August 28, 2025 • 11 mins
Steve Helwagen of 24/7 Sports looks at some of the interesting story lines surrounding this top 3 matchup
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
There was a two million dollar powerball ticket that would
sold at Circle K in Akron.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
So it's always I feel like it's always like a
circle K.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's somewhere, it's something like that.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
You have to find you almost have to go like
travel get your lottery tickets somewhere in an out of
the waist spot.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Yes, it's always a weird yeah, lottery retailer.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Right, like I gotta go to like go to a
sucking sip And.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
That's exactly what. Yes, the sucking Zip.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Yeah, that's the type of places that sell these things.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
But somebody's got two million bucks an Akron. That's a
that's a nice feeling.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Hit and they hit the five numbers just not the ball,
the powerball.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
And buy some Akron Zip season tickets. So what's uh so,
what's the take? Come on? Two million, isn't it? Is
it just over a million? Or is it like nine thirty? Probably?
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Yeah, it's probably a million, you know, one point two
something like that.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
It's not bad, Uncle Samon bloodbe Hey kidding me saying
I'm a millionaire, Not bad at all.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Yeah, all right, let's go over to the Legacy Retirement
Group dot com phone line and say Good morning to
our friend Steve hell Wagon from twenty four to seven Sports. Steve,
is your week, you know, in anticipation of Saturday at noon?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Is your week at this point going slow? Or is
it going by quick?
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Well? I have so much work to do to preview
this big game. It's going by too quick for me.
There's always like eight stories that you want to do
leading up to the big game, and sometimes you get
to five or six of them. So yeah, I'm I'm
working like, you know, the hamster on the treadmill here,
trying to churn out that, you know, all the interesting content.
(01:45):
And there's so many great stories that surround this game.
Do you know they signed the contract for this game
thirteen years ago in October of twenty twelve, and it
was a much different, uh landscape. I recall Urban Meyer
at the time saying that'll be whoever the next coach
is will be coaching gets Texas because he knew it
would be such an epic thing and he didn't want
(02:07):
to think about it way back to twenty twelve. But
you know, here we are, thirteen years later, and two
of the great brand names in college football, no doubt,
squaring off in a rematch from just last January. Kind
of crazy.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
That's really interesting because we talk about all the time,
how you know they set up the schedules in college football,
as you said, years and years in advance, and you've
got you know, these two blue ship programs Ohio State
Texas agreeing to play this game. You know, again, this
was twenty twelve when they set this up, and nobody
knows at that point what kind of trajectory these programs
(02:42):
are going to be on. But yet here we are
number one and number three. So whoever did this deal
in twenty twelve give them a pat of the back
because they knew this was going to be a great matchup.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
Yeah, no doubt about it. And they had a great
home and home series. Way back in two thousand and
five and six. People remember that Vince Young came into
the Horseshoe and took a win over the Buckeyes, and
then Troy Smith and Ted Ginn you know, kind of
returned the favor of the following year down in Austin,
and so you know, the Buck guys went down to
Dallas and beat them. So you know, it's been the
(03:17):
visiting team that you know, in a sense has dominated
the three games that those three games, there was also
a Fiesta Bowl in there that Texas won in two
thousand and eight or two thousand and nine. But you know,
you think about it, the SEC is going to go
to nine conference games here sometime in the next few years.
(03:37):
And Alabama already canceled a contract with West Virginia, So
Ohio State has contracts coming up with Alabama and Georgia
after Texas, And you just hope that this new landscape
of college football, with trying to play to get into
the playoff, doesn't mean that they'll do away with these
big intersectional non conference matchups because they are so much
(04:00):
fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Do you expect this one to be up there with
I mean, you mentioned OSU Texas back in five. You
know you've got the I remember Ohio State USC was
a big game. I think that was maybe twenty seventeen,
maybe oh nine, Yeah, that was that was a big one.
Of course, Ohio State Michigan number one, number two game.
I mean some of these epic above the fold games.
(04:23):
Do you think this is going to be one of those?
Speaker 4 (04:25):
You know, it has the potential to be up there
if it's a well played game and a dramatic game
that goes down to the end. I think in this century,
you know, since two thousand or two thousand and one.
The Texas game in five is probably a top five
game at the stadium, and I'd say USC although that
was a loss, it was a big deal. The two
big Michigan games six and sixteen, we were up there
(04:49):
and probably a few others. Opening up with Notre Dame,
you know, in twenty twenty two was a big deal.
But Ohio States never opened up against the number one
ranked team. So this is a different situation, obviously, And
this is the first time a number one team has
come to the Horseshoe since Iowa way back in nineteen
(05:11):
eighty five, forty years ago. Where were we all on
November the I think it was November the second, nineteen
eighty five. It was pouring down rain and Hayden Fry
Chuck Long came in for Iowa and Chris Bielman and
his guys from Ohio State pulled out the win that night.
