2025 GA LB Zach Weeks (LSU Signee)
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LGHL Get ready for tomorrow’s Iowa game with all of the previews you need
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Get ready for tomorrow’s Iowa game with all of the previews you need
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.
Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.
Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.
You’re welcome!
Subscribe to the Land-Grant Podcast Network for all of your Ohio State needs
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Things you need to know about the Iowa Hawkeyes — and a few you don’t need to know, but are fun anyway
Josh Dooley, Land-Grant Holy Land
3 keys to victory for Ohio State against Iowa
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch
Evaluating grades for Buckeyes ahead of physical Iowa clash
Austin Ward, Dotting The Eyes
Three Keys for Buckeyes in pivotal Big Ten matchup against Iowa
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row
Ryan Day Radio Show: Ryan Day Calls Iowa “The Epitome of Winning the Turnover Battle and the Field-Position Game,” Asks Fans to “Get Really Loud” in the Shoe on Saturday
Chase Brown, Eleven Warriors
How Ohio State plans to contain star Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson
Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch
Film Study: Breaking Tendencies As the Buckeyes Entered Big Ten Play
Kyle Jones, Eleven Warriors
Five Buckeyes who could become 2024 Heisman Trophy candidates
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts
MC&J: Ohio State is nearly three-touchdown favorites over Iowa in Week 6 Big Ten action
Brett Ludwiczak, Land-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State Tight Ends, Wide Receivers Blocking Better on Perimeter in 2024
Andy Anders, Eleven Warriors
What did we learn from Ohio State’s Jake Diebler at Big Ten media day?
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch
Column: Ohio State fans drew the short end of the stick with this year’s home basketball schedule
Connor Lemons, Land-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State’s Madison Green compares Jaloni Cambridge to Jacy Sheldon
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State men’s basketball receives one first-place vote in Big Ten media poll, lands eighth overall
Connor Lemons, Land-Grant Holy Land
Women’s Ice Hockey: Hailey MacLeod and Jordyn Petrie named WCHA players of the week
Emily Sculli, The Lantern
I turned the game off when Cousins threw a pick with less than two minutes left... how the hell did it even get to overtime?
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
Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.
Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.
Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.
You’re welcome!
For your Earholes...
Subscribe to the Land-Grant Podcast Network for all of your Ohio State needs
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
On the Gridiron
Things you need to know about the Iowa Hawkeyes — and a few you don’t need to know, but are fun anyway
Josh Dooley, Land-Grant Holy Land
3 keys to victory for Ohio State against Iowa
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch
Evaluating grades for Buckeyes ahead of physical Iowa clash
Austin Ward, Dotting The Eyes
Three Keys for Buckeyes in pivotal Big Ten matchup against Iowa
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row
Ryan Day Radio Show: Ryan Day Calls Iowa “The Epitome of Winning the Turnover Battle and the Field-Position Game,” Asks Fans to “Get Really Loud” in the Shoe on Saturday
Chase Brown, Eleven Warriors
How Ohio State plans to contain star Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson
Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch
Film Study: Breaking Tendencies As the Buckeyes Entered Big Ten Play
Kyle Jones, Eleven Warriors
Five Buckeyes who could become 2024 Heisman Trophy candidates
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts
MC&J: Ohio State is nearly three-touchdown favorites over Iowa in Week 6 Big Ten action
Brett Ludwiczak, Land-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State Tight Ends, Wide Receivers Blocking Better on Perimeter in 2024
Andy Anders, Eleven Warriors
On the Hardwood
What did we learn from Ohio State’s Jake Diebler at Big Ten media day?
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch
Column: Ohio State fans drew the short end of the stick with this year’s home basketball schedule
Connor Lemons, Land-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State’s Madison Green compares Jaloni Cambridge to Jacy Sheldon
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State men’s basketball receives one first-place vote in Big Ten media poll, lands eighth overall
Connor Lemons, Land-Grant Holy Land
Outside the Shoe and Schott
Women’s Ice Hockey: Hailey MacLeod and Jordyn Petrie named WCHA players of the week
Emily Sculli, The Lantern
And now for something completely different...
I turned the game off when Cousins threw a pick with less than two minutes left... how the hell did it even get to overtime?
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State v. Iowa: 2024 game preview and prediction
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Ohio State v. Iowa: 2024 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 Matthew Holst/Getty Images
The Buckeyes host the Hawkeyes for the second time in three years.
Following their first road game of the season, Ohio State returns home to host the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes are coming off a 38-7 win over Michigan State last week, and this week’s game against the Hawkeyes will be Ohio State’s final contest before they head out west to battle the Oregon Ducks in a much-anticipated Big Ten showdown.
This will be the second time in the last three years Iowa has made the journey to Columbus.
Back in 2022, the Buckeyes used four Noah Ruggles field goals, along with a Tommy Eichenberg interception return for a touchdown, to take a 26-10 lead into the halftime break. C.J. Stroud extended Ohio State’s lead with four second half touchdown passes in the 54-10 win. The Buckeye defense made life miserable for a listless Iowa offense by forcing six turnovers in the game, extending Ohio State’s edge in the series to 48-15-3.
The last time Iowa won in Columbus was back in 1991 when they beat the Buckeyes 16-9. At home, Ohio State is 31-9-1 against Iowa. This will be just the fourth meeting between the schools since 2013. The only win by the Hawkeyes during that span was the infamous 55-24 drubbing in Iowa City.
Ohio State looked shaky at times early on against Michigan State but they weren’t really challenged by the Spartans last week. The Buckeyes never trailed in the game, scoring 31 unanswered points after Michigan State closed the gap to 10-7 in the first half. Jim Knowles’ defense not only gave up just 60 yards after halftime, they kept Michigan State from scoring on three of their four trips inside the red zone.
Ohio State forced three turnovers in the game, securing their 29th straight win when they have forced at least three turnovers. The win was also Ryan Day’s 42nd straight victory over unranked opponents.
The big story coming out of Saturday night’s win was the performance of wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
The true freshman not only scored the first rushing touchdown of his career, he electrified the college football world by making two ridiculous one-handed catches on the same drive late in the first half. The second of those catches was a touchdown pass from Devin Brown, extending Ohio State’s lead to 24-7. Earlier this week, Smith was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25653268/usa_today_24291888.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
While Smith received all the headlines in the victory, Emeka Egbuka was actually the team’s leading receiver in the game, finishing with seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Egbuka is now 34 yards away from passing Doug Donley for 10th place on the school’s career receiving yardage rankings, and 77 yards away from moving ahead of Santonio Holmes. Carnell Tate also had a solid game against the Spartans with three catches for 52 yards, while tight end Gee Scott Jr. scored the first touchdown of the game for the Buckeyes.
Will Howard is running an Ohio State offense that is fifth in the country, averaging 534.8 yards per game. Through the first four games of the season, Howard has 11 total touchdowns, with three of those scores coming on the ground. Late in the second quarter last week, Howard took a hard hit that forced him to the sidelines for a few plays, but he returned to the game in the second half and there is no worry about any lingering effects heading into this week’s game against the Hawkeyes.
A fun matchup on Saturday afternoon is going to be Ohio State’s rushing attack against the Iowa defense. The Buckeyes are averaging 227 per game rushing this year, which ranks 14th in the country. On the other side, the Hawkeyes have yet to give up a rushing touchdown or allow an opponent to run for more than 100 yards in a game this season. The combination of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson will be the best backs Iowa has had to try and tame this season.
The dynamic duo was actually pretty quiet last week, combining for just 123 yards on 18 carries, with neither back finding the end zone after they each scored two rushing touchdowns in each of the previous two games. Henderson did become the 12th Buckeyes to reach 3,000 rushing yards in his career, and is now 56 yards from passing Pepe Pearson for 11th all-time in school history. The senior will be looking to have more success against Iowa than he did in 2022 when he gained just 38 yards on 11 carries.
The Ohio State defense bent but didn’t break a number of times in the first half against Michigan State, allowing the Spartans to get into the red zone four times, but only allowing points on one of those drives. The Buckeyes forced fumbles twice inside the 20, while standing up Aidan Chiles on fourth down in the other unsuccessful red zone trip for the Spartans.
Entering this week, Ohio State is allowing just 6.8 points per game, which is the lowest mark in the country. Through four games the Buckeyes have allowed just 27 points, which is their fifth-lowest total through four games since 1950.
All three levels of the defense played major roles in shutting down Michigan State last week. Leading the Buckeyes in tackles was safety Caleb Downs, who finished with six tackles, which is his highest total since transferring into the program from Alabama in the offseason. Cornerback Denzel Burke grabbed his second interception of the season, and Lathan Ransom forced his second fumble of the year to round out the notable contributions from the secondary in the game.
Leading the team with 23 tackles so far this year is linebacker Sonny Styles. After missing the first game of the season, Cody Simon has been rounding into form in his final season as a Buckeye as the veteran of the unit. Arvell Reese is looking like the future at the position with 15 tackles and two TFLs. Reese has seen his role continue to expand each game since the beginning of the season. C.J. Hicks has also provided some depth at the position.
The defensive line received a boost last week with the return of defensive tackle Tyleik Williams after he missed the game against Marshall. Ohio State’s defense has 13 sacks so far this season, with J.T. Tuimoloau leading the charge with 2.5 sacks. Along with those sacks, the Buckeyes have also recorded 29 tackles for loss. With playmakers at each level of the defense, it is easy to see why opponents are having such a tough time putting points on the scoreboard against the Buckeyes.
Iowa enters Saturday’s game coming off a bye week following a 31-14 win at Minnesota to reclaim Floyd of Rosedale. The Hawkeyes are 3-1 on the season, with their only loss coming to Iowa State in a game where they blew a second half lead in Iowa City.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz currently has 199 career wins, which is tied with Amos Alonzo Stagg for second-most by a Big Ten coach. With seven more victories Ferentz will pass legendary Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes for the most wins ever by a coach from the conference.
For Ohio State to win this game, they’ll need to slow down Kaleb Johnson, who has been one of the best running backs in the country this season. Johnson is coming off a performance against Minnesota that saw him run for 206 yards and three touchdowns, earning him Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week honors.
The Iowa running back has rushed for at least 100 yards in all four games this season, becoming the first Hawkeyes since Mark Weisman in 2014 to reach triple digits on the ground in the season’s first four games.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25657131/2172831154.jpg "COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 21 Iowa at Minnesota")
Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The running back from the Cincinnati area has been able to break off a bunch of big runs this year, with 12 rushes over 20 yards and four touchdowns runs of at least 25 yards. As a team, Iowa has rushed for at least 200 yards in all four games this season, marking the first time since 2013 they have reached that mark in the first third of the regular season.
Taking the snaps for Iowa will be former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara. After losing the starting quarterback job to J.J. McCarthy in Ann Arbor, McNamara found a new home in Iowa City but his 2023 season was cut short due to injury. Even though his play has been questioned at times, the most important stat when it comes to McNamara is he is 20-5 as a starter.
So far this season, McNamara has completed 64 of his 102 pass attempts for 588 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. McNamara’s only start against Ohio State came in 2021, throwing for 159 in Michigan’s win over the Buckeyes.
Even though Iowa prefers to run the football, they do have some capable targets in the passing game. Leading the team in receptions is Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill, who has 13 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. The most familiar name catching footballs for Iowa is tight end Luke Lachey, the son of Ohio State offensive lineman Jim Lachey. Addison Ostrenga is the third Hawkeye with at least 10 catches this year, while Reece Vander Zee has a team-high two touchdown catches.
The Hawkeyes aren’t going to put 50 points on the scoreboard, but they are at least making strides under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester. Already this season, Iowa has two games with at least 400 yards of offense. The last time the Hawkeyes had two games of at least 400 offensive yards was back in 2021. If Iowa can get at least decent play from their offense in combination with their stingy defense, they could cause problems for a lot of teams around the country.
