LGHL Uncut Podcast: Ryan Day, Jim Knowles, players discuss victory over Notre Dame
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State Athletics

Egbuka, Ransom, Eichenberg, Stroud, Hall, and Johnson discuss the big-time win from the players’ perspective.

Throughout the year, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

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On this episode of “Land-Grant Holy Land Uncut,” head coach Ryan Day, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, and Ohio State players wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, safety Lathan Ransom, linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, quarterback C.J. Stroud, defensive tackle Michael Hall, and wide receiver Xavier Johnson. The Buckeyes discuss the 21-10 victory over No. 5 Notre Dame and how the team’s emphasis on toughness during the offseason helped the defense and running the ball win the day.

Stroud discusses how it is often difficult to get things locked into place in the first game, but how the offense got things clicking in the second half. Eichenberg discussed how the performance of Hall and the defensive line allowed the linebackers to have one of their best performances in recent memory.


Contact Matt Tamanini
Twitter: @BWWMatt

Music by: www.bensound.com

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You’re Nuts: What was the biggest pleasant surprise from Ohio State in Week 1?
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

We learned a lot in the Buckeyes’ 21-10 win over Notre Dame.

Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.

In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.

This week’s topic: What was the biggest pleasant surprise from Ohio State in Week 1?

Josh’s Take


While the top-5 matchup between Notre Dame and Ohio State certainly produced a wide range of emotions and plenty of nervous moments (at least for yours truly), I can’t say the end result was altogether surprising. Sure, both Gene and I predicted a higher scoring game on Saturday night, but we were aligned on approximately a 10-point margin of victory for the Buckeyes.

Neither of us believed that OSU was going to blow Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish out of the water, because Week 1 tends to be an odd, fluky, often sloppy week of football, regardless of talent or ranking. Add in the fact that this was a prestige matchup, with history, emotions, etc., and I think that’s where you end up with a recipe for potential disaster — if you belong to Buckeye Nation.

But, alas, the good guys prevailed, and they took down a talented team in Notre Dame. I believe the Irish will win a bunch of games, especially once they get the offense figured out. Tyler Buchner showed flashes of high-end potential, but also flashes of inexperience and football immaturity. The dual threat quarterback was not able to rely on his legs in the second half, and missed the mark on a number of passing attempts. Some of that can be attributed to his lack of previous playing time, but I am going to give most of the credit to my pleasant Week 1 surprise: the coaching of Jim Knowles, along with the brilliant performance of his players on the Ohio State defense.

Throughout the offseason, I was cautiously optimistic that we would see a much-improved unit under Knowles. I loved what I saw from his defense(s) at Oklahoma State, and I believed that with more/better talent, he could put together something special in Columbus. The additions of Perry Eliano and Tim Walton were icing on the cake, in my opinion, and the news from fall camp further fed my optimism and excitement. But until you see proof of concept, you are never really sure. I guess there was a tiny part of me that thought we could see more of the same (2020 and 2021 performance). And a 54-yard completion on ND’s first play from scrimmage did not help matters.

However, you could see from the get-go that guys on the field were at least playing with a purpose, and with a sense of direction. See ball, get ball. Play fast. Play aggressive. Play mean... but do those things while maintaining composure and executing assignments. And executing assignments was a noticeable “theme” for me. Because the players on the field were pretty much the same.

The defensive line and linebacker groups looked familiar. Denzel Burke, Cam Brown, and Ronnie Hickman filled out most of the secondary. With the exception of Josh Proctor (who we are obviously familiar with) and Tanner McCalister, it was not as if the Buckeyes were running out seven or eight new faces. I found myself thinking: “Alright, it’s the same bunch of guys. Now what?” But right away, it was evident that the same players had a different mentality, and they were positioned to succeed. It was up to them to execute what they had been thoroughly and expertly taught.

Knowles has referred to himself as a teacher, and you could tell he took this defense to class all spring and summer. Missed assignments? Very few, if any. Players out of position? Rarely, if ever. Dumb penalties and/or mental mistakes? Nope. For the most part, guys knew where to be, and when to be there. And how refreshing was that? Because the issues in 2020 and 2021 could not be chalked up to lack of talent. It was gameplan, education, and execution. Nothing against former coaches, but those things were lacking post-Jeff Hafley. Knowles and his crew seem to have righted the ship (for now), and more importantly, they have established a mindset and an expectation.

I could discuss specific players (Mike Hall, Tommy Eichenberg, Lathan Ransom), but at the end of the day, 11 players on the same field at any given time made a collective difference. Poor gap-filling here, a missed tackle there, those things are going to happen during the course of any game. But consistently throughout this one, players 1-11 all executed at a higher than what we saw last year. Their new coaches put them in a position to succeed, and as a result, the Buckeyes produced their best defensive performance in years. While I was cautiously optimistic, I did not expect such dominance.

So kudos to Knowles, Eliano, Walton, and the GOAT Larry Johnson. Players from 2021 pitching a second-half shutout in 2022 was a much-needed pleasant surprise.

Gene’s Take


Like Josh, the Ohio State defense looking as good as it did was a huge pleasant surprise. Holding Notre Dame to 10 points while allowing nothing in the second half — and 72 total yards in the second half, at that — was something I did not think the Buckeyes would be capable of out of the gate. As my counterpart alluded to, it is largely the same group of players out there from last year’s defense which was just SO bad, I figured even for a defensive wiz like Jim Knowles, turning it around that fast would be darn near impossible. But hats off to Knowles. While Ohio State may not hold every opponent this season to 10 points or less, that was the best performance we’ve seen from them on that side of the ball in years.

However, it would be a very boring edition of You’re Nuts if we both just gushed about Ohio State’s defense the whole time, so I will avert my eyes elsewhere. For me, one of the biggest pleasant surprises from the Buckeyes’ Week 1 matchup was the play of the offensive line. Were they perfect? Absolutely not. But, what they showed was a toughness and the ability to push guys around when things mattered most, and THAT is something that has been lacking from that group for some time now.

When Ohio State is at its best offensively, they are going to be throwing the ball around the yard. We know Ryan Day is a quarterback guy, and as such the Buckeyes are going to look to throw the ball with C.J. Stroud and his crop of five-star receivers. Even still, we heard all offseason how much of an emphasis this year’s team would have on running the football. Day and his staff understand how important it is to be able to pick up the tough yards on the ground. All too often last season, OSU would get stuffed trying to pick up two or three yards on the ground on 3rd-and-short. During the fourth quarter on Saturday, the Bucks’ offensive line announced their presence with authority.

Ohio State ran 20 plays in the fourth quarter, and 16 of them were runs gaining a total of 85 yards and scoring the touchdown needed to ice the game. With just under 12 minutes remaining in the game, the Buckeyes put together a 14-play, 95-yard scoring drive that ate up over seven minutes of clock. Miyan Williams was a man possessed on that impressive possession, but the offensive line was the real key in keeping things moving. The front was pushing Notre Dame’s defense around and opening up massive holes for its running backs to waltz on through, and that was an area this offense lacked severely in 2021.

The line had its faults for sure. I though the pass protection could have been better despite allowing only the one sack, and obvious a handful of pre-snap penalties can be cleaned up. But as things generally tend to go with a new group of offensive linemen, it takes some time to guys to get a feel for one another and for the unit to fully gel. I think these guys are going to be a force to be reckoned with as the season goes on and they get more and more comfortable as a group. I expected Ohio State to have a solid offensive line this season, but their toughness and ability to bully a really good defense in the fourth quarter was a big pleasant surprise.

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Film Review: Jim Knowles as good as advertised with physical, fast defense against Notre Dame
Chris Renne via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Kyle Robertson-USA TODAY Sports

The Ohio State defense took over in the second half, and Knowles’ aggressive defensive philosophy showed how dominant it could be against Notre Dame.

The Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday Night with a lot of new faces on the defensive coaching staff. After an up and down – mostly down – season last year on the defensive side of the ball, Ryan Day made the decision to move on from three of his assistants last year. In Week 1, the Buckeyes reaped immediate rewards from the decision to bring Jim Knowles on as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator.

The former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator showed that his reputation was well earned, and with his most talented roster to date, his defensive unit posted a gem of a first performance. What Knowles brought with him to Ohio State was a highly structured, highly aggressive defensive philosophy, and that physical style of football was on full display. Knowles was brought in to instill toughness, and the Buckeyes defense showed they could win games when they need to. The Buckeyes were stout against the run, stingy against the pass, and forced six consecutive punts to close out the game.

When it was time to win, the defense stepped up, and throughout the game improvement from last season was shown in every facet. With the first real look of what Knowles envisions for Ohio State’s defense in the books, we can now take a look at how the vision was displayed on the field.


Pass Defense

For Ohio State fans, the pass defense might not have been the first box to check off, but the memories from last year of Anthony Brown looking like an All-American for Oregon and Tulsa throwing for over 400-yards were still open wounds. The Buckeyes gave up a few big plays in this regard, but the general feel of the performance was positive. Ohio State limited Notre Dame’s All-American tight end Michael Mayer to only five catches and 32 yards, and they limited Tyler Buchner to 2-of-10 passing to finish the game after going 8-of-8 to start.

Knowles was able to create a lot of problems for the first time starter Buchner after the defense settled in. They made Buchner uncomfortable by creating consistent pressure. As Knowles noted at the end of fall camp, the pass rush helps the coverage and vice versa. In the play below, the aggressiveness Knowles is known for was on full display when in a third-and-short situation, he brought six rushers.

The blitz is disguised really well here, and towards the bunch side is where Ohio State overloads the Notre Dame offensive line. Cam Brown (No. 26) for the Buckeyes comes on a corner blitz, making the pass rush to that side five-on-three. In coverage here, the defense is looking at quick game due to the down and distance. The remaining defenders in coverage have all the downfield passing options accounted for after Buchner makes his first reads, and Zach Harrison (No. 9) takes away the check down in the flat.

The combination of coverage and the overload blitz to the strong side allowed Eichenberg to get a free lane up the middle and he make a huge play on third down.


In the next example, Notre Dame is in a second-and-long situation with momentum building on their side. The clip starts a little later then initially planned, but if you pause the clip at the beginning, you can see the immediate penetration Mike Hall (No. 51) gets on the inside. This is a quarterback’s worst nightmare, and even though Buchner escapes the initial rush, the rest of the defensive line collapses the pocket to make the play. Once again the combination of coverage and pass rushing gave Notre Dame problems in a critical moment of the game.


The last play in this section shows how successful earlier blitzes can help a four man rush later in the game. This is not just straight up four man rush, as Knowles uses a double twist stunt, meaning the defensive tackles will push up the field to the outside and the defensive ends will wrap under into the inside gaps. Hall takes the two linemen up the field, and once Sawyer comes under, the right guard slips off Hall to pick up Sawyer. This gives Hall leverage on the right tackle, and he is able to come underneath and sack the quarterback to ice the game.


When Notre Dame tried to pass in the second half, Knowles and the Ohio State defense did an incredible job of remaining disciplined in coverage to go with an extremely effective pass rush. The defensive line had an incredible performance in limiting what Buchner did outside the pocket and making him feel uncomfortable at all times as a passer. This is a noticeable change to last season, where it felt like every time an opponent had a reasonable third down distance, they were able to pick the first down up.


Run Defense

The one takeaway that was written about with ample volume this offseason were the struggles Ohio State had stopping the run. There were a lot of reasons Ohio State struggled in this regard from scheme to physicality, but the overall product was an objective failure. The Buckeyes and Knowles had a lot to prove against a Notre Dame offense that prides itself on physicality up front.

