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LGHL Ohio State men’s basketball vs Rutgers: Game preview and prediction
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Ohio State men’s basketball vs Rutgers: Game preview and prediction
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images
Something has to give this afternoon in Columbus, as both Rutgers and Ohio State enter today’s contest riding two-game losing streaks.
Ohio State’s men’s basketball team (5-3) enters today’s game against Rutgers riding a two-game losing streak. After suffering a heartbreaking loss in overtime last week at home to Pitt, the Buckeyes were thoroughly dusted on Wednesday night in College Park against Maryland in their first Big Ten game of the season.
Jake Diebler’s team provided no resistance for the Terrapins in the first half, as Maryland took a 50-17 lead into the halftime break.
Only two Buckeyes reached double figures in scoring in Wednesday night’s blowout loss. Devin Royal nearly notched his third double-double of the season, finishing the game with a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes. John Mobley Jr. added 15 points in 24 minutes off the bench, hitting three triples in the loss. With his trifecta of three-pointers, Mobley has now hit at least three three-pointers in six of Ohio State’s eight games this season.
Not only was Ohio State without Aaron Bradshaw on Wednesday night as the Kentucky transfer continues to be sidelined as he is being investigated for a domestic incident, a number of Buckeye starters struggled mightily against the Terrapins. Meechie Johnson Jr. went 2-13 from the field, scoring just eight points. Micah Parrish missed all five of his field goal attempts, scoring his only two points in the game from the free throw line. Even Bruce Thornton wasn’t very active on the offensive end, failing to reach double figures in scoring for just the second time this season.
The Buckeyes can’t hang their head too long as they have a tough contest this afternoon against Rutgers, who enter this game with the same 5-3 record as Ohio State. Last year the Buckeyes swept the regular season series with the Scarlet Knights, winning 76-72 in Columbus, followed by a 73-51 rout of the home team in New Jersey. The victories extended Ohio State’s edge in the all-time series to 13-5, and the Buckeyes are still perfect against Rutgers in Columbus, winning all eight times they have hosted the Scarlet Knights.
When the teams met at Value City Arena last season, Bruce Thornton had one of his best games of the season, scoring 24 points and dishing out seven assists. Entering today’s game, Thornton is leading Ohio State in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game. Now in his third season as a Buckeye, Thornton has scored 1,045 points, sitting 10 points behind Ken Johnson and Jamie Skelton, who are tied for 53rd in school history. With 13 points, Thornton would move past Kam Williams’ career total of 1,057 points. Along with his scoring prowess, Thornton currently sits fourth in the country with a 5.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25777623/usa_today_24872811.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Pittsburgh at Ohio State")
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
While Thornton has been a steadying force in the backcourt for Ohio State this year, the most exciting Buckeye has been freshman John Mobley Jr, who is currently leading the Big Ten in three-point shooting. Not only are the 3.00 three-pointers per game that Mobley is hitting leading the Big Ten, he is also shooting 55.8 percent from beyond the arc. With Mobley’s help, Ohio State has now hit at least one three-pointer in 349 straight games. The last game where the Buckeyes weren’t able to hit a three came back in March 2014 against Indiana.
Opposing Ohio State this afternoon are the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who had some lofty expectations entering this season because of a talented freshman class. The most notable first-year Scarlet Knights are Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, son of former NBA player Ron Harper and younger brother of former Rutgers star Ron Harper Jr. Harper is the team’s leading scorer through the first eight games, averaging 23.8 points per game. Harper scored 36 points against Notre Dame in the Players Era Festival - Impact Tournament in Las Vegas last week, and followed it up with 37 points the next night against Alabama.
