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LGHL I-80 Football Show: Big Ten Season Preview — Hot Seat Tier
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I-80 Football Show: Big Ten Season Preview — Hot Seat Tier
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Preview season is here! In this episode, Dante and Jordan discuss the four teams who coaches will most likely be on the hot seat at the end of the season.
Welcome to a new episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s I-80 Football Show. On this show, we talk about all things Big Ten football and basketball from New Jersey to California. With USC and UCLA joining the conference in 2024 we’ll integrate them in the show getting a head start on the 16-team conference. After every week of action, we will catch you up on all the conference’s games and look ahead at the matchups, storylines, and players you should be paying attention to next week. My name is Jordan Williams, and I am joined by my co-host Dante Morgan.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
In the first of four episodes previewing all 16 teams in the Big Ten, Dante and Jordan start with the Hot Seat Tier. The hot seat tier consists of four teams whose coaches are on the hot seat entering the season, will be on the hot seat at the end, or are first-year coaches whose programs will be pretty bad. There isn’t much hope left for these programs besides hoping the grass is greener on the other side of the coaching carousel.
The guys agree that Northwestern, Indiana, and Rutgers should be in this tier but there is some disagreement on who the fourth team is with Jordan Michigan State, and Dante including Nebraska. Northwestern is a given and would have been in this tier regardless of the hazing scandal but without Pat Fitzgerald, they should be even worse. Indiana has been awful the past few seasons and this year shouldn’t be much better. They may have a better team after changing coordinators and getting some power five transfers but their schedule is tough and should result in another year in the bottom of the Big Ten.
While Rutgers is in this tier, Jordan believes this could be their last year hereafter Schiano hired a great defensive coordinator last year and hired Kirk Ciarrocca from Minnesota. Dante is on the fence and thinks it may be time to move on. Nebraska is under first-year head coach Matt Rhule and Michigan State is entering year two of Mel Tucker’s new 10-year contract. Nebraska being in this tier makes sense for year one but if this is another bad year for Michigan State they may pull out the calculator to see how soon they can get out of their albatross of a contract they gave Mel Tucker after winning 11 games in 2021.
Follow the show on YouTube:
Jordan: JordanW330
Land Grant Podcast Network: LandGrantPods
Connect with us on Twitter:
Jordan: @JordanW330
Dante: @DanteM10216
Continue reading...
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Preview season is here! In this episode, Dante and Jordan discuss the four teams who coaches will most likely be on the hot seat at the end of the season.
Welcome to a new episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s I-80 Football Show. On this show, we talk about all things Big Ten football and basketball from New Jersey to California. With USC and UCLA joining the conference in 2024 we’ll integrate them in the show getting a head start on the 16-team conference. After every week of action, we will catch you up on all the conference’s games and look ahead at the matchups, storylines, and players you should be paying attention to next week. My name is Jordan Williams, and I am joined by my co-host Dante Morgan.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
In the first of four episodes previewing all 16 teams in the Big Ten, Dante and Jordan start with the Hot Seat Tier. The hot seat tier consists of four teams whose coaches are on the hot seat entering the season, will be on the hot seat at the end, or are first-year coaches whose programs will be pretty bad. There isn’t much hope left for these programs besides hoping the grass is greener on the other side of the coaching carousel.
The guys agree that Northwestern, Indiana, and Rutgers should be in this tier but there is some disagreement on who the fourth team is with Jordan Michigan State, and Dante including Nebraska. Northwestern is a given and would have been in this tier regardless of the hazing scandal but without Pat Fitzgerald, they should be even worse. Indiana has been awful the past few seasons and this year shouldn’t be much better. They may have a better team after changing coordinators and getting some power five transfers but their schedule is tough and should result in another year in the bottom of the Big Ten.
While Rutgers is in this tier, Jordan believes this could be their last year hereafter Schiano hired a great defensive coordinator last year and hired Kirk Ciarrocca from Minnesota. Dante is on the fence and thinks it may be time to move on. Nebraska is under first-year head coach Matt Rhule and Michigan State is entering year two of Mel Tucker’s new 10-year contract. Nebraska being in this tier makes sense for year one but if this is another bad year for Michigan State they may pull out the calculator to see how soon they can get out of their albatross of a contract they gave Mel Tucker after winning 11 games in 2021.
Follow the show on YouTube:
Jordan: JordanW330
Land Grant Podcast Network: LandGrantPods
Connect with us on Twitter:
Jordan: @JordanW330
Dante: @DanteM10216
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State has BOOOOMing weekend, landing Aaron Scott Jr. and Chris Henry Jr.
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Ohio State has BOOOOMing weekend, landing Aaron Scott Jr. and Chris Henry Jr.
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State CB commit Aaron Scott Jr. | via @AaronScottJr1 on Twitter
The Buckeyes land two major recruiting targets over the weekend.
