Washington Rewind and Minnesota Preview

Ohio State passed its first major road test of the 2025 season by traveling to the Pacific Northwest and ending the Washington Huskies’ long home winning streak. The Buckeyes employed a conservative game plan, made some early mistakes, and still won comfortably on the road against a good Huskies team. How good Washington is remains to be seen, but the environment was top notch and a good proving ground for redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin.

We look back at the big plays, moments, and players (we see you, Caden Curry, Kayden McDonald, and Bo Jackson!) in the game, check on our picks to click to see how they performed, and review our game predictions from last week to see how close we were.

After our Ohio State-Washington rewind, we took our weekly lap around the B1G to see how other teams made out in Week 5. There as an unexpected nailbiter in Iowa City as the Hawkeyes gave Indiana a scare. Illinois bounced back from its 53-point loss to the Hoosiers by beating USC at home, despite getting jobbed at the end of the first half. The Oregon-Penn State game was worth they hype. Other results were about what we expected. We also looked ahead to the matchups this weekend.

Finally, we previewed the Buckeyes’ upcoming home game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. P.J. Fleck’s team doesn’t usually make things easy on the opposition, and we’re expecting this game to be annoyingly close for at least the first half. Ohio State has the talent to pull away later in the game, but the Buckeyes will have to take care of the ball and finish drives to have a good showing against Minnesota.

We selected our picks to click for the Buckeyes on Saturday, and made our predictions for what the Ohio Stadium scoreboard will show at the end of Saturday night’s game.

We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions below in the comments section or ⁠send us an email⁠ at [e-mail]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at ⁠@SilvrBulletsPod⁠.

As always, thanks for listening!

0:20 - The Buckeyes got a big road win, and Caden Curry was a big reason why. Ohio State waited a while to score, but then took control of the game.

35:24 - Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota, and Oregon joined the Buckeyes as winners on Saturday. More big B1G games are coming up this weekend.

55:33 - We look ahead to Drake Lindsey, Minnesota’s committee of tailbacks, and the rest of the Golden Gophers looking to compete with the Buckeyes under the lights at the Shoe on Saturday.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Clogan. Everybody, Welcome to the Silver Bullets Podcast. I'm Michael
Citrom and I'm chippm in it Chip. You and I
have gotten through our first away game of the season,
our first Big ten game of the season. That means
that the season is moving right along because we're now,
don't look now, a third of the way through the
regular season.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah, I know. We always talk about hey and savor
it while you have it, because, like he's just said
a moment ago, a third of the way through in
Ohio State, he's still undefeated.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Twenty four to six winners at Washington. You and I
talked about a pretty great length about Jonah Coleman, about
Demond Williams, junior Denzel Boston, another player that you know,
Washington had coming into this game that had put up
big numbers, and Ohio State for the most part, did
its job against those three. Williams was very accurate and

(01:12):
this game didn't turn the ball over, but Ohio State
was able to affect him by getting to him and
sacking him in this game, and ultimately, although the week
perceived weak spot in Washington was the pass defense, Ohio
State went in with a game plan Chip that was
more conservative than the current US government.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Well, I kind of suspected that they would be that,
knowing that, Okay, this is the first road start for
Julian sand traditionally very loud environment, so I kind of
figured the mindset was going to be, let's you know,
just kind of let's see what they what they try
to do. I think as the game went on, they

(01:57):
became in the second half especially, they started to open
it up a little bit more. They never really went
down downfield, but I think that was more of when
you started to see how Jeremiah Smith, for example, every
time he would go deep there was safety help, so
he was always going to have double coverage. But to
your point, I think the conservative nature was more along

(02:20):
the lines of making sure that Julian Sane got through
this first road start without it making any significant mistakes.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, there was a lot made of the environment where Washington.
Washington had won what twenty two consecutive home games, I
believe it was coming into this and it was a
great atmosphere, very loud, very difficult to hear, and really
Ohio State got through it with a minimum of crowd
related errors. There was I think one false start maybe,

(02:50):
but not a whole lot Teger Shabola with a false
start in this game. I don't think there was a
lot other than that, and not a lot of sort
of missed assign or communication issues. I felt like Ryan
Day said something very telling at the end of the
game when he was interviewed, and that he said, he said,
we're young, and I don't think if you look across

(03:14):
the starting lineup on both sides of the ball, that
that is actually true in terms of age, in terms
of there's not a lot of freshmen starting. But I
do think he means not a lot of experience starting
football games. These are guys that have played, you know,
sparingly in fourth quarters of games, a lot of them
because it is largely a new starting lineup from what

(03:36):
we saw last year because of all the players that
went to the NFL. But I think that's what he meant,
and I think he's being very protective and I hope,
my hope is that these guys are passing tests that
will enable him to open things up in future games,
because I don't feel like this is a strategy that

(03:57):
will fly with the fan if that's what they do
at Michigan again, right.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Again, I think it was more along the lines of
the first I think this is a growing experience for
I keep going back to Julian saying, the fact that,
all right, you know full well that julians Saying is
very talented, but he's he's still relatively inexperienced. And I

(04:26):
think by the time they get to the Michigan game,
I think that they will have more confidence to allow
him to run the offense fully. But I think right now,
I wouldn't be surprised, tell you the truth, I wouldn't
be surprised in a couple of weeks when they go
on the road to Illinois to see something complement. Yeah,
but that's just you know, you know, so I to

(04:47):
your point, I think it's just kind of like getting
through this and then Okay, you're used to this, you
know how to handle this, you know what what they're
going to do, those kind of things. So I think
that they'll they'll be able to they'll be able to
to attack Michigan at the end of the season with
a season of worth of experience under their belt.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
Yeah. The final score was twenty four to six buck Eys.
Our predictions were for a higher scoring game. We vastly
underestimated Ohio State's defense and what it would be able
to do against the Huskies in Washington. You had thirty
five twenty one Ohio State. I had thirty eight twenty seven.
So I went even higher scoring than you did. And
I think we're gonna have to just to fit what

(05:30):
Ryan Day is trying to do in terms of protecting
his young quarterback and moving forward. I probably adjust my
scoring down a bit, and I'm sure you will as well.
But you were a little bit closer as we again
had similar scores and you were lower scoring than me.
So congrats on another win.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well, thank you.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
I did think that Ohio State again they did the
things they usually do. It took them a half to
figure out sort of what they could get away with.
But Julian Saying was very efficient, did not turn the
ball over. He was sacked in this game, but again

(06:16):
completed about seventy nine percent of his passes and through
for two hundred yards, two scores, no interceptions.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
Yeah, I think the efficient offense. You know, some of
the some of the mistakes were self inflicted. As we'll
get into the game. You know, the it was unfortunate
that you know, in Ohio State when they in the
in the initial started the game went right down the
field and it looked like they were going to score
and then weren't able to and then you know, had

(06:45):
a turnover and you know those kind of things. But
they were very workmanlike. And you know the reality is
it's like they the final score you already talked about,
you know, twenty four to six for the first and
only time so part of the season, Ohio State was
actually down three to nothing at the onset, but they
outscored Washington twenty four to three. You know, really can't

(07:05):
complain too much about you know, how it looked. It
might not have been the most scintillating thing, but it was.
It was very efficient.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
Yeah, and the things started very early. Ohives. They got
a quick stop, got the ball back in good field position,
drove down a terrible punt by Washington, drove down the
field and had a fourth and inches and could not
convert on the fourth down. And that was to me,
this is an ongoing problem. We saw Bo Jackson get

(07:33):
a lot more touches and a lot more early snaps
in this game. When they get inside, they have short
yardist to go, they go to CJ. Donaldson. I understand
why he is a bigger back, but the problem for
me is that, and we saw it later in the game,
bo Jackson, even when he is confronted met head on,
he still falls forward. I think that they cannot afford

(07:57):
to ignore how explosive he is as a run back anymore,
and and maybe trust him a little bit more in
short yardage because C J. Donaldson. Yet, yes, tight end
Nate Roberts missed his block in the hole, but I
think bo Jackson probably still picks up that first down.
Donaldson is a bigger back, but he he runs very

(08:19):
straight up and down.

