranked.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
I would believe so. I mean, they have looked now
granted haven't had the most challenging of schedules. We were
talking about that in the previous segment. But I just
think that they've looked very impressive, and I think they
have some players who, if they're not known to every
(31:39):
college football fan, I know that they have players on
their roster who are certainly known to NFL scouts that
they are sitting up and paying attention to because they're
a talented team.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
The early line is nine and a half points at
Ohio State, favored by nine and a half on the road.
I think it's going to be a close game. We'll
get to our are predictions in a bit, but this thing,
if you look at this matchup, Washington obviously has a
lot of talent, and they're very hard to play in
Husky Stadium, one of the hardest places to win for
(32:13):
a visitor in the country. The ranks. The offense is
very good. The scoring offense for Washington is second in
the country. They're scoring fifty five point seven points per game.
Passing offense isn't quite as strong at thirtieth in the
country two hundred and seventy six yards per game, but
that's largely because they can run the ball. They are
ninth in the country rushing two hundred and sixty yards
(32:34):
per game, and total offense is tenth in the country
at five hundred and thirty six yards per game. You're
averaging five hundred yards per game. That puts you in
Ohio State territory, and Ohio State is not that high
yet this year.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
I agree with you.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
So when you look at this team, you know, obviously
we talked a little bit already about Demon Williams Junior,
the dual threat quarterback. That's somebody that's going to keep
the defensive line honest. You've got to set the edge.
You've got to stay home, stay in your lanes. You
can't let him escape the pocket when he drops back
to pass. All of those things are concerns at Ohio
(33:12):
State's defense will have to deal with. But on the
other hand, Ohio States only ranked forty first in rush
defense this year in the country, and not having played
a great schedule so far obviously Texas, but not having
played a great schedule. Other than that forty first in
the country against the run, They're gonna have to deal
with Jonah Coleman, a senior running back who is He's
(33:35):
got nine touchdowns this year. He's averaging one hundred and
fifteen yards per game. He's averaging six point eight yards
per carry. One of the best backs in the nation.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Oh, certainly. A few moments ago, I talked about how
certain players are well known to NFL scouts. That's what
I'm thinking. I'm Jonah Coleman. He's listed as you know,
five to nine, about two hundred and thirty pounds.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
He is.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
He is a projected first round draft choice next next April. Now,
the fact that he is not only able to carry
the ball, but he's also one of the huskies leading
receivers makes him even more important to account for where
he is on every play because you know, not only
you know, we talked about DeMont Williams, you know, kind
(34:22):
of keeping him in the pocket and not allowing him
to escape. You know, with Coleman, it's the kind of
thing where he is a legitimate outlet for Demon Williams,
you know, on maybe even on design plays actually as
a receiver. So he's going to be somebody that Ohio
State has to focus their attention to.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Yeah, and scary in the open field. He's got eight
catches for one hundred and fifty yards and a touchdown.
They're big guy that you need to probably davidsoning Denosen
will be on is Denzel Boston has sixteen catches for
two hundred and forty nine yards and three touchdowns. Then
when you look at the numbers of Demand Dams Junior
passing the ball, he's been extremely efficient. Again, not a
(35:04):
great preseason schedule, but seventy three point five percent completion percentage,
six touchdowns, no interceptions, So he's getting it done.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Yeah, and one of the primary beneficiaries of as a
as a receiver, Denzel Boston you know now, he you know,
is one of these guys where I think Ohio State
fans would probably agree, Oh, you know, it's like we
have the best wide receivers in the country. I'm not
I'm not sitting here trying to dissuade any Ohio State
(35:37):
fan of that, but Denzel Boston is a guy. He's
listed six to four, about two hundred and ten pounds
that I mean, it's just kind of a physical I
don't want to say a mismatch, but a physical challenge,
you know, like to have like that big wide receiver
out there. How you're going to cover him? You know. Again,
I think first and foremost it has to be keeping
I think the defensive strategy for Ohio State has to
(36:00):
be keeping the mon Williams in the pocket. Easier said
than done. Matt Patricia has even compared him to Kyler Murray.
Say what you will about Kyler Murray, but you know
that kind of an elusive player poses a threat to
any kind of a defense. So I think that first
and foremost keeping him in the pocket, trying to limit
(36:22):
the damage of Jonah Coleman. But okay, I don't want
to make it sound like, oh and by the way,
like ignore Denzel Boston, because you know he's a guy
that is a is a legitimate downfield threat at wide receiver. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
It must be something about those receivers named Boston.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
There must be.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Yeah, must be on the other side of the ball.
Washington has been decent at stopping the run, their ninth
in the country, averaging sixty three yards allowed. And it's
been the passing game. And of course you can't run
the ball against him, you have to throw, but they're
sixty second against the pass, so that's an area that
maybe Julian's saying can exploit. Total defense, they are twenty
(37:03):
fifth in the country two in or sixty three yards
allowed per game, and they're scoring defense, however, is forty
first in the country, allowing eighteen point three yard points
per game. And I feel like Ohio State will score
more than eighteen points. Certainly hope they do, because if
they don't, they probably won't win this game. This is
going to be a game chip where I think the
(37:25):
Buckeyes are going to give up points. They're going to
give up some drives. They might even give up a
couple of big plays in this game. But the important
thing is to be efficient on offense and take care
of the ball. If they do those things, they should
be able to outscore Washington. But it is not going
to be an easy fight. They are going to have
to deal with crowd noise, is Julian saying. It's first
(37:45):
start in a road game, so a lot at play here.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
Yeah, And let's not ignore the fact I agree with you.
I think that the probably the offensive game plan is
going to be heavily dependent on Ohio States passing game.
Let's not ignore the fact that Ryan Walters is Washington's
defensive coordinator, didn't work out as produce head coach or
Ryan Walters. His claim to fame how he became a
(38:11):
prominent coach was as a defensive coordinator previously at Illinois.
I would not be surprised if he has some some
wrinkles and some things to try to confuse. Julian saying,
as you said, you know, making his first road road
trip as a starting quarterback.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
I feel like this is a game where you might
have to see if you can get your best player
involved in the game early, and that would be Jeremiah Smith.
