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Ohio State Football Dominates Lists Of 2026's Biggest Games · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Buckeyes Tomorrow morning for Wednesday, March fourth, I'm
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: your host, Tom or the ball State game in one
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: hundred and eighty five days, the game against Michigan in
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: two hundred and sixty nine days. Our friends are Grateful Griddle,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Columbus's favorite food truck. They are now on Uber, eed,
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  Speaker 1: scrub Hub, and or Dash. Just search for Grateful Riddle
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  Speaker 1: there or check out Grateful Griddle oh dot com for more.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: On today's show, you're going to get a bonus episode
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: of the Buckeye Huddle primetime show with Juck. He does
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: those live every Monday and Thursday night on our YouTube
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  Speaker 1: channel YouTube dot com slash Buckeye Huddle. On Monday show,
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  Speaker 1: he took a look at how many of Ohio State's
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six games are showing up on the lists
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  Speaker 1: of the very best games of the twenty twenty six season.
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  Speaker 1: Probably a good indication that it is probably going to
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: be a fun fall in Columbus, Ohio. Who hope you
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  Speaker 1: will celebrate it with us at Buckeye Huddle dot com.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: Hey, it's Chuck. We are not bemoaning the noonkickoff. We're
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: now owning it. It's a badge of honor. Were the
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: lunatic fringe defines our coaches legacy when it comes to
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: this game. They don't get to define that outside the
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: family who we're cut from a different cloth. Bro Hiowan's
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: he's got it all, man, He's even got the jaw.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: You know the jaw. You see that jaw and you're
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: just like, yeah, man, that's a dude. Do I want
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: Michigan to beat Oklahoma? No way in hell. I don't
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  Speaker 2: know what world I'm living in. This is insane to me.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: And if you saw my outburst, I apologize. It's showtime now.
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  Speaker 2: It is showtime. Man. Welcome into Buckeye Huddle primetime on
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  Speaker 2: a Monday at eight pm. As we are here every
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  Speaker 2: Monday and Thursday at eight pm in the off season,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: and we are in the off season. But as it's
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  Speaker 2: officially Monday, that means we are next week. Next week
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: spring starts and we're gonna see some actual football. Here's
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  Speaker 2: some actual football. See some pictures of some guys with
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  Speaker 2: their bobbleheads and their jerseys on. It's gonna be fantastic.
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  Speaker 2: I can't wait. The period from the end of the
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  Speaker 2: season until spring is the absolute worst of the season
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  Speaker 2: for me, So I'm so excited for it to be
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  Speaker 2: over here soon. I got a lot of things I'm
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  Speaker 2: looking forward to for spring. One of them always Spring visits,
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  Speaker 2: and in particular, I love that student Appreciation Day. It
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  Speaker 2: gets a ton. So the student Appreciation Day is a
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  Speaker 2: scrimmage and they have it at the Woody and it's
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  Speaker 2: a full two and a half hours. The press comes,
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  Speaker 2: the students come, and a ton of visitors come, and
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  Speaker 2: we're just sitting here logging the visitors that are coming.
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  Speaker 2: And there are some big dogs. Man. This class of
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  Speaker 2: twenty twenty seven has some serious potential to be really
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  Speaker 2: really heavy at the top, some heavy, heavy hitters. One
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  Speaker 2: of them Rashad Streets. Rashad Streets an edge from North Carolina,
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  Speaker 2: teammates with Quinton Cipher. Quentin Cipher, the Buckeyes linebacker commit.
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  Speaker 2: James Lollernightis's linebacker commit who is now the number thirteen
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  Speaker 2: linebacker in the country. He just dropped down a little bit.
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  Speaker 2: That'll rectify it of a finish in the top ten.
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  Speaker 2: But Rashad Streets, as you can see, a top ten edge.
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  Speaker 2: And I was cutting up some film of Rashad over
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  Speaker 2: the weekend and I got a hold of Rashad today
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  Speaker 2: because I saw something that I thought surely must be
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  Speaker 2: a misprint. It wasn't a missprint. Rashad sophomore year, he
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  Speaker 2: had twenty six and a half sacks. Twenty six and
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  Speaker 2: a half sacks in one hundred and twenty five tackles
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  Speaker 2: from the edge position. Last year he had sixteen sacks.
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  Speaker 2: So we're talking about a guy who his sophomore in
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  Speaker 2: junior year over forty sacks. I think, if my math
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  Speaker 2: is right, that's insane. Man, A twenty six sax season
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  Speaker 2: is a sophomore. And these guys don't play in some
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  Speaker 2: rinky dank little league. At Millbrook. They played good football,
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  Speaker 2: high level North Carolina football, and I was just blown away.
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  Speaker 2: So I'm chopping up this film and I wanted to
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  Speaker 2: show you a couple of a couple of moves from
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  Speaker 2: Rashad Street. This kid, despite being ranked like the eighth
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  Speaker 2: edge in the country, I think he's about number three.
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  Speaker 2: But check him out, man. Rashad Streets will be in
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  Speaker 2: town for the student Appreciation scrimmage on April fourth at
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  Speaker 2: the Woody. That's one of the most fun times for
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  Speaker 2: a guy to come and visit. So I'm excited that
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  Speaker 2: he's coming in. Then, the number seven Edge in the
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  Speaker 2: country teammates with linebacker commit Quinton Seipher Waiting this week
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  Speaker 2: six four two thirty seven got it down to his
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  Speaker 2: final six of Ohio State, Oregon, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida State,
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  Speaker 2: n C State. This is a guy that, as a
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  Speaker 2: sophomore in high school recorded twenty six and a half
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  Speaker 2: sex and one hundred and twenty five tackles. Have you
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  Speaker 2: ever heard of such a thing in your life. It's
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  Speaker 2: gonna make total sense when you see what I'm about
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  Speaker 2: to show you, which takes place at the twenty two
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  Speaker 2: second mark on his film. And I know this because
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  Speaker 2: I've watched it a lot of times. Man, right off
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  Speaker 2: the rip, you can see the length from his stance,
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  Speaker 2: and these guys, you know, look, they're not going into
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  Speaker 2: the best of the best competition. This is a good
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  Speaker 2: competition in NC strips. Watch this. Are you kidding me? Dude?
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  Speaker 2: We gotta watch it again. That is at a different
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  Speaker 2: speed than you can probably count on a handful the
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  Speaker 2: number of guys that have that speed off the edge
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  Speaker 2: in the last five years. That is nutty. I saw
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  Speaker 2: that couldn't believe this guy with this size at six
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  Speaker 2: four two thirty seven is the number seven edge man.
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  Speaker 2: Not in my book, no sir, no sir. All right,
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  Speaker 2: so we've seen the speed. Let's watch him turn that
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  Speaker 2: speed into power. And look at this, he's coming like
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  Speaker 2: he's gonna bend around the edge. Turns it into a
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  Speaker 2: bullrush with one arm. He's got him with one arm there,
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  Speaker 2: turn that speed into power, dumps him for the sack.