Speaker 2 (08:20):
For me, I would agree with that. I think I
think bo Jackson is going to his workload will increase,
similar to what I've been saying about Julian saying, like
making sure that okay that the stakes in terms of
all right, first road game, loud crowd, all those kind

(08:42):
of things. Now that Bo Jackson is demonstrating that he
definitely is the most explosive back on the Ohio State roster,
I wouldn't be surprised to see him get more and
more opportunities. Like you said, you know, even in short.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
Yardage defense gets another stop ship and gets the ball
back and about to have fantastic field position. Brandon Ennis
catches the punt, he gets into Washington territory. It's it's
looking great and then just a huge mistake. I mean
on Innus's part. He's he's not stripped, there's there's no
real punch at the ball there. He's just routine tackle

(09:18):
and loses the ball going down and it's a turnover
and that was critical because Washington turned that into three points.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
Yeah, that's the kind of thing where special teams has been.
I don't want to I don't want to say that
that is a glaring weakness, but it's a concern. You know,
you the special teams hasn't been you know, I know
it was. It was a very convenient and and very
noticeable when Perker Fleming was a special teams coach, and

(09:48):
now that he's no longer on the roster, it's like, okay, well,
how do we fix this? Because it's it's a collective
issue that the special teams units aren't performing well. So
I am skeptical if Brandon and this is going to
remain the starting punt returner that that fumble notwithstanding, I
just I just think that there might be you know,

(10:08):
other individuals on the roster who might be better suited.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
I agree with you. I think that there are too
many good athletes on the on the Buckeyes roster for
this to continue. This is now, as we mentioned, a
third of the way through the season, Brandon Innis, at best,
has been extremely inconsistent in what he's done back there.
He has caught the ball when he should let it go.
He's fair caught when he shouldn't. And you know, of course,

(10:33):
we don't know if he's maybe being instructed. Hey, unless
this thing is a line drive, you fair catch this
once because we're gonna we're gonna have a good field position. Whatever.
But and now you've you've had occasional flashes of a
decent return, but uh, it just hasn't been good. He
hasn't seized this opportunity, is what I'm saying. No, I
would agree with that, Buck. Guys do get on the

(10:56):
board right before the half as they are able to
put a drive together. And then this drive nearly was
derailed by a penalty on Tiger Shabol, who had two
bad snaps in a row. He missed his block on
second and eight and caused a short gain by bo
Jackson again he's met in the hole, still gets two yards,

(11:18):
but then instead of third and six, you got a
third and eleven because of the false start on Shibola.
And he's a senior. He's granted, he hasn't been a
four year starter or anything, but you want your upperclassmen
to set the tone. And that was a couple of
mistakes in a row. Thankfully, Ohio State finally pulled out
an inventive play on third and eleven and basically ran
a one man route where everybody went deep and cleared out.

(11:42):
Smith ran across the middle, say and made a great pass.
And Smith just did what he does in the open
field and took it to the house and made it
to seven to three.

Speaker 2 (11:53):
Yeah, Jeremiah Smith up until that point was I don't
want to say it was held in check, but kind
of what I mentioned earlier that you know, the idea
of when he would, you know, try to you know,
go deep or you know, on longer routes, you know,
you could see the safety help that was coming to
assist the corner. So the fact that they were able

(12:14):
to isolate Jeremiah Smith and he was able to, like
you said, catch that pass, accelerate into the end zone.
That was That was pretty much. Okay. Ohio State had
assumed control, and that's what was so nice about I
know we're going to get into it here momentarily in
the second half. From that point on, Ohio State never
really looked back.

Speaker 1 (12:33):
Yeah, he was held in check, but it wasn't by Washington.
It was by Ryan Day and Brian Heartline in this game.

Speaker 2 (12:40):
Okay, Well, I mean I disagree. I think I mean
throwing into double coverage.

Speaker 1 (12:45):
I'm not that's not saying. I'm not saying throwing a
double coverage chip. As you I'm sure listen to the
commentary during the game, Gary Danielson point out several times
when he was one on one with a freshman UH
and could have run a curl rout or an out route.
Easy pitch and catch should have been a no brainer,
but they opted not to call those plays. So that's

(13:07):
what I'm referring to. I'm not referring to throwing into
double coverage putting the ball in harm's way, but I
think you have to let your playmakers make plays and
in those situations. I don't agree with Gary Danielson about
a lot of things, but I think you got to
take advantage of mismatches. Okay, in the second half, I
think they moved him around a little bit more Smith

(13:29):
and we're able to get him a little bit more
isolation and able to have a little bit more success.
But I felt like it was a combination of what
Washington did and how Ohio State reacted to that or
didn't necessarily always react to that. But second half, as
you mentioned, Bluck, guys did get the two for one

(13:50):
as they were able to come out and get the
ball in the first drive of the second half and
come down and score and make it fourteen to three
at that point. And I again, this is an interesting
play because it ended up with a fourth down call

(14:10):
again and this or sorry, this was the CJ. Donaldson run.
Later in the game, they had a fourth down play
where they had to go for it, so again fourth
downs in the red zone, as red zone efficiency continues
to be a problem. But CJ. Donaldson did manage to
move the pile for the final yard and that was
a long drive chip that took a little bit more

(14:31):
than half of the third quarter.

Speaker 2 (14:34):
That's exactly what you want, you know, if anything, just
kind of the Ohio State I think that they just
kind of recognized that, all right, Washington, what they figured
out what they were trying to do offensively, the High
State defense was was very much in control. I know

(14:54):
you alluded earlier to them Williams Junior his efficiency in
terms of his passing, but you know, he never really
you know, became the threat that I thought that he
posed in terms of like getting outside of the pocket
things like that. So I think the Ohio State defense
was doing their job. So I think the Ohio State
offense was like, Okay, we're just gonna We're just gonna

(15:16):
I don't want to say call it trustle ball, but
you know, in a lot of ways, I think the
Ohio State offense is like, all right, we're just gonna
be efficient. We're gonna, you know, hold onto the ball,
control the clock, and limit the opportunities for Washington when
they do get the ball, limit what they can do.

Speaker 1 (15:34):
It was kind of the same approach as the Texas games.

Speaker 2 (15:37):
Yeah. Like I like I said earlier, I think it
was just kind of a collective mindset of let's just
let's just get out of here with a win. It
may not necessarily be exciting, but let's just all right,
we're on the road for the first time this season,
hostile environment, inexperienced quarterback. Let's just get out of here.
And you know, and the fact that it wasn't as

(16:00):
high scoring as you know, we anticipated or probably wanted.
I think that this is the kind of game that,
you know, let's not forget Brian Hartline first year as
the offensive coordinator and kind of a I think the
thing that I'm starting to kind of remember is, for
all of his tremendous recruiting acumen, well deserved what in

(16:26):
terms of wide receivers the guy did play for for
Jim Trussell, I think, like you know, it's like you
are a product of your environment. So I think, you
know when you add in, and I do believe that
the offense is going to evolve, continuing to evolve. I
think Ryan Day certainly wants that. But I think that
that the training wheels are slowly coming off. It's just

(16:50):
a matter of making sure that they don't rush it.

Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah, Washington was able to drive down and kick a
short field goal, again a nice stand by the defense.
Once the Once the Huskies got into the red zone,
and at that point it was fourteen to six, it's
a one score game. Chip at the end of three quarters.

Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, I just never ever felt threatened. But at fourteen
to six, I just kind of felt like, OHI say,
it had this pretty much under control. Like you said,
you know, if the ohiost A defense would bend, but
never broke. The fact that that Washington was bringing field goals,
you know, settling for field goals that you know, that's

(17:35):
kind of the kind of the end result of, you know,
the strong defense that Matt Patricia put out there.

