December 10, 2024 • 51 mins
We start this week’s show with news and notes from Ohio State, including a brief look at the Buckeyes’ 2025 recruiting class. Although we don’t fancy ourselves as “recruiting guys,” there are still some conclusions we can draw from looking at Ryan Day’s latest class.
We also touched on a few Ohio State players who chose to enter the transfer portal and some guys who were honored for having standout seasons in the Big Ten in 2024. The transfer portal decisions weren’t terribly surprising, and we didn’t even get to touch on Devin Brown, who made his announcement while we were wrapping up our recording.
After the news segment, we discussed the Big Ten title game that pitted Oregon against Penn State. The Nittany Lions acquitted themselves well, but still didn’t play the Ducks as closely in Indianapolis as the Buckeyes did in Eugene. That didn’t matter much to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.
The final poll came out and the Buckeyes found themselves at No. 8. We talked about what we didn’t like about that decision, what we liked about other decisions, and then we broke down the bracket. Ohio State has a difficult road to the semifinals, and the committee did No. 1 Oregon no favors either with the way the bracket is set up. Let us know what you thought of our analysis of the CFP bracket as we look forward to seeing 12 teams in the postseason for the first time.
We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions via email at silverbulletspod@gmail.com. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.
Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.
As always, thanks for listening!
0:21 - Digesting Ohio State’s class after National Signing Day, Buckeyes in the portal, other Buckeyes who won awards, and more.
22:27 - The B1G championship, Ohio State’s difficult draw, and the College Football Playoff bracket overall.
We also touched on a few Ohio State players who chose to enter the transfer portal and some guys who were honored for having standout seasons in the Big Ten in 2024. The transfer portal decisions weren’t terribly surprising, and we didn’t even get to touch on Devin Brown, who made his announcement while we were wrapping up our recording.
After the news segment, we discussed the Big Ten title game that pitted Oregon against Penn State. The Nittany Lions acquitted themselves well, but still didn’t play the Ducks as closely in Indianapolis as the Buckeyes did in Eugene. That didn’t matter much to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.
The final poll came out and the Buckeyes found themselves at No. 8. We talked about what we didn’t like about that decision, what we liked about other decisions, and then we broke down the bracket. Ohio State has a difficult road to the semifinals, and the committee did No. 1 Oregon no favors either with the way the bracket is set up. Let us know what you thought of our analysis of the CFP bracket as we look forward to seeing 12 teams in the postseason for the first time.
We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions via email at silverbulletspod@gmail.com. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.
Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.
As always, thanks for listening!
0:21 - Digesting Ohio State’s class after National Signing Day, Buckeyes in the portal, other Buckeyes who won awards, and more.
22:27 - The B1G championship, Ohio State’s difficult draw, and the College Football Playoff bracket overall.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Hello again everybody. It's time once again for the Silver
Bullets Podcast. I am Michael Citrow and I'm Chipmnick. Chip.
We had a week without Buckeye football this week, and
unfortunately as we had to watch Oregon and Penn State
play in a pretty decent game overall for the Big
Ten title. Was never really Oregon was never really in
(00:43):
any real danger, but Penn State kept it close and
moved the ball better than I thought that they would,
and ultimately it ended the way we thought it would
with Oregon winning the game.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah, congratulations to Oregon. I mean, they won the Big
Ten championship their first year in the league, which is
very impressive. I think Oregon, like you said, they never
were threatened. I think Penn State did better that I thought.
I have to confess, I thought that the Oregon passing
game was going to cause more issues for Penn State
than it did. I think Penn State representative themselves running
(01:19):
the ball. They played well. They didn't play well enough
obviously to win the game. But again, you know, like
you said, I think it was an entertaining game.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yeah. So ultimately the Pac twelve won the Big Ten
and the Big Twelve this year.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Yeah, I never thought about it that way. I never
thought about it that way. But yeah, it's kind of interesting,
you know, like the just the change, the massive change
that when it comes to college football with these huge
conferences nowadays, that you know, like you said, you know
the fact that that Oregon from the from the Pac twelve,
(01:59):
Arizona eight now in the Big Twelve, that they obviously
settled in nicely into their new homes and are making
themselves quite comfortable.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Yeah, all right, Chip, we'll talk a little bit about
what that means in terms of the college football playoff
in a little bit. But why don't we start out
by talking about National Signing Day. We're not recruiting guys necessarily,
but I think it's okay to say, hey, these are
the guys come to Ohio State, and this is what
the class represents. It's according to on three, it's the
(02:30):
nationally the fifth ranked recruiting class, second to Big Ten.
I think Oregon edged Ohio State in this one, and
a good class. Some holes in the class, but basically
the big key prospect is Tavin Saint Clair from Bell Fountain.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, I think Ohio State fans I've said this before
about being spoiled. And I say that with smiling and chuckling,
because you and I come from a time when, all right,
the quarterback position was not something that Ohio State was
well known for within recruiting cycles. And say what you
(03:09):
will about Ryan Day, but ever since his arrival within Columbus,
Ohio State fans have just basically grown accustomer to the
fact that highly rated, highly touted quarterback prospects have been
coming to Ohio State because of Ryan Day and tav
In Saint Clair. I mean, the added bontus quite frankly,
is the fact, like you said, it's from Bell Fountain.
(03:31):
So this is a young man. Everything that I've read
about him is he has truly become almost like a
fixture within the Ohio State, within the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
I presume I haven't seen anything yet, so I want
to emphasize everything I'm saying is pure speculation on my part.
(03:54):
I presume he's going to be an early enrollee. I
know that that's kind of the new fashionable thing to
do nowadays, is that to enroll in January. And would
I expect him to be competing for the starting job
as a true freshman. No, would I expect him to
be able to possibly be this the immediate backup for
(04:17):
the whoever is going to win the starting position. The
answer is yes, because he was based on recruiting rankings,
he was not only considered, you know, one of the best,
if not the best quarterback in high school football, but
he was the only one that was highly ranked that
never wavered in his commitment. He stuck with Ohio State,
(04:38):
gave a verbal commitment basically you know, you know, before
his junior year of high school and has been steadfast
in it ever since.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, and Ohigh State's quarterback room is in pretty good
shape as it has been over the last several years,
so of course things can change. I mean, we don't
know what's going to happen at the end of the season.
Will Ryan Day move on? Will he be asked to
move on or forced to move on? Julian Sayan is here,
we know he's waiting in the wings. Devin Brown is
(05:11):
the backup this year, but who knows, you know, what's
going to happen in the battle there. I kind of
get the feeling that Devin Brown's not gonna be able
to hold onto that position based on who's coming up
behind him. But you never know. I don't know what's
going to happen. So Tavian Saint Clair is the number
three prospect nationally and a good one to have. He's
sort of I haven't really got to see a whole
(05:33):
lot of his film, so I'm not going to get
too much into it, but happy to have him in
the class. And then another top ten nationally ranked guy
was Devin Sanchez, a guy who some people were afraid
might flip, but he kept his commitment to Ohio State
and signed. He is out of Houston, a cornerback, and
of course, defensive backs are extremely important in today's college football.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Yeah, Devin Sanchez on the recruiting side of things, And
again I always I always take these things with more
than a grain of salt. I take probably several several
scoops of salt when it comes to recruiting speculation. But
the reason I'm saying this is that we all know
(06:18):
what we have in Jeremiah Smith at the wide receiver position. Well,
people are saying this is this is the defensive equivalent
with Devin Sanchez at the cornerback position. So I'm not
going to be so bold as to say that he's
going to come in and challenge for a starting position
as a true freshman. But I will say that what
(06:38):
I've seen and read online about him is that it's
going to be quite entertaining to watch the practice battles
between Jeremiah Smith and Demon Sanchez because he is supposedly
that good at corner. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Now, I know there were some flips along the way.
One guy that some folks were maybe a little concerned
about is Jarq west Carter, who did commit to wivest Uh,
a defensive lineman out of Florida. Where really did Ohio
State do well in your opinion? And where did it
fall a little bit short?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
This? Okay? I mean again, we we want to emphasize
we're not recruiting guys. That's not that's not really our thing.
But I want to give a tip of the hat
to Ohio State linebacker coach James Laurnidis. The fact that
three very very highly regarded linebackers. Tarbus Alford, who you
know you're just talking about, Flip was one of these
(07:33):
guys that I mean Miami, Florida, you know, you name it,
he you know, coming from from Florida. It was one
of these guys that they were they were doing everything
within their power to persuade him to change his decision.
A guy that from from Texas, Riley Pettijohn, another really
(07:56):
highly regarded linebacker. And then you know, just kind of
a little bit of bias just being an Ohio guy.
Eli Lee, who is you know, from Akronholman another well,
a guy that committed early, never wavered. So I want
(08:17):
to say that Ohio State did really well, and I
think it speaks volumes about James Lorenida's recruiting prowess, the
fact that he was able to get three really good
linebacker prospects for this class.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, it seems like the area of concern is offensive line.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, and let's face it, I mean, you know, you
were talking about Ryan Day about you know, like his
long term prospects. I mean, we're not you know, we're
not privy to what's being said or what's happening behind
the scenes at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Justin Fry, Yeah,
I mean, it's it's a definite problem. Ohio State fans
(08:56):
are seeing kind of the results of lackluster recruiting manifests itself.
You know, justin Fry. I do want to give him
credit in the sense that when it came to, you know,
Josh Simmons, you know, when he came in as a transfer,
nobody really thought much of him. It was unfortunate that
he suffered the injury. Josh Simmons last week declared for
(09:18):
the NFL Draft, so he won't be back next year.
But Josh Simmons under Justin fries Tutelage, developed into a
solid NFL draft prospect. When it came to Seth McLaughlin
last year coming in as a transfer, a lot of
people their last image of him was not snapping the
ball well for Alabama and the Rose Bowl. Again, it's
(09:40):
unfortunate that Seth McLaughlin suffered an injury is loft for
the season, but Seth McLaughlin, similar to Josh Simmons, developed
into a solid NFL prospect. Getting back to the recruiting side,
it's one of these things where I don't know if
it's the message, if it's the messenger, but something needs
to happened because when it comes to the fact that
(10:03):
Ohio State was able to get two in state players
in Carter Low and Jake Cook, both you know from
Ohio and then as far as on the offensive line,
I'm gonna mispronounce his name, but not intentionally, Javion McFadden
(10:28):
as another lineman. I mean, you need to get five.