The calling card of the Hawkeyes is Phil Parker’s defense, which is annually one of the best units in the country. Iowa is in the midst of a streak that has seen them allow less than 400 yards of offense to opponents in 32 consecutive games.
When Iowa and Ohio State met back in 2022, the Buckeyes finished with 360 yards of offense. As mentioned earlier, the run defense of the Hawkeyes has been especially tough to crack, allowing less than 100 yards in all four games this year, as well as no rushing touchdowns.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25657133/2171321756.jpg "Iowa State v Iowa")
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
The strength of the Iowa defense is at linebacker with Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson. Higgins currently leads the team with 34 tackles and he also has a nose for the football, picking off two passes and a forced fumble. The senior has 251 career tackles, which seem like a lot but actually is over 200 less than Jackson, who is approaching 500 career stops. Jackson started his career at Virginia and has 25 tackles this season.
The Hawkeyes have a number of defensive linemen who have done a great job at creating chaos in the backfield over the first four games. Leading the charge for the unit is defensive tackle Aaron Graves, who has a team-high three sacks. Defensive ends Ethan Hackett, Brian Allen, and Max Llewellyn sit just behind Graves with 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks each. Yahya Black has teamed with Graves on the interior of the line to create problems for opponents with 11 tackles and 2.5 TFLs.
While the secondary of the Hawkeyes will have their hands full with Ohio State’s receivers, they are a talented group that can make plays. Sebastian Castro is a sure tackler with 17 stops so far this year and has forced a fumble. Cornerback Jermari Harris leads the team with two picks. The safety spots are manned by Quinn Schulte and Xavier Nwankpa, who was the highest-rated recruit to ever commit to Iowa. TJ Hall will also see significant time in Saturday’s game at the cornerback spot opposite Harris.
The Hawkeyes are undoubtedly going to be the toughest challenge Ohio State has faced this year, and will be a great tuneup for next week’s Oregon game. If Iowa had a little more to offer on offense they would have the capability to take the Buckeyes down to the wire. The Hawkeyes just aren’t equipped to handle a deficit if Ohio State can put a couple of early scores on the board.
Where the Buckeyes have to be careful is they can’t let Kaleb Johnson get going early on the ground. If Johnson is able to break off some runs, it will not only wear on the defense, it will keep Ohio State’s potent offense off the field. Plus, if the Hawkeyes can run the football more than they throw it they’ll have a better chance at putting a scare into the Buckeyes. Cade McNamara has the ability to make some plays with his arm, but he also can be forced into mistakes with the relentless pass rush of J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, and the rest of the Ohio State defense.
The scary thing is we likely haven’t even seen close to Chip Kelly’s full playbook yet since the level of competition Ohio State has played has been so weak so far this season. Since Iowa possesses the toughest defense the Buckeyes have seen so far, expect to see a few more wrinkles this week without giving away too much ahead of Oregon next week. This game could play out a bit like the 2022 contest with Iowa hanging around early before the Buckeyes pull away in the second half.
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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 Matthew Holst/Getty Images
The Buckeyes host the Hawkeyes for the second time in three years.
Following their first road game of the season, Ohio State returns home to host the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes are coming off a 38-7 win over Michigan State last week, and this week’s game against the Hawkeyes will be Ohio State’s final contest before they head out west to battle the Oregon Ducks in a much-anticipated Big Ten showdown.
The history between the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes
This will be the second time in the last three years Iowa has made the journey to Columbus.
Back in 2022, the Buckeyes used four Noah Ruggles field goals, along with a Tommy Eichenberg interception return for a touchdown, to take a 26-10 lead into the halftime break. C.J. Stroud extended Ohio State’s lead with four second half touchdown passes in the 54-10 win. The Buckeye defense made life miserable for a listless Iowa offense by forcing six turnovers in the game, extending Ohio State’s edge in the series to 48-15-3.
The last time Iowa won in Columbus was back in 1991 when they beat the Buckeyes 16-9. At home, Ohio State is 31-9-1 against Iowa. This will be just the fourth meeting between the schools since 2013. The only win by the Hawkeyes during that span was the infamous 55-24 drubbing in Iowa City.
Last time out for Ohio State
Ohio State looked shaky at times early on against Michigan State but they weren’t really challenged by the Spartans last week. The Buckeyes never trailed in the game, scoring 31 unanswered points after Michigan State closed the gap to 10-7 in the first half. Jim Knowles’ defense not only gave up just 60 yards after halftime, they kept Michigan State from scoring on three of their four trips inside the red zone.
Ohio State forced three turnovers in the game, securing their 29th straight win when they have forced at least three turnovers. The win was also Ryan Day’s 42nd straight victory over unranked opponents.
The offense continues to roll
The big story coming out of Saturday night’s win was the performance of wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
The true freshman not only scored the first rushing touchdown of his career, he electrified the college football world by making two ridiculous one-handed catches on the same drive late in the first half. The second of those catches was a touchdown pass from Devin Brown, extending Ohio State’s lead to 24-7. Earlier this week, Smith was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
While Smith received all the headlines in the victory, Emeka Egbuka was actually the team’s leading receiver in the game, finishing with seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Egbuka is now 34 yards away from passing Doug Donley for 10th place on the school’s career receiving yardage rankings, and 77 yards away from moving ahead of Santonio Holmes. Carnell Tate also had a solid game against the Spartans with three catches for 52 yards, while tight end Gee Scott Jr. scored the first touchdown of the game for the Buckeyes.
Will Howard is running an Ohio State offense that is fifth in the country, averaging 534.8 yards per game. Through the first four games of the season, Howard has 11 total touchdowns, with three of those scores coming on the ground. Late in the second quarter last week, Howard took a hard hit that forced him to the sidelines for a few plays, but he returned to the game in the second half and there is no worry about any lingering effects heading into this week’s game against the Hawkeyes.
A fun matchup on Saturday afternoon is going to be Ohio State’s rushing attack against the Iowa defense. The Buckeyes are averaging 227 per game rushing this year, which ranks 14th in the country. On the other side, the Hawkeyes have yet to give up a rushing touchdown or allow an opponent to run for more than 100 yards in a game this season. The combination of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson will be the best backs Iowa has had to try and tame this season.
The dynamic duo was actually pretty quiet last week, combining for just 123 yards on 18 carries, with neither back finding the end zone after they each scored two rushing touchdowns in each of the previous two games. Henderson did become the 12th Buckeyes to reach 3,000 rushing yards in his career, and is now 56 yards from passing Pepe Pearson for 11th all-time in school history. The senior will be looking to have more success against Iowa than he did in 2022 when he gained just 38 yards on 11 carries.
Another impressive performance from the defense
The Ohio State defense bent but didn’t break a number of times in the first half against Michigan State, allowing the Spartans to get into the red zone four times, but only allowing points on one of those drives. The Buckeyes forced fumbles twice inside the 20, while standing up Aidan Chiles on fourth down in the other unsuccessful red zone trip for the Spartans.
Entering this week, Ohio State is allowing just 6.8 points per game, which is the lowest mark in the country. Through four games the Buckeyes have allowed just 27 points, which is their fifth-lowest total through four games since 1950.
All three levels of the defense played major roles in shutting down Michigan State last week. Leading the Buckeyes in tackles was safety Caleb Downs, who finished with six tackles, which is his highest total since transferring into the program from Alabama in the offseason. Cornerback Denzel Burke grabbed his second interception of the season, and Lathan Ransom forced his second fumble of the year to round out the notable contributions from the secondary in the game.
Leading the team with 23 tackles so far this year is linebacker Sonny Styles. After missing the first game of the season, Cody Simon has been rounding into form in his final season as a Buckeye as the veteran of the unit. Arvell Reese is looking like the future at the position with 15 tackles and two TFLs. Reese has seen his role continue to expand each game since the beginning of the season. C.J. Hicks has also provided some depth at the position.
The defensive line received a boost last week with the return of defensive tackle Tyleik Williams after he missed the game against Marshall. Ohio State’s defense has 13 sacks so far this season, with J.T. Tuimoloau leading the charge with 2.5 sacks. Along with those sacks, the Buckeyes have also recorded 29 tackles for loss. With playmakers at each level of the defense, it is easy to see why opponents are having such a tough time putting points on the scoreboard against the Buckeyes.
Ferentz keeps racking up wins
Iowa enters Saturday’s game coming off a bye week following a 31-14 win at Minnesota to reclaim Floyd of Rosedale. The Hawkeyes are 3-1 on the season, with their only loss coming to Iowa State in a game where they blew a second half lead in Iowa City.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz currently has 199 career wins, which is tied with Amos Alonzo Stagg for second-most by a Big Ten coach. With seven more victories Ferentz will pass legendary Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes for the most wins ever by a coach from the conference.
Ground game fuels the Iowa offense
For Ohio State to win this game, they’ll need to slow down Kaleb Johnson, who has been one of the best running backs in the country this season. Johnson is coming off a performance against Minnesota that saw him run for 206 yards and three touchdowns, earning him Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week honors.
The Iowa running back has rushed for at least 100 yards in all four games this season, becoming the first Hawkeyes since Mark Weisman in 2014 to reach triple digits on the ground in the season’s first four games.
The running back from the Cincinnati area has been able to break off a bunch of big runs this year, with 12 rushes over 20 yards and four touchdowns runs of at least 25 yards. As a team, Iowa has rushed for at least 200 yards in all four games this season, marking the first time since 2013 they have reached that mark in the first third of the regular season.
Taking the snaps for Iowa will be former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara. After losing the starting quarterback job to J.J. McCarthy in Ann Arbor, McNamara found a new home in Iowa City but his 2023 season was cut short due to injury. Even though his play has been questioned at times, the most important stat when it comes to McNamara is he is 20-5 as a starter.
So far this season, McNamara has completed 64 of his 102 pass attempts for 588 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. McNamara’s only start against Ohio State came in 2021, throwing for 159 in Michigan’s win over the Buckeyes.
Even though Iowa prefers to run the football, they do have some capable targets in the passing game. Leading the team in receptions is Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill, who has 13 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. The most familiar name catching footballs for Iowa is tight end Luke Lachey, the son of Ohio State offensive lineman Jim Lachey. Addison Ostrenga is the third Hawkeye with at least 10 catches this year, while Reece Vander Zee has a team-high two touchdown catches.
The Hawkeyes aren’t going to put 50 points on the scoreboard, but they are at least making strides under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester. Already this season, Iowa has two games with at least 400 yards of offense. The last time the Hawkeyes had two games of at least 400 offensive yards was back in 2021. If Iowa can get at least decent play from their offense in combination with their stingy defense, they could cause problems for a lot of teams around the country.
A top tier defense
The calling card of the Hawkeyes is Phil Parker’s defense, which is annually one of the best units in the country. Iowa is in the midst of a streak that has seen them allow less than 400 yards of offense to opponents in 32 consecutive games.
When Iowa and Ohio State met back in 2022, the Buckeyes finished with 360 yards of offense. As mentioned earlier, the run defense of the Hawkeyes has been especially tough to crack, allowing less than 100 yards in all four games this year, as well as no rushing touchdowns.
The strength of the Iowa defense is at linebacker with Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson. Higgins currently leads the team with 34 tackles and he also has a nose for the football, picking off two passes and a forced fumble. The senior has 251 career tackles, which seem like a lot but actually is over 200 less than Jackson, who is approaching 500 career stops. Jackson started his career at Virginia and has 25 tackles this season.
The Hawkeyes have a number of defensive linemen who have done a great job at creating chaos in the backfield over the first four games. Leading the charge for the unit is defensive tackle Aaron Graves, who has a team-high three sacks. Defensive ends Ethan Hackett, Brian Allen, and Max Llewellyn sit just behind Graves with 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks each. Yahya Black has teamed with Graves on the interior of the line to create problems for opponents with 11 tackles and 2.5 TFLs.