Speaker 1 (17:42):
Yeah, one thing I want to point out is that
Matt Patricia, you bring him up and you bring up
that sort of the defense that he put up against
this team was extremely smart because the secondary held up
for the most part, as the Ohio State front four,

(18:03):
which became sort of a front six basically played like
an umbrella to keep Williams in the pocket because what
they didn't want was him to make big plays in
the scramble game, which he has been able to do,
you know to this point in the season. And I
thought it worked like a charm. They did a good
job of building sort of like a little wall where
he couldn't get out, and that combined with some of

(18:24):
the secondary coverage enable Ohio State to get home and
get sacks.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
Absolutely. I had written something about that for Buckeye huddle,
about the defensive line just staying in their lane, you know,
and just kind of all right, force him to beat
you from the pocket. And we've talked about it. I mean,
he had demand. Williams had statistically a very very efficient
and productive day. I mean, he only had four incompletions.

(18:50):
But a big part of his game is when things
start to break down, being able to break to the
outside keep drives a lot with his legs. A high
State didn't allow that. I mean when he would break outside.
There were a few times and you know, credit, like
you said to Matt Patricia, they had you know, rvel

(19:11):
Reese sunny styles. If he would be able to get outside,
it wasn't for long. You know, he would scamper and
immediately get to this sidelines. It was almost negligible. And
the fact that the Ohio State defensive line was getting
home with sacks was just a tremendous game plan.

Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah. So after the Grady Gross field goal cut it
to fourteen to six, Ohio State went on another drive
at the encompass the end of the third quarter beginning
of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, if Philip Daniels holding penalty
derailed that drive and Ohio State had to settle for
a short field goal from Jaden Fielding to make it
seventeen to six. But Ohio State was very stout on

(19:51):
fourth downs as Washington tried to get back in the game.
And in fact, there was a sequence where Cayden Curry,
who finished with three sacks in this game, should have
had four sacks in this game, but he had one
on fourth down, wiped out by a penalty by one

(20:12):
of his teammates, Edric Houston just unwisely taken a shot
at the opponent after the play. Sorry, that was on
a third down play and that would have forced a
punt from the Washington thirty. Instead was an automatic first down.
And then later on fourth down you got a Caden
McDonald sack on fourth down to end that drive. But

(20:35):
I thought Ohio State, especially the two Cadens, really came
to play on defense.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, I mean, how unusual is it for the defensive
lineman to be your leading tacklers, you know what I mean?
Like that, you know, like Cayden Curry wound up like
you said, you know, he wound up with three, should
have had four, had five tackles for loss, wound up
with eleven tackles. Caden McDonald had seven tackles. You know,

(21:00):
he had a couple of sacks, three tackles for a loss.
So the defensive line. All of the criticism of Larry
Johnson in terms of the recruiting, I'm not here to say,
you know, yes or no to that. I will tell
you that I thought the game plan was outstanding.

Speaker 1 (21:18):
Yeah, Kayden Curry particularly was a beast in this game. Really,
you could easily make the argument he was the MVP
of the.

Speaker 2 (21:27):
Game, oh, without question, Without question.

Speaker 1 (21:31):
The Buckeyes did finally get some distance with just under
five minutes left in the game. This was a fourth
down play and the Buckeyes opting not to challenge the
Washington interior defensive line and a nice play design, as
saying rolled right and had two wide open targets. He

(21:51):
ended up making the harder throw to CJ. Donaldson with
the angle that he had to get it in there.
Donaldson scores from four yards out, but he had Jolannie
Thurman wide open in the end zone. Could have could
have gone there. Probably a little easier throw. But either
way it worked.

Speaker 2 (22:08):
It did. I noticed the exact same thing I thought,
you know when when watching it, the fact that he
rolled out and then chose to go with Donaldson. Hey,
a touchdown is a touchdown. But yeah, I'm sure Jelye
Jelohnnie Thurman's probably like, hey man, you know that that
should have been mine. Either either one of them would
have you know, either one of them. The end result

(22:29):
would have been the same.

Speaker 1 (22:30):
Absolutely so again saying twenty two of twenty eight that's
seventy eight point five percent of his completions. There, two touchdowns,
no picks. He was sacked one time. Very again, a
very efficient day from the red shirt freshman who continues
to play like a guy who's been around for three years.

Speaker 2 (22:51):
Yeah, his his game. I mean, one of the things
this is now we're getting into nitpick, and I have
no idea if this is going to be part of
your grumpy old Buckeye column, and maybe you know, maybe
it you know, maybe it's just me, but yeah, there
there's always room for growth, but it is it is

(23:12):
impressive to see the nitpick part, Like there were a
few times. I'm sure that you saw it. I'm sure
our our listeners saw it that uh where he h
you know, for example, like he's he basically like he
skipped a pass that ah, I think to Brandon innis
that you know was correctly ruled and incompletion where you know,

(23:34):
it looked like, okay, he could have run that instead.
You know, we've we've talked about that, okay, like all right,
don't be afraid to uh pick it up and run.
But you know, his his getting out of harm's way.
You know, he he rolled out a lot, sometimes for
positive yardage, most of the time hitting targets on the run.

(23:56):
You know, he has you mentioned Gary Danielson a few
moments ago. His quick relief is something that you I
think you either have that or you don't. So he
doesn't hold onto the ball unnecessarily long. I think he's
he's the kind of guy that is going to be
very comfortable, which I kept saying to my wife as
we're watching it, that getting out throwing the ball away

(24:20):
rather than kind of what we saw the last time
I played, you know, instead of that interception versus Ohio,
you all right, get out? You know who cares like that?
It's now burn down? Who cares? You know? It's like you,
you know, instead of forcing the ball, getting up, getting
out of the pocket, you know, learn to live, play

(24:40):
another day, another down. I think his maturation process is
certainly very impressive to see it as as it's happening.

Speaker 1 (24:48):
Yeah, Bo Jackson was the leading ball carrier seventeen attempts
for eighty yards for the four point seven yard average. CJ.
Donaldson nine carries thirty nine yards out wage four point three.
Saying did get involved in the run game a little
bit on scrambles. He did scramble for what appeared to
be a first down was called a first down, and

(25:10):
then on a very inconclusive replay was overturned. And then
he had a twelve yard scramble I think on a
third and seventeen play, so to make the field goal
a little bit easier. So Julian Saying was aware of that,
and I think at this point in his career he's
doing this more than C. J. Stroud did at that
point in his career.

Speaker 2 (25:29):
I would agree with that.

Speaker 1 (25:32):
James Peoples only three carries for ten yards average three
point three in this game. Jeremiah Smith did what Jeremiah
Smith does eight catches eighty one yards and a touchdown,
was not targeted much in the first half, but had
a nice second half. Brandon Innis three catches thirty four
yards and Tate three catches thirty three yards, and then

(25:54):
bunch of tight ends had a few catches each, So
a good day for the offense. Efficient for the offense.
Even though there weren't as many possessions in this game
for them, Uh and their their possessions that they did
have were longer, so you know, it kind of shortened
the game to some extent. The game kind of flew
by a little bit. Kayt and Curry. You mentioned eleven tackles,

(26:14):
nine of them solos, five tackles for lost, three sacks,
Kate McDonald's four h solo tackles, seven total tackles, three
tackles for lost, two sacks. UH and Kenyatta Jackson also
had a sack in this game, as defensive line sort
of flexed a little bit. And one thing that stood

(26:35):
out to me that it was just one special team's play.
But Aaron Scott is like a heat seeking missile on kickoffs.

