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Ohio State Football: 3 Predictions For The 2026 Buckeyes' Season · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Buckey's Tomorrow Morning for Monday, August twenty fourth.
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  Speaker 1: I'm your host, tom Or the ball State game in
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  Speaker 1: twelve days, the gam against Michigan in ninety six days.
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  Speaker 1: We're sponsored today by our friends at Jeff Ruby's of Columbus,
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  Speaker 1: probably offering nationally acclaimed USDA Prime stakes, seafood and sushi,
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  Speaker 1: and peckable service, live entertainment, and an attention to detail
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  Speaker 1: that is simply unmatched. Just go to Jeffruby dot com
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  Speaker 1: slash Columbus to check out the menu and make a
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  Speaker 1: reservation today. All right, on today show, are going to
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  Speaker 1: be welcoming Tony Gerdiman at Buckeye Insiders dot com. He
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  Speaker 1: has three predictions for the upcoming twenty twenty six college
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  Speaker 1: football season with the Ohios State Buckeyes, and we're going
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  Speaker 1: to do this in a nice balanced way. One on offense,
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  Speaker 1: one on defense, one on special teams. Are these bold? No,
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  Speaker 1: they never are. But this isn't a bold prediction show there,
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  Speaker 1: So that's okay. He's allowed to not be bold on
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  Speaker 1: this one. But do we do have three things that
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  Speaker 1: he thinks he knows are going to happen. I'm interested
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  Speaker 1: to hear what they are. But Tony, I want you
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  Speaker 1: to start us out with something. Give us a prediction
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  Speaker 1: about Jeremiah Smith.
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  Speaker 2: Time. You're saying this isn't bold, but I'm predicting Jeremiah
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  Speaker 2: Smith to do something that nobody has ever done in
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  Speaker 2: the history of Ohio State football. And that is well,
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  Speaker 2: he's actually gonna I'm predicting him to do something that
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  Speaker 2: many others have done also.
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  Speaker 1: But you're in mid season four, keep going.
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  Speaker 2: He is going to break the single season record for
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  Speaker 2: receptions at Ohio State. I think he's gonna best the
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  Speaker 2: ninety five catches from Jackson, Smith and Jigba in twenty
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  Speaker 2: twenty one. And I think he's going to get at
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  Speaker 2: least ninety six against something nobody in Ohio State history
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  Speaker 2: has ever done. But it's hard to come up with
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  Speaker 2: a bold prediction for Jeremiah Smith that doesn't include like
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  Speaker 2: six touchdowns or four hundred yards. But and I think
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  Speaker 2: that also says a lot about Jeremiah Smith, that you're
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  Speaker 2: predicting him to break his school record. You're like, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: that's not really bold.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, he last year. I'm just doing the math right now.
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  Speaker 1: Eighty seven catches in thirteen games, so that's six point
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  Speaker 1: six y nine catches per game, So if he's going
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  Speaker 1: to get ninety six, that would be he would he
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  Speaker 1: would need I would need to learn how to use
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  Speaker 1: a calculator. He would need fourteen point three games to
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  Speaker 1: do that at the rate that he did last year,
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  Speaker 1: and I think that seems reasonable that and you know,
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  Speaker 1: he also did not play full games some last season,
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  Speaker 1: missed a game last season, so you know, I think
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  Speaker 1: they're almost certainly going to play fourteen games. I think
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  Speaker 1: that would be a little bit of a surprise if
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  Speaker 1: they didn't play fourteen games, So yes, I would. I think,
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  Speaker 1: you know, this is this feels like it should be bold.
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  Speaker 1: It's really not bold. We're not doing a bold prediction show,
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  Speaker 1: so it's okay. But yeah, I think this is one where, yes,
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  Speaker 1: he's going to get more attention this year from opposing defenses,
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  Speaker 1: so it's probably there are probably going to be more
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  Speaker 1: where it's more challenging for him to get the ball.