While the secondary of the Hawkeyes will have their hands full with Ohio State’s receivers, they are a talented group that can make plays. Sebastian Castro is a sure tackler with 17 stops so far this year and has forced a fumble. Cornerback Jermari Harris leads the team with two picks. The safety spots are manned by Quinn Schulte and Xavier Nwankpa, who was the highest-rated recruit to ever commit to Iowa. TJ Hall will also see significant time in Saturday’s game at the cornerback spot opposite Harris.
Prediction
The Hawkeyes are undoubtedly going to be the toughest challenge Ohio State has faced this year, and will be a great tuneup for next week’s Oregon game. If Iowa had a little more to offer on offense they would have the capability to take the Buckeyes down to the wire. The Hawkeyes just aren’t equipped to handle a deficit if Ohio State can put a couple of early scores on the board.
Where the Buckeyes have to be careful is they can’t let Kaleb Johnson get going early on the ground. If Johnson is able to break off some runs, it will not only wear on the defense, it will keep Ohio State’s potent offense off the field. Plus, if the Hawkeyes can run the football more than they throw it they’ll have a better chance at putting a scare into the Buckeyes. Cade McNamara has the ability to make some plays with his arm, but he also can be forced into mistakes with the relentless pass rush of J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, and the rest of the Ohio State defense.
The scary thing is we likely haven’t even seen close to Chip Kelly’s full playbook yet since the level of competition Ohio State has played has been so weak so far this season. Since Iowa possesses the toughest defense the Buckeyes have seen so far, expect to see a few more wrinkles this week without giving away too much ahead of Oregon next week. This game could play out a bit like the 2022 contest with Iowa hanging around early before the Buckeyes pull away in the second half.
LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 34, Iowa 14
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LGHL Could the Buckeyes get a five-star quarterback BOOM this weekend?
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Could the Buckeyes get a five-star quarterback BOOM this weekend?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Brady Edmunds has been crystalballed to Ohio State since August and will be in Columbus for the third time.
There are a lot of reasons to be excited about Saturday’s game between the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes and the Iowa Hawkeyes. With all due respect to the Michigan State Spartans, the game will be the first legitimate test that Ryan Day’s squad will have on the season as Kirk Ferentz’s squad will come to Columbus with an elite defense and a surprisingly not-completely-garbage offense.
While the vast majority of attention will be on whether or not OSU’s occasionally sloppy defense is able to stop Heisman-caliber running back Kaleb Johnson and if Chip Kelly’s offense is able to keep up its production against Phil Parker’s suffocating defense, there will be another potentially major storyline playing out on the sidelines of Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
As is almost always the case with a home game, the Buckeyes will be welcoming in a number of recruits of both the committed and uncommitted variety. In terms of the players that have already pledged to play for Ohio State, according to Bucknuts’ Bill Kurelic, as of now, the group will be led by 2025’s No. 6 player quarterback Tavien St. Clair. He will be joined by No. 5 defensive back Devin Sanchez, No. 28 linebacker Riley Pettijohn, No. 53 offensive lineman Carter Lowe, No. 62 LB Tarvos Alford, No. 97 defensive end Zion Grady, No. 289 DB Deshawn Stewart, No. 436 o-lineman Jake Cook, No. 471 LB Eli Lee, and No. 529 wide receiver Bodpegn Miller. It is also expected that No. 294 wide receiver De’zie Jones will be at The Shoe this weekend as well, but it hasn’t yet been confirmed.
Ohio State currently has the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2025 cycle, but they also have an eye on the future, as they will be welcoming in a handful of players from future classes as well. Planning to watch the OSU vs Iowa game in person will be 2026 prospects offensive linemen Adam Guthrie (No. 212) and Will Conroy (No. 337 nationally) and safety Kaden Gebhardt (No. 481). From the 2027 cycle, currently unranked linebacker Ellis McGaskin (it’s still early for sophomores) and No. 10 national player and No. 2 quarterback Brady Edmunds; and it’s that last name that could lead to some fireworks in Columbus this weekend.
The Huntington Beach, California native is the No. 3 player out of the state of California. Even though he is just a sophomore, he is 6 feet 5 and weighs in at 200 pounds. Edmunds’ grandfather is from Cuyahoga Falls, so he grew up a Buckeye fan — always a good sign when hoping for a commitment.
Thanks, in part to his familial connections to the state, Edmunds has been a regular visitor to Columbus and was crystalballed to the Buckeyes back in August. After getting an offer while camping in June, Edmunds is coming back to campus for his first-ever game in Ohio Stadium, and he’s bringing both of his parents with him... always a good sign if you are hoping to get a commitment from a player.
When 247Sports national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins predicted that the QB would eventually commit to OSU back in August, the expectation was that Edmunds would announce his school choice before the end of 2024, now Kurelic reports that Edmunds told him that it’s likely “going to happen sooner rather than later.”
The player still kept the end-of-the-year timetable in play but with a third trip to Central Ohio scheduled for this weekend, a marquee Big Ten matchup happening at The Shoe, both Edmund’s mom and dad being on hand, and his life-long love of the Buckeyes, it does feel like a recipe for a BOOM.
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
Brady Edmunds has been crystalballed to Ohio State since August and will be in Columbus for the third time.
There are a lot of reasons to be excited about Saturday’s game between the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes and the Iowa Hawkeyes. With all due respect to the Michigan State Spartans, the game will be the first legitimate test that Ryan Day’s squad will have on the season as Kirk Ferentz’s squad will come to Columbus with an elite defense and a surprisingly not-completely-garbage offense.
While the vast majority of attention will be on whether or not OSU’s occasionally sloppy defense is able to stop Heisman-caliber running back Kaleb Johnson and if Chip Kelly’s offense is able to keep up its production against Phil Parker’s suffocating defense, there will be another potentially major storyline playing out on the sidelines of Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
As is almost always the case with a home game, the Buckeyes will be welcoming in a number of recruits of both the committed and uncommitted variety. In terms of the players that have already pledged to play for Ohio State, according to Bucknuts’ Bill Kurelic, as of now, the group will be led by 2025’s No. 6 player quarterback Tavien St. Clair. He will be joined by No. 5 defensive back Devin Sanchez, No. 28 linebacker Riley Pettijohn, No. 53 offensive lineman Carter Lowe, No. 62 LB Tarvos Alford, No. 97 defensive end Zion Grady, No. 289 DB Deshawn Stewart, No. 436 o-lineman Jake Cook, No. 471 LB Eli Lee, and No. 529 wide receiver Bodpegn Miller. It is also expected that No. 294 wide receiver De’zie Jones will be at The Shoe this weekend as well, but it hasn’t yet been confirmed.
Ohio State currently has the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2025 cycle, but they also have an eye on the future, as they will be welcoming in a handful of players from future classes as well. Planning to watch the OSU vs Iowa game in person will be 2026 prospects offensive linemen Adam Guthrie (No. 212) and Will Conroy (No. 337 nationally) and safety Kaden Gebhardt (No. 481). From the 2027 cycle, currently unranked linebacker Ellis McGaskin (it’s still early for sophomores) and No. 10 national player and No. 2 quarterback Brady Edmunds; and it’s that last name that could lead to some fireworks in Columbus this weekend.
The Huntington Beach, California native is the No. 3 player out of the state of California. Even though he is just a sophomore, he is 6 feet 5 and weighs in at 200 pounds. Edmunds’ grandfather is from Cuyahoga Falls, so he grew up a Buckeye fan — always a good sign when hoping for a commitment.
Thanks, in part to his familial connections to the state, Edmunds has been a regular visitor to Columbus and was crystalballed to the Buckeyes back in August. After getting an offer while camping in June, Edmunds is coming back to campus for his first-ever game in Ohio Stadium, and he’s bringing both of his parents with him... always a good sign if you are hoping to get a commitment from a player.
When 247Sports national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins predicted that the QB would eventually commit to OSU back in August, the expectation was that Edmunds would announce his school choice before the end of 2024, now Kurelic reports that Edmunds told him that it’s likely “going to happen sooner rather than later.”
The player still kept the end-of-the-year timetable in play but with a third trip to Central Ohio scheduled for this weekend, a marquee Big Ten matchup happening at The Shoe, both Edmund’s mom and dad being on hand, and his life-long love of the Buckeyes, it does feel like a recipe for a BOOM.
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State to host four-star guard, Toledo native Jerry Easter Jr. this weekend
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Ohio State to host four-star guard, Toledo native Jerry Easter Jr. this weekend
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Easter is a top-30 recruit and has been on Ohio State’s radar since before he was in high school.
Jerry Easter Jr. – one of the top guards in the nation and a Toledo native – will take an official visit to Ohio State this weekend, per Easter’s own Twitter/X account.
Easter, who is the No. 32 player in the class and the No. 4 combo guard in the nation according to 247Sports, grew up in Toledo and played two seasons at Emmanuel Christian before transferring to La Lumiere for his junior season. He is now set to play his senior year at Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, alongside three other prospects the Buckeyes have offered – guard Davion Hannah, and centers John Clark and A’mare Bynum.
Bynum, a three-star recruit and the No. 104 player in the nation, will also be visiting Ohio State this weekend.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Easter averaged 32.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Emmanuel Christian. He faced a sharp step up in competition this past season at La Lumiere, but still averaged 18.2 points per game in league play against other top schools in Nike EYBL play.
To show how long Ohio State has been recruiting Easter, just look at when they originally offered him a scholarship. The Buckeyes extended a scholarship offer to Easter in September 2021 – a few weeks before his freshman year of high school began. The coach who made the phone call to Easter about the offer? That would be Jake Diebler, who at the time was an assistant on Chris Holtmann’s staff. Three years later, and the now-head coach of the program is still trying to turn Easter into a Buckeye.
Easter’s mother Trena played basketball at Michigan and is from that state up north, while Easter’s father Jerry is close friends with Ohio State legend Jim Jackson, who is also from Toledo. However, there’s no animosity from Easter’s mother toward the Buckeyes, especially since they’ve spent so much time recruiting her son.
“Whatever college makes us feel home, I think that’s where we’re going to go,” Easter’s father told the Columbus Dispatch in May 2022. “We love Ohio State though, we’re definitely looking at Ohio State. My wife, she was all Michigan, but since Michigan ain’t really come, she’s like ‘Whoever’s got love for my baby, that’s who I’ve got love for’ and that’s how she feels right now.”
Ohio State was the fourth school to offer Easter out of 44 total offers for the high four-star recruit, who at one point early in his high school career was considered one of the very top prospects in the 2025 class. Easter has not cut down a list of finalists, and does not plan on doing so. Easter told Sam Lance of ZagsBlog.com on September 26 that when it’s time to pick a school, he’s just going to pick one and be done with it.
“I might just pick a school to be honest,” Easter said. “I don’t see a point in narrowing it down. I know everybody does that, but I’ll probably just pick a school.”
Easter also said that would like to decide sometime this month, before the next signing period.
“Before the next signing period,” he said. “But if not, then in early January or February. Probably at Hoophall or some big event.”
Easter has gone on official visits to Oregon, Georgia Tech, SMU, and Michigan State this year, and the only other school he has a visit planned for at the moment is USC the weekend of Oct. 17-18. Easter also did visit Ohio State in an unofficial capacity in October 2022. If he does make a decision before November, it could come down to those six programs.
Ohio State currently has one commitment in the 2025 recruiting class — four-star guard Dorian Jones from Richmond Heights. Jones will be on an unofficial visit this weekend as well as 2026 Ohio State commit Marcus Johnson, who is a five-star guard from Garfield Heights.
Other recruits that will be in attendance include Bynum (official visit), 2026 four-star forward T.J. Crumble (unofficial visit), and 2026 four-star forward Nate Miles (unofficial visit).
Diebler has previously said that he and his staff may take up to four players in this loaded 2025 class, and that recruiting players from the Buckeye state who want to win at Ohio State is his priority.
