Julian Sayin to Start at QB and Texas Preview

It’s game week! The Ohio State Buckeyes will renew acquaintances with the Texas Longhorns Saturday at Ohio Stadium at noon. It’s a brand new OSU football season and there is a lot going on, a lot we don’t know (yet), and a lot of the kinds of ups and downs that are part of every year of college football. We can’t wait to get it started, but we know that it will come and go before we know it.

This week’s show opens with a discussion of Ryan Day naming Julian Sayin starting quarterback for the Buckeyes ahead of the season. The race with Lincoln Kienholz was reportedly close, and both signal callers will need to continue to improve and develop, because one will need to keep his lead, while the other will try to close the gap and stay ready in case he’s needed.

We discussed the three Ohio State players who made the Associated Press preseason All-American list and the Buckeyes who had their black helmet stripes removed since our last show, becoming “official” members of the squad. 

Ahead of Big Ten teams starting to take the field Thursday night, we looked ahead to every school’s Week 1 matchup to see how the rest of the conference will start the season. As usual, the first week doesn’t provide many intriguing games, but there are a couple of interesting contests to keep an eye out this weekend — just none with the luster of Texas at Ohio State.

Finally, we looked at the Buckeyes vs. the Longhorns. Ohio State went on to win a national championship one game after the teams last met, but Texas has had this rematch circled on the calendar for months. Both teams have experienced a ton of turnover, and we can’t wait to see how they match up with so many new starters on both sides. We made our picks to click for Week 1, selecting the offensive and defensive Buckeyes we think will shine on Saturday, and we made our predictions for the final score.

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!

0:21 - Julian Sayin has won the starting quarterback battle, but can he keep it? Plus, other news and notes from preseason camp.

17:48 - A look at the first week of the 2025 season around the entire Big Ten.

34:30 - The Texas Longhorns are visiting the Horseshoe on Saturday, and this game will tell us a lot about where both teams are now and where they need to be.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Logan. Everybody, it's time What's again for the Silver Bullets Podcast.
I'm Michael Citrow and I'm chip Minnick Chip. It is
Week one. We are in the first week of Ohio
State's twenty twenty five season. We've done it, We've done
all of the off season work, we put in the pregaming,
and now it's time to get down to this iteration

(00:40):
of the Ohio State University Bluckeyes football team.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Looking forward to a great season.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
I mean, you can't ask for anything better in terms
of a week one matchup against a nationally ranked University
of Texas Longhorns team that is I don't want to
say that there that they're focused on revenge because last
year was last year, and both teams have lost tremendous
amount of talent to the NFL and to the transfer portal.

(01:10):
So it's just going to be an exciting week no
matter who winds up winning the game.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
The one thing we know for sure is no matter
what happens in the game, there will be plenty of overreactions.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Oh certainly, without without question.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
And literally any outcome could happen, and it really means nothing.
It's just going to be okay, Yeah, now teams know
where to go from Now they know whoever loses, they
know where to go from here. The sky is not
falling for the team that loses. The team that wins.
They're not the best team in the land necessarily. It's
just you got to play the first one. It's the

(01:45):
first step in a long drawn out process. And I
know for a fact, especially last year, there's been plenty
of angst among Ohio States fan base in years they
won the national championship.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
I agree.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
I think if anything, the benefit for both teams and
I realized we're going to talk about the other Big
Ten teams, the respective games that are on the week
one schedule later on. The best thing for both teams,
it doesn't matter if we're talking Texas or Ohio State,
is that a game of this magnitude against both teams
are highly ranked, very talented. Is that both teams are

(02:24):
going to come out of this and they're going to
have a pretty good idea in terms of what they
have on their respective rosters and what they need to
work on. And like I said, when we get to
the Big Ten Conference and all the other teams, I'm
not saying that this is a blanket statement for every
team in the conference, because we'll go through those games,
but a lot of them they're playing against team they're playing.

(02:46):
In the words of Jerry DeNardo of the Big Ten Network,
you know, these are winnable games, like these are games
that those teams should win and probably will win, and
then they're going to come out of it not really knowing, Okay,
well what kind of team that they have, Whereas I
think Ohio State, no matter what happens, they're going to
have a really good, solid understanding as to what they

(03:06):
have within their team and what they need to focus
on for the remainder of the twenty twenty five season.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Yeah, the old saying is you get better between games
one and two more so than any other game all
season long. You got it? All right, Let's start out
with some news because you know you and I last
week recorded. We tend to record on Sundays. It's a
better day for you and I. Our podcast goes live
on Tuesday. Ryan Day rudely announcing that the quarterback position

(03:38):
had been won by Julian, saying after we recorded, but
before our podcast dropped. So not cool. Ryan.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, we'll have to get the memo to coach Day
on that, but in all seriousness, it wasn't really that
much of a surprise to either of us or I
think to most people that closely follow the Ohio State
pro I think Julian Sand was the favorite going into
this quarterback battle. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
But I truly I believe Ryan Day when he.

Speaker 3 (04:15):
Said that this was that this was a legitimate battle.
I think, you know, in previous years, and I'm just
going to you know, go back to you know, when
you know, for example, uh, when you know justin Fields
was you know, transferred in and it's like, oh, it's
a quarterback battle. No, it really wasn't like they they were,
you know, trying to kind of manufacture a quarterback battle.

(04:36):
I think this was I think Lincoln Kingholts still has
a viable part on this team, no matter the fact
that he is the backup. I keep going back to it,
and I know it sounds cliche, but you truly are
only one play away. So I think if you're Ryan Day,
you have to have some kind of level of satisfaction
knowing that, Okay, if something were to happen to Julian Sand,

(04:56):
that Lincoln Kingholts would be adequately up.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
To the job of taking over as the starting quarterback.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yeah, but I do think that it's important to note
so Julian Sayan is the starting quarterback for Ohio State
right now. He has to continue to win that battle
week in and week out until he's like basically cemented
his name there. This is something that could change if
he struggles. Now that he's going to be playing a
very good first opponent. But I wouldn't be surprised to

(05:26):
see Lincoln Keenhles get maybe a drive or two in
this game, and certainly in games that are are bigger blowouts.
I would not be surprised to see Lincoln keen Holes
get a good share of snaps as that battle continues
to go on through the season.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yeah, I definitely think Julian Saying is going in as
the starter. I don't think he has any cause to
be looking over his shoulder. It's actually it's counterproductive for
him to be playing, you know, with you know, fear
of mistakes. But by the by the same token, I

(06:07):
think the message that I kind of heard indirectly, you know,
from from coach to day when.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
I when I.

Speaker 3 (06:16):
Watched or read any of the comments is to Julian
saying all you have to do is basically drive the car.
Not drive the car fast, not drive the car recklessly,
just drive the car. And I realized I'm kind of
just going probably overboard on the cliches here, but uh

(06:37):
that I'll have to say, the offense has so many,
so many talented players on it that if you're Julians saying,
you don't have to try to win the game by yourself, like,
you know, get the ball to never realize we'll talk
about it in greater detail, you know, to Jeremiah.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Smith, Uh get the ball, you.