In the first play here, Notre Dame is running their pin-and-pull inside zone run scheme. Notre Dame’s left tackle is uncovered to his inside gap, so he is pulling across the formation to the play side. This key gives the Ohio State defenders an immediate read on where the ball is going to go. J.T. Tuimoloau sets the edge after coming off the block from the right tackle. This allows Tuimoloau to shuffle with the running back and he makes the initial contact in the backfield.

Going back to the reading of keys, the linebackers flow and so does Ronnie Hickman, leading to a group of silver helmets around the ball in the backfield, which is a sight for sore eyes.


This next play was early in the contest, but this was a hint at more to come throughout the game. After giving up one of the biggest plays of the game that included a 15-yard penalty on top of it, the Buckeyes had to nail down early. The reason this play stood out to me was the fact every gap and both options were accounted for here. If you pause at the 0:02 second mark, you can see Ohio State’s straight line of defenders across the field in every gap. This takes away the quarterback run, and the interior penetration blows up the running back in the backfield for a huge second down stop early.


The run defense came a long way over the offseason, and with Buchner’s skillset as well as a decently experienced running back room, this was going to present an early challenge for the Buckeyes. One play set that wasn’t highlighted, but I’d be negligent without mentioning the sequence of two Notre Dame run plays in the second half.

The Irish ran a jet sweep zone read, and they gave the ball to the receiver in motion for a big gain. A few plays later, the Irish came running the same play, this time the Buckeyes took away the jet sweep and tackled Buchner in the backfield. The run defense was improved tenfold, and the adjustments made by Knowles in the moment highlighted that improvement the most.


Discipline

Lastly, the Buckeyes showed a new level of discipline on Saturday, and with that discipline came the toughness Ohio State fans were craving to see again. As a defense you don’t force six straight punts without discipline, and the Buckeyes won the game because of their defense playing structured, assignment football.

In the first play here, Notre Dame runs a toss sweep to the outside. When it comes to responsibility football, each player in this case does their job. Hickman (No. 14) sees this is an outside run, his responsibility here is keeping outside contain. He forces the cutback to Eichenberg, who flows and makes the initial contact behind the line of scrimmage. This play is finished by Harrison, who stays with his responsibility of the quarterback until he sees the ball in the hands of the running back. He then flows down the line to clean up if the running back does cut back, and in this case, he does.

This assignment football and discipline is the exact reason Notre Dame was unable to establish the run against Ohio State.


The last play of the day showed the improvement in the pass coverage. Ohio State was in a 3rd-and-7 obvious passing situation. Ohio State only brings four in their rush, this means they have seven defenders dropped in coverage to defend five receiving targets. Mayer was the obvious target here. Ohio State runs Hickman outside, leading to Mayer sitting in the middle short of the first down distance. Ransom breaks on the ball and makes a great tackle to make a timely third down stop with Notre Dame inside their own 10-yard line.

Once again, last year this play would have been a first down, and the Fighting Irish offense would have found this every third down they needed it. Not anymore though.


Now there might be questions surrounding how good Notre Dame’s offense actually is, but the teams that gave Ohio State trouble last year played similar styles to Notre Dame offensively. The Buckeyes couldn’t stop the run, didn’t make adjustments, and gave up easy passes on third downs leading to them being unable to get off the field. Notre Dame brought a well coached offensive line to Columbus to battle the Buckeyes, and a quarterback who could bring multiple dimensions to the table as an athlete.

The Buckeyes were prepared for every trick Notre Dame was ready to throw at their defense, and that all comes from the new identity under Jim Knowles. Ohio State’s defenders were playing fast and aggressive at all three levels while playing disciplined responsibility football. Knowles showed Ohio State fans there is no need to sacrifice one for the other. The physicality was there, and the Buckeyes are just scratching the surface in the potential under Knowles, who said the defense was relatively basic.

Ohio State’s defense still has a lot to prove — this was one game. For a debut though, the film shows Knowles couldn’t have asked for a better start as the defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

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LordJeffBuck said:

So, what's Clemson's gimmick?

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Fielding what they call an offense.

billmac91 said:

I feel like CJ Stroud has taken some unfair criticism in the game for “poor throws”.

If you rewatch the tape, his receivers didn’t do the small things we always took for granted with Olave and Wilson.

Emeka overran a route where he was open, that could’ve been a TD possibly, if he sits in the zone rather than over-running his route into a defender. CJ read it beatifully and while it looked like he threw behind Emeka, Emeka should’ve sat down where CJ put it.

There was also an underthrow to Marvin Harrison JR. On a sideline route that looked like a poor throw. Marvin actually pulled up on the route too soon. On comebacks to the QB OSU emphasizes super aggressive explosion back to QB to beat DB to ball……Harrison cut his comeback short expecting the ball to reach him…..CJ anticipated Marvin coming back even more aggressively to ball which accounted for a 2 yard underthrow.

just little things we will get fixed……I’d just cation people to understand when u see a QB not a WR in the numbers, sometimes (often times) it’s the WR not doing the right thing.

CJ was actually phenomenal on Saturday. Much better than the average fan woukd notice…..

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I'm interested to see a film breakdown of NDs defense. Seems like they were happy to drop 8 and sometimes even 9 players into coverage, daring CJ to throw through tight windows. Felt like an NFL game where you have to patiently dink and dunk until the defense gets greedy.

BB73 said:

I think one of the tickers today said this was the FBS school to score 7 without a TD since 2000. Didn’t say who the prior team was.

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I heard one of the commentators say it hasn't happened since at least 2000, but they didn't know when it last happened. Even if it 2000, once every 22 years or so is pretty rare!

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The players hoisting Tressel up on their shoulders during the halftime recognition was cool.

Tick… tick… tick… BOOM!!

Notre Dame Defensive Player to Watch: Safety Brandon Joseph
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 Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Joseph is a ball-hawking safety and former Northwestern Wildcat who has been a thorn in Ohio State’s side in the past.

Notre Dame returns a ton of experience on the defensive side of the ball from a unit which only surrendered 19.7 points per game last season. The Irish finished that 2021 campaign ranked 15th in scoring defense, and did not lose too much in the way of experience.

Kyle Hamilton was an all-world type of player at safety, but he only played in seven games. And Drew White was a steadying presence and fine player at linebacker, but he is the only player among ND’s top five leading tacklers who did not return to South Bend. So the sum of the parts should be solid, despite losing a first-round NFL Draft pick (Hamilton) and a former captain (White).

White’s production should be adequately replaced by some combination of Bo Bauer (13 games, one start in 2021) and Marist Liufau, who missed the 2021 season, but started games in 2020. Hamilton, on the other hand, was arguably ND’s best defensive player – when healthy – during each of the last three seasons. In 31 career games for the Irish, he totaled 138 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 8 INT and 16 passes defended. When he was not directly involved in a play, he was at least a part of the mental equation for opposing offenses.

Hamilton’s presence will be missed. Fortunately for ND, they may have added an even better playmaker at the safety position. His name is Brandon Joseph, and he is 2022’s first Defensive Player to Watch.


If Joseph’s name sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Or at least it should be, to Ohio State fans not living under a rock for the past few years. Then again, I’m not sure I could blame you if chose to do so intentionally. It’s been a wild ride.

Joseph made his mark in the Big Ten, playing three seasons for Pat Fitzgerald and the Northwestern Wildcats. He joined their program in 2019 after a decorated high school career in football-rich Texas. But NU’s academic reputation likely drew him out of the Lone Star State, which is somewhat surprising given that he grew up in the literal backyard of Texas A&M. Joseph attended College Station High School, and helped lead that team to a state championship as a senior.

But Jimbo Fisher’s loss was Fitzgerald’s gain, as the star safety developed into arguably the best Northwestern football player since Fitzgerald himself.

Photo by Daniel Bartel/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
A former Big Ten foe will suit up for the Irish on Saturday night

The now-former Wildcat played sparingly in 2019, appearing in just four games as a true freshman. Joseph was credited with four total tackles, the first of which came against — you guessed it — Ohio State. It was an unassuming season, to say the least. And there were few, if any, flashes of the player he would eventually become. But four games was apparently all it took for Joseph to get acclimated to big boy football. He hit the ground running in 2020, and had arguably the breakout performance of the year. It was one that very few saw coming, and not just because it looked like the Big Ten might punt on football altogether.

As a second-year safety, Joseph took a monumental leap. In eight games, he came down with six interceptions (!), tying him for the NCAA lead, and totaled 46 tackles from his secondary spot. He picked off three passes during the course of NU’s first three games, and had seven tackles and two INT in an upset of 10th-ranked Wisconsin. The Wildcats started out 5-0, with Joseph and a trio of linebackers driving the bus. They held opponents to 12.6 points per game over that five-game stretch, and eventually earned a spot against the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Ohio State defeated Northwestern in an ugly game, but Joseph’s play stood out. He and his teammates gave Justin Fields and Ryan Day all sorts of problems, limiting the Buckeyes to a mere 22 points. Fields completed less than 50 percent of his passes and was picked off twice, including a highlight grab by the star DB to prevent a touchdown. It was a heartbreaker for NU, but they rebounded to stomp Auburn in the Citrus Bowl, and their second-year safety was recognized for his stellar play. Joseph earned First Team All-Big Ten and First Team All-American recognition, becoming the first Wildcat defender to do so since Fitzgerald in 1996.


2021 saw more of the same from Joseph, as he came down with three interceptions and was credited with 79 total tackles. He also added his first and only career sack, as well as a single fumble recovery. His team, however, faltered in a major way. Northwestern came crashing back down to earth with a 3-9 record, and the outlook for 2022 did not appear to be any more promising.

With the writing potentially on the wall, Joseph entered into the transfer portal and ended up in South Bend as part of a talented defense. Now he will be looking to make life difficult for the Buckeyes again, and perhaps even the score in big games.

As a player, Joseph can do it all. He is known for his center field prowess, and I would argue that he is an impressive, underrated tackler. While he might not bring the lumber a la Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame’s new star safety had 54 solo tackles (out of 79) in 2021, showing an ability to hit and wrap, as opposed to hit and wait for help. That being said, patrolling the back end is where Joseph does his best work. Nine interceptions in 20 starts is flat-out impressive at any level. Joseph combines range with elite awareness and instincts, and I expect him to make C.J. Stroud really work for downfield completions.

The Fighting Irish have few studs on the defensive side of the ball, including Isaiah Foskey and J.D. Bertrand, but Joseph is the difference maker for me. He knows where to be, and more importantly, when to be there. He will be a deterrent to the Buckeyes making big plays over the top, which is something I think they would like to do — especially with a reshuffled offensive line and at least some curiosity surrounding the run game. Saturday will be a challenge for the Ohio State offense, but here’s hoping they can come out firing against Joseph and a solid Notre Dame defense.

Go Bucks!

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Ask LGHL: A smörgåsbord of outstanding nagging questions
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 Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.

Every day for the entirety of the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.

Questions:

Question 1: Running back depth?


On his radio show today, head coach Ryan Day said that TreVeyon Henderson will be the starter — no surprise there — Miyan Williams will be the backup (I would imagine that he gets at least six to eight carries during non-garbage time on Saturday), true freshman Dallan Hayden will be third, and then Arizona State transfer Chip Trayanum will be the emergency, fourth-string option.