“We want to make sure that we’re building relationships across the state, doing our due diligence, spending time and prioritizing (Ohio),” Diebler told Land-Grant Holy Land last month. “That’s the key. We’re going to prioritize this state. And I think you’re seeing that in how we’ve hit the ground running since this new staff has come together.”
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Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Easter is a top-30 recruit and has been on Ohio State’s radar since before he was in high school.
Jerry Easter Jr. – one of the top guards in the nation and a Toledo native – will take an official visit to Ohio State this weekend, per Easter’s own Twitter/X account.
Easter, who is the No. 32 player in the class and the No. 4 combo guard in the nation according to 247Sports, grew up in Toledo and played two seasons at Emmanuel Christian before transferring to La Lumiere for his junior season. He is now set to play his senior year at Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, alongside three other prospects the Buckeyes have offered – guard Davion Hannah, and centers John Clark and A’mare Bynum.
Bynum, a three-star recruit and the No. 104 player in the nation, will also be visiting Ohio State this weekend.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Easter averaged 32.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Emmanuel Christian. He faced a sharp step up in competition this past season at La Lumiere, but still averaged 18.2 points per game in league play against other top schools in Nike EYBL play.
To show how long Ohio State has been recruiting Easter, just look at when they originally offered him a scholarship. The Buckeyes extended a scholarship offer to Easter in September 2021 – a few weeks before his freshman year of high school began. The coach who made the phone call to Easter about the offer? That would be Jake Diebler, who at the time was an assistant on Chris Holtmann’s staff. Three years later, and the now-head coach of the program is still trying to turn Easter into a Buckeye.
Easter’s mother Trena played basketball at Michigan and is from that state up north, while Easter’s father Jerry is close friends with Ohio State legend Jim Jackson, who is also from Toledo. However, there’s no animosity from Easter’s mother toward the Buckeyes, especially since they’ve spent so much time recruiting her son.
“Whatever college makes us feel home, I think that’s where we’re going to go,” Easter’s father told the Columbus Dispatch in May 2022. “We love Ohio State though, we’re definitely looking at Ohio State. My wife, she was all Michigan, but since Michigan ain’t really come, she’s like ‘Whoever’s got love for my baby, that’s who I’ve got love for’ and that’s how she feels right now.”
Ohio State was the fourth school to offer Easter out of 44 total offers for the high four-star recruit, who at one point early in his high school career was considered one of the very top prospects in the 2025 class. Easter has not cut down a list of finalists, and does not plan on doing so. Easter told Sam Lance of ZagsBlog.com on September 26 that when it’s time to pick a school, he’s just going to pick one and be done with it.
“I might just pick a school to be honest,” Easter said. “I don’t see a point in narrowing it down. I know everybody does that, but I’ll probably just pick a school.”
Easter also said that would like to decide sometime this month, before the next signing period.
“Before the next signing period,” he said. “But if not, then in early January or February. Probably at Hoophall or some big event.”
2025 5️ Jerry Easter II (@JerryEast8) on his unofficial visit to Ohio State. pic.twitter.com/ldB4NaPZrz
— HS Top Recruits (@HSTopRecruiting) October 23, 2022
Easter has gone on official visits to Oregon, Georgia Tech, SMU, and Michigan State this year, and the only other school he has a visit planned for at the moment is USC the weekend of Oct. 17-18. Easter also did visit Ohio State in an unofficial capacity in October 2022. If he does make a decision before November, it could come down to those six programs.
Ohio State currently has one commitment in the 2025 recruiting class — four-star guard Dorian Jones from Richmond Heights. Jones will be on an unofficial visit this weekend as well as 2026 Ohio State commit Marcus Johnson, who is a five-star guard from Garfield Heights.
Other recruits that will be in attendance include Bynum (official visit), 2026 four-star forward T.J. Crumble (unofficial visit), and 2026 four-star forward Nate Miles (unofficial visit).
Diebler has previously said that he and his staff may take up to four players in this loaded 2025 class, and that recruiting players from the Buckeye state who want to win at Ohio State is his priority.
“We want to make sure that we’re building relationships across the state, doing our due diligence, spending time and prioritizing (Ohio),” Diebler told Land-Grant Holy Land last month. “That’s the key. We’re going to prioritize this state. And I think you’re seeing that in how we’ve hit the ground running since this new staff has come together.”
Continue reading...
LGHL In Conversation: ‘I look at Iowa’s passing game as warm jello’
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In Conversation: ‘I look at Iowa’s passing game as warm jello’
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman previews the OSU-Iowa game.
On Land-Grant’s “In Conversation” podcast, we talk to people in and around Ohio State athletics, and the sporting world at large, to bring you a different insight and perspective to the teams, athletes, and university that you love.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
On today’s episode, Matt Tamanini is in conversation with the Iowa beat writer for The Athletic, Scott Dochterman. In the conversation, they discuss what have been the major changes for the Hawkeyes’ offense this year, as it is averaging almost 17 more points per game this year than it did last year. They discuss what makes Kaleb Johnson a Heisman-caliber running back and how the Iowa defense will look to contain Ohio State’s multi-faceted offense.
But most importantly, Scott drops the best analogy for Iowa’s offense you’ve ever heard. He compares it to warm jello... yep, that’s what he said.
Connect with Scott Dochterman
Twitter: @ScottDochterman
Read his work here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/scott-dochterman/
Connect with Matt Tamanini
Online Portfolio: https://authory.com/MattTamanini
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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
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman previews the OSU-Iowa game.
On Land-Grant’s “In Conversation” podcast, we talk to people in and around Ohio State athletics, and the sporting world at large, to bring you a different insight and perspective to the teams, athletes, and university that you love.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
On today’s episode, Matt Tamanini is in conversation with the Iowa beat writer for The Athletic, Scott Dochterman. In the conversation, they discuss what have been the major changes for the Hawkeyes’ offense this year, as it is averaging almost 17 more points per game this year than it did last year. They discuss what makes Kaleb Johnson a Heisman-caliber running back and how the Iowa defense will look to contain Ohio State’s multi-faceted offense.
But most importantly, Scott drops the best analogy for Iowa’s offense you’ve ever heard. He compares it to warm jello... yep, that’s what he said.
Connect with Scott Dochterman
Twitter: @ScottDochterman
Read his work here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/scott-dochterman/
Connect with Matt Tamanini
Online Portfolio: https://authory.com/MattTamanini
Theme music provided by www.bensound.com
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LGHL No Fall Weddings: Will Ohio State’s defense be exposed by Iowa’s running game?
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No Fall Weddings: Will Ohio State’s defense be exposed by Iowa’s running game?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Jami and Matt also pick their individual top 12 and handicap the Heisman Trophy race.
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 drink the Kool-Aid on the greatness that is Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith before exploring whether or not the concerns surrounding the Buckeyes’ recent defensive performances are warranted or a bit overblown.
Then, after a break, Jami and Matt reveal their own personal top-12 lists, dive into the Heisman horserace, and recommend games in each window of the college football season.
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
Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Jami and Matt also pick their individual top 12 and handicap the Heisman Trophy race.
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 drink the Kool-Aid on the greatness that is Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith before exploring whether or not the concerns surrounding the Buckeyes’ recent defensive performances are warranted or a bit overblown.
Then, after a break, Jami and Matt reveal their own personal top-12 lists, dive into the Heisman horserace, and recommend games in each window of the college football season.
Connect with Jami Jurich:
Twitter: @JamiJurich
Connect with Matt Tamanini:
Online Portfolio: https://authory.com/MattTamanini
Theme music provided by audiio.com
Continue reading...
2027 AZ RB Noah Roberts (Verbal Offer)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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247
Rivals
Twitter
HudL
Class: 2027
Position: RB
School: Chandler (AZ) Basha
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 200lbs
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Rivals
HudL
Class: 2027
Position: RB
School: Chandler (AZ) Basha
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 200lbs
Login to view embedded media
LGHL MC&J: Ohio State is nearly three-touchdown favorites over Iowa in Week 6 Big Ten action
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MC&J: Ohio State is nearly three-touchdown favorites over Iowa in Week 6 Big Ten action
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 Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Plus picks against the spread for the rest of this week’s games around the conference.
Last week ATS: 6-9 (2-5 National, 4-4 B1G)
Season ATS: 48-47 (15-17 National, 33-30 B1G)
Last week certainly had some frustrating results. Michigan fell apart in the fourth quarter to lose the cover, Louisville and Arkansas narrowly missed covering on Saturday afternoon, while Auburn couldn’t finish off Oklahoma.
Our record would look a lot better had we had a little more luck in those games. I guess that’s why they call it gambling!
Michigan State v. No. 6 Oregon (-24.5) - Friday 9:00 p.m. ET - FOX
The schedule makers certainly didn’t do Michigan State any favors in this spot. The Spartans are coming off a 38-7 loss to Ohio State on Saturday night, and now have to travel out to Eugene on a short week to take on the Ducks. Right now the only thing going for Michigan State is head coach Jonathan Smith has a lot of familiarity with going to Autzen Stadium from his time at Oregon State.
Oregon has finally started to look like the team we expected them to be prior to the season. After struggling with Idaho and Boise State, the Ducks had no problems with Oregon State and UCLA. About the only thing Oregon can be criticized about in their last two games is not covering against the Bruins last week. Just imagine what Dillon Gabriel is going to be able to do to the Michigan State defense after seeing how much success Will Howard had on Saturday night.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25655378/2175504064.jpg "Oregon v UCLA")
Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images
We have seen countless times how much a game against Ohio State takes out of teams the next week. Now Michigan State not only has to deal with all those body blows from Saturday night, they have to travel across the country to take on a talented Oregon team that will be hosting their first-ever Big Ten game.
The Spartans are way too sloppy with the football to stay inside the spread.
Oregon 45, Michigan State 17
UCLA v. No. 7 Penn State (-27.5) - 12:00 p.m. ET - FOX
After missing on Penn State’s opener against West Virginia, I somehow have navigated the last three games for the Nittany Lions, correctly predicting they’d cover against Kent State, while siding with Bowling Green and Illinois in the other two contests.
Something still doesn’t feel quite right about the offense of the Nittany Lions, though. It looked like in the opener we’d see Drew Allar air out things more in new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s offense, but that really hasn’t been the case over the last few games.
UCLA is a mess right now. At least for new head coach Deshaun Foster, his team is playing hard. The Bruins didn’t get completely blown off the field against LSU and Oregon. Aside from effort, not much else is going right for UCLA. They have no running game and Ethan Garbers has struggled at quarterback, which is surprising since the Bruins have a couple receivers who played pretty well last year. Since the offense hasn’t been able to sustain drives, it has put more pressure on the defense.
UCLA has already gone to a tough environment and covered this year, squeezing inside the number against LSU a couple weeks ago. This trip to State College is going to be a lot different, especially since it starts at noon in the eastern time zone. Penn State has more to offer on defense than LSU did, so it is going to be extremely challenging for the Bruins to put points on the scoreboard.
I think the Nittany Lions blow out UCLA to send a message to USC, who they take on in Los Angeles next Saturday.
Penn State 44, UCLA 13
Purdue v. Wisconsin (-13.5) - 12:00 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Wisconsin really needs to channel Barry Alvarez and Bret Bielema in this game. If the Badgers don’t run the football at least 40 times, Luke Fickell should fire offensive coordinator Phil Longo on the spot. The running game was working against USC and then for some reason Wisconsin decided the best strategy after halftime would be to abandon what was working. USC outscored the Badgers 28-0 in the second half.
How bad are things in West Lafayette? Following last week’s 28-10 loss to Nebraska, head coach Ryan Walters got rid of offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. Opponents have had a lot of success running the football against the Boilermakers, which is another reason why Wisconsin should give Chez Mellusi and Tawee Walker plenty of carries on Saturday afternoon.