Getting three is not It just isn't. It's just not passable.
So I have every conference of Ohio State is going
to be active within the transfer portal. But let's not sugarcoated.
I mean, Ohio State needs to be doing much better
on the offensive line within the high school recruiting ranks.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Yeah, they're with and left and right, and there was
some some thought that they could maybe flip the kid
from Tennessee, but that didn't happen. And it's unfortunate because
when you look at where is Ohio State getting beat
When it gets beat a few times a year, that
things get tough. It's in the trenches and not being
(11:07):
able to run the football effectively against Michigan because you've, granted,
you've got two injuries to your offensive line starters, but
at the same time, you don't have sufficient depth quality
to step in and get the job done. And they're
not putting enough in behind the numbers and the quality.
So the quality and the numbers are both not there.
(11:29):
Even if some of the of the development is there.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
I would agree with that. Yeah, I mean it's going
to be no matter what happens twenty twenty five. The
offensive line, it was the same thing going into spring
football last year. The offensive line was under the microscope,
the same story, just a different year. Because let's be
(11:56):
very direct about this, when it comes to Ohio State
offensive line, they were going to have to reshuffle it again,
not only because we talked about like Josh Simmons, you know,
declaring for the NFL Draft. You're going to be losing
players just due to graduation as well as the NFL Draft.
So the offensive line is going to be in a
position of flux. So if it's justin Fry at the helm,
(12:17):
he's going to really have to be creative and do
much better than what he has demonstrated on the recruiting
front so far at Ohio State.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah. Now, of course, all of these problems may be
solved because they have a running back coming in named
Bo Jackson. And that's usually a good thing to have
a running back named Bo Jackson.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
That is true, and it's one of these I mean
you asked about like a position that went well, I
would be remiss if I didn't mention that Ohio State.
Let's not forget Carlos Laughlin came in, you know, after
spring football started, came in from Oregon and was able
to not only secure a commitment from Bo Jackson, but
(13:00):
also Isaiah West. And then we talk about the flip
Anthony Turbo Rogers, who is kind of I'm just going
to say, you know, the fact that he's five foot nine,
he's not your traditional big ten back, but Chip Kelly
has has in his storied coaching career, has used undersized backs.
(13:23):
You know, it's kind of like change of pacebacks. The
fact that he's nicknack named Turbo has been excited. So
Carlos Laughlan deserves a lot of He deserves a lot
of credit for being being able to get three very
well regarded running backs to come in. That's going to
be another position to keep an eye on in spring
football because we High State. They're going to be losing
(13:44):
Trevion Henderson. No word yet if Quinn Shawn Judkins is
going to declare for the NFL Draft, but that's highly suspected.
So you're you're gonna be looking at a very young
position at the running back spot.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Welcome to the starting lineup, James Peeples.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah. While James people should be in line, and I
mentioned about the transfer portal for the offensive line, it
wouldn't be surprising if o High State brought in somebody,
not necessarily, you know, somebody that is looking to be
the feature back, but somebody to be kind of in
that complimentary role the way that Ohigo State's user running
backs this year, Maybe somebody that would be understanding like, hey,
(14:22):
I'm not going to shoulder the complete load, but it's
going to be more of a splitting carries between James
People's and maybe one of these high school running backs
that are coming into Ohio State.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, all right, that's probably more coverage of recruiting than
we need to ever do, but we definitely definitely needed
to address it. Some other minor news and notes we
don't have to really get into too much. A couple
of wide receivers are transferring chip as Jaden Ballard and
Kojo Ant. We have entered or are entering the transfer portal.
(14:55):
Not guys that have been getting a lot of playing
time and in a crowded room that's only getting more
and more talent stockpiled in that room. Probably the only
path to playing time for those guys.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yeah, I wish them well, no destination yet. I mean
the transfer portal we're recording this. The transfer portal is
going to be opening officially on Monday, December ninth, and
I have to confess I'm not sure when it closes,
but I think this is just more of an opportunity
for those young men as well as linebacker gave Powers.
You know, they were primarily special teams guys that you know,
(15:32):
trying to get playing time. Like you said, within that
very talented wide receiver room, was not easy to do.
Jaden Ballard, it was unfortunate, I think, I guess, you
know the fact that he came in from Mansfield extremely fast.
The comparisons to former Ohio state wide receiver Devin Smith
(15:53):
were there, you know, like, oh, like he's going to
be this deep threat. It just never ever seemed to materialize.
And as far as Kojo, we you know, he was
part of a recruiting class that all the wide receivers
that were in it had left. You know that, you know,
Keon h. Gray's, Caleb Brown, you know, all these guys
(16:15):
that that came in, they never really were able to
make their moves, so, uh, you know, it's it's kind
of unfortunate, but I wish them well. I truly wish
that gay Powers had stuck around. But you know, maybe
he saw kind of with these linebackers coming in and recruiting. Uh,
you know, maybe he just felt that he was going
to be relegated to a special team's role, which is
(16:36):
why he kind of preemptibly put his name in the
transfer portal.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Yeah, I would have liked to have seen that, and
I apologize from not bringing him up. Gay Powers, obviously
is a is a player that seemed like when he
did get on the field, he'd made He made you
notice that he was out there. So it's a little
disappointing that he won't be able to maybe put his
stamp on the position in the future, but we wish
him well. Will Howard will play in the Senior Bowl.
(17:02):
That's been something that's been announced, So that's great for Will.
He's a player who I think really helped his draft
stock this year overall. Of course, he didn't have a
great game against Michigan. I have been very vocal in
thinking that, you know, maybe he wasn't in possession of
all his faculties for all of that game. But you know,
(17:25):
he passed for seventy percent most of the season and
he didn't put a foot wrong that often. I think
he's one of those guys who could maybe make a
career in the NFL as a as a career backup.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
I agree. And when it comes to the Senior Bowl,
you know, the NFL Draft, I'm speaking as a you know,
I will just say as a Cleveland Browns fan, the
NFL Draft is just one of these things where you
just never know in terms of you know, when we
talk about recruiting about how things don't necessarily turn out
(17:57):
the way people anticipate. Raft is just like that. And
it's even more so with the money and time invested
into scouting. When it comes to the Senior Bowl, though,
that is the kind of game, not so much the game,
but the week leading up to it, the practices they're
conducted by NFL teams, all the scouts, general managers, etc.
(18:20):
That are there, the key personnel people that are the
decision makers for their respective NFL teams. So that's the
place to go. I mean when it comes to obviously
you want to have a good combine, but the Senior
Bowl is kind of if you get the opportunity to
go to compete, to be coached by NFL teams, that's
where you can elevate your NFL draft stock further.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
So, Narry McLaurin, you got it, You got Lauren. He
made a name for himself there and then he's been
doing amazing things ever since.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
You nailed it. So that's my point is that Will Howard. Yeah,
I don't think. I guess, just sitting here in December
and the NFL Draft is, you know, let's just say
about five months away. Do I anticipate him being called
on Day two? No, I don't, but stranger things have happened,
(19:13):
you know, definitely on day three, which is rounds four
through seven. And like you said, I think he certainly
has demonstrated an ability to improve that he could he
could latch onto a team as a as a backup
and kind of a long term project quarterback for developmental purposes.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
All Right, Finally, the last bit of news that I
wanted to discuss a couple of awards. Chip Jeremiah Smith
was named not only the Big Ten Freshmen of the Year,
but the Big Ten Receiver of the Year. That's well deserved.
Caleb Downs was named the Big Tens Defensive Back of
the Year, and seven Buckeyes were named First Team All
(19:52):
Big Ten, at least in one form or another. Caleb Downs,
Donovan Jackson, Seth MacLachlan, Lathan Ransom, Jeremiah Smith, Cody Simon,
and J T. Twoy Mooloow.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
I would say out of that group, and I'm not
trying to you know, obviously you know my my affection
or both Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs. I mean, like
I said, you know, it's pretty much kind of like
the free space on the Bengo card whenever we would,
you know, make our picks this past season. If there
(20:25):
is a player that we were just talking about, will
Howard improvement, I want to I want to give a
tip of the hat to Cody Simon. I thought compared
to not that that he played poorly, but I think
the rise and the elevation in his game, especially over
the latter portion of the season in terms of blitzing,
(20:46):
I think he really did a great job, especially as
a as a captain. He was wearing the block O jersey.
So I'm really happy that Cody Simon had a really
good conclusion to his collegiate career, and I'm being I'm
being premature because obviously we have the college football playoff
games to discuss.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah, Cody Simon is a player who I mean, the
knock on his is that he misses too many tackles,
which I think is a fair assessment. I think that
his strength is reading a play and getting into the
right position. He doesn't always make the play, but he
always is in a position to make the play. That's
half the battle. If he can just develop that tackling
ability a little bit more, he could play on Sundays.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
I think he will definitely get an opportunity to do so.
We were just talking about the NFL Draft being months away.
He'll be one of those guys that'll be a later
round selection. But again, you know, sometimes you know just
the right team, the right place, you can make yourself
(21:51):
valuable being on special teams and have a very lucrative
NFL career doing so.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah, all right, Chip, I think that's it for the
news that we needed to cover. So we'll take a
quick break and we'll come back and talk about the
Big Ten championship game and the Big Ten rankings, and
maybe we'll touch on some of the things that Ryan
Day said this past week, So why don't we get
to those things right after this chip we are back
(22:27):
And did you happen to watch the Big Ten title
game between the Ducks and the Nitney Lyons.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
I did happen to watch it. It was enjoyable kind of.
I thought that Penn State played better than I anticipated.
Didn't do enough to win the game, but they played
better than I thought that they would against Oregon. I
just think Oregon offensively had too much for Penn State
to be able to completely start completely shut them down.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, it was a little surprised that Penn State wasn't
able to do a little bit better defensively in this game. Oregon, obviously,
we know they've got a very prolific offense, and they
just ran away at first, and then Penn State eked
their way back into the game, and then Oregon would
turn it on again, and it just almost seemed like
Oregon was toying with them at some point. Was but
(23:18):
there was an opportunity to get the ball back with
trailing by one score, and Penn State just wasn't able
to do that. But I think the overriding thing that
I saw was that. And I don't know if this
would have changed the outcome much, but let's face it,
Oregon got away with a ton of holding in this game.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Oh yes, absolutely, I mean it was just kind of
you know, watching it, you know, I do think that
James Franklin, you know, postgame kind of made that point
about how the penalties were you know, a little bit
more against Penn State than they were against Oregon. But
I completely agree. I think Oregon they're holding that was
(24:00):
not called. Yeah, it was a tremendous benefit to Oregon
and we'll have to see, if you know, when they
when they play in the Rose Bowl, if they're good
fortune in that regard is going to continue.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Yeah. The surprising thing to me in this game was
it was ironic Penn State could not cover the tight end.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Yeah, you know you would think that, you know, considering
how much Penn State uses the tight end, you know,
within their offense, that they would be well accustomed to that.
