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BONUS: Behind the Scenes - Covering An Ohio State Football Game · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It's time for another bonus episode, and I am going
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: to tell you right up front, this is one you
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  Speaker 1: are probably going to enjoy more if you find it on.
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  Speaker 2: Our YouTube channel.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: So I'm going to put the link to the YouTube
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  Speaker 1: video right in the description.
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  Speaker 2: For this podcast.
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  Speaker 1: But this is one of these questions that we get
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  Speaker 1: a lot. What is it like to cover an Ohio
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  Speaker 1: State football game?
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  Speaker 2: So this is the answer. And again... put it together
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  Speaker 2: as a video.
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  Speaker 1: You're going to get a lot of better visuals, obviously
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  Speaker 1: on YouTube than you will on a podcast, but you'll
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  Speaker 1: still listening to it, get a pretty good sense for
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  Speaker 1: what our day is like when we are at Ohio stadium,
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  Speaker 1: how early we get there, what we're doing at all
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  Speaker 1: these different times and what it's like to actually be
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  Speaker 1: a media member covering the Ohio state Buckeyes.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: So if you enjoy.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: This one, head on over to YouTube, watch it there.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: I think you're going to get more out of it there.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: If you do enjoy it there, Hit the thumbs up there.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Leave us a comment and find it on your mobile device.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: Hype that video on your mobile device. That helps us
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: reach more folks and encourages us to do more kind
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: of complicated videos and projects like this. So what is
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: it like to cover an Ohio State Buckeyes football game?
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  Speaker 1: It is a question you're going to get a lot
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  Speaker 1: if you were in the sports media in Columbus. So
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  Speaker 1: in this video, you're going to get a look. at
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  Speaker 1: a day at Ohio Stadium from the drive-in more than
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  Speaker 1: four hours prior to kickoff to walking out of a
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  Speaker 1: nearly empty horseshoe hours after almost everyone else has gone home.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: If you enjoy these videos, please take a second to
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: hit the thumbs up, leave us a comment, and pull
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: this video up on the YouTube app on your phone
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  Speaker 1: and hit that hype button. It helps a lot of
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: folks find these videos. All right, so the day, it
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  Speaker 1: starts early. We're usually getting to campus at least four
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  Speaker 1: hours before kickoff. For bigger games, it's even earlier. Even then,
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  Speaker 1: the traffic on Lane Avenue can take a little while
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  Speaker 1: to navigate. Of course, it is only going to get
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  Speaker 1: worse the later you arrive. Once you're parked, it's an
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  Speaker 1: easy walk into the stadium, and getting there more than
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  Speaker 1: four hours early means that most of the tailgaters aren't.
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  Speaker 2: Even set up yet.
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  Speaker 1: Once inside the stadium, you take the same tunnel that
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  Speaker 1: the team does before every game down to field level.
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  Speaker 1: Getting here early means you never know what you're going
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  Speaker 1: to see, like Brutus shooting a pre-produced video segment that
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  Speaker 1: will air later in the day. We'll give you a
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  Speaker 1: quick look around field level and then head into the
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  Speaker 1: photo bunker. This is an area underneath South Stands that
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  Speaker 1: is a shared space. where the cheerleaders for both teams,
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  Speaker 1: the mascots, the team media personnel, photographers, TV videographers, they all.
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  Speaker 2: Pack in to get their work done.
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  Speaker 1: It is definitely not fancy, just folding tables and some
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  Speaker 1: power cords hanging down from the ceiling, but there is
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  Speaker 1: a roof over your head on a rainy day, that
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  Speaker 1: is important, and internet speeds are usually pretty good, which
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  Speaker 1: is really all.
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  Speaker 2: That really matters when you're working down here.
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  Speaker 1: Once you've got your laptop set up and most of
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  Speaker 1: your camera gear set down, you can head back out
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  Speaker 1: to the field to take a look around. Right now,
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  Speaker 1: we're about 3 hours and 45 minutes from kickoff. This week,
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  Speaker 1: they have the midfield logo decorated in a vintage style
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  Speaker 1: for homecoming, and this is just the kind of thing
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  Speaker 1: that people find really interesting. So we're going to head
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  Speaker 1: over there to get a couple of quick pictures for
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  Speaker 1: social media. Then it's time to head up to the
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  Speaker 1: press box to record a pregame show for YouTube. It
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: is still more than three hours until kickoff. Getting these
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  Speaker 1: done early means that there aren't a lot of other
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  Speaker 1: people around, which is helpful so that you don't get
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  Speaker 1: in people's way.
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  Speaker 2: Pick up a third and two or whatever. He's okay
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  Speaker 2: just taking what is there to be had, but also.