You got it all right, Well, why don't we talk
with that. We'll go to our picks to click, and
against Ohio we started on the offensive side of the ball,
(38:54):
so we'll start on the defensive side. Chip, who do
you like to click? Against the Washington Huskies For the Buckeye.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
I'm taking the free space. And it's just simply because
I keep talking about Jonah Coleman as well as Denzel Boston.
I just think that Caleb Downs is going to be
so important as not only negating Jonah Coleman, you know,
coming down and run support, but I think helping in
(39:21):
pass coverage against Denzel Boston. So I'm going with Caleb Downs.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
All right, I am going to take a guy who's
starting to emerge as another free space. I think he's
going to be critical in stopping the run. I think
he's going to be critical in handling the scrambling ability
of Williams and maybe making some plays there. And that's
RVL Reese.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
I like it, certainly makes sense.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
I'm going to take the free space on the offensive
side of the ball. I think that the buck Eyes
on this road trip are going to need to get
Jeremiah Smith involved, and I think they try to do that,
and I think they'll have a couple of big plays.
And I would not be surprised against a a defense
that has given up some yards. Now, they do pressure
the quarterback well, but if you're under pressure and you've
got a guy deep named Jeremiah Smith, you just put
(40:08):
some air under it. Let the guy go get it.
I think he's gonna make some big place get one
hundred yards receiving. So I'm going with Jeremiah Smith.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
I like it, and it makes sense. I wouldn't necessarily
consider him a free space, but I definitely think he
is going to be heavily involved. And that is Colonel Tate.
You know, he's not leading the team and receptions. That's
Jeremiah Smith. But I think I'm not backtracking from what
(40:36):
I said a moment ago about Ryan Walters. I think
Ryan Walters is going to do what he can with
the personnel he has to try to negate and limit
Jeremiah Smith. Again, that falls into the cap choury Easier
said than done, but that that kind of a defensive
strategy means it's going to open up, in my estimation,
(40:57):
opportunities for Colonel Tates. That's where I'm going.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
All Right, sounds good, and it comes down to prediction
time chips. So what is going to be on the
scoreboard at Husky Stadium the end of the game when
Ohio State goes out to play the Washington Huskies for
the first time as co members of the Big Ten.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
Yeah, I'll tell you what I think. The I think
the Washington philosophy and I'm maybe mistaken, you know, looking
at the fact that that they've been able to put
up big numbers, you know against UC Davis against Washington State.
They they haven't been They have not scored less than
(41:39):
thirty eight points so far this season. But I think
their philosophy, maybe I'm mistaken, is going to be to
try to slow the game down, to try to keep
the ball away from the Ohio State offense. So I'm
not thinking I think Ohio State is going to win this,
but I don't think it's going to be as high
scoring as what Washington. You know what they've experienced so
(42:02):
far this season. So I'm going to go with Ohio State.
I'll say Ohio State thirty five, Washington twenty one.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
Okay, I think we're thinking similarly again, but I do
like Washington's offense and I do like that environment. I
am going to say Ohio State thirty eight and Washington
twenty seven.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
So we will come back next week, of course, and
we'll talk about this game, and we will then get
ready for Ohio State to continue on the Big Ten play.
And they have, you know, I think right now there
and I wrote about this in my article for this week.
They have five games in six weeks that I think
(42:52):
are the big gauntlet in this schedule, and it starts
with Washington and ends with Penn State. Of course, Wisconsin
isn't looking as good as you know, as I thought
maybe at the beginning of the season they might be.
But they're still at home, and if that's a night game,
for example, it's not easy to win in Madison at night,
or it's not easy to distance yourself from Wisconsin. I
(43:14):
think they can win that game, but at Illinois that
could be difficult. You know, if the if the winds
are swirling in mid October, it's difficult to pass there,
so you may get bogged down in a slug fest
running game. And then of course at home against Minnesota.
Minnesota is one of those teams that I think can
be They're more talented, certainly than than Ohio University, but
(43:38):
they can be that type of team to hang around
and be aggravating and if you make too many mistakes,
they could surprise you, certainly.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
And by the time that this podcast is dropped, we
will know the kickoff time. But rumors are swirling that
the Ohio State Minnesota game maybe a night game, so
that would be that would be an interesting.
Speaker 1 (44:01):
Yeah, and I I think that that's probably a good decision.
I think that'll be it'll be a nice atmosphere for
everybody involved. And I think that, you know, if it's
a night game, I feel a little bit better about
Ohio State being able to pull away in the second
half because the crowd will carry them through a little bit.
I agree with you, all right, Well, uh, Chip, there's
(44:24):
nothing else on your mind. We can bring this podcast
to an end.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
That sounds good to me, all right, So why.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Don't you remind our listeners where they can find you
and your fine work online.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
I can be found on Twitter at Chipmanic. Last name
is spelled m I N N I c H. I'm
a contributor to Buckeye Huddle dot com as well as
Saturday Glory dot com. Saturday Glory is kind of a
very broad college football you know, in terms of like
the topics, but my focus is usually on all the
(44:58):
other teams within the Big tench you know, just kind
of giving an overview as to what's going on. But
you can find my work at either of those locations,
all right.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
You can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky at
Mike thirty six fan. My work can be found on
a Landgrant Holyland dot com, and as I mentioned, mondays
are when my columns happened, and you know, typically after
a Buckeye game, you get the grumpy old Buckeye treatment
for that game. But this week, since there was a bye,
(45:29):
I have written a story about this five game span
in six weeks that I think will define Ohio State's
twenty twenty five season. If they can get through this
without a loss, that would be pretty impressive, and I
think it would set them up for potentially again, you know,
not only a good rank and a home, potential home
(45:49):
game or potential buy in the in the College Football playoff,
but I feel like they would finally get back to
the Big Ten championship game, which is something I know
that has been weighing on Ryan Day's mind and something
that he would like to correct and get a win
in that game. I agree, all right, well, Chip, we
will be back next week. We'll break down the Washington game,
(46:12):
get ready for Minnesota, and the only thing left for
us to do is what we always do at the end,
and that is to say, go Bucks, Go Bucks.
Hello, get everybody, Welcome back to another episode of the
Silver Bullets podcast. I'm Michael Citrow and I'm Chipmanegg Chip.