Speaker 3 (06:54):
Know to and check downs to Max Claire or to
James People's or whoever. That it's that kind of a
quarterback play that I think that Ryan Day and the
offensive coaches at Ohio State are expecting from Julian sand.

Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah, but Lincoln Kingholes, stay ready. You never know, one
play can change a lot. I just it came up
in my Facebook memories just a few days ago that
Braxton Miller re injured his shoulder, and I was posting
about that on Facebook, you know, many years ago. But
you know, you never know what can happen exactly.

Speaker 3 (07:30):
Well, that was the benefit in hindsight, I remember as
as I mean, since we're going down nostalgia lane here
when that did happen, even though I think most Ohio
State fans were kind of, oh, you know, what are
we going to do? I remember immediately thinking I'd rather
it happened with plenty of time to get JT.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
Barrett.

Speaker 3 (07:51):
I don't want to say completely acclimated, but get used
to being in that starter position versus ring an actual
you know, like maybe like the game, you know, coming
in relatively cold, like you said, I think Lincoln king Holts,
you know, staying ready.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
It's one of these things, you know. I think he's he's.

Speaker 3 (08:12):
Going to be more than up to taking over for
Julian saying if he's called upon in the event of
an injury.

Speaker 1 (08:18):
Well, let's hope so and let's hope that it's not.

Speaker 2 (08:20):
Necessary exactly you got it.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
But yeah, that worked out okay for Ohio State even
after JT went down. Mm hmm, all right. So yeah,
this is a I mean, it's positive, you know, going
in who's your starter? It will be interesting to see
how this young man. We know, he's got the talent,
you know, he's got the ability, he's got the accuracy.
We saw some of that on display in the spring game.

(08:44):
Now he gets to go out and show that against
some other opponents. So congrats Julian for being game starter,
and you know, good luck keeping the job because it's
you know again at Ohio State, and it's very much
whatever you've done for me lately, you got to you
got to bring it every week exactly, all right, Chip,

(09:04):
there are three Buckeyes on the preseason AP All Americans list,
and of course preseason All Americans are dumb. We've already
established this preseason awards me. Nothing but congratulations, nevertheless to
Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs on the first team. And

(09:25):
maybe a little bit of a surprise just based on
the fact that Ohio State not traditionally a tight end
school in terms of flashy numbers, but Max Clair is
a second team preseason AP All American.

Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yeah, the first two certainly not a surprise. And as
far as Max Clair, we always joke about it, how
Ohio State the year or the tight end. Well, this
with the transfer of Max Clair, this truly could be
that position group, in my humble estimation, is probably the
deepest position on Ohio State's roster.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
So I think Max I just.

Speaker 3 (10:01):
Mentioned it in a moment ago that it wouldn't be surprising
to me if Julian Saying takes advantage of opportunities with
Max Claire as a receiving option, because let's face it,
you know, when it comes to Jeremiah Smith, it falls
under the category of easier said than done that I
think most teams are going to do what they can

(10:21):
to double cover Jeremiah Smith. How effective they are remains
to be seen. But that also then opens up, okay,
single coverage for somebody like Max Clair, who has demonstrated
in his time at Purdue to be a tremendous downfield
passing option at tight end as a receiving option, I
should say at tight end, so I wouldn't be surprised

(10:43):
if his numbers reflected being targeted by Julians Saying a
lot this coming season.

Speaker 1 (10:49):
Yeah, spoiler here. One of the things that we do
at the Land Grant Holy Land as we do our
predictions before the season. I hate these because I really
don't have any real strong feelings this year considering how
much turnover there's been at Ohio State, how much turnover
there's been at Texas. It's kind of hard to gauge
before the season starts, how that's all going to shake out.

(11:12):
But my bold prediction for Ohio State was that the
year of the tight end finally happens, my hottest take
and that Max Claire ends up with over seven hundred
and fifty receiving yards. It's it's been a minute since
Ohio State has had a tight end to put up
those kind of numbers.

Speaker 3 (11:28):
Well, good luck to you. I'm not saying that it's
I'm being completely sincere. I you know, when it comes
to like you said, it's always when it comes to
bold predictions, I you know, I always I think back
to when I had a friend during the Jim Trussell
years that would always try to ask me just kind

(11:50):
of like, oh, you know, what's the gambling line for
Ohio State? And I would just kind of quickly answer,
like you don't want to ask me, because when it
comes to Ohio State football, that especially during the Jim
Trussell years, Like all right, not that it was, you know,
I think Jim Trussell was trying to sabotage the gambling industry.
It's just that Jim Trussell was very concernedive. So getting

(12:12):
back to the point about making bold predictions, like, Okay,
I have no idea how many points are going to
be scored. I have no idea what the you know
in terms of, you know, how many receptions somebody is
going to get. But getting to the point about Max
Claire with the receiving yards, I think that's a that's
a good bold prediction in my opinion.

Speaker 1 (12:30):
I mean it's pretty bold because for a Buckeye tight
end to get over three hundred yards or over three
hundred and fifty yards has been rare in recent years,
So seven to fifty would be a doubling essentially of
what you would normally expect your leading tight end to
end up with. But that's the kind of weapon he is.
We also don't know exactly how the offense will look

(12:52):
this year.

Speaker 3 (12:54):
Yeah, I think it's going to be against Texas. And
we'll get in to this more with Julian saying the
fact that he that he is talented, but he's in
experience that I think is going to be Okay, I
keep going back to it.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
Just stay within.

Speaker 3 (13:12):
Yourself in terms of the confines of the offense, take
advantage of what you have, but don't you know, try
to overdo it, and I think it's going to be
once Julian Sane starts to get more and more comfortable,
that we'll start to see more of a traditional, wide
open passing attack. But how quickly that happens, I highly

(13:32):
doubt it'll be Game one against arguably one of the
best teams in the country.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yeah, what I mean when I say we don't know
what exactly what the offense will look like. Obviously Chip
Kelly moving on, You've got Brian Hartlin as the offensive coordinator.
It'll still be a Ryan Day offense. But what tweaks
will Brian Hartline make?

Speaker 3 (13:50):
You know?

Speaker 1 (13:51):
Working with co offensive coordinator Keenan Bailey, how will this look?
We don't have an exact picture, and we don't also
have an exact picture of how comfortable Saying is with
tight coverage. Maybe he goes to checkdowns more than other quarterbacks,
Maybe he goes there less often than other quarterbacks. So
these are things we'll learn along.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
The way, exactly.

Speaker 3 (14:13):
And I just think first game, don't be surprised if
you don't see a lot of offensive fireworks.

Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah, you know, these these should be two good defenses,
So I expect and we'll get to our predictions obviously
later in the show, but I suspect we will not
see a game with both teams in the forties and fifties.

Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, that'd be very surprising, all right, Chip.

Speaker 1 (14:37):
A couple of more official buck Eye since our last show,
congratulations in order to a couple of wide receivers to
Marry and Whitten, a red shirt freshman got his black
stripe removed from his helmet on August nineteenth, and Philip Bell,
a freshman receiver, got his off on August twentieth. So
a couple more you know, Zone six guys get their

(15:03):
get their flowers as they say.