Already expected to be a major recruiting weekend for Ohio State, the Buckeyes landed a pair of huge commitments between Friday and Sunday, including their top remaining target at cornerback in the 2024 class and a 2026 wide receiver that could be one of the best in the country.
The highly anticipated commitment of Aaron Scott Jr. was finally announced on Sunday afternoon. While Oregon was technically in the mix, this was really a battle between Ohio State and Michigan for quite some time. For a moment during the announcement, it looked like the Wolverines had snagged the Cincinnati native away from the in-state Buckeyes, as TTUN gear was the last school remaining on the table. Then, with a UM backpack in hand, Scott Jr. opened it to reveal an Ohio State jersey, making his commitment to OSU official.
In Scott, Ohio State adds the No. 5 corner and No. 52 overall player in the 2024 class, per the 247Sports Composite. This was clearly a true neck-and-neck battle between Big Ten rivals, and the Buckeyes winning out in the end is massive for Ryan Day and position coach Tim Walton. Day has continued the Urban Meyer focus on keeping Ohio’s best at home, and landing a player of Scott’s caliber from within your own state borders, especially when your biggest competition was TTUN, is an absolute must.
On top of the important of this recruiting win, the Buckeyes are obviously also adding a tremendous player to their recruiting class. Here is what 247Sports’ Gabe Brooks had to say of Scott’s abilities:
The commitment of Scott gives Ohio State five total defensive back commitments in this cycle, including the top two players in Ohio in Bryce West and Scott — an incredible home grown lockdown combo that fans should be excited to see in Columbus in the near future. Now with 19 total players in the fold, the Buckeyes remain behind only Georgia as the No. 2 class in the country, with the Bulldogs at 310.25 points (25 commits) to OSU’s 289.35.
Cornerbacks coach Tim Walton has caught a lock of flack online for the play of Ohio State’s corners, and rightfully so, but it’s hard to argue about what has been done on the recruiting trail of late. In addition to Scott and West, the Buckeyes also landed a pair of high four-star guys in 2023 in Jermaine Mathews and Calvin Simpson-Hunt, in addition to bringing in transfer Davison Igbinosun from Ole Miss this offseason. The coverage on the field still has to be better, but Walton has at least done a good job of getting talent to Columbus.
On the other side of the ball — and much further down the road — Ohio State picked up a bit of a surprise commitment earlier in the weekend, as 2026 wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. announced he was committing to the Buckeyes on Friday night.
Henry Jr., the son of the late NFL receiver and the adopted son of former NFL corner Adam “Pacman” Jones, hails out of Withrow University High School in Cincinnati. Offered by Brian Hartline back in June of 2022 ahead of his freshman year, the 6-foot-5 pass-catcher was already someone that was going to be on Ohio State’s radar over the next few years, but he has seen enough to pull the trigger this early in the process.
“When I watch Ohio State, and I watch Marv, Jeremiah and stuff like that, I can see myself in that position,” Henry told The Columbus Dispatch in June.
“The atmosphere. It’s the coaches, really. That’s really what it was, the coaches,“ Henry told reporters following his commitment. “I love it here. I love the energy and the atmosphere. I love everything about it. They make me feel like a priority every time I talk to them. And so that just makes me feel special.”
While the 2026 class does not yet have recruiting rankings, many experts believe Henry Jr. will be a five-star prospect when the time comes and likely one of the top players in the class overall. With 24 offers to his name as just a high school sophomore, Ohio State obviously wasn’t the only one to recognize his immense talent, but they are now the beneficiaries of locking him in long in advance.
Continue reading...
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State CB commit Aaron Scott Jr. | via @AaronScottJr1 on Twitter
The Buckeyes land two major recruiting targets over the weekend.
Already expected to be a major recruiting weekend for Ohio State, the Buckeyes landed a pair of huge commitments between Friday and Sunday, including their top remaining target at cornerback in the 2024 class and a 2026 wide receiver that could be one of the best in the country.
The highly anticipated commitment of Aaron Scott Jr. was finally announced on Sunday afternoon. While Oregon was technically in the mix, this was really a battle between Ohio State and Michigan for quite some time. For a moment during the announcement, it looked like the Wolverines had snagged the Cincinnati native away from the in-state Buckeyes, as TTUN gear was the last school remaining on the table. Then, with a UM backpack in hand, Scott Jr. opened it to reveal an Ohio State jersey, making his commitment to OSU official.
In Scott, Ohio State adds the No. 5 corner and No. 52 overall player in the 2024 class, per the 247Sports Composite. This was clearly a true neck-and-neck battle between Big Ten rivals, and the Buckeyes winning out in the end is massive for Ryan Day and position coach Tim Walton. Day has continued the Urban Meyer focus on keeping Ohio’s best at home, and landing a player of Scott’s caliber from within your own state borders, especially when your biggest competition was TTUN, is an absolute must.