But yeah, that was definitely an achilles heel that Oregon
was able to exploit to their advantage.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Yeah, I think that. I mean, Oregon had more tight
end touchdowns in this game than they had the entire season.
Prior to this game.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, I mean, like like you said, I think Oregon
was able to capitalize on what they found a weakness
within that Penn State defense.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
All Right, So the key thing after Championship Saturday was
where would everybody be seated? And there was a lot
of people online felt like Ohio State's going to jump
Penn State because Ohio State had slipped to six overall
after losing to Michigan, and the thought was, this is
(25:16):
head to head a no brainer. They should finish. They
should finish ahead of Indiana because they beat Indiana badly.
They should finish ahead of Penn State because they went
on the road and beat Penn State. And the only
common opponent was Oregon, and Ohio State lost by one
at Oregon and Penn State lost by more than one
at a neutral site. So the I think a lot
of people thought Ohio State, despite the second loss, would
(25:38):
finish ahead of Penn State. But that's not how it
worked out.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
No, it isn't. I mean it was kind of a surprise,
you know, in that completely unnecessary, lengthy intro for announcing
these I mean, you know, just the just the mere
fact that everyone you knew how it was going to
turn out in terms of like the last the last spot.
(26:05):
And I know we're talking about Ohio State being jumped
by Penn State, but yeah, I mean it, that was
a surprise. I'm I guess if anything, that they were
maybe rewarding Penn State for being in the in the
conference championship game versus Ohio State sitting at home. I
really don't know that. I'm kind of at a loss because,
like you said, had.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
To have good job. They did a good job of
dealing with an easier schedule.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Yeah, well, I know that that. Joel Klatt of Fox
Sports is not happy with the way that it wound
up because, in his mind, Oregon who won. He believes
Oregon has a tougher road to the National Championship Game
than Penn State does. So he's kind of like, what's
the what's the how is how is this? Yeah? Fair?
Speaker 1 (26:57):
I agree with that. Let's talk about the bracket. Okay,
So the first four teams get a bye, and these
are all conference championships conference champions that won their conference
championship game. So one is Oregon undefeated, they were one
going in. Georgia has multiple losses and has escaped by
the skin of its teeth on at least three other occasions,
(27:18):
and it gets the two, Boise State gets the three,
and Arizona State gets the four as the top four
Power Power Conference champions from their championship games. The five
is Texas, which lost that tough game against Georgia over
(27:41):
the weekend and overtime. Texas did a lot of the
same things that Ohio State did in their championship game.
As Ohio State did against Michigan. They didn't go with
the things that got them there. They didn't go with
their strengths, and as a result, it made things a
lot easier for Georgia.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
I would agree with that. Yeah, I mean Texas. It'll
be interesting to see how everything turned out for Texas
with regards to the College Football Playoff.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
And I think Georgia has an easier route to the
semi finals as well because and this is a Georgia
team that keep in mind, they had on one of
their scoring drives they fumbled the ball twice and just
happened to fall on it. And they also threw interceptions
twice on plays that Texas got a defensive penalty, So
they've got the lucky horseshoe wedged firmly up their rear end.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Yeah, I like I. I mean, it'll be interesting to
see now that the college football playoffs are going to
be a thing. How you know, if their good fortune
can continue.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Yeah. So, as I said, the five is Texas, they
will play the twelve. So the last team in Clemson,
which won the ACC championship game on a fifty I
believe it was a fifty four yard field goal after
SMU battled back from multi scorer deficit to tie the
game with just seconds left and then gave up a
(29:08):
long kickoff return and then another long pass play to
set up the long field goal on the last play
of the game to win it.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
That was entertaining to watch, though, I will say that much.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Yeah, I just don't know what SMU is doing it.
Had they had they allowed the wide receiver who caught
the pass to take five more steps and then tackle them,
the game would have been over. That's true, it would
have gone to overtime, or if they had allowed a
few more yards on the kickoff return. But maybe the
best thing to do there is kick off the ball
out of the back of the end zone and don't
let Clemson get it out to about the forty yard.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Line even better point.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
So Texas and Clemson winner will play Arizona State. I
feel really good about Texas's path to the semifinals in
this side of the bracket.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Yeah, I think Texas. Texas should be able to I
think handle Clemson and move forward.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Penn State managed to get the sixth seed over Ohio
State and others, and they will play eleventh seed SMU.
SMU had a great season and a little bit unexpectedly
and they of course had the heartbreaking lost to Clemson,
but they did enough to knock Alabama out. So no Alabama,
no Ole Miss. I know, those were the teams that
(30:20):
were kind of on the bubble. Penn State gets to
play SMU, and then if they dispatch SMU, which I
believe they will, they'll play Boise. I think Penn State
has the easiest route to the semi finals of anyone.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
I think Penn State. Yeah, I mean the fact that,
let's face it, it's a home game, which I'm happy
for Penn State. SMU. It should be interesting considering I'm
not saying that they can't, but I mean there's no
unless they have some way of making their practice facility
(30:55):
like an ice box, or something. There's no way to
practice for what should be in a couple of weeks,
you know, at least like you know, yeah, probably you
know at game time that's a noon kickoff, that the
possibility of it having snow on the ground and being
like twenty thirty degrees is very real for SMU.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Now, this is where I feel like Ohio State should
have been ranked but was not. So we go on
to the seventh seed, which is Notre Dame, which used
to be at number five. They've slipped to seven because
they didn't play in a conference championship game because they
don't want to be in a conference chip they're too
good for that. They will play ten seed Indiana and
(31:36):
that's a nice little matchup in state. So the winner
of that gets Georgia, and that's another that's a place
where a lot of people thought Ohio State would end
up in the seventh hole. But I'm guessing that if
they wanted Indiana at ten, they didn't want to rematch
between Ohio State and Indiana.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
I agree with that. And what's kind of interesting is
that game on It's going to kick off on Friday night,
December twentieth, at eight o'clock at Notre Dame in South End.
That will be the first time that a home game
is going to be televised from South Bend since the
(32:14):
nineteen ninety season because the NBC contract that all the
Notre Dame home games. This is the first time that
it'll be on a different network other than NBC.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
That's crazy. And finally, the eight nine matchup is going
to be Ohio State at home against Tennessee. And I
feel like Ohio State got the toughest of the first
round teams, the toughest path to the semifinals. They got
to get by Tennessee and then they got to go
and play Oregon.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
I would agree with that. I think if anything, they
might have been holding that loss to Michigan. The committee
that is may have been holding that against them, and
they're deliberations. Who knows.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Yeah, the committee that didn't the committee that only dropped
them to six. I hear what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
And then as far as you know, like for Ohio
State fans, you got what you wanted, or at least
a significant vocal portion of you wanted. A night game
in Ohio Stadium on the night of December twenty first
should be interesting. I was just saying that the possibility
of snow and being very cold is very real, so
(33:22):
it should be. I think it should be a great game.
I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
It, Yeah, of course, But I don't care for a
Ryan Day team playing in bad weather because they're not
a physical, strong team. I feel like Tennessee is better
in that area. I don't like the matchup, but we'll
talk more about that next week and we'll get ready
(33:45):
for that and we'll have our preview. Obviously, I just
feel like that's a bad matchup for Ohio State in
terms of what they could have had. I would have
rather had Obviously, I'd rather have SMU or Clemson or
Indiana in the first round.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
I agree with that. If anything, you know, I getting
back to the SMU thing, say what you will about
because I know Nick Saban was going on and on
about like strength of schedule and this, and that Alabama
has only themselves to blame for this. Alabama lost to
two six and six teams, one of them very badly
(34:20):
on the road a few weeks ago. And then for
Alabama for their athletic director, for their legion of fans
to complain and say like, oh, like Alabama should weaken.
They're not their their non conference schedule. This had nothing
to do with their non conference schedule, which was which
(34:41):
was putrid to be charitable in the first place.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
Yea, they already have a non conference they their issue
was within the conference, you know.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
So I agree wholeheartedly with with Doug lay Maurice, who
tweeted out something before we started recording. I can't remember
precisely how he phrased it, but he's like, you know,
he never realized until today. It's you know, basically, you know,
like how whiny the collective group of Alabama's administration and
(35:15):
fans are about this because Alabama, you know, until SMU rallied,
I thought for sure Alabama was going to be in,
you know, so that it's a credit to SMU that
they played hard. It's unfortunate they didn't they didn't win,
But yeah, Alabama has only themselves to blame for being
excluded from the playoff.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Yeah, because if SMU had rallied all the way to win,
I think Bama's in over Clemson, and and just the
fact that they FSMU finished as runner up, but it
was so close and had the better record that they
couldn't leave them out.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
I agree with that.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
So there it is. There's a bracket, and I don't again,
I just I feel like Ohio State didn't get they
got the the the soccer equivalent is the group of Death.
They call it the Group of Death. They got the
toughest groups, like when they stick to the United States
in against you know, like Spain and Ghana and you
know some other like Uruguay or something. I'll take your
(36:21):
word for it, being no idea what I'm talking about
right now.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
I know I know how to play soccer, but I
couldn't begin to tell you in terms of how you know,
like the group of death. You know what constitutes that,
you know?
Speaker 1 (36:34):
So all of the Group of Death is just when
when they have a cup competition and there's a group
they're separating the teams into groups for round robin play,
the team that the group with the toughest teams in it,
there's always one that seems way more difficult than all
the other ones. It's uh, I don't know how it
always happens, but it always happens, and they call it
(36:55):
the group of Death. So that's looks like Ohio State's
going to play a very good and physical Tennessee team.
It's not that I don't think Ohio State can win
that game. I do, and I am looking forward to it.