Speaker 3 (15:06):
Yeah, you mentioned Lang Grant Holyland as a contributor to
Buckeye Huddle. My recent article was kind of a take
on the fact that on our last show, you know,
you brought up tradition evolved, you know, like the new
traditions that are going to be implemented at Ohio State

(15:27):
in terms of like the home games, and I kind
of took that as an opportunity to kind of pivot
about a tradition that Urban Meyer started that Ryan Day
has continued, and that is the black stripe tradition.

Speaker 2 (15:38):
The idea that you know, we talked about this.

Speaker 3 (15:42):
All that you know periodically on this on this podcast
is that when it comes to recruiting, we follow, but
we're not really like, you know, the kind of people
that you're going to want to go to in terms of, oh,
you know, how do you see this guy fitting in?

Speaker 2 (15:54):
Or whatever it might be.

Speaker 3 (15:57):
Getting back to the whole black stripe tradition, the fact
that you and I both like it.

Speaker 2 (16:01):
I kind of.

Speaker 3 (16:01):
Wrote about the fact that, all right, this represents in
the eyes of the player's teammates, primarily within his position group,
but within within his teammates and the coaches, that this
player who has had their black stripe removed is fully
ready and able to be counted upon in a game situation. Now,

(16:24):
does that mean the Mariument Witten and Phillip Bell are
going to be Are you going to be seeing them
against Texas?

Speaker 2 (16:31):
Probably not.

Speaker 3 (16:32):
It just simply means that they are ready to and
able to contribute in whatever capacity the coaches and players
feel if they need to be called upon, they're ready
to go.

Speaker 1 (16:46):
For me, I love this tradition. I know you do
as well, but I look at it as the this
is the first step on the journey to getting playing
time and being a contributor on game day.

Speaker 2 (16:57):
You got it.

Speaker 1 (16:58):
It's not it's very well see y'all, end All doesn't
and you're gonna get snaps the next week. But it's
the first step to that happening.

Speaker 2 (17:04):
You got it.

Speaker 1 (17:05):
So congrats to those two young men. Chip at any other
news and notes you want to get to, No.

Speaker 3 (17:12):
Just excited to start talking about the other teams within
the Big Ten. How you know what their Week one
shapes up to look like, and then start talking about
Ohio State Texas.

Speaker 1 (17:24):
All right, So with that, we'll take a quick break,
we'll come back and talk about the week one games,
and then we'll get to our Texas picks to click
and preview and predictions. So why don't we get to
that right after this? All right, Chip, we are back

(17:48):
and we've got us a first week of the season
in the Big Ten. No Big Ten schools played in
Week zero? Did you watch any Week zero games?

Speaker 2 (17:57):
You didn't?

Speaker 1 (17:58):
You were at a beer festival.

Speaker 2 (17:59):
I was at a beer festival. Guilty as charged. You know.

Speaker 3 (18:04):
It's a it's a great thing, but the Avon Lake
Beer Fest in it, and I'm sure that the Avon
Lake athletic boosters have have no idea that Week zero
is is taking place. But getting back to you know,
the great thing about.

Speaker 2 (18:23):
It is it's at a.

Speaker 3 (18:25):
Public park that's right on Lake Erie. It benefits, uh,
there's proceeds that benefit the various athletic teams at avon Lake.

Speaker 2 (18:35):
So it's kind of if you just to kind of
give you.

Speaker 3 (18:38):
The picture of it, you know, it's like a wide
variety of different breweries around primarily around the Cleveland area,
but you know other locations that are and if you
can just imagine, you know, like the different tents that
are popped up so you can go around with like
these very small mugs, you know, and it's like the

(18:59):
pro seeds help, uh help fund the various athletic teams.
So I can promise you I'm not just saying it
because we're recording this that we walk to and from. Uh,
you know, so everyone was on their best behavior, you know,
especially me missus Minnick didn't have to you know, publicly

(19:21):
scold me or you know anything like that. So and
feeling fine, and like I said, it was a beautiful day.
It was like you know, like probably like high seventies,
kind of overcast, wind off the lake, but not anything
you know that was making you chili.

Speaker 2 (19:35):
So it was just a beautiful day.

Speaker 1 (19:37):
Nice right there in view of Lake Erie, the greatest
of the Great Lakes.

Speaker 2 (19:42):
You got it.

Speaker 1 (19:42):
I think we can all agree. Uh. And you know,
I'm not gonna hassle you about any moving violations that
might have taken place, because that's a thing for Georgia football.
That's not thing for Ohio State.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
You got it. You got it.

Speaker 1 (19:55):
So how is the craft beer scene in Avon Lake?

Speaker 2 (19:58):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (19:58):
It was fine, Like I said, like one of you know,
it's kind of a lot of established breweries, like for example,
Great Lakes Brewery has been around for nearly forty years
in downtown Cleveland.

Speaker 2 (20:15):
H So you know, like.

Speaker 3 (20:16):
They have a wide variety of different beers. One of
my probably my favorite beer, like consistently year in year
out is a Great Lakes got under gold. So you know,
I had a few of those. But then again, like
they'd have like the you know, like they have you
know a number of the other breweries around the area
that they have to you have to see it to understand,

(20:39):
like it's a very small that you get so many
tickets and they give you a very small mug.

Speaker 2 (20:45):
You know, I couldn't begin to tell you how many
ounces it is.

Speaker 3 (20:47):
So it's you're not necessarily drinking high potent stuff. They
one of the one of the breweries they did have
they did have a pumpkin type beer that I did
not I did not get, but it had.

Speaker 2 (21:00):
Like a nine percent alcohol.

Speaker 3 (21:01):
So it's the kind of thing where it's like, okay,
making sure that you judge appropriately right, that you that
you drink. You know that you don't want to be necessarily,
you know, being passed out at a public park.

Speaker 2 (21:15):
That would not be good.

Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, you're there for you're there for the tasting. You're
not there for getting hammered. You got it, You got it.

Speaker 2 (21:21):
Like I said, we walked home.

Speaker 3 (21:22):
We were about like it was like a good twenty
minute walk to and from.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
So it's not it's not bucket night of Papa jokes.

Speaker 2 (21:31):
No, it's not that it is not.

Speaker 1 (21:34):
But yeah, I do enjoy me some Dortmunder and also
the Edmund Fitzgerald. I'm a big fan of Great Lakes.
They're not a sponsor of this program, but we are
willing to listen.

Speaker 2 (21:45):
We are willing to listen.

Speaker 1 (21:46):
Okay. Anyway, So I'm glad you enjoyed that. I only
got to see probably two thirds of k State, Iowa
State from Ireland, enjoyable second half, a little bit of
a boring first app that happens a lot in Week
zero in Week one, and then I got to see

(22:08):
the winning drive for Hawaii in their game. So it
was not as much football as I would normally get,
but it was a jam packed Saturday for me. But
good to have college football back. And speaking of college
football being back, Big Ten Football starts on Thursday, CHIP
with some some games in Week one, and those start

(22:30):
with the Bobcats of Ohio traveling to Piscataway to face
Rutgers at six o'clock on the Big Ten Networks.

