Evaluating Ohio State football’s 31-7 win over Northwestern: Buckeye Talk podcast

Read the automated transcript of today’s podcast below. Because it’s a computer-generated transcript, it may contain errors and misspellings.

Stephen Means (00:23.998)

Welcome back to what I talk. I’m Stephen Means. That’s Andrew Gillis and that’s the fun. Kresnik after Ohio State’s 31 to seven win over North Northwestern. We’re coming to you from inside the press box at Wrigley Field. Fun little final road game for Ohio State playing inside of a baseball stadium instead of a football stadium before heads into what is essentially as I’m going to call it, Ohio State’s playoff season has arrived here. But we have to talk about this game first. And I sent a survey out to our Texas 614.

three five, three three one five. It’s two week free trial three ninety nine after that. And this is a really good time to sign up. This two week free trial will get you through the Indiana game and the Michigan game, which are two of the most important games to Ohio State, because now it’s in a situation where every game matters in competitive situations, whether it’s for trying to clinch a spot in the Big Ten championship and close out a season 11 and one or the emotions that come along with what this year’s Michigan game is after three straight losses, even if Michigan

is in a position where I think it’s still fighting to be bowl eligible. None of that really matters for Ohio State. It’s about getting that emotional win after losing three straight, even if it comes with the context of what, know, the science theory, Seattle and all that. So here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m just gonna let this survey dictate this pod, try to go 30 to 45 minutes on this, because we want to completely shift gears heading into Monday and start talking about some playoff opponents, which Stefan and I will get into Indiana on Monday and start that process for you.

Again, 614-350-3315, two weeks free trial, 399 after that. So, Stefan, I’m gonna start with you. I asked the Texers six different questions, and they’re all just confidence levels. They’re all just confidence levels. What’s your confidence in Will Howard going forward as Ohio State starting quarterback? One is the highest, is the lowest, excuse me, 10 is the highest, and it’s all in the national championship scale.

when we’re talking about these individual pieces. And I also have some questions about the remaining games on the schedule. Will Howard, 15 of 24 for 247 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t run the ball today. He had one run, I think on a QB sneak to try to get into the end zone after Ohio State got the turnover on the botched punt attempt. That was the only time he ran today. So they were, he was sitting back in the pocket, no sacks, just sitting back in the pocket and they’re pushing the ball down the field.

Stephen Means (02:39.762)

What’s your confidence in Will Howard as Ohio State heads into the slate of games, is potentially top five opponent Indiana, Michigan game, potential rematch with Oregon in a one-two game in Indianapolis, and then a bunch of playoff games. Scale of one to 10, two answers. One, what’s the answer you would have given on that scale? And then where do you think the Texas were on that scale?

Stefan Krajisnik (03:03.021)

Yeah, I think you know a few weeks ago we kind of had this conversation about our belief, you know, will Howard to be the quarterback that leads Ohio State to the national championship. And I said it was out of 10 because I was I said yeah he he can do it like that. There was no doubt in my mind that he was had the caliber to do it was about just clean up his place. So in terms of the confidence of like him being able to be a national championship quarterback, I was out of 10. I stay out of 10. But like how would I rate his play? I’m probably up like at a nine right now because these last two weeks is specifically.

And you take it with a grain of salt because it is Purdue and it is Northwestern and they’re probably, you know, two, maybe the two worst teams in the big 10. So you take it all with a grain of salt. But the issue with him, even when they were playing the Michigan States, the Akron’s was he would have one or two plays where you’re just like, man, what, like, what are you thinking? Like you can’t do that because when you play in Oregon, a botch snap or, or, you know, sliding too late can be what costs you the game.

And against Purdue and Northwestern, he hasn’t had that. There was times where he was making mistakes and it wasn’t about what the defense was doing. So that’s why when it’s Purdue’s defense or Northwestern’s defense, I don’t care because he is playing clean. He is not doing things that are foolish. And against this North in this Northwestern game too, he went above and beyond because the next thing to, okay, don’t do something stupid was, Hey, can you complete that one deep pass that, you couldn’t and it left seven points on the board and maybe it didn’t feel big against Purdue, but, it kind of lingered.

You know, it may be another game. He was connecting on those today. So his, his jump from Oregon, I thought he got better by the time the Penn State game came around. And then the jump from the Penn State game to where he is now, I just feel like he’s incrementally improving. And I’m at a nine in terms of how I kind of rate his play. And I still believe that he’s a quarterback that can lead this team to national championship or texters. I will say, I was kind of surprised.

Some of our textures seem kind of down on Will’s performance today. Some people were kind of shaky on what they thought of him and that comes with being a quarterback, right? You get criticized. I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong. I think it’s just different opinions and different valuations. So I’d probably say like, maybe I don’t like a seven.

Stephen Means (05:13.435)

Andrew, same question to you.

Andrew (05:17.048)

textures are probably, if I had to guess, the textures are probably at an eight. I think the textures are an eight. That’s where I’m at. think Stephane’s right. One of the things that, you know, certainly I’ve been critical of is those kind of oopsie daisies throws where you kind of look at and you’re like, boy, that’s not good. Like you can’t do that. You know, I think the Penn State game comes to mind, you know, where, you know, you go down with a pick six early.

You know, some throws that, know, throughout the course of the year, say, you know, that’s a little dicey turnover worthy, but I thought today he was really excellent. And yes, Stephon’s right. You know, the, quality of competition, you know, was down. Purdue’s not very good. Northwestern’s not very good. Neither of these teams were ever going to beat Ohio state. know a lot of people got worried in the first quarter when, you know, Northwestern had a few drives, but I don’t think.

either of these teams was ever going to beat Ohio State. So the quality of competition was down, but even in certain games earlier in the year, like Stefan was pointing out, we had seen some of those turnover worthy throws. We had seen some throws where you kind of tug your shirt collar a little bit and go, boy, that’s not great. but today I saw a really, really improved deep ball, which like, I understand that opponent’s not good, but like there were a couple of throws that throw to G Scott over the middle was excellent.

The touchdown pass to Carnell Tate was excellent. thought that the, the, go ball, the Jeremiah, which was originally called the touchdown, which was eventually wiped off the board. thought that that was a great throw as well. You know, there, there were throws that I thought he made today, you know, that weren’t. felt like teetering on the brink of disaster, maybe like, you know, there were some throws like at Penn state, you know, specifically the pick six you think of. So, you know, if those throws are cleaned up, I’m, I’m up from where I was because, know, of course you need to carry this into Indiana and Michigan.