But then then the reward as you get to play
what has unquestionably been the best team in the country
this year.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Right you know, if anything, you know, this was one
of these things where, you know, until Ohio State lost
to Michigan, the talk was real that the possibility of
Ohio State and Oregon playing three times. Now, okay that
you know it, you know the fact that Ohio State
blew it against Michigan. So I'm looking I always enjoy
(37:36):
the Rose Bowl just because of you know, the fact
that like where it lands on January first, you know,
being able to watch it, and then you know the
fact that you know, we talked about how Oregon coming
in from the Pac twelve and winning the Big Ten.
So in a way, this is if Ohio State wins,
it's going to be kind of like more of a
traditional Rose Bowl in the sense. But I agree with you,
(37:59):
I think it'll be a toff road for Ohio State
to get to the national championship. You know, they for
all things that they have to do right now is
make sure that they have their focus properly on Tennessee
and not get ahead of themselves.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Yeah, this is not This is not the group of
teams the bracket that Ryan Day wanted to see after
losing to Michigan.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
Without a doubt.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
No, all right, speaking Ryan Day, before we get out
of here, just want to address his postgame comments a
little bit, chip, because he came out right and said,
oh yeah, we ran the ball too much. And what
I want to know is if every single human being
watching the game on TV knew they were running the
ball too much during the game, how come the head
(38:46):
coach that's got people tracking the plays during the game
didn't also know that they were running the ball too
much during the game.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
I can't begin to answer that. I just think that
there was some kind of a psychological I don't know,
you know, some kind of a psychological thing that he
was trying to prove. He did it two years ago.
I mean, I you know, in twenty twenty two that okay,
let's beat Michigan at their game, and then in twenty
twenty two it backfired miserably. Why he decided to do this,
(39:16):
You know you already mentioned about you know, Will Howard
not being at one hundred percent. This is I mean,
this is going to be a game that Ryan Day
for the rest of his coaching career, however long it is,
will always have this, you know, hang deservedly hanging over
him in terms of just a very poor coaching throughout
(39:36):
the entire throughout the entire contest.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
Yeah. Now, you and I grew up in a time
when they always said, oh that you could throw out
the records, it doesn't matter. But even you know, even
you and I lived through the Jehan Cooper years where
he had notably better teams, you know, talent wise, and
couldn't win the game. And there were other times, you know,
when Ohio State didn't have as much talent win the game.
(40:01):
The most notable one of those probably was the one
the first one I went to in ann Arbor was
Earl Bruce's final games.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
Yeah, now, that nineteen eighty seven game was something that
you know, that was that was even the late Earl
Bruce in the documentary when they talked about the rivalry
between Ohio State Michigan, the HBO documentary that came out. God,
that's scary to think about the fact that that was
eighteen years ago, that Earl Bruce said, they won it
(40:34):
with heart, and you know, considering you know, Michigan was
the better team in Ohio State found what they needed
to do. Little did anyone know on the Ohio State side. Oh,
by the way, you're not going to win up there
until two thousand and one, you know. So that's one
of these things where it's like, again, just the craziness
(40:54):
of that rivalry. But you're right. I think Ohio State
and Ryan Day in particular, and Chip Kelly, I mean,
there are we're ever going to have to have that
over their heads as to why they coached so poorly
and what should have been a very easy win.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Yeah. And the obvious comparison that I have is you
go back a couple of years to the Big Ten
championship game when they couldn't throw the football against Northwestern
but had had success running the ball, and they stubbornly
kept throwing the football against Northwestern for almost almost three
quarters of the game before they realized, if we just
(41:33):
give the ball to Trey Sermon, they can't stop this.
This is not a thing they're capable of stopping. It
shouldn't have taken that long, but it did. And you
would think that a team that had gone through that,
and a coach that had gone through that would learn
that lesson, Why are we continuing to beat our head
against a brick wall when we have this other thing
that can work.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
I can't begin to answer it. I mean, you're asking
very good questions. But like I said, that's the kind
of thing that I think this this offseason is going
to be, depending on how everything happens within the college
football playoff. I think, say what you will about ross Byorck,
I know that you granted it wasn't necessarily at the
(42:15):
Ohio state level, but he did play the game, you know,
And so I think for him to be able to
sit down with Ryan Day, who he did not hire,
he inherited, and be very pointed about what were you doing?
Why did you do it this way? I think it
should be very interesting to see this offseason.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Yeah, And the reason I brought this up and is
not that not by any means that I think that
you had the answer to the questions. I don't think
anybody does. I don't even I don't think Ryan Day
has the answer to this question. The point is, with
this difficult task of facing Tennessee, and then if you
beat Tennessee, you play Oregon, I don't know. Once Ryan
(42:58):
Day comes out and says, yeah, we did a thing
that we shouldn't have done, and we did it too
many times, I don't know how you keep them on.
I just don't know how you keep him on. I
know he's got a buyout. I just don't know how
you keep this guy on. If he doesn't get it done, It's.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
Going to be powers beyond you and I that'll make
that determination. That's why to me, it's like, you know,
when it comes to you know, the buyout is out there,
the fact that you know, recognizing the fact that not
only would you have that, but also the twenty million
dollar I'm just going to say budget for your your
(43:39):
athletes next season that needs to be taken care of
as well. Those are things that are that are weighing heavily,
not just on Ross Buorick, but the you know, the
the boosters and other powers that be about how much
financial burden they want to take on this offseason.
Speaker 1 (43:56):
Yeah, all right, Chip, Well that's all I have. Nless
you have something else on your mind to talk about.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Just real quick before we go, and we'll have something
more to talk about next week. On this coming Wednesday,
at two pm Eastern on the Big Ten Network, the
twenty twenty five Big Ten Football schedule will be unveiled.
Saw that yesterday prior to the Big Ten Championship, there
(44:22):
was a little blurb about how Oregon is going to
travel to Penn State next September, you know, and you
know that was kind of like a little tea for
the fact that the twenty twenty five schedule will be
released on Wednesday. So that's exciting to look forward to.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
Yeah, so next week we can talk about that, well,
of course, have our preview of Tennessee, and we could
talk about the other bowl games that the Big Ten
teams are going to be involved in this holiday season
and beyond. And just big kudos to the league for
getting Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, and Oregon all in
(44:59):
the the College Football Playoff. The first twelve team college
Football Playoff is a third of it is uh is
a Big Ten teams.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
I'm excited. I I would be remiss if I didn't
say that. You know, this is something that you know,
as a younger college football fan, always wanted some kind
of a playoff system. I I you know, say what
you will about you know, like you know, going through
like things like the BCS and now like with the
like the fourteen playoff, and it was always to me
(45:31):
one of the things that that frustrated me is, you know,
within college football, not really determining a champion on the
on the field. And I know that this isn't you know,
we talk about the committee and you know, this isn't
necessarily the best and I would not be surprised if
in a few years it expands further. But I think
(45:54):
it's a step in the right direction and it's going
to be interesting to see the direction it takes. But
I'm excited, you know, the fact that and we'll talk
about it more. Will know more next week with the
weather forecast and things like that. But I'm excited to
see Tennessee come up and play Ohio State. I'm excited
to see SMU go to Penn State to see how
(46:15):
these teams that are not used to playing you know,
traditionally in colder weather, how they do so. And I'm
excited for the fans too that I think the home
games that's something because this is not something that is
going to come as a shock. I don't think the
average fan is going to be able to put the
bill for traveling to multiple bowl games destinations. So that's
(46:38):
going to be interesting to keep an eye on as well.
Speaker 1 (46:41):
Yeah, it's it's been that way for a while. I say,
bring back the AP and UPI polls.
Speaker 2 (46:49):
Well, like, I mean, it was always it was always
the kind of thing where at the end of at
the end of bowl season, there would always be like, hey,
wouldn't it be great if we just took all that,
you know, And as it's like now we're kind of
getting not the exact same thing, but like a taste
of it. And I think, you know, for all of
the detractors saying, oh, you know you're devaluing the regular season,
(47:13):
well we just saw that. Okay, if you won the
conference championship that you were rewarded for that. If you
played well in the conference championship, you were rewarded for that.
So it's going to be interesting to see. Like I said,
you know, I am not much of a college basketball van,
but you know, like the expansion of the men's college
(47:34):
basketball tournament through the years, you know, like it's become
you know, when it comes to like March madness to
the least productive day in corporate America, you know, when
it comes to like the opening days. So that's a
nice thing about these is that these are you know,
like these opening games. You know, I am happy that
that Ohio SA game is not on a Friday night,
(47:55):
just knowing Columbus traffic not taking shots at South Bend.
But I just I know that the traffic isn't the
same story. So yeah, I'm excited, you know, like I
already I'm already talking with a close friend who's going
to be in from Florida for the holidays, like, hey,
you know, like we're basically going to be parking ourselves
(48:17):
at on Saturday the twenty first and watching football and
you know, surprisingly being even less productive than I than
I usually am.
Speaker 1 (48:24):
Yeah, it'll be it'll be fun. This don't go around,
And you're right, mostly the week the teams that are
doing the whining are teams with three losses, and they
had their opportunities to h to make their claim the
old misses in the Alabamas, they had their chances and
they you know, you talk about Ohio State blowing it
against Michigan, they they blew it multiple times. So if
(48:45):
you lost three times and you don't manage to talk
your way into that eleventh or twelfth spot. You know,
I'd much rather the committee make an error at eleven
or twelve than at four.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
Absolutely, yeah, I mean I'd know that Alabama fans are feeling,
you know, hurt and angry, you know, when it comes
to I mean, let's let's face it. You know, Ohio State,
over the last few years of Urban Myers tenure, Ohio
State would have a bad loss to Iowa, they would
(49:19):
have a bad loss to Purdue, and that would be
enough to keep Ohio State out of the College Football Playoff.
The fact that Alabama had two bad losses they lost
badly to they lost badly to Vanderbilt, and and I'm
happy for Vanderbilt for pulling off the upset, but that
reflected on Alabama, and we talked about it. But it's true,
(49:41):
is that they went down to a very mediocre Oklahoma
team and we're they were never in that game. So
the fact that I keep going back to it if
it's you know, hey, you got to start somewhere, and
yet you know the first thing you need to do
is look in the mirror and acknowledge, hey, we didn't
get it done. When we had the opportunity to do so.
Speaker 1 (50:02):
Yeah, absolutely, all right, Chip, that's enough for this week.