With those scoring outputs, Harper not only has posted the highest scoring games by a freshman in the country so far this season, the McDonald’s All-American became the first Rutgers player since Quincy Douby in 2006 to score 30 points in back-to-back games. Harper can do more than just put the ball in the basket, as he is averaging 4.5 rebounds per game, along with 4.6 assists per game.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25777626/2187620099.jpg "Players Era Festival: Texas A&M v Rutgers")
Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images
The other highly-touted freshman to suit up for Rutgers this year is Ace Bailey, who missed the first two games of the season before making his debut last month by scoring 17 points against Monmouth. Bailey has really started to find his scoring touch lately, combining for 46 points in losses to Alabama and Texas A&M last week in Las Vegas, The Tennessee native is averaging 18.8 points per game, making him the only other Rutgers player besides Harper to enter today’s game averaging double figures in scoring this season. By pulling down 10 rebounds last time out, Bailey now has two double-doubles this season.
To compliment the talented freshman duo, head coach Steve Pikiell dipped into the transfer portal over the past two years. Prior to last season, Pikiell brought in guard Jeremiah Williams, who had previously attended Iowa State and Temple. Williams played in 12 games last season after making his debut in early February, averaging 12.2 points per game. This season, Williams is scoring 9.1 points per game in 23.1 minutes per contest. Along with Williams, joining Rutgers from the transfer portal are guards Jordan Derkack of Merrimack, Tyson Acuff of Eastern Michigan, and PJ Hayes IV from San Diego. In the front court, Zach Martini stayed in the Garden State, moving from Princeton to Rutgers in the offseason.
Pikiell is in his ninth season as head coach of the Scarlet Knights, posting a 137-124 record after accepting the position prior to the 2016-17 season after spending 11 seasons at Stony Brook. The former point guard at UConn has led Rutgers to the NCAA Tournament twice, most recently falling in a First Four game to Notre Dame in 2022. Last season the Scarlet Knights were bounced in overtime in the first round of the NIT by Hofstra. With two of the top freshmen in the country, Rutgers and Pikiell will be trying to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1979.
Even though both teams enter this game on two-game losing streaks, there is more optimism surrounding Rutgers because of Harper and Bailey. Plus, the Scarlet Knights have had a week off to catch their breath after three games in Las Vegas, with two of those contests coming against No. 10 Alabama and No. 22 Texas A&M, two of the tougher teams in the SEC this season. After a slow start to their pairing on the floor after Bailey missed the first two games of the season, it looks as if Harper and Bailey are really starting to gel with each other, as well as those surrounding them on the court.
Right now morale around the Ohio State basketball program is at its lowest point of the young season so far. Along with the drama surrounding Bradshaw and his alleged “domestic incident”, the Buckeyes are coming off their worst performance of the season. The win against Texas in the season opener seems like forever ago. Since then, the Buckeyes have feasted on cupcakes and failed to meet the moment against tougher competition. While Ohio State should have beaten Pitt last week, they were no match in road contests against Texas A&M and Maryland.
Unfortunately these two teams look to be trending in opposite directions. The Buckeyes have a talented roster that hasn’t played to their potential yet. Meechie Johnson hasn’t lived up to expectations since returning to Columbus after spending the last two seasons at South Carolina. Another disappointment so far this season has been Duke transfer Sean Stewart, who hasn’t come close to living up to the hype coming out of high school. Stewart’s ineffectiveness in the front court has been magnified by Bradshaw being away from the team, as well as the recent injury to Colin White.
As nice as it would be to predict an Ohio State win today, the explosiveness of Bailey and Harper will be a little too much for the Buckeyes to withstand. Ohio State has had trouble with power conference teams so far this season, and the Scarlet Knights should be able to exploit the weaknesses of the Buckeyes and earn their first win ever in Columbus in a tight game that isn’t decided until late in the second half.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 82.3%
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
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Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images
Something has to give this afternoon in Columbus, as both Rutgers and Ohio State enter today’s contest riding two-game losing streaks.
Ohio State’s men’s basketball team (5-3) enters today’s game against Rutgers riding a two-game losing streak. After suffering a heartbreaking loss in overtime last week at home to Pitt, the Buckeyes were thoroughly dusted on Wednesday night in College Park against Maryland in their first Big Ten game of the season.