So yeah, you know, great memories are created at the
(05:34):
worst Shoe, and I'm sure we're going to have a
few coming out of this game. On Saturday.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Steve, you talked about all the storylines that you're trying
to cover.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Of all of them.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Which one do you find to be the most intriguing
for this game. One of the ones that I found
kind of intriguing is Ohio State has knocked on wood
not lost an opener at home since nineteen ninety nine
against Miami.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Well, that game was actually in New Jersey. At the
kickoff A do counts Andy, Florida. That's the last time
that they've lost the season opening game. I don't believe
they've lost a season opening game at home since clearback
in nineteen seventy eight, when Woody Hayes started the freshman
arch Leister who was in the news this pets As
(06:17):
week started the freshman arch Leister against Penn State. They
had eight turnovers, he threw five interceptions, and they lost
the game. Nineteen did nothing. I think, you know a
story coming into this game. You think about the two
young quarterbacks who were both five star recruits, Julian Saying
for Ohio State and arch Manning, you know, the prodigy
(06:41):
for Texas going head to head. Which one of them
is going to make the costly mistake that swings this
game potentially in the fourth quarter as a young quarterback.
That's going to be something to see.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
I think the other one I want to look at too.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Speaking with Steve Helwagen, by the way, from twenty four
to seven Sports, Jeremiah Smith was largely very quiet in
the last time Texas and Ohio State played in the
College Football Playoff. By that time in the season, the
secret was out about him and they double covered him
and he I think he had one catch for a
couple of yards. And the thing that caught my eye
(07:17):
is those two dbs whose names escaped me at the
moment are now in the NFL. I mean, their secondary
at Texas is still very good, but those two guys
who shut down Smith last time are not going to
be playing on Saturday.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Mike. He raised a very important point here because with
a young quarterback Ohio State and he's Jeremiah Smith to
be one of the guys that that quarterback can find
in when he needs to. And I think that Texas
had a great plan for holding down Jeremiah Smith. It
worked out for Ohio State that g Scott the tight
(07:52):
end and Carnell Tate had seven catches, Mecca Buka had
five catches. Of course, he's off to the NFL as well,
So I think they're going to do the same thing.
Urban Meyer, when he watched the video of the game
and was talking in an interview, said that he noticed
they doubled Team Smith quite a bit in the course
of that first meeting or the last meeting back in January.
(08:13):
And so this time around, the High State's going to
need Carnell Tate, Brandon Ennis, and that Purdue transfer at
tight end Max Clair to really come up big, I
think in this game and help out Joy and saying
that's going to be huge as we get into this game.
I mean, you go back to that game in January,
o High State completed the screen pass to Travon Henderson
(08:36):
for seventy five yards in that touchdown right before halftime.
The Buckeyes only really drove on offense for two touchdowns.
I think the drives were seventy five yards and sixty
nine yards, and otherwise it was a rough day for
Higher State offensively, only eighty yards rushing and did get
Jeremiah Smith involved. And of course everybody knows the game clincher,
(08:59):
the scoop ands sure, the pride of Pickerington, Jack Sawyer
hit Quin yours and took it back for the touchdown
that clinched it, and Gale it down to an interception
at the end, and the buck guys were onto the
National Championship game. And you know this game doesn't have
those type of stakes, but the winner would certainly have
an inside track to the playoff after week one.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
No doubt, no doubt at all.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
With that, Steve, I'm thinking, and again I don't cover
the Buckeyes like you do. I just have this feeling
that on Monday or I guess Tuesday morning, when we're
all back at it, we'll be talking about the defenses
for both teams. I think it's going to be a
relatively low scoring game. Would you be on board with
a Buckeye twenty four to twenty three victory type of score?
Speaker 4 (09:46):
Oh? Yeah, yeah, I think that, and I agree that.
I think with the two young quarterbacks, not that they're
going to turn it over a lot, but it's consistenty
going to be an issue. Are they going to be
able to sustain drives, convert third down, converting the red
zone that you know they're gonna have to settle for
field goals. You know that two thousand and five game
way back Josh Houston, the kicker, had to kick five
(10:08):
field goals, and he missed a sixth one with about
five minutes to go right that would have given Ohio State.
You know, I believe a seven point lead at that point.
That would have been hard for Texas to overcome. So
you know, you look at it. His special team's going
to play a factor in this game. But I agree.