Trayanu, played two years at RB at ASU, but the Ohio native came to Columbus to be a linebacker. I would imagine he is in the mix for a backup slot in the LB rotation, so it would have to be a pretty ugly situation for him to jump back to offense.

Question 2: Can the O line block late to kill the clock in tight games?


I wrote about the offensive line earlier this week (check out the link below), but in short, I would expect a different attitude and level of production out of that unit this year. In fairness, in 2021, the Buckeyes had the third-best yards per carry average in the country, and they were generally very good in pass protection; they gave up only 17 sacks all season — good for 14th nationally. However, the issues arose when the team needed the line to clear the way in high-pressure, short-yardage situations.


Former position coach Greg Studrawa thought that it would be a good idea to have an entire starting line — save the center — made up of tackles. When you are as talented as Ohio State is, you can get away with playing two interior linemen dramatically out of position against the majority of teams, but when it comes to the best competition that you will see all year, that is generally not a great idea.

I think that new o-line coach Justin Frye getting guys back into their proper positions will be a huge improvement in and of itself. The players also have spent the past nine months hearing about how they are soft and incapable of winning at the line of scrimmage. Based on their comments during training camp, those storylines really bothered them and they are looking to prove them wrong.

So, we won’t really know if there has been a major improvement in that department until they are tested in a close game — which may or may not happen on Saturday — but I feel pretty confident in saying that they were an above-average offensive line last year who will be improved this year, and has the potential to be the best in the country if they can get things figured out.

Question 3: CB Depth?


This is an easy one: There is no CB depth. Ohio State only has six scholarship cornerbacks on the roster; that’s the definition of “Not great, Bob.” Fortunately, despite some early camp concerns, it appears that everyone is pretty healthy and ready to play on Saturday. I still have my doubts as to whether or not the coaching staff will be willing to let Cam Brown and Jordan Hancock shoulder a normal workload given the injuries that they are coming off of, but we will see.

Obviously, Denzel Burke is penciled in as one of the starters and, as long as he is healthy, Brown should be the other. If injuries were not a concern, I would guess that Hancock would get a decent amount of run, but it’s hard to predict that at this point.

During camp, new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles told the media that when it comes to the secondary, he prefers to keep the best guys on the field as much as possible, because it’s important to give them as many chances to see what the offense is doing from the backend as possible.

I think that JK Johnson will also get on the field on Saturday, but whether that is in crunch time or not likely depends on how much Knowles wants to rotate guys and the health of players ahead of him on the depth chart.

True freshmen Jyaire Brown and Ryan Turner round out the official CB room and likely won’t see the field until games are decided in hand. Safeties Jantzen Dunn and Cam Martinez also have gotten some reps at corner during camp, but that was likely done mostly in case the injuries that Burke, Brown, and Hancock were dealing with proved to be more long-term than they now appear to be.

Question 4: How do the LBs all get snaps?


This one is a bit tough to answer, because we don’t really know yet how Knowles is going to deploy his linebackers. The assumption is that he will play with two traditional backers in a 4-2-5 scheme. While that might change depending on opponent, even against a run and tight end-focused offense like Notre Dame, it appears that hybrid safety/linebacker Kourt Williams will be called upon to come up and fill in a traditional LB spot.

So, much like how Knowles wants to limit the rotation in the secondary, I would imagine that Steele Chambers — clearly the best linebacker on the team last year — and co-captain Tommy Eichenberg will be the bulk of the snaps. Trayanum will probably be the backup to Chambers (interesting that they are both converted running backs) and veterans Cody Simon and Teradja Mitchell will factor in behind Eichenberg.

I think that when OSU goes with a traditional three-linebacker set, Mitchell will get the call at strong-side, but I just don’t know how often that will be in Knowles’ defense. We could see some of it on Saturday and against Wisconsin and Iowa, and maybe even Penn State, Michigan State, and TTUN; or we could not see it at all. It is really all a guessing game to how the new defensive coordinator is going to play things this season.

Question 5: Does the Defense improve to even average to help out the offense?


I think that the defense was decidedly average last season. Depending on the metric, they were okay when looking at the entire swath of college football. The problem with that of course is that Ohio State doesn’t compare itself to the widest possible cross-section of the sport; they are compared to a tiny handful of teams including Alabama, Georgia, and Clemson. And in that respect, the defense was well below average in 2021.

However, perhaps it is my scarlet and gray colored glasses, or simply being swept up in the preseason hype, but it just feels as though the players and the new defensive coaching staff have figured something out. We know the talent is there, the recruiting rankings prove that; but will the scheme and execution be there when it matters most? I think it will.

For two years, I have been beating the drum that the OSU defense needs to be more aggressive and flexible. Use the athleticism of the players on the roster to put offenses into uncomfortable situations and tailor what you run to the talent you have in the room.

For far too long, the defensive coaching staff tried to fit round pegs into square holes because they were tied to a defense that had worked in Columbus before. But times change, talent shifts, and it is incumbent on the coaches to adapt in order to put their current players in the best situations to succeed.

I don’t think that the previous defensive staff did that nearly enough, but I think this new one already has.

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Ohio State women’s basketball releases full 2022-23 non-conference schedule
1ThomasCostello 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

It features a slew of potential ranked challengers and three in-state opponents.

Thursday, the Ohio State Buckeyes women’s basketball team unveiled part of their 2022-23 regular season schedule. After a few larger matchups were announced throughout the summer, the Buckeyes began September sharing the rest of their 11-game non-conference slate.

Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side starts the regular season with an exhibition. On Halloween, Northeast Ohio’s Notre Dame College travels a couple of hours south to Columbus. It’s a warm-up for a heck of a start to the games that count, welcoming the Tennessee Volunteers to the Schottenstein Center on Nov 8.

The rest of the games are true to the original announcements. Ohio State travels to New England to face Boston College on Nov. 13, Louisville, KY on Nov. 30 for the ACC/B1G Challenge versus the University of Louisville, and finish their non-conference schedule on Dec. 20 and 21 at the San Diego Invitational. The first of two games in California are against the University of South Florida Bulls and either the Arkansas Razorbacks or Oregon Ducks the next day.

Elsewhere in the schedule are six games against mid-tier conference teams, with one in-state away matchup.

After their trip to Boston College, the Scarlet & Gray head to Southwest Ohio to face the Ohio University Bobcats on Nov. 17 in a contest between the two Ohio universities. In 2022, the Bobcats had a 15-15 record and lost in the first round of the Mid-American Conference’s 2022 tournament.

The other five non-conference games are against McNeese State on Nov. 20, Wright State on Nov. 23, North Alabama on Nov. 27, New Hampshire on Dec. 8, and the University of Albany on Dec. 16, all in Columbus, Ohio.

Last season, the Buckeyes didn’t reach as high as they could in the weekly rankings mainly due to their non-conference schedule. In 2021, Ohio State didn’t face a single ranked team, and their lone road game against Syracuse University — who was in a down year — yielded the only defeat of their non-conference games.

In the upcoming season, the Buckeyes play potentially five games against ranked opponents, testing the 2021-22 Big Ten Regular Season Champions with the hopes of pushing them further into the national conversation.

Another item to note is that all of the games will be held at the Schottenstein Center, and none at the Covelli Center, like they had once during the 21/22 season. Even though Land-Grant Holy Land thinks its a great idea to make a venue change.

The times for the games are still pending. Also, the full Big Ten schedule is still pending, with its expected release before the fall.

A schedule release now means that September is the last month there won’t be Ohio State basketball in Columbus, Ohio.

Here’s the full non-conference schedule:

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MC&J: Notre Dame-Ohio State undoubtedly tops Week 1’s slate involving Big Ten teams
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 Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Games involving Big Ten teams are sprinkled throughout the weekend ahead of the main event on Saturday night in Columbus.

Week 0 ATS: 4-3 (2-3 National, 2-0 B1G)

By now you should know how this works. In a normal week, you’ll see picks for some of the big national games on Thursdays, followed by Big Ten picks on Fridays. This week is a little different since the Big Ten has a couple games on Thursday. Check back tomorrow for a healthy collection of national game picks in Week 1.

B1G picks (All games Saturday unless otherwise noted):


(All lines courtesy of Draftkings Sportsbook.)

Penn State (-3.5) v. Purdue - Thursday Sept. 1 8:00 p.m. - FOX

There is really only one thing you need to know about this game — it’s under the lights at Purdue. As a Buckeye fan, I’ve seen this horror movie before. Although Purdue doesn’t have Rondale Moore, or even a David Bell on their roster, Aidan O’Connell can still put huge numbers on the board. Over his last five games last year, O’Connell tossed 19 touchdowns and threw for at least 390 yards in four of those contests.

Even though Penn State has a lot of questions, it feels like we know what we are going to get with the Nittany Lions. Sean Clifford is entering his 53rd season as starting quarterback, so it’s not like he is going to show us anything new. I’m still not impressed by James Franklin, who is 11-11 in his last 22 games as Penn State’s head coach.

In a game that feels like a coin flip, I’ll gladly take 3.5 points with the home team. The Boilermakers not only win this game, they are going to finish this season with more wins than the Nittany Lions.

Purdue 31, Penn State 21


New Mexico State v. Minnesota (-36.5) - Thursday Sept. 1 9:00 p.m. - BTN

I’m pretty high on Minnesota in the Big Ten West this year. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Golden Gophers are taking on the Buckeyes in early December in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis.

Having said that, I think this is A LOT of points. New Mexico State is really bad, but the Aggies at least already have a game under their belt this year, so they could be a little crisper than Minnesota. Plus, Minnesota might take it easy on former head coach Jerry Kill.

P.J. Fleck will get Mohamed Ibrahim some work in Ibrahim’s first game since suffering a season-ending injury in last year’s opener against Ohio State. Don’t expect Ibrahim to see 30 carries though, especially since Minnesota should have this game well-in-hand pretty early. The Golden Gophers win by somewhere in the 28-35 point range.

Minnesota 44, New Mexico State 14


Western Michigan v. No. 15 Michigan State (-23) - Friday Sept. 2 7:00 p.m. - ESPN

If Mark Dantonio was still Michigan State’s head coach, I’d feel a little better about banking on the Spartans to sleepwalk through an early season game against a directional state school. Still, I am confident in siding with the Broncos since Michigan State has a lot they are trying to replace from last year’s team that won the Peach Bowl.

Western Michigan is coming off an 8-5 season where they also beat Pitt. The Broncos are a solid squad that has become one of the most consistent programs in the MAC under Tim Lester. Western Michigan isn’t going to beat Michigan State on Friday night, but they will at least make the Spartans work for the victory. Michigan State wins, just not by more than three touchdowns.

Michigan State 38, Western Michigan 21


Illinois v. Indiana (-3) - Friday Sept. 2 8:00 p.m. - FS1

I know it’s dangerous to put a ton of stock in a win over a bad Wyoming team. But, how do we know that Indiana isn’t just as terrible as Wyoming? Last year the Hoosiers were 2-10, with their only wins coming against Idaho and Western Kentucky. Indiana could be even worse this year than they were last year.



Illinois could be a bit of a surprise team this year, and I think they will contend to qualify for a bowl game. While that might not seem like a big deal, it definitely would help the rebuilding process in Champaign for Bret Bielema. Chase Brown had a strong season debut on Saturday, rushing for 151 yards and two touchdowns. The Fighting Illini show that the wrong team is favored here.

