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LGHL Five Metallica songs to preview Ohio State’s 2025 season
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Five Metallica songs to preview Ohio State’s 2025 season
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 Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images
The two-night headliner at Sonic Temple Music Festival this weekend have a number of songs that correlate to questions we have about the upcoming season for Ohio State football.
Over the new four days the Sonic Temple Music Festival invades Historic Columbus Crew Stadium. I’ve attended the event numerous times over the years, and now I live a stones throw from the stadium so I often can hear some of the music from my front yard. Just watching the setup and tear down of the stages in one of the side parking lots before and after the festival is a sight in itself.
Sonic Temple this year will be like no other since legendary band Metallica will headline two nights of the four-night event. They were supposed to do this back in 2020 but COVID-19 cancelled the festival.
The first time I saw Metallica live came back in 2017 when they headlined the final night of what was then called Rock On The Range. While that night had some wild storms before Metallica took the stage, the rain couldn’t damper my excitement to see them live. The band certainly didn’t disappoint.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25986323/2189872165.jpg "Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation Presents The Helping Hands Concert And Auction 2024")
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Since Metallica will close out two nights of Sonic Temple, I figured it’d be fun to pick out some songs from the band to tie in to Ohio State’s 2025 season. Over the years Metallica has changed when it comes not only to their performing members, as well as when it comes to their philosophies as a band. Finding similarities between Ohio State in 2025 and Metallica is an easy task.
Alright, I know this is originally a Bob Seger song that Metallica covered, but this perfectly describes Ohio State football in 2025. Ryan Day has plenty of holes to fill this season after 14 Buckeyes were selected in last month’s NFL Draft. Ohio State has to break in a new starting quarterback, replace two outstanding running backs, a new defensive line, and adjust to a number of new assistant coaches.
In a way, “Turn the Page” also describes Ryan Day as head coach of the Buckeyes. The song is about the ups and downs of a musician’s life on the road. Day has went through numerous ups and downs over the last few years while in charge at Ohio State. Fans were on edge heading into the Tennessee game after Day suffered his fourth straight loss to Michigan. Then in mid-January he was on top of the world after leading the Buckeye to a national title.
Now Day and Ohio State have to leave the 2024 season in the past. Winning the first 12-team playoff was an outstanding feat but 2025 is a whole new season. While there are lessons they can take with them this year from last season, the Buckeyes now are on a mission to win back-to-back titles.
Monster is the perfect description of Jeremiah Smith. The wide receiver had a phenomenal first season as a Buckeye, catching 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 scores. As a freshman, Smith immediately asserted himself as one of the most dominant wide receivers in the country. With his catch late in the fourth quarter against Notre Dame on a deep pass from Will Howard, Smith clinched the national title for Ohio State.
What is scary about Smith is he is barely scratching the surface when it comes to how talented he is. Had Smith been eligible for this year’s NFL Draft he likely would have been the top pick. Luckily for Ohio State, Smith will be in Columbus for two more seasons before he is draft eligible, giving him plenty of time to continue to rewrite the school’s records for wide receivers.
There are a couple differences this year for Smith that will be interesting to see play out. Not only will Smith be working with a new starting quarterback, he will also be the obvious top option in the passing game. Even though Smith was the most explosive weapon on offense for the Buckeyes last year, he was able to line up with senior Emeka Egbuka. Now Smith is undoubtedly the big dog at wide receiver for Ohio State, as well as in college football.
After transferring to Ohio State from Alabama, safety Caleb Downs put opposing defenses to sleep on his way to earning All-American honors. Even though Smith his stats weren’t quite as impressive as he posted as in his freshman season at Alabama, there is no denying the impact Downs had on the field for the Buckeyes. Downs anchored a defense that really tightened up after falling at Oregon in October.
Much like Smith, Downs is primed for an even bigger 2025. The supporting cast around Downs will be a little greener this year, which means we are like to see a boost on the stat sheet from Downs when it comes to tackles and interceptions. Expect Downs to showcase even further why he will be a top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
If you need any more evidence on just how good Downs is, look no further than Matt Patricia. The new Ohio State defensive coordinator sounds genuinely excited to work with Downs and create schemes to allow the safety to wreck havoc. Patricia had worked with some tremendous defensive talents in the NFL, so hearing him gush about Downs only amplifies what we can expect from the junior in 2025.