Laying nearly two touchdowns with Wisconsin is pretty scary, but it feels like the right play since the Boilermakers haven’t been competitive in any of their three games against FBS foes this year. At least with the Badgers there feels like more of a path to right the ship a bit, where Purdue is lost at sea.
Wisconsin 31, Purdue 14
No. 23 Indiana (-13.5) v. Northwestern - 3:30 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Apparently I haven’t learned my lesson when it comes to Indiana football, since I have backed the opponents of the Hoosiers to cover in each of the last three games. Maybe Curt Cignetti is printing on my picks and reading them to his team to fire them up before games. Kurtis Rourke had some rough moments early in last week’s game against Maryland, throwing his first two interceptions of the season in the first half of the 42-28 win. The Ohio transfer has thrown for at least 250 yards in each of the last four games.
Northwestern is a really tough watch. Take away their 31-7 win over Eastern Illinois and the Wildcats haven’t scored more than 20 points in their three games against FBS foes this year. Even when they scored 20 points against Duke, that was a game that went to double overtime. I have no idea how they are going to keep pace with an Indiana offense that has scored at least 31 points in every game this season, and at least 40 points in their last four contests.
The Hoosiers continue the fairly tale start to the Cignetti Era in Bloomington with an easy win over Northwestern in the temporary stadium on the shores of Lake Michigan that holds like seven people.
Indiana 38, Northwestern 10
Rutgers v. Nebraska (-6.5) - 4:00 p.m. ET - FS1
Nebraska was able to rebound from their overtime loss to Illinois by pulling away from Purdue in the second half in West Lafayette last week. Quarterback Dylan Raiola is playing more like an upperclassman and not a freshman, throwing for over 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns over his first five games with the Cornhuskers. The Nebraska defense has also been really good, allowing 10 points or less in four games so far this season.
Not only is Indiana undefeated so far this season, Rutgers enters this game at 4-0. Last week the Scarlet Knights grinded out a 21-18 win over Washington. The formula for Greg Schiano’s team is to wear down defenses with their running game, have Athan Kaliakmanis make some smart throws, and then rely on your defense to close out games. Kyle Monangai has been one of the best running backs in the country so far this year, but he will be facing his toughest test of the season so far on Saturday afternoon.
I still don’t fully trust Nebraska. This has the feel of a game where Schiano is going to throw some looks at Raiola that will confuse him. The Cornhuskers have been cruising in games where they have built a sizable lead. I don’t think Nebraska is going to run away with this game, and we have all seen how they crumble in one-score contests.
Rutgers 24, Nebraska 20
No. 10 Michigan v. Washington (-2.5) - 7:30 p.m. ET - NBC
We have a rematch of last year’s title game where pretty much nobody of note from either side is back. That’s not technically true since the Wolverines still have Donovan Edwards, who must be a victim of the video game cover curse since he is only averaging 4.4 yards per carry so far this season and has taken a backseat to Kalel Mullings in the backfield.
Quarterback Alex Orji will be making his third start of the season, and is still looking for his first game with at least 100 yards passing.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25655379/2175317265.jpg "Minnesota v Michigan")
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
It feels like Washington is still trying to figure out who they are in Jedd Fisch’s first year as head coach. The Huskies have a solid defense, they just have sputtered on offense recently, scoring less than 20 points in two of their last three games, losing both of those contests. Washington is going to need quarterback Will Rogers to make some smart decisions since the Wolverines are led by their defense.
After starting the season with five games in Ann Arbor, now Michigan has to go a long way on their first road trip of the season. If Washington can shut down the run, they should be able to beat the Wolverines since we all have seen that Alex Orji can’t throw the football. The Huskies get some revenge for losing to Michigan in January.
Washington 21, Michigan 17
No. 11 USC (-8.5) v. Minnesota - 7:30 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Lincoln Riley and the Trojans probably won’t even know where they are by the end of the week. After playing in their first Big Ten game a couple weeks ago in Ann Arbor, USC was back in Los Angeles last week to take on Wisconsin, and now they’ll be heading to Minneapolis to take on the Golden Gophers. At least USC should be happy this game isn’t a month later since we all know how suspect the weather in Minneapolis can be as the season moves along.
Minnesota did show a little life in the fourth quarter against Michigan, scoring 21 points to keep the Wolverines from covering. The Golden Gophers still are having a tough time running the football, averaging just 3.4 yards per carry this year. When Minnesota has been good under Fleck, they use the run to set up the pass. They haven’t been able to do that this year, which is why their only wins have come against Rhode Island and Nevada.
I can’t say I’m a fan of either coach in this game. What I do like is how the defense of the Trojans has played since D’Anton Lynn took over as defensive coordinator. USC has the ability to jump out to a lead over Minnesota, making the Golden Gophers throw the football, which they haven’t looked all that comfortable doing with Max Brosmer behind center.
USC 34, Minnesota 20
Iowa v. No. 3 Ohio State (-19.5) - 3:30 p.m. ET - CBS
Ohio State was able to easily navigate their first road game of the season, defeating Michigan State 38-7 on Saturday night. All the talk following the win was about wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, with the true freshman receiver making two insane one-handed catches on the same drive late in the first half.
With how well Will Howard was slinging the football against the Spartans, the Buckeyes didn’t really need more from Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. The duo will be trying to find holes this week against a Iowa rush defense that hasn’t allowed over 100 yards on the ground this season.
Imagine if Iowa had gotten rid of Brian Ferentz sooner. The offense of the Hawkeyes has been solid in the first four games under offensive coordinator Tim Lester. The star of the offense has been running back Kaleb Johnson, who has ran for at least 100 yards in every Iowa game so far this season. Had the Hawkeyes not blown a second half lead at home to Iowa State, this would be a matchup of undefeated teams.
Iowa does a few things well on both sides of the football. Ohio State is great at pretty much everything. Honestly, it feels like we haven’t even had the full Chip Kelly experience on offense yet since the new Buckeye offensive coordinator hasn’t had to get too wild with his calls since Ohio State has played such weak competition so far. Kelly will have to get a little more funky this week since Iowa is stout on defense.
With Oregon on deck for the Buckeyes next week, Ryan Day will be looking for another complete performance from his team ahead of the trip to Eugene. This won’t be as ugly as 2022 for Hawkeye fans, but it also won’t be fun for them to watch.
Ohio State 37, Iowa 13
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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 Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Plus picks against the spread for the rest of this week’s games around the conference.
Last week ATS: 6-9 (2-5 National, 4-4 B1G)
Season ATS: 48-47 (15-17 National, 33-30 B1G)
Last week certainly had some frustrating results. Michigan fell apart in the fourth quarter to lose the cover, Louisville and Arkansas narrowly missed covering on Saturday afternoon, while Auburn couldn’t finish off Oklahoma.
Our record would look a lot better had we had a little more luck in those games. I guess that’s why they call it gambling!
B1G games (All games Saturday unless otherwise noted)
Michigan State v. No. 6 Oregon (-24.5) - Friday 9:00 p.m. ET - FOX
The schedule makers certainly didn’t do Michigan State any favors in this spot. The Spartans are coming off a 38-7 loss to Ohio State on Saturday night, and now have to travel out to Eugene on a short week to take on the Ducks. Right now the only thing going for Michigan State is head coach Jonathan Smith has a lot of familiarity with going to Autzen Stadium from his time at Oregon State.
Oregon has finally started to look like the team we expected them to be prior to the season. After struggling with Idaho and Boise State, the Ducks had no problems with Oregon State and UCLA. About the only thing Oregon can be criticized about in their last two games is not covering against the Bruins last week. Just imagine what Dillon Gabriel is going to be able to do to the Michigan State defense after seeing how much success Will Howard had on Saturday night.
We have seen countless times how much a game against Ohio State takes out of teams the next week. Now Michigan State not only has to deal with all those body blows from Saturday night, they have to travel across the country to take on a talented Oregon team that will be hosting their first-ever Big Ten game.
The Spartans are way too sloppy with the football to stay inside the spread.
Oregon 45, Michigan State 17
UCLA v. No. 7 Penn State (-27.5) - 12:00 p.m. ET - FOX
After missing on Penn State’s opener against West Virginia, I somehow have navigated the last three games for the Nittany Lions, correctly predicting they’d cover against Kent State, while siding with Bowling Green and Illinois in the other two contests.
Something still doesn’t feel quite right about the offense of the Nittany Lions, though. It looked like in the opener we’d see Drew Allar air out things more in new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s offense, but that really hasn’t been the case over the last few games.
UCLA is a mess right now. At least for new head coach Deshaun Foster, his team is playing hard. The Bruins didn’t get completely blown off the field against LSU and Oregon. Aside from effort, not much else is going right for UCLA. They have no running game and Ethan Garbers has struggled at quarterback, which is surprising since the Bruins have a couple receivers who played pretty well last year. Since the offense hasn’t been able to sustain drives, it has put more pressure on the defense.
UCLA has already gone to a tough environment and covered this year, squeezing inside the number against LSU a couple weeks ago. This trip to State College is going to be a lot different, especially since it starts at noon in the eastern time zone. Penn State has more to offer on defense than LSU did, so it is going to be extremely challenging for the Bruins to put points on the scoreboard.
I think the Nittany Lions blow out UCLA to send a message to USC, who they take on in Los Angeles next Saturday.
Penn State 44, UCLA 13
Purdue v. Wisconsin (-13.5) - 12:00 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Wisconsin really needs to channel Barry Alvarez and Bret Bielema in this game. If the Badgers don’t run the football at least 40 times, Luke Fickell should fire offensive coordinator Phil Longo on the spot. The running game was working against USC and then for some reason Wisconsin decided the best strategy after halftime would be to abandon what was working. USC outscored the Badgers 28-0 in the second half.
How bad are things in West Lafayette? Following last week’s 28-10 loss to Nebraska, head coach Ryan Walters got rid of offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. Opponents have had a lot of success running the football against the Boilermakers, which is another reason why Wisconsin should give Chez Mellusi and Tawee Walker plenty of carries on Saturday afternoon.
Laying nearly two touchdowns with Wisconsin is pretty scary, but it feels like the right play since the Boilermakers haven’t been competitive in any of their three games against FBS foes this year. At least with the Badgers there feels like more of a path to right the ship a bit, where Purdue is lost at sea.
Wisconsin 31, Purdue 14
No. 23 Indiana (-13.5) v. Northwestern - 3:30 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Apparently I haven’t learned my lesson when it comes to Indiana football, since I have backed the opponents of the Hoosiers to cover in each of the last three games. Maybe Curt Cignetti is printing on my picks and reading them to his team to fire them up before games. Kurtis Rourke had some rough moments early in last week’s game against Maryland, throwing his first two interceptions of the season in the first half of the 42-28 win. The Ohio transfer has thrown for at least 250 yards in each of the last four games.
Northwestern is a really tough watch. Take away their 31-7 win over Eastern Illinois and the Wildcats haven’t scored more than 20 points in their three games against FBS foes this year. Even when they scored 20 points against Duke, that was a game that went to double overtime. I have no idea how they are going to keep pace with an Indiana offense that has scored at least 31 points in every game this season, and at least 40 points in their last four contests.
The Hoosiers continue the fairly tale start to the Cignetti Era in Bloomington with an easy win over Northwestern in the temporary stadium on the shores of Lake Michigan that holds like seven people.
Indiana 38, Northwestern 10
Rutgers v. Nebraska (-6.5) - 4:00 p.m. ET - FS1
Nebraska was able to rebound from their overtime loss to Illinois by pulling away from Purdue in the second half in West Lafayette last week. Quarterback Dylan Raiola is playing more like an upperclassman and not a freshman, throwing for over 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns over his first five games with the Cornhuskers. The Nebraska defense has also been really good, allowing 10 points or less in four games so far this season.