(10:30):
ESPN had their handicap and show yesterday. Greg McElroy was
on with another handicapper and they both liked the under
forty seven and a half. I just think it's going
to be a low scoring game, but they were split
on the winner. McElroy said, Texas and their handicapper, I
forget his name. He liked Ohio State and I like
(10:50):
Ohio State as well. Playing at home, if this was
a night game, you know, like the Tennessee game, it'd
probably be a touchdown advantage of being a day game,
probably just a three when advantage for I Estate having
the home field advantage
There was a two million dollar powerball ticket that would
sold at Circle K in Akron.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
So it's always I feel like it's always like a
circle K.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's somewhere, it's something like that.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
You have to find you almost have to go like
travel get your lottery tickets somewhere in an out of
the waist spot.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Yes, it's always a weird yeah, lottery retailer.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Right, like I gotta go to like go to a
sucking sip And.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
That's exactly what. Yes, the sucking Zip.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Yeah, that's the type of places that sell these things.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
But somebody's got two million bucks an Akron. That's a
that's a nice feeling.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Hit and they hit the five numbers just not the ball,
the powerball.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
And buy some Akron Zip season tickets. So what's uh so,
what's the take? Come on? Two million, isn't it? Is
it just over a million? Or is it like nine thirty? Probably?
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Yeah, it's probably a million, you know, one point two
something like that.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
It's not bad, Uncle Samon bloodbe Hey kidding me saying
I'm a millionaire, Not bad at all.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Yeah, all right, let's go over to the Legacy Retirement
Group dot com phone line and say Good morning to
our friend Steve hell Wagon from twenty four to seven Sports. Steve,
is your week, you know, in anticipation of Saturday at noon?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Is your week at this point going slow? Or is
it going by quick?
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Well? I have so much work to do to preview
this big game. It's going by too quick for me.
There's always like eight stories that you want to do
leading up to the big game, and sometimes you get
to five or six of them. So yeah, I'm I'm
working like, you know, the hamster on the treadmill here,
trying to churn out that, you know, all the interesting content.
(01:45):
And there's so many great stories that surround this game.
Do you know they signed the contract for this game
thirteen years ago in October of twenty twelve, and it
was a much different, uh landscape. I recall Urban Meyer
at the time saying that'll be whoever the next coach
is will be coaching gets Texas because he knew it
would be such an epic thing and he didn't want
(02:07):
to think about it way back to twenty twelve. But
you know, here we are, thirteen years later, and two
of the great brand names in college football, no doubt,
squaring off in a rematch from just last January. Kind
of crazy.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
That's really interesting because we talk about all the time,
how you know they set up the schedules in college football,
as you said, years and years in advance, and you've
got you know, these two blue ship programs Ohio State
Texas agreeing to play this game. You know, again, this
was twenty twelve when they set this up, and nobody
knows at that point what kind of trajectory these programs
(02:42):
are going to be on. But yet here we are
number one and number three. So whoever did this deal
in twenty twelve give them a pat of the back
because they knew this was going to be a great matchup.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
Yeah, no doubt about it. And they had a great
home and home series. Way back in two thousand and
five and six. People remember that Vince Young came into
the Horseshoe and took a win over the Buckeyes, and
then Troy Smith and Ted Ginn you know, kind of
returned the favor of the following year down in Austin,
and so you know, the Buck guys went down to
Dallas and beat them. So you know, it's been the
(03:17):
visiting team that you know, in a sense has dominated
the three games that those three games, there was also
a Fiesta Bowl in there that Texas won in two
thousand and eight or two thousand and nine. But you know,
you think about it, the SEC is going to go
to nine conference games here sometime in the next few years.
(03:37):
And Alabama already canceled a contract with West Virginia, So
Ohio State has contracts coming up with Alabama and Georgia
after Texas, And you just hope that this new landscape
of college football, with trying to play to get into
the playoff, doesn't mean that they'll do away with these
big intersectional non conference matchups because they are so much
(04:00):
fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Do you expect this one to be up there with
I mean, you mentioned OSU Texas back in five. You
know you've got the I remember Ohio State USC was
a big game. I think that was maybe twenty seventeen,
maybe oh nine, Yeah, that was that was a big one.
Of course, Ohio State Michigan number one, number two game.
I mean some of these epic above the fold games.
(04:23):
Do you think this is going to be one of those?
Speaker 4 (04:25):
You know, it has the potential to be up there
if it's a well played game and a dramatic game
that goes down to the end. I think in this century,
you know, since two thousand or two thousand and one.
The Texas game in five is probably a top five
game at the stadium, and I'd say USC although that
was a loss, it was a big deal. The two
big Michigan games six and sixteen, we were up there
(04:49):
and probably a few others. Opening up with Notre Dame,
you know, in twenty twenty two was a big deal.
But Ohio States never opened up against the number one
ranked team. So this is a different situation, obviously, And
this is the first time a number one team has
come to the Horseshoe since Iowa way back in nineteen
(05:11):
eighty five, forty years ago. Where were we all on
November the I think it was November the second, nineteen
eighty five. It was pouring down rain and Hayden Fry
Chuck Long came in for Iowa and Chris Bielman and
his guys from Ohio State pulled out the win that night.