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  Speaker 2: That is a thing of beauty right there from a
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  Speaker 2: high school kid, incredibly advanced man. And this dude's pretty
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  Speaker 2: much got it all. He's got everything you want. Oh
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  Speaker 2: that's for shad streets. And a little bit of a
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  Speaker 2: window into how this dude was able to record twenty
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  Speaker 2: six and a half sacks as a sophomore, which that
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  Speaker 2: one goes down into my record book since I've been
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  Speaker 2: like it's it's not always easy to get statistics from
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  Speaker 2: high school kids. You don't see him a ton, but
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  Speaker 2: you know, like Carry Wilder, for instance, had fifteen sacks
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  Speaker 2: last year. That was a boat load. Carry is an
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  Speaker 2: absolute madman. The speed he's moving at and I just
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  Speaker 2: checked his weight right he's at two thirty seven right now,
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  Speaker 2: So not cary for shod six four to two thirty seven,
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  Speaker 2: and that was like cyborg rate of speed right there.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm just thinking, man, you got DJ Jacobs. Things
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  Speaker 2: are going real well right now with both Chris Whitehead
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  Speaker 2: a top three edge and with forshad another top ten edge.
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  Speaker 2: Should Ohio State be able to land another one of those?
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  Speaker 2: We're looking at another Jack and JT situation where you're
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  Speaker 2: bringing in, you know, two of the top five edges
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  Speaker 2: in the country. We haven't seen it since then, we
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  Speaker 2: never saw it before then. It could be really really
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  Speaker 2: game changing. And when we look at these two guys
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  Speaker 2: as prospects, I mean, you know, they're better than Jack
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  Speaker 2: and j T. To be quite honest. They're more athletic,
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  Speaker 2: they're bigger, they're more physical. I'm just I'm so stoked
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  Speaker 2: because if it has to can pull one of those
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  Speaker 2: two to pair with DJ and hoole DJ. Right, that's
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  Speaker 2: not going to be the easiest thing to do as well,
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  Speaker 2: but generally done pretty well with the guys that they've
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  Speaker 2: chosen to invest in early, lock them down. Not many
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  Speaker 2: flips coming out of that situation, So that got me
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  Speaker 2: really pumped today. But imagine going against a defense with
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  Speaker 2: both Quinton Ceipher and him on that defense absolute madmen. Anyway,
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  Speaker 2: last year, before the season started, I went through the
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  Speaker 2: top twenty five games, most consequential games or most interesting
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  Speaker 2: games of the season preseason, just kind of looking ahead,
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  Speaker 2: projecting out who was going to be good, who was
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  Speaker 2: not going to be so good. And I think it's
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  Speaker 2: always a really fun exercise as it kind of gets
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  Speaker 2: the juices flowing for the upcoming season when there's not
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  Speaker 2: much football to talk about. And I noticed the other
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  Speaker 2: day that former Chuck On Bucks college Football Journalist of
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  Speaker 2: the Year in twenty twenty four, Brad Crawford. He won
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  Speaker 2: that by putting Chuck on Bucks in a twenty four
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  Speaker 2: to seven article in our first year, so you can
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  Speaker 2: buy my love. He was the juck On Bucks Sports
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  Speaker 2: Journalist of the Year for that, but then in twenty
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  Speaker 2: twenty five he said something really dumb about the Buckeyes.
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  Speaker 2: So he's since been relegated to the very bottom of
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  Speaker 2: the list. But he put together his list twenty twenty
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  Speaker 2: six is twenty six most important games for a national perspective,
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  Speaker 2: And I'm going down this list thinking, man, Ohio State's
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  Speaker 2: got an amazing schedule. Obviously they should be well represented
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  Speaker 2: on a list of the top twenty six games of
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  Speaker 2: the year, and I want to go through that list
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  Speaker 2: with you. But as we sit here and look at
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  Speaker 2: this Buckeye schedule, obviously a ton of big time games,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, not too long ago, I put up
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  Speaker 2: this Twitter graphic with the schedule, and I was just
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  Speaker 2: a little snippet from the show and I was saying,
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  Speaker 2: how this schedule is the hardest Ohio State regular season
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  Speaker 2: schedule we've ever had in our lives in Ohio State history.
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  Speaker 2: And some people were pushing back on that. Ohio State
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  Speaker 2: fans almost as if that offended them or they thought
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  Speaker 2: that was saying something bad about Ohio State to say
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  Speaker 2: that it's a hard schedule. They were saying things like, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I think a lot of those teams are going to
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  Speaker 2: fall back, or what I mean, regardless of what you
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  Speaker 2: think about the individual teams, that is an absolute ridiculous schedule.
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  Speaker 2: People are dumb on Twitter. I get it, But this is,
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  Speaker 2: in fact the hardest schedule we've ever seen. There really
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  Speaker 2: is not any debate about it. It's a fact because
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  Speaker 2: it never could have happened until the Big Ten expanded
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  Speaker 2: and brought in the West Coast teams, and this upcoming
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  Speaker 2: year will be the third year with the West Coast teams,
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  Speaker 2: but the first year that Ohio State plays the two
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  Speaker 2: top dogs in Oregon and SC. And it's not just
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  Speaker 2: tough because you've got that additional matchup with Oregon and SC,
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  Speaker 2: you've also got the Texas game as well. So you know,
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  Speaker 2: there have been years where you're out of conference schedule.
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  Speaker 2: They always usually schedule one big time out of conference,
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  Speaker 2: but your schedule at seven years in advance, and sometimes
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  Speaker 2: it's a great matchup, other times it's good. You know,
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  Speaker 2: it just so happens that this one is a top
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  Speaker 2: three matchup with Texas, just like it was last year.
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  Speaker 2: It's a really tough Big Ten draw as well, even
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  Speaker 2: aside from USC and Oregon. And we've seen so many
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  Speaker 2: more teams getting better in the Big Ten. But when
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: we look at like what the traditional schedule was like,
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: when we were looking at Ohio State throughout our lives,
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: scheduled come out. You would get over the last twenty years,
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: your Penn State and your Michigan game, and you could
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  Speaker 2: count on those to be tough games, and then you
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  Speaker 2: can usually count on your out of conference game, hopefully
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  Speaker 2: is going to be a tough one. And then there
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  Speaker 2: would usually be that one team in the Big Ten
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  Speaker 2: that was kind of on an upswing, a Michigan State,
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  Speaker 2: a Wisconsin, a team that you know could potentially beat you,
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  Speaker 2: and that was it. Really, that was it. You had
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  Speaker 2: four games or four weeks during the regular season that
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  Speaker 2: you'd really get up for, that we'd really get up
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  Speaker 2: for as a fan base. But even this year, if
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  Speaker 2: you look at this schedule without Oregon and without USC,
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  Speaker 2: you're still playing Texas, Indiana, at Iowa, at Nebraska, Illinois,
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  Speaker 2: and Michigan. That is a tough Big Ten draw right there.
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  Speaker 2: You could even take Texas out, You could take Texas,
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  Speaker 2: USC and Oregon out, and this schedule, I would contend,
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  Speaker 2: is still more difficult than last year's schedule removing Texas,
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  Speaker 2: USC and Oregon. If you remove USC, Oregon, and Texas,
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  Speaker 2: you got to replace them with three random Big Ten teams,
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  Speaker 2: two random Big Ten teams in a cream puff in
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  Speaker 2: Texas's case, So you're replacing them with a couple of randoms.