Jake Diebler’s team provided no resistance for the Terrapins in the first half, as Maryland took a 50-17 lead into the halftime break.
Only two Buckeyes reached double figures in scoring in Wednesday night’s blowout loss. Devin Royal nearly notched his third double-double of the season, finishing the game with a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes. John Mobley Jr. added 15 points in 24 minutes off the bench, hitting three triples in the loss. With his trifecta of three-pointers, Mobley has now hit at least three three-pointers in six of Ohio State’s eight games this season.
Not only was Ohio State without Aaron Bradshaw on Wednesday night as the Kentucky transfer continues to be sidelined as he is being investigated for a domestic incident, a number of Buckeye starters struggled mightily against the Terrapins. Meechie Johnson Jr. went 2-13 from the field, scoring just eight points. Micah Parrish missed all five of his field goal attempts, scoring his only two points in the game from the free throw line. Even Bruce Thornton wasn’t very active on the offensive end, failing to reach double figures in scoring for just the second time this season.
Preview
The Buckeyes can’t hang their head too long as they have a tough contest this afternoon against Rutgers, who enter this game with the same 5-3 record as Ohio State. Last year the Buckeyes swept the regular season series with the Scarlet Knights, winning 76-72 in Columbus, followed by a 73-51 rout of the home team in New Jersey. The victories extended Ohio State’s edge in the all-time series to 13-5, and the Buckeyes are still perfect against Rutgers in Columbus, winning all eight times they have hosted the Scarlet Knights.
When the teams met at Value City Arena last season, Bruce Thornton had one of his best games of the season, scoring 24 points and dishing out seven assists. Entering today’s game, Thornton is leading Ohio State in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game. Now in his third season as a Buckeye, Thornton has scored 1,045 points, sitting 10 points behind Ken Johnson and Jamie Skelton, who are tied for 53rd in school history. With 13 points, Thornton would move past Kam Williams’ career total of 1,057 points. Along with his scoring prowess, Thornton currently sits fourth in the country with a 5.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
While Thornton has been a steadying force in the backcourt for Ohio State this year, the most exciting Buckeye has been freshman John Mobley Jr, who is currently leading the Big Ten in three-point shooting. Not only are the 3.00 three-pointers per game that Mobley is hitting leading the Big Ten, he is also shooting 55.8 percent from beyond the arc. With Mobley’s help, Ohio State has now hit at least one three-pointer in 349 straight games. The last game where the Buckeyes weren’t able to hit a three came back in March 2014 against Indiana.
Opposing Ohio State this afternoon are the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who had some lofty expectations entering this season because of a talented freshman class. The most notable first-year Scarlet Knights are Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, son of former NBA player Ron Harper and younger brother of former Rutgers star Ron Harper Jr. Harper is the team’s leading scorer through the first eight games, averaging 23.8 points per game. Harper scored 36 points against Notre Dame in the Players Era Festival - Impact Tournament in Las Vegas last week, and followed it up with 37 points the next night against Alabama.
With those scoring outputs, Harper not only has posted the highest scoring games by a freshman in the country so far this season, the McDonald’s All-American became the first Rutgers player since Quincy Douby in 2006 to score 30 points in back-to-back games. Harper can do more than just put the ball in the basket, as he is averaging 4.5 rebounds per game, along with 4.6 assists per game.
The other highly-touted freshman to suit up for Rutgers this year is Ace Bailey, who missed the first two games of the season before making his debut last month by scoring 17 points against Monmouth. Bailey has really started to find his scoring touch lately, combining for 46 points in losses to Alabama and Texas A&M last week in Las Vegas, The Tennessee native is averaging 18.8 points per game, making him the only other Rutgers player besides Harper to enter today’s game averaging double figures in scoring this season. By pulling down 10 rebounds last time out, Bailey now has two double-doubles this season.