So I why don't you rhyd people where they can
find you on the internet.
Speaker 2 (50:10):
I can be found on Twitter at Chip Mink. Last
name is called m I N N I C H.
And I'm a contributor at Buckeye Huddle. So I'm not
sure what I'm going to write about this week because
I know that, you know, we've been talking about, you know,
the playoff and you know, recruiting and things like that.
So I'm sure i'll have an article. I'm just kind
(50:31):
of trying to think about. You know, maybe I'll talk
about the the twenty twenty five college football excuse me,
a big ten schedule, you know, because by then I'll
know a little bit more about how it lays out
for a state.
Speaker 1 (50:44):
Yeah, and it'll be fun to talk about with you
next week. You can find me on Twitter at Mike
thirty six fan and you can also find the Silver
Bullets Podcast on Twitter at silver Bullets Pod. It's one
character too many, so there's no E in silver, so
sil vr Bullets Pod. You can also email us silver
(51:05):
Bulletspod at gmail dot com and that one you spell correctly,
all the right way, with all the right vowels and everything.
Silver Bulletspod at gmail dot com, we'd love to hear
from you. That's going to do it for this week.
We'll be back next week and we will be getting
ready for the Tennessee Volunteers, and that's going to do it.
There's the only thing left for us to do is
what we always do at the end, and that is
to sign off by saying, go box, Go Box.
Hello again everybody. It's time once again for the Silver
Bullets Podcast. I am Michael Citrow and I'm Chipmnick. Chip.
We had a week without Buckeye football this week, and
unfortunately as we had to watch Oregon and Penn State
play in a pretty decent game overall for the Big
Ten title. Was never really Oregon was never really in
(00:43):
any real danger, but Penn State kept it close and
moved the ball better than I thought that they would,
and ultimately it ended the way we thought it would
with Oregon winning the game.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah, congratulations to Oregon. I mean, they won the Big
Ten championship their first year in the league, which is
very impressive. I think Oregon, like you said, they never
were threatened. I think Penn State did better that I thought.
I have to confess, I thought that the Oregon passing
game was going to cause more issues for Penn State
than it did. I think Penn State representative themselves running
(01:19):
the ball. They played well. They didn't play well enough
obviously to win the game. But again, you know, like
you said, I think it was an entertaining game.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yeah. So ultimately the Pac twelve won the Big Ten
and the Big Twelve this year.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Yeah, I never thought about it that way. I never
thought about it that way. But yeah, it's kind of interesting,
you know, like the just the change, the massive change
that when it comes to college football with these huge
conferences nowadays, that you know, like you said, you know
the fact that that Oregon from the from the Pac twelve,
(01:59):
Arizona eight now in the Big Twelve, that they obviously
settled in nicely into their new homes and are making
themselves quite comfortable.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Yeah, all right, Chip, we'll talk a little bit about
what that means in terms of the college football playoff
in a little bit. But why don't we start out
by talking about National Signing Day. We're not recruiting guys necessarily,
but I think it's okay to say, hey, these are
the guys come to Ohio State, and this is what
the class represents. It's according to on three, it's the
(02:30):
nationally the fifth ranked recruiting class, second to Big Ten.
I think Oregon edged Ohio State in this one, and
a good class. Some holes in the class, but basically
the big key prospect is Tavin Saint Clair from Bell Fountain.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, I think Ohio State fans I've said this before
about being spoiled. And I say that with smiling and chuckling,
because you and I come from a time when, all right,
the quarterback position was not something that Ohio State was
well known for within recruiting cycles. And say what you
(03:09):
will about Ryan Day, but ever since his arrival within Columbus,
Ohio State fans have just basically grown accustomer to the
fact that highly rated, highly touted quarterback prospects have been
coming to Ohio State because of Ryan Day and tav
In Saint Clair. I mean, the added bontus quite frankly,
is the fact, like you said, it's from Bell Fountain.
(03:31):
So this is a young man. Everything that I've read
about him is he has truly become almost like a
fixture within the Ohio State, within the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
I presume I haven't seen anything yet, so I want
to emphasize everything I'm saying is pure speculation on my part.
(03:54):
I presume he's going to be an early enrollee. I
know that that's kind of the new fashionable thing to
do nowadays, is that to enroll in January. And would
I expect him to be competing for the starting job
as a true freshman. No, would I expect him to
be able to possibly be this the immediate backup for
(04:17):
the whoever is going to win the starting position. The
answer is yes, because he was based on recruiting rankings,
he was not only considered, you know, one of the best,
if not the best quarterback in high school football, but
he was the only one that was highly ranked that
never wavered in his commitment. He stuck with Ohio State,
(04:38):
gave a verbal commitment basically you know, you know, before
his junior year of high school and has been steadfast
in it ever since.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, and Ohigh State's quarterback room is in pretty good
shape as it has been over the last several years,
so of course things can change. I mean, we don't
know what's going to happen at the end of the season.
Will Ryan Day move on? Will he be asked to
move on or forced to move on? Julian Sayan is here,
we know he's waiting in the wings. Devin Brown is
(05:11):
the backup this year, but who knows, you know, what's
going to happen in the battle there. I kind of
get the feeling that Devin Brown's not gonna be able
to hold onto that position based on who's coming up
behind him. But you never know. I don't know what's
going to happen. So Tavian Saint Clair is the number
three prospect nationally and a good one to have. He's
sort of I haven't really got to see a whole
(05:33):
lot of his film, so I'm not going to get
too much into it, but happy to have him in
the class. And then another top ten nationally ranked guy
was Devin Sanchez, a guy who some people were afraid
might flip, but he kept his commitment to Ohio State
and signed. He is out of Houston, a cornerback, and
of course, defensive backs are extremely important in today's college football.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Yeah, Devin Sanchez on the recruiting side of things, And
again I always I always take these things with more
than a grain of salt. I take probably several several
scoops of salt when it comes to recruiting speculation. But
the reason I'm saying this is that we all know
(06:18):
what we have in Jeremiah Smith at the wide receiver position. Well,
people are saying this is this is the defensive equivalent
with Devin Sanchez at the cornerback position. So I'm not
going to be so bold as to say that he's
going to come in and challenge for a starting position
as a true freshman. But I will say that what
(06:38):
I've seen and read online about him is that it's
going to be quite entertaining to watch the practice battles
between Jeremiah Smith and Demon Sanchez because he is supposedly
that good at corner. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Now, I know there were some flips along the way.
One guy that some folks were maybe a little concerned
about is Jarq west Carter, who did commit to wivest Uh,
a defensive lineman out of Florida. Where really did Ohio
State do well in your opinion? And where did it
fall a little bit short?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
This? Okay? I mean again, we we want to emphasize
we're not recruiting guys. That's not that's not really our thing.
But I want to give a tip of the hat
to Ohio State linebacker coach James Laurnidis. The fact that
three very very highly regarded linebackers. Tarbus Alford, who you
know you're just talking about, Flip was one of these
(07:33):
guys that I mean Miami, Florida, you know, you name it,
he you know, coming from from Florida. It was one
of these guys that they were they were doing everything
within their power to persuade him to change his decision.
A guy that from from Texas, Riley Pettijohn, another really
(07:56):
highly regarded linebacker. And then you know, just kind of
a little bit of bias just being an Ohio guy.
Eli Lee, who is you know, from Akronholman another well,
a guy that committed early, never wavered. So I want
(08:17):
to say that Ohio State did really well, and I
think it speaks volumes about James Lorenida's recruiting prowess, the
fact that he was able to get three really good
linebacker prospects for this class.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, it seems like the area of concern is offensive line.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, and let's face it, I mean, you know, you
were talking about Ryan Day about you know, like his
long term prospects. I mean, we're not you know, we're
not privy to what's being said or what's happening behind
the scenes at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Justin Fry, Yeah,
I mean, it's it's a definite problem. Ohio State fans
(08:56):
are seeing kind of the results of lackluster recruiting manifests itself.
You know, justin Fry. I do want to give him
credit in the sense that when it came to, you know,
Josh Simmons, you know, when he came in as a transfer,
nobody really thought much of him. It was unfortunate that
he suffered the injury. Josh Simmons last week declared for
(09:18):
the NFL Draft, so he won't be back next year.
But Josh Simmons under Justin fries Tutelage, developed into a
solid NFL draft prospect. When it came to Seth McLaughlin
last year coming in as a transfer, a lot of
people their last image of him was not snapping the
ball well for Alabama and the Rose Bowl. Again, it's
(09:40):
unfortunate that Seth McLaughlin suffered an injury is loft for
the season, but Seth McLaughlin, similar to Josh Simmons, developed
into a solid NFL prospect. Getting back to the recruiting side,
it's one of these things where I don't know if
it's the message, if it's the messenger, but something needs
to happened because when it comes to the fact that
(10:03):
Ohio State was able to get two in state players
in Carter Low and Jake Cook, both you know from
Ohio and then as far as on the offensive line,
I'm gonna mispronounce his name, but not intentionally, Javion McFadden
(10:28):
as another lineman. I mean, you need to get five.
Getting three is not It just isn't. It's just not passable.
So I have every conference of Ohio State is going
to be active within the transfer portal. But let's not sugarcoated.
I mean, Ohio State needs to be doing much better
on the offensive line within the high school recruiting ranks.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Yeah, they're with and left and right, and there was
some some thought that they could maybe flip the kid
from Tennessee, but that didn't happen. And it's unfortunate because
when you look at where is Ohio State getting beat
When it gets beat a few times a year, that
things get tough. It's in the trenches and not being
(11:07):
able to run the football effectively against Michigan because you've, granted,
you've got two injuries to your offensive line starters, but
at the same time, you don't have sufficient depth quality
to step in and get the job done. And they're
not putting enough in behind the numbers and the quality.
So the quality and the numbers are both not there.
(11:29):
Even if some of the of the development is there.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
I would agree with that. Yeah, I mean it's going
to be no matter what happens twenty twenty five. The
offensive line, it was the same thing going into spring
football last year. The offensive line was under the microscope,
the same story, just a different year. Because let's be
(11:56):
very direct about this, when it comes to Ohio State
offensive line, they were going to have to reshuffle it again,
not only because we talked about like Josh Simmons, you know,
declaring for the NFL Draft. You're going to be losing
players just due to graduation as well as the NFL Draft.