On top of the important of this recruiting win, the Buckeyes are obviously also adding a tremendous player to their recruiting class. Here is what 247Sports’ Gabe Brooks had to say of Scott’s abilities:
The commitment of Scott gives Ohio State five total defensive back commitments in this cycle, including the top two players in Ohio in Bryce West and Scott — an incredible home grown lockdown combo that fans should be excited to see in Columbus in the near future. Now with 19 total players in the fold, the Buckeyes remain behind only Georgia as the No. 2 class in the country, with the Bulldogs at 310.25 points (25 commits) to OSU’s 289.35.
Cornerbacks coach Tim Walton has caught a lock of flack online for the play of Ohio State’s corners, and rightfully so, but it’s hard to argue about what has been done on the recruiting trail of late. In addition to Scott and West, the Buckeyes also landed a pair of high four-star guys in 2023 in Jermaine Mathews and Calvin Simpson-Hunt, in addition to bringing in transfer Davison Igbinosun from Ole Miss this offseason. The coverage on the field still has to be better, but Walton has at least done a good job of getting talent to Columbus.
On the other side of the ball — and much further down the road — Ohio State picked up a bit of a surprise commitment earlier in the weekend, as 2026 wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. announced he was committing to the Buckeyes on Friday night.
Henry Jr., the son of the late NFL receiver and the adopted son of former NFL corner Adam “Pacman” Jones, hails out of Withrow University High School in Cincinnati. Offered by Brian Hartline back in June of 2022 ahead of his freshman year, the 6-foot-5 pass-catcher was already someone that was going to be on Ohio State’s radar over the next few years, but he has seen enough to pull the trigger this early in the process.
“When I watch Ohio State, and I watch Marv, Jeremiah and stuff like that, I can see myself in that position,” Henry told The Columbus Dispatch in June.
“The atmosphere. It’s the coaches, really. That’s really what it was, the coaches,“ Henry told reporters following his commitment. “I love it here. I love the energy and the atmosphere. I love everything about it. They make me feel like a priority every time I talk to them. And so that just makes me feel special.”
While the 2026 class does not yet have recruiting rankings, many experts believe Henry Jr. will be a five-star prospect when the time comes and likely one of the top players in the class overall. With 24 offers to his name as just a high school sophomore, Ohio State obviously wasn’t the only one to recognize his immense talent, but they are now the beneficiaries of locking him in long in advance.
Quick Hits
- One of the attendees of this past weekend’s SummerFest event, four-star 2025 offensive lineman Rowan Byrne came away with an Ohio State offer. A native of New Rochelle, NY, Byrne is listed as a tackle at 6-foot-6, 290 pounds as a high school junior. The Iona Prep product has 20 total offers to his name thus far, including the likes of Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Wisconsin and now the Buckeyes, so clearly Byrne will be a prospect ranked rather high when the time comes based on all the interest from major programs.
After a great visit @OhioStateFB and a great conversation with @ryandaytime and @CoachJFrye I’m excited to say I’ve earned an offer to THE Ohio State University!! @Joespags12 @ionafootball @CoachMoffitt @CoachSollenne @RivalsFriedman @adamgorney @EdOBrienCFB @SWiltfong247 pic.twitter.com/aPFAVmjSEA
— Rowan Byrne 4️ (@RowanByrne6) July 28, 2023
- It wasn’t all positive news on the recruiting trail this weekend for Ohio State, as five-star 2025 DB Jontae Gilbert de-committed from the Buckeyes on Saturday. It was a bit of a surprise when the Georgia native first committed to the program, and so it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that this one didn’t stick with so much time left in his recruitment. Gilbert initially committed to Ohio State exactly a year before his de-commitment.
- Ohio State made another addition to its 2023 roster over the weekend, bringing in punter Joe McGuire. The Australian joins the Buckeyes as a preferred walk-on, and will look to be the team’s next starting following Jesse Mirco.
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2024 FL WR Chance Robinson (Miami, FL. Verbal)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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247
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HudL
Class: 2024
School: Ft. Lauderdale(FL) St. Thomas Aquinas
Position: WR
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 190lbs
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Rivals
HudL
Class: 2024
School: Ft. Lauderdale(FL) St. Thomas Aquinas
Position: WR
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 190lbs
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LGHL You’re Nuts: What is your boldest prediction this season for college football outside of Ohio State?
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You’re Nuts: What is your boldest prediction this season for college football outside of Ohio State?
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 Alika Jenner/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about making predictions that may or may not be reasonable, in fact, some might say they are bold. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Bold Predictions” articles here.
As we are around a month away from the start of the college football season, anticipation is starting to ramp up. In the upcoming weeks, preseason polls, preseason All-America teams, and award watchlists will all be released. With the opening of preseason camps and some key position battles coming into better view, there will be predictions for the season that will be made with more confidence than in previous months.