To compliment the talented freshman duo, head coach Steve Pikiell dipped into the transfer portal over the past two years. Prior to last season, Pikiell brought in guard Jeremiah Williams, who had previously attended Iowa State and Temple. Williams played in 12 games last season after making his debut in early February, averaging 12.2 points per game. This season, Williams is scoring 9.1 points per game in 23.1 minutes per contest. Along with Williams, joining Rutgers from the transfer portal are guards Jordan Derkack of Merrimack, Tyson Acuff of Eastern Michigan, and PJ Hayes IV from San Diego. In the front court, Zach Martini stayed in the Garden State, moving from Princeton to Rutgers in the offseason.
Pikiell is in his ninth season as head coach of the Scarlet Knights, posting a 137-124 record after accepting the position prior to the 2016-17 season after spending 11 seasons at Stony Brook. The former point guard at UConn has led Rutgers to the NCAA Tournament twice, most recently falling in a First Four game to Notre Dame in 2022. Last season the Scarlet Knights were bounced in overtime in the first round of the NIT by Hofstra. With two of the top freshmen in the country, Rutgers and Pikiell will be trying to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1979.
Prediction
Even though both teams enter this game on two-game losing streaks, there is more optimism surrounding Rutgers because of Harper and Bailey. Plus, the Scarlet Knights have had a week off to catch their breath after three games in Las Vegas, with two of those contests coming against No. 10 Alabama and No. 22 Texas A&M, two of the tougher teams in the SEC this season. After a slow start to their pairing on the floor after Bailey missed the first two games of the season, it looks as if Harper and Bailey are really starting to gel with each other, as well as those surrounding them on the court.
Right now morale around the Ohio State basketball program is at its lowest point of the young season so far. Along with the drama surrounding Bradshaw and his alleged “domestic incident”, the Buckeyes are coming off their worst performance of the season. The win against Texas in the season opener seems like forever ago. Since then, the Buckeyes have feasted on cupcakes and failed to meet the moment against tougher competition. While Ohio State should have beaten Pitt last week, they were no match in road contests against Texas A&M and Maryland.
Unfortunately these two teams look to be trending in opposite directions. The Buckeyes have a talented roster that hasn’t played to their potential yet. Meechie Johnson hasn’t lived up to expectations since returning to Columbus after spending the last two seasons at South Carolina. Another disappointment so far this season has been Duke transfer Sean Stewart, who hasn’t come close to living up to the hype coming out of high school. Stewart’s ineffectiveness in the front court has been magnified by Bradshaw being away from the team, as well as the recent injury to Colin White.
As nice as it would be to predict an Ohio State win today, the explosiveness of Bailey and Harper will be a little too much for the Buckeyes to withstand. Ohio State has had trouble with power conference teams so far this season, and the Scarlet Knights should be able to exploit the weaknesses of the Buckeyes and earn their first win ever in Columbus in a tight game that isn’t decided until late in the second half.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 82.3%
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
LGHL score prediction: Rutgers 78, Ohio State 74
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LGHL No Fall Weddings: Everything about the Michigan game was embarrassing
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No Fall Weddings: Everything about the Michigan game was embarrassing
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Jami and Matt also make predictions for their official CFP seedings and the Heisman Trophy winner.
Every week during the college football season, Matt Tamanini and Jami Jurich will be getting into all things Ohio State, previewing the weekend’s slate, unveiling their individual CFP rankings, and picking Heisman contenders on “No Fall Weddings.”
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
On this episode of the Land-Grant Podcast Network’s “No Fall Weddings,” Jami Jurich and Matt Tamanini react to the worst loss in Ohio State football history, at least in the 21st Century, the embarrassing 13-10 defeat at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines. They also get into the postgame fracas debate and end up having conflicting views on who is primarily to blame for the fights that cost both schools $100,000 apiece.
Then, after a break, Jami and Matt reveal their official College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy predictions. They also pick every conference championship game this weekend and wrap things up with a pop culture recommendation.
Connect with Jami Jurich:
Twitter: @JamiJurich
Connect with Matt Tamanini:
Online Portfolio: https://authory.com/MattTamanini
Theme music provided by audiio.com
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Jami and Matt also make predictions for their official CFP seedings and the Heisman Trophy winner.