So the offensive line is going to be in a
position of flux. So if it's justin Fry at the helm,
(12:17):
he's going to really have to be creative and do
much better than what he has demonstrated on the recruiting
front so far at Ohio State.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah. Now, of course, all of these problems may be
solved because they have a running back coming in named
Bo Jackson. And that's usually a good thing to have
a running back named Bo Jackson.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
That is true, and it's one of these I mean
you asked about like a position that went well, I
would be remiss if I didn't mention that Ohio State.
Let's not forget Carlos Laughlin came in, you know, after
spring football started, came in from Oregon and was able
to not only secure a commitment from Bo Jackson, but
(13:00):
also Isaiah West. And then we talk about the flip
Anthony Turbo Rogers, who is kind of I'm just going
to say, you know, the fact that he's five foot nine,
he's not your traditional big ten back, but Chip Kelly
has has in his storied coaching career, has used undersized backs.
(13:23):
You know, it's kind of like change of pacebacks. The
fact that he's nicknack named Turbo has been excited. So
Carlos Laughlan deserves a lot of He deserves a lot
of credit for being being able to get three very
well regarded running backs to come in. That's going to
be another position to keep an eye on in spring
football because we High State. They're going to be losing
(13:44):
Trevion Henderson. No word yet if Quinn Shawn Judkins is
going to declare for the NFL Draft, but that's highly suspected.
So you're you're gonna be looking at a very young
position at the running back spot.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Welcome to the starting lineup, James Peeples.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah. While James people should be in line, and I
mentioned about the transfer portal for the offensive line, it
wouldn't be surprising if o High State brought in somebody,
not necessarily, you know, somebody that is looking to be
the feature back, but somebody to be kind of in
that complimentary role the way that Ohigo State's user running
backs this year, Maybe somebody that would be understanding like, hey,
(14:22):
I'm not going to shoulder the complete load, but it's
going to be more of a splitting carries between James
People's and maybe one of these high school running backs
that are coming into Ohio State.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, all right, that's probably more coverage of recruiting than
we need to ever do, but we definitely definitely needed
to address it. Some other minor news and notes we
don't have to really get into too much. A couple
of wide receivers are transferring chip as Jaden Ballard and
Kojo Ant. We have entered or are entering the transfer portal.
(14:55):
Not guys that have been getting a lot of playing
time and in a crowded room that's only getting more
and more talent stockpiled in that room. Probably the only
path to playing time for those guys.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yeah, I wish them well, no destination yet. I mean
the transfer portal we're recording this. The transfer portal is
going to be opening officially on Monday, December ninth, and
I have to confess I'm not sure when it closes,
but I think this is just more of an opportunity
for those young men as well as linebacker gave Powers.
You know, they were primarily special teams guys that you know,
(15:32):
trying to get playing time. Like you said, within that
very talented wide receiver room, was not easy to do.
Jaden Ballard, it was unfortunate, I think, I guess, you
know the fact that he came in from Mansfield extremely fast.
The comparisons to former Ohio state wide receiver Devin Smith
(15:53):
were there, you know, like, oh, like he's going to
be this deep threat. It just never ever seemed to materialize.
And as far as Kojo, we you know, he was
part of a recruiting class that all the wide receivers
that were in it had left. You know that, you know,
Keon h. Gray's, Caleb Brown, you know, all these guys
(16:15):
that that came in, they never really were able to
make their moves, so, uh, you know, it's it's kind
of unfortunate, but I wish them well. I truly wish
that gay Powers had stuck around. But you know, maybe
he saw kind of with these linebackers coming in and recruiting. Uh,
you know, maybe he just felt that he was going
to be relegated to a special team's role, which is
(16:36):
why he kind of preemptibly put his name in the
transfer portal.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Yeah, I would have liked to have seen that, and
I apologize from not bringing him up. Gay Powers, obviously
is a is a player that seemed like when he
did get on the field, he'd made He made you
notice that he was out there. So it's a little
disappointing that he won't be able to maybe put his
stamp on the position in the future, but we wish
him well. Will Howard will play in the Senior Bowl.
(17:02):
That's been something that's been announced, So that's great for Will.
He's a player who I think really helped his draft
stock this year overall. Of course, he didn't have a
great game against Michigan. I have been very vocal in
thinking that, you know, maybe he wasn't in possession of
all his faculties for all of that game. But you know,
(17:25):
he passed for seventy percent most of the season and
he didn't put a foot wrong that often. I think
he's one of those guys who could maybe make a
career in the NFL as a as a career backup.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
I agree. And when it comes to the Senior Bowl,
you know, the NFL Draft, I'm speaking as a you know,
I will just say as a Cleveland Browns fan, the
NFL Draft is just one of these things where you
just never know in terms of you know, when we
talk about recruiting about how things don't necessarily turn out
(17:57):
the way people anticipate. Raft is just like that. And
it's even more so with the money and time invested
into scouting. When it comes to the Senior Bowl, though,
that is the kind of game, not so much the game,
but the week leading up to it, the practices they're
conducted by NFL teams, all the scouts, general managers, etc.
(18:20):
That are there, the key personnel people that are the
decision makers for their respective NFL teams. So that's the
place to go. I mean when it comes to obviously
you want to have a good combine, but the Senior
Bowl is kind of if you get the opportunity to
go to compete, to be coached by NFL teams, that's
where you can elevate your NFL draft stock further.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
So, Narry McLaurin, you got it, You got Lauren. He
made a name for himself there and then he's been
doing amazing things ever since.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
You nailed it. So that's my point is that Will Howard. Yeah,
I don't think. I guess, just sitting here in December
and the NFL Draft is, you know, let's just say
about five months away. Do I anticipate him being called
on Day two? No, I don't, but stranger things have happened,
(19:13):
you know, definitely on day three, which is rounds four
through seven. And like you said, I think he certainly
has demonstrated an ability to improve that he could he
could latch onto a team as a as a backup
and kind of a long term project quarterback for developmental purposes.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
All Right, Finally, the last bit of news that I
wanted to discuss a couple of awards. Chip Jeremiah Smith
was named not only the Big Ten Freshmen of the Year,
but the Big Ten Receiver of the Year. That's well deserved.
Caleb Downs was named the Big Tens Defensive Back of
the Year, and seven Buckeyes were named First Team All
(19:52):
Big Ten, at least in one form or another. Caleb Downs,
Donovan Jackson, Seth MacLachlan, Lathan Ransom, Jeremiah Smith, Cody Simon,
and J T. Twoy Mooloow.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
I would say out of that group, and I'm not
trying to you know, obviously you know my my affection
or both Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs. I mean, like
I said, you know, it's pretty much kind of like
the free space on the Bengo card whenever we would,
you know, make our picks this past season. If there
(20:25):
is a player that we were just talking about, will
Howard improvement, I want to I want to give a
tip of the hat to Cody Simon. I thought compared
to not that that he played poorly, but I think
the rise and the elevation in his game, especially over
the latter portion of the season in terms of blitzing,
(20:46):
I think he really did a great job, especially as
a as a captain. He was wearing the block O jersey.
So I'm really happy that Cody Simon had a really
good conclusion to his collegiate career, and I'm being I'm
being premature because obviously we have the college football playoff
games to discuss.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah, Cody Simon is a player who I mean, the
knock on his is that he misses too many tackles,
which I think is a fair assessment. I think that
his strength is reading a play and getting into the
right position. He doesn't always make the play, but he
always is in a position to make the play. That's
half the battle. If he can just develop that tackling
ability a little bit more, he could play on Sundays.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
I think he will definitely get an opportunity to do so.
We were just talking about the NFL Draft being months away.
He'll be one of those guys that'll be a later
round selection. But again, you know, sometimes you know just
the right team, the right place, you can make yourself
(21:51):
valuable being on special teams and have a very lucrative
NFL career doing so.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah, all right, Chip, I think that's it for the
news that we needed to cover. So we'll take a
quick break and we'll come back and talk about the
Big Ten championship game and the Big Ten rankings, and
maybe we'll touch on some of the things that Ryan
Day said this past week, So why don't we get
to those things right after this chip we are back
(22:27):
And did you happen to watch the Big Ten title
game between the Ducks and the Nitney Lyons.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
I did happen to watch it. It was enjoyable kind of.
I thought that Penn State played better than I anticipated.
Didn't do enough to win the game, but they played
better than I thought that they would against Oregon. I
just think Oregon offensively had too much for Penn State
to be able to completely start completely shut them down.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, it was a little surprised that Penn State wasn't
able to do a little bit better defensively in this game. Oregon, obviously,
we know they've got a very prolific offense, and they
just ran away at first, and then Penn State eked
their way back into the game, and then Oregon would
turn it on again, and it just almost seemed like
Oregon was toying with them at some point. Was but
(23:18):
there was an opportunity to get the ball back with
trailing by one score, and Penn State just wasn't able
to do that. But I think the overriding thing that
I saw was that. And I don't know if this
would have changed the outcome much, but let's face it,
Oregon got away with a ton of holding in this game.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Oh yes, absolutely, I mean it was just kind of
you know, watching it, you know, I do think that
James Franklin, you know, postgame kind of made that point
about how the penalties were you know, a little bit
more against Penn State than they were against Oregon. But
I completely agree. I think Oregon they're holding that was
(24:00):
not called. Yeah, it was a tremendous benefit to Oregon
and we'll have to see, if you know, when they
when they play in the Rose Bowl, if they're good
fortune in that regard is going to continue.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Yeah. The surprising thing to me in this game was
it was ironic Penn State could not cover the tight end.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Yeah, you know you would think that, you know, considering
how much Penn State uses the tight end, you know,
within their offense, that they would be well accustomed to that.
But yeah, that was definitely an achilles heel that Oregon
was able to exploit to their advantage.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Yeah, I think that. I mean, Oregon had more tight
end touchdowns in this game than they had the entire season.
Prior to this game.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, I mean, like like you said, I think Oregon
was able to capitalize on what they found a weakness
within that Penn State defense.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
All Right, So the key thing after Championship Saturday was
where would everybody be seated? And there was a lot
of people online felt like Ohio State's going to jump
Penn State because Ohio State had slipped to six overall
after losing to Michigan, and the thought was, this is
(25:16):
head to head a no brainer. They should finish. They
should finish ahead of Indiana because they beat Indiana badly.