Illinois 31, Indiana 24


Colorado State v. No. 8 Michigan (-30.5) - 12:00 p.m. - ABC

As much as I’d love to clown Michigan all season long, it will be a lot sweeter when Ohio State beats an 11-0 or 10-1 Wolverine squad. It is obvious Jim Harbaugh wants to be elsewhere. He was interviewing for an NFL job on National Signing Day. Any schools with any stones would’ve canned Harbaugh immediately for missing NSD.

Just look at what Harbaugh is doing with the quarterback position, refusing to name a true starter. Luckily the Wolverines have a Charmin-soft schedule, so taking time to decide between Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy won’t hurt them here. Michigan rolls a Colorado State team that will need time to recover from Steve Addazio.

Michigan 51, Colorado State 13


Buffalo v. Maryland (-24) - 12:00 p.m. - BTN

It feels like it has been a while since Maryland has had this much momentum going into a season. The Terrapins finished last season by pantsing Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl, closing 2021 with a 7-6 record. Back are Taulia Tagovailoa, Dontay Demus Jr., and Rakim Jarrett, which should lead to Maryland putting plenty of points on the board.

Former Michigan assistant Maurice Linguist had a rough first season as head coach of the Buffalo, posting a 4-8 record in 2021. The 2022 season is going to get off to a rough start for Linguist and the Bulls, as they don’t have the weapons on offense to keep up with Terrapins.

Maryland 49, Buffalo 20


Rutgers v. Boston College (-7) - 12:00 p.m. - ACC Network

We have a battle of former Ohio State assistants here as Greg Schiano brings Rutgers to Chestnut Hill to take on Jeff Hafley’s Golden Eagles. If you are looking for offensive fireworks, you came to the wrong place. This game isn’t going to be easy on the eyes, as both teams have struggled on offense recently.

If anything, Boston College has a little bit of an advantage with Phil Jurkovec returning as starting quarterback after missing a good portion of last season due to injury. Even though Rutgers has a solid defense and can get some trick plays to work, I think the Golden Eagles have enough on offense to win by at least a touchdown.

Boston College 27, Rutgers 14


No. 5 Notre Dame v. No. 2 Ohio State (-17) - 7:30 p.m. - ABC

If there are any games during the season to fade me on, it’s probably Ohio State games. There are times when I am looking through scarlet and gray glasses. Always remember, bet with your head and not with your heart. Unfortunately, since this is an Ohio State site, it’s unavoidable that I’m going to be betting with my heart in Buckeye games.

Now that we got that out of the way, Saturday night feels like a great night to beat up on some Notre Damers. It’s going to be even better to watch the Fighting Irish get crushed into fine dust after listening to some of the things tight end Michael Mayer and former Buckeye Marcus Freeman are saying heading into this game. Even more hilarious is former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire trying to come at Ohio State from every angle on Twitter. Unfortunately for Malik, he is having about as much success with that as he did on the football field.

I’ll give Notre Dame this, they are a very solid team. The Fighting Irish are probably ranked a little higher than they should be, but that’s likely to try and throw some more fire on this already hot opening weekend matchup. Mayer is one of the best tight ends in the country, the offensive line is experienced, and there are some really nice pieces on defense, especially Northwestern transfer safety Brandon Joseph. Even with all that, the Domers feel overmatched here.

Ohio State has a lot to prove, especially on defense this year. Jim Knowles has brought a new attitude to a defense that was brutal at times in 2021. Knowles also brought Tanner McCalister, one of his most trusted defenders, with him from Oklahoma State, which should help some of the growing pains as the Buckeyes play a new defensive system. This feels like one of those statement games where the Buckeyes are all over new starting quarterback Tyler Buchner, who will be making his first start in front of a raucous Ohio State crowd.

All this and we haven’t even talked about the Buckeye offense yet. You know the type of explosiveness that we can see from C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and others. At first I was thinking that more than two touchdowns was a little high, but the more I think about it, I just don’t see how Notre Dame keeps pace in this one. Ohio State knows how close they are to a national title, and they’ll start the year looking like they are capable of winning one.

Ohio State 48, Notre Dame 24

National pick:


West Virginia v. No. 17 Pitt (-7.5) - Thursday 7:00 p.m. - ESPN

I feel like I’m missing something here. I know Pitt won the ACC last year. I also know that Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison no longer play for Pitt. Even though they brought in Kedon Slovis to replace Pickett, it feels like the Panthers might come back to earth a little this year after a memorable 2021.

West Virginia has a former USC quarterback of their own in JT Daniels. The addition of Daniels and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell should help to spark an offense that was inconsistent last season.

When these two schools were in the Big East, “The Backyard Brawl” was SPICY! The last time the rivals met was back in 2011, with West Virginia claiming a 21-20 win to earn their third straight victory over the Panthers. The Mountaineers make it four in a row over their northern rivals.

West Virginia 28, Pitt 24

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See sportsbook.draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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Ohio State men’s basketball player preview: Brice Sensabaugh
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Could Brice Sensabaugh be a one-and-done in the 2022 class?

As the basketball offseason continues and we move into the fall, Land-Grant Holy Land will put out our basketball player and team previews. There will be two previews per week leading all the way into the start of the season, starting with player previews.

Last time we highlighted Bruce Thornton. This time around, we are taking a look at fellow freshman, Brice Sensabaugh.


Name: Brice Sensabaugh
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 240 pounds
High School: Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, Florida
Class: Freshman
2021-22 stats: N/A

Outlook

Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Sensabaugh comes in as a guy who can pretty much do anything. He is listed at 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, but he probably walks around stronger and bigger than that. He can score at all three levels and defends multiple positions.

Sensabaugh shot up the recruiting rankings over the past year, finishing as the No. 65 player in the 2022 class nationally, the 19th-ranked small forward and the No. 12 player in Florida, according to the 247Sports Composite. He was a late addition to the Buckeyes class, but maybe save the best for last?

He also won Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Florida, becoming the second player in the Buckeyes’ 2022 class to win the award in their respective states (Bruce Thornton – Georgia).

Sensabaugh is also making it his priority to improve each and every day.

“The coaches are telling me to keep listening,” he told Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch. “Listening is a skill and I take pride in my ability to listen and build off that, so whatever I did well, build off that and listen to what I did wrong and keep trying to grow as fast as possible so I can contribute when the season comes.”

“The coaching staff just tells me, take my rhythm shots, slow down when I get the ball,” the freshman said. “If I’m wide open, take it. If I’m not, I’m playing the 4 right now so I have a bigger, slower guy on me so drive that and touch the paint and find a kick-out. We’re just trying to make the right play and wherever the ball ends that’s who’s taking the shot late in the clock.”

After the Kingdom League, Ohio high school legend and Michigan basketball legend Trey Burke had high praise for the young Buckeye.

“Honestly, before the game, I haven’t really followed college basketball, so I was hearing about him, but I hadn’t seen him play. But I’m impressed, very impressed,” Burke told Eleven Warriors after the Kingdom League. “The kids not scared, very competitive, didn’t back down from a challenge, very athletic. I like his game. I think the sky’s the limit for him. I told him after the game, ‘What I saw tonight, I want to see this year.’ So, I’m expecting big things from him.”

Burke went onto add that he thinks Sensabaugh not only has the physical tools, but the mental tools.

“I think (it takes) a high sense of self-confidence. Guys that come in right away and produce at a high level, they know who they are,” Burke also said over the summer. “Nobody has to tell them who they are, they just know who they are. It doesn’t take two or three missed shots to turn them off. Two or three missed shots might turn them off. Other guys might shy away from the challenge after that. But I seen a competitor in him tonight and I think Ohio State has a gem in him.”

Not a bad compliment from an NBA player.

Expectation


Sensabaugh has the most expectations set on him out of all of the freshmen coming into the program this season based on how he finished his high school career and how he performed at the Kingdom League. There has even been talk that he could be a one-and-done, similar to Malaki Branham, but that is obviously remains to be seen.

It will be interesting to see because he will not have the role Branham had on the 2021 team. Branham turned into the No. 2 scoring option on that team, and because of the depth on the 2022 squad, it is hard to imagine Sensabaugh becomes that heavily relied upon on. However, he is emerging as maybe the second-best shooter on the team behind Sean McNeil, which is great to see.

Prediction


At this point, especially after what he did over the summer in the Kingdom League, it is safe to say that Sensabaugh is going to be a sticking point in the rotation this season. I don’t think he will play the most minutes of any freshman, just because Bruce Thornton will play a lot out of necessity. However, Sensabaugh reportedly played some point guard in the Kingdom League, so he might be another one that could help take the burden off of Thornton at that position.

Sensabaugh should play 20-25 minutes a game, and he could very well average in the double-digits. He will be one of the most talked about freshmen in the conference.

Highlights

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Ohio State vs Notre Dame: The Rivarly That Never Was

The Big Ten Conference was formed in 1896, and by 1917 it counted as members every major football power in the upper midwest. All except one - Notre Dame.

Notre Dame began football in 1887 as an independent and it has stayed that way ever since (more or less - see below) despite various attempts to lure them into a conference. But in the early days, before Notre Dame became a brand name in college football, the small private Catholic school in South Bend, Indiana, actually tried to join the Big Ten. Although Notre Dame fit the Big Ten profile geographically, that factor was about the only match with the other conference members, most of whom (Northwestern and Chicago being the exceptions) were large state-operated "land grant" universities. The Big Ten could ignore the "small" and "private" aspects of Notre Dame, as the conference had previously done with Northwestern and the University of Chicago, but many of the key players had a serious problem with the "Catholic" element of that university.

The rift between Notre Dame and the Big Ten dates back to at least 1909. Back then, Notre Dame was a considered a "cupcake". From 1887 to 1908, the Fighting Irish sported an impressive overall record of 89-30-9 (.730 winning percentage), but the vast majority of those victories came against a motley crew of high schools, prep schools, medical schools, dental schools, law schools, future D-III programs, and private clubs such as the Illinois Cycling Club and the South Bend Howard Park Club. Against the relatively powerful Big Ten schools, Notre Dame had a miserable record of 10-23-4, with the Irish being outscored 189 to 518 in those 37 contests.

Led by the legendary Fielding Yost, Michigan was perhaps the most powerful program in the country in first decade of the Twentieth Century. Yost took over the Michigan program in 1901, and during his first eight years on the job his team posted an overall record of 69-5-2 (.921 winning percentage) with four national championships. Yost was ruthless in victory (his teams would "tramp on the injured and hurdle the dead" according to one sportswriter), but petulant in defeat.

In 1909, Notre Dame faced Michigan for the ninth time. The Wolverines had won all of the previous eight games by a combined score of 121 to 16, with Yost notching two of those wins (1902 and 1908). However, Notre Dame pulled off the upset in 1909, besting Michigan by the score of 11 to 3 in Ann Arbor. After the game Yost was the typical sore loser, claiming that the contest was nothing more than an exhibition game, with his team "caring little whether we won or lost."

But Yost obviously cared a lot more than he let on, as he subsequently cancelled the 1910 rematch with Notre Dame, claiming that the Fighting Irish were using ineligible players. Yost then blackballed Notre Dame and refused to play them for the remainder of his tenure at Michigan, which did not end until he finally retired as athletic director in 1941.