Since this week will be all about bold predictions here at LGHL, we figured that we’d get in on the act. While there will be plenty of spicy prognostications about Ohio State, we are going to look outside Columbus today. What we are looking for is the boldest prediction for the college football season not involving Ohio State.
Your bold prediction could stay inside the Big Ten, or it could be about any other conference in Division I college football. Or the prediction could pertain to an individual honor, whether it be the Heisman Trophy, an All-America team, or any other award. Maybe there is a team that isn’t regularly part of the College Football Playoff that you think has a great shot at making the four-team field in the final year before it expands to 12 teams.
In the nine years of the College Football Playoff, there have only been two representatives from the Pac-12. Oregon made the inaugural CFP in 2014, beating Florida State before losing in the title game to Ohio State. Washington made the 2016 CFP after posting a 12-1 record with Jake Browning at quarterback before losing to Alabama 24-7 in the semifinal. Since then the highest a Pac-12 team finished in the final CFP rankings was when Oregon was ranked sixth in 2019.
So with their recent track record, why am I optimistic the Pac-12 can get a team in the CFP this year? It figures that in the final year with USC and UCLA in the conference, the Pac-12 has a number of strong teams. USC has Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, as well as Lincoln Riley in his second year as head coach. Oregon has quarterback Bo Nix returning, while Washington counters with Michael Penix back for another season in Seattle. Even Utah has Cam Rising returning, so you can’t write off the Utes.
What the Pac-12 will have to try not to do this year is cannibalize each other, which we have seen in a number of years. Washington hosts Oregon in October, but a win over the Ducks won’t mean anything if the Huskies can’t navigate road games at USC and Utah in back-to-back weeks in November. Even though the conference has four really good teams at the top, they’ll need a team to step up and prove that they are better than the rest.
The team that I think has the best shot to make the CFP from the Pac-12 is USC. The toughest games on the road for the Trojans are an October trip to Notre Dame, and then a showdown up in Oregon with the Ducks the week before their regular season finale at home against UCLA. The biggest question for USC is if their defense can toughen up a little bit since the offense has shown it can hold its own with Williams at quarterback.
I have to admit, it’s still July and I am neck-deep in Cincinnati Reds’ Fever, so I have not dived deep into the Alabama Crimson Tide roster, but I knew all I needed to know about how Nick Saban feels about his offense by the fact that his team brought in former Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner to compete for the starting job.
Admittedly, Buchner very well might not be the Tide’s starter this season as he will be battling it out with third-year player Jalen Milroe and second-year QB Ty Simpson with the incumbent Alabamans looking like the most logical choices. Both were highly recruited players, Simpson was the No. 26 player nationally in 2022. But how confident could Saban be in his options to bring in Buchner?
Of course, that decision was probably fueled more by the hiring of Tommy Rees as the new offensive coordinator as he had been the quarterbacks coach and/or OC in South Bend since 2017. Then again, how bad are things when you are Alabama and you’re hiring the OC of the No. 60 offense from last season? Coincidentally, Kevin Steele is the team’s new defensive coordinator (he has been on Saban’s staff previously). Last year, he was the DC at Miami last season and his unit ranked No. 65 in total defense.
But the concerning quarterback and coordinator situations aren’t the only issue for the Tide this season. The Alabama roster this year, they still obviously have the topline talent that you expect from a Saban-led squad, but behind the starters, they are unusually thin on both offense and defense. If and when injuries inevitably happen whether or not unproven players can step up will go a long way to determining the outcome of their season.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly calculates that the Tide has only 40% of its 2022 production returning, a number that puts it at 125th nationally; 43% on offense, 36% on defense. For context, the Buckeyes are 48th nationally returning 67% of production (57% on offense and 77% on defense).
“Not only will he have two new coordinators,” Connelly wrote, “but he’ll also be looking to replace starting quarterback Bryce Young, leading rusher (and No. 3 receiver) Jahmyr Gibbs, most of the offensive line’s two-deep and about half of 2022’s defensive regulars.”
So, while Connelly goes on to say that Alabama’s recruiting prowess will almost certainly keep them toward the top of the College Football Playoff discussion, there is the possibility for a little bit of backsliding due to the lack of experience. And, given the schedule that the team plays in the SEC, if new stars don’t emerge, that could have a dramatic impact on how they weather the storm.
Not only do they host former Buckeye Quinn Ewers and Texas in Week 3, but over the course of four-consecutive games, Alabama has to face Texas A&M, Arkansas, Tennesse, and — following an off week — LSU. While the Tide avoids Georgia in an interdivisional crossover this season, that is a pretty tough stretch, of which I could see Alabama losing one or even two of them. If they also lose to the Longhorns or drop the Iron Bowl (or an SEC Championship Game), they could be looking at three or four losses before the bowl assignments are announced.
Now, am I predicting that Alabama doesn’t make a New Year’s Six Bowl? Yes, that’s literally the point of the article, but I wouldn’t put money on it. Alabama is still Alabama and Nick Saban is still the greatest coach in the history of the sport. But, if you are asking me to be bold, I think there is at least a decent chance this could happen.