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  Speaker 2: Last year, what games did we get up for Texas, Washington, Illinois,
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  Speaker 2: Michigan In this case Indian It would take the place
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  Speaker 2: to Texas from last year as that top ranked team,
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  Speaker 2: Michigan's Michigan, and then you got at Iowa, at Nebraska,
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  Speaker 2: in Illinois, Northwestern as well in Maryland. I mean, that
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  Speaker 2: is a tougher schedule than last year. You can remove
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  Speaker 2: three of your five toughest games this year and it's
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  Speaker 2: still going to be tougher than last year's schedule. And
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  Speaker 2: don't forget, you still got to replace those games against
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  Speaker 2: USC and against Oregon with other Big Ten teams, and
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  Speaker 2: the odds are you're going to get a decent opponent
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  Speaker 2: out of one of those. So the schedule is hard, hard,
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  Speaker 2: and I for one, am stoked about it. I'm really
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  Speaker 2: looking forward to it. I love it because so many
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  Speaker 2: years have been you know, Ohio State the singular dominant
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  Speaker 2: program in the Big Ten, and we've rolled over the
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  Speaker 2: entire regular season. It's boring, and then you get to
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  Speaker 2: the postseason and you're not incredibly well prepared. I think
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: the buck guys were a bit of a victim of
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: that last year. I think they were a little ill
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  Speaker 2: prepared for top tier competition by the time they got
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: to Indiana Miami. But if you take the buckeye'est normal
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: schedule that we're used to, and you just go ahead
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  Speaker 2: and say, let's add a couple extra top five teams
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  Speaker 2: Oregon and Texas. That's what this is. USC will be
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  Speaker 2: a wild card and they always are. They were what
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  Speaker 2: nine to four last year. We're not quite so sure
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  Speaker 2: how they're going to be this year. But just collectively,
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: as a collective fan base, we have so few chances
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  Speaker 2: to get up for games during the regular season, and
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  Speaker 2: I think that's why I'm so amped up about this
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  Speaker 2: when we look back at last year. Literally Texas Game
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  Speaker 2: one was just a massive event, and then Game four
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  Speaker 2: we went out to Washington, and I think, you know,
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  Speaker 2: kind of collectively we were all pretty amped for that
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  Speaker 2: Washington trip. But after that, it was all the way
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: until Michigan before you know, and I do this every day, right,
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  Speaker 2: I see the numbers through the industry, I see what
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: moves the needle. There was just not much excitement during
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  Speaker 2: the regular season, and this one is totally different. We
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: can start with week one, where Week one is always exciting.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: You got ball State this year, that's not exciting, but
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: it is week one, and I think the fact that
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: you got Arthur Smith and we're looking for a new offense, right,
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: we want to see what this new offense looks like
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: with Artie Smith. I'm pretty pumped for that. You got
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: all the new transfers who are going to be coming
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  Speaker 2: in and starting, guys that we're just getting acclimated with.
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  Speaker 2: So it feels like a much more exciting opening day
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  Speaker 2: than we're used to. And then Week two, of course,
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  Speaker 2: is the Texas game, which is just you know what,
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  Speaker 2: words can't put into description how big this one is.
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  Speaker 2: They have lost to us now the last two years,
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: and we won the last time we were down there
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: at their stadium as well in the OTS, So that
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: one's just going to be so huge. It'll be a
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: night game as well. I think a lot of us
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: will be making the trip down. Not sure if I'm
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: going to be making the trip down yet or not,
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: but I would say, like normally those type games are
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: on my bucket, LI, but that particular stadium is not
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: one that is It's just a bit of a you know,
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: as far as stadiums go, it's not one that's ever
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: really intrigued me much. There's nothing really special about it.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: And the city of Austin, which I you know, i'd
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: always heard was an awesome place up until like twenty
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: years ago, not so much anymore. Week three you got
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: Kent State. There's no juice there. But then we enter
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: Big four competition. In week number four, Illinois comes to town,
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: and that's pretty exciting. Beilama has built a consistent competitor
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: at Illinois. Yeah, they got to change over quarterbacks, but
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: they got a good They got their best recruiting class.
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: Now these guys aren't playing this year obviously, but the
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: best recruiting class that I think they've had at Illinois,
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: and certainly under Beilama. They're investing money into the recruiting class,
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: into the transfer portal. That's going to be a consistent
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: contender as long as they're there. A team that can
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: potentially jump up and make a Big Ten championship. At
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: some point, things will have to go right. They'll have
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: to have the quarterback like Altmeyer, and the things will
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: have to click into place. But is it a team
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: that could pretend actually beat Ohio State. I think it
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: could potentially beat Ohio State, But should you lose the
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: Texas game, right, and obviously the Buckeyes will be underdogs
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  Speaker 2: in that Texas game. If Ohio State loses that game.
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: It's going to be wild, man, because if you lose
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: that game, then you got that stretch where you're going
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  Speaker 2: to Kinnick Stadium number one, Right, So that is a
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: huge game, right if you're going to Kinnick trying to
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: make sure you're avoiding loss number two that early in
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: the season. Iowa at that point will be coming off
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: Michigan the week prior. If by chance, Iowa pulls off
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: a win at Michigan, that upset win, that Ohio State
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: Iowa game is going to be enormous. I mean, it'll
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: still be a big game. Always a really tough place
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: to play, they really, I mean, they almost beat Oregon
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: and Indiana in Iowa City last year, so that'll be
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: a juice up game. Then we got a snoozer with Maryland,
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: and then we got the insane stretch where the Buckeys
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: start off by going to Indiana, who Indiana, for the
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: third straight year, has an abysmal schedule. Of course they'll
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: be undefeated heading into that game. That game will feature
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: back to back national champs and get this, Indiana then
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: plays Michigan the following week, So get your back to
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: back to back Big ten three peat shirt ready. But
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: that'll obviously be a huge week, and that starts the
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: Gauntlet where the following week, Ohio State has a bye
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: and then heads out to USC. And this is one
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: that I've been I've been so irritated that you make
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: this move bringing in USC. And remember it was USC
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: and UCLA that were coming to the Big Ten first
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: before the Washington and Oregon news happened. And my thought was, Okay,
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: the Big Ten is definitely going to try to schedule
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: Ohio State and USC as much as they can. We
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: got two teams that have played twenty three times in
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: program history. The series is thirteen to ten. USC leads,
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: by the way, and two of the historical blue bloods.
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: They're definitely going to try to match these two up.
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: And here we are having not played until year three,
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: which I think is just a huge It was just
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: a waste, man, you should have had those two teams play.
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: But finally we get to play. Buckeyes will go out
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: there and that one is going to be huge. Obviously,
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: you got to travel. It's tough to go travel out
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: there out West, and the last time we were out
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: there playing USC did not go well. Did not go well.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: For one. Todd Beckman and the crew, but certainly a
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: possibility that the buck Eyes will be underdogs to Indiana
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: and Texas. What if they lose both those games, It's
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: not I don't think it's gonna happen. I think the
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: buck guys are going eleven in one this year, but
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: it is a possibility they lose to both Texas and Indiana,
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: and if they do, now you're looking at a trip
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: out to USC where you could potentially lose your third
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: game on the year. Halfway through the Sea. USC is
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: going to be pretty good. I think obviously they return
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: Jade Mayava, really good quarterback nine and four last year.