Yost was known as a virulent anti-Catholic, and during the 1920's he worked behind the scenes to keep Notre Dame from joining the Big Ten Conference. Under the direction of President Father Walsh, Notre Dame made an informal "goodwill tour" of the Big Ten schools to make its case to join the conference, but the tour hit a roadblock in Ann Arbor where Yost still held his grudge. In the mid-1920's Yost had a massive amount of sway within the conference, and his denigration of Notre Dame's athletics, academics, and religious affiliation was enough to convince the other Big Ten members to steer clear of South Bend. Although Notre Dame would eventually end up forming rivalries with several Big Ten teams (including Michigan after 1941), the football program would remain more-or-less unaligned until the present day.

In 1999, the Big Ten privately approached Notre Dame about joining the conference. Notre Dame's faculty senate overwhelmingly endorsed the idea by a vote of 25 to 4, the main lure being entrance into the Committee for Institutional Cooperation (CIC), which is essentially the academic and research wing of the Big Ten. However, Notre Dame's board of trustees, under severe pressure from prominent boosters and alumni, rejected the faculty's wishes and decided to keep "King Football" independent (and the sole beneficiary of a lucrative NBC television contract) despite the numerous benefits that the academic institution would have received by virtue of CIC membership.

Since 1999 there have been numerous conference expansions and realignments, including the Big Ten adding Nebraska in 2011; Maryland and Rutgers in 2014; and USC and UCLA scheduled to join in 2024. During this period of instability there have been persistent rumors of Notre Dame joining the Big Ten Conference, but the stumbling blocks were the aforementioned NBC contract as well as Notre Dame's desire to retain its numerous non-conference rivals such as Southern Cal (no longer an issue), Stanford, Boston College, and Navy. In 2014 Notre Dame essentially precluded any further entrees to or from the Big Ten by joining the Atlantic Coast Conference as a partial member, playing five ACC football games a year instead of a full conference slate. Unless, of course, the ACC falls apart in the next few years....

Notre Dame Versus the Big Ten

As mentioned above, Notre Dame has long-standing rivalries with several Big Ten programs, notably Michigan (44 games), Purdue (87 games), Michigan State (79 games, 59 with MSU as a Big Ten member), and Northwestern (49 games). For reasons discussed below, Ohio State never developed a rivalry with Notre Dame, despite the proximity of the two schools and the prestige of the two programs. Here's how Notre Dame has fared against the core members of the Big Ten Conference:

Big Ten Opponent	Number of Games	Notre Dame Record	Notre Dame Win %
Purdue Boilermakers	87	59-26-2	.690
Michigan State Spartans	79	49-29-1	.627
Northwestern Wildcats	49	38-9-2	.796
Michigan Wolverines	44	18-25-1	.443
Indiana Hoosiers	29	23-5-1	.810
Iowa Hawkeyes	24	13-8-3	.604
Wisconsin Badgers	17	8-7-2	.529
Illinois Fighting Illini	12	11-0-1	.958
Ohio State Buckeyes	6	2-4-0	.333
Minnesota Golden Gophers	5	4-0-1	.900
Chicago Maroons	4	0-4-0	.000
Versus Core Big Ten Teams	356	226-116-14	.654

Notre Dame vs Ohio State (1935)

Ohio State was the last of the "original" Big Ten schools to play Notre Dame. The first meeting between the two programs occurred on November 2, 1935, when Notre Dame was an already established football power (four national championships from 1918 to 1930 under the direction of Knute Rockne) and Ohio State was just beginning to emerge as such.

The 1935 contest was one of the first to be dubbed "The Game of the Century". The Fighting Irish traveled to Columbus with a perfect 5-0-0 record to face the Buckeyes, who sported a perfect 4-0-0 record of their own. A record-setting crowd of 81,018 packed Ohio Stadium to see the clash between national championship contenders.

The Buckeyes got off to a fast start with a 75-yard pick six in the first quarter, and they cruised to a 13-0 halftime lead. After a scoreless third quarter, Notre Dame staged a furious fourth-quarter comeback. The Irish scored a touchdown early in the final quarter to cut Ohio State's lead to 13-6, and then scored another touchdown with just under two minutes left on the clock. The PAT attempt was no good, and the Buckeyes still clung to a 13-12 lead with a chance to run out the clock. However, the Buckeyes fumbled the ball away near midfield and the Fighting Irish recovered. Notre Dame quickly drove down the field for their third touchdown of the quarter and took an 18-13 lead with 32 seconds remaining. The Buckeyes' final desperate drive ended with a quarterback sack as time expired.

Ohio State would rebound after the loss to Notre Dame to finish the 1935 season with a 7-1-0 record and a Big Ten co-championship (with Minnesota). On the other hand, the Irish would suffer a let down after their historic comeback, losing to Northwestern, then tying Army, before beating Southern Cal to finish their campaign with a record of 7-1-1. In an unofficial season-ending UPI poll (the official UPI poll would not begin until 1950), Ohio State was ranked #5 while Notre Dame placed #8. A powerful Minnesota squad (8-0-0) took home the national title that year, but if Ohio State had managed to hold on against Notre Dame the Buckeyes might have earned their first ever national championship in 1935.

Notre Dame vs Ohio State (1936)

The two schools held a rematch in South Bend on October 31, 1936, with the Fighting Irish winning a relatively uneventful contest by the unlikely score of 7 to 2. Notre Dame would end their season at 6-2-1 and ranked #8 in the inaugural AP poll, while Ohio State would finish unranked with a record of 5-3-0.

The fledgling series then took a six-decade hiatus for reasons that remain clouded in mystery. One legend has it that Woody Hayes, who took over Ohio State's program in 1951, refused to play Notre Dame because he did not want the Catholic population of Ohio rooting against the home state school in the rivalry game. That's a nice story, but it doesn't explain the gap between 1936 and 1951, nor why Woody's quaint policy survived another 17 years after his dismissal from Ohio State at the conclusion of the 1978 season.

On the Notre Dame side of the equation, the Irish had already established rivalries with several other Big Ten programs and adding Ohio State to their list was not a priority, especially if it would jeopardize existing rivalries with teams outside of the Midwest such as Southern Cal, Pittsburgh, Army, and Navy. In any event, Notre Dame and Ohio State would not play again until 1995.

Notre Dame vs Ohio State (1995)

John Cooper began his career at Ohio State (1988 to 1994) with a record of 54-26-4 (.667 winning percentage), which alone should have been enough to get himself fired. Add in a record of 1-5-1 against arch rival Michigan and 1-5-0 in bowl games (with no major bowl appearances), and it's easy to see why Cooper's seat was scorching hot as the 1995 season began. However, Cooper was able (very briefly) to salvage his public perception with a resounding 45 to 26 victory over Notre Dame in Columbus on September 30, 1995.

In the game, Buckeye running back (and future Heisman winner) Eddie George rushed 32 times for 207 yards and two touchdowns, and wide receiver (and future Biletnikoff winner) Terry Glenn added 4 receptions for 128 yards and a pair of scores (including an 82-yard touchdown, the 5th-longest passing play in Ohio State history). In all, the offense racked up 533 yards, while the defense forced three turnovers in the rout.

In 1995, Ohio State would win eleven straight games before closing the season with losses to Michigan and Tennessee in the Florida Citrus Bowl; the Buckeyes would finish 11-2-0 and #6 in the final AP poll that year. Notre Dame would not lose another game until falling to Florida State in the Orange Bowl; the Irish ended their season with a 9-3-0 record and a #11 ranking in the AP poll.

Notre Dame vs Ohio State (1996)

Ohio State and Notre Dame finished their brief two-game series the following season with a rematch in South Bend. The Buckeyes once again won that contest handily by the score of 29 to 16. Taking over where Eddie George left off, Buckeye tailback Pepe Pearson rushed 29 times for a career-best 173 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense once again forced three Irish turnovers.

Following a heartbreaking 13-9 loss to Michigan and a thrilling 20-17 victory over previously unbeaten Arizona State in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State finished the 1996 season with a record of 11-1-0 and a #2 ranking in both major polls. Notre Dame ended their 1996 campaign with a record of 8-3-0 (no bowl game) and the #19 ranking in the AP poll.

Notre Dame vs Ohio State (2006 Fiesta Bowl)

The next time that Notre Dame and Ohio State squared off was in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State finished the 2005 regular season with a record of 9-2, with the Buckeyes' only losses coming against eventual national champ Texas (25-22) and eventual #3 Penn State (17-10). Notre Dame also entered the bowl game with a 9-2 record, with losses to Michigan State (44-41) and eventual #2 Southern Cal (34-31).

The game looked to be a clash of opposites, with Ohio State playing sound defense and special teams to supplement a plodding Tresselball offense, and Notre Dame looking to light up the scoreboard under the guidance of first-year head coach Charlie Weis, a certified offensive guru (at least in his own mind). But things didn't quite work out that way. Although Weis claimed that his NFL-style offense had a "decided schematic advantage" over other college teams, the normally conservative Tressel showed him a thing or three about how to exploit an opposing defense. The Buckeye offense, which had averaged only 369.9 yards per game during the regular season, exploded for 617 yards in the Fiesta Bowl, much of it coming on huge scoring plays: a 60-yard TD run by tailback Antonio Pittman; a 68-yard TD run on a reverse by flanker Ted Ginn, Jr.; a 56-yard reception by Ginn; and an 85-yard reception by wide out Santonio Holmes, the third-longest pass play in Ohio State history. Quarterback Troy Smith orchestrated the virtuoso performance with 408 total yards (342 passing, 66 rushing), at that time the third-highest single-game total for a Buckeye player. If not for a pair of fumbles (one in the red zone) and a blocked field goal, Ohio State would have blown out Notre Dame. As it was, the Buckeyes merely won the game comfortably, 34-20.

Based on their BCS bowl victory, Ohio State moved up to #4 in both major polls, while Notre Dame dropped down to #9 in the AP poll and #11 in the coaches poll. The game propelled Troy Smith's 2006 Heisman run and tarnished Charlie Weis's largely self-generated reputation. Although Weis would have another fine season in 2006 (a 10-3 record), his career crashed and burned thereafter, and in his final six seasons as a college head coach (three more at Notre Dame and two-plus at Kansas) he would post a combined record of 22-43 (.338 winning percentage). Weis was fired from Kansas on September 28, 2014 for "lack of on-field progress", and he remains unemployed to this day.

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State (2016 Fiesta Bowl)

The final contest between Ohio State and Notre Dame came in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 2015 season. The Buckeyes entered the game as the #7 team with a record of 11-1, their sole loss coming against eventual Big Ten champ Michigan State, 17-14, on a last-second field goal. The Domers were ranked 8th with a record of 10-2, both losses coming by two points to ranked teams (Clemson, Stanford). Ohio State got out to an early 14-0 first quarter lead with touchdowns by Ezekiel Elliott and Michael Thomas, and the Buckeyes cruised to a 44-28 win. The game marked the final appearance in scarlet and grey for many stars including Elliott (149 yards, 4 TDs), Thomas (7 reception, 72 yards, TD), Braxton Miller, Darron Lee (7 tackles, 2 sacks, forced fumble), and Joey Bosa (4 tackles before an early ejection for a questionable targeting call). After the victory, Ohio State rose to #4 in both final polls while Notre Dame sank to #11 in the AP poll and #12 in the coaches poll.

To recap the abbreviated series, Ohio State leads 4 to 2, outscoring Notre Dame 167 to 95. In the six games, there have been eight touchdowns of 47+ yards (47, 56, 60, 68, 75, 81, 82, 85), seven of them by Ohio State.

LGHL Asks: Buckeye fans, tell us what you think will happen in the Notre Dame 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


Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Give us your score and headline predictions for the season opener.