They should finish ahead of Penn State because they went
on the road and beat Penn State. And the only
common opponent was Oregon, and Ohio State lost by one
at Oregon and Penn State lost by more than one
at a neutral site. So the I think a lot
of people thought Ohio State, despite the second loss, would
(25:38):
finish ahead of Penn State. But that's not how it
worked out.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
No, it isn't. I mean it was kind of a surprise,
you know, in that completely unnecessary, lengthy intro for announcing
these I mean, you know, just the just the mere
fact that everyone you knew how it was going to
turn out in terms of like the last the last spot.
(26:05):
And I know we're talking about Ohio State being jumped
by Penn State, but yeah, I mean it, that was
a surprise. I'm I guess if anything, that they were
maybe rewarding Penn State for being in the in the
conference championship game versus Ohio State sitting at home. I
really don't know that. I'm kind of at a loss because,
like you said, had.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
To have good job. They did a good job of
dealing with an easier schedule.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Yeah, well, I know that that. Joel Klatt of Fox
Sports is not happy with the way that it wound
up because, in his mind, Oregon who won. He believes
Oregon has a tougher road to the National Championship Game
than Penn State does. So he's kind of like, what's
the what's the how is how is this? Yeah? Fair?
Speaker 1 (26:57):
I agree with that. Let's talk about the bracket. Okay,
So the first four teams get a bye, and these
are all conference championships conference champions that won their conference
championship game. So one is Oregon undefeated, they were one
going in. Georgia has multiple losses and has escaped by
the skin of its teeth on at least three other occasions,
(27:18):
and it gets the two, Boise State gets the three,
and Arizona State gets the four as the top four
Power Power Conference champions from their championship games. The five
is Texas, which lost that tough game against Georgia over
(27:41):
the weekend and overtime. Texas did a lot of the
same things that Ohio State did in their championship game.
As Ohio State did against Michigan. They didn't go with
the things that got them there. They didn't go with
their strengths, and as a result, it made things a
lot easier for Georgia.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
I would agree with that. Yeah, I mean Texas. It'll
be interesting to see how everything turned out for Texas
with regards to the College Football Playoff.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
And I think Georgia has an easier route to the
semi finals as well because and this is a Georgia
team that keep in mind, they had on one of
their scoring drives they fumbled the ball twice and just
happened to fall on it. And they also threw interceptions
twice on plays that Texas got a defensive penalty, So
they've got the lucky horseshoe wedged firmly up their rear end.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Yeah, I like I. I mean, it'll be interesting to
see now that the college football playoffs are going to
be a thing. How you know, if their good fortune
can continue.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Yeah. So, as I said, the five is Texas, they
will play the twelve. So the last team in Clemson,
which won the ACC championship game on a fifty I
believe it was a fifty four yard field goal after
SMU battled back from multi scorer deficit to tie the
game with just seconds left and then gave up a
(29:08):
long kickoff return and then another long pass play to
set up the long field goal on the last play
of the game to win it.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
That was entertaining to watch, though, I will say that much.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Yeah, I just don't know what SMU is doing it.
Had they had they allowed the wide receiver who caught
the pass to take five more steps and then tackle them,
the game would have been over. That's true, it would
have gone to overtime, or if they had allowed a
few more yards on the kickoff return. But maybe the
best thing to do there is kick off the ball
out of the back of the end zone and don't
let Clemson get it out to about the forty yard.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Line even better point.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
So Texas and Clemson winner will play Arizona State. I
feel really good about Texas's path to the semifinals in
this side of the bracket.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Yeah, I think Texas. Texas should be able to I
think handle Clemson and move forward.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Penn State managed to get the sixth seed over Ohio
State and others, and they will play eleventh seed SMU.
SMU had a great season and a little bit unexpectedly
and they of course had the heartbreaking lost to Clemson,
but they did enough to knock Alabama out. So no Alabama,
no Ole Miss. I know, those were the teams that
(30:20):
were kind of on the bubble. Penn State gets to
play SMU, and then if they dispatch SMU, which I
believe they will, they'll play Boise. I think Penn State
has the easiest route to the semi finals of anyone.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
I think Penn State. Yeah, I mean the fact that,
let's face it, it's a home game, which I'm happy
for Penn State. SMU. It should be interesting considering I'm
not saying that they can't, but I mean there's no
unless they have some way of making their practice facility
(30:55):
like an ice box, or something. There's no way to
practice for what should be in a couple of weeks,
you know, at least like you know, yeah, probably you
know at game time that's a noon kickoff, that the
possibility of it having snow on the ground and being
like twenty thirty degrees is very real for SMU.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Now, this is where I feel like Ohio State should
have been ranked but was not. So we go on
to the seventh seed, which is Notre Dame, which used
to be at number five. They've slipped to seven because
they didn't play in a conference championship game because they
don't want to be in a conference chip they're too
good for that. They will play ten seed Indiana and
(31:36):
that's a nice little matchup in state. So the winner
of that gets Georgia, and that's another that's a place
where a lot of people thought Ohio State would end
up in the seventh hole. But I'm guessing that if
they wanted Indiana at ten, they didn't want to rematch
between Ohio State and Indiana.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
I agree with that. And what's kind of interesting is
that game on It's going to kick off on Friday night,
December twentieth, at eight o'clock at Notre Dame in South End.
That will be the first time that a home game
is going to be televised from South Bend since the
(32:14):
nineteen ninety season because the NBC contract that all the
Notre Dame home games. This is the first time that
it'll be on a different network other than NBC.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
That's crazy. And finally, the eight nine matchup is going
to be Ohio State at home against Tennessee. And I
feel like Ohio State got the toughest of the first
round teams, the toughest path to the semifinals. They got
to get by Tennessee and then they got to go
and play Oregon.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
I would agree with that. I think if anything, they
might have been holding that loss to Michigan. The committee
that is may have been holding that against them, and
they're deliberations. Who knows.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Yeah, the committee that didn't the committee that only dropped
them to six. I hear what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
And then as far as you know, like for Ohio
State fans, you got what you wanted, or at least
a significant vocal portion of you wanted. A night game
in Ohio Stadium on the night of December twenty first
should be interesting. I was just saying that the possibility
of snow and being very cold is very real, so
(33:22):
it should be. I think it should be a great game.
I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
It, Yeah, of course, But I don't care for a
Ryan Day team playing in bad weather because they're not
a physical, strong team. I feel like Tennessee is better
in that area. I don't like the matchup, but we'll
talk more about that next week and we'll get ready
(33:45):
for that and we'll have our preview. Obviously, I just
feel like that's a bad matchup for Ohio State in
terms of what they could have had. I would have
rather had Obviously, I'd rather have SMU or Clemson or
Indiana in the first round.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
I agree with that. If anything, you know, I getting
back to the SMU thing, say what you will about
because I know Nick Saban was going on and on
about like strength of schedule and this, and that Alabama
has only themselves to blame for this. Alabama lost to
two six and six teams, one of them very badly
(34:20):
on the road a few weeks ago. And then for
Alabama for their athletic director, for their legion of fans
to complain and say like, oh, like Alabama should weaken.
They're not their their non conference schedule. This had nothing
to do with their non conference schedule, which was which
(34:41):
was putrid to be charitable in the first place.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
Yea, they already have a non conference they their issue
was within the conference, you know.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
So I agree wholeheartedly with with Doug lay Maurice, who
tweeted out something before we started recording. I can't remember
precisely how he phrased it, but he's like, you know,
he never realized until today. It's you know, basically, you know,
like how whiny the collective group of Alabama's administration and
(35:15):
fans are about this because Alabama, you know, until SMU rallied,
I thought for sure Alabama was going to be in,
you know, so that it's a credit to SMU that
they played hard. It's unfortunate they didn't they didn't win,
But yeah, Alabama has only themselves to blame for being
excluded from the playoff.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Yeah, because if SMU had rallied all the way to win,
I think Bama's in over Clemson, and and just the
fact that they FSMU finished as runner up, but it
was so close and had the better record that they
couldn't leave them out.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
I agree with that.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
So there it is. There's a bracket, and I don't again,
I just I feel like Ohio State didn't get they
got the the the soccer equivalent is the group of Death.
They call it the Group of Death. They got the
toughest groups, like when they stick to the United States
in against you know, like Spain and Ghana and you
know some other like Uruguay or something. I'll take your
(36:21):
word for it, being no idea what I'm talking about
right now.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
I know I know how to play soccer, but I
couldn't begin to tell you in terms of how you know,
like the group of death. You know what constitutes that,
you know?
Speaker 1 (36:34):
So all of the Group of Death is just when
when they have a cup competition and there's a group
they're separating the teams into groups for round robin play,
the team that the group with the toughest teams in it,
there's always one that seems way more difficult than all
the other ones. It's uh, I don't know how it
always happens, but it always happens, and they call it
(36:55):
the group of Death. So that's looks like Ohio State's
going to play a very good and physical Tennessee team.
It's not that I don't think Ohio State can win
that game. I do, and I am looking forward to it.
But then then the reward as you get to play
what has unquestionably been the best team in the country
this year.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Right you know, if anything, you know, this was one
of these things where, you know, until Ohio State lost
to Michigan, the talk was real that the possibility of
Ohio State and Oregon playing three times. Now, okay that
you know it, you know the fact that Ohio State
blew it against Michigan. So I'm looking I always enjoy
(37:36):
the Rose Bowl just because of you know, the fact
that like where it lands on January first, you know,
being able to watch it, and then you know the
fact that you know, we talked about how Oregon coming
in from the Pac twelve and winning the Big Ten.
So in a way, this is if Ohio State wins,
it's going to be kind of like more of a
traditional Rose Bowl in the sense. But I agree with you,
(37:59):
I think it'll be a toff road for Ohio State
to get to the national championship. You know, they for
all things that they have to do right now is
make sure that they have their focus properly on Tennessee
and not get ahead of themselves.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Yeah, this is not This is not the group of
teams the bracket that Ryan Day wanted to see after
losing to Michigan.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
Without a doubt.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
No, all right, speaking Ryan Day, before we get out
of here, just want to address his postgame comments a
little bit, chip, because he came out right and said,
oh yeah, we ran the ball too much. And what
I want to know is if every single human being
watching the game on TV knew they were running the
ball too much during the game, how come the head
(38:46):
coach that's got people tracking the plays during the game
didn't also know that they were running the ball too
much during the game.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
I can't begin to answer that. I just think that
there was some kind of a psychological I don't know,
you know, some kind of a psychological thing that he
was trying to prove. He did it two years ago.