Speaker 2 (26:46):
Yeah, Aaron Scott. I'm gonna say this as politely as
I can. I think Aaron Scott coming out of high school. Uh,
I don't want to say that he you know that
that I heard anything other than you know the fact
that you know he you know, like the talent is there.
But I think Aaron Scott was one of these guys

(27:08):
that was so highly recruited and so highly tottered. I
think he kind of when he got to Ohio State
recognized the fact that, oh my gosh, like everyone is
just as good, if not better than I am. So
the fact that he has embraced his role on special
teams because he he's like the next guy up next,

(27:29):
next year at corner. Let's just say it. You know,
when it comes to you know, Davis Nigminosen, he'll be gone.
Aaron Scott is going to be the guy that more
than likely will we'll slide right into that that starting role,
if not you know, being up being a major more
of a major contributor in the secondary. But yeah, Aaron Scott,
when he hits it's with bad intentions. He he maximizes,

(27:52):
he maximizes his opportunities, that's for sure.

Speaker 1 (27:55):
All Right, let's check our picks to click. I had
Jeremiah Smith, you had Carnel Tait. I will'll definitely give
Jeremiah Smith a click. Tate a little quieter on the
day and a lot of that. I would say he
didn't click, but it was largely due to game plan.
He was chip, I will say, on your behalf wide

(28:15):
open on a play action pass, but unfortunately there was
pressure in Sayan's face. He wasn't able to look downfield,
had to dump it off. So may have had a
big play in the first half, had say and had
chance to look down the field.

Speaker 2 (28:29):
Yeah, I thought he certainly. I don't want to say
warmed up because I think again it was just more
of the conservative nature that we've talked about. In the
first half, he definitely was more of a factor. I
mean in terms of like the sideline reception really so
close to scoring a touchdown, was you know, tackled right

(28:50):
right at the at the goal line, which prevented him
from scoring a touchdown. But yeah, I think definitely Cornel
Tate certainly had a really solid game. If it just
wasn't meant to be for him to be as dominant
as he was in previous games.

Speaker 1 (29:06):
Yeah, and I will say that catch on the sideline
that extended to drive getting his toe in that was
probably the the offensive play of the game.

Speaker 2 (29:15):
Well, okay, I was gonna say I thought Jeremiah Smith's
touchdown reception was well.

Speaker 1 (29:21):
I mean just in terms of difficulty, okay, you know
it was. It was the skill involved in that was
probably a little bit more then Smith. Smith just caught
the ball in wide open field and just followed his blocks, which, honestly,
and if you watch that play again, that touchdown play,
you watch CJ. Donaldson downfield, if he turned around, that
could have easily been CJ. Donaldson catching the touchdown pass.

(29:43):
He was wide open too, Okay, but it wasn't designed
to go there. I just thought that was a critical
play because it was a third down conversion, and it
was also just getting that toe inbound was an insane
amount of talent. You know what. I've changed my mind.
I'm gonna say he clicked. Okay, all right. Defensive side

(30:05):
of the ball, I had rvil Reese. You had Caleb
downs in this game, and neither had a ton of tackles.
But I will say rvel Reese was critical in terms
of keeping everything inside, keeping Williams penned in and not

(30:25):
allowing him to scramble. He did manage to come up
with five tackles, which was what wasn't two three? Fifth
on the team. I'm gonna give Reese, I'm gonna give
the entire defensive line a click for this obviously. And
then in terms of Caleb Downs only two tackles. But again,
how many times did you see Williams drop back and

(30:45):
hold the ball? Hold the ball, hold the ball. Caleb
Downs was a part of it. I think everybody on
the defense clicked.

Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yeah. I think it was just a tremendous defensive game
plan overall. I mean it's you know, I don't, I don't.
My respect for Washington has not diminished. The fact that
Ohio State was able to shut down their their potent
offense does not make me think less of them. If anything,

(31:12):
It's just like I said earlier, I think Matt Patricia's
game plan was outstanding, and so you know, like again,
you know, I think the defensive line, it's it's much maligned.
They add a tremendous game.

Speaker 1 (31:24):
All right, anything else we need to cover on this.

Speaker 2 (31:27):
I would say that Washington what I just said a
moment ago, Washington, I know, very disappointing loss. Not that
you know, we were never one of we were not
part of the group of people that was suspecting an upset,
Washington has everything still in front of them. I'm looking
at their schedule right now. Obviously at the end of

(31:48):
the season they play Oregon, but almost every single game
with I would say, with the exception of when they go,
you know, on the road to Michigan, you know they'll
they'll be favored. I think in every other game that
they play, So the playoffs are not completely shut on

(32:08):
the Washington Huskies. I think the Huskies are a legitimate
threat to make the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (32:14):
And I think you know, there was a lot talked
about how they felt disrespected because they weren't ranked, and
I feel like they should be ranked. I feel like
they will be at the end of the season. And
you know, Ohio State won by eighteen points. You had
picked them to win by fourteen. I had picked them
to win by eleven. So it kind of played out
similarly to how we thought. We just thought it would
be a little higher scoring.

Speaker 2 (32:35):
I would agree with that.

Speaker 1 (32:37):
I was concerned about the run defense going into this game,
and I talked about that last week, about how Coleman
was going to be unlike anybody they'd faced yet, and
he did get seventy yards and had a good yards
per carried a lot of that was picked up on
one run. And I will say that Caleb Downs, your guy,
your pick to click was held on that play with
it wasn't called, but but you know, what are you

(33:00):
gonna do?

Speaker 2 (33:01):
Yeah, well, no, I agree with you. He was held.
And a guy that emerged for Washington that I would
be excited. Two guys actually that I would have a
lot of I don't want to say confidence, but that
I'd be excited about as the season progresses. Besides Joanah Coleman,
Adam Mohammed number twenty four. I mean he didn't have

(33:23):
you know, tremendous you know stats or anything, but I
think you know as somebody who can, I guess take
off some of the load from Jonah Coleman in the
rushing game. And then a wide receiver Desmond Roebuck, who's
a true freshman.

Speaker 1 (33:38):
The heir to the series and Roebuck fortune.

Speaker 2 (33:40):
That you got it, you got it. The fact that
you know, like like Denzel Boston, he only wound up
with three reception team was never really much of a factor.
Then Desmond Roebuck, on the other hand, was more of
the guy that I think, out of necessity that that
Demond Williams Junior was Okay, I need to hit somebody,
and Rollbuck was the guy that was the beneficiary. That

(34:02):
My point being is that I think this team the
future is certainly right. I think that the talent is
there that they are going to be They're going to
be fine. You know, next week they actually go on
the road to Maryland, which is a winnable game in
my estimation. Like I said, you know, I look at

(34:24):
their schedule. Probably the only games that they're not going
to be favored in is when they go on the
road to Michigan October eighteenth, and then when they host
Oregon at the end of the season in November. Who
knows how stranger things have happened, they could possibly, you know,
win a lot of games and put themselves in a
position for the college football playoffs.

Speaker 1 (34:45):
Absolutely a lot of respect for what Jed Fish has
done there in reloading that program after Caitlin de Boor
left and Michael Pennox graduated, and you know, all those
defections happened after they lost their coach, So they seem
to be back on track now.

Speaker 2 (35:01):
I would completely agree with that, all.

Speaker 1 (35:04):
Right, Chip, we still have the Minnesota game to preview.
A little later in the show, we're going to go
around the Big Ten to see how everybody else made out.
Let's get to those things right after this. All right, Chip,
we are back, And of course, there were some other

(35:26):
games around the Big Ten this weekend that we need
to discuss. Were you able to see some of the
games I did?

Speaker 2 (35:33):
I will, I will say that, you know, watching most
of the noon game, I will, I know we're going
to talk about them. Most of it was spent on
the Illinois USC game, but you know, when it comes
to you know, like the upcoming opponent, like Minnesota Rutgers.
I got some of that. Was able to flip over

(35:54):
at the tail end of the Ohio State Washington game
to watch the conclusion of the Indiana Iowa game, and
then you know, stayed up of course to watch Oregon
Penn State.