But you eliminate those turnover worthy plays or at least some of them. And, you know, he’s done that over these last two weeks. I think you feel pretty good about where Will Howard’s at because the rest of this team should be good enough, you know, to, be good enough around him. And I mean, he’s got the weapons, you know, I think he’s, you know, good runner. We saw that in the last couple of weeks where he can really run the ball when you ask him to. So I’m at an eight and I think our textures are an eight as well. You know, he’s, he’s certainly capable of winning a national championship with this team.

Stephen Means (07:46.322)

textures at 8.1, 8.12 to be exact. 7.14 % gave him a 10. And I just think to your point, Stefan on some of the textures, you know, anybody maybe who’s down on will, I think at this point is just because you decided who he is. And it’s been interesting. CJ Stroud kind of went through that. think Kyle McCord kind of went through it too. And I’m not putting them in the same level in terms of talent level. What I am saying is that

I think sometimes when you see something for a little bit, you can decide that that’s who they are. Your first impression can be a very lasting impression. And I think if your first impression was to what Andrew’s talking about, maybe some of those whoopsie daisy mistakes, things not always being good, but there’s always like one thing that isn’t clean. And you’re wondering what happens if he does that in a big game, right? I think that can stick with you a little bit. And it’s also led to why Andrew has been giving him C pluses and C minuses.

All season and he gave him and he gave him an A today. So you should go check out that video on YouTube.

Andrew (08:46.414)

yeah, I him an A- last weekend and I gave him A today. Yeah, he was really, really good today.

Stephen Means (08:49.576)

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I do think the problem is, Stefan, you kind of said this after the Penn State game, he did make those mistakes and they still didn’t lose that game. So that’s kind of the point. It was the hypothetical happening in real life and it didn’t cost him. It doesn’t mean he should make that mistake every game. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t need to get better there, but the hypothetical concept of, what if he does this? I get the top five opponent. Well, he did on the road and they still won that game. I also am on a nine.

trending on 10 simply because I saw against Northwestern. The one thing that I think is a reasonable question and that’s can he push the ball down the field? Can they connect on the deep ball? And it’s a question because we have seen it legitimately cost Ohio State points. It’s the difference between it’s not. a deep ball for 30 yards, right? It’s a deep ball for 35 yard touchdown that you didn’t connect on and sometimes it’s been on him.

the one against Penn State where he threw Carnell Tate out of bounds. That’s on him. He had one against Purdue where he under threw Carnell. That’s on him. But he’s also had a couple where Jeremiah Smith didn’t think he was getting the ball. And so now he’s got to fight for it. And ends up in his first interception of the season. Jeremiah Smith didn’t think he was getting the ball against Penn State. And it ends up being an incompletion, which should have been a walk in touchdown. Jeremiah Smith gets the ball against Northwestern, but he can’t survive the ground. And so it’s not a touchdown in those situations. And it’s

Sometimes what I’m saying is sometimes it’s on him and sometimes it’s on the receiver, but it just does seem like and Ryan Davis talking about it. The footwork when his footwork is right, he throws a pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty deep ball. Andrew, you brought up the past to to G Scott over the middle of field. He had a couple of extras. He had one over the middle of the field, the Jeremiah Smith that was like 25 yards and Jeremiah proceeded to turn it into a 68 yard game. Right. So Matt, it’s one thing when Jeremiah Smith takes a 10 yard play and turns him to 70 yarder.

Imagine if he takes a already explosive play and makes it even more explosive, which is what that 60 yard play was. And I thought we saw that even if it meant sacrificing his completion percentage, which I know Will Howard even said after the game, he holds so dear to him that 80 % completion percentage he’s been added eight times this year. He’s had two games where he was under 66%. It was the first game of the season against Akron. And then it was again against Northwestern. He was at like 62 % in that game.

Stephen Means (11:13.054)

But I think against the Akron game, it’s because it was just a little ugly at times against Northwestern is because they were pushing the ball down the field, sacrificing completion percentage in the name of working on the deep ball. And I think it was a wonderful trade off against Northwestern. Next question. Go ahead, Steph.

Stefan Krajisnik (11:28.671)

I’ll just real quick to the throw to Jeremiah that you were talking about that Jeremiah took 68 yards. Like from where we were sitting in the press box when he made the throw, we kind of all were like, Whoa, we thought it was going to be an interception because it was a tight window and it was a risky throw. And, and you know that like he had a throw like that to Bryson Rogers for that first out in the Iowa game. And my initial reaction was kind like, man, like that’s a, that’s a risky throw that could quickly, you know, change the game.

There was something about the throw to Jeremiah where I was just like, he was so comfortable. He was taking shots where I’m just like, I like that he took that risk there because it tells me that he he’s trusting Jeremiah. He’s trusting his receivers and tight windows to just make the play for him. I thought that the throw to Cardinal Tate, I think he maybe threw behind him a little bit, but like that’s still like one on one. Like he’s trusting Cardinal Tate, like one on one trust in Mike, one on one trust Jeremiah Smith. Not that he necessarily wasn’t a ton early in the season, but you saw it on display in this Northwestern game where he was like,

I see Jeremiah one on one. see a Mecca. see carnel one on one like I’m going to him. I don’t care what the window looks like. My guy is going to make the play and that is how you utilize this wide receiver depth and talent that you have. That’s how you do it is you give them a chance.

Stephen Means (12:41.886)

And that’s why I hate that the term is turnover worthy play because you just hear turnover and you immediately do what you just did. So if I go, don’t know if I like that throw, but that’s kind of the point, right? Cause the opposite of that is being a check down merchant and check down merchants don’t win championships at any level. Alex Smith for the chiefs was a check down merchant. And you know what they went to a dude who throws a million turnover worthy plays a game and he had, they’ve won three super bowls. And I’m not, this is not me comparing Will Howard.

to Patrick Rahomes. What I am saying is your quarterback has to be able to make some of those throws, right? Those throws where it’s like, man, it’s gotta be on the dot. They call them dots for a reason. You gotta be able to make those throws. And I thought Will Howard made those throws. That’s why Andrew earlier this year, Sephan brought the Iowa game. When you and Jimmy were on the pot talking about the I would, the Bryson Rogers throw was some like weird throwing. Like he has to make that throw in a playoff game.

We know that right. And it’s well, he’s not CJ Strauss. He should be. No, that’s the point. He has to throw that and he has to complete it. He doesn’t have to do it like CJ Strauss did, which was every fourth pass had to be a turnover worthy throw quote unquote. But he has to be able to do it to get over the hump. And that’s what I saw against Northwestern as a guy who showed he can do it because when the moment what what so it’s the national championship game, he’s got to make that throw. But because his name is in CJ Strauss, he should make that throw.