Not only is Indiana undefeated so far this season, Rutgers enters this game at 4-0. Last week the Scarlet Knights grinded out a 21-18 win over Washington. The formula for Greg Schiano’s team is to wear down defenses with their running game, have Athan Kaliakmanis make some smart throws, and then rely on your defense to close out games. Kyle Monangai has been one of the best running backs in the country so far this year, but he will be facing his toughest test of the season so far on Saturday afternoon.
I still don’t fully trust Nebraska. This has the feel of a game where Schiano is going to throw some looks at Raiola that will confuse him. The Cornhuskers have been cruising in games where they have built a sizable lead. I don’t think Nebraska is going to run away with this game, and we have all seen how they crumble in one-score contests.
Rutgers 24, Nebraska 20
No. 10 Michigan v. Washington (-2.5) - 7:30 p.m. ET - NBC
We have a rematch of last year’s title game where pretty much nobody of note from either side is back. That’s not technically true since the Wolverines still have Donovan Edwards, who must be a victim of the video game cover curse since he is only averaging 4.4 yards per carry so far this season and has taken a backseat to Kalel Mullings in the backfield.
Quarterback Alex Orji will be making his third start of the season, and is still looking for his first game with at least 100 yards passing.
It feels like Washington is still trying to figure out who they are in Jedd Fisch’s first year as head coach. The Huskies have a solid defense, they just have sputtered on offense recently, scoring less than 20 points in two of their last three games, losing both of those contests. Washington is going to need quarterback Will Rogers to make some smart decisions since the Wolverines are led by their defense.
After starting the season with five games in Ann Arbor, now Michigan has to go a long way on their first road trip of the season. If Washington can shut down the run, they should be able to beat the Wolverines since we all have seen that Alex Orji can’t throw the football. The Huskies get some revenge for losing to Michigan in January.
Washington 21, Michigan 17
No. 11 USC (-8.5) v. Minnesota - 7:30 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Lincoln Riley and the Trojans probably won’t even know where they are by the end of the week. After playing in their first Big Ten game a couple weeks ago in Ann Arbor, USC was back in Los Angeles last week to take on Wisconsin, and now they’ll be heading to Minneapolis to take on the Golden Gophers. At least USC should be happy this game isn’t a month later since we all know how suspect the weather in Minneapolis can be as the season moves along.
Minnesota did show a little life in the fourth quarter against Michigan, scoring 21 points to keep the Wolverines from covering. The Golden Gophers still are having a tough time running the football, averaging just 3.4 yards per carry this year. When Minnesota has been good under Fleck, they use the run to set up the pass. They haven’t been able to do that this year, which is why their only wins have come against Rhode Island and Nevada.
I can’t say I’m a fan of either coach in this game. What I do like is how the defense of the Trojans has played since D’Anton Lynn took over as defensive coordinator. USC has the ability to jump out to a lead over Minnesota, making the Golden Gophers throw the football, which they haven’t looked all that comfortable doing with Max Brosmer behind center.
USC 34, Minnesota 20
Iowa v. No. 3 Ohio State (-19.5) - 3:30 p.m. ET - CBS
Ohio State was able to easily navigate their first road game of the season, defeating Michigan State 38-7 on Saturday night. All the talk following the win was about wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, with the true freshman receiver making two insane one-handed catches on the same drive late in the first half.
With how well Will Howard was slinging the football against the Spartans, the Buckeyes didn’t really need more from Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. The duo will be trying to find holes this week against a Iowa rush defense that hasn’t allowed over 100 yards on the ground this season.
Imagine if Iowa had gotten rid of Brian Ferentz sooner. The offense of the Hawkeyes has been solid in the first four games under offensive coordinator Tim Lester. The star of the offense has been running back Kaleb Johnson, who has ran for at least 100 yards in every Iowa game so far this season. Had the Hawkeyes not blown a second half lead at home to Iowa State, this would be a matchup of undefeated teams.
Iowa does a few things well on both sides of the football. Ohio State is great at pretty much everything. Honestly, it feels like we haven’t even had the full Chip Kelly experience on offense yet since the new Buckeye offensive coordinator hasn’t had to get too wild with his calls since Ohio State has played such weak competition so far. Kelly will have to get a little more funky this week since Iowa is stout on defense.
With Oregon on deck for the Buckeyes next week, Ryan Day will be looking for another complete performance from his team ahead of the trip to Eugene. This won’t be as ugly as 2022 for Hawkeye fans, but it also won’t be fun for them to watch.
Ohio State 37, Iowa 13
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LGHL Column: Ohio State fans drew the short end of the stick with this year’s home basketball schedule
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Column: Ohio State fans drew the short end of the stick with this year’s home basketball schedule
Connor Lemons 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
The Buckeyes were given two weekend home games by the Big Ten this season.
Fresh off of back-to-back seasons missing the NCAA Tournament, a combined 14-26 record in conference play the past two seasons, and record lows in home attendance, the Ohio State men’s basketball program was in desperate need of a refresh this past spring.
Former athletic director Gene Smith watched the product on the court decline, and the excitement around the program steadily fall with it. Ross Bjork, Smith’s replacement as of July 1, watched from the periphery after he was announced as the athletic director in waiting.
Chris Holtmann’s Buckeyes went 2-6 after Ohio State President Ted Carter announced that Bjork would be the next athletic director on Jan. 17. On Feb. 14, Holtmann was relieved of his duties and Jake Diebler took it from there, finishing the season with a record of 8-3 and parlaying it into the full-time job.
Hiring Diebler as the next Ohio State men’s basketball coach was Bjork’s first move to reinvigorate the program. Bjork wasn’t just rewarding Diebler for his performance as the interim head coach, he was also trying to catch lightning in a bottle. There was more buzz around the program than there had been in over two years, and Diebler was the reason. Ideally, that buzz is going to carry over the summer into the fall, and ticket sales will jump accordingly.
The student ticket package is now $110 for 13 games, or $8.46 per game. Students can also buy tickets for $9 on a game-by-game basis. Season ticket prices were lowered, single-game prices were lowered, and Ohio State is now offering flexible four and eight-game packages for fans who aren’t ready to commit to full-season tickets.
Ohio State made tickets cheaper, sure, but the flip side of this whole deal? You need to give the fans a schedule that makes them want to come to games. Unfortunately for the fans, that did not happen this season.
Ohio State’s full schedule:
The biggest opponent that will visit Columbus during Ohio State’s non-conference schedule – Pitt – missed out on the NCAA Tournament last season. Unlike the Buckeyes, the Panthers declined an invitation to participate in the NIT. The two programs have not faced each other since 2002 and while I personally am excited for this game, most casual Ohio State fans and alumni are not too terribly fired up for a game against the Pitt Panthers.
Aside from the Pitt game, Ohio State fans get six more non-conference games at home, the toughest being against Indiana State, which also happens to be the only weekend home game on the non-conference schedule.
The Big Ten schedule – which, unlike the non-conference schedule, is completely out of Ohio State’s hands – isn’t much better for the fans, or any more convenient.
Weekend home games are the biggest draw for programs and are a head coach’s best friend. More families show up with kids, more students go to games, and they’re much easier to coordinate for potential recruiting visits. Weekend home games have better energy, louder, larger crowds, and generally provide a superior game day experience than say, a Tuesday night.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25655489/usa_today_22491584.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Big Ten gave Ohio State and its fans exactly two weekend Big Ten home games this season – the fewest of any team in the conference. The Buckeyes’ matchup with Rutgers on Saturday, Dec. 7 will likely be a noon tipoff between two NCAA Tournament-caliber teams, but the Ohio State football team could wind up playing in a rather important game in Indianapolis that evening, too.
Few fans — if any — are going to attend the basketball game that afternoon in Columbus and then hightail it to Indy to watch the football team (potentially) play in the Big Ten title game that evening. Even more likely — some fans might forget the basketball team plays altogether, considering it is the first Big Ten home game of the season and most people will be fixated on football that day. Tough break!
Ohio State’s second weekend Big Ten home game comes over two months later – yep, that’s a 10-week gap – when the Buckeyes welcome Roddy Gayle and the Michigan Wolverines to the Schottenstein Center on Sunday, Feb. 16. The arena should be nearly sold out for that one, for obvious reasons.
If things go well for Ohio State in Jake Diebler’s first year, the team’s momentum should be hitting its crescendo at that point, and over 18,000 fans should be in attendance to welcome back former Ohio State guard-turned Michigan man.
The Buckeyes host Northwestern the following Thursday at home (Feb. 20), and then senior night will feature the Nebraska Cornhuskers traveling to Columbus on Tuesday, March 4 – and that’s the end of the home schedule. Even senior day, which in its purest form is a weekend game against a regional foe such as Michigan State, Indiana, or Michigan, is being snuck in on a Tuesday night against a team that has no historical significance to the Big Ten and even less emotional relevance to Ohio State fans.
Long story short – the fans got hosed this year.
Not all of this is on Ohio State, and I would even go as far to say that much of it is not. The Buckeyes hosted a ranked Texas A&M team last year at home and lost – a phenomenal game against a great team in front of the home fans. This season, the Buckeyes have to fulfil their end of the home-and-home agreement and go play on campus at Texas A&M. That game will take place on Friday, Nov. 15.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25655495/usa_today_21865389.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ohio State is still locked into a contract for the CBS Sports Classic, which will pit them against Kentucky on Dec. 21 in New York. A great opponent, albeit one that 99% of Buckeye fans won’t be able to see in person.
Diebler was also able to get Texas and Auburn on the schedule – two teams that will likely be ranked to start the season – but both are at neutral locations (Las Vegas and Atlanta). That’s just a sign of the times in college basketball, as fewer and fewer programs are willing to travel and play true road games on someone else’s campus other than the ones they’re required to play within their own conference.
Did Ohio State want to load up the schedule with multiple monster home games in Jake Diebler’s first season and potentially set him up for a rough first season, and risk popping the bubble of excitement that currently surrounds the program so early in the season if things went south? I would assume the answer is no.
But even if they wanted to replace the Evansville or Campbell game with a power conference opponent at home, would Ohio State have even found a willing opponent? When you consider conference challenges and early season tournaments like those we see during “Feast Week”, it gets tougher and tougher to find a quality opponent who’s willing to use another spot in their schedule on a fellow power conference team.
There’s a very clear excitement around the program as we grow closer and closer to the season. But now that the full season schedule is together, it’s clear that Ohio State fans drew the short end of the stick with the slate of games they’ll get in Columbus.
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Connor Lemons 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
The Buckeyes were given two weekend home games by the Big Ten this season.
Fresh off of back-to-back seasons missing the NCAA Tournament, a combined 14-26 record in conference play the past two seasons, and record lows in home attendance, the Ohio State men’s basketball program was in desperate need of a refresh this past spring.
Former athletic director Gene Smith watched the product on the court decline, and the excitement around the program steadily fall with it. Ross Bjork, Smith’s replacement as of July 1, watched from the periphery after he was announced as the athletic director in waiting.
Chris Holtmann’s Buckeyes went 2-6 after Ohio State President Ted Carter announced that Bjork would be the next athletic director on Jan. 17. On Feb. 14, Holtmann was relieved of his duties and Jake Diebler took it from there, finishing the season with a record of 8-3 and parlaying it into the full-time job.
Hiring Diebler as the next Ohio State men’s basketball coach was Bjork’s first move to reinvigorate the program. Bjork wasn’t just rewarding Diebler for his performance as the interim head coach, he was also trying to catch lightning in a bottle. There was more buzz around the program than there had been in over two years, and Diebler was the reason. Ideally, that buzz is going to carry over the summer into the fall, and ticket sales will jump accordingly.
Buckeye Students ️
Student tickets are on sale NOWWe can’t wait to have the Schott rocking this season. Lock in your spot supporting the Scarlet & Gray at home all year long
️ https://t.co/XgC4K57uNB#Team126 | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/modi1idZTy
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) September 24, 2024
The student ticket package is now $110 for 13 games, or $8.46 per game. Students can also buy tickets for $9 on a game-by-game basis. Season ticket prices were lowered, single-game prices were lowered, and Ohio State is now offering flexible four and eight-game packages for fans who aren’t ready to commit to full-season tickets.