Was a nice relaxing bye week for us. Didn't have
to sweat out any Ohio State games this week and
gave us an opportunity to maybe take a look at
some of the other teams in the Big Ten and
see how they're doing. And did you get a chance
(00:40):
to do that? Did you get a chance to look
around and see some of the other teams?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I did? Actually, it was enjoyable.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Good. Well, I didn't get to see as much as
I wanted. I had to cover a soccer game on
Saturday night. But I will say that I did get
to see a little bit of a few games, especially
the late game of USC playing in the late game
against Michigan State, and you got to see some of
(01:08):
the twelve o'clock action. But other than that, not a
whole lot in the middle of the day. But before
we go around the Big Ten a little bit and
talk about what happened and look ahead to next week.
In this bye week, we do have some news.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Sounds good, all right.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
We'll start with the Black Stripes, as we always like
to point out when Buck guys get their black stripe
removed from their helmet in practice so that they become
official Buck Eyes, as recognized by their teammates and coaches.
And in the last couple of weeks, we've had a
few of those, and we will start with September tenth,
(01:45):
when Jarquez Carter, a freshman defensive tackle, and freshman defensive
end Zion Grady both lost their black stripes. And then
on the seventeenth, a linebacker who has flashed already a
little bit this season, tj Alford, got his black stripe removed.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah, I would say out of the three, I'm not
surprised that Carter had his black stripe removed, just the
position he plays, the necessity of an interior defensive lineman.
Carter was one of those guys that was talked about
really kind of representing himself well during the spring, so
(02:25):
I'm kind of surprised that it has been this long,
but I'm happy to see that he had it removed.
Zion Grady getting some playing time against Grambling, and then
you mentioned tj Alford. He's definitely been flashing the last
couple weeks against Grambling and Ohio U. I think his
primary contributions will will be on special teams and you know,
(02:49):
let's hope that Ohio State has you know, comfortable wins
that allow him to be put into linebacker opportunities. So
congratulations since all of them.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Yeah, I'm not sure who's still left who hasn't gotten
their black stripe removed. It might be easier to find out,
you know, the list of those who have not gotten
their black stripes oft than the ones that have, because
the ones that have that list is pretty long.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yeah, I mean the guys that haven't. And I'm not
this is not meant to diminish or belittle anyone. I'm
kind of getting the impression that there might be some
injury issues that are kind of precluding them from being
able to participate. So and I think it's also the
(03:33):
fact that you know, like you said on you know,
for for example, TJ. Alford on the seventeenth, I think
traditionally it's usually the kind of thing where you see
black stripe removals during practice, you know, the leading up
to a game. The fact that you know, O High
State had this past week off for a bye week,
(03:54):
maybe they you know, were being just you know a
little bit more focused on you know, I guess you
could say, you know, just kind of working on some
fundamentals and not really scrutinizing that the freshmen. We'll see
if we start to see more and more freshmen get
there with their black stripe to removed.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah. The other news that was kind of eye opening
something that we kind of touched on a few weeks
ago about when you know, when the Michigan quote unquote
punishment came down, we talked about maybe the twenty ten
vacated wins would be reinstated. And it turns out ross
Byork is pursuing that, and I don't know if he'll
(04:35):
be successful or not, but that would include the Sugar
Bowl win over Arkansas.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah. He I listened to the interview. It was on
ninety seven point one the Ryan Day Show that airs
on Thursdays during the season, and he made he referenced
it in passing, saying that when he was at Ole,
miss he was he was part of an administration where
they had to wins. But he kind of made the
(05:02):
point of, hey, you know, we all remember being at
the Sugar Bowl, we remember hoisting the trophy. So I'm
not sure how intense of an effort it's going to be,
but I I like you, I think it's it's worth pursuing.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Yeah, and I think that ultimately, you know, the NCAA
has come out they don't want to they don't want
to punish the players for things coaches did. And of course,
the biggest thing in that twenty ten season was that
Jim Trussell lied to the ncaaa's That was the crux
of their punishment. It was a pretty severe one, we
thought at the time. And you know, the vacated wins,
(05:38):
if they were because of Jim Trustle, then why punish
the student athletes? And they went out and played hard
and won those games and won them fair and square,
so hopefully that it will be a successful campaign.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
All right, Jiff, let's go around the scores this weekend,
and we'll save Washington for last because they an Apple
Cup game against Washington State, and that, of course is
Ohio State's next opponent, and that will happen next week.
I'm sorry, Saturday night at Husky Stadium or Saturday day
at Husky Stadium. It's not the late game, it's the
(06:15):
middle time slot. But we'll get into this started on
Friday in a very important game for Rutgers, and Rutgers
was right there with Iowa at home through three quarters,
but in the fourth quarter Rutgers going to Rutger and
that's what happened is Iowa outscored Rutgers seventeen to seven
(06:37):
in the fourth quarter to win that game thirty eight
to twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, I saw that the tail end of it. Like
you said, it was kind of a collapse by Rutgers. Now,
the thing that is going to be interesting to see
is we talk about this all the time when it
comes to the teams within the Big Ten, certain teams,
you know, you kind of I don't want to say
that you a definitive number of wins, but you know,
(07:03):
Rutgers to get to that magic six number, it's going
to be extremely important that they win because their schedule
gets progressively more challenging as we get into the twenty
twenty five season.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yeah, and this was one of those ones we circled
to see if Rutgers is turning the corner, if they're
getting better. This is a game at home they need
to show us and win the game. And they were there,
but in the end, they couldn't get it done.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yes, exactly. Ethan kellick Man has had some you know,
costly plays at the end that that kind of doomed Rutgers.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
It only went twenty four of forty. That's not great
quarterback play, did not throw a touchdown, did throw an interception.
So quarterback play continues to be problematic. Not that Iowa's
quarterback play was fantastic in that game, either, but it
was it was better. Oregon and Oregon State played for
(07:56):
the Platypus Trophy, and which is a cool trophy. By
the way, Oregon, as we suspected, no trouble with Oregon State.