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: They could be pretty beaten up, or they could be
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: hot before they play US. They do got a pretty
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: tough go of it as they host Oregon in Washington
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: and then they got away games at Penn State in Wisconsin,
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: which is a hell of a gauntlet before you play
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: Ohio State. I think the odds are they'll split those.
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: Let's say they lose to Oregon beat Washington, lose to
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: Penn State beat Wisconsin. That is game number I think
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: eight on the schedule, so that puts them at six
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: and two. That's a really dangerous team. And if the
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: Buckeyes already have two losses, what happens like that game
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: is huge, man, it's just massive. And you've got Oregon
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: the following week at the Shoe. So you absolutely have
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: to win that USC game in that circumstance, or I
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: suppose if you lost that game, Yeah, you know what,
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: you could lose that game, but you have to beat Oregon.
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: You couldn't take your third loss to Oregon because you
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: need that big win against Oregon to prop you up.
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: The win against USC won't be as impressive as the
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: win against Oregon. But there is a way this Buckeye
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: team with three losses can make it in the playoffs.
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: I think, so Texas, Indiana, or Oregon your three biggest opponents,
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: you've got to beat at least one. If you lose
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: all three of those games, you don't have enough juice
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: on the schedule to get enough good wins to make
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: it in. But if you win one of those games,
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: I think, without a doubt, you're the best three loss
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: team in the country and potentially getting in here. We'll
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: see how it goes. But providing you beat Oregon or
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: Texas or Indiana one of those, you're also going to
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: add on wins against Illinois, at Iowa, at Nebraska, who
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: has a week schedule. They should be a two loss
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: team this year really, and then the Michigan game. So
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: you just really got to win one of those and
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: you're still potentially in it. Obviously, if you win two,
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: you're in great shape. You're automatically in for sure with two,
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: but I think you could still win or get in
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: the playoffs with three losses, though I don't know how
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: good you'd feel going into the playoffs with three losses.
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: I'd still feel pretty good based off of the run
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: that we went on in twenty twenty four, but you know,
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: good about your odds anyway. I did say for a
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: long time, if Ohio State loses three games, I don't
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: even care if they make the playoffs because if they
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: lose three games, they're not going to do anything in
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: the playoffs anyway. And then I saw this schedule. But
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: that Nebraska game, Man, that trip to Memorial Stadium, that
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: is after the Oregon game in Nebraska, they're in an enigma.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: You know, who knows what you got here? Matt Rule.
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: In year number four, they've been getting a little bit
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: better talent wise. Every single year. But last year they
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: finished four and five in the Big Ten, seven and
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: six all together, and that was supposed to be their
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: big breakout year. Year three. Their schedule total cream puffs,
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: three creampuffs to start, and they got Michigan State Maryland,
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: then they got Indiana at home at Oregon, and then
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: Washington and Illinois. That's their four games of the year.
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: And if they could split those games, let's say they
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: beat Washington in Illinois, then the game against Ohio State
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: for them is a game to potentially go ten and two,
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: nine and three, which would be huge. Of course, they
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: got Iowa at the very end of the season as well,
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: but that could be a juicy game, man a quiet one.
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: And what will Michigan's record be heading into the game
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: this year? First year under Kyle whitting Him by the way,
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: a lot of interest from some big dogs on the
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: recruiting trail this past couple of weeks for Michigan, and
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: if Michigan's smart, they'll be pumping a ton of money
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: into Kyle Whittingham and the recruiting apparatus up there right
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: now because they've got some momentum with Whittingham. But similar
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: to Ohio State, their schedule is really really tough going
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: through game by game for them. Let's say they lose
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: to Oklahoma, which you know likely they'll be dogs against Oklahoma.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: They got Iowa coming in Week four, pretty tough game.
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: And then they're at Minnesota, and Minnesota has been given
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: Michigan a run for the money in the last couple
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: of years. Then they bring in Penn State. Now that
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: one sounds like one of the most fun games of
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: the year, watching Matt Campbell in his first year at
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: Penn State. Kyle Whittingham is his first year at Michigan,
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: so that'll be a big time game that'll certainly make
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: this top twenty six list. And then they got Indiana,
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: so surely probably taking their second loss Oklahoma and Indiana
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: we can say almost for sure. Then they got Rutgers
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: and how about Michigan State. What if Pat Fitzgerald can
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: pull one of these, you know, special coach upsets. I
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: feel like Pat Fitzgerald at Michigan State is a great fit.
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: I'm really excited to see what he could do this year.
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: A lot of people saying because of how it ended
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: at Northwestern, a couple of bad seasons in a row,
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: and they don't think that he is going to be
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: well suited for the nil era. I listened to this
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: man given interview on his philosophy of how to handle nil.
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: The guy gets it now like he gets it. He
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: didn't get it then. He was still resistant to players
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: getting paid. He has done the dabbo right, he's done
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: the about face. Now he's ready. He accepts it. The
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: guys are going to make money, and he's swallowed his pride.
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: And he's a smart guy. So I think Michigan State
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: and Pat Fitzgerald are going to be on the up
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: and up this year. Probably not going to be the year,
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: but could they potentially pull off an emotional upset against Michigan. Potentially.
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: But my point is for talking about all this is
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: last year Texas, Michigan, a little bit Washington three weeks
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: throughout the entire season that we collectively as a fan base,
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: we're just totally jacked for a football game. And this
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: year we got Texas, Iowa, Indiana, USC, Oregon, Michigan, and
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: we'll say either Illinois or Nebraska. One of those two
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: will probably be a jacked up game that's more than
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: half the regular season. It's gonna be something we've never experienced,
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: it's gonna be unbelievable. And if the Bucks are winning,
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: unbelievably fun. If they catch a couple of early losses,
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: really anxiety, like pretty stressful, something we're not used to.
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: And I'm probably gonna get comments like, yeah, you know,
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: you were saying you were so super excited for this schedule,
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: And that's exactly what I will be saying. That's why
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: I love football, and I love to watch big games.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: I love to be excited. I love to have that
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: feeling of, man, we could potentially lose today and then
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: you win. It makes it so much sweeter. And I
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: got a lot of faith in this team. Man. I
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: think that this team when we look at the defense,
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: and yesterday on the show, so actually this morning, this
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: morning on the show, I went through position group by
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: position group, and I ranked the position groups based on
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: the unit. Let's say, offensive line was it best in
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty four, twenty twenty five, or projection for twenty
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: twenty six, And I went through each one of those,
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: and twenty twenty six is last when you add it
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: all up. So here here's what I did. I actually
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: forgot wide receivers, so I had to go redo it.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: But if I'm looking at quarterback, right, I've got twenty
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: twenty six I think will be the best year of
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: the three at quarterback. Then I got twenty five, then
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: twenty four offensive line. I think twenty twenty six will
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: be the best year at offensive line. It's just my projection.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: I went through and explained it all this morning, et cetera.