So yeah, you know, great memories are created at the
(05:34):
worst Shoe, and I'm sure we're going to have a
few coming out of this game. On Saturday.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Steve, you talked about all the storylines that you're trying
to cover.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Of all of them.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Which one do you find to be the most intriguing
for this game. One of the ones that I found
kind of intriguing is Ohio State has knocked on wood
not lost an opener at home since nineteen ninety nine
against Miami.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Well, that game was actually in New Jersey. At the
kickoff A do counts Andy, Florida. That's the last time
that they've lost the season opening game. I don't believe
they've lost a season opening game at home since clearback
in nineteen seventy eight, when Woody Hayes started the freshman
arch Leister who was in the news this pets As
(06:17):
week started the freshman arch Leister against Penn State. They
had eight turnovers, he threw five interceptions, and they lost
the game. Nineteen did nothing. I think, you know a
story coming into this game. You think about the two
young quarterbacks who were both five star recruits, Julian Saying
for Ohio State and arch Manning, you know, the prodigy
(06:41):
for Texas going head to head. Which one of them
is going to make the costly mistake that swings this
game potentially in the fourth quarter as a young quarterback.
That's going to be something to see.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
I think the other one I want to look at too.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Speaking with Steve Helwagen, by the way, from twenty four
to seven Sports, Jeremiah Smith was largely very quiet in
the last time Texas and Ohio State played in the
College Football Playoff. By that time in the season, the
secret was out about him and they double covered him
and he I think he had one catch for a
couple of yards. And the thing that caught my eye
(07:17):
is those two dbs whose names escaped me at the
moment are now in the NFL. I mean, their secondary
at Texas is still very good, but those two guys
who shut down Smith last time are not going to
be playing on Saturday.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Mike. He raised a very important point here because with
a young quarterback Ohio State and he's Jeremiah Smith to
be one of the guys that that quarterback can find
in when he needs to. And I think that Texas
had a great plan for holding down Jeremiah Smith. It
worked out for Ohio State that g Scott the tight
(07:52):
end and Carnell Tate had seven catches, Mecca Buka had
five catches. Of course, he's off to the NFL as well,
So I think they're going to do the same thing.
Urban Meyer, when he watched the video of the game
and was talking in an interview, said that he noticed
they doubled Team Smith quite a bit in the course
of that first meeting or the last meeting back in January.
(08:13):
And so this time around, the High State's going to
need Carnell Tate, Brandon Ennis, and that Purdue transfer at
tight end Max Clair to really come up big, I
think in this game and help out Joy and saying
that's going to be huge as we get into this game.
I mean, you go back to that game in January,
o High State completed the screen pass to Travon Henderson
(08:36):
for seventy five yards in that touchdown right before halftime.
The Buckeyes only really drove on offense for two touchdowns.
I think the drives were seventy five yards and sixty
nine yards, and otherwise it was a rough day for
Higher State offensively, only eighty yards rushing and did get
Jeremiah Smith involved. And of course everybody knows the game clincher,
(08:59):
the scoop ands sure, the pride of Pickerington, Jack Sawyer
hit Quin yours and took it back for the touchdown
that clinched it, and Gale it down to an interception
at the end, and the buck guys were onto the
National Championship game. And you know this game doesn't have
those type of stakes, but the winner would certainly have
an inside track to the playoff after week one.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
No doubt, no doubt at all.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
With that, Steve, I'm thinking, and again I don't cover
the Buckeyes like you do. I just have this feeling
that on Monday or I guess Tuesday morning, when we're
all back at it, we'll be talking about the defenses
for both teams. I think it's going to be a
relatively low scoring game. Would you be on board with
a Buckeye twenty four to twenty three victory type of score?
Speaker 4 (09:46):
Oh? Yeah, yeah, I think that, and I agree that.
I think with the two young quarterbacks, not that they're
going to turn it over a lot, but it's consistenty
going to be an issue. Are they going to be
able to sustain drives, convert third down, converting the red
zone that you know they're gonna have to settle for
field goals. You know that two thousand and five game
way back Josh Houston, the kicker, had to kick five
(10:08):
field goals, and he missed a sixth one with about
five minutes to go right that would have given Ohio State.
You know, I believe a seven point lead at that point.
That would have been hard for Texas to overcome. So
you know, you look at it. His special team's going
to play a factor in this game. But I agree.
(10:30):
ESPN had their handicap and show yesterday. Greg McElroy was
on with another handicapper and they both liked the under
forty seven and a half. I just think it's going
to be a low scoring game, but they were split
on the winner. McElroy said, Texas and their handicapper, I
forget his name. He liked Ohio State and I like
(10:50):
Ohio State as well. Playing at home, if this was
a night game, you know, like the Tennessee game, it'd
probably be a touchdown advantage of being a day game,
probably just a three when advantage for I Estate having
the home field advantage
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com