Indiana Rewind, Brian Hartline Leaving OSU, and More

A week after we praised Ohio State for being Ohio State in The Game, the Buckeyes decided to play very unlike themselves in a 13-10 Big Ten championship game loss to Indiana. The defense did well to hold the Hoosiers’ high-powered offense to 13 points despite Kenyatta Jackson being tackled seemingly on every play, but the OSU offense didn’t do normal things in the red zone, or even things that had been successful there more often than not. There were no C.J. Donaldson runs, no Lincoln Kienholz package, and no quick passes to take advantage of perimeter matchups. Instead, we got slow-developing routes out of heavy tight end packages, one lousy Bo Jackson rush attempt, a missed field goal, and an unfortunate slip on what otherwise would have been a first-and-goal. We got an attempted fourth-down conversion at a time the Buckeyes should have kicked and a shanked kick when the Buckeyes probably should have gone for it.

We break down a frustratingly preventable loss, check back on our picks to click, and review our score predictions to see how close we came (we did not come close). 

It was the end of a week full of distractions, and we’ll never know if they did or did not affect the team on Saturday, but after a brief detour to figure out who came the closest to predicting the final Big Ten standings, we followed our game breakdown by discussing Brian Hartline’s impending departure to the University of South Florida. We also touched on some of the coaching changes and the Penn State situation. Although we’re not recruiting guys, we also touched on some of the distracting National Signing Day activities that may or may not have also given the offensive coaches less time than they would have liked to work on some of the Indiana game details. 

Finally, we talked about Ohio State’s bowl destination to kick off the team’s 2025 College Football Playoff run. The Buckeyes are going back to the Cotton Bowl, where they’ll have a difficult first opponent, taking on the winner of Texas A&M and Miami. Both teams present challenges, and the reward for getting past the winner of that game will most likely be Georgia. We’ll have more on the next Ohio State game when an opponent emerges. 

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 [e-mail]. 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 - Jayden Fielding gave Ohio State fans another missed field goal to discuss, but it shouldn’t have come down to what would only have been a game-tying kick. Our B1G title game breakdown. 

30:46 - Deciphering our Big Ten finishing predictions, the Penn State situation, Hartline to USF, and National Signing Day drama. 

54:04 - The College Football Playoff bracket is difficult for Ohio State but it could have been worse. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Log on, everybody, this time for another episode of the
Silver Bullets podcast. I'm Michael Citrow.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
And I'm Chipmannick Chip.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
We are recording this podcast the day after a disastrous
Big Ten championship game for Ohio State as the Buckeyes
lose thirteen to ten. And if you had told me
before this game that the Buckeyes would hold that Indiana
offense to thirteen points, I would have thought they won,

(00:47):
like thirty to thirteen.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, it certainly didn't go the way I expected. I
thought it was going to be high scoring. Congratulations to Indiana.
I mean, they outplayed out coached Ohio State. They deserved
to win that game. But certainly, over the course of
the podcast we could talk about the many issues that
kind of percolated during that game.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Yeah, you mentioned out coached, and I think this was
the first time we've seen Julian say and uncertain in
the backfield, not just because you know, he wasn't sure
what he was seeing down the field, but he also
got sacked five times in this game. He had been
sacked six times all season coming into the game, and
he just didn't have time to throw the football. So

(01:33):
there was a combination of him you know, trying to
get the ball out quickly and also maybe not understanding
what was going on on his first read. As Indiana
did well the disgui's coverage, but on the other side
of that, Ohio State did not adjust and did not
because it seemed like whenever they targeted Tate or Smith,
regardless of the call they I think I read that

(01:56):
they averaged over twelve yards per play where those two
were targeted, and then all other combined snaps they averaged
less than three yards.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, Like I said, it was just very perplexing offensive strategy, and.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
It wasn't like the team had trouble moving football. They'd
get down the field, they get eight or nine yards
on first down, and then there would spend three plays
stepping on rakes. It was really frustrating. It was like, Okay,
you maybe didn't get the yard on your second down carry,
that doesn't mean you don't try it again. Why all

(02:31):
the third and one passes? And if you are going
to pass, why aren't you spreading them out and using
your receiver your two best players. Put your two best
players out there that they have to respect, and you're
going with thirteen fourteen personnelities all of these tight ends
and only one of them are going out for a pass.
It just seems like you're handcuffing yourself to the radiator

(02:53):
and trying to run a sprint.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Very good point. I never thought about being handcuff or race.
I hope I never have to experience some of that.
But I kind of looked at myself as being kind
of almost like I don't want to say a therapist,
but like you're venting, you know, option for today. So
I'm gonna let you just kind of, you know, give
your thoughts, and then when you have when you feel
that you need a break and want mine, I will

(03:17):
chime in then. But I think you're covering it very
well so far.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
All right, Well, I'm glad I've encapsulating it for you.
Let's just go through our Here's what we thought would happen.
You and I were kind of on the same page
as we normally are. I had a little bit low scoring.
I had thirty to twenty four Ohio State. I knew
it was going to be a battle, but I definitely
expected both offenses to do a little more than they did,

(03:41):
especially indoors, and you had thirty five twenty eight, So
we were both wrong on the result. So since we
were both wrong and it was low scoring, I will
I will get I guess by default, I will get
the edge on this week's prediction.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
That's fine, but.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yeah, it was, it was. It was not good. Ohio
State did manage to hold Indiana off the scoreboard on
the first drive, and the same thing happened as happened
in the Michigan game. Interception early for Julian saying, and
again good job by Indiana to disguise what they were

(04:18):
doing and make him think he was seeing one thing
and showing him another. And you know, the defense though,
again Ohio State's defense just you can't say enough good
things about him. They hold Indiana to a field goal.
So it's three nothing and Ohio State drives down the
field and Carnell take catches a nine yard pass and
we have seven three buck eyes at the end of

(04:39):
the first quarter.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, it's again. I think it just kind of looked
like a big slug fest, and it certainly continued throughout
the rest of the game.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
Now that that lead came late in the first quarter
and then the buck eyes, you know, I think that
was the drive for Indiana where they missed the field
goal in Ohio. It came back down the field again,
got into scoring position and this time kicked a field goal,
made it ten to three, thirty yard field goals, so

(05:09):
again getting close but not getting in the end zone.
And then Nicholas radiciic a kick to field goal, and
it was ten to six at the half, and you'd
have to say that Ohio State probably deserved to be
up a little more at the half. But again you
have to finish drives absolutely, so the third quarter comes in.