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  Speaker 1: But also, you know, this is not the first year
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  Speaker 1: that opposing defenses have been aware of Jeremiah Smith, and
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  Speaker 1: he's probably gonna be playing more second halves this year
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  Speaker 1: than he did last year.
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  Speaker 2: That's a really good point. I had never thought about that,
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  Speaker 2: but yeah, he's going to be playing all four quarters
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  Speaker 2: in most of those games. And I just want to
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  Speaker 2: point out real quick when Jackson Smith and Jigbas set
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  Speaker 2: these records the final five games of that season, he
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  Speaker 2: caught sixty passes for nine hundred and fifty eight yards,
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  Speaker 2: which is like probably almost like it's a top fifteen
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  Speaker 2: season in Ohio State history probably and it was in
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  Speaker 2: five games, and that dude was incredible.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that was the year that ended up with that
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  Speaker 1: Rose Bowl, the Rose Bowl against Utah, which we may
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  Speaker 1: may be referencing here in a different context in just
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  Speaker 1: a minute, but yeah, that was an incredible, incredible end
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  Speaker 1: of that season. The fact that you didn't get to
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  Speaker 1: see him much at all in twenty twenty two is
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  Speaker 1: one of the great what ifs in Ohio State football
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  Speaker 1: history for sure. Well, all right, from Jeremiah Smith, who
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  Speaker 1: is about as proven a commodity as you can have
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  Speaker 1: in college football, to a true freshman defensive end, Carrie Wilder.
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  Speaker 2: So my Carrie Wilder prediction here is that he will
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  Speaker 2: have multiple sacks in a game this year. And you're saying,
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  Speaker 2: so big whoop, he will become the first true freshman
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  Speaker 2: to do this at Ohio State since Chase Young had
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  Speaker 2: one and a half sacks and a forty eight to
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  Speaker 2: three win over Michigan State in twenty seventeen. So I
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  Speaker 2: went and made sure like Jack Sawyer never did this.
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  Speaker 1: JT.
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  Speaker 2: Towey mollaugh never did this, several players and Zach Harrison
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  Speaker 2: did not do it. Well, carry Wilder do it. I'm
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  Speaker 2: predicting that he will. It may have to come against
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  Speaker 2: like Ball State or Kent State or Maryland or something
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  Speaker 2: like that, but I don't know this. Tom Again, this
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  Speaker 2: is a little bold.
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  Speaker 1: You have to admit this is Yeah, this is one
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  Speaker 1: that I would have allowed in a Bold Prediction show.
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  Speaker 1: And I can't wait to steal this when we do
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  Speaker 1: our season long bold predictions and have you tell me? Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: I mean I just you all heard him. You all
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  Speaker 1: heard him. He just said it would be bold. So
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  Speaker 1: I will. I will be going first and I will
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  Speaker 1: be taking this one and Tony will be getting big
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  Speaker 1: mad friends. The seasons almost here. You can't wait. It's okay, Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: I like this one. It's a little it's a little
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  Speaker 1: zesty because I think there's you know, this kind of
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  Speaker 1: goes back to what I just said about Jeremiah Smith.
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  Speaker 1: You don't have as many games where it's like, well,
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  Speaker 1: he's going to do this against Grambling this year. Grambling's
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  Speaker 1: not on the schedule, you know, could he do it
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  Speaker 1: against Ball State? Yeah, sure, he could do it against
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  Speaker 1: Ball State, or he could do it against Kent State,
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  Speaker 1: but I think it's more likely going to have to
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  Speaker 1: happen later in the season. And that's that's pretty spicy
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  Speaker 1: because I think it's entirely possible that he could do
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  Speaker 1: this because the rotation that they're looking at in the
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  Speaker 1: at the defense end position, he's certainly in that mix.
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  Speaker 1: He's in that top five, top six or so, and
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  Speaker 1: I think they're gonna be rotating guys and I think
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  Speaker 1: he's someone who could potentially move up in that pecking
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  Speaker 1: order depending on how things fall this fall. But yeah,
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  Speaker 1: that's that's a pretty good one. I like that.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Tom. I appreciate it when people appreciate me.