Speaker 3 (22:39):
Yeah, during the during the spring. You know, when it
came to our Rutgers this their spring game. I remember
watching Greg Shechiano at one point they were interviewing him
and he made the point of saying, Okay, well we're
opening up on a Thursday night against the defending MAC champion.

Speaker 2 (23:00):
Is now in fairness to Ohio, you they had.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
Kind of a I don't want to say a tumultuous offseason,
but they had some some central changes. I mean like
their their coach left to take the head coaching job
at Charlotte, so it's a completely different coaching staff. So
I think Rutgers probably will get out of the gates,
even though it's against a very talented team in Ohio
in ou I think Rutgers wins Game one.

Speaker 1 (23:28):
Don't sleep on Rutgers. Greg Cianos has one of his
best teams there in years, probably this best team since
returning to Rutgers. Minnesota will play at eight o'clock on
Thursday on FS one against Buffalo. That should be no
problem for the Gophers.

Speaker 3 (23:45):
No, Buffalo is a decent MAC team, But like you said,
I think Minnesota's I wouldn't underrate Minnesota this. This is
kind of when we were talking before we started recording.
Minnesota is usually one of these teams that starts off
on a Thursday night because I might be mistaken that
I think the Minnesota State Fair takes place this weekend,

(24:11):
which is why Minnesota kind of actively campaigns for a
Thursday night game.

Speaker 2 (24:17):
You know, like I'm kind of going back, but back.

Speaker 3 (24:20):
If you recall, like back in the twenty twenty one
season that was the debut of c. J. Stroud, You know,
was Ohio State at Minnesota on a Thursday night. This
this team, you know with Buffalo, they're a good MAC team.
But I think Minnesota again that they'll come out of
this with the win.

Speaker 1 (24:36):
It's an interesting one. Nebraska goes on the road at
nine o'clock Thursday on ESPN to play Cincinnati. These Bearcats
are not the Luke Fickle Bearcats. Could be a little
bit of a slow start for Nebraska, but I expect
that they'll win in the end.

Speaker 2 (24:53):
Yeah, I do too.

Speaker 3 (24:54):
I think I think Nebraska fans traditionally have raw well,
so I think this is going to be an I'd
be surprised if if it isn't the case. But like
I think Nebraska is going to be well represented in
the in the stands, and I think Nebraska will win.

Speaker 2 (25:13):
I think this is a good.

Speaker 3 (25:14):
Springboard game for Nebraska for twenty twenty five against I
don't want to say a good Cincinnati team, but you know,
like a higher I guess you could say a high,
higher caliber opponent. So I think Nebraska wins as well.

Speaker 2 (25:31):
All right.

Speaker 1 (25:32):
In the night cap on Thursday at nine o'clock on
Big ten Network, Wisconsin fans are gonna be hoping that
the Rutgers game doesn't go into fourteen overtimes as they
will be hosting Miami.

Speaker 3 (25:43):
Of Ohio's Yeah, this is you want to talk about
a springboard Wisconsin. We'll talk about this more in the
coming weeks. But Wisconsin, their their schedule is just I mean,
it's tough, it's brutal. So Wisconsin needs I think, just
probably for some kind of psychological boost, if you will,

(26:07):
you know, for self confidence that they I think if
they can come out and not that I want to
see Miami Ohio bludgeon, but I think Wisconsin if they
if they win decisively, I think that will really help
them as they try to get back to being the
Wisconsin of old with a you know, a formidable ground
game and a strong offensive line. I think they can

(26:29):
do it against Miami Ohio.

Speaker 1 (26:31):
All right, tip, let's move to Friday at seven o'clock.
Western Michigan will visit Michigan State. That's games on FS one,
and we will get to see if Sparty has gotten
any better since last year.

Speaker 3 (26:43):
Yeah, I think Michigan State's gonna going to be improved.
I haven't yet watched I DVRD. I'll freely admit I
DVR all the Big Ten network training camps just to
kind of get you know, some some kind of an idea.
So I'm very much a Jonathan Smith fan in terms

(27:04):
of I think he's a good coach. I think he
will get Michigan State turned around, and Western Michigan is
just kind of a I'll say, I'm middle.

Speaker 2 (27:12):
Of the pack MAC team. So I think Michigan State
should win convincingly.

Speaker 1 (27:16):
Yeah, and then I believe Illinois will mop up the
floor with Western Illinois at seven point thirty on Peacock.
That number twelve Illinois team is probably not going to
struggle against an inferior in state opponent.

Speaker 3 (27:30):
Right, And this kind of goes to what I was
saying about, you know, not really knowing what kind of
a team you've got when you win overwhelmingly. So Illinois
is there are a lot of high expectations for Illinois
this year, and you know, I think Illinois should be
able to handle this one quite easily and get their
first win of the twenty twenty five season.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
All right, let's move on to Saturday, Chip and of
course we'll talk a little bit more about Texas, ott
Ohio State. The Big Nude kickoff on Fox at twelve o'clock.
Also at twelve o'clock a few other games in the
Big Ten. Maryland will host Florida Atlantic on BTN and
also on BTN. I guess this is like regional or

(28:13):
the BTN two or whatever. Purdue will host ball State
and then Northwestern will go to Tulane. So those are
the noon games, and I could see ball State maybe
maybe beating Purdue, but I think the rest of that
is all Big Tens.

Speaker 3 (28:34):
I'm gonna my opinion is if you're perdue, this is
I mean, this is one of the very few opportunities
that you're going to be favored, so you've got to
capitalize upon that. I think i'd say the same thing
for Maryland. The Northwestern at Tulane kind of a tricky
situation there, you know, Like I think Tulane is just

(28:57):
you know, they're not necessarily a juggernaut by any stretch.
But Northwestern they've got to come out swinging against Tulane
and win because I think all three of those programs,
it's they're all projected to have challenging years. I think
they all have to come out of this, out of
this opening weekend with a win or that could be

(29:21):
you know, sign of bad things to come in twenty
twenty five.

Speaker 1 (29:24):
Yeah, Northwestern is I think going to need to be
able to run the football. I think Tulane will give him,
give him some trouble in terms of being able to
score some points, but I think Northwestern has the talent
to beat them if they can run the football. And
so that's where I will be watching to see if
the Wildcats can do that. Obviously not live because we'll
be watching the Buckeyes. But then at two point thirty,

(29:47):
which is an odd time on FS one, Indiana will
host Old Dominion.

Speaker 3 (29:54):
Yeah, this is where I mean, I understand the logic
of Indiana, but beating up on Old Dominion, you know,
I just don't know what it's going to tell you
about your team going into twenty twenty five. They should
they should handle Old Dominion quite easily.

Speaker 1 (30:10):
Yeah, maybe they should take on new dominions if there
is anything from Old Yeah. Three thirty, Penn State will
host Nevada on CBS Paramount Plus. Penn State will roll.