Continue reading...
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 Alika Jenner/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about making predictions that may or may not be reasonable, in fact, some might say they are bold. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Bold Predictions” articles here.
As we are around a month away from the start of the college football season, anticipation is starting to ramp up. In the upcoming weeks, preseason polls, preseason All-America teams, and award watchlists will all be released. With the opening of preseason camps and some key position battles coming into better view, there will be predictions for the season that will be made with more confidence than in previous months.
Since this week will be all about bold predictions here at LGHL, we figured that we’d get in on the act. While there will be plenty of spicy prognostications about Ohio State, we are going to look outside Columbus today. What we are looking for is the boldest prediction for the college football season not involving Ohio State.
Your bold prediction could stay inside the Big Ten, or it could be about any other conference in Division I college football. Or the prediction could pertain to an individual honor, whether it be the Heisman Trophy, an All-America team, or any other award. Maybe there is a team that isn’t regularly part of the College Football Playoff that you think has a great shot at making the four-team field in the final year before it expands to 12 teams.
Today’s question: What is your boldest prediction for college football this season outside of Ohio State?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: The Pac-12 will have a team make the College Football Playoff
In the nine years of the College Football Playoff, there have only been two representatives from the Pac-12. Oregon made the inaugural CFP in 2014, beating Florida State before losing in the title game to Ohio State. Washington made the 2016 CFP after posting a 12-1 record with Jake Browning at quarterback before losing to Alabama 24-7 in the semifinal. Since then the highest a Pac-12 team finished in the final CFP rankings was when Oregon was ranked sixth in 2019.
So with their recent track record, why am I optimistic the Pac-12 can get a team in the CFP this year? It figures that in the final year with USC and UCLA in the conference, the Pac-12 has a number of strong teams. USC has Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, as well as Lincoln Riley in his second year as head coach. Oregon has quarterback Bo Nix returning, while Washington counters with Michael Penix back for another season in Seattle. Even Utah has Cam Rising returning, so you can’t write off the Utes.
What the Pac-12 will have to try not to do this year is cannibalize each other, which we have seen in a number of years. Washington hosts Oregon in October, but a win over the Ducks won’t mean anything if the Huskies can’t navigate road games at USC and Utah in back-to-back weeks in November. Even though the conference has four really good teams at the top, they’ll need a team to step up and prove that they are better than the rest.
The team that I think has the best shot to make the CFP from the Pac-12 is USC. The toughest games on the road for the Trojans are an October trip to Notre Dame, and then a showdown up in Oregon with the Ducks the week before their regular season finale at home against UCLA. The biggest question for USC is if their defense can toughen up a little bit since the offense has shown it can hold its own with Williams at quarterback.
Matt’s answer: Alabama will not make a New Year’s Six Bowl
I have to admit, it’s still July and I am neck-deep in Cincinnati Reds’ Fever, so I have not dived deep into the Alabama Crimson Tide roster, but I knew all I needed to know about how Nick Saban feels about his offense by the fact that his team brought in former Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner to compete for the starting job.
Admittedly, Buchner very well might not be the Tide’s starter this season as he will be battling it out with third-year player Jalen Milroe and second-year QB Ty Simpson with the incumbent Alabamans looking like the most logical choices. Both were highly recruited players, Simpson was the No. 26 player nationally in 2022. But how confident could Saban be in his options to bring in Buchner?
Of course, that decision was probably fueled more by the hiring of Tommy Rees as the new offensive coordinator as he had been the quarterbacks coach and/or OC in South Bend since 2017. Then again, how bad are things when you are Alabama and you’re hiring the OC of the No. 60 offense from last season? Coincidentally, Kevin Steele is the team’s new defensive coordinator (he has been on Saban’s staff previously). Last year, he was the DC at Miami last season and his unit ranked No. 65 in total defense.
But the concerning quarterback and coordinator situations aren’t the only issue for the Tide this season. The Alabama roster this year, they still obviously have the topline talent that you expect from a Saban-led squad, but behind the starters, they are unusually thin on both offense and defense. If and when injuries inevitably happen whether or not unproven players can step up will go a long way to determining the outcome of their season.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly calculates that the Tide has only 40% of its 2022 production returning, a number that puts it at 125th nationally; 43% on offense, 36% on defense. For context, the Buckeyes are 48th nationally returning 67% of production (57% on offense and 77% on defense).
“Not only will he have two new coordinators,” Connelly wrote, “but he’ll also be looking to replace starting quarterback Bryce Young, leading rusher (and No. 3 receiver) Jahmyr Gibbs, most of the offensive line’s two-deep and about half of 2022’s defensive regulars.”