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: But if you go down to the bottom of that
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: and you look at defensive line, linebacker, cornerback, and sale,
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: I got twenty twenty six as a last in every
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: single one of those categories. That's obviously a little scary.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: So while I think the defense is going to drop
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: back a little bit, I think the offense is going
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: to be better and that will balance out the team
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: a little more. The other thing I would say is
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: this is just based on talent. I'm just going based
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: off talent and not really factoring in Matt Patricia. Now,
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: last year, Matt Patricia really got to kind of take
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: his hands off after I don't know a couple of
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: games during end of the season and just it felt
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: like the defense was so talented that it was basically
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: just we're gonna just base defense, go smother them with
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: your talent. This year, you got a little bit of
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: a different feel, right, You got some questionable position groups.
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: You got some position groups where there's some guys coming
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: in that maybe need the Matt Patricia finishing school, and
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: I think that he's going to need to get a
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: little more creative with his schematics to really be a
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: dominant defense, whereas you didn't need to last year. So
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: there's a chance where even though the defense might not
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: be as talented, doesn't have quite the high level draft
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: picks or players, we might see a defense that performs,
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: you know, opponent adjusted almost as good. Obviously they got
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: a lot stiffer opponents. But when I see those, yeah,
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: they all drop down a little bit. It's not a
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: huge chasm in most cases. You know, I would say
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: defensive line is the one that really is a spotlight.
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: When you look at the defensive line next year versus
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: twenty four and twenty five, you know, next year we
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: roll in with Kenyatta Jackson as your number one guy.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: And Kenyatta Jackson, for I mean, he's been a really
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: solid Buckeye. He's not been a All American. It's not
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: Kayden Curry, it's not k Maac it's not Jack or
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: j T. He's been good, but that is your guy.
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: And then from him, you're looking at a really young guy.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: Now I happen to think that those really young guys
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: are gonna pop over there. But just looking at it
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: fairly like, I don't know how you could project twenty
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: six to be anything but dead last on the defensive line,
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: and I think it's pretty You know, you look at
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: James Smith and Edric Houston at three Tech like these
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: are two guys that have underperformed at this point in
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: their career. Well one of them make a jump. I
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: think it's probably pretty likely, but you know, we're not
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: quite sure. How about John Walker? How's he going to
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: do it? Three Tech? I'm a believer in Will Smith,
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: but Will can't play the entire game. You need most
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: of those snaps to come from John Walker, and I
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: got some faith in them. Some people don't, So just
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: trying to be fair, that's how I broke it down.
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: I'd love to get your guys thoughts on those rooms,
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: maybe your rankings. When I added it all up, twenty
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: twenty six was the weakest of all of them. And
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: that's just fine with me because this is where you're
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: coaching can get you your advantage. And on the offensive
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: side of the ball, I think that Arthur Smith is
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: going to Ryan Day's vision of how he wanted the
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: offense to look last year. Arthur Smith is going to
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: be able to implement what he wanted the offense to
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: look like last year. And that's pretty exciting. But let's
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: go over our man, Brad Crawford's list. Brad Crawford important
• 30:17
  Speaker 2: to say this right off the rip. This is an
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: SEC guy, So an SEC guy making this list. How
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: many Ohigh State games do you think made the list
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: for the top twenty five games of the year. Let's
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: go through. I'm leaving twenty six off the table. No,
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: let's do twenty six. I'll leave twenty five five off
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: the table. Twenty five is a group of five game,
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: group of six.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: Game.
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: Twenty six is Houston at Texas Tech. Houston won ten
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: games last year. Texas Tech obviously makes the playoffs. There
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: are very few really exciting Big twelve games this year,
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: so that'll be a good one to kick it off.
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: And that's an early season game. And number twenty four
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: is Clemson LSU, a game that remember last year we
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: thought kicking off the season. That was probably Week two.
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: We thought that one might be a really big time game,
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: and it turns out it was an absolute nothing. The
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: Battle of Death Valley. It's Clemson's the real Death Valley,
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: by the way, Howard's Rock Death Valley. LSU beats Clemson
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: in like nineteen sixty in taunting them, starts calling LSU
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: Stadium Death Valley as a way to taunt them, and
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: now there's this battle for Death Valuy. No, you don't
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: get to do this as a taunt and now steal
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: the name. That's not it. So because of that, I'll
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: be rooting for Clemson. Also because I hate Lane Kiffin,
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: but that'll be a really exciting game. Clemson preseason number
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: twenty four. Purple and Orange Tigers take on the Purple
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: and Gold Tigers and baton rouge a night game in LSU.
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: One of the best spectacles in all of sport. In
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: Lane Kiffin, that's his opening home game. Now. The Tigers
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: roster forty million dollars plus this year. On three pulled
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: fourteen GMS. They were all in agreement that LSU is
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: the most expensive roster in college football. This year. We've
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: come a long way from Brian Kelly just a couple
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: of years ago, remember sitting there giving that interview because
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: they were broke, basically saying, don't come to LSU if
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: you just want to get paid, if you want to
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: get developed, etc. Well, we know that this doesn't work anymore,
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: Like head coach has tried this for as long as
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: they could. If you say that, that just turns people
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: off right off the rip. But LSU has found a
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: lot of money and they've pumped it into the program,
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: bringing in Sam Levitt for like six million dollars. Obviously,
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: Jordan's Seaton for some three to six million dollars is
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: the price range that I keep reading. That's that's a
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: pretty big chasm there, three to six. But he got
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: paid a lot of money and Lane Kiffin's first game,
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: that one's going to be a huge game. Side note,
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: talking about Jordan's Seaton. In the three million dollars, we
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: went over Austin Sarahveld's season long performance at Left Tech
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: versus Jordan's Seaton. Just by the numbers and by the numbers,
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: Austin Saraveld, who gave up not a single sack on
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: the entire year, was better. He was better in pass blocking,
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: and he was just a little bit lower in run blocking,
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: which is Sarahveld's strength. I think that a second year
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: at tackle run blocking he'll be even better. But I
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: was thinking about this, how much do you think if
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: Jordan Seaton got three million dollars on the open market
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: three to six? Sorry, how much do you think Austin
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: Saraveld would have gotten in the transfer portal? I think
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: clearly over a million dollars. I really believe that. And
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: we're talking about a guy who was a top ten
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: left tackle in college football last year, despite the fact that, no,
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: he doesn't look like a left tackle. He's not going
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: to be an NFL left tackle, but for a college
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: football team playing big time college football, he was a
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: top ten dude last year. People pay guys like Ethan
• 34:03
  Speaker 2: on Yanwa a million dollars who've never done anything. They
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: just look the part. Austin Seahbel did the part. That
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: dude was worth over a million bucks, And somehow people
• 34:14
  Speaker 2: were not happy that that guy's coming back as the
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: left or right tackle, depending on if Ian Moore is
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: even better suited to play the left side than him.
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: I like this offensive line guys. I'll tell you what,
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: I feel quite confident in this offensive line. It's a
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: coaching issue. They need to get it together. Certainly they
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: see that. Let's see what they do. As we still
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: have seen no hire to come in for Marcus Johnson.
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: Charlie Dickey is still there. Marcus Johnson gone to Arkansas,
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: so we've still got one more higher. That's the last
• 34:48
  Speaker 2: one we're waiting on, is the replacement for Marcus Johnson.