It was at Oregon and a forty one to seven
victory for the Ducks.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Yeah, Oregon's looking very formidable. I know, we'll talk about
the upcoming weekend, but Oregon just looks that they're doing fine,
even with all of the losses they had to the
transfer portal as well as the NFL.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah, Dante Moore look looks the part at quarterback, and
i Thy get a big game from Jaden Lamar rushing
the football, so Oregon gets the win there. One of
the more surprising scores, maybe not necessarily the winner of
the game, but the lopsidedness of the game is we
(08:47):
had a top ten Illinois team go to Indiana and
get absolutely pummeled sixty three to ten. It started with
a block, punt, scoop and score, and things just got
progressively worse for the line.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I all day, Yeah, I had anticipated in Indiana win,
but I certainly thought it was going to be closer.
I mean nobody, I don't think anyone, but maybe with
the accession of Kurt Signetti, thought it was going to
be a lopsided Indiana victory. And the challenging part now
for Illinois is this upcoming week and we'll talk about
(09:24):
it more. This upcoming week they welcome in USC, who's undefeated,
and you know, in a few weeks Ohio State, it
goes on the road there, they have to go out
to Washington. My point being is, I think if you're Illinois,
you're there. Had been talk about the college football playoff.
I think that road to the college football playoffs suddenly
(09:47):
became very, very narrow with the decisive loss to Indiana.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Yeah, it's going to be tough. Now they're going to
absolutely going to have to beat USC. I don't know
that they're going to be Ohio State to do get
the buck guys at home, and they're going to basically
have to win all of the other games. If they
don't beat Ohio State, they're going to have to win
all their other games to be in the conversation.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, I think that's fair.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Uh, fantastic looking quarterback for Indiana as Fernando Mendoza had
more touchdowns five than in completions two.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah. He he was one of the guys that the
in the transfer portal just kind of I don't want
to say that he was overlooked, but you know, you
certainly didn't get all of the hype, you know, coming
from cal But we were just talking about Indiana schedule.
They have some challenging games upcoming, like they have to
travel out to Oregon later on in the season, they
(10:44):
have to travel out to Penn State. So they still
have room for for like a you know, like more
room for for air margin for air, if you will,
than Illinois. But it's just very impressive to see the
job that Kurtzignetty's doing with Indiana.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Yeah, and you wonder if he keeps doing this well
with Indiana, how long is he going to stay at Indiana.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Well, he just signed last year, So I think that
that buyout would be kind of very cost prohibitive for
just about anyone.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, that won't necessarily stop an SEC school from trying
to poach him. I'm thinking about a team that maybe
plays very close to where I live up in Gainesville,
could probably use some help. And there's a team in
South Carolina that's not doing very well right now.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Oh exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Anyway, sixty three ten in Indiana set's a new Big
Ten record for most points scored on a Top ten opponent,
breaking Ohio States record by scoring sixty three on the
fighting Berts that didn't put up much of a fight.
One of the games that I did get to see
was Michigan at Nebraska and Michigan wins this thirty to
(11:56):
twenty seven. And I felt like Nebraska away opportunities to
score points early in this game and it ended up
costing them.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Yeah, I agree with you. I thought kind of the
you know, the idea of let's go for it on
fourth down when they were within field goal range. I
understand the sentiment there, but in hindsight, Matt rule should
have just you know, take the points. And I kind
(12:25):
of look at this game is kind of all right,
now you have the blueprint for both teams. And what
I mean by that is with Nebraska, all right, they
obviously have some some major deficiencies at stopping the run.
So if you're an upcoming opponent of Nebraska, that's how
I would attack. And conversely, if you are going to
(12:46):
be playing Michigan, you know full well all they want
to do is run. So easier said than done, but
that's kind of you know, the I think the defensive
strategy is if you can shut down their running game.
I realize there's a lot of hype and pray going
to Bryce Underwood, but the reality is he's more of
a threat as a runner than a passer still at
this point. So I just think I think, you know, Michigan,
(13:10):
they went on the road, congratulations. I thought Nebraska was
going to win the game. But I agree with you, Michael,
I thought that Nebraska they let some opportunities slip away.
So it's got to be one of those moments of
regret for Matt Ruhlin and the corn Huskers.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Yeah, have some mistakes from Dylan Royola in this game
to give Michigan a good field position, and Michigan also
the bulk of their yards came on like four big
plays in this game. Yes, so that game was there
for Nebraska and they failed to take it, and things
just I guess the status quote just keeps being the
status quote in Big Ten. Yeah, exactly. Purdue played a
(13:49):
non conference opponent when on the road to play Notre Dame,
and the game ended fifty six to thirty. But the
game wasn't as close as that.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
No, but Purdue, they're doing kind of what I thought
that they would. And what I mean by that is
just being kind of a pest, you know, like the
fact that you know, at the half they were down,
but they weren't out. I mean like it was basically
in the third quarter when Notre Dame pulled away and
the game was essentially done. Well, my point is is,
(14:21):
like I think if you're Purdue, you have to kind
of take some solace that, all, right, compared to the
results of last year when Notre Dame did whatever and
whenever they wanted to to the boiler Makers, I think
Purdue at least they're putting up more of a better
showing so far this season.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Yeah, Produce problem is appears to be defensively they oh yeah,
they didn't do a whole lot of stopping Notre Dame.
Notre Dame don't really have to throw the ball that much,
but Jeremiah Love at one hundred and fifty seven yards
and two touchdowns only nineteen carries, so Purdue goes down.
They are two and two overall. I should have been
given everybody' records. Iowa and Rutgers are both three and
(15:01):
one overall. Iowa one and OH and the Big Ten
Rutgers oh and one. Oregon played non conference there four
and OH, Illinois and Indiana Illinois three and one, Indiana
four and O Illinois obviously OH and one in league
play Indiana one and OH. Michigan is three and one.
Nebraska is three and one, and of course Michigan one
(15:22):
and OH in Big Ten, Nebraska owen one in Big Ten.
Due did not play a conference games. They're two and two.
Michigan State went to USC. This game started very late
on the East coast seven eleven thirty eastern start time.
Michigan State kind of hung around for a while and
they made it a one score game in the third quarter,
(15:42):
and then they just couldn't hold on. They just defensively
could not get stops, especially on some critical third downs,
and USC wins at forty five thirty one. Michigan State
scored a late touchdown. It really wasn't as close as
it was a three touchdown game until the last couple
of minutes, and USC wins big. They're four and oh
two and oh and big ten play. Michigan State is
(16:04):
three and one, oh and one and big, big ten play.