So, while Connelly goes on to say that Alabama’s recruiting prowess will almost certainly keep them toward the top of the College Football Playoff discussion, there is the possibility for a little bit of backsliding due to the lack of experience. And, given the schedule that the team plays in the SEC, if new stars don’t emerge, that could have a dramatic impact on how they weather the storm.
Not only do they host former Buckeye Quinn Ewers and Texas in Week 3, but over the course of four-consecutive games, Alabama has to face Texas A&M, Arkansas, Tennesse, and — following an off week — LSU. While the Tide avoids Georgia in an interdivisional crossover this season, that is a pretty tough stretch, of which I could see Alabama losing one or even two of them. If they also lose to the Longhorns or drop the Iron Bowl (or an SEC Championship Game), they could be looking at three or four losses before the bowl assignments are announced.
Now, am I predicting that Alabama doesn’t make a New Year’s Six Bowl? Yes, that’s literally the point of the article, but I wouldn’t put money on it. Alabama is still Alabama and Nick Saban is still the greatest coach in the history of the sport. But, if you are asking me to be bold, I think there is at least a decent chance this could happen.
Continue reading...
LGHL Bold Predictions: Looking at a few 2023 college football win totals
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Bold Predictions: Looking at a few 2023 college football win totals
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 Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Not only do we touch on Ohio State’s set total, there are five other tasty win totals.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about making predictions that may or may not be reasonable, in fact, some might say they are bold. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Bold Predictions” articles here.
This college football season in Ohio is going to be a lot different than all the ones that have come before it. This is the first full season where sports betting is legal in the Buckeye State. We got a little taste of it at the beginning of 2023 when a few bowl games took place after the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, but now we have a lot more bets available to us than we did in the short time before Georgia beat up on TCU to close out the season.
One type of bet that is on the board is the over/under win total for teams. The downside of these bets is once they are placed, we have to wait a while to get our winnings if they do cash. The upside is they can be profitable if you are tuned in to what a team is capable of doing, and then they go out and play as expected. Although we must always remember that there is no such thing as easy money. There’s a reason why all those big casinos were built out in Las Vegas.
Since during the season I pick games against the spread here at LGHL, I figured I would try my hand at some regular season win totals. I’m not going to go through every team’s over/under, but I will give some of the totals that caught my eye. I got these regular season win totals from FanDuel, so it’s possible that other sportsbooks might have slightly different totals or odds.
As a Buckeye fan, there’s no way I would take the under, just because I don’t want to sit and root for Ohio State to lose two regular season games, which would undoubtedly take Ryan Day’s team out of the College Football Playoff. What fun is the season as a fan if the whole season you’re rooting for failure? Starting next year it could be a little easier to do this since the playoff will expand, so two losses aren’t a death sentence like they are now.
For those that aren’t Ohio State fans, the under could be really tempting. The Buckeyes hit the road for tough games against Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Plus, even though the game is at Ohio Stadium, Penn State always pushes the Buckeyes to the limit. It wouldn’t be totally crazy for Ohio State to lose two of those four games. It all depends on how quickly Kyle McCord can find his footing as the new starting quarterback, and how the defense responds in the second year under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
If Ryan Day and Brian Hartline can collaborate and the Ohio State offense plays every game like the Georgia game, then the Buckeyes are going undefeated. If the Ohio State defense plays every game like the Michigan and Georgia games, then there could be a little more trouble in Columbus. My advice is if you are a fan, take the over, if you aren’t then take the under. The rest of the picks from me will be a little more definitive, I just had to include Ohio State’s total in here since this is a Buckeye site.
I’m really intrigued by this Wisconsin team. The Badgers could win the Big Ten West in Luke Fickell’s first season in Madison. Not only does running back Braelon Allen return, Fickell brought in SMU transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who has been one of the most prolific passers in FBS over the last couple seasons. Even with the style of play changing dramatically with the Badgers, I feel like they should be able to get to nine wins rather easily.
The first three games for Wisconsin are home contests against Buffalo and Georgia Southern, which sandwich a road trip to Washington State. The Badgers should be able to win all three of those games heading into Big Ten play. Home games against Rutgers, Northwestern, and Nebraska should all be victories, along with a road game at Indiana. Other road contests at Purdue, Illinois, and Minnesota are a little tougher to predict, but they are definitely winnable games for Wisconsin.
Honestly, I feel like 9-3 for the Badgers is about the worst record we’ll see from a team that is going to embrace the new style of play that Fickell will bring to Madison.
South Carolina’s start to the season could be a little tough to stomach, but there are more opportunities for victories as the year moves along. It’s hard to see road games at Georgia and Tennessee not ending in losses, especially with the Volunteers likely eager to get some revenge that the Gamecocks gave them last year.