Speaker 1 (36:04):
All right, Well, let's start with Northwestern and UCLA, a
battle near the bottom. We surmised Northwestern would be able
to win that game. It was a tighter game than expected.
It was. It was seventeen to three at the halftime.
At halftime, but Northwestern did not score in the second
half and UCLA made it seventeen to fourteen in the

(36:24):
fourth quarter, and that is how it ended.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
Yeah, Ucla, they actually were driving. They ran out of time,
you know, And I have to confess, you know, I'm
just going off of what I saw on the highlights.
So not surprised that UCLA lost. I am kind of
pleased with the fact that UCLA gave it a strong effort.

(36:48):
A granted against at Northwestern, but in the aftermath of
losing their coach that they're still playing with some pride.

Speaker 1 (36:57):
Rutgers went to Minnesota and Rutgers gave them a game,
but ultimately Minnesota wins thirty one to twenty eight. Rutgers
led at the half and just unfortunately Rutgers has been
close but no cigar the last couple of weeks.

Speaker 2 (37:14):
Yeah, Rutgers had a field goal blocked. They also missed
a field goal that would have put it into overtime.
Minnesota they, I mean, the upcoming opponent. They weren't able
to run the ball, which would be very if I
was I was PJ fhlact. Granted, you've got you got
to win, and you're happy with that, but that would

(37:35):
be very concerting. Disconcerting to me because that's basically how
that team has been built.

Speaker 1 (37:41):
Yeah, and Rutgers was able to run the ball at Antoine.
Raymond had one hundred and sixty one yards and two
touchdowns rushing.

Speaker 2 (37:48):
Yeah, Rutgers. Yeah, that's that's pretty much their style.

Speaker 1 (37:52):
By the way, Northwestern two and two overall, one and
one in Big Ten play, Ucla fell to oh to
four oh to one and Big Ten play. Minnesota is
three and one, one and oh and Big Ten and
Rutgers is three and two oh and two in the
Big Ten. And Rutgers at this point is playing for
Bowl eligibility.

Speaker 2 (38:12):
Yeah, that's that's kind of Their schedule just gets more
and more difficult as the season progresses, so they have
to these are here are you know this game as
well as the previous one against Iowa, those are the
kind of games that they need to win to get
to that magic six number. So it's going to be challenging.

Speaker 1 (38:29):
Yeah, exactly. You and I talked about is Rutgers really
better this year? We felt like these two weeks would
tell us the Iowa and Minnesota game, and they were
close games, but Rutgers not able to get over that
hump so still some work to do for Greg Ciano,
but Rutgers is certainly not as easy and out for
teams around the Big Ten as it used to be.

Speaker 2 (38:51):
No, not at all.

Speaker 1 (38:53):
One of the games of the weekend as far as
I'm concerned, was Illinois hosting USC and Illinois pulls it
out with a late field goal wins thirty four to
thirty two, which I will say is justice because I
felt like right before the half there was a ten
point swing where Illinois was the ball was ripped out.
It looked to me when their running back was on

(39:15):
the ground and they called it a fumble on the
field and they didn't overturn it. I was surprised by
that call.

Speaker 2 (39:21):
I was too. I was too. I thought, yeah, in
all fairness to I know how you know, USC battle
back actually had the lead late in the game. But
I don't want to say that I'm glad, but I
do agree with you. I think in terms of the
overall justice of this this game, I think the team
that was more deserving of the win eventually did with Illinois.

(39:45):
I think, you know, credit to Illinois for coming back
strong after I mean, they were just completely destroyed by
Indiana and they played really hard against USC and won
the game.

Speaker 1 (39:55):
Lost by fifty three points at Bloomington, came home, had
play another ranked team, an undefeated team, and got it done.
And what surprised me about this game was the Aliini
offense because the ALIGNAI didn't do much offensively against Indiana.
And I know USC has not got the best defense
in the Big Ten. But Luke Altmeyer was great in

(40:18):
this game. They ran the ball well, they threw the
ball well. It looked like they had whatever they wanted.

Speaker 2 (40:24):
Yeah, Luke Altmeyer certainly, I mean he was Here's a
name from the past, Torurol Pryor. He was the first
quarterback in the Big Ten to run for a score,
throw for score, and catch a touchdown pass. So his
versatility certainly was instrumental in Illinois's win.

Speaker 1 (40:45):
Both those teams are four and one overall. Illinois is
one and one in Big Ten play. USC is two
and one in the Big Ten. A game surprised me
is Indiana at Iowa. And this game went down to
the wire. Indiana pulled it out with a big play
on a third down that for some reason, Iowa sent

(41:07):
everything but the kitchen sink on a third and long.
Then didn't tackle and ended up in a big play.
Indiana gets the winning touchdown, it wins twenty to fifteen.
They also lost. Iowa also lost its quarterback in this game.
So to have come that close against a good team
like Indiana, I think speaks very highly of Iowa. It
speaks very highly of how difficult it is to win

(41:29):
in Iowa City. But a heartbreaking loss, and I felt
like an unnecessary risk that did not pay off for them.

Speaker 2 (41:36):
I would agree with that watching it, because that was
kind of what I was talking about, like at the
tail end of High State Washington, the fact that Illinois Indiana,
I'm sorry, Indiana, Iowa was on peacock, you know, logging
into that catching it. You know, Iowa missed a field
goal that would have given them the lead. And then

(42:00):
you said, you know the fact that Iowa Phil Parker,
I have so much respect for him as a defensive coordinator,
but that certainly is worthy of second guessing. Like you said,
it was third and long, you know, why not just
kind of try and keep everything in front of you,
try to play for overtime. So Iowa, they're back to
the wrong board. Because Mark Gronowski suffered an injury I

(42:22):
think that Iowa might be on a buy next week
off to look at it, but they need to get
Gronowski healthy and try to get back into Big ten
Big Ten play.

Speaker 1 (42:31):
Yeah, and the backup quarterback did not throw the ball
well on that last drive for Iowa, But that was
tough because on first and second down they made good
plays and defended it well and put pressure on the
quarterback on Mendoza, and then on third down they sent
more guys. It just maybe they were just trying to

(42:53):
make a big play so that they could get the
ball in plus territory and win the game, but it backfired.
I agree. Iowa was three and two, one and one
in Big Ten play. Indiana improved a five and o
two and oh in the Big Ten. May move into
the top ten this week.

Speaker 2 (43:08):
They should. They are definitely a very good team.

Speaker 1 (43:12):
The game everybody had circled on their calendar for this
weekend that didn't have a dog in the fight in
the Ohio State game at least Oregon at Penn State
in the white out game, and Oregon kind of controlled
most of this game and ended up winning it in
double overtime. But Oregon in the second half the defense

(43:36):
for the Ducks wore down. They were not tackling well.
Penn State started to have more success in the second
half when they started to run the ball more and
not have Drew Aller throw the ball as much, and
they get it into They come back from two touchdowns
down and send it into overtime. Penn State scores Oregon

(43:57):
scores than Oregon scores again. But this is the two
point conversion and uh then Drew Allert for some reason,
knowing that Oregon can't tackle, they can't get off blocks,
James Franklin opens with a pass on the on the
second overtime and it gets picked off and it ends
the game.

Speaker 2 (44:17):
Yeah, it was. It was just I I as soon
as it happened watching it, you know, I said to
my wife, I I've felt for for Drew Aller because
he hadn't played well for most of the game. In
the fourth quarter, he really, you know, kind of turned
it around and was playing much better. And I agree.
I mean it didn't make sense. Why, you know, I

(44:38):
I understand that all right now. You know that you
need to score a touchdown, uh, you know, to to
keep pace with with Oregon in the second overtime, But
why they went to the the pass when, like you said,
like when the Oregon defense looked like they were worn out. Uh,
that's something that James Franklin and Andy Coltenecki, the Penn
State offensive coordinador, are gonna have to answer for something.

Speaker 1 (45:01):
To keep an eye on it. If Ohio State ends
up in the Big Ten Championship game against Oregon, it
doesn't appear that their defensive line has the depth to
rotate and you can wear them down in the second half.