(05:35):
This was shocking to me. Ohio State doesn't score a
point in the second half the third quarter. About halfway through,
Mendoza finally throws a touchdown pass seventeen yards to make
it thirteen to ten, and that was all the scoring
and very shocking. Ohio State did a good job defensively,

(05:55):
did a real good job on Mendoza for the most part.
I think he only made one play with his legs.
We talked about that as being an issue. You made
one play for scrambled for a first down on a
like a quarterback draw. But other than that, I thought
they handled him well. I thought that they covered receivers
well for the most part. Jermaine Matthews had some issues,
but other than that, I thought everybody else did a

(06:15):
pretty good job. They got victimized by another soft I
thought soft pass interference call, But you know, Indiana took
shots down the field in the second half, Ohio State didn't,
and that to me was a big difference in the
second half of how that played out.

Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, I as you said earlier, I think the Ohio
State defense has nothing to be ashamed of. Obviously, there
were some differences in terms of the way that they
played strategically, you know, in terms of not blitzing, you know,
like the coverage. You know, you already mentioned Jermaine Matthews
having a difficult game, Lorenzo Styles Junior also having a

(06:52):
difficult game. But by and large, the defense is not
the culprit. I think overall, the offense and just the
scheme and the strategy just I mean, it all just
kind of added up to what eventually was an Ohio
State loss.

Speaker 1 (07:06):
Yeah, we just can't not talk about those third and
one calls. You had a one receiver pattern on one
of those third and ones, so if he's not open,
your play is going nowhere. And then you had another
one where it was just a tight end and a
running back out in the pattern. So I don't understand

(07:27):
why they thought that would be successful. I think if
you're going to throw the football, especially the second time,
because the second time they did it, they ended up
kicking the field goal on fourth down and shanking the
field goal. And Jaden Fielding, I mean, has been an
accurate kicker throughout his career, but he has missed some
stunning kicks in his career as well.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah, I mean going back to that first third and one,
and I'm just gonna my personal thoughts and experience was
watching the game as soon as soon as they said,
you know, on fourth and one that they were going
for it, I immediately said to my wife as we're watching,
and I said, I think they should try and kick

(08:08):
the field goal here. And here's my rationale. I'm not
doing me wrong. I recognize the fact that, okay, you know,
it's like I like an aggressive nature. But by my
thinking is when you think back to the way that
the rest of the game unfolded if Ohio State had
kicked the field goal, and let's give Fielding the benefit
of the doubt, I know it's difficult to do considering

(08:31):
what happened, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt.
Now the game is tied up thirteen, right, and instead
of because what Indiana was able to do, which they
which they which they did, is they their focus then
was like, okay, we're going to run the ball. They
completed downfield passes when they needed to, which was which

(08:53):
was just crushing. But my thinking is they probably in
terms of instead of being you know, like let's kill
the clock and make this more difficult for Ohio State,
they would have been, you know, a little bit more aggressive.
You know, it would have been like, okay, we need
to try and get into field goal range ourselves, those

(09:13):
kind of things, Whereas like Ohio State, as you said,
not only that third and one, but there the other
one and then the missed field goal. High State was
always chasing points. So I just to me, like, I
thought the complexion of the game completely changed. What with
that that fourth and one, with Julian saying the fact

(09:35):
that they went for it but his knee was down.
I just felt like the complexion of the game completely
changed from that point.

Speaker 1 (09:42):
Yeah. The other thing too, is like be yourselves, Like
we talked about it before, when Ohio State has struggled
when they're not being themselves, and they've done that in
the past against Michigan, and then they did that in
this game. They're not themselves. You get in the red zone,
you get short yardage. What have you done all season?
Given it to CJ. Donaldson or you put Lincoln keenholes in.
These are the things you've done all season, They've been

(10:03):
successful things. Why are you not doing it in this situation?
And not only that, they really tried Bo Jackson on
a one yard carry one time when with one to
go one time, this is a thousand yard back. Thousand
yard backs because they are hard to get on the
ground get a thousand yards, you should probably try more

(10:23):
than one time out of four plays to give the
ball to Bo Jackson. If you're not going to go
and do what you've done all year, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
I just you know, like Bo Jackson, he was actually
starting to make some really I don't want to say,
you know, like long runs, but I thought impressive runs.
Like there were a few times in the second half
where it looked like he was I mean Joel Klatt
kind of he's like, oh, like he came so close
to breaking it. So to your point, you know what
I mean, Like, I agree with you. I just think

(10:53):
there was just a lot that, just a lot left
to be desired, you know, in terms of like the
offensive game plan and the strategy.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
Yeah, with the exception, I think there were only a
couple of plays where he was held under three yards
and one of those with teg Shabola ran the wrong
play and it ended up being a negative play. Uh
Tegra Shabola maybe the worst game of his career.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
Oh, just I don't think it's don't I don't think
it's a question.

Speaker 1 (11:22):
An awful game. He had to be replaced before the
for the last couple of drives. He was not even
on the field, as he was just that bad in
this game. Just he was getting beaten routinely. Like I said,
Ross Fulton said, he ran the wrong play on that
one that lost two or three yards that Jackson ran
up to the right. But other than that he was

(11:43):
getting at least four yards of carry and people are saying, wow,
we couldn't run the ball. You could run the ball,
but you couldn't run the ball every down. You had
to mix in some other things that were being successful.
And I think in the second half at some point
they stopped targeting Tait and Smith. I don't know if
they were afraid of sacks, they were afraid of not
being able to protect. But again, that's not you. You're

(12:07):
not afraid. You beat yourselves. And I think that every
time this team has gotten in trouble in the Ryan
Day era, it's because he's tried to do something different
that that doesn't it's not representative of what you're doing.
And I think that the the players understand that. They're like,
wait a minute, like, why are we doing it? I
think it makes them second guests themselves. I think it
makes them play slower.

Speaker 2 (12:28):
I completely agree. I think there was a lot that
you know, I mean, you mentioned Tiger Shabola, how it
certainly the offense became much better. Not that it was,
you know obviously like you said, you know, in terms
of like with the failed fourth and one and the
you know, the missed field goal, but the offense was

(12:50):
much better once Tiger Shabola was replaced by gay Van Sikel.
So that's that's something that has to be i mean
conclusively determined when Ohio State the next time they take
the field, because I mean, you can't you can't allow
this kind of continuing issue at right guard to continue
to fester, which it has. So that's that's one thing

(13:15):
I just you know, by and large, I just I
just think that the offense, you know, was I just
I'm just kind of questioning, you know, what kind of
thinking that they had. Where As you said, like they
were not targeting Tate, they were not targeting Smith. I
did think where they became much more effective in the

(13:36):
second half was when they started rolling Julian saying out
to kind of negate the pressure that he was getting.
So I mean, again, they're gonna, you know, let's let's
just call it what it is. Like I think Indiana,
like I said, they outplayed it, out play them, they
out coached them. And you know, guess what, you know,
the upcoming opponents for Ohio State in the college football playoffs,

(13:59):
they'll be heavily scrutinizing, well, what worked too, you know,
cause issues for Ohio State because you know, regardless, you know,
I know, we'll talk more about the opponent when it's
officially named or known, I should say, but they will
be scrutinizing what worked for Indiana and try to do
the same thing against Ohio State.

