According to KenPom, right now OSU is the 39th-best team, with the 26th-best offense and 67th-ranked defense. They had the 50th ranked D, 30th-best O and finished #37 last season.

On the bright side, it sounds like Tilly won't be out for long. Cupps, while not as important as Tilly, also is not expected out for long. So hopefully the Buckeyes will be close to full strength at Wisconsin.

On the flip side, the fact that they're not even mentioning Brandon Noel in interviews now is probably a bad sign - at this point, it kind of feels like he might not play at all again this season.

buckeyemania11 said:

With 11 games left I think if they can win 5 of them they probably get in

The pitfalls are @ Maryland and @ Ped State, they pretty much have to win those 2 games. Maryland is 159th in NET and Ped State is 129th

Win those 2 and you gotta win 3 between @ Wisconsin, Michigan, USC, Virginia, Wisconsin, @ Sparty, @ Iowa, Purdue and Indiana

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Yeah, you can't necessarily say any game is going to be an easy W for this team, as they have to bring their "A" effort even to win at "lowly" Maryland and PSU. When you're capable of being had in the paint and not particularly blessed with many physical specimens who can play lock down D, you've got to play like your hair is on fire as some would say. Defense travels, and that's been the weaker area for this team, so it's only natural that getting road wins is going to be a dicey proposition.

Thad Matta, while he struggled recruiting at the end, clearly knew what types of players he needed to win at the OSU level, and on literally every team he always had one starter who was a defensive ace that would help get big stops. When he recruited bigs, he went for the long and athletic big who provided rim protection & was adept at securing rebounds (things we don't really have right now). Additionally, his "defend without fouling" philosophy generally led to opponents getting fewer points the easy way. I don't think it's a coincidence that a good part of the struggles that OSU has had in recent years have been on defense, and the team has just not had the type of talent and emphasis that there was in the vintage Matta years.

I have two tickets on the 50 yard line. Make me an offer!

buckeyemania11 said:

With 11 games left I think if they can win 5 of them they probably get in

The pitfalls are @ Maryland and @ Ped State, they pretty much have to win those 2 games. Maryland is 159th in NET and Ped State is 129th

Win those 2 and you gotta win 3 between @ Wisconsin, Michigan, USC, Virginia, Wisconsin, @ Sparty, @ Iowa, Purdue and Indiana

Click to expand...

@Penn State is always a pitfall for OSU.

Amazing how such a great offensive mind has literally always been saddled with garbage parts.

buckeyebri said:

Yeah all they did was promote Brady their OC. The HC sucks but one of his lieutenants is the guy to lead you to the SB….

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I remember sometime in the last few years a time fired the Oline coach and hired the assistant worked out about like expected

With 11 games left I think if they can win 5 of them they probably get in

The pitfalls are @ Maryland and @ Ped State, they pretty much have to win those 2 games. Maryland is 159th in NET and Ped State is 129th

Win those 2 and you gotta win 3 between @ Wisconsin, Michigan, USC, Virginia, Wisconsin, @ Sparty, @ Iowa, Purdue and Indiana

pnuts34 said:

He'll be in the Portal again by season's end anyway

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I'd put good chances on him mentally checking out at some point during the season and already plotting where he can collect his next paycheck from.

Halloween game for this one. Definitely going to be going, any other BPers planning on attending this one as well?

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...ed-across-seven-seasons-as-an-nfl-play-caller

The biggest advantage Smith will have at Ohio State relative to his NFL offenses is the talent he inherits at quarterback and wide receiver. While his best quarterbacks in Atlanta and Pittsburgh were players at the tail end of their careers in Ryan and Rodgers, he’ll enter 2026 with arguably college football’s best quarterback in Julian Sayin, the only one of last year’s Heisman Trophy finalists who’s still playing college football. He’ll also have one of the nation’s most talented receiving corps, led by a superstar in Jeremiah Smith, while most of his NFL offenses had limited depth at wideout.

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buckeyemania11 said:

Ffrench is going to be one of the more comical wastes of money of this portal cycle. The #2 WR in Whittingham and his OCs offense is like the 4th option at best.

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He'll be in the Portal again by season's end anyway