But I'm with you, I kind of believe the Spartans
are starting to get there. They need to. They need
to beef up the defense and especially against the run.
They were not very effective against the run against USC.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
No, they weren't. And it's going to be interesting because
they're going to be off this coming week. They have
a bye week. But we were just talking about in Nebraska,
so it's going to be interesting to see how each
team responds, you know, after having a disappointing loss, you know,
and the fact that Michigan States are going to go
(16:42):
on the road to Nebraska to see, you know, how
they respond.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah. One of the games that we thought would be
an interesting one was Maryland at Wisconsin and see what
Maryland would be able to do against a more physical
opponent and Wisconsin. The defensively was Wisconsin looks okay. The
only game that they've really given up points is the
road game at Alabama, which is understandable. And in this
(17:07):
one they lose twenty seven to ten. Just no offense
for Wisconsin and an ugly scene in Madison at halftime
is the crowd was chanting fire fickle and Maryland improves
the four and oh one to oher in Big Ten play.
Wisconsin drops to two and two to zero to one
in Big Ten play. And I feel like maybe Luke
fickles buyout is going to save him, but things have
(17:31):
to get better in Madison or he you know, somebody
will pay up and help buy out that contract.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Yeah, I mean it was. I watched that game, and
I mean from my perspective, I mean the game was
over at halftime. I mean it was twenty to nothing. Wisconsin,
like you said, couldn't do anything offensively. And I get
it the fact that Billy Edwards Junior is out who
is their projected starting quarterbacks, and Danie O'Neills there is
(17:59):
has been playing quarterback for the Badgers. So much of
this though, I think back to you know, and we
talked about this. You know, over the last couple of years,
self inflicted mistakes by Luke Fickle by coming in saying
we're going to do have an air raid offense when
you really didn't have the personnel to do it, either
along the offensive line or at the quarterback or receiver positions.
(18:23):
And now he's trying to get back to what they
used to do, but they really don't have, you know,
the traditional running game that that we've kind of grown
accustomed to are associated with Wisconsin. And yeah, it was.
It was bad, you know, like it was it was
audibly apparent to hear the fire Fickle chance as the
as the team was leaving the field. I don't know
(18:46):
what the answer is. I agree with you. I think
that the buyout is very cost prohibitive for Wisconsin. But
things they may not. Wisconsin may not win another game,
and somebody might just say enough and enough with the
Luke Fickle experiment and let's move forward.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
It's a shame, you know. I was talking to somebody
the other night about this, and it was like, I
don't think that he's a bad coach. I don't think
he's a worse coach at Wisconsin than he was at Cincinnati.
Somebody pointed out that, you know, he's now he's recruiting
against better schools, but I don't actually think that's true.
I think at Cincinnati he was taking players there that
were going that you might ordinarily go to a better school,
(19:27):
and it Wisconsin, he could do the same thing. I
just don't feel like he's got Maybe it's the staff
for whatever reason, they're not recruiting. Well, I don't know
if there's an nil problem with Wisconsin that could be
part of it. But you know, he's still capable of coaching.
And you know, if if Matt Patricia moved on, I
would have no qualms about Ohio State adding him as
(19:47):
a defensive coordinator.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah. I think it's it's interesting because you know, when
you when you look back on his career at Ohio State,
I mean we kind of earlier in the segment talking
about the twenty ten Ohio State records possibly being reinstated
and Jim Trussell being forced out, and Luke Fickle was
thrust into that position as Ohio States head coach and
(20:14):
did the best as he as he could, I thought,
you know, considering the circumstances, and then kind of all right,
went back to being an assistant for urban Meyer and
the the position, the opportunity presented itself at Cincinnati. I
thought he did a great job there. We were just
talking about Michigan State. Michigan State tried to hire Luke
(20:37):
Fickle and he turned him down. He didn't want to go.
So yeah, I agree with you. I don't think he's
a bad coach. But something I just the thing that
I'll always go back to if it doesn't turn around,
is why, you know, like, Okay, Luke, why did you
think that you needed to dismantle what had been successful
offensively for so many years under Barry Alvarez and you know,
(21:02):
brought by Lama and you know and others. Why why
did you dismantle that? And you know, think that that
was going to be a winning formula. That would be
the that would be the question if this doesn't work out.
But I'm hoping it does turn around.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Yeah, And finally Washington at Washington State, a very convincing
fifty nine to twenty four win against the Cougars are
not what they once were, but you know, a rivalry
game on the road that's pretty significant. Whin One thing
that you have to be impressed with is the play
of Demand Williams junior. He had two hundred ninety eight
(21:40):
yards and four touchdowns passing. He also ran for eighty
eight yards in a score. And that is a player
that Ohio State is going to have to deal with
on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Yeah, Demond Williams, We'll talk about it in the next segment,
but he definitely he's a He's a dual threat as
a as a passer and as a runner. So, like
you said, Michael, he's going to be somebody that the
Buckeyes defense is going to have to account for at
all times.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Huski's are three and zero on the season and Washington
State dropped to two and two. Although unless they play
another Big Ten school, which I don't think they do,
I think they're out of our story exactly. All right,
let us look to Week five and one of the
things that we I've already mentioned is that the Buckeyes
(22:29):
will go to Washington and that I expect this to
be the best offense that Ohio State faces this season.
It's a better offense than Penn States, it's a better
offense then Michigan's. And if they end up playing Oregon
or Indiana in the in the Big ten championship game.
You know, maybe that's as good an offense, but they
(22:49):
won't play a better one.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Interesting. Yeah, I never thought about it that way. I
definitely know that they are. They're a kind of team
that I think the national media has largely overlooked. And
you know that's partly because you know, let's face it,
you know, the fact that people, I think are still
getting used to the idea of West Coast teams being
(23:12):
in the Big Ten. But I think last year it
was a rough transition and a lot of respects for Jedfish,
but this is this is his program, now, make no
mistake about it. I mean, like these guys that we're
going to be talking about, I think, you know, if
they have a respectable performance against Ohio State, they will
(23:33):
gain a lot of attention from the national media.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Yeah, and I expect that to be a close game.