Ohio State made tickets cheaper, sure, but the flip side of this whole deal? You need to give the fans a schedule that makes them want to come to games. Unfortunately for the fans, that did not happen this season.
Ohio State’s full schedule:
The biggest opponent that will visit Columbus during Ohio State’s non-conference schedule – Pitt – missed out on the NCAA Tournament last season. Unlike the Buckeyes, the Panthers declined an invitation to participate in the NIT. The two programs have not faced each other since 2002 and while I personally am excited for this game, most casual Ohio State fans and alumni are not too terribly fired up for a game against the Pitt Panthers.
Aside from the Pitt game, Ohio State fans get six more non-conference games at home, the toughest being against Indiana State, which also happens to be the only weekend home game on the non-conference schedule.
The Big Ten schedule – which, unlike the non-conference schedule, is completely out of Ohio State’s hands – isn’t much better for the fans, or any more convenient.
Weekend home games are the biggest draw for programs and are a head coach’s best friend. More families show up with kids, more students go to games, and they’re much easier to coordinate for potential recruiting visits. Weekend home games have better energy, louder, larger crowds, and generally provide a superior game day experience than say, a Tuesday night.
The Big Ten gave Ohio State and its fans exactly two weekend Big Ten home games this season – the fewest of any team in the conference. The Buckeyes’ matchup with Rutgers on Saturday, Dec. 7 will likely be a noon tipoff between two NCAA Tournament-caliber teams, but the Ohio State football team could wind up playing in a rather important game in Indianapolis that evening, too.
Few fans — if any — are going to attend the basketball game that afternoon in Columbus and then hightail it to Indy to watch the football team (potentially) play in the Big Ten title game that evening. Even more likely — some fans might forget the basketball team plays altogether, considering it is the first Big Ten home game of the season and most people will be fixated on football that day. Tough break!
Ohio State’s second weekend Big Ten home game comes over two months later – yep, that’s a 10-week gap – when the Buckeyes welcome Roddy Gayle and the Michigan Wolverines to the Schottenstein Center on Sunday, Feb. 16. The arena should be nearly sold out for that one, for obvious reasons.
If things go well for Ohio State in Jake Diebler’s first year, the team’s momentum should be hitting its crescendo at that point, and over 18,000 fans should be in attendance to welcome back former Ohio State guard-turned Michigan man.
The Buckeyes host Northwestern the following Thursday at home (Feb. 20), and then senior night will feature the Nebraska Cornhuskers traveling to Columbus on Tuesday, March 4 – and that’s the end of the home schedule. Even senior day, which in its purest form is a weekend game against a regional foe such as Michigan State, Indiana, or Michigan, is being snuck in on a Tuesday night against a team that has no historical significance to the Big Ten and even less emotional relevance to Ohio State fans.
Long story short – the fans got hosed this year.
Not all of this is on Ohio State, and I would even go as far to say that much of it is not. The Buckeyes hosted a ranked Texas A&M team last year at home and lost – a phenomenal game against a great team in front of the home fans. This season, the Buckeyes have to fulfil their end of the home-and-home agreement and go play on campus at Texas A&M. That game will take place on Friday, Nov. 15.
Ohio State is still locked into a contract for the CBS Sports Classic, which will pit them against Kentucky on Dec. 21 in New York. A great opponent, albeit one that 99% of Buckeye fans won’t be able to see in person.
Diebler was also able to get Texas and Auburn on the schedule – two teams that will likely be ranked to start the season – but both are at neutral locations (Las Vegas and Atlanta). That’s just a sign of the times in college basketball, as fewer and fewer programs are willing to travel and play true road games on someone else’s campus other than the ones they’re required to play within their own conference.
Did Ohio State want to load up the schedule with multiple monster home games in Jake Diebler’s first season and potentially set him up for a rough first season, and risk popping the bubble of excitement that currently surrounds the program so early in the season if things went south? I would assume the answer is no.
But even if they wanted to replace the Evansville or Campbell game with a power conference opponent at home, would Ohio State have even found a willing opponent? When you consider conference challenges and early season tournaments like those we see during “Feast Week”, it gets tougher and tougher to find a quality opponent who’s willing to use another spot in their schedule on a fellow power conference team.
There’s a very clear excitement around the program as we grow closer and closer to the season. But now that the full season schedule is together, it’s clear that Ohio State fans drew the short end of the stick with the slate of games they’ll get in Columbus.
Continue reading...
LGHL Tyleik Williams is officially expected to return against Iowa... for real this time
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Tyleik Williams is officially expected to return against Iowa... for real this time
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.
Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.
Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.
You’re welcome!
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Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Buckeyes DT Tyleik Williams expected to play against Iowa
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch
Lightning Round: Ryan Day Calls Cade McNamara “A Veteran Quarterback” Who Has “Made Some Really Good Throws,” Says Kaleb Johnson Has “Developed Into a Really Good Football Player”
Chase Brown, Eleven Warriors
Quick Hits: Gee Scott Jr. Says Buckeyes “All Just Want to Win Badly,” JT Tuimoloau Says Ohio State is “Gonna Have to Bring It” Against Iowa
Dan Hope, Chase Brown, and Andy Anders; Eleven Warriors
Game Data: Iowa brings running game, stingy defense into match-up at Ohio State
Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts
You’re Nuts: What matchup will determine the winner of Ohio State vs. Iowa?
Matt Tamanini and Jami Jurich, Land-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State Buckeyes Live: Keys to victory vs. Iowa; OSU defensive tweaks
Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts
Key takeaways from Jim Knowles on Ohio State’s slow starts, Iowa challenge
Austin Ward, Dotting The Eyes
Jim Knowles Happy With Sonny Styles’ Progress Switching From Safety to Linebacker for Buckeyes: “I’m Very Pleased”
Andy Anders, Eleven Warriors
Four lessons learned from Ryan Day, Chip Kelly ahead of Iowa game
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row
Is Ryan Day getting more aggressive on fourth down?
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch
Could the Buckeyes get a five-star quarterback BOOM this weekend?
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
EA Sports updates six Ohio State player ratings in College Football 25
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts
What we learned from OSU women’s basketball coach Kevin McGuff at Big Ten Media Day
Thomas Costello, Land-Grant Holy Land
Who did Big Ten basketball writers pick to win the league this year?
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch
4 takeaways: Ohio State’s Kevin McGuff at Big Ten Media Days
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch
Is This March?
Baseball’s 2025 Big Ten Slate Announced
Ohio State Athletics
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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
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.
Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.
Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.
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For your Earholes...
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Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
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On the Gridiron
Buckeyes DT Tyleik Williams expected to play against Iowa
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch
Lightning Round: Ryan Day Calls Cade McNamara “A Veteran Quarterback” Who Has “Made Some Really Good Throws,” Says Kaleb Johnson Has “Developed Into a Really Good Football Player”
Chase Brown, Eleven Warriors
Quick Hits: Gee Scott Jr. Says Buckeyes “All Just Want to Win Badly,” JT Tuimoloau Says Ohio State is “Gonna Have to Bring It” Against Iowa
Dan Hope, Chase Brown, and Andy Anders; Eleven Warriors
Game Data: Iowa brings running game, stingy defense into match-up at Ohio State
Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts
You’re Nuts: What matchup will determine the winner of Ohio State vs. Iowa?
Matt Tamanini and Jami Jurich, Land-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State Buckeyes Live: Keys to victory vs. Iowa; OSU defensive tweaks
Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts
Key takeaways from Jim Knowles on Ohio State’s slow starts, Iowa challenge
Austin Ward, Dotting The Eyes
Jim Knowles Happy With Sonny Styles’ Progress Switching From Safety to Linebacker for Buckeyes: “I’m Very Pleased”
Andy Anders, Eleven Warriors
Four lessons learned from Ryan Day, Chip Kelly ahead of Iowa game
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row
Is Ryan Day getting more aggressive on fourth down?
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch
Could the Buckeyes get a five-star quarterback BOOM this weekend?
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land
EA Sports updates six Ohio State player ratings in College Football 25
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts
On the Hardwood
What we learned from OSU women’s basketball coach Kevin McGuff at Big Ten Media Day
Thomas Costello, Land-Grant Holy Land
Who did Big Ten basketball writers pick to win the league this year?
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch
4 takeaways: Ohio State’s Kevin McGuff at Big Ten Media Days
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch
Is This March?
Outside the Shoe and Schott
Baseball’s 2025 Big Ten Slate Announced
Ohio State Athletics
And now for something completely different...
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LGHL Ohio State men’s basketball receives one first-place vote in Big Ten media poll, lands eighth overall
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Ohio State men’s basketball receives one first-place vote in Big Ten media poll, lands eighth overall
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
The Buckeyes received a first-place for the first time in over a decade.
The Big Ten’s “official/unofficial” men’s basketball media poll was released on Wednesday afternoon — the first 18-team edition of the poll managed by the Columbus Dispatch’s Adam Jardy and the Indianapolis Star’s Zach Osterman.
Ohio State was picked to finish eighth in the conference this season, one spot lower than it was picked to finish last year in this poll. The Buckeyes were one of six different teams to receive first-place votes.
The pre-season poll has changed hands over the years from Jardy, to the Big Ten Network, to the Big Ten conference itself, but it appears that this is the first year since 2011 that Ohio State received a first-place vote in the poll.
Purdue was picked to repeat as league champions with 20 of the 33 first-place votes, just ahead of Indiana, UCLA, and Illinois. The last team to win at least a share of the Big Ten title in three straight seasons was Michigan State from 2018-2020. The last team to win the league outright three years in a row was Purdue from 1994-1996.
You can check out the full preseason media poll here:
Of the four programs that hired new coaches this off-season, Ohio State was the highest ranked at eighth, followed closely by Dusty May’s Michigan Wolverines at ninth. USC, which hired former Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman this off-season, was picked to finish 14th. Washington hired Utah State’s Danny Sprinkle, and were picked to finish 15th.
In the new 18-team Big Ten, an eighth place finish likely puts Ohio State just on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, which gives good insight about what the collective media thinks about Jake Diebler’s first team. Although he’s the only first-time head coach in the conference, Diebler may have been given a bit more credit since he’s been at Ohio State for a total of eight seasons dating back to 2014, including a brief stint as interim head coach at the end of last season. Unlike May, Musselman, and Sprinkle, Diebler is not walking into a new locker room with a completely fresh group of players.
The Buckeyes received one singular first-place vote in the poll, which marks the first time in over a decade Ohio State has been picked to win the league by anyone in the media. It seems a bit outlandish to pick a team that hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament in two years to win the league, but Diebler did add five-star talents from the transfer portal in Sean Stewart and Aaron Bradshaw, an all-SEC guard in Meechie Johnson, and return Bruce Thornton, who was selected First Team All-Big Ten in this same media poll.
The Buckeyes range of outcomes is very broad, and that voter clearly was betting on Ohio State reaching its proverbial ceiling. Voting results for each individual voter were not released on Wednesday, so it’s not currently known which media member picked Ohio State to finish first.
Ohio State opens up the season on November 4 against the Texas Longhorns in Las Vegas. Diebler’s first game as head coach will come against Rodney Terry, who, like Diebler, was elevated to interim head coach at Texas in December 2022. He then coached Texas to the Elite Eight and, like Diebler, was rewarded with the full-time head coaching job.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
The Buckeyes received a first-place for the first time in over a decade.
The Big Ten’s “official/unofficial” men’s basketball media poll was released on Wednesday afternoon — the first 18-team edition of the poll managed by the Columbus Dispatch’s Adam Jardy and the Indianapolis Star’s Zach Osterman.