Every week during the college football season, Matt Tamanini and Jami Jurich will be getting into all things Ohio State, previewing the weekend’s slate, unveiling their individual CFP rankings, and picking Heisman contenders on “No Fall Weddings.”
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
On this episode of the Land-Grant Podcast Network’s “No Fall Weddings,” Jami Jurich and Matt Tamanini react to the worst loss in Ohio State football history, at least in the 21st Century, the embarrassing 13-10 defeat at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines. They also get into the postgame fracas debate and end up having conflicting views on who is primarily to blame for the fights that cost both schools $100,000 apiece.
Then, after a break, Jami and Matt reveal their official College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy predictions. They also pick every conference championship game this weekend and wrap things up with a pop culture recommendation.
Connect with Jami Jurich:
Twitter: @JamiJurich
Connect with Matt Tamanini:
Online Portfolio: https://authory.com/MattTamanini
Theme music provided by audiio.com
Continue reading...
LGHL You’re Nuts: Who is your dream first-round College Football Playoff opponent?
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You’re Nuts: Who is your dream first-round College Football Playoff opponent?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Today’s Question: Who is your dream first-round College Football Playoff opponent for Ohio State?
The Buckeyes (and their fans!) desperately need to do a factory reset after last weekend’s Rivalry Week debacle, and the Tennessee Volunteers are this season’s AppleCare.
The Vols’ 10-win regular season makes them a compelling SEC opponent as a really strong, middle-of-the-pack team. When you’re trying to refocus, sometimes a challenge–but not the hardest possible challenge–is a good thing. It helps you maintain the chip on your shoulder that we see so often in championship teams by forcing you to rise to the occasion while saving some energy for the even harder games coming down the pike.
That chip-on-the-shoulder attitude can make the difference in falling in the first round or winning a title. Consider the 2014 Ohio State team that won a title with a third-string quarterback: They’d faced adversity, people doubted them, and that doubt fueled them.
Talent—which the current group of Buckeyes has in droves—can only take you so far. This team needs to recenter and rediscover that inner fire. Tennessee is the exact team to help them stoke it and bring back their “Championship or Bust” mentality. The Wolverines were not a stop sign; they were a speed bump, and they didn’t ruin our season unless we let them ruin it.
If the current CFP projections hold (they won’t lock until after the conference championship games this weekend), the Buckeyes will get the No. 8 seed and with it, the chance to host the projected No. 9 Vols in the first round (as an aside, it would be only the second meeting between these two programs ever, which feels nuts). It’s a best-case scenario for the Buckeyes.
This is an Ohio State team that just lost a Rivalry Week game in their own home and then brawled their opponents in defense of the field. Coming home for Round One would allow the Buckeyes to reestablish whose house it is, something I think is of particular importance for the seniors who returned to win a championship. The quarterfinals move to bowl game format (Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, etc.), so Round One is the seniors’ last chance to play at home, and they’re highly motivated to leave their home with a win.
Plus, on paper, these are two teams that are almost perfectly matched: Neither team is immune to slow starts or missteps and have proved that sometimes the biggest challenge is staying out of your own way. OSU has struggled with slow starts all season, and Tennessee found themselves in a similar situation as recently as rivalry weekend against Vanderbilt but went on to win handily.
Both teams have high-powered QBs and formidable running backs, though the Vols do, at times, seem to have a Jekyll and Hyde situation at quarterback, with prolific freshman Nico Iamaleava still finding his groove. When he’s on, there’s almost no one better. When he’s off, it opens the door, especially for the Buckeyes’ secondary. He’s had as many as 314 yards and 3 touchdowns in a game to as little as 158 yards and no touchdowns (in the Vols’ loss against Florida).
Sound familiar, OSU fans? Our own Will Howard has had his own hit-and-miss moments, and after the performance against Michigan (for which I hold the coaches primarily responsible but for which Howard still has to account for some miscues), it’s good to see whether he comes out with a vengeance or whether his confidence is a bit shaken.