No, he should make the throw and he should also show us in a game that he can make that throw. And that’s what I saw against Northwestern. Question number two for our textures. What’s your confidence level in the offensive line going forward? I tried to pick out the talking points of what this season has been over time. And obviously Will Howard was going to be one. think the other thing with the offense, I don’t think anybody was worried about Trey Beyond Henderson and Quinshaw Jenkins and these wide receivers and the Titans are a vital part of this offense, but not in a way that I think

is championship or bust, right? So it does come down to Will Howard in the offensive line. What’s your confidence in the offensive line? Andrew, what do you think the textures said it was? And then what would be your answer?

Andrew (14:55.886)

think the Texters probably gave it like a six and that’s probably about where I’m at too. I think if Josh Simmons were able to play football right now, if he were healthy enough to play football, I think we, I think the Texters answers would be different and my answer would be different, but that’s not the world that we live in. Josh Simmons is not gonna play football for Ohio State this year. So the Penn State game definitely showed me something.

The Penn State game definitely gave me confidence that Ohio State and their offensive line can hold up, right? You you don’t need Donovan Jackson to be a tackle. That’s really great. You don’t need Carson Hinsman to be all American guard. I just think that you’re getting pretty solid guard play out of Hinsman right now. We’ll see in the next two weeks when Indiana and Michigan come to town.

We’ll see how Donovan Jackson holds up, like there are going to be bigger tests. And I think this is just going to be one of those things that you have questions about the rest of the year. It’s, Hey, okay. You know, they played really well against Penn state and they did a, they did a fine job against the Nittany lions. How are they going to hold up against Michigan’s interior? Right? You know, they got a really, really strong interior. Okay. Well, you know, if they play, get to the big 10 championship game and Jordan Birch is there for Oregon.

You know, he wasn’t there last time. Okay. How are they going to hold up against him? They have another really good edge rusher. His name is escaping me right now, but they have a really talented address or opposite birch. It’s like, okay, how are they going to hold up there? You know, what if they played Tennessee in the playoff? Who’s got a great defensive line or Georgia in the playoff who still has a really good defensive line or whatever. So I think these questions are going to persist no matter how long Ohio state plays. But I think the way that the offensive line has played so far, especially since things changed.

You feel pretty good about McLaughlin. Degros Shibola, I think, has been fine. Josh Fryer, we haven’t noticed him, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. We haven’t really had to have that conversation about Josh Fryer right now. So I think where you’re at with the line, probably more confident than not, but you’re certainly maybe the least confident of any position group on the offense about the offensive line.

Stephen Means (17:15.902)

I think Josh Friar had one or two plays on Saturday where it was like, had those moments we’ve come to know him to have Andrew where it’s like, man, you got beat bad. The good thing is Will Howard’s mobile enough that you didn’t notice it, but I do. I can’t wait to rewatch this and see how many of those led to some, cause I think Will Howard just had some throwaways, which also was why he was 15 of 24 even admitted. So after the game, I’m wondering how many of those led to Will Howard throwaways.

where they were trying to wait for something to get off and down. Feel me wasn’t able to get it. Stefan, where do you think the tech is right? Where are you at with the off?

Stefan Krajisnik (17:46.989)

I’m thinking the textures are kind of with Andrew probably around a six. think I’m probably closer to a seven. I might echo some of what Andrew said there, but it would be one thing if we had seen this offensive line against Purdue and Northwestern. Now we’re wondering, okay, what’s it going to look like against a pretty decent defensive front for Indiana and obviously a good defensive front for Michigan. But we have the benefit of, saw this unit against Penn State. Like we’ve seen them already tested and they did pretty well.

So I’m pretty confident in this offensive line moving forward. think Donovan Jackson’s done a good job at left tackle. I don’t really haven’t talked about it much there because outside of those two plays that Abdul-Carter had against Ohio State, there really hasn’t been much to talk about with Donovan Jackson. One thing that I’ll say, I was impressed with the play overall. The one sack given up was, I think we got some breaking news on the pot here. Why don’t you go ahead, Andrew, with some breaking news and I’ll talk more about the offensive line.

Stephen Means (18:42.031)

Good.

Andrew (18:45.664)

Yeah, here we are. I’m in the literal TV room and I see my phone and I go, boy. So, Jaden Ricketts, 2026 wide receiver. He is from Ohio, Pataskala goes to Watkins Memorial High School. He just committed to Ohio State. That news coming from On3, he committed to the Buckeyes, in-state kid.

I think Ohio State got in on him early. They had been, I think they were one of his first Big Ten offers over the summer. lot of Mac offers, Ohio, Toledo, Kent State, things like that. Just took a visit to Penn State a couple of weeks ago. think that was late September, early October, something like that. But he’s been on campus for a few visits to Ohio State. Talented kid, can run.

He’s currently unrated in the 247 composite rankings right now. The 247 actual rankings, he’s the number 44 receiver and the number 12 player in Ohio. I would expect that to change a little bit. This is interesting. You look at the 2026 class, there’s two commits in it and they’re both receivers. Chris Henry Jr., the number one player in the country is a receiver. Obviously, six foot five, great lineage. Plays in modern day right now in California. Now you add Jaden Ricketts into this class.

So we’ll see what else Brian Hartline has going for him, but Ohio State gets a receiver commitment in the press box at Wrigley Field. I’m going to get a story up. So by the time you’re listening to this, you will have already gotten the text 614-350-3315, but Ohio State has two commits in the 2026 class and they are both receivers.

Stefan Krajisnik (20:16.546)

Well,

Stefan Krajisnik (20:26.443)

Yeah, my initial reaction to this when Andrew just texted it to us was the Cubs are owned by the Ricketts family. So that is just very weird irony. Like that is not me pushing some weird pun about baseball. is the Cubs are literally owned by the Ricketts family. Ohio State just got to come in from Ricketts. No relation though, I’m assuming.

Stephen Means (20:46.238)

Yeah, Jayden Ricketts is a product of, to my understanding, roster is about to expand to 125 and NIL is a weird, weird and recruiting is in a weird spot and all these things. And also I know for a fact that there are some people within the program who would love to be able to take more in-state guys, especially at wide receiver, especially when you’ve spent three and four and five.

straight cycles chasing the nation’s best players. And I’ll just be real with you. Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Brandon and as some of these recruitments lately, though they have been worth it clearly with what we’re seeing on the field from these guys that can take a lot out of you when it feels like you have to go up to signing day with a guy you think you have and be on edge about what might be happening. Right. Like I know Ryan Day pretended to faint against Jeremiah, but I promise you behind the scenes there were no one was pretending.