So we'll but we'll talk about it a little later
with our predictions and all of that. A little bit
of a light slate in the Big Ten this week.
Chip on Week five as some of the teams enjoy
their bye week. USC however, as you mentioned, will go
to Illinois. That's a noon game. There's no crazy Thursday
or Friday games this week in the Big Ten on
(23:58):
Saturday at noon US at Illinois, and I would have
I would have had that game as almost a pickham
prior to this weekend. But I have serious questions about
the Illinois offense.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Now, yeah, I don't blame you. I think everyone does
because Illinois part of the the concerns that they had
against Duke was their offensive line struggled against Duke's pass rush.
Well that was on full display against Indiana. So USC's
defensive line is very formidable. So I agree with you.
(24:33):
I think USC, even with the you know, the fact
that their their body clocks are going to be feeling it.
It's like nine in the morning for them, I think
USC is well positioned to go into Champagne and do
some damage.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Yeah. I think it's only fair though that they get
the nine am body clock game after one week after
their opponents got the eleven thirty at night. Yeah, body
clock game.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
I agree with you, so U.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
I mean, it's a it's not a great situation, but
I think that the schedule makers made the most of
it right. Rutgers goes to Minnesota. That's also a noon
game that's on the Big Ten Network. Uh, the USC
Illinois game is the Fox Big Noon Saturday. Rutgers Minnesota.
I think this is a coin flip game. I think
(25:20):
Minnesota will win because they're at home. Rutgers could win
it and they may need to win it. Now.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Absolutely, when you look at Rutgers schedule, you know, just
the full schedule that that they had, you know kind
of what I was just talking about, the fact that
they're going on the road. They they have a bye week,
but they they go to Washington. I mean, they host Oregon,
they go to Illinois, they go to Ohio State. Later
(25:49):
on they played Penn State. I mean, there's not a
lot of games where you're gonna say, oh yeah, like Rutgers,
they they're going to be a favorite and not that.
Not that greg she wants to put any kind of
limits on what the Scarlet Knights can achieve. But when
you're facing a competitive schedule like that, I mean, you
have to in the back of your mind be thinking
(26:11):
we need to get to six to continue playing in
the postseason. So you're right, I think this is going
to be a real big game for the Scarlet Knights.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
There are two games at the same time as Ohio, State, Washington,
and one of those is Indiana at Iowa. I feel
like Indiana is going to collabor Iowa.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
I wouldn't be surprised. I think Indiana is feeling very
very confident as well they should be. And Iowa, yeah,
I think they should be feeling proud of themselves for
the way that they hung tof against Rutgers on the road.
But this is a far more formidable opponent than what
(26:51):
they just faced with the Scarlet Knights.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Yeah. Now, the thing about Iowa you got to watch
is the special teams, because Rutgers did not have a
good special team's day against Iowa. But I feel like
Mendoza is a much better quarterback than Iowa's quarterback, and
I feel like he's he's going to lead them to
a win.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah, I can see that, all right.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Uh, Ucla goes to Northwestern and this would be a
game that I might expect maybe Ucla could get a
win here, but I don't think you CLA can get
a win here. I think Northwestern is going to beat them.
I do not think that UCLA is a very good
football team.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
No, I mean it kind of imploded in the non
conference and you know, it's a shame, you know, Deshaun
Foster lost his job. I think Ucla now is just
a matter of playing for pride.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
You know, it's going to be interesting to see because
so far, and I realized, you know, we're recording this,
things can change. But so far, even with the with
the firing of Deshaun Foster, you haven't seen anyone's announced
that they were going to be entering the transfer portal.
Things can change. I mean, I think you have thirty
days to do that. Now they're they're recruiting has has
(28:09):
completely bottomed out. I mean, like all the guys who
were verbally committed announced that they are, you know, withdrawing
their commitments to to UCLA. So the fact that it's
a cross country trip, you really don't know what they're
going to do. I mean, they there, they mutually parted
ways with their defensive coordinator as well. So I'm going
to agree with you. I think Northwestern will win this one.
(28:31):
But I think this is gonna certainly, you know, it's
not going to be a game that's going to be
lighting up the scoreboards in any capacity.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yeah, that game's a big ten network. The Indiana Iowa
Games on Peacock, and yeah, it's things aren't good for UCLA.
And as I've seen a lot of people around the country,
a lot of the national writers say, Ucla they've got
to figure out what they want their program to be.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
M hm.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
And then the night game on NBC and Peacock. The
only night game in the Big Ten is Oregon at
Penn State, and that is a marquee matchup, and that
very well the winner of that will probably be in
the Big Ten title game. Maybe both teams will be
in the Big Ten title game, depending on how things
shake out.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
You never know, I mean, stranger things have happened.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
You know.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
It's the kind of thing where I think right now
Penn State is favored, but it's I mean it's marginal.
I mean, it is not anything by any stretch. Should
Penn State fans be thinking, oh, you know, we have
the white out, which means that we're a clear cut favorite.
Like I said earlier, I think Oregon is a very
(29:42):
formidable team, and if I was a Penn State fan,
I'd be a little nervous about the fact that, yeah,
you're undefeated, but you really haven't played anyone and that
non conference schedule now Granted, you can make the same
kind of argument about Indiana, right, you know, like they
didn't really play anyone, but they came out, took care
of business against Illinois and showed that they're they're for real.
(30:04):
I think with Penn State, this is a different team altogether.
Oregon offensively, it's very explosive. They haven't they haven't had
to play against a team like that, So we'll see.
I'm thinking Oregon's gonna do it, but stranger things have happened.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Yeah, Oregon will be playing the best defense it's faced
so far, and Penn State will be playing the best
offense it's played thus far, and both of them by
wide margins. I agree with that Oregon may be the
best offense they'll see this year unless Ohio State has
a better offense than Oregon, and I don't know how
to compare them at this point. Yeah, so we'll see
(30:42):
how it turns. It turns out, but I'll definitely have
eyes on that one on Saturday night and after the
Ohio State game, and so Chip, we will turn our
attention to Ohio State. Washington will do that right after this,
(31:03):
and Chip we are back the buck eyes against Washington
and this is going to be a massive game. Washington
was not ranked entering this weekend. I anticipate that they
will be ranked.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
I would believe so. I mean, they have looked now
granted haven't had the most challenging of schedules. We were
talking about that in the previous segment. But I just
think that they've looked very impressive, and I think they
have some players who, if they're not known to every
(31:39):
college football fan, I know that they have players on
their roster who are certainly known to NFL scouts that
they are sitting up and paying attention to because they're
a talented team.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
The early line is nine and a half points at
Ohio State, favored by nine and a half on the road.