After the Tennessee game, things will open up for Shane Beamer’s team. South Carolina has a home game against Florida, then road trips to Missouri and Texas A&M before closing the regular season out with four straight home games. While the finale against Clemson will be tough, it’s not quite as unwinnable as it has been in past years.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24818521/1453890947.jpg "TaxSlayer Gator Bowl - Notre Dame v South Carolina")
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
So where do I see seven wins for South Carolina? Games against Furman, Jacksonville State, and Vanderbilt seem like they should be easy dubs. I definitely could see the Gamecocks winning home games against Mississippi State and Florida, along with the road game against Missouri. That leaves a neutral site game against North Carolina, road game at Texas A&M, and the home game against Clemson to close out the regular season. I really think South Carolina can find at least one win somewhere in there.
The Fighting Irish could be a bit of a sleeper this year now that they were able to bring in quarterback Sam Hartman from Wake Forest. Even though offensive coordinator Tommy Rees left for the same position at Alabama, it might not be as big of a loss this year for Notre Dame because they were able to bring in Hartman, who definitely knows what he is doing on the field.
With their schedule, there’s no reason Notre Dame should lose more than three games this year. If they do, Marcus Freeman might be a little more out of his element than people want to admit. Two of Notre Dame’s three toughest games come in South Bend, as the Fighting Irish will host Ohio State and USC. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Notre Dame were able to pull the upset in one of those games, or even in the road test at Clemson. If the Fighting Irish play up to their potential, this could cash by early November.
It feels like all Kyle Whittingham does at Utah is bang out seasons of at least nine wins. In 11 of his 19 seasons with the Utes, Whittingham’s teams have won at least nine games. Really though, we can say it is 11 out of 18 seasons, since one of the years was the COVID year, so that doesn’t really count. Utah is coming off back-to-back seasons of 10 wins, which have resulted in appearances in the Rose Bowl.
The Utes did lose all-everything tight end Dalton Kincaid to the NFL, but experienced quarterback Cam Rising is back for another year in Salt Lake City. Utah does have a favorable schedule, with their only really tough road games being against USC and Washington. The Utes open the season at home against Florida before heading to Baylor, followed by a cupcake home game against Weber State before Pac-12 play begins. Even though they have a little tougher schedule than Notre Dame, I still think the Utes have the toughness and experience to win at least nine games this season.
There is a lot of chatter about Florida State being back. Even though they have a really good quarterback in Jordan Travis, I’m just not sold yet on Mike Norvell and the Seminoles. Florida State got lucky in the season opener against LSU last year, and I don’t think they will be able to beat the Tigers two years in a row. As long as the Seminoles can’t beat LSU, then we just need to see them lose a couple more games.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24818522/1443853687.jpg "Louisiana v Florida State")
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
Obviously one potential loss that I could see is a road game at Clemson to open up ACC play. After that there isn’t a ton that jumps out on Florida State’s schedule, but in-state contests against Miami and Florida are games I could see the Seminoles dropping. Along with those, there are a few other ACC games where I could see an underdog pushing Florida State to the limit. While the Seminoles desperately want to be back in the CFP race, it feels like they aren’t quite at that tier just yet. 9-3 feels right for them this year.
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Not only do we touch on Ohio State’s set total, there are five other tasty win totals.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about making predictions that may or may not be reasonable, in fact, some might say they are bold. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Bold Predictions” articles here.
This college football season in Ohio is going to be a lot different than all the ones that have come before it. This is the first full season where sports betting is legal in the Buckeye State. We got a little taste of it at the beginning of 2023 when a few bowl games took place after the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, but now we have a lot more bets available to us than we did in the short time before Georgia beat up on TCU to close out the season.
One type of bet that is on the board is the over/under win total for teams. The downside of these bets is once they are placed, we have to wait a while to get our winnings if they do cash. The upside is they can be profitable if you are tuned in to what a team is capable of doing, and then they go out and play as expected. Although we must always remember that there is no such thing as easy money. There’s a reason why all those big casinos were built out in Las Vegas.
Since during the season I pick games against the spread here at LGHL, I figured I would try my hand at some regular season win totals. I’m not going to go through every team’s over/under, but I will give some of the totals that caught my eye. I got these regular season win totals from FanDuel, so it’s possible that other sportsbooks might have slightly different totals or odds.
Ohio State
Over 10.5 regular season wins (-128)/Under 10.5 regular season wins (+104)
As a Buckeye fan, there’s no way I would take the under, just because I don’t want to sit and root for Ohio State to lose two regular season games, which would undoubtedly take Ryan Day’s team out of the College Football Playoff. What fun is the season as a fan if the whole season you’re rooting for failure? Starting next year it could be a little easier to do this since the playoff will expand, so two losses aren’t a death sentence like they are now.