Every day for the entirety of the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.

Ok, it’s your turn to tell us what you think, and since it's game week, we are turning our attention to this Saturday’s game between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Notre Dame. We want to know what you think is going to happen in this primetime showdown, so check out the questions and answer using the form below.

Question 1: What will be the headline after the game?


This one is going to be fun. You will notice that I specifically only picked options that were positive for the Buckeyes because, honestly, I don’t think that this game will be especially close. The OSU offense is lightyears better than Notre Dame’s and I think that given everything that we’ve heard so far this fall, the defense will be markedly improved.

To be honest, I don’t even think that they need to be any better from a fundamental or schematic perspective (although I am confident that they will be) in order to have a dramatically improved impact on the team, they just need to be tougher and more aggressive. If new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles can get his unit to do that, this is easily a College Football Playoff team, and if he is able to improve in the other areas as well, this is probably the national championship favorite, in my humble, yet completely biased opinion.

I’ll share what my pick is for this question when we discuss the results later this week, so as to not influence the voting, but I am excited to see what y’all think.

Question 2: What will the outcome be for the Ohio State vs. Notre Dame game?


Similarly, I will have an official score prediction in my “LGHL Tailgate” podcast on Saturday morning, but needless to say, I am in the top half of these options. The Buckeyes opened as 17.5-point favorites and remain one of the favorites to make the CFP and even claim the trophy come season’s end.


Without getting into specifics, I’m going to pick Ohio State to win this one, and I don’t think that it will be especially close. I have been saying for weeks that 17 points was the floor that OSU would win by. Admittedly, I am probably approaching this more as a fan than an unbiased analyst, but I anticipate this being yet another point showing that the Fighting Irish are still a ways away from being back to the upper echelon of the sport.

Make your picks here and check back later in the week for the results:


Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State Buckeyes fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate.

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You’re Nuts: Who is the biggest ‘traitor’ in Ohio State football history?
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 Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.

Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.

In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.

Today’s Question: Who is the biggest ‘traitor’ in Ohio State football history?


Editor’s Note: Before any Notre Dame fans get all worked up over the headline, this article is intended to be read in a playful, game-week rivalry mindset. We love and appreciate everything that Marcus Freeman did for Ohio State during his time wearing the scarlet and gray, and even if he doesn’t seem to have fond memories of his time in Columbus, we do.

We also do not consider players who transfer in order to find better situations for themselves and their families to be traitors, so sorry about that.

Jami’s Take: Marcus Freeman


I know what you’re thinking — “Neither of these two idiots chose Bo Schembechler? What kind of garbage column is this?” Hear me out though, we should be thanking Bo Schembechler for his contributions to a rivalry that, while it has had annoying moments over the years, is also the source of much gloating and joy for Buckeye fans.

No no, the true Benedict Arnold here is none other than Marcus Freeman, the former Ohio State linebacker who kicks off this 2022 season as the Notre Dame head coach.

I’m all for great players advancing their careers, and I’m not dense enough to assume they will all be able to do so in Columbus. In fact, I was happy to see Freeman step into the head coaching role after the end of the Brian Kelly era.

But then came Freeman’s off-season comments about his time at Ohio State.

Now, I don’t mind a little trash talk going into a huge game, and Notre Dame-OSU is very much the game of opening weekend. I think it can be a good motivator, and it can help get your guys hyped, to an extent (it can, however, also motivate the other team, and that’s the risk you run).

But I also believe in loyalty, and these comments are where Freeman took a hard left turn at Benedict Arnold Drive. In fact, Arnold himself was known for some trash talk, often complaining that the Continental Congress was passing him over for promotions.

The first foray into Benedict Arnold territory was a December 2021 column Freeman wrote for The Players Tribune, in which he implied choosing to play at Ohio State was a mistake.

“I visited this university for the first time when I was about 16 or 17 years old and was recruited to play here. I had a choice to make, and in the end what it came down to was Ohio State or Notre Dame. And I chose Ohio State,” he wrote.

Freeman went on to say, “Fast-forward to last year, and you might have heard that I was being considered for a couple of coaching jobs. During that time, me and my wife, Joanna, took a trip down to Louisiana and then up here to South Bend — and when we got back home, it was another tough decision. I can’t tell you exactly what it was that told us to come to Notre Dame, but there was something. We all know there’s something different about Notre Dame. We all know it’s something special. And I just thank God that I didn’t make the wrong decision twice.”

I don’t mean to invalidate any of Freeman’s experiences, but that’s the sort of thing you don’t put in writing. After all, he’s a successful guy whose coaching future looks bright – surely at least SOME of that is thanks to his alma mater?

Clearly, he built strong relationships with his fellow Buckeyes, with former OSU teammate and fellow linebacker James Laurinaitis joining his coaching staff, so it certainly wasn’t all bad for Freeman over in Columbus.

But that’s not Freeman’s only moment of running his mouth about Ohio State. After taking the job as head coach at Notre Dame, he decided to take a shot at OSU’s academics in an interview with CBS Sports.

“You don’t go to class [at places like that]?” Freeman said rhetorically. “OK, take some online classes, show up for your appointments. At Notre Dame, you’re forced to go to class every day.”

One of my biggest criticisms of Notre Dame fans is their smug elitism in touting the academic record of their very expensive private school, without really considering the layers of systemic wealth that factor in. Additionally, if Freeman chose not to attend class at Ohio State, that was surely his decision? I sat through many a class with football players who were engaged and engaging. Surely it’s not the university’s fault if Freeman wasn’t one of them.

It’s entirely possible that Freeman is making these comments for recruiting clout, or alternatively, he’s trying to get ahead of the possibility that the Fighting Irish will lose on Saturday by having a few excuses at the ready.

It doesn’t excuse it.

It is said that a French statesman who encountered Benedict Arnold after his exile in England said after their meeting, “I must confess that I felt much pity for him … for I witnessed his agony.”

I, on the other hand, can’t wait to witness Freeman’s agony on Saturday after a Buckeye victory, and unfortunately for him, since academics are such a joke at OSU, I must have skipped the class where we learned the meaning of “pity.”

Matt’s Take: Lou Holtz


As Jami alluded to, no, I am not taking Bo Schembechler, but he was the first person that I thought of when we came up with this topic. Bo was not only a Woody Hayes assistant at Ohio State, but he played for him at Miami University. So, when Schembechler left his alma mater to take over the Wolverine program, no doubt that was an incredibly bitter pill for Woody to swallow.

But here’s the thing, Hayes love Schembechler. The two remained incredibly close during the Ten-Year War and after it. Bo and Woody would show up for each regularly until Hayes died in 1987, one day after the former Ohio State coach — who was in demonstrably poor health — gave a lengthy introduction of his friend before a speaking engagement.

In 1986, Hayes told The Lantern, “If ‘Bo’ is not a winner, I never saw one and I should know. He beat me the last three games we played. We’ve fought and quarreled for years but we’re great friends.”

So, as far as I’m concerned, if Wayne Woodrow Hayes can forgive and love Bo Schembechler, who am I to consider him a traitor?

Lou Holtz on the other hand? He’s (long been) dead to me.

Like Woody and Bo, Holtz has deep Ohio ties. Though born in West Virginia, he grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, went to school at Kent State, and joined the Buckeyes’ coaching staff for a single season, the historic 1968 national title campaign.

After that, he left to coach at William & Mary before a rather circuitous career took him to the NFL, back to college, and to South Bend as the head coach of the Fighting Irish in 1986. Holtz lost both games he coached against OSU as the head coach at ND (in the famous 1995 and ‘96 games).

He, of course, got his revenge in back-to-back Outback bowls in 2001 and 2002 with wins over John Cooper (in his final year in Columbus) and Jim Tressel (in his first year in Columbus).

Now, I don’t love a lot of what Lou Holtz says or stands for these days, but my issue with him is not really about what he’s done on the field, instead, it is primarily what he has done in his post-coaching broadcasting career. And the simplest distillation of why Sweet Lou is persona non grata to me can be boiled down to two words: Mark May.


From their days together on ESPN to as recently as earlier this year, Holtz continues to publicly associate with that imbecilic, rancorous, know-nothing jacknut posing as a real, live human. May’s illogical hatred of Ohio State is legendary, and it has gone far beyond the normal trolling that talentless media personalities generally participate in because they are not insightful or clever enough to garner attention on their own merits.

Instead, he has done what a legitimate analyst should never do, he’s made it personal. Don’t believe me?


And yet, despite being a proud son of the state of Ohio, despite having a championship ring from his time on the Buckeye staff, despite still being invited to speak at Ohio State events, Holtz continues to not only work with May, but he considers him a friend.

If the former ND coach had simply parted ways with the Pitt simpleton when they both departed the worldwide leader in sports, I could have forgiven Holtz; hell, if I can learn to appreciate Bo, I surely could have come to terms with Holtz.

But no, he continues to do podcasts with May, most recently around the 2022 NFL Draft. In fact, both Holtz and the asinine asshat picked Utah to beat Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.


I am a pretty forgiving person. I’ve screwed up a lot in my life and I believe that everyone deserves second, third, and even fourth chances. But when it comes to voluntarily associating with Mark May, that’s a line that I refuse to accept or forgive.

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Notre Dame Offensive Player to Watch: Tight end Michael Mayer
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

The Fighting Irish have a long history of talented tight ends, and Mayer has a chance to finish his collegiate career as one of the absolute best in program history.

The Ohio State Buckeyes will face a stiff test to open the 2022 season, especially on defense. Sure, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost their starting quarterback from 2021, as well as their top running back and top wide receiver, but they return plenty of other skill position players and a solid offensive line.

Offensive coordinator and ND alum Tommy Rees is also back to lead the unit, which should come as a huge relief to first-time head coach and former Buckeye, Marcus Freeman. Rees is a rising star in the college ranks — so much so that Brian Kelly attempted to poach him for his new LSU staff. But Rees turned down his former boss, and will have the keys to the proverbial car on offense.

The OC’s decision to stick with Notre Dame was a big offseason win for the program, but their most important offensive returnee still wears shoulder pads on Saturday(s). He is a supremely talented tight end, who also happens to be a preseason All-American, a likely 2023 first-round draft pick, and arguably the Irish’s best player — on either side of the ball. Oh yeah, he also caught 23 more balls than any other pass catcher on the team last year, and 39 more than the leading returnee at WR.

His name is Michael Mayer, and he is this season’s first Offensive Player to Watch.


Mayer is the latest in a long line of successful, NFL-ready tight ends that have come through Notre Dame. The tradition of TE excellence goes back multiple decades, but since 2011 alone, the Irish have seen eight of their super-sized pass catchers taken in the NFL Draft. Kyle Rudolph, Tyler Eifert, and Cole Kmet are a few of the college stars whose game(s) translated well to the next level, but Mayer might be the best of the bunch when all is said and done. He is that good.

The Kentucky native was an early commit to ND, doing so in July of 2018 (2020 enrollee). 247Sports had Mayer ranked as the No. 2 TE in his class – and a top-50 player overall – but he shut his recruitment down fairly early, choosing the Irish over Georgia, Texas, Penn State, Alabama, and others. He also made an unofficial visit to Ohio State in April of 2018, but the Buckeyes were never considered a favorite for his services. Mayer hit the ground running in South Bend, and has never looked back.