Speaker 2 (45:14):
Yeah, Oregon looks they They just they look very formidable.
I would say that, you know, sitting here, you know
without you know, I know that they still have to
play I mentioned earlier about you know, playing Washington. I
know that they're going to be hosting USC but as
matter of fact, they're gonna be playing Indiana in a
couple of weeks. But Oregon, they they definitely look to

(45:38):
me like they are going to be one of the
teams that is going to be in the Big Ten
Championship for certain.

Speaker 1 (45:43):
Yew Dante Moore looks like the real deal at quarterback.
I was impressed with his He took a beating in
this game and he's still kept popping up and making plays.

Speaker 2 (45:53):
Yeah, he without question, you know, you know, he started
off at u c l A. He sat last year
as the as the backup behind Dylan Gabriel, and he's
certainly showing why he was so highly touted coming out
of high school.

Speaker 1 (46:09):
UCLA fans are not going to want to hear that.

Speaker 2 (46:11):
Well, it was one. Yeah, it's just one of these
things where he uh, you know, he you know, signed
with u c l A. He was there, you know,
with with Chip Kelly, and then I think just things,
you know, the just the dumpster fire that is U
c l A. Uh, you know, kind of like that.
That's the that's the question that they and they alone

(46:33):
can answer, is what do they want their program to be,
because you know, he was one of the guys that
they had and he left and now he's at UCLA,
excuse me, at Oregon and he's thriving.

Speaker 1 (46:43):
Yeah. Oregon is now five and o two and oh
and Big Ten play. Penn State fell to three and
one oh and one in the Big Ten and Big Game.
James not going to lose that moniker anytime soon. And
now what he's got to do, He's got to run
the table and get help to get in the Big
Ten championship game, and in what having knowing that he's
got perhaps his best team that he's ever had in

(47:05):
Happy Valley.

Speaker 2 (47:06):
Well, the problem that the problem with that I'm not disagreeing,
by the way, is I think, uh, you know, not
only do they know, you know full well that they
have to run the table, it's uh, you know that
non kind I said it before, I suspected that that
that weak non conference schedule was going to be a
contributing factor. I think now granted, I mean it went

(47:28):
into double overtime, they lost by six points to a
really good team. But you know they have to we
just talked about it. They have to go on the
road to Iowa. You and I and our listeners know
that is not an easy thing. Obviously going to Ohio State,
they host Indiana. You know, they've got Nebraska later in
the season. So it's it's certainly not easy. That's that's

(47:52):
my point.

Speaker 1 (47:52):
Yeah, it's And again, like I said at the beginning
of this year, if this isn't James Franklin's year, or
when will it be James Franklin's year.

Speaker 2 (48:03):
I just it's gonna I agree, I think what's going
to be what's going to bear watching beyond this year
is what style of quarterback I'm I'm of the belief
that Andy Cola Nikki uh would prefer more of the
mobile quarterback which they had with Bopra Beulah let him,

(48:28):
you know, he went in the transfer portal. I just
think it's kind of all right. They've they've hitched their
wagon to Drew Aller. This is the last year. I
think offensively, they'd like to get back to what they
when Penn State was better. You know, you think about
like Trace McSorley. Now, granted they also at Saquon Barkley

(48:48):
in the backfield, which helped. But I just think that
they would prefer a more mobile quarterback, and that's going
to be the thing that I'm going to be interested
to see. But you're right, the pressure is well deserved.
You know the fact that James Franklin in big games,
you know, doesn't win them. I understand the frustration from

(49:09):
Penn State fans.

Speaker 1 (49:10):
Yeah, I do as well. And you know he's not
shying away from taking responsibility for it. But you know,
how often do you want to hear your coach say, yeah,
that's on me. I take full responsibility. It's like, Okay, well,
then do something about it. Drew Aller has not shown
the promise of his high recruiting ranking, and mostly that's

(49:33):
been in the passing him. I'm I'm constantly stunned that
he teams have so much trouble tackling him because he's
not he's not blazing fast, he's not that shifty. He
obviously he's a strong kid and hard to bring down.
But that guy's bounce off of him a little bit.
But he's harder to tackle than you would think. But
he's just not making the throws. And and maybe that's

(49:54):
not always his fault. You don't see Penn State having
a stable of excellent wide receivers.

Speaker 2 (50:00):
No, And that was something that they addressed in the
off season. The fact that, you know, when you think about,
wasn't until, like I said, the fourth quarter that they
started to make some plays. But yeah, you know, like
the Penn State fans, you could hear it, you know,
especially when Oregon was up seventeen to three. You know,
the fact that you know, Oregon looked like they were

(50:22):
in complete control wasn't until finally, you know, like Drew
Aller was it was a beautiful touchdown pass that got
them right back in it. But yeah, I mean they
they just cannot seem to develop any kind of a
downfield passing game, and it really comes back to haunt
them in big games.

Speaker 1 (50:42):
It's all tight ends and running backs out of the backfield. Yeah.
You remember wide receiver Jahan Dottson from from Penn State.
I don't know if you saw his tweet, but during
the game he tweeted, offense can't be this hard.

Speaker 2 (50:57):
I didn't know. I had not.

Speaker 1 (51:00):
That's not what you want to see from your.

Speaker 2 (51:01):
Alumno, no, not at all.

Speaker 1 (51:04):
All right, let's turn our attention to this weekend, chip Uh.
The noon games on Saturday is starting with Wisconsin at Michigan.
I don't expect the Wolverines to have any problems with
the Badgers. The the Badgers don't look very good.

Speaker 2 (51:19):
No, the Badgers do not. If anything, I'm going to
be anxious to see what lukeicle how they address this
this off week, you know, in terms of being able
to handle what's going to be you know, a very physical,
you know, not surprising Michigan team if they figured out

(51:42):
some waste as to how they can possibly attack the
Wolverines when.

Speaker 1 (51:47):
They go on the road, Illinois will visit West Lafayette
to play Purdue, and to me, this will this is
an interesting matchup because I want to see what Illinois
is going to do coming off that that home win
over you UC. Obviously, they responded well to the debacle
in Bloomington, but now they've got to go on the
road against a Purdue team that put points on the

(52:08):
board against Notre Dame.

Speaker 2 (52:10):
Yeah, Purdue is certainly improved. They had a bye week.
Illinois has had, let's face it, you know, kind of
an emotional roller coaster the last two weeks. I mean,
they were destroyed at Indiana, they had an emotional win
in the last seconds against USC. So I think Purdue
will do their best to keep it respectable, but I

(52:32):
think Illinois will win this one.

Speaker 1 (52:34):
Yeah, Penn State gets a little bit of a rest,
but three thirty game, they will go play UCLA. That's
a good way to get healthy.

Speaker 2 (52:43):
Yeah, and this is where I think if your Penn State.
I don't want to say taking out your frustrations, but
we just talked about, you know, like work on the
things that need addressing, you know, the downfield passing game.
I'm not saying, you know, force it if it's not there.
But I think UCLA offers up an opportunity for Penn
State to try to do some self reflection and work

(53:05):
on the things that need addressing before they get into
deeper into Big Ten conference play.

Speaker 1 (53:13):
What I think also at three thirty, what I think
will be maybe the best game of the weekend in
the Big Ten is Washington visiting Maryland. Maryland's four and oh,
Washington's three and one. Is Maryland good? Well, I guess
we'll find out when Washington goes there.

Speaker 2 (53:30):
Yeah, part of Maryland. Part of the critique of Maryland
has been through the years is that when they get
into Big Ten play that they usually wilt under the pressure. Now, granted,
you know, they went on the road to Camp Randle
and won a game against the not I mean, we'd
already talked about them, but not very good Wisconsin tine.

(53:53):
The fact that Washington is traveling cross country coming off
probably you know, just the emotional vestment that the Huskies
made in that game versus High State. How do they
bounce back? So it should Like you said, I think
it should be a game keeping an eye and ear
off for on Saturday at three thirty.