Speaker 1 (14:21):
Yeah, the good news is that Ohio State will also
be trying to scrutinize that and make sure that they're
ready for it when they see it again. You got them.
I think that Julian's saying will be fine. I think
he'll He's a smart enough quarterback. I think he'll figure
it out. But there were things that where his team
really kind of let him down. There are things to
negate what Indiana was doing. If Indiana is getting a

(14:42):
lot of pressure, where the screen passes, where the draw plays,
to kind of slow down that pass rush, if they're
changing their coverage, do what teams do to Ohio State,
go with tempo, don't let them change their personnel packages,
don't let them change their you know, don't let them
have a lot of time to call the defense and
then change it. I mean there things that they could
have done. This This game, to me, smacked of a

(15:05):
lack of self scouting.

Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yeah. I think that they kind of figured all, right, well,
our defense, you know, we don't really need to put
a lot of effort into the offensive side of the ball,
and our defense has been so great, and the defense
did play great. But I do think that, as you
just said, Michael, I think a lack of self scouting.
I just I think that it's not an excuse, but

(15:31):
I think that there was just a lot of peripheral
distractions that kind of had an impact, you know. So
I just think that there was a lot that went
into it. You referenced the thirteen to ten loss, and
you know how similar it was to Michigan. Maybe this
is just me and again my role here is to

(15:51):
be more of your therapist, you know. But I will
tell you just on a personal note, compared to last
year when Ohio State lost the Michigan thirteen to ten,
as frustrated as I am with this loss to Indiana,
I mean I like the difference in terms of just

(16:14):
psychologically about like what happened, I feel significantly better because,
as I said to my wife last night, Yeah, as
disappointed as I am, that is all like they were
playing against you know, like some slouch I mean, like Indiana,
you know what I mean, like undefeated number two. They
are gonna, They're gonna, They're gonna. Now I can't begin

(16:35):
to say that, Oh yeah, they're gonna definitely be in
the National championship game. But they are. They are legit.
So by and large. You know, it's like, I think
there were some extenuating factors. I think some tremendously you know,
poor strategic decisions in terms of like you said, you know,

(16:57):
in terms of the personnel usage. Rumors are starting to
formulate that maybe Brian Hartline isn't going to be involved
in the college football playoffs because you know, maybe it
was more of a distraction than Ohio State could handle.
I don't know that falls on Ryan Day. But again,
you know, the nice thing is is that you know

(17:19):
Ohio State, you know, they had a great year. Yeah,
they're disappointed not to win Big Ten, but they can
use this as fuel for motivation. We've seen them do
this before after a very disappointing loss a year ago,
and you can only hope that they're going to do
the exact same kind of thing.

Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yeah, has there been a player's only meeting with Ryan
Day yet?

Speaker 2 (17:40):
Not yet? Not yet. But I'll tell you what, it
wouldn't surprise me if I don't think it would be
nearly as profane as supposedly that one was, But it
wouldn't surprise me if there was one, just to kind
of be like, coach, what are you doing? You know,

(18:00):
strategy wise, like because again, you know, like I think
you hit it right on the head the fact that
Arnel Tait and Jeremiah Smith, you know, you actually want
to take advantage of their presence on the field. And
I I and again I want to give credit where
credit is due. Indiana. I think Bryant Haynes, who's the
Indiana defensive coordinator, they talked, you know a lot about

(18:24):
during the game. Oh, Fernando Mendoza, you know, he's he's
gonna win the Heisman. I think that's that's probably gonna happen.
But I'll tell you what, Bryan Haynes I think definitively
showed that he's going to win the Frank Broyles Award
for the Best Assistant by you know, like the performance
that his his defense played. So that's kind of why
I'm saying in terms of coaching. You know, he had

(18:45):
his defense well prepared, like you said, Julian Sane confused,
you know, So I just I think I think there's
a lot of motivation that's there for Ryan dates at
his disposal if he chooses to use.

Speaker 1 (18:56):
It, all right, well, if he wins it over Matt Patricia,
I will be bitter about that.

Speaker 2 (19:02):
I understand, right.

Speaker 1 (19:04):
Completely rebuilt defense and it goes out and puts up
historic numbers. All right, let's go through the status. Yeah quick,
you had bo Jackson as your pick to click. He clicked.
Seventeen carries eighty three yards, He averaged five yards to carry.
He did everything he could do. I think, if anything,
they didn't use him enough.

Speaker 2 (19:24):
Yeah, I I completely agree. You know, it's one of
these things where like, like you said, you know, it's like, okay,
why are you trying to do quarterback sneaks? Why you know,
like that third and one, why aren't you you know,
giving it to Bo Jackson? Who again he you know,
there were a few times where yeah, he would be

(19:45):
you know, stopped for like minimal gain, but I think
he could have gained a yard. And I definitely think,
you know, like that critical third and one where it
was pipped away, I think he was. I think he
was available. Maybe maybe I'm mistaken in terms of like
you know, like you know, saying could have hit him
just to keep the drive alive instead, you know, like
that's when they tried the field goal that missed.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
Yeah, I think he was.

Speaker 2 (20:10):
Was he on the sideline?

Speaker 1 (20:11):
I think he would have been a difficult pass to
get in there because there was a linebacker running underneath it. Sure,
but I mean it's not that Saying couldn't make that throw,
but it would have been a difficult throw. But Isaiah
West carried three times for four yards. Just nothing there. CJ.
Donaldson even didn't even get carried. Neither did James People's

(20:31):
saying and negative twenty nine yards rushing as a result
of being sacked five times. Saying went twenty one of
twenty nine for two hundred fifty eight yards a touchdown, interception,
five sacks, compared to Mendoza, who went fifteen of twenty
three two hund twenty two yards a touchdown, an interception,
sacked three times. You heard about how oh, how confused

(20:53):
Saying was all night. He still put up better numbers
than Mendoza. But Mendoza won the game, So he's going
to win the highs.

Speaker 2 (21:01):
Yeah. I think it might be because I can I
can understand, you know, it's like what you're saying statistically,
and this is just reading between the lines. The fact
that Indiana is kind of okay, you know this year,
like oh you know, like no I wrote an article
about it for for Buckeye huddle about they're kind of

(21:22):
like the Rodney dangerfield.

Speaker 1 (21:24):
You know, I get they're the darlings because they're Yeah,
they're you know, they they're not traditionally. I mean, this
is a historic season for them.

Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, you know, so I think that might be. That
might be it. You know the fact that it's like historic,
that's that might be it. But you're right, saying definitely
had the statistical edge over Mendoza.

Speaker 1 (21:43):
But also Mendoza won those awards in the Big ten
over say It, even though Sayan's numbers were better in
every category except touchdowns, where Mendoza had two more, and
interceptions they had the same amount.

Speaker 2 (21:59):
I understand.

Speaker 1 (22:01):
So not a not a bad guy to have as
your running up because then they could also the big
tank to say, well, we're given him Player of the
Year and we're given saying Freshman of the year. There
you go, they each get something, everyone gets a trophy.
You got it, all right? So yeah, I mean bo

(22:24):
Jackson was the was by far and away the best
running back in this game. You hear a lot about
Kaylen Black because he had the one big thirty seven yarder,
but from a steady standpoint, Jackson was better, in fact,
had a better average despite that thirty seven yard run
by Black, Jackson average four point nine yards to carry
Black only four point three, So Jackson by and large

(22:46):
did better.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
I completely agree.

Speaker 1 (22:49):
Receiving wise, Jeremiah Smith eight catches one hundred and forty
four yards, Tate four catches for forty five yards at
a touchdown. I had him as my pick to click,
and I think as far as the target for Tate,
he did everything that he could do on those targets.
So I'm going to give him a click for this game.

Speaker 2 (23:05):
Oh absolutely.

Speaker 1 (23:07):
And Smith did too, And I still think Tate and
Smith are not one hundred percent. I think that's part
of the reason they're not always in on those red
zone packages. And I think that's why we're seeing so
much thirteen and fourteen personnel, which I think is it's
good for them that they now get three and a
half weeks of rest.

Speaker 2 (23:26):
Yeah. I mean again, you know, maybe you know Ryan
Day wanted to win the game. Yeah, he also is.
He's also playing the long game as well, you know,
knowing that they have a college football playoff and want
to make a long run.

Speaker 1 (23:40):
Yeah, I think that's part of this too. I think
there's a little arrogance involved in this and that they
felt like, oh, it's just Indiana.

Speaker 2 (23:46):
We can Yeah, I have no doubt, no doubt.

Speaker 1 (23:50):
You know, we already did all the hard parts. But
you know, that's the thing is when a when a
historic doormat is suddenly good the evidence of your eye,
you just you don't trust them, like they can't be
that good exactly, but they are. And we talked about it.
We talked about how their defense was rated better than Michigan's.

Speaker 2 (24:10):
They they are, like I said, they are legit.

Speaker 1 (24:13):
That's what. That's what was kind of so maddening about
the game too, Chip is that they were able to
pick up short yardage first downs against Michigan. And we
talked about how great the offensive line played last week
and then this week completely the.

Speaker 2 (24:27):
Opposite again, just seemed like kind of you know, like
where'd you guys go? You know, because Tigrishibulla did have
a good game against Michigan, you know what I mean,
and it's like, yeah, the next next thing, you know,
it's like, okay, he's basically a turm style.

Speaker 1 (24:45):
Yeah, he looked like he had never played the game before.

Speaker 2 (24:49):
Well, I saw I saw your tweets last during the game.
I'm not saying that they weren't justified, That's what I'm saying.
I kind of I kind of figured today had to
be kind of more of a you know, like a
you know, like let you and uh you know, like
kind of be like your you know, mental health support,
uh you know for you, you know, like be a therapist,
you know, like just because I you know, I could

(25:09):
see how frustrated you were. That's why as soon as
I saw Van Sickle out there and then the offense
started to improve, I'm like, okay, that that's a recognition, like, Okay,
we can't continue with what we're doing.

Speaker 1 (25:21):
Yeah, it's at some point you you need to make
that move. I would have made it earlier, but you know,
these guys again, the way he played just a week
ago would make you think, okay, we just need to
talk to him a little bit, calming down. He'll be fine,
he'll get it going. But he never did. Nope. Do
I think you have to have a quicker hook sometimes

(25:41):
when the when the stakes are higher, But it's like
which one was more normal for him? I would say
that the change the performance against Indiana was an outlier
on the outlier on the bad side, the performance against
Michigan was an outlier. On the good side, he's more
normally closer to the Indiana performance than the Michigan performance.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
I agree.

Speaker 1 (26:03):
All right, let's look at our defensive picks to click.
You had Caden McDonald. He had five tackles and really
kind of helps stuff to run up the middle. I
didn't feel like they had a lot of success up
the middle running the football. I'm giving Cayden McDonald a click,
thank you. And rvel Reese was my pick to click.
And rvel Reeves put up almost no stats, but he

(26:25):
was also asked to spy. I'm not going to give
him a click. He only had one tackle. He did
have two quarterback hurries. I don't know. Maybe I'm talking
myself into a click.

Speaker 2 (26:35):
I think he should. I think he should. He definitely
his presence was fell.

Speaker 1 (26:38):
Yeah, I'm going to give him a click. And you know,
I've heard some people saying, well, where was rvl res
in this game? Didn't make a lot of plays. He
was waiting for Mendoza to come out of the pocket,
and Mendoza stayed in the pocket a lot, and didn't
you didn't see Mendoza making those plays with his legs
like he did against Penn State. Correct, and I think
that I think the defense game plan was perfect. I

(27:02):
think there was some bad coverage by Matthews a couple
of times, and let's face it, Kenyata Jackson was getting
tackled on every single time.

Speaker 2 (27:10):
I was wondering when you were going to bring that up,
because that was if there would be one. And again,
it's just one of these things where you know, it
just I can only hope because again, it's not an excuse.
It's just not an excuse that you want to you know.
It's like, you know, because you know, you saw Signetti

(27:33):
reeching at the officials, like complaining about a hold that
wasn't called or whatever against Ohio State, and I was thinking, like,
you got to be kidding me, But I would I
would say that if I'm Ryan Day, you know, like
you know, like sending the various holds that weren't called
to the officiate, you know, like the Big ten officiating

(27:55):
office and being like, what you know it was up
with this? I mean like because I think that that's
a justifiable complaint.

Speaker 1 (28:03):
Yeah. Now, I heard a lot of people talk about oh,
they let him play both ways, and they did, But
if it's you, there's a difference between having your hands
inside and having fists full of jersey and being subtle
about it and just outright tackling the guy coming around
right left tackle every single time. I mean he I
don't know how many sacks Kenyata Jackson would have had,

(28:24):
how many TFLs he would have had, but that number
would have been extremely significant if he had not been
allowed to be in hold. And you don't have to
call it every time, just call it once to let
them know they will call it, and then then he
has to play honestly exactly. You know, he could still
hold sometimes, but maybe just don't grab the legs and

(28:45):
pull him down every single time. Yeah, I mean it
was it was bad, but and I didn't want to
be that guy and say, oh, there were some bad
calls on both sides, for sure. There were some some
things let go that should have been called both ways.
I think there was a play in the backfield where

(29:05):
it was, oh, it was this, it was the sack
which was ruled down by a forward progress, which was
a ridiculous call. But Ohio State's offensive lineman I think
it was Daniels. I think he got away with it
like a holder of fagsk on that.