I think it's going to be a close game. We'll
get to our are predictions in a bit, but this thing,
if you look at this matchup, Washington obviously has a
lot of talent, and they're very hard to play in
Husky Stadium, one of the hardest places to win for
(32:13):
a visitor in the country. The ranks. The offense is
very good. The scoring offense for Washington is second in
the country. They're scoring fifty five point seven points per game.
Passing offense isn't quite as strong at thirtieth in the
country two hundred and seventy six yards per game, but
that's largely because they can run the ball. They are
ninth in the country rushing two hundred and sixty yards
(32:34):
per game, and total offense is tenth in the country
at five hundred and thirty six yards per game. You're
averaging five hundred yards per game. That puts you in
Ohio State territory, and Ohio State is not that high
yet this year.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
I agree with you.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
So when you look at this team, you know, obviously
we talked a little bit already about Demon Williams Junior,
the dual threat quarterback. That's somebody that's going to keep
the defensive line honest. You've got to set the edge.
You've got to stay home, stay in your lanes. You
can't let him escape the pocket when he drops back
to pass. All of those things are concerns at Ohio
(33:12):
State's defense will have to deal with. But on the
other hand, Ohio States only ranked forty first in rush
defense this year in the country, and not having played
a great schedule so far obviously Texas, but not having
played a great schedule. Other than that forty first in
the country against the run, They're gonna have to deal
with Jonah Coleman, a senior running back who is He's
(33:35):
got nine touchdowns this year. He's averaging one hundred and
fifteen yards per game. He's averaging six point eight yards
per carry. One of the best backs in the nation.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Oh, certainly. A few moments ago, I talked about how
certain players are well known to NFL scouts. That's what
I'm thinking. I'm Jonah Coleman. He's listed as you know,
five to nine, about two hundred and thirty pounds.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
He is.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
He is a projected first round draft choice next next April. Now,
the fact that he is not only able to carry
the ball, but he's also one of the huskies leading
receivers makes him even more important to account for where
he is on every play because you know, not only
you know, we talked about DeMont Williams, you know, kind
(34:22):
of keeping him in the pocket and not allowing him
to escape. You know, with Coleman, it's the kind of
thing where he is a legitimate outlet for Demon Williams,
you know, on maybe even on design plays actually as
a receiver. So he's going to be somebody that Ohio
State has to focus their attention to.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Yeah, and scary in the open field. He's got eight
catches for one hundred and fifty yards and a touchdown.
They're big guy that you need to probably davidsoning Denosen
will be on is Denzel Boston has sixteen catches for
two hundred and forty nine yards and three touchdowns. Then
when you look at the numbers of Demand Dams Junior
passing the ball, he's been extremely efficient. Again, not a
(35:04):
great preseason schedule, but seventy three point five percent completion percentage,
six touchdowns, no interceptions, So he's getting it done.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Yeah, and one of the primary beneficiaries of as a
as a receiver, Denzel Boston you know now, he you know,
is one of these guys where I think Ohio State
fans would probably agree, Oh, you know, it's like we
have the best wide receivers in the country. I'm not
I'm not sitting here trying to dissuade any Ohio State
(35:37):
fan of that, but Denzel Boston is a guy. He's
listed six to four, about two hundred and ten pounds
that I mean, it's just kind of a physical I
don't want to say a mismatch, but a physical challenge,
you know, like to have like that big wide receiver
out there. How you're going to cover him? You know. Again,
I think first and foremost it has to be keeping
I think the defensive strategy for Ohio State has to
(36:00):
be keeping the mon Williams in the pocket. Easier said
than done. Matt Patricia has even compared him to Kyler Murray.
Say what you will about Kyler Murray, but you know
that kind of an elusive player poses a threat to
any kind of a defense. So I think that first
and foremost keeping him in the pocket, trying to limit
(36:22):
the damage of Jonah Coleman. But okay, I don't want
to make it sound like, oh and by the way,
like ignore Denzel Boston, because you know he's a guy
that is a is a legitimate downfield threat at wide receiver. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
It must be something about those receivers named Boston.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
There must be.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Yeah, must be on the other side of the ball.
Washington has been decent at stopping the run, their ninth
in the country, averaging sixty three yards allowed. And it's
been the passing game. And of course you can't run
the ball against him, you have to throw, but they're
sixty second against the pass, so that's an area that
maybe Julian's saying can exploit. Total defense, they are twenty
(37:03):
fifth in the country two in or sixty three yards
allowed per game, and they're scoring defense, however, is forty
first in the country, allowing eighteen point three yard points
per game. And I feel like Ohio State will score
more than eighteen points. Certainly hope they do, because if
they don't, they probably won't win this game. This is
going to be a game chip where I think the
(37:25):
Buckeyes are going to give up points. They're going to
give up some drives. They might even give up a
couple of big plays in this game. But the important
thing is to be efficient on offense and take care
of the ball. If they do those things, they should
be able to outscore Washington. But it is not going
to be an easy fight. They are going to have
to deal with crowd noise, is Julian saying. It's first
(37:45):
start in a road game, so a lot at play here.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
Yeah, And let's not ignore the fact I agree with you.
I think that the probably the offensive game plan is
going to be heavily dependent on Ohio States passing game.
Let's not ignore the fact that Ryan Walters is Washington's
defensive coordinator, didn't work out as produce head coach or
Ryan Walters. His claim to fame how he became a
(38:11):
prominent coach was as a defensive coordinator previously at Illinois.
I would not be surprised if he has some some
wrinkles and some things to try to confuse. Julian saying,
as you said, you know, making his first road road
trip as a starting quarterback.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
I feel like this is a game where you might
have to see if you can get your best player
involved in the game early, and that would be Jeremiah Smith.