Now what that was a physical representation of what it has become like to recruit at that level. And it’s not again, no one’s waving a right flag or how’s that go get whatever receiver they want to get clearly. But if there is a place for a receivers coach who is from Ohio and his background in terms of how he grew up and his journey matches some of these guys, and you can take a few more of these guys given where in I L and

given where roster sizes are headed and stuff like that. You can do these types of things. But also to Andrew’s point, Jayden Ricketts is not rated right now nationally. He does not have a composite ranking. 247 Sports has him as the 44th best wide receiver in the country and their rankings in 2020 sixth class, but he does not have a composite ranking. Guess who does not care? Brian Hartline does not care because guess what he’s going to have now? He’s going to have a composite ranking because Brian Hartline’s credentials are so certified.

that if Brian Hartline is willing to take you this early, you’re damn good as a wide receiver. That’s Jaxon Smith and Jigbo, when he offered him was a three-star recruit. He was in the low 200s, early 300s when he committed to Ohio State. And guess what that kid turned into? So guess who doesn’t care about your ranking? Brian Hartline, because if he wants you, I guarantee you the rest of the country now wants you. We’ll have a, that’s the news part of this.

Stephen Means (23:11.036)

Let’s take what we’re having a recruiting pod coming up here real soon and we’ll talk about some of this stuff and the changing landscapes. Signing day is right around the corner, but Jayden Ricketts second commit in the 2026 class joining Chris Henry Jr. Who is ranked. He’s the number one player in the country and the best wide receiver in that class. Here is where the Texas are with the offensive line. They are at a 7.02. With the offensive line and I don’t think it can get any higher.

Andrew (23:13.889)

Yeah, yeah.

Stephen Means (23:40.894)

than that they got 2.82 % of the voters voted at a 10 for the offensive line 40.85 gave him a seven and then to Andrew’s point because you said you were at a 621.83 % said they were at a 6 and 21.83 said they were at 8 so everybody’s 6 to 8 range. I think that’s a weighted 7.02 because you can’t get that much higher when you don’t have your best offensive lineman and you’re playing with

what is essentially a makeshift offensive line because last year starting center who was a backup is now playing your starting left guard and your starting left guard for the past three years is playing left tackle. But I think seven anywhere from six to eight is a good thing for where this offensive line is going to be. Let’s one more question then we’ll take our break. Let’s talk defense real quick.

What’s your confidence level in the defense, Stefan? And what do you think the texture’s confidence in the defense is?

Stefan Krajisnik (24:39.981)

This is a good question because the defense has looked really good the last few weeks and I don’t think it’s just a result of the level of competition. I genuinely do think the defense looked good, but we do continue to have some questions about corner and I think outside of the past where as the corners were what we talked about the most coming out of the Oregon game. So it’s like

Stephen Means (24:41.597)

Yeah.

Stefan Krajisnik (24:59.457)

The only one of the only two things that was like truly a concern kind of still lingers a little bit. So I wonder if that’s given Texas a lot of reassurance. I guess that they’re probably at a five. And I think that’s where I am too, because do I think this defense is among like the 10 best in the country? Yeah. Do I think they can consistently put together a performance where you’re going through a college football playoff and three or four games that you’re playing could be against, you know, three or the four best offenses in the country.

And I don’t know if I’m there yet with the consistency of this group. think the pass rush has been a lot better. And as much as the players on the field are doing their part, think Jim Knowles with his aggressiveness using the linebackers has been outstanding. I think we’re starting to see the best version of Sonny Styles. Actually, I think we’re starting to see the best version of Cody Simon. I think we’re starting to see better versions of Sonny Styles and I don’t want to see the best version because I still think there’s room for him to grow, which is saying a lot because I think he is still really good right now.

So the pass rush, think they’ve cleaned up a lot, which has probably improved my confidence a little bit, but I think I still linger at a five just because with the corners, I haven’t seen it consistently enough. And the last time we saw this team lose, it was because of that position. And you said it when we were doing our videos earlier, Stephen, Denzel Berg, maybe the couple of times that he’s been called struggling in the game since Oregon is a lot different than the way he was burned just down the field over and over again against Oregon. And like I agree with you, I don’t think that type of performance is coming from Denzel.

But what I do feel is that there’s not anything on tape yet that makes teams go, we can’t throw that way. We can’t throw that way. We talked about that last week. Like there was a mentality aspect of this where teams are going into games being like, we will throw at number one, we will throw at number 10, we will take our shots. In the end, that’s probably going to be the first team to really do it, you know, since, since Oregon and then we’ll see if they face Oregon again. And then if you’re facing teams like Ole Miss and whatnot, like it, like in the playoff teams are going to go after it.

That gives me a little bit of a reason for pause because I want to see it. Like I want to see it. And we joked about it, you know, not necessarily joked about, we talked about it after the Oregon game or just like, what does that game do for Denzel’s Burke, Denzel Burke’s draft stock? Like, it, is it, is it a one-off or is it, is this something loud? Mel Kuiper came out with his big board, I think on Thursday going into this Northwestern Western game and Denzel Burke wasn’t among the 10 best corners on his group.

Stefan Krajisnik (27:21.171)

on his board. I’m not talking 10 best players, I’m 10 best corners. He wasn’t on there. There’s clearly some doubt starting to linger with what people think Denzel Burke can be in the NFL. And I think some of it is based on those Oregon struggles and maybe what we’ve seen at times the last few games. There is pressure on these corners when these games get bigger to step up. And I will very, very quickly change my rating higher than a five if I see them do it. But right now I’m sitting there and I’m a little bit concerned just because we haven’t seen

Maybe we won’t see someone of Oregon’s caliber, but we haven’t seen anyone of Indiana’s caliber in the past game since that game against Oregon. This is a big stretch coming up where we can see if two of these next three games are against Oregon and Indiana, those corners are going to get tested. They’re going to get tested a little bit. We’ll see how they produce. So right now I’m at a five, but I think it’s still fluid because there’s just that one group that I want to see more consistently before I truly have all that confidence that I need.

Stephen Means (28:23.454)

Certainly let Andrew continue to do his other job and get a recruiting post up and not try to stress him out with two different companies. He has not tried to stress him out with two different things. This is your first.

Andrew (28:27.382)

Yeah, the story will be up soon. I’m at a five. think the textures are also at a five. Thank you.

Stephen Means (28:35.558)

OK, cool. I think this might be Andrew’s first. We’re in the middle of recording and somebody committed. I had that happen. No, Quinn, you were decommitted when that happened. well, that’s the time for a different. That’s it. That’s a different time. It was actually the same. It was Indiana week too in 2020 when that happened. So yeah, that was fun time. Well, actually it was when he committed because he had decommitted like three weeks earlier than that. So it when he committed to Ohio State. Interesting. I’m interested you guys are so low.