Conversely, I wouldn’t read too much into Iamaleava being a freshman – at this point, he’s successfully played a tough SEC schedule, but a slow start, especially from him, cracks the door for the Silver Bullets and Jim Knowles to create some magic.
And then there are the running backs: Dylan Sampson at Tennessee has had a lights-out season, breaking multiple program records (including rushing touchdowns with 22 and rushing yards with 1,485 yards). He’ll be an excellent test for the Buckeyes’ defensive line, and it will be nice to see whether they can handle Sampson as easily as they did someone like Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson or if Sampson becomes more of a thorn in their side.
The Buckeyes aren’t lacking at running back either, with a wealth of options between Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson (though so help me God, Chip Kelly better not sit around and try to have them run the ball up the center all game). This bodes well for the Buckeyes as Tennessee has had moments where they’ve struggled to contain the rush (particularly in their game against Kentucky).
Defensively the Vols and the Bucks both teams are tough: The Buckeyes have the fewest points allowed; the Vols contained every team but Vanderbilt to fewer than 20 points. Vanderbilt put up 23. OSU leads the country in red-zone scoring defense, but Tennessee isn’t too far behind them.
Both teams have two losses: One that’s not so terrible, and one that’s pretty embarrassing (OSU’s better loss is better than Tennessee’s better loss, but OSU’s worse loss is worse than Tennessee’s worse loss, so let’s take an average here).
All this to say – these are two very similar football teams, which allows Ohio State to re-establish itself, work out its kinks, and get its act together on its home field.
Now, if you’ve followed along with me here at Land Grant-Holy Land, you know my little brother attended Tennessee, so he and I each root for our own school first and foremost, but in general, my family follows and roots for both teams. I promise that’s not why I’m choosing the Vols, but because of this, a Buckeye matchup in Round One feels particularly win-win for me.
Either my team wins (best-case scenario) or my second-favorite team wins, and if my second-favorite team wins, it also increases the likelihood of a new head coach for the Buckeyes next year. Either way, I like my odds.
Both teams are fighting to prove themselves on a bigger stage. Vols’ head coach Josh Heupel has restored the program to glory, and the Buckeyes need to save face after that loss.
Ultimately, that makes for good football (which is fun to watch as a fan) and sets the Buckeyes up to harness their talent and regain their confidence. If they’re able to do that against a dynamic opponent like the Vols (and bring some dignity back to the Horseshoe), it just might be the gas in the tank these Buckeyes need to go all the way.
In all fairness, I don’t think that this is actually possible given the rankings that the College Football Playoff committee released on Tuesday. The only way that I think it could even be possible is if Texas wins the SEC Championship handily and Tulane and Clemson beat Boise State and SMU respectively in very close — perhaps even controversial fashion; even then, I don’t think it has much more than 2.7238% chance of happening.
Nonetheless, the prompt was our “dream” matchup, so that’s what I’m going with. Now, I realize that there will be a lot of people predicting UGA to win the whole dang thing, but hear me out. While it did come in a loss, one of the most inspired coaching performances that we’ve seen from Ryan Day during the postseason came against Georgia in the Peacoch Bowl following the 2022 season. That was the game in which the Buckeyes came within a field goal of essentially winning the national title.
If there is any team that is going to get the Buckeyes’ — and more importantly the coaching staff’s — attention, it is going to be Kirby Smart’s Dawgs. Despite the regular failures of Day in big games, I still for some reason believe that this year’s team is capable of winning the national title, but there can’t be any of the traditional Ryan Day turtling that we see against marquee opponents.
We know that Day can come up with an A+ offensive game plan against Georgia, and Jim Knowles’ defense is lightyears beyond where it was in his first season in Columbus. So, if Day can get back in his bag and allow Chip Kelly to call a creative game, then I think this is the best opportunity for OSU to begin a championship run on a positive note.