Speaker 1 (54:12):
Yeah, Northwestern will play a non conference opponent to hosting
Louisiana Monroe at three thirty on the Big Ten Network
and Louisiana in row. I don't I'll a cop to
not knowing much about them. They're three and one. Northwestern
being at home should have a chance to get a
win there.

Speaker 2 (54:31):
Yeah, you have to hope if you're Northwestern, you have
to maximize these kind of opportunities because getting to six
is really tough. So, like you said, you know, it's
like I have to confess, I don't know a lot
about Louisiana enrolled, but this is the kind of game
that Northwestern needs to win.

Speaker 1 (54:48):
Michigan State will visit Nebraska. I expect Nebraska to win
this game, but not I don't think they'll run away
with it. Michigan State seems to have a good offense,
but not a great defense.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
I would agree with that. And Nebraska, I mean speaking
of you know defense, and you know the fact that
Michigan put nearly three hundred yards on the ground on
them a couple of weeks ago. You know that this
is an opportunity for redemption. And if you're Michigan State,
you know they do have a really good offense. You know,
Aidan Childs is kind of maturing. We talked about that,

(55:21):
you know, in terms of like the growth. So I
think Michigan State certainly has the ability to keep this close.
But I think Nebraska with the home crowd, I think
they can do it.

Speaker 1 (55:30):
Yeah. And then the seven thirty game on NBC and
Peacock is Minnesota at Ohio State Chip And that's a
good segue into our preview. PJ Flex team will come
to Columbus, and I think this game is going to
be close for a half before Ohio State pulls away.

(55:51):
But Minnesota seems to be a little bit I called
him feisty in my in my column this week. They
they have quality. I think they're improved. I don't think
that they can hang with Ohio State in the end,
but you do think they have enough to keep the

(56:11):
game close for the half.

Speaker 2 (56:13):
Yeah, that's that's fair. I mean they have you know,
I mentioned that, you know, against against Rutgers, they weren't
able to run the ball. I mean they they had
h you know, less than you know, less than forty
yards rushing. Now granted, some of that is you know,
sacks of Drake Lindsay, but uh, I just think that,

(56:37):
you know, when I the very limited time that I
did watch Minnesota Rutgers, that that Minnesota offensive line is big,
and the fact that they weren't able to get their
running game going, that would be very unsettling if I
was PJ.

Speaker 1 (56:50):
Flack. Yeah, I know they're not going to scare a
lot of people with their records so far. They really
aren't having a quality win. They beat Buffalo to start
the season, then they crushed Northwestern eight, which Northwestern is
not a state. They went out to California and lost
to the Golden Bears twenty seven to fourteen, and then
they beat Rutgers by a field goal at home. So
I don't think they're going to scare anybody. But I

(57:12):
feel like if Ohio State allowed Ohio to hang around
for a while, I think it's not out of the
question that Minnesota could hang around for a while.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
That's a really good point because like you said, I
think that they'll be they'll be in the game until
the second half. You know Ohio for you know say
with you, well, they were pretty much the same. So
I think that's a pretty fair analysis.

Speaker 1 (57:34):
When we look at the Golden Gophers, the passing leader
is Drake Lindsay. He's got nine hundred and fifty eight
yards passing on the season, so approaching the thousand mark,
He's completing sixty five almost sixty six percent of his passes,
seven touchdowns, too interceptions. He has been sacked five times.
I would anticipate that Ohio State will be able to

(57:56):
keep Drake Lindsay from causing too much damage.

Speaker 2 (58:01):
Yeah, I mean he he just had a really good
game against Rutgers. I mean through for you know, three
hundred and twenty four yards, three touchdowns. He was he
was largely instrumental for that win because, like I said
a few moments ago, Minnesota couldn't run the ball against Rutgers.
I think that might be a bad prescription for going

(58:22):
into a night game against an Ohio State defense that
is coming off you know, you know, like a very
notable performance by the Ohio State defensive line in terms
of tackles for loss and sacks. So if I was Minnesota,
I would certainly be working on trying to get that
running game going, because having Drake Lindsay drop back to

(58:42):
pass repeatedly might result in some bad things.

Speaker 1 (58:46):
They've got kind of an odd situation at running back Chip.
I don't know if you've that familiar with him, but
they've they've sort of got a running back by committee.
They've got four guys that have at least twenty four
carries this season. Nobody's really stellar in terms of overall yards.
You've got Fammy and Juoi with one hundred and seventy

(59:07):
three yards, Darius Taylor has a hundred and sixty one yards,
Grant Washington has one hundred and twenty six yards, and
Cam Davis has seventy seven yards. But those first three
guys have very good averages four point nine, four point
nine and six point three yards per carry, So they
seem like they can run. But again, you as you mentioned,

(59:27):
didn't run well against Rutgers, And yeah, I don't know.
Is it maybe that Minnesota lacks an offensive identity.

Speaker 2 (59:37):
I think that they would like to be able to run.
I know that Darius Taylor didn't play against Rutgers kind
of nursing an injury. Now, you know, with a big
game at Ohio State, is Minnesota going to put him
in the lineup. You don't know, you know, because they
know full well biggering to come into this as a
decided underdog but yeah, I think, you know, if if

(01:00:00):
they had their if they had their preference, I think
Taylor would be the would be the belcow. But I
think out of necessity, like you said, I think they're
doing a running back by committee.

Speaker 1 (01:00:08):
Yeah, all right, So then on the on the receiving end,
you got to watch Javon Tracy has two hundred and
four yards and two touchdowns and Jalen Smith has one
hundred and seventy nine yards and two touchdowns. So the
primary guys that you have to keep an eye on,
although Lamech Brockington has fifteen catches for one hundred and

(01:00:29):
seventy seven yards and one touchdown.

Speaker 2 (01:00:32):
Yeah, they're certainly trying to diversify their receptions. I want
to say, Javon Tracy was the one who had the
crucial touchdown that allowed Minnesota to get the go ahead
score against Rutgers.

Speaker 1 (01:00:47):
Yeah, so that's really where they are at offensively. But
I don't again, I don't expect Ohio States have a
lot of problems in this game. At the end of
the game, I think it will be lopsided. But a
I do think that Minnesota's got enough and they typically have,
you know, a good defensive secondary game plan when they

(01:01:08):
play Ohio State may force say in to go underneath,
you know, try to take away the deeper stuff and
and maybe even force a few scrambles. But I think
in the end, Ohio State will figure out where there's
opportunities that they can exploit to Minnesota defense and pull
away in the second half.

Speaker 2 (01:01:29):
Yeah, you mentioned the secondary. Probably the one of the
best player on their team is Cooy Perrich and safety.
He you know, we talked earlier about like the uh,
you know, the special teams units for Ohio State. You know,
koy Perrich is kind of you know, do it, do
it all kind of guy, like sometimes has has dabbled

(01:01:50):
on offense, but you know, he in the secondary. I'm
not saying that he's going to be effective at completely
shutting down the Ohio State passing game, but I think
he's going to be around the ball. He's one of
the leading tacklers, like I said a moment ago, in
terms of kick returns, punt returns. You know, coy Perrich
is he wears number three from Minnesota. You know, keep
an eye out for him.

Speaker 1 (01:02:11):
And if his name sounds familiar. He entered the transfer
portal of the off season and Ohio State was rumored
to be in on him, and then he pulled his
name out of the transfer portal.

Speaker 2 (01:02:22):
I wasn't aware that. I didn't know that he did.
I know that, I know Hio State definitely was interested
in Dylan Thieneman, who had the crucial interception of you know,
of Drew Aller last night from Purdue. You know, he
you know, went to Oregon. So I wasn't aware that
he had entered the transfer portal.