For those that aren’t Ohio State fans, the under could be really tempting. The Buckeyes hit the road for tough games against Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Plus, even though the game is at Ohio Stadium, Penn State always pushes the Buckeyes to the limit. It wouldn’t be totally crazy for Ohio State to lose two of those four games. It all depends on how quickly Kyle McCord can find his footing as the new starting quarterback, and how the defense responds in the second year under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
If Ryan Day and Brian Hartline can collaborate and the Ohio State offense plays every game like the Georgia game, then the Buckeyes are going undefeated. If the Ohio State defense plays every game like the Michigan and Georgia games, then there could be a little more trouble in Columbus. My advice is if you are a fan, take the over, if you aren’t then take the under. The rest of the picks from me will be a little more definitive, I just had to include Ohio State’s total in here since this is a Buckeye site.
Wisconsin
Over 8.5 regular season wins (-138)
I’m really intrigued by this Wisconsin team. The Badgers could win the Big Ten West in Luke Fickell’s first season in Madison. Not only does running back Braelon Allen return, Fickell brought in SMU transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who has been one of the most prolific passers in FBS over the last couple seasons. Even with the style of play changing dramatically with the Badgers, I feel like they should be able to get to nine wins rather easily.
The first three games for Wisconsin are home contests against Buffalo and Georgia Southern, which sandwich a road trip to Washington State. The Badgers should be able to win all three of those games heading into Big Ten play. Home games against Rutgers, Northwestern, and Nebraska should all be victories, along with a road game at Indiana. Other road contests at Purdue, Illinois, and Minnesota are a little tougher to predict, but they are definitely winnable games for Wisconsin.
Honestly, I feel like 9-3 for the Badgers is about the worst record we’ll see from a team that is going to embrace the new style of play that Fickell will bring to Madison.
South Carolina
Over 6.5 regular season wins (+144)
South Carolina’s start to the season could be a little tough to stomach, but there are more opportunities for victories as the year moves along. It’s hard to see road games at Georgia and Tennessee not ending in losses, especially with the Volunteers likely eager to get some revenge that the Gamecocks gave them last year.
After the Tennessee game, things will open up for Shane Beamer’s team. South Carolina has a home game against Florida, then road trips to Missouri and Texas A&M before closing the regular season out with four straight home games. While the finale against Clemson will be tough, it’s not quite as unwinnable as it has been in past years.
So where do I see seven wins for South Carolina? Games against Furman, Jacksonville State, and Vanderbilt seem like they should be easy dubs. I definitely could see the Gamecocks winning home games against Mississippi State and Florida, along with the road game against Missouri. That leaves a neutral site game against North Carolina, road game at Texas A&M, and the home game against Clemson to close out the regular season. I really think South Carolina can find at least one win somewhere in there.
Notre Dame
Over 8.5 regular season wins (-110)
The Fighting Irish could be a bit of a sleeper this year now that they were able to bring in quarterback Sam Hartman from Wake Forest. Even though offensive coordinator Tommy Rees left for the same position at Alabama, it might not be as big of a loss this year for Notre Dame because they were able to bring in Hartman, who definitely knows what he is doing on the field.
With their schedule, there’s no reason Notre Dame should lose more than three games this year. If they do, Marcus Freeman might be a little more out of his element than people want to admit. Two of Notre Dame’s three toughest games come in South Bend, as the Fighting Irish will host Ohio State and USC. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Notre Dame were able to pull the upset in one of those games, or even in the road test at Clemson. If the Fighting Irish play up to their potential, this could cash by early November.
Utah
Over 8.5 regular season wins (+104)
It feels like all Kyle Whittingham does at Utah is bang out seasons of at least nine wins. In 11 of his 19 seasons with the Utes, Whittingham’s teams have won at least nine games. Really though, we can say it is 11 out of 18 seasons, since one of the years was the COVID year, so that doesn’t really count. Utah is coming off back-to-back seasons of 10 wins, which have resulted in appearances in the Rose Bowl.
The Utes did lose all-everything tight end Dalton Kincaid to the NFL, but experienced quarterback Cam Rising is back for another year in Salt Lake City. Utah does have a favorable schedule, with their only really tough road games being against USC and Washington. The Utes open the season at home against Florida before heading to Baylor, followed by a cupcake home game against Weber State before Pac-12 play begins. Even though they have a little tougher schedule than Notre Dame, I still think the Utes have the toughness and experience to win at least nine games this season.
Florida State
Under 9.5 regular season wins (-134)
There is a lot of chatter about Florida State being back. Even though they have a really good quarterback in Jordan Travis, I’m just not sold yet on Mike Norvell and the Seminoles. Florida State got lucky in the season opener against LSU last year, and I don’t think they will be able to beat the Tigers two years in a row. As long as the Seminoles can’t beat LSU, then we just need to see them lose a couple more games.
Obviously one potential loss that I could see is a road game at Clemson to open up ACC play. After that there isn’t a ton that jumps out on Florida State’s schedule, but in-state contests against Miami and Florida are games I could see the Seminoles dropping. Along with those, there are a few other ACC games where I could see an underdog pushing Florida State to the limit. While the Seminoles desperately want to be back in the CFP race, it feels like they aren’t quite at that tier just yet. 9-3 feels right for them this year.
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