Speaker 2 (30:26):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (30:27):
I realize it's gonna sound like a broken record, but
this is another example of all right, what do you
know by crushing Nevada? I don't know if that really
prepares you well for the upcoming season.

Speaker 1 (30:41):
Yeah. Likewise, Oregon will steamroll Montana State at four o'clock
on a Big ten network.

Speaker 3 (30:48):
Yeah, And if anything, what I'm kind of if there's
anything that I'm just going to be kind of somewhat
curious about, is Oregon with because they with their quarterback battle,
you know, kind of of how their quarterback looks against
Montana State, you know, just to kind of their quarterback.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
I presume it's going to be Dante More.

Speaker 3 (31:10):
Just to kind of see, you know, how he how
he does as the starter if he's named the starter
for Oregon.

Speaker 1 (31:17):
Iowa with an interesting six o'clock game on FS one
against the University of Albany, which is I don't I
don't know that Ohio State's ever played Albany. I don't
know how many Big Tens have played Albany.

Speaker 3 (31:31):
Yeah, it's one of these things where I think Iowa,
they're traditionally one of these Big Ten programs that likes
to start out with like an FCS opponent.

Speaker 2 (31:43):
I just I'm just not really a big fan of it.

Speaker 1 (31:47):
Seven point thirty starting the night games, Michigan will host
New Mexico on NBC and Peacock Chip. Is this one
of the selective games that Sharon Moore is suspended for?

Speaker 2 (31:58):
I believe it is. You know, so this is one
of those Yeah.

Speaker 3 (32:03):
Like you know, he got to some somehow, some way
allowed to choose his own punishment.

Speaker 2 (32:08):
I think this might be it.

Speaker 1 (32:10):
Yeah, one of them. Choose your own adventure, sure, own
more cheaters sometimes prosper I guess this is the lesson
we all have here at the same time. On the
Big Ten network, you could, if you wanted to and
are a SIKO, watch USC against Missouri State.

Speaker 3 (32:29):
Yeah, I mean this is I think USC they're they're
trying to kind of get themselves in a more positive
state of mind. So, you know, crushing Missouri State will
probably do that for them. I'm just not sure long term,
you know what kind of benefit that gets them.

Speaker 1 (32:46):
Yeah, now the after dark crowd have at least one
pretty good matchup to watch as Utah travels to UCLA.
This is not going to be an easy game for UCLA,
and the Bruins could end and one to start the season.

Speaker 3 (33:02):
Yeah, I'd be surprised if UCLA wins this, but I
will tell you that my personal you never know based
on what you see from those Big Ten Network Creaming
Camp previews. This UCLA team, I think. I'm not saying
that that they're going to be the surprise team of
the Big Ten, but I think that they are better

(33:23):
than they were last year. So this this game is
very intriguing. If they can give Utah a good game,
I think that might be a sign that UCLA is
going to have a better twenty twenty five season.

Speaker 1 (33:36):
All right, Well, you and I both predicted they'd finished
fifteenth in the Big Ten, so we're not expecting right
big year from UCLA. But that's probably the one to
watch Saturday night. That's eleven o'clock on Fox, although Chip
will be in bed, and also at eleven o'clock on
the Big Ten Network, Washington Husky's at home against Colorado State.

(33:57):
This might be an interesting game if it were in Colorado.
It's at Washington. I expect the Huskies to walk all
over Colorado State.

Speaker 3 (34:06):
Yeah, Washington is definitely one of my sleeper teams that
I think is going to make some noise within the
Big Ten, and I think Washington will get off to
a good start.

Speaker 1 (34:16):
All right, So that's the slate for this week and
really looking forward to going over the scores next week
with you Chip. But now it's time for us to
talk about the most important game of the weekend, Texas
at Ohio State twelve o'clock. This game is on Fox.
First look at Julian Sayan as a starting quarterback for

(34:38):
the Buckeyes, and of course Arch Manning will be starting
for Texas. He has started before two games. I believe
he's obviously got much more experience in terms of plays
on the field than Julian Sayan has. But these are
two teams that met in the College Football Playoff, but
they are vastly both of them vastly different than they

(34:59):
were at the end of last season. Difference between the
two of them. As Ohio State moved on and won
the national championship, Texas has been sitting and stewing about
that loss since that semi final and preparing for this.
I think it probably means as much to both teams,

(35:19):
but maybe Texas has a little bit of edge since
they lost that previous matchup. I know it's not necessarily
a revenge game per se, except for maybe with the
with the Texas fan base.

Speaker 3 (35:29):
Yeah, I mean, I think the revenge factor is certainly
something that you have to keep in mind.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
And I'm not trying to.

Speaker 3 (35:37):
Call Texas fans, oh, you just need to get over it,
because I know that was a tough loss. It was
it was a tough game, you know, like it was,
it went down to the wire. That being said, all right,
if you kind of put all of your motivation into revenge,
that'll only take you to, in my opinion, like the

(35:58):
perfew snaps of the game, because all right, then, all right,
you know you're in the here and now.

Speaker 2 (36:05):
You can't be, you know, looking backwards. You have to
you have to be focused on what you have in
front of you. So I think.

Speaker 3 (36:10):
Texas they're gonna definitely try to play up that revenge factor,
but I just don't know how much they can rely
on that once the game gets underway.

Speaker 1 (36:18):
Yeah, it was Mike Tyson that said, everybody's got a
plan to get punched in the mouth.

Speaker 2 (36:22):
You got it, you got it?

Speaker 1 (36:24):
Uh. Yeah. This will be an interesting matchup for several reasons.
The thing that I'm looking most forward to chip is
so many changes in the Ohio State defense, how they
deal with Steve Sarkasian's offense on that defense with you know,
four new starters on the d line, new linebackers, new
players in the secondary, the one. There are two consonants here,

(36:49):
Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs. I mean, obviously there are
a few others, but like Davis Andigunosen, but those two primarily,
they're going to have their hands full diagnosing plays, get
guys in the right positions, being the leaders on that defense,
there may be some hiccups. Sark is a good offensive
coach and he's got talented weapons. I feel like there

(37:10):
could be some struggles early for the defense.

Speaker 3 (37:13):
If I'm Texas, and I agree with you, I think
that Sark is a good offensive coach. If I'm Texas,
the first area that I'm going to be trying to
figure out is how good is the interior of.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
The Ohio State defensive line.

Speaker 3 (37:30):
Not that I'm in the habit of trying to help Texas,
but let's face it.

Speaker 2 (37:34):
I mean, like, if there is a concern about the.

Speaker 3 (37:36):
Ohio State defensive line is that it is the depth
is not nearly there, and the talent is there, but
it's also I don't want to say inexperience, but doesn't
have nearly like the volume of experience that you know,
the people who departed, you know, so you know, for example,

(37:57):
you know when when we're talking about you know, Cayden mcdull, Doronald,
we're talking about Edward Houston. Talented players, but they're gonna
have to They're gonna have to come out at some point.
So you know, you're gonna need to, you know, be
kind of like liberally substituting in you.