Speaker 2 (29:19):
I know exactly. Yeah, it was a yeah, I know
exactly what you're talking about. I remember saying to my
wife like, man, I'm you know, I didn't like that call,
but I'm glad that they didn't call that face mask
as you saw it.

Speaker 1 (29:31):
Yeah, you know. Yeah. So, I mean they missed stuff.
I mean, it's it's Big Ten officials. They're they're not
good at their jobs. But at the same time, like, okay, now,
does that mean that our left tackle can just wrap
guys up or our right tackle? I mean, cause like
they were, they were causing a lot of problems on
the on the right side of Ohio State's line. Maybe

(29:53):
just start holding them really really tightly, Like maybe that's
the answer. There you go, all right, Chip, So we're
through the Big Ten season. We were going to talk
a little bit about our predictions for the way the
Big Ten ended. I've done the scoring, so I know
who came closer to predict predicting the actual finishing order.

(30:17):
We'll talk about that. We'll, of course talk about some
of the stuff that happened this week. Concluding why we've
been talking so much about Brian Hartline through the first
part of this episode, and we'll get to Ohio State's
next matchup, and we're going to get to all those
things right after this, all right, Chip, Just to put

(30:46):
a bow on the season, the Big Ten season, now
that it's completely behind us, I have tallied our scores
from our predictions, okay. And what I did was because
I wasn't sure how to handle ties in the Big Ten,
because they don't really differentiate in the in the league's standings.

(31:08):
What they do is they'll if you have the same
record as another team, they list you alphabetically.

Speaker 2 (31:16):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (31:17):
So what I did was, if there was a tie
for like seventh place, I would give both teams a
seven to eight, right, And then I what I did
was I counted how far away our pick for those
teams were from the closest pick. So if you, for example,
picked a team to finish sixth and they finished tied

(31:38):
for eighth so eight nine, would you would get a
two for that because it's two spots away. So does
that make sense? Does that sound like a fair scoring system?

Speaker 2 (31:47):
It seems it sounds completely fair.

Speaker 1 (31:49):
All right. So in the Grand scheme of things, I
ended up with a forty. So you know, if you
take all of the positions away from where I predicted
they would end, forty is the number you get. Yours
was forty four, so just like in golf, I it
was four strokes better than you, So I actually came

(32:10):
a little closer, although we were really really close. I
was the furthest away from any one individual finish. I
was eleven off with my Penn State pick for first place.
Your furthest off was also Penn State, as you picked
them second, so you were you got a ten for

(32:30):
that because you were one spot closer than me zeros,
which means we either had them in the hole where
they finished or within the tie for that spot. I
had Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Maryland, and Purdue. You

(32:50):
had Ohio State, Oregon, Minnesota, Maryland and Purdue. And had
you had where I edged you as you had Michigan
way too low. We both were pretty far off on Northwestern,
but you were a little closer than I was on Northwestern,

(33:11):
and then just I had a lot more ones where
you had more twos, So I was like on those
I think that I think where it really helped me
was the ties.

Speaker 2 (33:23):
Yeah, no, that makes sense. Like I'm just looking at
because I have my notes from when I did when
we did this, and just I remember, you know again,
you know, like it's based on what you what you
think is going to happen, right, so my I can
just you know, just I remember thinking, Okay, what's going

(33:45):
to happen is Ohio State is going to beat Penn State,
which is why I had them ahead of Penn State.
And then I must have at the time, even though
I was highly skeptical of Penn States non conference schedule,
which I'm still convinced played a part in their demise,

(34:06):
that I must have believed Penn State was going to
defeat Oregon and Indiana since they were going to be
playing them, you know, at Happy Valley, and the fact
that I thought that Oregon would have beaten in Indiana,
so that's how you know, it's like. And then as
far as like the Michigan thing, I I do know

(34:28):
I thought for sure that Nebraska was going to beat
Michigan when I was looking at the schedule, and I
thought Nebraska was like waiting in you know, like you know,
like to exact revenge, which obviously did not come to pass. Yeah,
we both had Purdue that last we both didn't think
highly of Maryland UCLA, same thing, Michigan State. I had

(34:52):
Wisconsin lower than you, you know. But yeah, I mean
it's so difficult, and you know, like next week maybe
just a thought is like next week we can look
at because you know, like the new coaching staffs are
starting to take shape. You know, we can have some
thoughts on you know, what Michigan State and UCLA and

(35:15):
Penn State are doing, you know that kind of thing.
And yeah, you know, rumor has it, Rumor has it
that the SEC is going to be announcing their schedule
this coming Friday, which means the Big Ten can't be
far behind. So we might even have an early glimpse
at the twenty twenty six schedule. So yeah, I I

(35:36):
completely understand the rationale of your scoring. You know, the
fact that that that we were relatively close. I like
to think that, hey, we're in good company because everybody
thought Penn State was going to be good and everybody
was incorrect, you know, and you know, I just I

(35:56):
said it a moment ago. I still believe that Penn State,
that non conference schedule did them no favors the fact
that I think psychologically they kind of you know, put
their pushed all of their chips into the middle of
the table, so to speak against Oregon. Yeah, and then
they were then they were you know, just they they
were just just shell shocked from that. And you know,

(36:21):
we we've talked about the devastating loss Ohio State had
a year ago against Michigan and the players meeting with
Ryan Day, and I'm not trying to minimize that because
I do think that that was a prime catalyst for
why I State eventually went on the tear they did
and won the national championship. But somebody made the point
they're like, you know, if Ohio State had had a

(36:41):
game the week after that loss to Michigan, like would
they have been able to get up off the mat?
You know, because Penn State didn't. So you know, it
just it's interesting. You know, it's like I'm not going
to quit buying my college football preview magazine and you know,
trying to prognosticate, but it's just you know, like what
what that looks like? And you know, and obviously like

(37:02):
we never want to see anyone get hurt. You never
want to see you know, coaches get fired, but it's like,
man like, those things just kind of have a way
of taking your your season and just you know taking
it into the parts unknown or un you know, not predicted.

Speaker 1 (37:18):
Yeah, you're you're right. The Penn State thing, I shouldn't
have taken the if not now when approach to Penn
State because when is the answer? But yeah, here, I
think this too speaks to player reaction. I think that
the players last year showed that they believe in Ryan Day.