I mean, I you know, in twenty twenty two that okay,
let's beat Michigan at their game, and then in twenty
twenty two it backfired miserably. Why he decided to do this,
(39:16):
You know you already mentioned about you know, Will Howard
not being at one hundred percent. This is I mean,
this is going to be a game that Ryan Day
for the rest of his coaching career, however long it is,
will always have this, you know, hang deservedly hanging over
him in terms of just a very poor coaching throughout
(39:36):
the entire throughout the entire contest.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
Yeah. Now, you and I grew up in a time
when they always said, oh that you could throw out
the records, it doesn't matter. But even you know, even
you and I lived through the Jehan Cooper years where
he had notably better teams, you know, talent wise, and
couldn't win the game. And there were other times, you know,
when Ohio State didn't have as much talent win the game.
(40:01):
The most notable one of those probably was the one
the first one I went to in ann Arbor was
Earl Bruce's final games.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
Yeah, now, that nineteen eighty seven game was something that
you know, that was that was even the late Earl
Bruce in the documentary when they talked about the rivalry
between Ohio State Michigan, the HBO documentary that came out. God,
that's scary to think about the fact that that was
eighteen years ago, that Earl Bruce said, they won it
(40:34):
with heart, and you know, considering you know, Michigan was
the better team in Ohio State found what they needed
to do. Little did anyone know on the Ohio State side. Oh,
by the way, you're not going to win up there
until two thousand and one, you know. So that's one
of these things where it's like, again, just the craziness
(40:54):
of that rivalry. But you're right. I think Ohio State
and Ryan Day in particular, and Chip Kelly, I mean,
there are we're ever going to have to have that
over their heads as to why they coached so poorly
and what should have been a very easy win.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Yeah. And the obvious comparison that I have is you
go back a couple of years to the Big Ten
championship game when they couldn't throw the football against Northwestern
but had had success running the ball, and they stubbornly
kept throwing the football against Northwestern for almost almost three
quarters of the game before they realized, if we just
(41:33):
give the ball to Trey Sermon, they can't stop this.
This is not a thing they're capable of stopping. It
shouldn't have taken that long, but it did. And you
would think that a team that had gone through that,
and a coach that had gone through that would learn
that lesson, Why are we continuing to beat our head
against a brick wall when we have this other thing
that can work.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
I can't begin to answer it. I mean, you're asking
very good questions. But like I said, that's the kind
of thing that I think this this offseason is going
to be, depending on how everything happens within the college
football playoff. I think, say what you will about ross Byorck,
I know that you granted it wasn't necessarily at the
(42:15):
Ohio state level, but he did play the game, you know,
And so I think for him to be able to
sit down with Ryan Day, who he did not hire,
he inherited, and be very pointed about what were you doing?
Why did you do it this way? I think it
should be very interesting to see this offseason.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Yeah, And the reason I brought this up and is
not that not by any means that I think that
you had the answer to the questions. I don't think
anybody does. I don't even I don't think Ryan Day
has the answer to this question. The point is, with
this difficult task of facing Tennessee, and then if you
beat Tennessee, you play Oregon, I don't know. Once Ryan
(42:58):
Day comes out and says, yeah, we did a thing
that we shouldn't have done, and we did it too
many times, I don't know how you keep them on.
I just don't know how you keep him on. I
know he's got a buyout. I just don't know how
you keep this guy on. If he doesn't get it done, It's.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
Going to be powers beyond you and I that'll make
that determination. That's why to me, it's like, you know,
when it comes to you know, the buyout is out there,
the fact that you know, recognizing the fact that not
only would you have that, but also the twenty million
dollar I'm just going to say budget for your your
(43:39):
athletes next season that needs to be taken care of
as well. Those are things that are that are weighing heavily,
not just on Ross Buorick, but the you know, the
the boosters and other powers that be about how much
financial burden they want to take on this offseason.
Speaker 1 (43:56):
Yeah, all right, Chip, Well that's all I have. Nless
you have something else on your mind to talk about.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Just real quick before we go, and we'll have something
more to talk about next week. On this coming Wednesday,
at two pm Eastern on the Big Ten Network, the
twenty twenty five Big Ten Football schedule will be unveiled.
Saw that yesterday prior to the Big Ten Championship, there
(44:22):
was a little blurb about how Oregon is going to
travel to Penn State next September, you know, and you
know that was kind of like a little tea for
the fact that the twenty twenty five schedule will be
released on Wednesday. So that's exciting to look forward to.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
Yeah, so next week we can talk about that, well,
of course, have our preview of Tennessee, and we could
talk about the other bowl games that the Big Ten
teams are going to be involved in this holiday season
and beyond. And just big kudos to the league for
getting Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, and Oregon all in
(44:59):
the the College Football Playoff. The first twelve team college
Football Playoff is a third of it is uh is
a Big Ten teams.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
I'm excited. I I would be remiss if I didn't
say that. You know, this is something that you know,
as a younger college football fan, always wanted some kind
of a playoff system. I I you know, say what
you will about you know, like you know, going through
like things like the BCS and now like with the
like the fourteen playoff, and it was always to me
(45:31):
one of the things that that frustrated me is, you know,
within college football, not really determining a champion on the
on the field. And I know that this isn't you know,
we talk about the committee and you know, this isn't
necessarily the best and I would not be surprised if
in a few years it expands further. But I think
(45:54):
it's a step in the right direction and it's going
to be interesting to see the direction it takes. But
I'm excited, you know, the fact that and we'll talk
about it more. Will know more next week with the
weather forecast and things like that. But I'm excited to
see Tennessee come up and play Ohio State. I'm excited
to see SMU go to Penn State to see how
(46:15):
these teams that are not used to playing you know,
traditionally in colder weather, how they do so. And I'm
excited for the fans too that I think the home
games that's something because this is not something that is
going to come as a shock. I don't think the
average fan is going to be able to put the
bill for traveling to multiple bowl games destinations. So that's
(46:38):
going to be interesting to keep an eye on as well.
Speaker 1 (46:41):
Yeah, it's it's been that way for a while. I say,
bring back the AP and UPI polls.
Speaker 2 (46:49):
Well, like, I mean, it was always it was always
the kind of thing where at the end of at
the end of bowl season, there would always be like, hey,
wouldn't it be great if we just took all that,
you know, And as it's like now we're kind of
getting not the exact same thing, but like a taste
of it. And I think, you know, for all of
the detractors saying, oh, you know you're devaluing the regular season,
(47:13):
well we just saw that. Okay, if you won the
conference championship that you were rewarded for that. If you
played well in the conference championship, you were rewarded for that.
So it's going to be interesting to see. Like I said,
you know, I am not much of a college basketball van,
but you know, like the expansion of the men's college
(47:34):
basketball tournament through the years, you know, like it's become
you know, when it comes to like March madness to
the least productive day in corporate America, you know, when
it comes to like the opening days. So that's a
nice thing about these is that these are you know,
like these opening games. You know, I am happy that
that Ohio SA game is not on a Friday night,
(47:55):
just knowing Columbus traffic not taking shots at South Bend.
But I just I know that the traffic isn't the
same story. So yeah, I'm excited, you know, like I
already I'm already talking with a close friend who's going
to be in from Florida for the holidays, like, hey,
you know, like we're basically going to be parking ourselves
(48:17):
at on Saturday the twenty first and watching football and
you know, surprisingly being even less productive than I than
I usually am.
Speaker 1 (48:24):
Yeah, it'll be it'll be fun. This don't go around,
And you're right, mostly the week the teams that are
doing the whining are teams with three losses, and they
had their opportunities to h to make their claim the
old misses in the Alabamas, they had their chances and
they you know, you talk about Ohio State blowing it
against Michigan, they they blew it multiple times. So if
(48:45):
you lost three times and you don't manage to talk
your way into that eleventh or twelfth spot. You know,
I'd much rather the committee make an error at eleven
or twelve than at four.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
Absolutely, yeah, I mean I'd know that Alabama fans are feeling,
you know, hurt and angry, you know, when it comes
to I mean, let's let's face it. You know, Ohio State,
over the last few years of Urban Myers tenure, Ohio
State would have a bad loss to Iowa, they would
(49:19):
have a bad loss to Purdue, and that would be
enough to keep Ohio State out of the College Football Playoff.
The fact that Alabama had two bad losses they lost
badly to they lost badly to Vanderbilt, and and I'm
happy for Vanderbilt for pulling off the upset, but that
reflected on Alabama, and we talked about it. But it's true,
(49:41):
is that they went down to a very mediocre Oklahoma
team and we're they were never in that game. So
the fact that I keep going back to it if
it's you know, hey, you got to start somewhere, and
yet you know the first thing you need to do
is look in the mirror and acknowledge, hey, we didn't
get it done. When we had the opportunity to do so.
Speaker 1 (50:02):
Yeah, absolutely, all right, Chip, that's enough for this week.
So I why don't you rhyd people where they can
find you on the internet.
Speaker 2 (50:10):
I can be found on Twitter at Chip Mink. Last
name is called m I N N I C H.
And I'm a contributor at Buckeye Huddle. So I'm not
sure what I'm going to write about this week because
I know that, you know, we've been talking about, you know,
the playoff and you know, recruiting and things like that.
So I'm sure i'll have an article. I'm just kind
(50:31):
of trying to think about. You know, maybe I'll talk
about the the twenty twenty five college football excuse me,
a big ten schedule, you know, because by then I'll
know a little bit more about how it lays out
for a state.
Speaker 1 (50:44):
Yeah, and it'll be fun to talk about with you
next week. You can find me on Twitter at Mike
thirty six fan and you can also find the Silver
Bullets Podcast on Twitter at silver Bullets Pod. It's one
character too many, so there's no E in silver, so
sil vr Bullets Pod. You can also email us silver
(51:05):
Bulletspod at gmail dot com and that one you spell correctly,
all the right way, with all the right vowels and everything.
Silver Bulletspod at gmail dot com, we'd love to hear
from you. That's going to do it for this week.
We'll be back next week and we will be getting
ready for the Tennessee Volunteers, and that's going to do it.
There's the only thing left for us to do is
what we always do at the end, and that is
to sign off by saying, go box, Go Box.
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