Speaker 2 (38:14):
Know, Taiwan Malone, Will Smith Junior. Yeah, you got it.

Speaker 3 (38:18):
So if I'm Sark, that's kind of mission number one is,
all right, how good is that? How good is our
Texas offensive line at establishing the line of scrimmage and
blowing that? And I'm just gonna say inexperienced, Ohio, say,
interior defensive line? Are they able capable of blowing them
off the line of scrimmage? And if so, can we

(38:41):
establish the run to kind of take the pressure off
arch Manning?

Speaker 1 (38:46):
And arch Manning will be part of that run game
as well. Chip.

Speaker 3 (38:48):
So, oh yeah, if I'm if I'm Matt Patricia, And
again this is kind of goes into like kind of
like this chess match.

Speaker 2 (38:57):
If you're Matt Patricia.

Speaker 3 (39:00):
Do you want to which I'm presuming is going to
be the case put some kind of a spy on
arch Manning because the mobility factor that arch Manning presents.

Speaker 2 (39:11):
And this is not meant to take.

Speaker 3 (39:12):
Shots at Quinn Eewers because I thought, you know, he
was a good quarterback, but he wasn't nearly the runner
or running threat that arch Manning is. So it's like
if you're Matt Patricia in your first game as O
High States defensive coordinator, putting a spy on arch Manning
to kind of, if not necessarily negate, but limit arch

(39:34):
Manning as a runner.

Speaker 2 (39:35):
I mean that might be something that to keep an
eye on as well.

Speaker 1 (39:38):
I'm wonder too, if the reports out of Ohio State's
training camp of Caleb downsticking snaps that the Nickel had an.

Speaker 2 (39:46):
Eye on that, it wouldn't be surprising to me.

Speaker 3 (39:49):
I think Caleb Downs, you know, he's so talented, you know,
as you know, when it comes to as the safety,
I certainly believe he has the capability of playing that
nickel nickel corner, you know, coming down. You know, even
though Ohio State plays kind of that, you know that
four two five, like being able to kind of bring
him down as almost like an extra linebacker. It wouldn't

(40:12):
surprise me if Caleb Downs also, you know, is still
used as a as a punt returner, especially in game one,
just because of that's not meant to take shots at,
you know, for example, like Brandon Innis or anyone else
who might be back there. It's just you know, game one,
you might want a little bit more reliability. But yeah,
I think when it comes to Caleb Downs possibly serving

(40:34):
as a spy, that wouldn't be a bad thing.

Speaker 1 (40:36):
Yeah. I mean, Downs had half dozen punt returns last year.
He was he was back for more of those that
he ended up having a fair catch or went out
of bounds as teams wisely kicked away from him. But
he's got big play capability, so you have to try
him periodically at punt returner. You don't want to risk
him too much. But in a game like this, you
could see him back there two or three times maybe

(40:59):
and maybe he gets to return one. I think. So
I just did a piece on him not too long ago,
and he didn't have enough punt returns to qualify, but
I believe his punt return average would have been fourth
best in the country last year.

Speaker 2 (41:15):
Oh, he's without question, I mean, just the versatility. I
mean that I'm not one of these people.

Speaker 3 (41:22):
That that says, oh, you have to start up a
Heisman can to me that that maybe I'm naive, but
I I just think Heisman campaigns are usually grown organically,
you know that.

Speaker 2 (41:33):
And I think when.

Speaker 3 (41:35):
It comes to Caleb Downs, the idea of you know
him as a possible uh you know, contributor, as a
punt returner, his his contributions on defense.

Speaker 2 (41:46):
Then if you know, like let's say that.

Speaker 3 (41:49):
He maybe it would be great if it was in
Week one against Texas, but you know he returns a
punt or two for a touchdown. You know, has a
has big play as a defensive back that result in
possible touchdowns. You know, pick six is whatever it might be.
Then it's like, okay, maybe you can kind of you know,

(42:10):
maybe we might have a Heisman candidate because he certainly
he certainly fits the bill.

Speaker 1 (42:14):
Yeah, I don't think Ohio State will be hurting for candidates. No,
with Jeremiah Smith still on the field, you got it.
But yeah, so for me, you already touched on it.
For me, the biggest in big games, the trenches always
matter most. And I think in this case, you want
to see two things ken Ohio State's newly built defensive

(42:35):
line hold up under Matt Patricia, not only hold up
for the starters, but will Texas try to wear those
starters down if the backups aren't performing to that level.
And then on the other side of the ball, Ohio
State rebuild offensive line. We're hearing great things out of
camp about you know, how they've been performing, but until

(42:56):
you see it against an opponent, especially when the caliber
of Texas, it's just talk.

Speaker 3 (43:03):
Yeah, I mean one of the I guess you could
say a concern that I have about the Ohio State
offensive line. I mean, I know that the focus, understandably
was on Okay, well, who's gonna be the starting quarterback?
Ryan Day also announced all right, Austin Sirabeld is the
left tackle.

Speaker 2 (43:19):
And this is not meant to.

Speaker 3 (43:22):
Impune Austin Sierraveld as a tackle, but I mean he
came to Ohio State out of high school playing predominantly
in a run oriented option offense, so past protection was
never something that was, you know, like at the top
of his skill set. Obviously, it has manifested itself in

(43:43):
his time at Ohio State for him to warrant being
named the starting left tackle. That being said, if I'm Texas,
I'm gonna test that. I'm gonna I'm gonna attack Austin
Sirabelt and see how well he handles you know, you know,
not only like blitzing, but also so you know, like
how is he you know, like can they get by
with just you know, straight one on one matchups?

Speaker 2 (44:05):
How will he do?

Speaker 3 (44:06):
So it's gonna certainly warrant paying attention to how Austin
Cerebell protects ju and Sane's backside.

Speaker 1 (44:12):
Yeah, and that that kind of reverberates all down the
offensive line. Can the center make the correct calls and
get everybody into the right assignment, Do the players after
the snap recognize what's coming and react appropriately? And can
they hold up against you know, a pretty good group
of athletes on the edge for Texas. So all of

(44:35):
that's going to be a big factor in this game.

Speaker 2 (44:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (44:39):
Another guy that I'm kind of curious about because they
haven't announced it yet, and it's not that they're under
obligation to do so, but the right tackle position, the
battle between.

Speaker 2 (44:49):
Ethan Oneanua and Philip.

Speaker 3 (44:52):
Daniels is, like you said, Michael, we're recording this on Sunday,
So watch Ryan Day announces that you know, one of
them is the starter.

Speaker 2 (45:00):
That being said is that ethan On Oneonwa when he.

Speaker 3 (45:04):
Was at Rice last year, played well at right tackle
against Texas. So that might be a strategy. Is that
all right? That it wouldn't surprise me if Philip Daniels
is playing a lot, possibly even in this game against Texas.
But it might be a strategy that Oneonwa at right
tackle to help solidify the offensive line in game one,

(45:27):
because I believe Colin Simmons of Texas, you know, he
might be he might get the he might get the
ability to kind of move liberally around the defensive line
to try and look for weak spots where he can attack.