In his first game as a true freshman, Mayer had three receptions for 38 yards against Duke. The following week, he was named a starter. He performed well throughout the season, with some of his best games coming against ND’s stiffest competition. He caught five passes for 67 yards in an upset of No. 1 Clemson, put up nearly an identical state line against the Tigers in the ACC Championship Game, and then led the Irish with seven receptions and 62 yards against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. ND lost the game (because Brian Kelly loses big bowl games), but Mayer announced his presence to the college football world, and established himself as a budding star.

The talented tight end carried momentum into 2021, and had one of the best seasons by a TE in Notre Dame history. Mayer opened the season with a nine-catch, 120-yard, and one touchdown performance against Florida State. He then added 7/81/2 in Week 2, before cooling down a bit and failing to add another score until mid-November. However, he still led the team in receptions and/or yards a number of times. And he closed the season out strong, averaging a stat line of 7/87/1 over the Irish’s last four games. Mayer finished with 71 receptions (led the team, ND record for TE), 840 yards (ND record for TE), and 7 TD (you guessed it, a ND record for TE) — for which he was named a Mackey Award Semifinalist and AP Third Team All-American.

Sounds like the antithesis of what Ohio State fans would like their linebackers and new defense to face in Week 1. But this is the challenge, and this is what Jim Knowles and Co. were brought in for.

As a tight end and draft prospect, Mayer has everything you are looking for. He has prototypical size at roughly 6-foot-5, 260 pounds. He is a better receiver than he is a blocker, but he can hold his own at the line of scrimmage. And his athleticism translates well to the football field, meaning: he has quick feet, solid change of direction for a big man, and can make catches “above the rim”. Mayer’s straight-line speed is not elite for his position, but it doesn’t seem to slow down his production. When he gets open – or into the body of an opposing defender – he is coming down with the ball more often than not.

Mayer will have the occasional concentration drop, and there were games where a number of his receptions came on check-downs or underneath routes (not that he can’t get downfield when called upon). Those are not knocks against him; those are nitpicks in his game. He is truly the total package as far as college tight ends go.

If the Buckeyes are going to slow Mayer down, I think they need to keep him “busy” and force him to stay in as a blocker as often as possible. I would like to see them blitz — all the damn time, forcing ND to make a decision. Cover him one-on-one, as opposed to zone, and have a second set of eyes on him during each play. Lastly, hit him with all they’ve got, because he is a load to bring down. Mayer should be priority 1A and 1B for the OSU defense, as he is by far their most proven offensive threat.

Adding to the pressure of the moment, is the fact that this is the first time we will be seeing Jim Knowles’ new Ohio State defense under the bright lights... literally. Have they put everything together? Have they developed groupthink, as far as where to be on the field, and when to be there? And can they minimize Michael Mayer’s impact on the game? Saturday will be a heck of a first test, against a heck of an offensive weapon.

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A look at Big Ten season win totals
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

How do the oddsmakers expect each team in the B1G to fare in 2022?

All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

B1G East:

• Ohio State: o/u 10.5
• Michigan: o/u 9.5
• Penn State: o/u 8.5
• Michigan State: o/u 7.5
• Maryland: o/u 6
• Rutgers: o/u 4
• Indiana: o/u 4

Looking at how the win totals are projected in the Big Ten East, the order in which they’re presented here is how Vegas thinks the standings will look at the end of the season. It’s about as you would expect, with Ohio State and Michigan followed by Penn State and Michigan State and then all of the rest, with Maryland clearly ahead of teams like Rutgers and Indiana.

A few of these lines are tough. When it comes to the Buckeyes, you’re basically asking yourself if they beat Notre Dame or not. It’s tough to find two losses on Ohio State’s schedule if the Fighting Irish are not one of them, but we’ve seen crazier things happen before. Michigan is another interesting one. While I’m expecting them to take a step down this season, it’s tough to find two losses on their very easy schedule, let alone the three they would need to fall under the 9.5 total set by the oddsmakers.

The team that catches my eye the most here is Maryland. The Terps have a real chance to be one of the best non-Ohio State offenses in the conference. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is entering his second full season as the starter, and around him are a plethora of top end weapons including wide receivers Rakim Jarrett and Dontay Demus. The defense should be solid as well, anchored by guys like Ruben Hyppolite II, Jakorian Bennett and Tarheeb Still as well as a handful of players just waiting to break out.

Maryland has two easy non-conference games against Buffalo and Charlotte, then get Indiana, Northwestern and Rutgers in-conference as five should-be wins. They likely aren’t quite there yet to knock off Ohio State or Michigan, and road contests against Wisconsin and Penn State won’t be easy, but if they can just grab two wins against the group of SMU, Michigan State and Purdue, they can reach seven wins to hit their total. At worst I see this team winning six games, which would be a push.

B1G West:

• Wisconsin: o/u 8.5
• Minnesota: o/u 7.5
• Iowa: o/u 7.5
• Purdue: o/u 7.5
• NOTE: Nebraska, Northwestern and Illinois have already played, thus have no odds.

The win totals in the Big Ten West are exactly as you’d expect them to be. Someone has to win the games on the schedule in the lesser half of the conference, but nobody knows exactly who that will be. The oddsmakers have given Wisconsin the greatest chance of emerging victorious with the highest win total in the division at 8.5, but it’s not saying all that much since Minnesota, Iowa and Purdue are all right behind them at 7.5. The rest of the West already took part in a Week 0 game, so their win totals are not listed.

The team I'm looking at on this side of the B1G is Iowa. The Hawkeyes had one of the best defenses in the country a season ago, and most of that production is returning. Senior linebacker Jack Campbell is one of the very best in the nation at his position, and Seth Benson alongside him is no slouch either as the pair combined for 245 tackles in 2021. In the secondary, Riley Moss is the definition of a ballhawk, while Joe Evans and Lukas Van Ness return up front having tied as the team’s sack leaders a year ago. If Iowa can put together any semblance of offense — something which, to be fair, is not a strength of any team in the West outside of maybe Purdue — then I like to Hawkeyes to exceed their win total.

Iowa gets two relatively easy games in the non-conference against South Dakota State and Nevada, and then they get Iowa State in a rivalry game that Kirk Ferentz’s squad has owned, winning each of the last six meetings. They then have road contests against Rutgers and Illinois sandwiching a big home battle against Michigan. All three of those games are winnable, as Kinnick Stadium could prove a bugaboo for the Wolverines as it has many teams before them. They probably won’t upset Ohio State on the road, but then they hit a stretch of Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska to close it out. I like their chances to win at least three of those games if not four. This would put Iowa at somewhere between 8-10 wins, hitting the over of their 7.5 total.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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Battleground Columbus: Clash of The Blue Blood Programs
Richard Tongohan via our good friends at Men of the Scarlet and Gray
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here



Welcome Home, but

As another offseason draws to a close, we are three days away from the start of the 2022 CFB season. Excitement is definitely in the air and this year will feature a pair of Buckeye great for a homecoming of sorts against Notre Dame.

Former Buckeye stars Coach Freeman and Coach Laurinaitus will return home donning the Irish green and gold. They will also be looking to upset the Buckeyes in each of their debuts.

Coach Freeman coming off of a successful year got the head coaching job after Coach Kelly departed for LSU. He then hired his old teammate Laurinaitus as a Graduate Assistant for the defense.

The Goal is Disruption

This will be a big test for the Buckeyes, who suffered two losses last year to stout defenses with talent on the edge. This time around they face the All-American, Isaiah Foskey.

Aside from Foskey, the front seven is solid and they will look to disrupt Coach Day’s offense. On the backend, there might be a few question marks, but we shall see how they fare.

Stroud has JSN and friends on the perimeter, the chimera of RB’s and a mystery at TE. If they can stop the run and make the new starters on the perimeter outside of JSN make plays, there is a chance.

Offensive Adversity?

ND just named Tyler Buchner the starter at Quarterback. He will lead this years offense and is a bit of a mystery.

Joining him in the backfield are Chris Tyree and Logan Diggs. They will be leaned on to change things up and to lessen the offensive burden on Buchner.

The reason? The injury bug has taken away two of his veteran options at WR after losing Avery Davis (ACL) and Joe Wilkins Jr. (foot). Luckily they have Michale Mayer at TE to help lift the offense.

Buckeye Defensive Resurgence?

After a disastrous defensive showing in 2021, there is a ton of anticipation for the 2022 version. Resurgence or Regression? Feast or famine?

With an embarrassment of talent and a new defensive coach, they made the necessary changes to repair a struggling defense that often underperformed.

With a young team with a new QB, WR’s and RB’s they should be able to contain things, but the risk of the unknown is something to keep an eye on. The Irish have a star TE in Mayer, so things will get interesting.

This is a certain group, but there will be a few new faces that will find ways into the game. This will be the test to hopefully set the tone on this side of the ball for the entire year.

Offensive Firepower

The offense will be deadly again with the return of CJ Stroud at QB. The trio of Henderson, Williams and Hayden will be a threat and JSN returns to lead his Zone 6 brethren to another stellar year.

You would think losing Wilson and Olave in the first round in last years draft would hurt, but Zone 6 has stockpiled a nice group of players to take over for instances like this.

Enter MHJ, Fleming and Egbuka. This is going to be a make or break year for those just mentioned. There were reports of a six-man rotation, but until I see it I’ll reserve judgment.

Cade Stover and Gee Scott Jr. are the two TE’s to keep an eye out for. Stover was voted captain and Scott will be a matchup nightmare in the seams.

Definitely excited and could go on and on but I’ll cut it short. I can talk about the obvious, but the unknowns are what intrigues me. Breakout candidates galore.

Finally, this O-Line will have to be aggressive and consistent to have any succes at crating balance with play calling. They will be raked to stop the All-American and his fiends from harassing Stroud and his teammates.

Predictions:

1. The defense shows dramatic improvement under Knowles (at least 1 INT and 1 sack; 4 TFL’s)
2. The offensive line dominates the LOS (at least 100 yards rushing & 280 yards passing)
3. A few players breakout and/or show flashes (Egbuka/Fleming/Scott on offense & JTT/Sawyer/Hancock on defense)

Final Score:

42-20 Ohio State Buckeyes defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

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Column: Notre Dame is a must-win for Ohio State, but the reasons are strange
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Related, it’s helpful to set expectations.

There are few opportunities for hiccups in today’s college football landscape. Ohio State, as we well remember, barely made the College Football Playoff in 2014 after a single, early loss.

What does that mean for this Saturday’s matchup against No. 5 Notre Dame? Ohio State has to win. Obviously. Or maybe not so much.

Granted, it’s hard to extrapolate this data for Ohio State, because the Buckeyes simply do not have that many losses. Ryan Day has amassed a 34-4 record through four full seasons at Ohio State (plus three games in 2018). Last season was by far the worst showing a Day-coached team has had, and the Buckeyes remained in the playoff discussion until the bitter end.

The Buckeyes have made the College Football Playoff four total times. In 2014 and 2016, Ohio State made the Playoff after losing to unranked Virginia Tech and Penn State teams, respectively. Of course, Penn State ended up running the table in the Big Ten in 2016.

The other two times Ohio State made the CFP, they were undefeated (2019 and 2020). Those undefeated seasons sure make it easy for the CFP committee to make their selections.

However, the times Ohio State has missed the Playoff included:

• 2015: Loss to No. 9 Michigan State
• 2017: Losses to No. 5 Oklahoma and unranked Iowa
• 2018: Loss to unranked Purdue
• 2021: Losses to No. 12 Oregon and No. 5 Michigan

Early losses are generally more forgivable than ones later in the season. In 2021, even with an early loss to Oregon, Ohio State was in the Playoff conversation leading up to November’s loss to Michigan. The narrative was that the winner of that game, assuming a follow-up win in the Big Ten Championship, would be Playoff-bound. In other words, the early loss didn’t matter so much.