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: So anyway, just wanted to talk about that as we
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: talked about LSU now number twenty three, Virginia Tech Miami,
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: November twentieth, And I got to tell you, I'm not
• 35:05
  Speaker 2: a James Franklin fan, but I have not seen Virginia
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: Tech mentioned on this amount of guys that Ohio State
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: is recruiting in twenty years. I'm thinking like maybe one
• 35:19
  Speaker 2: out of every five guys that Ohio State is recruiting
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: this year is talking to Virginia Tech. And that is
• 35:26
  Speaker 2: certainly different. And then you look at the ACC and
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: how wide open it always is, and you look at
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: James Franklin being able to pull those guys from Penn
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: State down to Virginia Tech. The guys were in the
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: recruiting class last year, guys, these kids had no idea
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: who Virginia Tech was. Right. They don't have any clue
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: those Penn State commits. They've never seen Virginia Tech. Virginia
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: Tech has been nothing in their entire lives but bad.
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: And James Franklin. I think by year two could potentially
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: have these guys back in the top twenty five. And
• 35:59
  Speaker 2: they're back, man, They're back competing for ACC championships just
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: like that. Like, while we know that James Franklin is
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: a guy who can't get the program over the top
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: to win a national championship, there's a very select few
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: that can. This is a dude who's now working with
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: as much talent or more than he had in college
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: station and in Pennsylvania. You know, Pennsylvania pretty talented, but
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: there's a ton of talent down there in the DMV
• 36:25
  Speaker 2: and you're closer to the South. And now this guy's
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: got it moving like right off the rip. I mean,
• 36:32
  Speaker 2: they're pretty scary in the ACC now, So Virginia Tech
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: Miami certainly a hell of a game. He's got at
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: number twenty two. Penn State, Michigan. On October seventeenth, the
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: Battle of the New Head coaches Winter stays alive in
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: the Big Ten Championship race. I would have that a
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: little higher. Number twenty one Miami at Clemson October third.
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: This is obviously a huge battle in the ACC. These
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: guys haven't played since twenty twenty three. Dabo needs a
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: big win. Can Clemson climb back into the national discussion
• 37:03
  Speaker 2: or will this be you know, if they have another
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: year like the head last year, this is really it
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: for him, right Like there's going to be the Clemson boosters.
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: He's on his way out. He's got to be on
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: his way out if they have another season like they
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: did last year, especially with the first year really diving
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: into the portal. He signed eight portal guys this year.
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: There was maybe two last year. So he goes eight
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: portal guys, brings him in, and then you have the
• 37:28
  Speaker 2: one big fiasco with the linebacker that ended up going
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: to Old Miss. Dabo gets his feelings hurt, makes a
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: big hubbub press conference about it, and he was right.
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: He was right to do that. It's just like, man,
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: this dude is so he just feels so dated for
• 37:43
  Speaker 2: today's college football. Brings in Chad Morris to run his offense.
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: Chad Morris was the offensive coordinator back when they were
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: good back in the day. Brings this dude back and
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: it's just like, man, come on, We're we gotta be
• 37:55
  Speaker 2: evolved here. We're not going backwards anyway. Number twenty Texas
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: saying at Alabama October twenty fourth. Last three games in
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: this series have been decided by six points or less.
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: Who's the better head coach? Mike Alco or Kaylin de
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: Boor if Texas A and m or if Alabama could
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: do it all over again, would they have hired a
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: guy like Mike Alco over the new hottest thing Kaylan
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: de bor? Right, he was the hottest thing in town,
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: and they went brought him in feeling so confident, and
• 38:25
  Speaker 2: everybody said, I don't know, man, that's a funky fit
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: right there. And it kind of looks like a funky fit.
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: That one surely will be big for the SEC race.
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: Number nineteen Oklahoma at Georgia, first meeting since the classic
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: Rose Bowl of twenty seventeen with Baker, two really great defenses. Well,
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: you know, when we look at these two squads, Georgia
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: was a little down on defense last year, but remember
• 38:50
  Speaker 2: coming into the year, all The talk was Oklahoma gets
• 38:56
  Speaker 2: John Mattier from Washington State, this dude, big time Heisman candidate,
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: and Georgia couldn't get who they wanted out of the
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: portal for Nando Mendoza. They kicked the tires on a
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: couple others and they got to settle for Gunner. So
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: they settle for Gunner Stockton. And we watched the season
• 39:13
  Speaker 2: play out, and Gunner Stockton is a damn gamer man.
• 39:16
  Speaker 2: I like the dude a lot. So Gunner Stockton is
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: the dog John Mattier. You know, Oklahoma fans are not
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: happy that he's back, and Venables would not turn his
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: back on him, so he brings him back. So I
• 39:30
  Speaker 2: think Oklahoma is due to fall back this year. Just
• 39:33
  Speaker 2: hope that they beat Michigan early on number eighteen. Notre
• 39:37
  Speaker 2: Dame BYU. This is the game that Notre Dame was
• 39:40
  Speaker 2: able to get to replace USC for not renewing with them.
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: I'm pretty excited about this one. You know, Notre Dame
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: has pretty much they got to win eleven this year.
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: Their schedules so weak they have to win eleven to
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: make the playoffs. They got three games that are gonna
• 39:58
  Speaker 2: be less than double digit lines. They got Miami, which
• 40:02
  Speaker 2: is obviously a huge game. They've got this game against
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: BYU and maybe SMU might be less than double digit line.
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: The rest of their games will be double digit lines.
• 40:13
  Speaker 2: So you got Bear Brockmeyer getting a little older man.
• 40:16
  Speaker 2: Maybe he can make some magic happen. It's going to
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: be a great I love watching games out at Lavelle
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: Edwards at night, which this will be. And Marcus and
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: the Irish led by CJ. Carr with some new weapons
• 40:28
  Speaker 2: to throw to in Quincy Porter and Mylon Graham. Notre
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: Dame would be interesting this year, So that'll be a
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: fun one. Number seventeen Red River, Texas and OU always
• 40:38
  Speaker 2: a fun spectacle. Oh you and Texas guys. Remember we
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: were told by the SEC Hawks that these guys could
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: not compete in the SEC, and through their two years
• 40:47
  Speaker 2: in the SEC collectively three playoff berths between them. SARK
• 40:52
  Speaker 2: needs to make the playoffs this year. They've invested a
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: ton of money in that roster and I'm wrong, two
• 41:01
  Speaker 2: playoff burst between them. Nonetheless, they said that they couldn't compete.
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: They certainly can compete as Texas storms them the first
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: year and then OU makes the playoffs. But Sark's got
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: a roster they just dumped a ton of money in,
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: and if they lose to Ohio State right off the rip,
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: it is going to be so funny. Dude. They're going
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: to lose their minds. Can you imagine three years in
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: a row they lose to Ohio State after they just
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: keep pumping more and more money into the roster for them.