But that also says about how important you guys think the cornerbacks are to this whole entire operation. Texas wrath seven 35.17 % voted seven 2.07 gave him a 10 7.07 overall. think I’m at a eight. I just don’t know how much to dock the corners for this in this situation because again, how much extreme do you want to put on?

the Oregon game when you don’t think it’ll be that bad again. But also, I think the area where the struggle shows the most is an area where Indiana really, really excels at and that’s back shoulder one-on-one fade routes. And so if the thing you’re not very good at is the thing another team wants to do and is very good at, what does that mean going forward?

while also I think what hurts it is Ohio State not being able to consistently get pressure with four puts you in a position where you got a blitz, which is why these corners have been on Island so much. So it’s almost what came first, the chicken or the egg that Jim Knowles aside early in the season when they were planning on that off coverage is because he didn’t like have a lot of faith in the one-on-one coverage of these corners. Or was it because he had that much faith in the defensive line. And when he decided to start blitzing,

Was it because he lost faith in the defensive line, but had faith in these corners, or did he start blitzing because he had to live with, gotta put, someone’s gotta be awesome, right? Somebody’s gotta win one on one. Whether it’s this defensive line or these quarterbacks, somebody’s gotta win one on one. You can’t have this much talent and guys can’t win one on one. And it sounds, it feels like he’s chosen the corners. You guys have gotta win one on one. Fine.

Stephen Means (30:59.73)

I’ll be out of seven because I think everything outside of those two cornerbacks has been really, really good. Caleb Downs is a dude, man. Aethan Ransom is an underrated dude. Cody Simon’s a dude. Sonny Stiles is man, he’s a dude. He should come back, but he’s a dude. And this defensive line is benefiting off of those four human beings behind them directly being dudes.

And now they just got to figure it out with these corners and Jim knows he’s got a blitz and he’s got to be aggressive, which means we’ve got to see more from these corners. I know both of you are in a situation where it’s reached the point of I got to see it to believe it. I get that. I just don’t know if I can have those two have that much weight when the other nine have been so quality over the last couple of weeks. But again, I completely understand it, especially because it’s outside corner. And we lived here in 2022.

where Jim Noles was blitzing a lot, keeping these corners outside on islands and Michigan was getting explosive plays and Georgia was getting explosive plays and Penn State was getting explosive plays. So I get it, I get it. I just don’t know how much I want to put that much on that. We’re going to take our first break here and then we’re going to transition outside of just these micro talking about certain position groups. And then we’re going to focus on the next two games of the season and an overall picture of Ohio State’s national championship chances here on Buckeye Talk.

Stephen Means (32:27.358)

We’re back here on Buckeye Talk. Stephen Means, Stefan Kresnik and Andrew Gillis, who double duty in it here to say, some recruiting news for you. got a game of how state 131 to seven. You should get the text. All that stuff went to your phone first. You’re not getting this pod until least like 15 minutes, 20 minutes after we started recording and we started recording it two hours after the game. And because we had to talk to guys. But you know what you were getting along the way.

Andrew (32:35.202)

Hmm.

Stephen Means (32:50.75)

a bunch of text about all these things happening as soon as it was happening and you didn’t have to go look for it. came directly to your phone. 614-350-3315, two week free trial, 399 after that. Let’s move a little quicker.

Stefan, what do you think the tech, here’s the next question, what’s your confidence level in Ohio State overall heading into the Indiana game next week? What do you think the techs are set? Quick answer.

Stefan Krajisnik (33:16.609)

Texture’s probably like a eight. Are you talking about beating Indiana or just like confidence in the team overhaul?

Stephen Means (33:19.302)

Okay, Andrew, what are you doing?

Overall, chances of being Indiana. Yeah.

Stefan Krajisnik (33:26.221)

Probably like, both answers are probably around like a nine, eight or nine.

Stephen Means (33:30.462)

Eight or nine, okay. Andrew, quick answer, eight or nine. One through 10, Indiana. Nine, okay. Okay. 42.47 % voted eight, 25.34 % voted nine, 8.22 voted 10, overall score 7.98. So right there, high seven, around eight. Stefan, is that where you’re at? Do you agree with the tech series or are you taking a different approach?

Andrew (33:35.35)

None. None.

Stefan Krajisnik (33:58.359)

Yeah, I’m probably I’m probably around nine to be honest. I got some confidence in this team overall. I say that after I just gave the defensive five, but the unit as the team as a whole and what this offense is doing right now, the way Will Howard’s playing right now, I just think this is kind of the team that we maybe didn’t expect in a sense of like this is going to be a super team like some of those conversations going on. But this is a team that is one of the three or four that we can confidently say is going to compete for a national championship in this next month and.

I would not be surprised if they lost to any of those other three or four or sorry beat any of those other, you know, three or four teams that are in the conversation right now. I might even feel like it’s a two team conversation to be frank with you. So yeah, my confidence is right there around the nine.

Stephen Means (34:41.041)

Andrew.

Andrew (34:44.458)

Yeah, I think the Texas are at a nine. I’m probably at like an eight. you know, I, I think Ohio state is better just in a lot of ways than Indiana. and I’m trying not to scout the helmet. I’m trying not to look and you know, you see the IU football helmet and you think, well, there goes a foreign a football team. and you’re trying not to do that with Indiana, but I, I just think that, you know,

While Curtis Rourke is pretty good, while I do think their receivers are pretty good, while I do think Kurt Signecki, who is by the way, a lock for every single coach of the year award that they have known to man in college football, while I do think that guy can scheme up some ball, I just, I have questions about Indiana. I’m not saying they’re not good, but I think it might be in the realm of a Penn State good.

where you look at them and go, know what, that is objectively one of the top eight teams in the country, one of the top 10 teams in the country, one of the top 12 teams in the country. Indiana is certainly a playoff team. Don’t give me any of this BS that people are gonna try to feed you. well, if Indiana loses 49 to three, maybe they shouldn’t make the playoff, they should make the playoff no matter what. But I just don’t think they’re as talented across the board. And I am wondering if that game is kind of a baptism of, hey,

Congratulations, you have a lot of success stories. You you pulled kids from JMU and the G5 and did all these great things. There’s a reason why Ohio State didn’t offer them. There’s a reason why some of these big time programs didn’t offer them. And I’m wondering if that’s going to be the case next Saturday.

Stephen Means (36:26.686)

mean, to be fair, it’s not like Ohio State offered its current starting quarterback and running back out of, or healthy tied in out of high school either, they haven’t tied in from OU. But I’m out of 10. We’re to talk about this all week. I got a weird feeling this game is going to be 2021 Michigan State all over again. New coach, new energy. Mel Tucker was in year two that year, but essentially a pseudo year one because his first year was doing COVID. It’s like, I don’t know what you want him to do.

