McMahon, Braun battle Thursday in freshman showcase
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Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades in 2022-23 are mostly split between two players and both take the court Thursday

In 2022-23, the Big Ten is proving itself as a top conference. Throughout its 14 teams are upperclassmen like Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, Maryland guard Diamond Miller and Indiana center Mackenzie Holmes who pull in the collective attention.

Thursday is a different type of game, when two first-year students will go head-to-head, showcasing the future. It’s between forward Cotie McMahon of the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes and guard Mara Braun of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Although they play different positions, the two freshman have similarities. Both are local to their respective universities. McMahon played at a regular Buckeye recruiting pipeline on the football side in Centerville, Ohio. Braun plays even closer to home, from Wayzata, Minnesota.

They’re also both making a name for themselves in college basketball. McMahon’s 23rd ranking was five spots ahead of Braun in 2022 ESPN high school recruiting rankings, but once they joined college, Braun excelled right away.

In Minnesota’s first two games of the season, Braun went off. Against Western Illinois and Lehigh, Braun scored 68 points. In the second game, three of Braun’s 38 points came when the Golden Gophers needed it the most — at the final buzzer.

Down 98-99, Braun hit a buzzer-beating three. It wasn’t a wide-open attempt by any means. Braun hit a catch-and-shoot with the defense in her face. That fantastic shot only gave Minnesota the win, but the freshman guard her first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor.


While Braun’s staggering 34 points per game average to start the first week of the season hasn’t held, the guard’s still leading Minnesota with 17.4 points per game, including a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds in a narrow 73-70 defeat to the Virginia Cavaliers, leading to a second Freshman of the Week award.

For Ohio State, McMahon’s taken a slightly different road. The forward’s started every game for the Scarlet & Gray, but took some time to find her stride. Against then No. 5 ranked Tennessee Volunteers, McMahon made her NCAA debut with 10 points, but struggled in Ohio State’s second ranked game against the Louisville Cardinals, scoring just a point.

McMahon admits its because of time needed to adjust to the college game, and slow down a little bit to make better decisions. As McMahon began to take the advice from her coaches and teammates, her situation’s changed.

Since the tough Louisville showing, McMahon’s had a month’s worth of Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. That stretch includes four games against tough opponents in the Michigan State Spartans, USF Bulls, No. 16 Oregon Ducks and No. 14 Michigan Wolverines.

In those Buckeye victories, McMahon averaged 14 points and six rebounds. Ohio State needed McMahon the most against USF, where the Scarlet & Gray needed overtime to beat the tough Florida side. McMahon scored a career high 30 points in a night where most of her opponents offense went stagnant.

On Thursday, the only two players with multiple Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards face off, and the match-up is no secret.

“It’s definitely a competitive battle,” said McMahon. “It’s a battle between the freshmen, I think it’ll be really fun.”

McMahon also acknowledged that she’s won the award more than Braun, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more going Braun’s way through the end of the season. The thing is, Braun isn’t the only young talent Ohio State has to deal with.

“They’ve got incredible young talent, one of the most talented young teams in the league,” said head coach Kevin McGuff. “They’re not an easy team to play against, because the score the ball so well.”

Part of that scoring is another Minnesota freshman, forward Mallory Heyer. While Braun leads the Golden Gophers in the points category, Heyer is third with 11.1 points and six rebounds per game.

McGuff and the Buckeyes aren’t hoping for a game where Minnesota’s dynamic freshmen duo can show their offensive might. Instead, Ohio State’s hoping their press and push the young Gophers into mistakes.

Also, it means the Buckeyes half court defense, including McMahon, needs to keep their game up when the press doesn’t work. There’s promise in the half court defense following a better half court showing against the Michigan Wolverines on New Year’s Eve.

“Our focus in practice is mainly defense. Offense will take care of itself,” said McMahon. “Working on it in practice and then having it show in the game.”

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No. 24 Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Purdue: Game preview and prediction
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The Buckeyes will try and knock off another top-ranked team in Columbus tonight when they host Purdue.

Ohio State hit the road for the first time in conference play on Sunday night. Having little trouble with Northwestern, the Buckeyes beat the Wildcats 73-57 in Evanston. Ohio State jumped out on Northwestern early, building a 14-3 advantage on their way to a 35-17 lead as the teams hit the halftime break. The Bucks didn’t let up in the second half, keeping Northwestern at bay to earn their second conference win of the season.

Brice Sensabaugh continued his sensational freshman season, leading the Buckeyes with 18 points. Along with Sensabaugh’s output, Sean McNeil hit three triples on his way to 15 points. Justice Sueing did a little bit of everything, scoring 13 points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out five assists. Zed Key registered his fifth double-double of the season, and first since the win over Rutgers, adding 11 points and 11 rebounds to the cause.