(37:42):
The Ohio State players believe in Ryan Day because they
for all their anger, they invited a day to their meeting,
they got on the same page. They went on a
run and won the national championship. I think Penn State
took the opposite approach. I think they I think that
they were fractured from James Franklin because those those players

(38:03):
knew Oregon was cooked. They were gassed. They could not
possibly stop the run, and they lost the game on
a pass play in overtime because they're they're not a
great passing team and they've they've they did something against
what was working and it cost them the game. I
really feel like that played a role in in the

(38:26):
eventual demise and that that whole malaise, that afflict afflicted
the team almost the whole rest of the season.

Speaker 2 (38:33):
I'll tell you what. And again, it's just a thought
for like next week when we talk about, you know,
the coaching. I'm not I'm not saying they're going to
be good next year. But I think Penn State, I
think they've really they've got a really good coach now,
and we could talk about that in greater details. So
but yeah, I I I just think that there was

(38:55):
a just their confidence was shattered. And you know, the
Penn State they're officially waiting to as we're recording this,
officially waiting to find out their bowl game destination. I'm
kind of curious as to who's going to play, you know,
because again it's it's it's a different world than the
one that you and I grew up as fans, you know,

(39:17):
like with the idea of like, you know, like college
And I don't blame the players. I really don't like,
why what's the incentive to play in a bowl game
that doesn't contribute or count towards possibly you know, the
college football playoff in a national championship. You're just kind
of putting yourself out there for you know, possibly getting hurt.
I think it's a great opportunity for younger players, but

(39:39):
it just remains to be seen how Penn State, how
they how they regroup, and how they move forward into
twenty twenty six.

Speaker 1 (39:45):
Yeah, I mean, do you want to play in the
Pinstripe Bowl for a lame duck interim coach? This seems
like the kind of bowl game you pass on. It's like, okay,
you know what we're we're like one one team already
announced that they weren't going to We're going to produce too.

Speaker 2 (40:02):
Yeah. So yeah, so I as we were recording this,
Iowa State and Kansas State have both declined bowl games,
and the Big Twelve is basically like, Okay, you guys
are putting us in a bad spot with our bowl
game partners, so we're gonna find you five hundred thousand dollars.

(40:23):
So it's like damned if you do, damned if you don't. Okay, right,
because it's like, wait a second, So I've got to
I've got to convince my guys to go to something
that they really have no interest in participating in for nothing,
you know, like potential injury, Right, you know, and and
I get it, Like I like, the old school part

(40:45):
of me is the and this this this hasn't changed
regardless where we're talking Collge football playoff, you know. But
the old school part of me is that the advantage,
the reason why the coaches want the bowl games. It's
not necessarily for the game. It's for the practice.

Speaker 1 (41:01):
Yeah, for practice for next year.

Speaker 2 (41:02):
You know, That's exactly it. So it's like I get it.
But it's like if you're a player and you're thinking, well,
I you know, I'm a rising you know, I'm well
regarded by NFL drafts, you know, because they get draft
evaluations around this time. You know, I don't want to
risk I mean, let's go ask Jake but about how

(41:23):
his NFL career wound up, you know, playing you know,
wrecking his knee in the Orange Bowl and falling from
a first round draft choice to you know, barely having
an NFL career. I mean, that's that's basically what can happen.
So Melvin Branton, I mean, like we're going back in
the wayback machine happened to him, you know, and that
was actually for the National Championship. But I'm just saying

(41:44):
it's like guys get hurt and then the next thing
you know, it's like they're their pro prospects are severely diminished.

Speaker 1 (41:50):
Yeah. I would think that anybody on Penn State that
is going to be drafted would not want to play
in their bowl games.

Speaker 2 (41:58):
I'm I agree with you. I I mean, we already
know Drew Allers out. If you're Catron Allen, if you're
Nick Singleton, I'm just you know, rattling off like guys
that I know off the top of my head, that
you know that would see logical candidates to bypass it. Yeah,
you know, I just think Okay. Now, on the other hand,
if you're Grunkameyer, all right, this is an opportunity for you,

(42:20):
you know, more experience that you need to you know,
like hopefully with the new coaching staff coming in, hopefully
solidify your hold on the quarterback position. But it remains
to be seen.

Speaker 1 (42:30):
Yeah, so they'll be coached by Matt Campbell next year.
As you know, that has been something that Penn State
was it looked it just looked like they were whiffing
on everybody. Of course, they said, oh we got our man.
Are the one we had targeted all along, because that's
what you say, but I have to believe that like
twelve coaches around the country getting big raises to stay

(42:55):
where they are had a lot to do with that.

Speaker 2 (42:58):
Yeah, I mean, it's just you know again, you know,
I think like next week when we talk about, like
because all all the big ten coaching jobs have now
been officially filled, you know, you know, a greater you know,
greater discussion on it. But yeah, I think, you know,
Penn State the way that they handled this, because we
could talk about recruiting next week that uh finished up

(43:22):
for Ohio State, you know, and the impact of the
coaching staff or excuse me, the coaching search on Penn
State's recruiting class. You know. So there's a lot. But yeah,
I think Penn State they're definitely going in a better
direction than they were this past week.

Speaker 1 (43:36):
But that way. Yeah, and Matt Campbell maybe isn't a
name that tickles the toes of some Penn State fans.
I think he'll be good there. I don't know if
he's going to be better than James Franklin or worse.
You know, we'll see. I agree, I agree, all right,

(43:57):
Speaking of coaches, Chip one of the big distractions this
week for I of State was losing Brian Hartline to
South Florida. Now, you and I have talked many times
about how it was just going to be a matter
of time before Brian Hartline got an offense or a
head coaching position, And I even heard his name mentioned
for the Penn State job, which never seemed likely. A

(44:20):
place like that taking a chance on the first time
head coach didn't seem likely. South Florida's a good landing
spot for him. You can win there, you can be
successful there. And the good news for Ohio State is
he's not likely to take a bunch of recruits.