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  Speaker 1: With the pregame show done, you can take a second
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  Speaker 1: to admire the view from the press box. The roof
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  Speaker 1: of the press box is 183 feet above the playing field,
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  Speaker 1: and while we're not quite that high, it is a
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  Speaker 1: long way down to field level. About two and a
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  Speaker 1: half hours before kickoff, you can grab a pregame meal.
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  Speaker 1: It's a Mexican theme this week, and actually quite good.
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  Speaker 1: They also have hot dogs available in the photo bunker
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  Speaker 1: at halftime, but if you miss those, this is your
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  Speaker 1: last chance to grab a bite to eat until the
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  Speaker 1: end of the night. and that is about eight hours away.
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  Speaker 1: With lunch done, we'll take a quick look at the
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  Speaker 1: field from the camera deck. That is just one level
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  Speaker 1: down from the press box. It provides an open-air view
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  Speaker 1: of the playing field. Now back downstairs in the photo bunker,
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  Speaker 1: it is time to put on your photo vest. This
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  Speaker 1: identifies you immediately to the Redcoats as someone who is
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  Speaker 1: allowed to be on the field level at all times.
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  Speaker 1: Red vests are for official team media. Black are for
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  Speaker 1: media unaffiliated with the program. Next up, we're going to
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  Speaker 1: run back up into the tower in the southwest corner
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  Speaker 1: of the stadium to the room where the visiting team's
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  Speaker 1: post-game press conference is held. Ohio State helpfully provides a
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  Speaker 1: live stream of the home press conference so that there
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  Speaker 1: aren't about 20 cameras in the back of the room,
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  Speaker 1: but if you want a live stream of the opposing
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  Speaker 1: press conference, you have to do it yourself. Setting most
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  Speaker 1: of this stuff up now will save you precious time
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  Speaker 1: in the rushed moments after the game. Now we're about
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  Speaker 1: 90 minutes away from kickoff, and the Buckeyes are starting
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  Speaker 1: to take.
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  Speaker 2: The field for warm-ups.
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  Speaker 1: A lot of the next hour is just people walking
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  Speaker 1: down the ramp for the locker room to the field,
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  Speaker 1: then going back up, then coming back down.
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  Speaker 2: About an hour before the game, recruits start coming down
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  Speaker 2: the tunnel.
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  Speaker 1: That is Davis Seaman, one of the Buckeyes' 2027 offensive
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  Speaker 1: line commits. This is a great chance to shoot photos
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  Speaker 1: of all these recruits in one convenient spot. That is
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  Speaker 1: very important for sites like Buckeye Insiders that cover recruiting year-round.
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  Speaker 1: Now it's 45 minutes to kick off and head coach
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  Speaker 1: Ryan Day is headed down to the field. A minute later,
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  Speaker 1: most of the rest of the team heads out for
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  Speaker 1: their final warm-up, now fully dressed for the game. 30
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  Speaker 1: minutes to kick off, it's time to run down to
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  Speaker 1: the other end of the field where the visitors are
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  Speaker 1: warming up. One of the realities of modern college football
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  Speaker 1: is that it is entirely possible that one or more
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  Speaker 1: of the guys on the opposing team could become Buckeyes
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  Speaker 1: during the upcoming transfer portal season. So we tend to
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  Speaker 1: make a list of guys who could at least theoretically
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  Speaker 1: make that switch and then try and get a photo
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  Speaker 1: of two of them for the upcoming offseason, just in case.
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  Speaker 1: All right, the countdown is now officially on. 13 minutes
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  Speaker 1: to kick off. If you want to get videos or
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  Speaker 1: photos of the band, you have to be somewhere other
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  Speaker 1: than the home tunnel. Today, we're going to skip that
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  Speaker 1: We're just going to watch the iDaughters do their thing
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  Speaker 1: on the video board. Five minutes to kick off. Cue
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  Speaker 1: the smoke machine, and cue the team. These few moments
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: at the bottom of the tunnel with the smoke and
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  Speaker 1: the pyro, they can give you some of the best
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  Speaker 1: photos of the day, like Ryan Day pointing to tell
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  Speaker 1: the team that it's time to go. And you never
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  Speaker 1: know who's going to be running past when you're rapid-firing photos.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes it's backup punter Brady Young, and sometimes it's Chris
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  Speaker 1: Henry Jr., And yes, that is my camera lens in
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  Speaker 1: the shot at the bottom left. Photographers covering one team
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  Speaker 1: generally shoot from whatever end of the field that team
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  Speaker 1: is going towards on offense each quarter, so we'll start
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  Speaker 1: in the south end zone for the first quarter. Then
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  Speaker 1: walk up to the north end zone for quarter number two.