Also, when you throw in the fact that it will likely be a cold-weather game, that makes things even more interesting. Granted, the Buckeyes didn’t fare exactly well in the cold-ish wind and weather in The Horseshoe against Michigan, but now that they’ve got that out of their system and Day has (hopefully) seen the monumental error of his ways, there should be a decided Buckeye advantage over the SEC stalwarts.
Admittedly, I used to live not too too far from Athens, Georgia and it does get cold there, so the Dawgs will likely be able to practice in weather at least somewhat colder than a team from South Florida would be able to, but it certainly nothing approaching the mid-teens and low-20s.
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Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Today’s Question: Who is your dream first-round College Football Playoff opponent for Ohio State?
Jami’s Take: Tennessee in Columbus
The Buckeyes (and their fans!) desperately need to do a factory reset after last weekend’s Rivalry Week debacle, and the Tennessee Volunteers are this season’s AppleCare.
The Vols’ 10-win regular season makes them a compelling SEC opponent as a really strong, middle-of-the-pack team. When you’re trying to refocus, sometimes a challenge–but not the hardest possible challenge–is a good thing. It helps you maintain the chip on your shoulder that we see so often in championship teams by forcing you to rise to the occasion while saving some energy for the even harder games coming down the pike.
That chip-on-the-shoulder attitude can make the difference in falling in the first round or winning a title. Consider the 2014 Ohio State team that won a title with a third-string quarterback: They’d faced adversity, people doubted them, and that doubt fueled them.
Talent—which the current group of Buckeyes has in droves—can only take you so far. This team needs to recenter and rediscover that inner fire. Tennessee is the exact team to help them stoke it and bring back their “Championship or Bust” mentality. The Wolverines were not a stop sign; they were a speed bump, and they didn’t ruin our season unless we let them ruin it.
If the current CFP projections hold (they won’t lock until after the conference championship games this weekend), the Buckeyes will get the No. 8 seed and with it, the chance to host the projected No. 9 Vols in the first round (as an aside, it would be only the second meeting between these two programs ever, which feels nuts). It’s a best-case scenario for the Buckeyes.
This is an Ohio State team that just lost a Rivalry Week game in their own home and then brawled their opponents in defense of the field. Coming home for Round One would allow the Buckeyes to reestablish whose house it is, something I think is of particular importance for the seniors who returned to win a championship. The quarterfinals move to bowl game format (Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, etc.), so Round One is the seniors’ last chance to play at home, and they’re highly motivated to leave their home with a win.
Plus, on paper, these are two teams that are almost perfectly matched: Neither team is immune to slow starts or missteps and have proved that sometimes the biggest challenge is staying out of your own way. OSU has struggled with slow starts all season, and Tennessee found themselves in a similar situation as recently as rivalry weekend against Vanderbilt but went on to win handily.
Both teams have high-powered QBs and formidable running backs, though the Vols do, at times, seem to have a Jekyll and Hyde situation at quarterback, with prolific freshman Nico Iamaleava still finding his groove. When he’s on, there’s almost no one better. When he’s off, it opens the door, especially for the Buckeyes’ secondary. He’s had as many as 314 yards and 3 touchdowns in a game to as little as 158 yards and no touchdowns (in the Vols’ loss against Florida).
Sound familiar, OSU fans? Our own Will Howard has had his own hit-and-miss moments, and after the performance against Michigan (for which I hold the coaches primarily responsible but for which Howard still has to account for some miscues), it’s good to see whether he comes out with a vengeance or whether his confidence is a bit shaken.
Conversely, I wouldn’t read too much into Iamaleava being a freshman – at this point, he’s successfully played a tough SEC schedule, but a slow start, especially from him, cracks the door for the Silver Bullets and Jim Knowles to create some magic.
And then there are the running backs: Dylan Sampson at Tennessee has had a lights-out season, breaking multiple program records (including rushing touchdowns with 22 and rushing yards with 1,485 yards). He’ll be an excellent test for the Buckeyes’ defensive line, and it will be nice to see whether they can handle Sampson as easily as they did someone like Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson or if Sampson becomes more of a thorn in their side.