This has to be the year that Ryan Day gets past Michigan for the first time since 2019. There is no excuse for Ohio State to have lost four in a row to the Wolverines. Last year’s 13-10 loss to Michigan was especially tough to stomach since the Buckeyes were obviously the more talented team.
Seeing Sherrone Moore bully Day into playing the game Michigan wanted them to play was especially concerning. Luckily Day and Ohio State were able to redeem themselves by going on to win a national title.
Although this year’s game is being played in Ann Arbor, Michigan feels ripe for the picking. The Wolverines lost some key pieces from last year’s defense, which carried the team since the offense struggled to put points on the board. How successful Michigan will be this year is how quickly Bryce Underwood finds his footing at quarterback at the college level.
Despite how highly touted Underwood is, there are bound to be growing pains. Whether he has found consistency and comfort ahead of The Game will go a long way in telling how this year’s rivalry game will play out.
The same could be said for Julian Sayin, who will likely start the season at quarterback for the Buckeyes. It isn’t a given that Sayin will be a smashing success in his first year at quarterback. Given how Day has been able to seamlessly transition new starters when needed, I do have confidence Sayin will be fine. Day finally plays his game against Michigan, as Ohio State heads into the playoff with morale decidedly different this year.
Half the battle now in the college football season is staying healthy. Aside from the season-ending knee injury Josh Simmons suffered against Oregon in October, the Buckeyes largely stayed healthy throughout their title run. There were definitely bumps and bruises but there weren’t many games missed by starters during the season.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25986324/2210251015.jpg "Ohio State Spring Showcase")
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
An area to keep your eyes on is at running back. Last year Ohio State was blessed to have TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins to carry the load on the ground. Stepping in this year will be James Peoples and CJ Donaldson.
Peoples hasn’t seen much time on the field outside of mop-up duty, while Donaldson received a healthy workload at West Virginia. Henderson and Judkins were able to stay healthy throughout the year, which Peoples and Donaldson will have to do because there isn’t much in experiences depth behind them.
The good news is Day has already been through the grind once so he’ll know the best way to keep his team fresher as the season rolls along. Also, a little bit of injury luck is needed. Ohio State will need to hope they didn’t use it all up last season.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images
The two-night headliner at Sonic Temple Music Festival this weekend have a number of songs that correlate to questions we have about the upcoming season for Ohio State football.
Over the new four days the Sonic Temple Music Festival invades Historic Columbus Crew Stadium. I’ve attended the event numerous times over the years, and now I live a stones throw from the stadium so I often can hear some of the music from my front yard. Just watching the setup and tear down of the stages in one of the side parking lots before and after the festival is a sight in itself.
Sonic Temple this year will be like no other since legendary band Metallica will headline two nights of the four-night event. They were supposed to do this back in 2020 but COVID-19 cancelled the festival.
The first time I saw Metallica live came back in 2017 when they headlined the final night of what was then called Rock On The Range. While that night had some wild storms before Metallica took the stage, the rain couldn’t damper my excitement to see them live. The band certainly didn’t disappoint.
Since Metallica will close out two nights of Sonic Temple, I figured it’d be fun to pick out some songs from the band to tie in to Ohio State’s 2025 season. Over the years Metallica has changed when it comes not only to their performing members, as well as when it comes to their philosophies as a band. Finding similarities between Ohio State in 2025 and Metallica is an easy task.
“Turn the Page”
Alright, I know this is originally a Bob Seger song that Metallica covered, but this perfectly describes Ohio State football in 2025. Ryan Day has plenty of holes to fill this season after 14 Buckeyes were selected in last month’s NFL Draft. Ohio State has to break in a new starting quarterback, replace two outstanding running backs, a new defensive line, and adjust to a number of new assistant coaches.
In a way, “Turn the Page” also describes Ryan Day as head coach of the Buckeyes. The song is about the ups and downs of a musician’s life on the road. Day has went through numerous ups and downs over the last few years while in charge at Ohio State. Fans were on edge heading into the Tennessee game after Day suffered his fourth straight loss to Michigan. Then in mid-January he was on top of the world after leading the Buckeye to a national title.
Now Day and Ohio State have to leave the 2024 season in the past. Winning the first 12-team playoff was an outstanding feat but 2025 is a whole new season. While there are lessons they can take with them this year from last season, the Buckeyes now are on a mission to win back-to-back titles.