Andrew (36:34.424)

Of course, of course.

Stephen Means (36:55.966)

during the cover year. This is his first year in a normal situation. Michigan State gets up to top 10. I think they were might’ve been top five when they came to Ohio State in 2021. Ironically enough, that game also right before Michigan big deal came in with a Heisman Trophy candidate and and and they’re in Kenneth Walker, the third big game college game day was there. The game was on ESPN at noon. This game college game day is going to be in there. It’s going to be on big noon because it’s a big new kickoff, but still.

Big game, probably the most interesting game of the week, right? And what happened? 56 to seven, thumper. It was a moment of, man, Michigan State, what you’re doing is really, really cool right now, but you’re not ready to sit at this table. And I am wondering if the same thing is on the table for Indiana this weekend. I’m gonna go back and forth on that our week, but I am, I think right now I’m at a,

Ohio State might blow this team off the field and it’s nothing against. Signet Curtis Signetti, ironically enough, just like with Mel Tucker that year, the week before they played Ohio State, Mel Tucker got a crazy, crazy contract extension. Guess what? Her signetting just got the week before he has play Ohio State.

Stefan Krajisnik (38:11.629)

That’s one of those. That’s one of those. I’m sure maybe it was like this Michigan State where it was like, okay, just in case you pull off the upset, I want to make sure you’re locked up just in case it happens.

Stephen Means (38:22.044)

It’s a, it’s a two way street. It’s like one side’s like, let me get you while you’re still a little cheap. And the other side is like, let me get in this while I can go with the highest I can go with my money. Right. Both of them are hedging their bets. I’m just, I don’t know which way to go with this. I think Indiana does one thing very, very well. One very well, very, very well that I think can exploit Ohio State’s defense. I talked about that with the cornerbacks and I think they do a lot of things. Well, I am just to an alert for.

I’ve seen this movie before and I know how it ended with a team coming to Ohio State for a noon game with everybody watching. And it was a reminder of there’s a big boy table in college football. And it takes more than just one decent season to get a seat at it. One team’s looking for a seat at the table. The other one’s like, we’re not pulling up a new chair yet. Go do some more work and then we’ll think about it. And I’m wondering if that’s how that game plays out. And I know that’s not a X’s and O’s reason, but that’s just where I’m at with that game. It’s more about

There’s just a talent gap, man. There’s just a talent gap there. Next question. I skipped the Michigan game because we’re Michigan week is two weeks away and we’re going to do a lot, a lot of Michigan talk. So I didn’t want to boil that down to just this one question about what’s your confidence in beating Michigan? No, there’s a lot more nuance to that conversation than just can Ohio State win a football game. There’s a lot more on the line than just that confidence in the Oregon game. If they get a rematch in Indianapolis, which

That’s where things seem to be headed right now. I know Indiana can throw a wrench in that. know Michigan can throw a wrench in that. But if both of these teams went out, that’s what we’re gonna get. We’re gonna get a rematch of Oregon and Ohio State on a neutral field. Stefan, where do you think the Texers are?

Stefan Krajisnik (40:06.157)

Probably like a seven or an eight. I mean, I think Ohio State is going to be favored if they play each other again on a neutral field. And frankly, I mean, we’ll see how much of a neutral field that is playing that game in Indianapolis. So I’d probably agree. I think the Texas is like seven or eight. I’d probably say I’m like a seven or eight as well. I will say going into the Oregon game, we did poke some holes and where we thought, you Oregon maybe wasn’t playing at its best because they had you remember going into that game in mid October.

Stephen Means (40:08.296)

Mm-hmm.

Stefan Krajisnik (40:33.591)

That had a few non-conference games where you’re just like, this team does not look like they’re one of the two three best teams in the country. And really since that Ohio State game, yes, they beat Ohio State, but like since then they’ve actually looked pretty good. Like they’ve kind of taken care of the teams that they’ve taken care of and have played, I don’t want to say cleaner, but it’s just, it’s been crisper. It’s been a more fun product to watch than what we saw in those first couple of games of the season. So I do think Oregon is a better team than when they were going into that.

first game against Ohio State, but I was still have confidence like a seven or eight that Ohio State would win that game.

Stephen Means (41:08.464)

Andrew, where do think tech crews are?

Andrew (41:10.974)

I think the textures are at a seven. I am at a five. And I think a five is perfectly fair because like if a one is zero confidence, they’re gonna lose. A 10 is Stephen Means. Well, no, but that’s the thing. Wasn’t that Oregon game just a coin flip? Wasn’t it just one side of the fence or the other? Because I think we talked about this in one of our post game videos, which obviously go check them out on YouTube. But like that Oregon game that they played in Eugene.

Stephen Means (41:22.674)

Get off the fence, man!

Andrew (41:39.254)

Ohio State could very reasonably make a case that they should have won that game. Oregon can very reasonably make a case that they should have won that game by more. And I think both of those teams can say that, right? Oregon can say, well, the Will Casmeric play on the first drive, the catch, shouldn’t have counted, that was a pick. Then Ohio State can say, well, if Quinchon Judkins doesn’t fumble, then we’re up 14-0, or we’re up 10-0, or whatever. Like, there’s a give and take to this. Gabriel missed a player in the end zone. well, Will Howard got down with one second left, or that wasn’t a push off on Jeremiah, like.

Those are big time games that are decided by a coin flip. And I’m at a five because I think you could convince me either team wins and it would not be shocking. I don’t care who’s favored. You could convince me of that. And I know that’s a terrible answer. And I know people get bored by that. well, you know, it’s like, it’s like, there’s a 50 % chance of rain and there’s a 50 % chance of sun. It’s gonna, it’s gonna be one of the two. It’s like, well, yeah, that’s the way that those two teams are separated right now. They’re the number one and two teams in the country. They’re both really, really good.

Both teams could have won that game in Eugene. And I think both teams can win that game in Oregon. think there are some questions that I have about Ohio state that you probably still have. Like has the secondary done enough over these last couple of weeks to prove to you that the Oregon game won’t happen again? I mean, not necessarily. I mean, I think we’ll get a decent test against Indiana, but we still have questions about the secondary. And a lot of that has arisen from the Oregon game.

You know, we still have questions about Davis and Nguyen Huyen and some of those past, we still have questions about Denzel Burke. You know, we, still have questions about this pass rush getting home with four and you know, we were talking about this in the press box, you know, what happens if an offensive coordinator kind of gets onto Jim Knowles’ tells and you can kind of figure out when you’re blitzing and then that could be a whole other set of issues. So I think a five is totally fair. Ohio State moved the ball well. They could improve defensively against Oregon, but Oregon has also improved and they might have

their best defensive player in that game that they didn’t have in the first game. So I think a five is totally fair. think the texture is probably a little bit more confident than I am, but it’s gonna be a coin flip game. And that’s why I’m at a five.