Speaker 1 (01:02:39):
Yeah, and and congrats to that young man. Although he
was one of two players who could have intercepted that
Drew Aller pass exactly, there were two defenders between Drew
Aller and his tight end on that play. Uh. Anyway, Chip,
it's time to come up with our picks to click.
So last week, of course, against Washington, we started on

(01:02:59):
the defenseive side of the ball. So we're going to
start on the offensive side of the ball obviously for
this one. And so I got to ask, Chip, who
do you like to click offensively for Ohio State against
the Golden Gophers.

Speaker 2 (01:03:11):
Well, we were just talking about, you know, the Minnesota secondary.
I'm gonna take the free space. I'm gonna go with
Jeremiah Smith.

Speaker 1 (01:03:21):
All right, never a bad pick to go with JJ,
and he just seems to get his numbers wherever they
whoever they play. He ends up being a factor because
I believe he's the best player in college football. And
when he scored that touchdown on Saturday to put Ohio

(01:03:42):
State on the board, that was my sarcastic tweet. It's like, oh, yeah,
got the best player in college football. I forgot exactly
I'm gonna go with Bo Jackson. I think Bo Jackson
is starting to flex a little bit. I think he's
we saw at Washington that he's got now the full
confidence of the coaching staff to play meaningful, important snaps

(01:04:04):
from the start of the game. And I think he's
going to get a hundred yard game against the Gophers.

Speaker 2 (01:04:10):
I like it.

Speaker 1 (01:04:11):
So we flip over to the defensive side of the ball,
and this is going to be an interesting matchup. I
feel like I kind of still have to take Caleb Downs.
I mean, he's the free space on defense, and I
feel like that Downs will make plays both in the
passing game and the running game. I don't expect the

(01:04:33):
Minnesota will have a ton of success against this defense.
If they do if the Gophers do have a big
offensive output in this game, it'll be shocking based on
the fact that no team has done that yet exactly.
I mean, in fact, the Ohio State opponents are only
averaging five points a game.

Speaker 2 (01:04:53):
Which is very impressive.

Speaker 1 (01:04:55):
It's very impressive. So I'm going to go with Kleb
to keep a lid on the balls over the top
and also to help out in the run game. Who
do you like on defense?

Speaker 2 (01:05:02):
Chip, I'm going to go with rvel Reese. He's kind
of almost becoming like a free space as well. But
you know, we talked about when it comes to the
Minnesota what they what they would prefer to be, you know,
in terms of being able to run the ball, I
think rvel Reese certainly being able to shut down the

(01:05:24):
run as well as what he demonstrated at Washington. Now, granted,
great Lindsay's not going to be nearly the kind of
elusive threat scrambling, but I just think rvel Reese in
terms of pass rush, you know, he's going to make
his presence known.

Speaker 1 (01:05:40):
Yeah, just from our records, Reese has been selected by
one of us the same amount of times as calebm.

Speaker 2 (01:05:47):
Down, So that should tell you, yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1 (01:05:51):
All right. That brings us to score prediction time. Chip.
I am confident that you're going to edge me out again,
but I'm still letting you go first. So what's the
final score gonna be on the Ohio Stadium scoreboard on
Saturday night after the night game in the Shoe against
the Golden Gophers.

Speaker 2 (01:06:09):
I think it's gonna be Ohio State thirty five. I'm
gonna say Minnesota n you know, I know that I said,
you know, like they'll be around until the second half.
I think the Minnesota philosophy is going to be like,
let's just try to minimize mistakes, like try to reduce

(01:06:29):
Ohio State possessions that kind of thing, and then Ohio
State in the second half will break it wide open
and run away with it.

Speaker 1 (01:06:36):
All right, I'm I'm going to prices right you, Chip,
and I'm going to say thirty eight to ten. So
it really kind of comes down to how many points
Ohio State scores.

Speaker 2 (01:06:46):
Okay, when you said price is right, I thought you
were going underneath me to.

Speaker 1 (01:06:51):
You're gonna go one dollar? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just
when you're the guy in the end and everybody else
has their bids in and you just go like one
dollar more kind of thing. Okay, all right, we'll be
back next week to wrap up the Minnesota game. We'll
of course go around the rest of the Big Ten,

(01:07:11):
and we will look forward to Ohio State's next opponent
because these games in this section of the of the
schedule are difficult there. I mean mean, Minnesota may not
end up being a close game in the end. Well,
you know, we don't know. Obviously, we have to see
how that plays out. But at the end of the day,

(01:07:31):
Ohio State's in a stretch of you know, five games
in six weeks that that are not easy. And it
started with that, start with that game against Washington in Seattle.
But Ohio States certainly still has some difficulties on the
schedule ahead, as you know, still Penn State at home,

(01:07:53):
got to go to Illinois, that kind of thing, exact.

Speaker 2 (01:07:56):
I mean, yeah, the next few weeks State, we'll find out,
you know, what the kickoff time is for Illinois by
the time this rops. But yeah, I State some road games.
It's it's gonna be interesting to see after this this
game against Minnesota on October fourth.

Speaker 1 (01:08:14):
So Illinois on the road, Wisconsin on the road, Penn
State at home. The trip to Purdue is now looking
a little bit I would say dicey, but weird things
happen at Purdue, so that could be an odd game.
Then hosting UCLA, hosting Rutgers, and then of course the
big game against Michigan on the road. So there there
are some I would say more winnable games after the

(01:08:37):
Penn State game and before the Michigan game and that
window than the games right now. The games right now
still you still have a young quarterback still learning the ropes.
You got a young running back who's getting more more
carries and being asked to do more. So this is
the schedule, the part of the schedule. I feel that

(01:08:57):
if Ohio State can navigate this, they've got a real
good shot at being a high seed in the in
the College Football Playoff. Obviously, they're the number one ranked
team in the nation right now. There are probably people
that expect that to stay the way that way the
whole season, but I don't think you can ever count
on that, especially with the parody that we've seen and

(01:09:18):
teams that you think are great losing games. I mean,
I watched that Florida State Virginia game, for example.

Speaker 2 (01:09:26):
Yeah, and completely unrelated to what we're talking about, you know,
like how precarious things can be. As we were as
we are finishing up our recording, Sam Pittman has been
relieved at Arkansas and Bobby Patrino is in, so things
can happen, you know, like very suddenly and very quickly.

Speaker 1 (01:09:47):
Bobby Patrino, who was also the Arkansas coach when Ohio
State beat Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, a game that
Ross Biork is trying to get reinstated. Yep, all right, Chef,
anything else on your mind before we get out of here?

Speaker 2 (01:10:03):
No, I think I'm looking forward to a night game
next next Saturday night.

Speaker 1 (01:10:06):
All right, Well that will do it for this episode
of the Silver Bullets podcast. Chip, can you remind folks
where they can find you online and find your work?

Speaker 2 (01:10:16):
Yeah? I can be found on Twitter at Chipmanik. Last
name is called m I N N I H. I'm
a contributor to Buckeye Huddle dot com as well as
Saturday Glory dot com. Saturday Glory is more of a
rod college football overview, but I kind of focus on
the Big Ten.

Speaker 1 (01:10:34):
All right. You can find me on Twitter or Blue
Sky at Mike thirty six fan. You can find my
writing at Landgrant holy Land dot com. That is where
you will find my grumpy old Buckeye column every Monday
after a Buckeye game, and if it's a bye week
then I'll just write a regular column, but I basically
a little bit tongue in cheek talk about all the

(01:10:55):
things that really got my goat that week. And this
is no exception, and there are several things against Washington
that of course bothered me, and including some of the
things we talked about in this show. So go check
it out over there, and of course you can follow
the Silver Bullets Podcast on Twitter at silver Bullets Pod
with no E in the word silver, so s I

(01:11:17):
l v R Bullets Pod on Twitter not enough characters
to let us have everything. And then you can also
email us at silver Bulletspod at gmail dot com. Spell
it all out the correct way, Silver Bulletspod at gmail
dot com. We'd love to hear from you, so so
drop us a line, and with all that housekeeping done

(01:11:39):
now we can just say that we will see you
next week and we'll sign off the way we always
do by saying, go box, Go Box.