“Some Kind of Monster”
Monster is the perfect description of Jeremiah Smith. The wide receiver had a phenomenal first season as a Buckeye, catching 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 scores. As a freshman, Smith immediately asserted himself as one of the most dominant wide receivers in the country. With his catch late in the fourth quarter against Notre Dame on a deep pass from Will Howard, Smith clinched the national title for Ohio State.
What is scary about Smith is he is barely scratching the surface when it comes to how talented he is. Had Smith been eligible for this year’s NFL Draft he likely would have been the top pick. Luckily for Ohio State, Smith will be in Columbus for two more seasons before he is draft eligible, giving him plenty of time to continue to rewrite the school’s records for wide receivers.
There are a couple differences this year for Smith that will be interesting to see play out. Not only will Smith be working with a new starting quarterback, he will also be the obvious top option in the passing game. Even though Smith was the most explosive weapon on offense for the Buckeyes last year, he was able to line up with senior Emeka Egbuka. Now Smith is undoubtedly the big dog at wide receiver for Ohio State, as well as in college football.
“Enter Sandman”
After transferring to Ohio State from Alabama, safety Caleb Downs put opposing defenses to sleep on his way to earning All-American honors. Even though Smith his stats weren’t quite as impressive as he posted as in his freshman season at Alabama, there is no denying the impact Downs had on the field for the Buckeyes. Downs anchored a defense that really tightened up after falling at Oregon in October.
Much like Smith, Downs is primed for an even bigger 2025. The supporting cast around Downs will be a little greener this year, which means we are like to see a boost on the stat sheet from Downs when it comes to tackles and interceptions. Expect Downs to showcase even further why he will be a top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
If you need any more evidence on just how good Downs is, look no further than Matt Patricia. The new Ohio State defensive coordinator sounds genuinely excited to work with Downs and create schemes to allow the safety to wreck havoc. Patricia had worked with some tremendous defensive talents in the NFL, so hearing him gush about Downs only amplifies what we can expect from the junior in 2025.
“The Thing That Should Not Be”
This has to be the year that Ryan Day gets past Michigan for the first time since 2019. There is no excuse for Ohio State to have lost four in a row to the Wolverines. Last year’s 13-10 loss to Michigan was especially tough to stomach since the Buckeyes were obviously the more talented team.
Seeing Sherrone Moore bully Day into playing the game Michigan wanted them to play was especially concerning. Luckily Day and Ohio State were able to redeem themselves by going on to win a national title.
Although this year’s game is being played in Ann Arbor, Michigan feels ripe for the picking. The Wolverines lost some key pieces from last year’s defense, which carried the team since the offense struggled to put points on the board. How successful Michigan will be this year is how quickly Bryce Underwood finds his footing at quarterback at the college level.
Despite how highly touted Underwood is, there are bound to be growing pains. Whether he has found consistency and comfort ahead of The Game will go a long way in telling how this year’s rivalry game will play out.
The same could be said for Julian Sayin, who will likely start the season at quarterback for the Buckeyes. It isn’t a given that Sayin will be a smashing success in his first year at quarterback. Given how Day has been able to seamlessly transition new starters when needed, I do have confidence Sayin will be fine. Day finally plays his game against Michigan, as Ohio State heads into the playoff with morale decidedly different this year.
“Broken, Beat & Scarred”
Half the battle now in the college football season is staying healthy. Aside from the season-ending knee injury Josh Simmons suffered against Oregon in October, the Buckeyes largely stayed healthy throughout their title run. There were definitely bumps and bruises but there weren’t many games missed by starters during the season.
An area to keep your eyes on is at running back. Last year Ohio State was blessed to have TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins to carry the load on the ground. Stepping in this year will be James Peoples and CJ Donaldson.
Peoples hasn’t seen much time on the field outside of mop-up duty, while Donaldson received a healthy workload at West Virginia. Henderson and Judkins were able to stay healthy throughout the year, which Peoples and Donaldson will have to do because there isn’t much in experiences depth behind them.
The good news is Day has already been through the grind once so he’ll know the best way to keep his team fresher as the season rolls along. Also, a little bit of injury luck is needed. Ohio State will need to hope they didn’t use it all up last season.
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2025 scUM Shenanigans, Arguments - NCAA: no wins taken away, no postseason ban
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- College Football
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Pro tip. Always have a spiked collar on your gerbil, that way when in gets stuck in.... Cracks and crevices... As they tend to do...
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