Speaker 1 (45:40):
Yeah, and I think the last thing we've heard before
recording this is that Ohio State there is they're saying
they know who the starters are, but there'll be some
rotation on that offensive line.

Speaker 2 (45:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (45:53):
I think after the after the adventures of last year
with with injuries, I think and I I respect it
is the idea that, okay, we need to rotate guys
in keep them fresh. That I think, you know, for example,
Carson Hinzman at center, we already talked about Sirabell, It
wouldn't surprise me, you know, like uh Luke Montgomery and

(46:16):
Tiger Shabola at the guards.

Speaker 2 (46:18):
But yeah, you know keeping.

Speaker 3 (46:21):
You know, for example, Philip Daniels, just because you may
not be starting, doesn't mean that you're not going to
be playing. Like I think there might be a rotation
at right tackle. I think, you know, Ian Moore is
a guy at another tackle position. So it wouldn't surprise
me if Ohio State is kind of rotating players in,
you know, to kind of keep you know, everybody fresh

(46:42):
and healthy.

Speaker 1 (46:43):
You know, we talk a little bit about some of
the traditions and one of the traditions that didn't stick
was Jim tressel tradition of changing out the entire offensive
line and like the third drive of the game.

Speaker 2 (46:55):
I agree, I thought that was a good tradition. I
thought that that.

Speaker 3 (47:00):
Now, say what you want about the Ohio State offensive
lines under Jim Trussel, where okay, they didn't really have
a lot of depth, you know, but that was that
was a good tradition. I mean, those backup correct me
if I'm mistaken, but those backup offensive lines a lot
of a lot of them were walking on guys that

(47:20):
had moved into that second string rotation. But to your point,
you know, rotating in on that third series no matter what,
you know, if the game was close or not, that
I thought that that was a good thing because those
players in the event of an injury, I mean, somebody
was ready to go. So we'll see if Ohio State
with their offensive line, if they maybe not necessarily a

(47:41):
third offensive series, but if they try to rotate offensive
linement throughout.

Speaker 1 (47:47):
Yeah, all right, Jeff, Well, we know that both teams
have great skill position players, so it really just to me,
does come down to the trenches number one, number two.
Which team makes the fewest mistakes, doesn't turn the ball over,
doesn't have penalties, that kind of thing, and in big
games like that, that is usually the case. So we'll

(48:08):
we'll of course, come back next week and we'll have
our rewind and see what we thought. But for now,
we are going to get to our first of the
season picks to Click, in which, if you're not familiar
with the show, we each select a player sort of
draft style from the offense and defense and say this,

(48:29):
I think this player is gonna have a big game
and a big impact on the game. And then of
course we'll do our score predictions. But let's start week
one on the offensive side of the ball. Chip who
is your offensive pick to click?

Speaker 3 (48:45):
Okay, so this is going to this might might constitute
a shocker. I am not taking the free space on
the board.

Speaker 2 (48:52):
I'm leaving it up to you. Now, I mentioned this earlier.

Speaker 3 (48:58):
It wouldn't surprise me if Julian saying in his first
game out, remember I said.

Speaker 2 (49:04):
You know, just keep the car on the road.

Speaker 3 (49:06):
Let's not go crazy. I'm going to go with Max Claire.
I think Max Claire is going to be the guy
that is gonna is going to be the beneficiary of
a lot of checkdowns, a lot of opportunities were like
one on one, and I.

Speaker 2 (49:21):
Think Julian saying, you know, finding you know him.

Speaker 3 (49:24):
As a as an outlet if like his primary receiver
is covered Max Claire, I think it will be, you know,
in some really good one on one possibility.

Speaker 2 (49:34):
So I'm going with Max Claire.

Speaker 1 (49:36):
All right, I could take Jeremiah Smith, certainly, I could
do that. You've you've left the door open.

Speaker 2 (49:44):
I did.

Speaker 3 (49:45):
I I'm now I'm intrigued the fact that there's some hesitation.

Speaker 1 (49:49):
I was actually going to double down on my ear
of the tight end and take Claire, but you took him.

Speaker 2 (49:53):
So okay, sorry, okay.

Speaker 3 (49:54):
You see that's why when we don't talk about this.

Speaker 1 (49:57):
This is organic the spot. It's just like you and I.
It's just like you know, you're you're preparing for the
NFL draft, and you the player you've identified and the
team ahead of you takes it. It's just part of it, kay.
You have to have a backup plan. I think that
Smith will get his big plays here and there. I
think he'll make some plays, but I think that he

(50:19):
will take attention away from others. I'm going to look
for Brandon Inness to have an impact on this game.

Speaker 3 (50:24):
Yeah, that's that's actually a really good I think Brandon
Innis we talked about, you know the fact that he
was named a captain despite not having a ton of statistics.
Brandon Inness is going to be one of these guys
that you know is going to become more and more
of a I don't want to call him a household
name that might be a little too much, but more

(50:46):
of of a matchup problem for opposing defenses to account for, because,
like you said, you know, It's like Jeremiah Smith is
He's going to get his his his catches, no doubt
about it.

Speaker 2 (50:58):
But I think they're going to be beneficiar.

Speaker 3 (51:00):
He's all the undue attention to Jeremiah Smith, and I
think Brandon and This is gonna be one of those guys.

Speaker 2 (51:05):
I think that's a really good pick.

Speaker 1 (51:08):
Entertained the idea of James Peoples. I think that I
think people are maybe sleeping a little bit on Ohio
State's run game because Quinchawn Judkins and Trevion Henderson have
gone to the NFL. But I think there's still a
lot of talent there and I think there's going to
be some place to be made there. And by all accounts,
out of out of camp, you know, People's looks great.

Speaker 2 (51:30):
Yeah. I think people's.

Speaker 3 (51:33):
Kind of what I said earlier about Julian saying, Okay,
just drive the car. James Peoples, Okay, don't It'd be
great if we got you know, some some kind of
a you know, combination of Conshawn Judkins and Travon Henderson
in game one out of James People's I think James People's, okay,
get the yards, run between the tackles, move the sticks,

(51:58):
hold onto the ball, and good things are going to happen.
And I think as long as he doesn't try to
become a superstar with every carry, and I'm not trying
to imply that that is.

Speaker 2 (52:08):
What he is going to do.

Speaker 3 (52:09):
I just think that first game as a projected starter,
you know, like the idea of like, Okay, don't let
the moment be too much for you.

Speaker 2 (52:17):
Just just play your game.

Speaker 3 (52:18):
There's a reason why you were recruited to High State,
why the coaches and fans are excited about you. Just
just played, you know, like you said, just just play
within yourself.

Speaker 1 (52:28):
Yeah, all right, on the defensive side of the ball.
I passed up the free space on the offensive side,
I'm going to take it on the defensive side and
go Caleb Downs. Yeah, I feel like they're going to
use him in in a few different ways this year.
I think there's going to be some surprises and think
that's going to enable him to make more plays.