• 41:29
  Speaker 2: Number sixteen Alabama LSU. I don't know, man, this is
• 41:34
  Speaker 2: not one that has the juice that it used to
• 41:36
  Speaker 2: to me anymore. This is number sixteen. I guess I'm
• 41:40
  Speaker 2: just not a huge believer that LSU is going to
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: come out of the gate and be a really strong
• 41:45
  Speaker 2: team this year. Having looked at this list already ahead
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: of you, guys, I know that Brad does. I can
• 41:50
  Speaker 2: tell by how the rest of this list goes. Number
• 41:53
  Speaker 2: fifteen Ole Miss at Texas and this is a banger.
• 41:58
  Speaker 2: I hate that ole Miss got trinidadge back. I mean,
• 42:00
  Speaker 2: obviously it's fun for us the college football fan. A
• 42:04
  Speaker 2: lot of people stood up and said this one was
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: different than most of the other scenarios. I disagree. I
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: think that if you want to claim a medical red shirt,
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: you do it the year after you had the issue.
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: The issue was nonsense. In my opinion, Ton Solitis in
• 42:23
  Speaker 2: twenty seventeen is not a sufficient reason to get a
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: red shirt for another season. But he gets one. And
• 42:33
  Speaker 2: now we look at these guys without Lane Kiffen. Obviously
• 42:36
  Speaker 2: they got key one lazy, they got Chambliss, so they
• 42:38
  Speaker 2: got good offensive parts. They've got Pete Golding take over
• 42:42
  Speaker 2: former defensive coordinator for him defensive coach. I don't think
• 42:46
  Speaker 2: they're going to have the same offense. And I think
• 42:48
  Speaker 2: that old miss is going to take a big fall back.
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: Number fourteen BYU at Utah. Now, like I said, not
• 42:54
  Speaker 2: too many compelling Big twelve matchups on the list. Here
• 42:57
  Speaker 2: Morgan scally takes over at you Utah, Utah legend, Utah
• 43:02
  Speaker 2: born and bred coach at Utah younger dude, and I
• 43:06
  Speaker 2: think we're going to see some fire breathe back into
• 43:08
  Speaker 2: the Utah program. This game always great. They wear color
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: on color, which Ohio State and Michigan should wear every year.
• 43:18
  Speaker 2: I always root for Utah, always root for Utah in
• 43:20
  Speaker 2: the Holy War. Number thirteen OU at Michigan. Huge game
• 43:25
  Speaker 2: for Kyle Whittingham right out of the gate. Right if
• 43:28
  Speaker 2: these guys can beat Oklahoma, who made the playoffs last year.
• 43:33
  Speaker 2: Can you imagine the momentum in the way it's going
• 43:37
  Speaker 2: to feel up there, How excited they're going to be
• 43:40
  Speaker 2: for Kyle Whittingham at Michigan. If that happens, it's gonna
• 43:45
  Speaker 2: be NonStop bad news. Bears. Man can't happen. Oklahoma cannot
• 43:50
  Speaker 2: win that game. Boy, I think that's in the intro. No,
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: we will not be rooting for Michigan in that game
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: because they are a big ten member. That is not
• 43:58
  Speaker 2: how we roll here at Chuck Ice Studios. Now here's
• 44:01
  Speaker 2: where we get to notice that there's been no Ohio
• 44:03
  Speaker 2: State games yet on the list, and we know the
• 44:05
  Speaker 2: Buckeyes play a lot of big games. Here is our
• 44:08
  Speaker 2: first at number twelve, Ohio State at USC. Ohio State
• 44:14
  Speaker 2: USC thirteen to ten all time series. USC leads that
• 44:19
  Speaker 2: thirteen to ten, and the Bucks have got to take
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: advantage and get this thing back in the next couple
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: of years. Got to get this series back to the
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: good guys. Cocky Lincoln Riley will have this game as
• 44:32
  Speaker 2: the measuring stick like most programs do, but this, to me,
• 44:36
  Speaker 2: I think this is the biggest game of his entire
• 44:39
  Speaker 2: tenure since year one where they almost made the playoffs.
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: I would say last year against Oregon probably is right now.
• 44:48
  Speaker 2: But this game against Ohio State for Lincoln Riley, this
• 44:52
  Speaker 2: is his this is white whale, and it'll be the
• 44:55
  Speaker 2: best shot they got and it's going to be a
• 44:57
  Speaker 2: hell of a game. So that's number twelve, Ohio State
• 44:59
  Speaker 2: at u UC. Number eleven LSU at Old Miss Lane
• 45:03
  Speaker 2: Kiffin going back to Old Miss, and this one will
• 45:07
  Speaker 2: be cinema as Lane won't shut up all week, I'm sure.
• 45:11
  Speaker 2: And Pete Golding he's not shy. He took several jabs
• 45:15
  Speaker 2: at Lane, jabs about his yoga, things of that nature.
• 45:19
  Speaker 2: And they're two pretty compelling teams. Number ten Oregon at USC.
• 45:24
  Speaker 2: That's gonna be a banger. Last year USC goes up there,
• 45:27
  Speaker 2: gets whooped by Oregon, and this one is you know,
• 45:32
  Speaker 2: Oregon has swung this so far in their direction over
• 45:35
  Speaker 2: the past I don't know, fifteen years. USC now finally
• 45:39
  Speaker 2: getting that momentum back on the trail. Can they get
• 45:42
  Speaker 2: it back on the field, because they're gonna need to
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: start doing that at some point or else. You know,
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: it's gonna go back Oregon's way. Now Number nine Georgia Bama.
• 45:53
  Speaker 2: Georgia can never beat these dudes in the regular season.
• 45:56
  Speaker 2: Lose to them again last year, but beat them in
• 45:58
  Speaker 2: the postseason in the SEC Championship. Can Kirby beat him
• 46:02
  Speaker 2: during the regular season. If he does, it's going to
• 46:05
  Speaker 2: be huge. Now. Georgia plays Oklahoma and Vanderbilt in the
• 46:08
  Speaker 2: previous two weeks before this game, so they got another
• 46:12
  Speaker 2: tough stretch. This is Alabama's first big game of the
• 46:15
  Speaker 2: year on October tenth, unless Florida State totally turns things
• 46:19
  Speaker 2: around in one offseason, and I don't see that happening.
• 46:22
  Speaker 2: So Bama with a pretty easy schedule. Number eight another
• 46:26
  Speaker 2: Buckeyes game, Michigan at Ohio State, and the game is
• 46:31
  Speaker 2: always really compelling when one side's got a first year
• 46:34
  Speaker 2: head coach, which of course we'll have this year with
• 46:37
  Speaker 2: Kyle Whittingham. You know what else is the first it's
• 46:40
  Speaker 2: the first that we've had I think for a lot
• 46:43
  Speaker 2: of us who are just kind of I don't know,
• 46:45
  Speaker 2: fair minded individuals who's been college football fans for a
• 46:47
  Speaker 2: long time. I respect Kyle Whittingham. This will be the
• 46:50
  Speaker 2: first Michigan coach that I've had any respect for since
• 46:55
  Speaker 2: Lloyd Carr. It's been a long time. You know, Lloyd
• 46:58
  Speaker 2: Carr was not respectful. It wasn't a punk. He made
• 47:02
  Speaker 2: his teams. You know, they didn't he didn't have Taylor
• 47:05
  Speaker 2: Lawan's on his team, you know what I'm saying. Like,
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: Lloyd Carr was a respectable guy and he was in
• 47:11
  Speaker 2: Bo's image. That's how he coached. I think Kyle Whittingham
• 47:16
  Speaker 2: will carry a lot of respect with the rivalry. I
• 47:20
  Speaker 2: like that. I'd like to get back to that a
• 47:21
  Speaker 2: little bit. I think in the past, you know, eight years,
• 47:25
  Speaker 2: it's kind of gotten off the rails. It's been kind
• 47:28
  Speaker 2: of disgusting. It's felt really gross. Obviously feels great when
• 47:33
  Speaker 2: you win when it when it's so gross, but it's
• 47:36
  Speaker 2: just toxic as hell, and you love it being toxic.