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  Speaker 1: The forecast today was clear. It wasn't supposed to rain
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  Speaker 1: until hours after the game ended. But of course, it's
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  Speaker 1: been raining steadily since the start of the game. This
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  Speaker 1: is when, if you didn't bring your rain gear, you
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  Speaker 1: have to improvise with a trash bag or a grocery
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  Speaker 1: bag or anything along those lines to help keep your
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  Speaker 1: camera gear dry. In the second quarter, Jeremiah Smith takes
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  Speaker 1: a short pass, follows a great block from Nate Roberts,
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  Speaker 1: and takes it to the house. Note the network camera
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  Speaker 1: guy running across the back of the end zone to
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  Speaker 1: get a close-up to the celebration. Network TV cameras and
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  Speaker 1: game officials are a constant occupational hazard for photographers behind
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  Speaker 1: the end zone. At halftime, you have to run back
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  Speaker 1: to the photo bunker to try and get a handful
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  Speaker 1: of your best shots from the first half edited. The
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  Speaker 1: clock you saw is the game clock, and it tells
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  Speaker 1: you how much time is left until the start of
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  Speaker 1: the third quarter. Editing now, it is quick and dirty.
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  Speaker 1: Crop the shot, adjust any lighting issues, and then move
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  Speaker 1: on to the next one. It is the Photoshop version
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  Speaker 1: of a two-minute drill. Then we head back out into
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  Speaker 1: the field for the third quarter. About a half hour later,
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  Speaker 1: Bo Jackson bursts through the line, scores to stretch Ohio
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  Speaker 1: State's lead. The Buckeyes win 45-16, and as soon as
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  Speaker 1: they take the final snap of the game, players, coaches, staffers,
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  Speaker 1: and photographers all rush out onto the field. It's a
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  Speaker 1: chance to get a few additional photos. Then it's time
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  Speaker 1: to sing the alma mater and head off the field
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  Speaker 1: for postgame interviews. We're going to be headed up to
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  Speaker 1: the visiting postgame press conference. Remember when we set up
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  Speaker 1: that tripod and cables about five hours ago?
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  Speaker 2: This is when that pays off.
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  Speaker 1: Get your camera set up, get your audio levels tested,
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  Speaker 1: and then a few minutes later, it's time for Maryland
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  Speaker 1: head coach Mike Loxley's press conference. He is out at
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  Speaker 1: the podium before Ryan Day, so we will start our
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  Speaker 1: live stream with a few of his answers before switching
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  Speaker 1: over to the other side of the stadium when Day
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  Speaker 1: gets to the podium. Then, once the visiting coach is done,
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  Speaker 1: it's time to hustle across the stadium, grab the rest
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  Speaker 1: of your gear in the photo bunker, head up the
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  Speaker 1: home tunnel, and then up the stairs to the home
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  Speaker 1: interview room in the Southeast Tower. We already have video
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: of everything at the podium, remember? So we're just going
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  Speaker 1: to grab a few minutes with several Ohio State players,
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  Speaker 1: defensive end Edric Houston. I'm still making plays and knocking
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: it back and doing what I need to do, but.
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  Speaker 2: Linebacker T.J. Alford.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: All the teams that we've been playing, we're most likely
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: going to see one of them in the Big Ten Championship.
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  Speaker 2: And tight end Nate Roberts.
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  Speaker 1: You know, when it looks like that, I was running
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  Speaker 1: as hard as I could, and I was able to
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  Speaker 1: peek up at the jumbotron a little bit, but not
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: too much, so I was just making sure I wasn't
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: getting hocked down. These interview clips will be used during
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  Speaker 1: our live postgame show.
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: We'll quickly edit those.
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  Speaker 1: The camera is already set up for Tony and I
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  Speaker 1: to go live, and we just have a couple things
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  Speaker 1: to finish.
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  Speaker 2: And I heard that Ryan Day was very demonstrative. I
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: didn't see this, but he was asked some questions about it.
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  Speaker 2: Did you guys hear that?
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  Speaker 1: Then it's showtime. Juck wraps up his segment and hands
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  Speaker 1: things over to us. And then we're off and running.
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  Speaker 1: We tend to go for about an hour. And then
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  Speaker 1: it's time to knock out a quick recap show for
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: the following morning. And then finally, about two and a
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  Speaker 1: half hours after the game ended, we're finally ready to
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  Speaker 1: head out. It is always a long and very busy day.
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  Speaker 1: It's been about 10 hours since we were driving in,
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: and there is still a podcast to edit and thousands
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: of photos to go through after we get home. But
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: we always look forward to these game days and getting
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: to share the experience with you. If you enjoy our coverage,
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: check us out at BuckeyeInsiders.com and take a second to
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: hit the thumbs up, leave a comment, and hype this
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: video on your mobile device.