Speaker 2 (44:33):
With him, right, Yeah, I think this is actually a
I had some disagreement with some friends who were kind
of like, I can't believe he's going to South Florida.
I'm like, No, South Florida is a good coaching spot.
Alex Garsh, who was the South Florida coach who's now

(44:54):
Auburn's coach, he's leaving a pretty good environment for Heartline
to be successful better than I do. You know Heartline.
You know, he had a solid NFL career down in Florida,
So I think he's you know, he's he's developed a
really good relationship as a recruiter. I think at South Florida,
I'm again, I'm gonna just I'm just gonna say for myself,

(45:17):
I'm very much old school in the sense that I
think to become ready to helm a major college program,
you need to kind of, you know, like get some
some legitimate experience at smaller programs. It worked with Tressel,

(45:37):
it worked with Urban Meyer, and people are going to say, well, Chip,
what about Ryan Day? That was kind of insinuating circumstances there,
you know, like it was just kind of like the
timing there was not really like the top notch candidate
that Ohio State, you know, and right they were afraid
if we let Ryan Day leave, then he goes somewhere else.
So it's worked out for both parties. But the reality is,

(46:00):
I think you need to kind of, you know, get
gain some valuable experience. Brian Hartline can do that and
use this as a stepping stone to build himself into
a bigger job down the road. So, like you said,
it was kind of, it wasn't kind of it was
a distraction this past week impacted recruiting. I'm sure. I'm

(46:20):
sure it impacted the offensive game plan for for Indiana.
But you know, like, hey, Brian Hartline, I can't say
enough good things about what he's done in terms of
his recruiting, the development of the wide receivers under his tutelage.
You know, so I wish him nothing but the best
and look forward to seeing what he does with this

(46:44):
with his first head coaching opportunity.

Speaker 1 (46:47):
Yeah, this is a guy who's still fairly young guy.
He could be a future Ohio State head coach if
he takes the head coaching.

Speaker 2 (46:54):
Yeah. Well, I think that's I think that's kind of
the goal, you know, like it's like when you look
got the landscape. Uh, you know, it's it's one of
these things where you know, I'm sure he would he
would deny it, but I think, like Marcus Freeman is
a guy that you know, like I think has his
his eyes set on Ohio State.

Speaker 1 (47:16):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (47:16):
I think Brian Hartline certainly, you know, wants to you know,
show that he's capable of doing it in South Florida
might give him that that that venue to do it.
Eddie George is at Bowling Green, you know, so there
there are guys that are that are starting to kind
of rise up through the ranks. That, you know, back
I referenced it a moment ago. You know, like when

(47:37):
urban Meyer stepped away there, there really wasn't any like
logical next guy. And I think that like whenever Ryan
Day eventually decides to do that, and it could be
you know, several years from now, Ryan Day is still
relatively young that that, you know, the High State will
be able to take somebody that has has played there
and has gained some valuable head coaching experience.

Speaker 1 (47:58):
Well, and Ryan Day, keep in mind, he's he's been
in Columbus a while now, and he's been head coach
of this team since what twenty nineteen, Yeah, and so
we're already looking at six years. So even if it's
only another four years, that's a decade. At some point,
you got to think that there might be an NFL

(48:19):
team come a calling, and oh yeah, you might want
to test his metal at that level. You never know
what can happen. So you know, enjoy Ryan Day while
he's here. He's done a fine job. And like've figured
out the National Championship last year. This year he figured
out the Michigan game. Maybe next year he figures out
the Big Ten Championship game.

Speaker 2 (48:40):
Yeah, yeah, we'll see. Like I said, you know, when
we get that official twenty twenty six schedule, might have
to kind of scale back our expectations for next year,
even though there's going to be a lot of talent
still on the roster.

Speaker 1 (48:54):
Yeah, they're gonna have to. I just don't know how
do you rebuild the defense completely two years in a
row and maintained that level and got better this year.
But I mean, who Caleb Downs and r l riis going,
that's gonna be and Caden McDonalds. That's gonna be hard.

Speaker 2 (49:11):
It's gonna be very difficult.

Speaker 1 (49:13):
All right. Speaking of the distractions this week, you mentioned recruiting,
We're not recruiting guys. That will just briefly mention some
of the things that happened this week that took away
from time of preparation because they had the early The
signing day was this week, right in the middle of
getting ready for a championship. You gut signing day and
you got on Signing day is the day the news

(49:35):
broke about Brian Hartline going to South Florida. That obviously
affected recruiting because one kid flipped his commitment to USC
and then there were some questions about some others, and
one of those was Chris Henry, who considered going to
Oregon and delayed his signing, but eventually he was talked
back into the fold and he is a Buckeye. So

(49:58):
Chris Henry Junior, I believe the number one receiver recruit
in the country, at least in some services, is a
buck Eye. Another one was ji Quaydin Guilford, who kind
of delayed his announcement and he was brought in another receiver,

(50:18):
and then legend Bay had the weirdest recruiting situation of all.
This is an athlete who wanted to come to Ohio State,
apparently was coerced by his mother and brother into signing
with Tennessee. He had his recruiting table for his announcement
all laid out and decked out in Ohio State gear

(50:42):
and wants to come to Ohio State, but he's under
age and apparently his mother would not sign the paperwork
for him to come to Ohio State. So there's talk
about how in three weeks when his eighteenth birthday comes,
he can then challenge the paperwork and then change his

(51:02):
commitment to Ohio State. But the whole situation is just
really strange.

Speaker 2 (51:07):
Oh yeah, yeah, I think, like you said, like we'll
talk more about recruiting, you know, in terms of like
the entirety of the class. But yeah, like the I
think the legend Bay thing, Yeah, like that's I mean
to be determined that that's a saga that you know,
we'll we'll it might be you know, like transfer portal
when that opens up in January, we might see his

(51:29):
name come across. But I definitely, you know, just to
kind of touch on it, Yeah, like the news of
Brian Hartline accepting the USF job the day of recruiting.
Definitely it had to have an impact because it was
pretty much you know, that was kind of like the

(51:49):
focus of I'll just say like the various social media
you know, things that you know, not just exclusive to
Ohio State, but like just buy a large college football
like oh, you know, like the speculation about where Chris
Henry Junior was going to wind up that didn't that
that announcement or decision wasn't made until twelve o'clock PM

(52:11):
Eastern on Friday, So you're talking like the day before
the Big Ten Championship, you know, So I definitely think
it had an impact, Like you said, you know, Kayden
Dixon Wyatt, you know, he went to USC, but I
think that was kind of in the works. Had been
rumblings about that even prior to the news. Chick Quay

(52:32):
and Gilford did you know, stick with his verbal commitment
and did sign with the High State. So yeah, I think,
you know, the calendar is just bad. It's just I think,
by and large, Mark Pantoni, Ohio States GM has his thoughts,
but he hasn't really you know, said them in terms

(52:52):
of like with interviews or anything. I think if you
were to ask any of the coaches what they would
like to see when it comes to recruiting is let's
have a summer recruiting period and then if like a
coach gets fired or a coach leaves, that would open
up the player to do something else. But I think
just you know, trying to do recruiting the first week

(53:15):
of December, conference championship games, coaching changes. I mean, it's
just way way too much activity in this first week.
I'm not I'm not excusing Ohio State's bad offensive play calling,
I realize, but I definitely think it was a factor.