You got it all right, Well, why don't we talk
with that. We'll go to our picks to click, and
against Ohio we started on the offensive side of the ball,
(38:54):
so we'll start on the defensive side. Chip, who do
you like to click? Against the Washington Huskies For the Buckeye.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
I'm taking the free space. And it's just simply because
I keep talking about Jonah Coleman as well as Denzel Boston.
I just think that Caleb Downs is going to be
so important as not only negating Jonah Coleman, you know,
coming down and run support, but I think helping in
(39:21):
pass coverage against Denzel Boston. So I'm going with Caleb Downs.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
All right, I am going to take a guy who's
starting to emerge as another free space. I think he's
going to be critical in stopping the run. I think
he's going to be critical in handling the scrambling ability
of Williams and maybe making some plays there. And that's
RVL Reese.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
I like it, certainly makes sense.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
I'm going to take the free space on the offensive
side of the ball. I think that the buck Eyes
on this road trip are going to need to get
Jeremiah Smith involved, and I think they try to do that,
and I think they'll have a couple of big plays.
And I would not be surprised against a a defense
that has given up some yards. Now, they do pressure
the quarterback well, but if you're under pressure and you've
got a guy deep named Jeremiah Smith, you just put
(40:08):
some air under it. Let the guy go get it.
I think he's gonna make some big place get one
hundred yards receiving. So I'm going with Jeremiah Smith.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
I like it, and it makes sense. I wouldn't necessarily
consider him a free space, but I definitely think he
is going to be heavily involved. And that is Colonel Tate.
You know, he's not leading the team and receptions. That's
Jeremiah Smith. But I think I'm not backtracking from what
(40:36):
I said a moment ago about Ryan Walters. I think
Ryan Walters is going to do what he can with
the personnel he has to try to negate and limit
Jeremiah Smith. Again, that falls into the cap choury Easier
said than done, but that that kind of a defensive
strategy means it's going to open up, in my estimation,
(40:57):
opportunities for Colonel Tates. That's where I'm going.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
All Right, sounds good, and it comes down to prediction
time chips. So what is going to be on the
scoreboard at Husky Stadium the end of the game when
Ohio State goes out to play the Washington Huskies for
the first time as co members of the Big Ten.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
Yeah, I'll tell you what I think. The I think
the Washington philosophy and I'm maybe mistaken, you know, looking
at the fact that that they've been able to put
up big numbers, you know against UC Davis against Washington State.
They they haven't been They have not scored less than
(41:39):
thirty eight points so far this season. But I think
their philosophy, maybe I'm mistaken, is going to be to
try to slow the game down, to try to keep
the ball away from the Ohio State offense. So I'm
not thinking I think Ohio State is going to win this,
but I don't think it's going to be as high
scoring as what Washington. You know what they've experienced so
(42:02):
far this season. So I'm going to go with Ohio State.
I'll say Ohio State thirty five, Washington twenty one.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
Okay, I think we're thinking similarly again, but I do
like Washington's offense and I do like that environment. I
am going to say Ohio State thirty eight and Washington
twenty seven.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
So we will come back next week, of course, and
we'll talk about this game, and we will then get
ready for Ohio State to continue on the Big Ten play.
And they have, you know, I think right now there
and I wrote about this in my article for this week.
They have five games in six weeks that I think
(42:52):
are the big gauntlet in this schedule, and it starts
with Washington and ends with Penn State. Of course, Wisconsin
isn't looking as good as you know, as I thought
maybe at the beginning of the season they might be.
But they're still at home, and if that's a night game,
for example, it's not easy to win in Madison at night,
or it's not easy to distance yourself from Wisconsin. I
(43:14):
think they can win that game, but at Illinois that
could be difficult. You know, if the if the winds
are swirling in mid October, it's difficult to pass there,
so you may get bogged down in a slug fest
running game. And then of course at home against Minnesota.
Minnesota is one of those teams that I think can
be They're more talented, certainly than than Ohio University, but
(43:38):
they can be that type of team to hang around
and be aggravating and if you make too many mistakes,
they could surprise you, certainly.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
And by the time that this podcast is dropped, we
will know the kickoff time. But rumors are swirling that
the Ohio State Minnesota game maybe a night game, so
that would be that would be an interesting.
Speaker 1 (44:01):
Yeah, and I I think that that's probably a good decision.
I think that'll be it'll be a nice atmosphere for
everybody involved. And I think that, you know, if it's
a night game, I feel a little bit better about
Ohio State being able to pull away in the second
half because the crowd will carry them through a little bit.
I agree with you, all right, Well, uh, Chip, there's
(44:24):
nothing else on your mind. We can bring this podcast
to an end.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
That sounds good to me, all right, So why.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Don't you remind our listeners where they can find you
and your fine work online.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
I can be found on Twitter at Chipmanic. Last name
is spelled m I N N I c H. I'm
a contributor to Buckeye Huddle dot com as well as
Saturday Glory dot com. Saturday Glory is kind of a
very broad college football you know, in terms of like
the topics, but my focus is usually on all the
(44:58):
other teams within the Big tench you know, just kind
of giving an overview as to what's going on. But
you can find my work at either of those locations,
all right.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
You can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky at
Mike thirty six fan. My work can be found on
a Landgrant Holyland dot com, and as I mentioned, mondays
are when my columns happened, and you know, typically after
a Buckeye game, you get the grumpy old Buckeye treatment
for that game. But this week, since there was a bye,
(45:29):
I have written a story about this five game span
in six weeks that I think will define Ohio State's
twenty twenty five season. If they can get through this
without a loss, that would be pretty impressive, and I
think it would set them up for potentially again, you know,
not only a good rank and a home, potential home
(45:49):
game or potential buy in the in the College Football playoff,
but I feel like they would finally get back to
the Big Ten championship game, which is something I know
that has been weighing on Ryan Day's mind and something
that he would like to correct and get a win
in that game. I agree, all right, well, Chip, we
will be back next week. We'll break down the Washington game,
(46:12):
get ready for Minnesota, and the only thing left for
us to do is what we always do at the end,
and that is to say, go Bucks, Go Bucks.
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