When it comes to forgivable losses, the opponent also plays a role — but it’s not as clear-cut as you might think. When Ohio State loses to a highly ranked team that loses games throughout the season (like last year’s Oregon team), Ohio State’s initial loss tends to matter less. That’s because the CFP committee doesn’t want to see rematches in the Playoff between two teams that remained highly ranked — unless, of course, it’s two SEC teams. Cue eye roll.

Losing to a highly ranked opponent clearly positions Ohio State behind the other team, but losing to an unranked opponent means Ohio State had a bad day.

Take Ohio State’s loss to Purdue in 2018 compared to its loss to Michigan in 2021 as examples. Here, we have another instance where the transitive property doesn’t apply in college football. Losing to a bad team does not mean that the losing team is worse than the bad team. No one would argue that Purdue was a better team than Ohio State in 2018. The Boilermakers finished the season 6-7, including a 5-4 conference mark. Ohio State, meanwhile, wrapped the season with Purdue as its only loss. Ultimately, the Buckeyes beat Washington in the Rose Bowl.

Meanwhile, against Michigan, two teams with similar records and rankings were essentially racked-and-stacked against one another. In short, a loss meant Ohio State was the comparatively worse team in 2021.

Perhaps it’s because teams like Purdue are not in the consideration set for the College Football Playoff year in and year out. When Michigan played Iowa for the Big Ten Championship last year, there was only discussion of Michigan wins and they’re in. There was little consideration of the Hawkeyes making a Playoff run. We saw a similar discussion, or lack thereof, around Northwestern in 2020.

Some of that has to do with the record. The Hawkeyes had two regular-season, in-conference losses. It would be hard to make an argument for them to go to the CFP. But branding plays a big part, too — and for brands as big as Ohio State, the story tends to revolve around them. Again, the narrative around the loss to Purdue was how Ohio State had a bad day.

This brings us to expectations. The over-under for Ohio State regular season wins is just 10.5, which is absurdly low. The Buckeyes are one of just six teams favored to win all their games and the only team in the Big Ten.

Knock on wood, but Ryan Day has not dropped the ball on regular season games in the same way Urban Meyer seemed to. Sure, losses for both coaches have been few and far between, but it takes a high level of discipline to do what Day has in his tenure at Ohio State. The closest Day has come to such a loss, in many ways, was the Buckeyes’ loss to Oregon last season — and even that is a stretch.

The curse of having a team as great as Ohio State is that anything less than 11 regular season wins means a disappointing year. While the CFP committee might forgive an early loss to a Notre Dame team over the course of a season, Ohio State fans will remember. And, as a result, Saturday is a must-win for the fanbase.

Moreover, it’s a heck of a lot easier to make the College Football Playoff as an undefeated conference champion.

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Columbus, Ohio State welcome NCAA in hopes of hosting another Women’s Final Four
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Greater Columbus Sports Commission on Twitter @ColumbusSports

The Greater Columbus Sports Commission welcomes the NCAA in a site visit, part of the process to secure a spot on the 2027-31 calendar.

Apr. 1, 2018, the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Mississippi State Bulldogs sat level at 58-58 with three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish inbounded the ball, finding guard Arike Agunbowale who drained a three, sending a sellout crowd to its feet and earning Notre Dame their second National Championship. Now, in 2022, Columbus is trying to earn a second championship of its own, bidding for another spot on the NCAA Final Four calendar.

Tuesday, the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, a group responsible for elevating sports in — and attracting sports to — Central Ohio, ended a two-day tour of the city with an NCAA Site Committee. Columbus is one of seven finalist cities working towards earning one of the five available National Championship Final Four tournaments from 2027 to 2031.

“We were very proud of the tournament that was here in 2018,” said Linda Logan, CEO of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission. “We all know that we can never rest on our laurels. So, as a community, and the team that’s surrounding us today, they really put their arms together to elevate the experience, we’ve been able to showcase a lot of things that are new.”

During the site visit, the commission took the NCAA committee through new spots around the city. New professional soccer stadium Lower.com Field, the home of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, the new Hilton Tower opening in two weeks, and a trail of other updates highlighted by tour guides with stickers placed around the city; all located at renovations and additions since the last time the city hosted the NCAA.

In 2018, Columbus sold out all three games, rolled out a literal red carpet (for the first time in tournament history), and broke market ratings and social media engagement numbers, helping the continued growth of women’s basketball.

When you look at the growth and trajectory of women’s sports in the last 10-15 years, specifically the women’s basketball championship and our women’s Final Four,” said Lynn Holzman, Vice President for NCAA Women’s Basketball. “We continue to be very very bullish around what’s happening around our championship.”

Part of that bullishness is what the NCAA committee asks of potential hosts. Columbus, and the six other finalists, are all on board with hosting not only the Division I championship but Divisions II and III. In 2016, Indianapolis, Indiana played host to all three NCAA championships, with Dallas, TX following suit in 2023.

If chosen, Columbus could become the third city to host all three. It gives student-athletes from each division the chance at a Division I experience – playing in an arena and all the fanfare that comes along with it.

There is a slight wrinkle in the process. Ohio is hosting another Women’s Final Four, in Cleveland, Ohio in 2024. It doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, as there’s no known rule within the committee to avoid a certain state due to frequency. However, a six-year gap between the 2018 Columbus edition and Cleveland’s 2024 hosting could mean that Columbus is scheduled to host a final, but not till later in the five-year planning process.

Even so, the tournament bid has something that not a lot of other cities do – the backing of the Ohio State University.

“The Ohio State University (note I used the correct title there) they have a great track record in supporting NCAA championships and obviously have a very successful athletic program,” said Holzman. “With the leadership of its president, Gene Smith its athletic director, they’ve continued to invest and support NCAA championships and also in particular the women’s basketball championship.”

In December 2021, Ohio State, in partnership with Nationwide Arena, hosted the NCAA Women’s Volleyball National Championship. The Buckeyes were also part of the 2018 basketball finals and have recently hosted bowling and swimming & diving collegiate title events.

In addition to the Buckeyes are the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League. After all, the games would be hosted in the Blue Jackets’ arena, a venue that Nationwide Arena leadership sees as a space for the community to highlight the city. The arena’s going through updates, as evidenced by Tuesday’s media availability with the sound of construction on the suite levels as the tour came to its end.

By the time any games would tip, the arena is likely to have updates that aren’t even planned yet with the first games not happening for at least five years.

It is a long game when bidding on a tournament of this magnitude, but the city could know soon where they stand in the running. Columbus was halfway through the site visit process, with only a few cities remaining for the NCAA selection committee.

Columbus is competing with San Antonio, Dallas, Tampa, Portland, Sacramento, and Indianapolis to host.

In mid-November, the final seven cities descend on Indianapolis, Indiana to make their final presentations. From there, the committee decides the tournament’s fate. It could take days or weeks for a decision to be handed down and longer to become public. Either way, by the end of 2022, Columbus should know where they stand.

If 2018 is any measure of Columbus’ chances of hosting again, they make a compelling argument to run the tournament back in Central Ohio.

“We could not do it without communities, hosts, and places like Columbus that have supported this championship in the past,” said Holzman. “As we look forward to the future, we’re excited about what that holds.”

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Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Previewing Michigan in 2022, Ohio State’s season opener vs. Notre Dame
Gene Ross 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 Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Buckeyes are set to kick off their season this weekend against the Fighting Irish.

The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast ‘Hangout in the Holy Land’ is here! Join LGHL’s co-managing editor Gene Ross alongside his co-host Josh Dooley as they cover everything from football to basketball to recruiting and more!

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio


On this week’s episode, Gene and Josh wrap up their Big Ten season previews with everyone’s favorite reigning conference champions: the Michigan Wolverines. From there on the focus is all on Week 1, where Ohio State will kick of its season with a massive opener in Columbus against Notre Dame. The Buckeyes’ offense is expected to keep on humming under C.J. Stroud and his supporting cast of Uber-talented running backs and receivers, but can Jim Knowles successfully turn around an OSU defense that has been dreadful for a few years in a row? What exactly will the Fighting Irish bring to Ohio Stadium on Saturday?

“Hangout in the Holy Land” will be back to two episodes per week during the regular season, with an episode before and after each Ohio State game to give you all the preview and recap content you may need. Be sure to download and listen in wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple to let us know your thoughts and how we can make things even better!

You can also follow us on Twitter @HolyLandPod, where we will want to hear from you guys even more! If there’s anything you’d like us to talk about on the show, @ us and let us know!

As always, Go Bucks.


Connect with the Podcast:
Twitter: @HolyLandPod

Connect with Gene:
Twitter: @Gene_Ross23

Connect with Josh
Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye

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Why is this News? All the articles and tweets Buckeye fans need for August 31, 2022
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

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: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio

Ask LGHL


Introducing ‘Ask LGHL,’ asking and answering questions throughout the football season
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land

LGHL Asks: Buckeye fans predict how Ohio State’s season will go; needless to say, they think it will go well.
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land

On the Gridiron


Three Takeaways as Buckeyes ramp up for Notre Dame (paywall)
Austin Ward, Dotting the Eyes

‘This team is hungry’: OSU ready for opener vs. No. 5 Notre Dame
Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch

Practice Report: Confident Buckeyes locked in, set to unveil offseason changes in opener
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row

Presser Bullets: Ryan Day Says Ohio State “Wants to Be Great” and Has “A Lot to Prove,” Jim Knowles Says Buckeye Defense Is “100% Ready” for Notre Dame
Griffin Strom, Eleven Warriors

Other than Clemson, I feel like Barrett stole my predictions!


Ohio State names Kyle McCord backup quarterback for Notre Dame
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch

Jim Knowles, Buckeyes expecting defensive line to ‘attack,’ have major impact (paywall)
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row

Knowles notes: Ohio State DC on preparing for Notre Dame’s first-time starting QB
Dave Biddle, Bucknuts


Will Allen, Michael Doss to unveil sculpture to honor 2002 OSU team
Colin Gay, The Columbus Dispatch

Members of 2002 Ohio State football team to appear on ‘College GameDay’
Colin Gay, The Columbus Dispatch

Column: Big Ten needs to stop letting Notre Dame have its cake and eat it too
Jami Jurich, Land-Grant Holy Land

Jim Knowles is such a weird dude, and I love it.


Column: The Buckeyes won’t crumble under pressure this season and this is why
Megan Husslein, Land-Grant Holy Land

C.J. Stroud’s legs could unlock even more for potent Ohio State offense (paywall)
Bill Landis, Dotting the Eyes

You’re Nuts: Who scores the first touchdown of the season for Ohio State?
Brett Ludwiczak and Meredith Hein, Land-Grant Holy Land


51 Ohio State Players Make Initial 53-Man Rosters for 2022 NFL Season
Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors

Cardale Jones in mentorship role for Ohio State commit, prospect
Matt Parker, Lettermen Row

On the Hardwood


Column: Make Covelli Center the home of Ohio State women’s basketball
Thomas Costello, Land-Grant Holy Land

Outside the Shoe and Schott


Men’s Soccer: Wootton Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week
Gaurav Law, The Lantern

And now for something completely different...


This one gets me every time.


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