• 47:39
  Speaker 2: But at some point it's like, man, when I was
• 47:42
  Speaker 2: I don't know, when I was younger, it didn't quite
• 47:44
  Speaker 2: feel so so nasty. And maybe it's just social media,
• 47:48
  Speaker 2: but I kind of like this winning him higher for
• 47:50
  Speaker 2: them anyway, Number seven Texas at LSU and here's LSU again.
• 47:56
  Speaker 2: He must think LSU is going to be an absolute bang.
• 48:00
  Speaker 2: Now LSU by the point of they by the point
• 48:02
  Speaker 2: of this Texas game November fourteenth, will have already played Clemson,
• 48:05
  Speaker 2: Old Miss, Texas A and M Alabama and Auburn. This
• 48:10
  Speaker 2: team could be totally out of it. He's got it
• 48:12
  Speaker 2: at number seven, Brad, You're wrong on this number six.
• 48:17
  Speaker 2: Excited about this Texas and Texas A and M. Who's
• 48:20
  Speaker 2: got the better coach? Is it Sark? Is it Alco?
• 48:24
  Speaker 2: This one November twenty seventh, so last game of the year,
• 48:27
  Speaker 2: and this one here is definitely well most likely going
• 48:31
  Speaker 2: to have somebody's playoff hopes on the line for this game,
• 48:34
  Speaker 2: and that'll be a banger. This one's at College Station,
• 48:37
  Speaker 2: and I always like it when that game's played there
• 48:40
  Speaker 2: more than at Texas, cause, like I said, the stadium
• 48:43
  Speaker 2: just doesn't do much for me. Number five back to
• 48:46
  Speaker 2: that stadium. Ohio State Texas is the number five game
• 48:49
  Speaker 2: of the year, the third matchup in three years, Buckey's
• 48:53
  Speaker 2: winning the first two, and last year's Texas team came
• 48:57
  Speaker 2: in as the higher ranked team. I believe this year
• 49:00
  Speaker 2: Texas will be the higher ranked team again and the
• 49:03
  Speaker 2: favorite at home. The buck guys look to spoil the
• 49:06
  Speaker 2: momentum right off the rip for them with their fancy
• 49:09
  Speaker 2: new toys. It's gonna be great. Man, cannot wait for that.
• 49:13
  Speaker 2: Number four Georgia at Old Miss, a rematch of the
• 49:16
  Speaker 2: playoff game that Trinidad Shambliss just played out of his mind.
• 49:21
  Speaker 2: Old Miss wins and Georgia. You know, it looks pretty
• 49:25
  Speaker 2: damn good this year, pretty damn good this year, so
• 49:28
  Speaker 2: this one should be pretty fun. Number three Ohio State
• 49:31
  Speaker 2: at Indiana the past two national champions, and the last
• 49:35
  Speaker 2: time they played was obviously a hugely satisfying game for
• 49:39
  Speaker 2: most of the country as nobody was rooting for the
• 49:42
  Speaker 2: buck Eyes but us in that game. That's for sure
• 49:45
  Speaker 2: a massive, massive game for Ryan Day. I don't give
• 49:48
  Speaker 2: a damn who the hell you are. If you are
• 49:51
  Speaker 2: the Ohio State head coach, you cannot lose to Indiana
• 49:54
  Speaker 2: twice in a row. Can't happen. You're gonna get quite
• 49:57
  Speaker 2: a negative reaction if you do, and you should. And
• 50:01
  Speaker 2: at number two Miami Notre Dame. I understand why this
• 50:05
  Speaker 2: has a ton of juice to it. It's a rematch
• 50:08
  Speaker 2: of a great game last year that opened the season
• 50:11
  Speaker 2: that both teams likely playoff teams. The historical games that
• 50:15
  Speaker 2: these two have played but we're talking about man. These
• 50:18
  Speaker 2: two teams can essentially both sleepwalk through their entire schedule
• 50:24
  Speaker 2: and go eleven and one. Notre Dame has this game,
• 50:29
  Speaker 2: they play this game, and then BYU and SMU. That's it. Miami,
• 50:34
  Speaker 2: they play this game in their schedule just about as bad. Stanford,
• 50:39
  Speaker 2: Wake Forest, Clemson, Florida State, pitt North Carolina, Duke, Virginia,
• 50:46
  Speaker 2: Virginia Tech, and Boston College. It's a total snooze fest.
• 50:50
  Speaker 2: Both should make the playoffs easily, which takes away a
• 50:53
  Speaker 2: lot of the drama of this game. And then Number
• 50:55
  Speaker 2: One Oregon at Ohio State, the number one game if
• 51:01
  Speaker 2: you're counting at home. Brad Crawford has Ohio State with
• 51:06
  Speaker 2: three of the top five games in the entire year,
• 51:11
  Speaker 2: five of the top twelve. That is Buckeye domination, which
• 51:16
  Speaker 2: highlights our earlier conversation about how ridiculous and ridiculously fun
• 51:21
  Speaker 2: this Ohio State schedule is. This will be the Buckeye's
• 51:24
  Speaker 2: final game of that gauntlet in the second half of
• 51:27
  Speaker 2: the year, as Oregon returns. They beat us last time
• 51:30
  Speaker 2: at the Shoe, caught Ryan Day off guard that day,
• 51:33
  Speaker 2: caught him off guard. That'll ever happen again. Bucks beat
• 51:37
  Speaker 2: the hell out of them in the Rose Bowl last
• 51:38
  Speaker 2: time we played, and they thought they were going to
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: win the national championship that year. You got Dan Lanning,
• 51:44
  Speaker 2: you got Ryan Day. There's a little something brewing there,
• 51:47
  Speaker 2: going head to head on the recruiting trail a couple
• 51:49
  Speaker 2: of games, and I think that that one is a
• 51:53
  Speaker 2: great candidate for the best game of the year. So
• 51:56
  Speaker 2: in totality, Ohio State makes the list with three of
• 52:01
  Speaker 2: the top five games, five of the top twelve, and
• 52:05
  Speaker 2: that is hella awesome. So anyway, guys, I do appreciate
• 52:09
  Speaker 2: you joining me. Join me again on Thursday at eight
• 52:12
  Speaker 2: pm here at bucke Huddle Primetime. Please like the show
• 52:15
  Speaker 2: and please subscribe to buck a Huddle If you have not,
• 52:18
  Speaker 2: I appreciate you and I'll talk to you soon. Buck
• 52:20
  Speaker 2: Huddle Out.