Speaker 1 (53:30):
Yeah, I mean, they spent three days trying to talk
Chris Henry and sticking with Ohio State. That's that's Ryan Day,
that's Brian Hartline. These are the guys getting your offense ready,
and the offense and have a bannered week. So it's
it's not hard to put two and two together and say,
maybe they didn't have as much time this week to
spend on offensive game planning as they would have liked.
Maybe they would have liked to watch a little bit

(53:51):
more film and you know, have more time to throw
ideas back and forth. You got it, all right, Chip.
Finally black guys are in college football playoff. We knew
that even going into the Michigan game. We knew that
was pretty much a bygone conclusion. But they'll be seeded

(54:13):
second after the close lost to Indiana. I think everybody
saw that game, saw the Ohio State stepped on rakes
in the red zone and probably deserve to win the game,
but just couldn't finish those drives. So number two seed,
they get a pretty tough first matchup.

Speaker 2 (54:31):
Yeah, they will not only the tough matchup, but I'm
just going to say a surprising venue. Everything I was
seeing last night was leading me to believe that Texas
Tech being the Big Twelve champion was going to get
the Cotton Bowl and said Texas Tech is going to
the Orange Bowl. Ohio State's going back to the Cotton Bowl.

(54:52):
Not there's anything wrong with that, but the Cotton Bowl
New Year's Eve, and they will get the winner of
Miami in Texas A and m and Miami and Texas
A and m They announced that the game between them
on December twentieth, So that'll be the one that BIA
fans are gonna be wanting to watch because this is

(55:13):
how you're gonna get your you know, Ohio Sate's opponent.
That's a noon game on ESPN on December twentieth. So
a lot more to talk about between now and then.
But yeah, very surprising.

Speaker 1 (55:25):
Yeah, it's uh not is like Georgia is the third seed.
They got a better draw. I felt like, yeah, they do.

Speaker 2 (55:36):
You know, we'll see, you know, by and large, you
know how it all shapes up, you know, but yeah,
I think, you know, it'll be interesting to see, like, yeah,
who emerges. I genuinely feel sorry for James Madison. I
think they're walking into hornet's nests going out to Eugene.

(55:56):
But we'll we'll talk about that more as we get
closer to the actual first round.

Speaker 1 (56:01):
Yeah, so the first first round matchups are James Madison
goes to Oregon at Alabama got in with three losses.
It goes to Oklahoma Tulane got in, and they will
go to ole Miss and Ole Miss Tulane winner plays Georgia.
And that's why I say, George, I think it gets
a much better draw Ohio State against Miami or Texas

(56:23):
A and M both pretty formidable teams.

Speaker 2 (56:27):
Yeah, yeah, because Ole Miss is kind of going through
some stuff, you know, with Lane Kiffin leaving for LSU.
So yeah, I just think Ohio State, you know, playing
against either Miami or Texas A and M. We'll have
a lot to talk about that.

Speaker 1 (56:44):
Yeah. So I know a lot of people are dismissive
of of these teams, but I thought A and M
had a really good season. And Miami if Carson Beck
plays well, they're very hard to beat. If he's thrown interceptions,
then you know, then you got another story.

Speaker 2 (57:00):
Yeah, it should be a good one.

Speaker 1 (57:01):
You never know what you're going to get, all right.
So the Cotton Bowl, I would rather play in the
Cotton Bowl.

Speaker 2 (57:08):
Not me.

Speaker 1 (57:08):
I would rather have Ohio State play in the Cotton Bowl,
I would get hurt. But then the Orange Bowl because
Ohio State has a much better record in the Cotton
Bowl than the Orange Bowl.

Speaker 2 (57:18):
Very good point, so why not why not go and
win there?

Speaker 1 (57:22):
Again? That would be good. So they're on the Georgia
side of the bracket. The one good thing about being
the two seed is that that first round game it
might be a little harder. Georgia obviously is not a joke.
I think Georgia might have as good a defense as
anybody right now, the way that their defense has geled
over the last month. Whereas on the other side of

(57:46):
the bracket, you've got Texas Tech, You've got Oregon, who
might be playing better than anybody right now. You've got Indiana,
You've got Oklahoma's got a tremendous defense. Alabama. I'm not
that impressed with this year's Alabama team. They have an
argument to be in. They have an argument, But I

(58:07):
think when you start putting three loss teams in, I
don't think it's a good thing.

Speaker 2 (58:11):
Like I said, when we get when we get to
it in a couple of weeks, we'll have more to
talk about. I'm just right now, it's like just trying
to trying to make sense of what happened last night
and move forward.

Speaker 1 (58:25):
Yeah, that's all we can do, all right, Chip, anything
else before we get out of here, No, No, I.

Speaker 2 (58:29):
Think next week we'll talk about Big Ten coaching changes, recruiting,
and like I said, well, better understanding in terms of
we might start to actually have it. Like I said earlier,
we might have a better understanding of the twenty twenty
six Big Ten schedule. It might be released by then.

Speaker 1 (58:47):
Absolutely, all right, Well, we will see you and I
normally take a show off or one week off around
the holiday, so we'll have to take a look at
our schedule and figure that out. We'll better next week
talk a little bit more about what's going on in
the college football playoff and all of that and any
more fallout. We can talk then also about the filling

(59:10):
in of the coaches around the league and whether or
not we think Pat Fitzgerald will work well because he
did get the job. As you and I recorded last week,
it was all rumor and report. Now it's done deal.
Pat Fitzgerald's at Michigan State, and we'll talk about some
of that stuff next week. But in the meantime, please
kindly remind our listeners where they can find you and

(59:32):
your fine work online.

Speaker 2 (59:34):
I can be found on Twitter at Chipminik. Last name
is spelled m I N N I c H, and
I'm a contributor to Buckeye Huddle as well as Saturday
Glory dot com.

Speaker 1 (59:45):
All right, you can find me on Twitter or blue
Sky at Mike thirty six fan. You can also find
my work at Landgrant Holyland dot com, where the Grumpy
Old Buckeye column resides on Mondays every Monday after a
Buckeye game. Then it's a normal feature column any other week.
Probably gonna be a little more grumpier than you all

(01:00:06):
this week because the first loss of the year. And
most of these are very tongue in cheek grumpy old
buck guys, this one will be actual vitriol. I think
I understand. And then of course you can hit us
up on Twitter at silver Bullets Pod. No e in
silver because it's not enough characters, so s I l

(01:00:27):
v R Bullets Pod on Twitter, and you can write
to us if you want to drop us a line
at Silver Bulletspod at gmail dot com. Spell that all
out the correct way. We would love to hear from you.
So with that said, I think we're done for this episode.
We'll be back next week. So there's only one thing
left for us to do, Chip, and that's to sign

(01:00:48):
off how we like to do at the end, and
that's by saying, go Bucks, Go Bucks.