After so many trips to Ryan Arena that have came down to the final shot, it was nice to have an Ohio State win that was easy from start to finish, especially after the pain that many Buckeye fans had to endure less than 24 hours before when the Ohio State football team failed to beat Georgia in the Peach Bowl. The Buckeye defense smothered the Wildcats, only allowing Northwestern to hit 28 percent of their shots from the field. Ohio State also did strong work on the boards, outrebounding Northwestern 46-37.

With not only his 18 points against the Wildcats, but also his 21 points on Thursday in the win over Alabama A&M, Sensabaugh now has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the third straight week. The standout from Florida joins Jared Sullinger and D’Angelo Russell as the only Buckeyes to earn the honor in three consecutive weeks. Sensabaugh leads Ohio State in scoring with 15.9 points per game, and is hitting nearly 47 percent of his three-point attempts.

Preview


The 24th-ranked Buckeyes (10-3, 2-0) will now return home to take on Purdue (13-1, 2-1), who entered the week as the nation’s top ranked team before losing to Rutgers on Monday night. The teams met once last year, with Purdue earning an 81-78 win in West Lafayette. Ohio State trailed by 20 points in the second half before staging a furious comeback that was capped off by an E.J. Liddell three-pointer with 25 seconds to go to tie the game. Purdue answered with a three-pointer from Jaden Ivey at the buzzer to earn the victory.

Tonight’s game will mark the 22nd time Ohio State has taken on a top-ranked AP Top 25 team. The Buckeyes have a 10-11 record all-time against the top team in the nation, but have been strong of late in big games like this, winning eight of their last 11 games against the No. 1 team in the country. The last time Ohio State took on the top ranked team in the nation was last year in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, topping Duke 71-67 in Columbus.

Unlike Ohio State, Purdue isn’t coming into this game on a winning note. After a 13-0 start, the Boilermakers suffered their first loss of the season on Monday night when they lost at Mackey Arena to Rutgers, 65-64. Purdue trailed 34-24 at halftime, but closed the gap in the second half, with the lead changing hands a number of times in the last five minutes of the game.

Fletcher Loyer’s three-pointer with 30 seconds to go gave the Boilermakers a 64-62 lead. The Scarlet Knights answered with a three-pointer from Cam Spencer with 14 seconds left to take back the lead. Purdue got one last shot at keeping their record perfect on the season, but Brandon Newman’s three-pointer with three seconds left in the game didn’t fall. Zach Edey finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. The big Canadian now has six straight games with a double-double and 11 on the season.

Zed Key is going to have to be at the top of his game tonight, since Edey is a handful on both ends of the court. The junior has been outstanding all year long, but his performance against Minnesota really stands out. When the Boilermakers hosted the Golden Gophers, Edey recorded career-highs with 31 points and 22 rebounds. With the dominance he has shown on the court this year, Edey is going to be in the conversation for National Player of the Year honors at the end of the season.

The loss continued a couple trends from Purdue. In their last 12 losses, the Boilermakers have lost eight of these games by three points or fewer. Purdue also has had a problem with teams from New Jersey over the last few years. Since the 2019-20 season, the Boilermakers are just 1-6 against teams from the Garden State.

An area Purdue is going to try and exploit is their dominance at the free throw line. So far this year, the Boilermakers have made 248 free throws while their opponents have only attempted 150 free throws. Teams have had a tough time dealing with the size of Edey, with the big man attempting 104 free throws so far this season.

While Purdue has been great at generating points at the free throw line, lately they have been ice cold behind the three-point line. Over their last five gams, Purdue is hitting just 23 percent of their triples, with 29 of their 121 three-point attempts falling during that span. The Boilermakers have had two games this year where they have failed to reach 20 percent in three-point percentage. In the win over Austin Peay in the second game of the season, Purdue saw just two of their 19 three-point attempts fall, and more recently against Davidson, only three of 25 attempts from long range went in.

Brice Sensabaugh won’t be the only winner of multiple Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards this year in this contest. Fletcher Loyer has earned the honor twice this season. in his first two Big Ten games, Loyer scored 20 points and dished out eight assists against Minnesota. Six days later, Loyer recorded a career-high 22 points against Nebraska. The Buckeyes will have to keep an eye on Loyer behind the three-point line. Loyer hit five triples in his first college game, and in late November he hit four threes in the win over Duke in Portland.

Rounding out the key contributors for Purdue are guards Braden Smith and Brandon Newman, as well as center Caleb Furst. Smith has strong all-around skills, averaging 8.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. While Smith might not put up huge numbers, he feels like the glue that keeps the team together on the floor, just like Justice Sueing is for Ohio State.

While Zach Edey gets most of the attention for Purdue, the Buckeyes will also have their hands full with Caleb Furst. The sophomore is just a couple inches shy of seven-feet tall, giving the Boilermakers a bit of twin towers action when paired with Edey. Furst has started to find his scoring touch as the season has gone on. After not reach double figures in the first four games of the season, Furst has now scored at least 10 points six times in the last 10 games.