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  Speaker 1: Mm hmm. All right, So now we're going to go
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  Speaker 1: back to We're going to go to the kicking game.
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  Speaker 1: Now we've had an offense, we've had a defense. We
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  Speaker 1: need to hit special teams. How about Connor Hawkins. What's
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  Speaker 1: your bold prediction or just regular prediction for Connor Hawkins.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I mean this is something that hasn't happened in
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  Speaker 2: many years, and so by definition, as we know Tom,
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  Speaker 2: that could be considered bold. But I'm predicting Connor Hawkins
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  Speaker 2: to hit a game winner this year. And when we
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  Speaker 2: say game winner, let's say in the final minute of
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  Speaker 2: a game. And it's been as we're trying to decide,
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  Speaker 2: like when was that, When was that that? We've got
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  Speaker 2: the conclusion that it was the Rose Bowl against Utah
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  Speaker 2: that we were talking about just a few minutes ago,
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  Speaker 2: where Noa. Ruggles hit the chip shot to win the game.
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  Speaker 2: But this is something that whive stat has tried to
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  Speaker 2: do and has not you know, succeeded in a few
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  Speaker 2: big games. And they went into the portal and yet
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  Speaker 2: got Connor Hawkins for this purpose to win games, to
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  Speaker 2: win close games. And so I would assume since they've
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  Speaker 2: gone and done that, you may end up playing to
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  Speaker 2: that effect where it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and
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  Speaker 2: it's like we're okay, We're okay, We've got Connor. We've
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  Speaker 2: got Connor. We don't need to, you know, try to
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  Speaker 2: do anything crazy and that ends up leading to, you know,
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  Speaker 2: kicking a game winner against Illinois, because you know, we
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  Speaker 2: got Connor, We got Connor, were We're okay, So I
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  Speaker 2: think he's gonna hit a game winner time.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Yeah, And I think that's entirely possible. This
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  Speaker 1: is again, this once again goes back to, hey, they're
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  Speaker 1: gonna be playing a lot more close games. We You know,
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  Speaker 1: you can go through the last few years of Ohio
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  Speaker 1: State football scores and there are not a lot of
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  Speaker 1: scores that would lead you to even have to think
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  Speaker 1: back to in the game they won by twenty four
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  Speaker 1: points that come down to a last second field Well, no,
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  Speaker 1: it sure didn't. That was not many of those over
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  Speaker 1: the last few years. As you said, there have been
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  Speaker 1: ones that they won, they have been ones that they've lost,
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  Speaker 1: but not many that came down to the last second.
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  Speaker 1: With the schedule that they have this year, definitely a
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  Speaker 1: real possibility that they will have one that comes down
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  Speaker 1: to that. So there you go. Three predictions for the
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six Ohio State football team. Nice and balanced
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  Speaker 1: there from Tony Gerdaman. One on offense, one on defense,
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  Speaker 1: one on special teams, covering all the bases for you.
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  Speaker 1: You want us to cover all your bases, we get
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  Speaker 1: that covered for you. At Buckeye Insiders dot com. That's
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  Speaker 1: where Tony and I we are your team insiders. We
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  Speaker 1: got Juck Maletti. He is your recruiting insider, Ross Fulton,
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  Speaker 1: Michael Pettitt they are your scheme insiders. Marcus Hartman he
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  Speaker 1: is your basketball insider. We had a really really busy
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  Speaker 1: weekend at Buckeye Insiders dot com. Had a great scrimmage report.
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  Speaker 1: If you have not seeing the scrimmage recap video that
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  Speaker 1: Tony and I did, you can find that on our
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  Speaker 1: YouTube channel or on the Buckeye Weekly podcast feed. I'd
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  Speaker 1: encourage you to go check that out. But much much more,
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  Speaker 1: much more, to more detail beyond that that we can
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  Speaker 1: share on the insiders board at Buckeye Insiders dot com.
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• 9:50
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• 9:53
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  Speaker 1: Have a great day. We'll talk to you tomorrow.