Stephen Means (43:48.102)

Everybody’s more confident when it comes to Oregon than you are, Andrew. It’s you and Jimmy Watkins living out on this edge that Oregon’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. It’s fine. All right, so they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. What’s your confidence level? That this team could win a rematch against Oregon?

Andrew (43:55.488)

Well, they’re the number one team in the country right now, so.

Stephen Means (44:06.526)

29%, excuse me, no, 26.71 % said seven, 23.29 % said eight, 15.75 % said nine, 11.64 % said 10, overall score 7.42, so a little bit down from the Indiana game, but that comes with, I think that’s a good gap because Oregon and Indiana are two different levels of competition. I think I’m at a nine, lost the game by one point in Oregon.

To me, that’s like, if it was at home, you would have won by three. No, actually, I might even say if it was a neutral side game, you would have won that game by three. And if it was at home, you would have won that game by touchdown. That’s Stephen math. That’s nobody else’s math, but Stephen’s in this situation. just, again, I don’t think Denzel Burke’s gonna play that badly again. If he was a one in that game, I think in the game since he’s been five and a half.

Think if Davidson Ibn Nossam was a three in that game, I think since then he’s been six and a half. I think that’s fair. So what’s is five and a half good enough? Probably, especially when you were one. I think that’s improvement. I don’t know. Maybe he’s a 10 in that game. Again, the Denzel Burke is. I feel like we’re picking on him and it’s it’s just it’s him and Davidson. Ibn Nossam have been the issue in two very different ways. Davidson is about.

Can he stop not me? Can he stop being handsy and picking up unnecessary DPI’s with with Denzel Burt is can he win one on one and back shoulder fade situations with the 50 50 but right? It’s gotta be 50 50 and it doesn’t feel like it’s 50 50 right now. I’m still high though. I have not lost faith in either one of them. I just the standard is the standard and both of those guys will tell you that the standard for both of them is better than what they have been playing like in the last couple of weeks, but also

Stephen Means (46:06.12)

So here’s the deal, if you think Will Howard, who I think has had flashes of what he ended up doing against Northwestern, his ability to push the ball down the field, and you looked at him at times and time again since then and said, I want to see him do it again because I don’t have full faith in it. I think you should say the same thing about Dylan Gabriel because they’ve been the same quarterback to me. The only difference is one won the game and one didn’t win the game. don’t think, I think they were equal. I think they canceled each other out in the Oregon game. So both of them have to prove to me that they can do it again in that game, in my opinion.

Stefan Krajisnik (46:33.975)

Well, I agree for the most part. I think a big thing in that game was Dillon Gabriel in Oregon didn’t make the mistakes that Ohio State made. Some of that falls on Will Howard.

Stephen Means (46:44.368)

No, but I don’t

I think fumbling the snap that was also like a bad snap is the only one I

I don’t think, but again, I’m not putting bang bang plays in a situation where it’s like, I don’t know if that’s only, that’s not a decision, right? That wasn’t the key was trying to get down. That wasn’t a situation of he’s still, if he was still running around and the clock’s at zero, said he was literally sliding. They just rule, didn’t rule him down until after the clock went out. So that’s, can’t, I can’t blame you for going to do the right thing.

Stefan Krajisnik (46:56.021)

I mean, yeah, but I mean, you know.

Stefan Krajisnik (47:19.531)

Yeah.

Stephen Means (47:25.34)

He wasn’t oblivious to it. just unfortunately didn’t go his way.

I’m at an eight that Ohio State wins that rematch. It’s because I think this team has gotten better in a lot of the areas that may be struggled in that game, except for one so far. And also it’s very, very difficult to beat a team twice. It’s very difficult, very, very difficult. I’ve seen it. Ohio State played Wisconsin twice in 2019. The first time they ran them off the field and Chase Young turned himself into a Heisman Trophy finalist. The second time they needed to come back when to win the big 10 championship game. So that’s, it’s just difficult to beat a team more than once. Georgia.

lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship game in 2021. Guess who won the second time? Now there were two very key people missing and John Metchi and Jameson. But still, it’s just, difficult to beat a team more than once. Last question.

Stephen Means (48:18.94)

What’s your confidence level that this team can win a national championship? Stefan, where do you think the Texas were at and where are you at?

Stefan Krajisnik (48:27.693)

Hmm. Pro I’m probably at. I mean, I’ll answer this more like candy. Yeah, I mean they can obviously they’re one of the three or four teams that that probably can, but I’d probably say I’m at a six. There is this element we need to remember. Like this is a 12 team cultural playoff. Like you have to be three of the top 12 teams, maybe four to win a national championship. That is not an easy thing to do right. And like we’re talking about.

Do I think Ohio State is better than Tennessee or Texas? Yeah, but these are teams that like don’t face each other. This is not like a rematch with Oregon where you’ve seen these teams play each other or just anytime you’re playing a big 10 team, like, like, you know, this coach, you know, their style, like, you know, you’ve played them in the past. There’s going to be a new element to this playoff that we’ve never seen before, obviously. So that’s why I’m probably like a six or seven. I think this team has all the pieces to do it. And now it’s just a matter of.

Okay. Are you the team that’s most prepared for this new format and for this new structure? And are you the team that is that I said it the other day, there’s two teams in the country right now that are only halfway through the season. Then that is insane to think about. It’s crazy to think about, are you one of those teams that’s prepared to, to, to, go on that kind of run and have the kind of consistent success that it takes? I think I’m more confident than not. that’s probably why I’ll say six and a half.

Textures probably, probably same, like probably around seven.

Stephen Means (49:57.79)

Mr. Gillis.

Andrew (49:59.948)

Well, is so these things are interesting because it’s like, you know, the confidence level but they can is like a 10 because they can write. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. So I so I’m

Stephen Means (50:06.92)

You guys in a semantic conversation, man. You guys know what that question means. We don’t have to have a Webster’s Dictionary conversation about can and will.

Andrew (50:16.992)

I’m at, so I’m at like a nine because I mean, we talk about Oregon, like if you’re giving them a 50, 50 shot, at least I am to beat the number one team in the country. And, know, the last time they played them, it was on the road and it was in a hostile environment and it was in a very, very loud environment. It was a tough place to play. And we’re going to talk about them in that way. I mean, how many other teams are you looking at going?

man, that’s just the team, right? That’s 2019 LSU, that’s 2020 Bama, that’s 2011 Alabama. There’s just certain teams that you look at and you’re like, hey, well that team has flaws. And it feels like sometimes you get kind of put into the echo chamber of Ohio State where it’s like, this defense, what’s going on with them or this offensive line, they’re really in trouble. And go look at Georgia’s offensive line. Georgia’s offensive line is miserable. Go look at some of these other teams too. So Ohio State.