Speaker 3 (52:45):
I think that's I think that's a really understandable I
think Caleb Downs, I think if you're Matt Patricia, I
think you're legitimately excited about.

Speaker 2 (52:56):
Just basically you.

Speaker 3 (52:58):
Know, moving him or round, you know, kind of seeing
you know, what he can do. I think I think
Caleb Downs just is a tremendous player all around. So yeah,
that that's completely understandable. So that being said, you know,
we talked earlier about winning at the line of scrimmage,
you know, like no matter what, and I'm going to

(53:20):
go with Kenyata Jackson as defensive end, you know, in
terms of this is his moment he's been waiting for,
you know, to you know, as a starter, and I'm
not I'm not going to try to suggest that he's
going to come out and you know, it'd be great,
you know, like if he lit up the world with
you know, lit up Texas with multiple sacks of arch Manning.

(53:44):
But I think, you know, the opportunity is going to
present itself where you know, being able to potentially pressure
arch Manning into throwing the ball earlier than he wants to,
or forcing him to throw the ball at a bounce.
I think Kenyata Jackson has that within him. So that's
why I'm going with him.

Speaker 1 (54:00):
You know, a little bit quarterback pressure can help the secondary,
a little bit slightly inaccurate throws will help guys like
Davis nick Nosen and Caleb downs and Jermaine Matthews and
those guys in the secondary to maybe make plays on balls.
So I like the pick and hopefully he'll do well.
And I'm also interested to see how Sunny Styles does
in this game as well. Yep, we're in that block

(54:21):
o Jersey all right, Chip, The last order of business
for our Week one preview show is to predict the
final score. I've already written mine down. I'm sure it'll
be different than yours, though, So Chip, what's gonna be
on the scoreboard at Ohio Stadium at the end of
the game on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (54:41):
I agree with you.

Speaker 3 (54:41):
I think whichever team makes the least number of mistakes,
I think it's gonna be. I think it's gonna be
lower scoring than people are are predicting.

Speaker 2 (54:52):
I really do.

Speaker 3 (54:53):
I think that this is going to be Both teams
are just going to be kind of testing each other,
kind of gingerly, so to speak, initially, which is going
to lend itself in like a lower scoring game. Something
about Ohio State twenty four Texas twenty one just feels
right to me.

Speaker 1 (55:11):
Okay, I hear you talking, and I hear you as
saying that you think it's going to be low scoring.
I also think it'll be fairly low scoring. From an
offensive perspective, I expect each team's defense to make a
play against the other team's offense in this game with
all the turnovers and the new quarterbacks. So I am

(55:33):
going to predict a thirty one to thirty game, which
is slightly higher than yours. But I think again, the
defense contributes to that, and I think that Texas gets
its revenge, but Ohio State learns what it needs to
learn to be a better team and to be in
the College Football Playoff and a contender for the Big
Ten title at the end of the year. So I

(55:53):
feel like this could be you end up being one
of the all time great opening games for High State.
Not that not necessarily the result they want, but I
feel like it could be the springboard to what they
need to get over the hump against Michigan and to
compete again in the Big Ten title game is something
that Ryan Day wants to do very badly. And uh
and then go on and try to win a second

(56:16):
straight national championship.

Speaker 2 (56:18):
Okay, well, I understand, so.

Speaker 1 (56:20):
I hope you're right though. All right, anything else you
want to get off your chest before we get out
of here.

Speaker 3 (56:26):
Chip No, just looking forward to week one of the
college football season.

Speaker 1 (56:31):
All right, buck geye football is back, and uh boy,
if there's anything as iconic in this game as there
was with the Jack Sawyer strip, sack, fumble and scoop
and score, then we're all in for a treat. But
anyway you slice it, the season is here, we're going
to be in it. We get treated to a big

(56:51):
matchup on the on the first day of the season,
and for me, I just think that little bit of
extra experience that arch Manning has it might be the
difference in this game. So I'm looking forward to seeing
if Ohio State can combat that, if they can corral him.
One of the things they can't do is miss on

(57:12):
a sack, because if you miss on a sack against
Quinn Viewers, you might give up a five yard gain.
If you miss on a stacked against arch Manning, you
might give up a twenty five yard run exactly.

Speaker 2 (57:22):
I think, yeah, it's going to be interesting.

Speaker 3 (57:24):
Like I said earlier, there's going to be any spy
on arch Manning, and I'm looking forward to the first
game of the season and seeing what kind of wrinkles
that Matt Patricia may have for the ohiose defense.

Speaker 1 (57:39):
Yeah, I can't wait to see like how he's similar
and how he differs from Jim Knowles's defense.

Speaker 2 (57:45):
You got it?

Speaker 1 (57:46):
All right, that's going to do it for this episode
of the Silver Bullets podcast. We'll be back next week
to break down the Texas game. Chip, who are we
going to be getting ready for another big opponent? Oh?

Speaker 3 (57:59):
No, Grambling State? But I I I'll hold my hots
until next week.

Speaker 2 (58:08):
How's that?

Speaker 1 (58:09):
Okay? Not the same level of the opponent, is what
you're saying?

Speaker 2 (58:13):
No, exactly exactly.

Speaker 1 (58:16):
Well, you know they can't all be top five matchups, right.

Speaker 3 (58:22):
Well, that's another thing that we can talk about next
week in terms of what my scheduling philosophy would be.

Speaker 2 (58:27):
But that again, we'll.

Speaker 1 (58:28):
Talk about it, and our listeners will be happy to
know it's not a noon kickoff.

Speaker 2 (58:35):
That is true. That is true?

Speaker 1 (58:38):
All right? Uh, Chip, But please remind our listeners where
they can find you and your work online.

Speaker 3 (58:43):
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, so look for articles and contributions
at those respective websites.

Speaker 1 (58:59):
All right. You can find me on Twitter at Mike
thirty six fan, you can find me on Blue Sky
at Mike thirty six fan, and you can find the
Silver Bullets Podcast on Twitter at Silver Bullets Pod. But
no E in Silver s I l v R Bullets Pod.
Bullets is spelled the correct way. Pod is his pod,
but at the Silver we omit the E, and that's

(59:23):
because you're character limited, so check it. Check us out there. Obviously,
you can write to us at Silver Bulletspod at gmail
dot com. We'd love to hear from you, and you
can also read my stuff over at the Landgrant Holyland
dot com. My column this week is my final player
to Watch, and this week I am going with Edric Houston,

(59:46):
so you can read my take on Edric Houston and
what he might be bringing to the Buckeyes this year
and why you should watch out for him. And then,
of course, once we start getting games under our belt,
the Monday column will mostly be the grumpy old buck Eye,
where I break down all the things that annoyed me
and aggravated me during the game, even if it's a
fifty six nothing when you can look forward to to

(01:00:09):
my rants and my old man yells at cloud takes
on Land, Grant, Holy Land. So looking forward to another
season of Buckeye football, and that leaves us with just
the sign off, So as we always do at the
end of every show, the only thing left for us
to do, Chip is to say, go box, Go Box,