Ohio State was picked to finish eighth in the conference this season, one spot lower than it was picked to finish last year in this poll. The Buckeyes were one of six different teams to receive first-place votes.
The pre-season poll has changed hands over the years from Jardy, to the Big Ten Network, to the Big Ten conference itself, but it appears that this is the first year since 2011 that Ohio State received a first-place vote in the poll.
Purdue was picked to repeat as league champions with 20 of the 33 first-place votes, just ahead of Indiana, UCLA, and Illinois. The last team to win at least a share of the Big Ten title in three straight seasons was Michigan State from 2018-2020. The last team to win the league outright three years in a row was Purdue from 1994-1996.
You can check out the full preseason media poll here:
Of the four programs that hired new coaches this off-season, Ohio State was the highest ranked at eighth, followed closely by Dusty May’s Michigan Wolverines at ninth. USC, which hired former Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman this off-season, was picked to finish 14th. Washington hired Utah State’s Danny Sprinkle, and were picked to finish 15th.
In the new 18-team Big Ten, an eighth place finish likely puts Ohio State just on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, which gives good insight about what the collective media thinks about Jake Diebler’s first team. Although he’s the only first-time head coach in the conference, Diebler may have been given a bit more credit since he’s been at Ohio State for a total of eight seasons dating back to 2014, including a brief stint as interim head coach at the end of last season. Unlike May, Musselman, and Sprinkle, Diebler is not walking into a new locker room with a completely fresh group of players.
The Buckeyes received one singular first-place vote in the poll, which marks the first time in over a decade Ohio State has been picked to win the league by anyone in the media. It seems a bit outlandish to pick a team that hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament in two years to win the league, but Diebler did add five-star talents from the transfer portal in Sean Stewart and Aaron Bradshaw, an all-SEC guard in Meechie Johnson, and return Bruce Thornton, who was selected First Team All-Big Ten in this same media poll.
The Buckeyes range of outcomes is very broad, and that voter clearly was betting on Ohio State reaching its proverbial ceiling. Voting results for each individual voter were not released on Wednesday, so it’s not currently known which media member picked Ohio State to finish first.
Ohio State opens up the season on November 4 against the Texas Longhorns in Las Vegas. Diebler’s first game as head coach will come against Rodney Terry, who, like Diebler, was elevated to interim head coach at Texas in December 2022. He then coached Texas to the Elite Eight and, like Diebler, was rewarded with the full-time head coaching job.
Continue reading...
LGHL Things you need to know about the Iowa Hawkeyes — and a few you don’t need to know, but are fun anyway
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- 0 Replies
Things you need to know about the Iowa Hawkeyes — and a few you don’t need to know, but are fun anyway
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
This year’s Iowa squad relies on a stingy defense and strong running game... What else is new!?
The Ohio State Buckeyes host the Iowa Hawkeyes this weekend, in a meeting of teams with “eyes” in the name/description of their mascot(s)... Ok, that was a rough start but I’m keeping it in because nobody’s perfect. We own up to our mistakes around here. I promise to get marginally better.
Saturday’s matchup will be the 20th all-time between Ohio State and Iowa – on the gridiron – with OSU holding a 16-3 advantage. The Hawkeyes have won just once in Columbus, way back in 1991. And while the Buckeyes also boast the largest margin of victory (44 points in 2022), Iowa handed out their own ass-whoopin’ the meeting before that (31 points in 2017) and have kept a number of these games close under longtime head coach Kirk Ferentz.
This year’s Iowa squad is, well, similar to all the past Ferentz-led versions. The Hawkeyes run the ball and play defense in an effort to grind down their opponents and win a tough, physical, often ugly game. It’s not my brand of whiskey, but there’s a reason that Ferentz has over career 200 wins, several Coach of the Year awards, and two Big Ten titles.
Iowa is 3-1 this season, with their lone loss coming at the hands of in-state rival Iowa State. The Hawkeyes are also coming off a bye week, increasing the likelihood that Ferentz’s team will be and/or look well-rested and well-prepared early against the Buckeyes. Whether the former (Iowa) can get enough stops and keep up in the scoring department is TBD.
Here are a few more things you should know about the Iowa Hawkeyes:
The University of Iowa is actually, officially known as the State University of Iowa, according to Wikipedia. This nomenclature might be common for (other) state universities, but hey, I found it interesting. In 1855, the university became the first public university in the United States to admit men and women on an equal basis. Now you know.
Herky the Hawk is the school’s mascot. And apparently, he’s just some anthropomorphic, non-descript hawk!? Not a particular species, such as the sharp-shinned hawk or crested goshawk, two of my favorite predatory birds.
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Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
Iowa was kicked out of the Big Ten! In 1929, the university was suspected and ultimately deemed guilty of providing impermissible benefits (cash, false employment, etc.) to athletes. According to reports, “boosters”, at least one local bank, and even the university’s president were involved in some manner, resulting in expulsion from the Big Ten. Iowa was then reinstated in 1930, after disqualifying several athletes from competition.
Iowa’s football program claims five national titles. The last of which was claimed in 1960.
Kirk Ferentz has won Big Ten Coach of the Year more times than the rest of the current conference coaches combined. Look, I know there’s been a lot of coaching turnover and that Ryan Day never gets credit for winning a shitload of games, but Ferentz’s four B1G COTY awards are impressive nonetheless.
Phil Parker is arguably (or inarguably?) the best defensive coordinator in college football. And he has been for some time. The Lorain, OH native has been at Iowa since 1999, eventually taking over as the Hawkeyes’ DC in 2012. And since then, his defensive units have consistently been among the best in the country, despite often lacking a bunch of four and five-star recruits. That is because Parker is also one of the best pure talent developers in college football, which combined with his incredible defensive mind, makes him an integral part of Iowa’s success. In fact, I would argue that without Parker, the Hawkeyes are (or would be) a .500 team most years. Here he is pictured below, seemingly a bit angry with an official.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25645600/1243119350.jpg)
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
Brian Ferentz was not one of the best offensive coordinators in college football. This is why, after several years of offensive ineptitude and a “nudge” or two from Iowa’s athletic director(s), Kirk Ferentz finally got rid of his son and brought in Tim Lester as the Hawkeyes’ OC. Lester was the head coach at Western Michigan from 2017-22 and is highly respected in coaching circles for his offensive acumen. Unlike the previous guy.
Even with Brian Ferentz gone, Iowa is still going to pound the rock on Saturday. As they should! Because Hamilton, OH native Kaleb Johnson is putting up video game numbers. Arguably the best running back in the country through the first month of the season, Johnson has already racked up nearly 700 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns on “just” 82 carries.
Jaziun Patterson and Kamari Moulton provide solid RB depth behind Johnson, but with the Hawkeyes coming off a perfectly timed bye, their Doak Walker Award candidate should be well-rested and ready to go against Ohio State.
Two of Iowa’s most talented offensive weapons are a former Buckeye and a Buckeye legacy. Former OSU wide receiver Kaleb Brown has just one reception this season but flashed serious playmaking potential for the Hawkeyes in 2023. Tight end Luke Lachey, on the other hand, has been consistently productive when healthy. The son of Ohio State legend and current (OSU) radio voice Jim Lachey seems poised to follow in the footsteps of Dallas Clark, George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, and others — Iowa TEs turned longtime NFL contributors.
Continue reading...
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
This year’s Iowa squad relies on a stingy defense and strong running game... What else is new!?
The Ohio State Buckeyes host the Iowa Hawkeyes this weekend, in a meeting of teams with “eyes” in the name/description of their mascot(s)... Ok, that was a rough start but I’m keeping it in because nobody’s perfect. We own up to our mistakes around here. I promise to get marginally better.
Saturday’s matchup will be the 20th all-time between Ohio State and Iowa – on the gridiron – with OSU holding a 16-3 advantage. The Hawkeyes have won just once in Columbus, way back in 1991. And while the Buckeyes also boast the largest margin of victory (44 points in 2022), Iowa handed out their own ass-whoopin’ the meeting before that (31 points in 2017) and have kept a number of these games close under longtime head coach Kirk Ferentz.
This year’s Iowa squad is, well, similar to all the past Ferentz-led versions. The Hawkeyes run the ball and play defense in an effort to grind down their opponents and win a tough, physical, often ugly game. It’s not my brand of whiskey, but there’s a reason that Ferentz has over career 200 wins, several Coach of the Year awards, and two Big Ten titles.
Iowa is 3-1 this season, with their lone loss coming at the hands of in-state rival Iowa State. The Hawkeyes are also coming off a bye week, increasing the likelihood that Ferentz’s team will be and/or look well-rested and well-prepared early against the Buckeyes. Whether the former (Iowa) can get enough stops and keep up in the scoring department is TBD.
Here are a few more things you should know about the Iowa Hawkeyes:
The University of Iowa is actually, officially known as the State University of Iowa, according to Wikipedia. This nomenclature might be common for (other) state universities, but hey, I found it interesting. In 1855, the university became the first public university in the United States to admit men and women on an equal basis. Now you know.
Herky the Hawk is the school’s mascot. And apparently, he’s just some anthropomorphic, non-descript hawk!? Not a particular species, such as the sharp-shinned hawk or crested goshawk, two of my favorite predatory birds.
Iowa was kicked out of the Big Ten! In 1929, the university was suspected and ultimately deemed guilty of providing impermissible benefits (cash, false employment, etc.) to athletes. According to reports, “boosters”, at least one local bank, and even the university’s president were involved in some manner, resulting in expulsion from the Big Ten. Iowa was then reinstated in 1930, after disqualifying several athletes from competition.
Iowa’s football program claims five national titles. The last of which was claimed in 1960.
Kirk Ferentz has won Big Ten Coach of the Year more times than the rest of the current conference coaches combined. Look, I know there’s been a lot of coaching turnover and that Ryan Day never gets credit for winning a shitload of games, but Ferentz’s four B1G COTY awards are impressive nonetheless.
Phil Parker is arguably (or inarguably?) the best defensive coordinator in college football. And he has been for some time. The Lorain, OH native has been at Iowa since 1999, eventually taking over as the Hawkeyes’ DC in 2012. And since then, his defensive units have consistently been among the best in the country, despite often lacking a bunch of four and five-star recruits. That is because Parker is also one of the best pure talent developers in college football, which combined with his incredible defensive mind, makes him an integral part of Iowa’s success. In fact, I would argue that without Parker, the Hawkeyes are (or would be) a .500 team most years. Here he is pictured below, seemingly a bit angry with an official.
Brian Ferentz was not one of the best offensive coordinators in college football. This is why, after several years of offensive ineptitude and a “nudge” or two from Iowa’s athletic director(s), Kirk Ferentz finally got rid of his son and brought in Tim Lester as the Hawkeyes’ OC. Lester was the head coach at Western Michigan from 2017-22 and is highly respected in coaching circles for his offensive acumen. Unlike the previous guy.
Even with Brian Ferentz gone, Iowa is still going to pound the rock on Saturday. As they should! Because Hamilton, OH native Kaleb Johnson is putting up video game numbers. Arguably the best running back in the country through the first month of the season, Johnson has already racked up nearly 700 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns on “just” 82 carries.
Jaziun Patterson and Kamari Moulton provide solid RB depth behind Johnson, but with the Hawkeyes coming off a perfectly timed bye, their Doak Walker Award candidate should be well-rested and ready to go against Ohio State.
Two of Iowa’s most talented offensive weapons are a former Buckeye and a Buckeye legacy. Former OSU wide receiver Kaleb Brown has just one reception this season but flashed serious playmaking potential for the Hawkeyes in 2023. Tight end Luke Lachey, on the other hand, has been consistently productive when healthy. The son of Ohio State legend and current (OSU) radio voice Jim Lachey seems poised to follow in the footsteps of Dallas Clark, George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, and others — Iowa TEs turned longtime NFL contributors.
Continue reading...