The Buckeyes aren’t lacking at running back either, with a wealth of options between Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson (though so help me God, Chip Kelly better not sit around and try to have them run the ball up the center all game). This bodes well for the Buckeyes as Tennessee has had moments where they’ve struggled to contain the rush (particularly in their game against Kentucky).
Defensively the Vols and the Bucks both teams are tough: The Buckeyes have the fewest points allowed; the Vols contained every team but Vanderbilt to fewer than 20 points. Vanderbilt put up 23. OSU leads the country in red-zone scoring defense, but Tennessee isn’t too far behind them.
Both teams have two losses: One that’s not so terrible, and one that’s pretty embarrassing (OSU’s better loss is better than Tennessee’s better loss, but OSU’s worse loss is worse than Tennessee’s worse loss, so let’s take an average here).
All this to say – these are two very similar football teams, which allows Ohio State to re-establish itself, work out its kinks, and get its act together on its home field.
Now, if you’ve followed along with me here at Land Grant-Holy Land, you know my little brother attended Tennessee, so he and I each root for our own school first and foremost, but in general, my family follows and roots for both teams. I promise that’s not why I’m choosing the Vols, but because of this, a Buckeye matchup in Round One feels particularly win-win for me.
Either my team wins (best-case scenario) or my second-favorite team wins, and if my second-favorite team wins, it also increases the likelihood of a new head coach for the Buckeyes next year. Either way, I like my odds.
Both teams are fighting to prove themselves on a bigger stage. Vols’ head coach Josh Heupel has restored the program to glory, and the Buckeyes need to save face after that loss.
Ultimately, that makes for good football (which is fun to watch as a fan) and sets the Buckeyes up to harness their talent and regain their confidence. If they’re able to do that against a dynamic opponent like the Vols (and bring some dignity back to the Horseshoe), it just might be the gas in the tank these Buckeyes need to go all the way.
Matt’s Take: Georgia in Columbus
In all fairness, I don’t think that this is actually possible given the rankings that the College Football Playoff committee released on Tuesday. The only way that I think it could even be possible is if Texas wins the SEC Championship handily and Tulane and Clemson beat Boise State and SMU respectively in very close — perhaps even controversial fashion; even then, I don’t think it has much more than 2.7238% chance of happening.
Nonetheless, the prompt was our “dream” matchup, so that’s what I’m going with. Now, I realize that there will be a lot of people predicting UGA to win the whole dang thing, but hear me out. While it did come in a loss, one of the most inspired coaching performances that we’ve seen from Ryan Day during the postseason came against Georgia in the Peacoch Bowl following the 2022 season. That was the game in which the Buckeyes came within a field goal of essentially winning the national title.
If there is any team that is going to get the Buckeyes’ — and more importantly the coaching staff’s — attention, it is going to be Kirby Smart’s Dawgs. Despite the regular failures of Day in big games, I still for some reason believe that this year’s team is capable of winning the national title, but there can’t be any of the traditional Ryan Day turtling that we see against marquee opponents.
We know that Day can come up with an A+ offensive game plan against Georgia, and Jim Knowles’ defense is lightyears beyond where it was in his first season in Columbus. So, if Day can get back in his bag and allow Chip Kelly to call a creative game, then I think this is the best opportunity for OSU to begin a championship run on a positive note.
Also, when you throw in the fact that it will likely be a cold-weather game, that makes things even more interesting. Granted, the Buckeyes didn’t fare exactly well in the cold-ish wind and weather in The Horseshoe against Michigan, but now that they’ve got that out of their system and Day has (hopefully) seen the monumental error of his ways, there should be a decided Buckeye advantage over the SEC stalwarts.
Admittedly, I used to live not too too far from Athens, Georgia and it does get cold there, so the Dawgs will likely be able to practice in weather at least somewhat colder than a team from South Florida would be able to, but it certainly nothing approaching the mid-teens and low-20s.
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