You know, I think for as much as we, you know, we talk about them and we say, okay, well, this needs to improve or this needs improved. are still one of the best teams in the country. I think you, you compare them to other teams in the country. And the only thing that really has changed for me since the year began was I thought this team might be a super team. I thought we were going to be putting them in the category of 2019 LSU, 2020 Bama, you know, maybe one of the best.

teams of the college football playoff era, one of the best teams in recent memory. I don’t think that that’s the case right now because you can’t be a super team if you lose, especially when you don’t play that well against Oregon. So I think that that has changed, but my belief that they can win a national championship has really not because they just have some flaws that you maybe didn’t expect, but they’re still good. know, you can have questions about the secondary.

but the defense is still good. You can have questions about the offensive line, but the offense is still good. And I’m still pretty confident in them. And I understand if people are not, but they’re still really good. There’s still a really talented football team. And find me a program in this country that does not have questions about a certain part of their roster. And then we can just shut her down and we’ll try again next year. But right now there’s not that team out there.

Stephen Means (52:34.91)

There is no super team in college football this year. There is no flawless team. There is no team where every year we’re going, is this the team that’s like LSU in 2019? This is the team that’s like some of those Alabama teams. And you think 2020, you think some of those earlier saving Alabama teams in the 2010s, I think you would throw the 2018 Clemson team in this super team conversation, especially the way they wasted Alabama in the national championship game. And that team doesn’t exist. But the last two Ohio State,

teams that won a national championship were flawed, very flawed, some of which was they came into the season with those flaws. Some of those flaws showed up later on. I don’t know, like losing your starting quarterback a week and a half before the season starts and then losing your next starting quarterback the week before the national championship game and then winning a national championship with your third string quarterback. Or I don’t know, being in a position where your quarterback throws an interception in the

red zone area of a national championship game and you need your five star freshman running back to rip the ball out of his hands to let you win it right. The last two times Ohio State won a national championship, you would look at those teams and I guarantee you every single week people were going that this seems flawed. Well, this team is flawed. I don’t know. Can this guy hold up? I don’t know. Is the offensive line very good? I don’t know. Is the quarterback going to hold every single time every week? That was the conversation. I guess that’s how the Ohio State that’s the Ohio State way.

I was joking with these two in the press box at one point and almost sent it to the text or six one four three five, three, three, five. I said, I finally get the Ohio State football experience. It’s like you’re going on a road trip with your friends to this awesome location. And once you get there, the awesome location is everything you thought it was going to be. Everybody has a great time. But when people ask you, how was the drive? You go, dude, this guy kept.

having to stop every 20 minutes because he wouldn’t stop drinking all the water. This guy wants to stop and look at every site along the way because he has every fun fact about every little trinket that pops up. We had a flat tire. We ran out of gas because this dude’s talking about, I know my car. We can get it to the gas station. So we’re putting it in neutral. We had to push it a mile and a half to get to a gas station. Right. It’s just everything. It’s just frustrating.

Stephen Means (54:57.694)

Along the way, every single time 2002 was frustrating along the way, but it paid off because you want a national championship. 2014 was frustrating along the way, but you want a national championship. Even in years where you don’t want a national championship, it’s frustrating. The whole journey is frustrating. Even if the final destination can sometimes be awesome. And I think that’s what this season is. I’m at a nine because of that. This team has been frustrating, right? The defense hasn’t been the super defense. We thought it was going to be Will Howard.

has had some moments where you’re like, I don’t know, man. He makes some weird decisions that look like common core decisions or I don’t know. Can he push the ball down the field? Right. The run game had to refigure itself out. You lost your starting left tackle and then you lost your backup left tackle. So you had to put your left guard. We can’t I’m gonna I’m not gonna run out of time. It’s just weird right? The Nebraska game. I think we were all on edge fans media coaching staff players everybody because it was like you had two weeks and this is what you did. Seriously even the Penn State win. How much of a

Heart attack game was that. Will Howard throws a pick six on his first throw of the game. The game essentially comes down to the defense getting three straight stops on a goal line stand. What? A Davis and Iguanosa gets a penalty and then the very next play gets an interception and everything about this team is just. It’s like they take everything and they find the most heart racing way to do it possible.

And the whole fan base is like, why does it have to be like this every week? Can we ever just have nice things? Well, maybe yeah, you have a nice thing in January. You just got to do a lot to get to it. I’m at a nine. It’s hard to beat a team twice. Like keep coming back to that with the Oregon situation. And as flawed as this team is, it’s not as flawed as some of these other teams. All of their flaws feel like they’re either fixable or it’s just fair to demand more.

I think that’s the case with Oregon too. I don’t think that about any other team in college football this year. And I think it’s part of the reason why Ryan Day keeps preaching this consistency thing. This don’t take any team lightly thing, right? He’s won 47 straight games against unranked, but just like, doesn’t matter who the opponent is. We got to bring it because that’s how you have to kind of approach a 12 team playoff. Or to Stefan’s point, you have to beat three of the top 12 teams in the country.

Stephen Means (57:24.444)

Well, this team will have played three of the top five teams in the country when they got on the field with them. And one of them, they’re going to have to play twice. So they’re going to be pretty battle tested in a way that I am just not sure outside of Oregon, any other team that’s ready to take on the gauntlet that’s going to be December, the way that Ohio state is going to have to take it on. So because of that, even with all the flaws, even with the quarterback questions, even with the makeshift offensive line,

even with the quarterback not being CJ Stroud level. I’m at an eight and I’m trending at a nine. The Texers, 6.99. So they’re right there at about seven, Stephon. 25.17 % said seven, 23.81 % said eight, 7.48 said 10%, 10, 10, 15.65 % said six. But the reason why it’s 6.9, even though you hear such high numbers right there, is because it’s spread out.

They got a vote everywhere from one to 10 on this. And that’s how it kind of got pulled down and pulled up and all over the place. But that’s where we’re at. Ohio State’s 10 games of let’s figure it out. Let’s see what we are over with. And now it’s Indiana week, which has somehow become part of this redemptive arc that Ohio State is on is can you get through this top five matchup? Can you beat your rival for the first time in three weeks? Excuse me, three years.

And then can you get some revenge on Oregon? But we’re in it now. Get the text six on four, three, three, three, one, five, two weeks. We try out three 99 after that Ohio State 31 Northwestern seven. It’s time to watch some playoff games for Ohio State for Stefan Christen and Andrew Gillis. I’m Stephen Means and that was book. talk.