Prediction


Earning a win over Purdue isn’t going to be easy, but what game in the Big Ten is? It’s quite obvious what Ohio State has to do if they want to hand the Boilermakers their second straight loss: slow down Zach Edey.

The 7-foot-4 center from Toronto is who Purdue will try and feature early and often in the offense. The key for the Buckeyes is going to be Zed Key. Even though Key will give up size to Edey, he has the athletic talent to at least slow down the Purdue big man. Key will have to be careful to not get into foul trouble, or else it could be a long night for Ohio State.

If the Buckeyes are able to at least slow down Edey, it will force Purdue to look to the perimeter for their offense, which isn’t something that hasn’t worked out well for the Boilermakers of late. If Ohio State can force Purdue to take some three-pointers instead of getting the ball onto the block with Edey, Chris Holtmann has to feel great about his team’s chances in this game.

Even though Purdue comes into this game ranked No. 1 in the country, Ohio State has plenty of experience against top teams in the nation, so the moment won’t be too big for them. Buckeye teams usually find a way to reach another level when they hosted top ranked teams, so the game being at Value City Arena is an advantage, which sometimes isn’t the case in less games where the atmosphere falls flat.

While Purdue certainly has the size advantage in this game, the sum of Ohio State’s parts feel like they are greater. Not only do the Buckeyes have an outstanding freshman with Brice Sensabaugh, they also have veteran players like Justice Sueing, Issac Likekele, and Sean McNeil, who come up big when needed, and do a bit of everything on the court. Right now it feels like this Buckeye team is playing together a little better, where the Boilermakers might be doubting themselves a bit after losing their first game of the year on Monday night.


ESPN BPI: Ohio State 68.5%
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1

LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 68, Purdue 64

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No. 3 Ohio State women’s basketball vs. Minneosta: Game preview and prediction
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The undefeated Buckeyes women’s basketball team faces a Gophers squad featuring impressive young talent.

The Ohio State Buckeyes women’s basketball team is now onto the 2023 calendar after playing a nearly perfect first half of the season. At 15-0, the Scarlet & Gray are the only remaining undefeated team in the Big Ten, which added to their No. 3 national ranking garners a lot of attention.

The next team with a chance to stop the streak are the Minnesota Golden Gophers. It’s a game that favors the Buckeyes, but after both the Indiana Hoosiers and Iowa Hawkeyes lost to unranked Big Ten units in the last week, there are no guarantees in conference play.

Preview


Ohio State’s been heavily on the winning side of things when it comes to games against Minnesota. Head coach Kevin McGuff’s Buckeyes are on a 10-game winning streak against the Gophers. Minnesota last beat Ohio State on Feb. 24, 2016. Back then, a lot of players on the two current teams weren’t even teenagers yet.

Even so, if there’s a group that can shock the Buckeyes, it might be the youth of the Golden Gophers. Head coach Lindsey Whalen, who was hired for the Minnesota job three days before coach McGuff back in April of 2013, is using a team of underclassmen to compete.

The Golden Gophers carry a 14-player roster. Half are freshmen, with the remaining seven split between a senior, three graduate students and three sophomores. Their starting lineup alone features four freshmen and a sophomore. So far, it’s worked about as expected — inconsistent results and an 8-6 record.

Part of those six losses are defeats to the Iowa Hawkeyes and Maryland Terrapins. Iowa and Maryland both beat the Gophers by 22 points in their respective conference match-ups.

However, the future in Minnesota is bright, and it features freshman Mara Braun. Braun leads Minnesota in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game, which also makes her the highest scoring freshman in the Big Ten. The young Minnesota-native is a confident shooter who has the ability to attack the basket and hit free throws at a strong clip.

To start Big Ten play, Braun hit five free throws in the final 1:18 of the game. Of the five, three came at the end of regulation when the guard was fouled beyond the arc, hitting all three to tie the game. Despite being a freshman, Braun possesses a maturity that’s pushing a team with little experience throughout their roster.

She isn’t alone either. Sophomore Alanna Micheaux and freshman Mallory Heyer, both forwards, average 12.5 and 11.4 points and 6.9 and 6.3 rebounds per game respectively. They lead a Minnesota team that sits atop the conference in rebounding with 43.5 per game — an area that Ohio State is not known for in the past two seasons.

Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Sophomore forward Alanna Micheaux (4) shooting over the Maryland Terrapins on Dec. 30, 2022.

The Golden Gophers are strong offensively and on the boards, but go back to the youth factor. An area where they struggle is defense. Take those rebounds for example. They also lead the conference in most rebounds allowed per game.

When Minnesota plays, there are a lot of opportunities for offense. Minnesota is seventh in scoring in the conference and 12th in points allowed. If thats indicative of how Thursday’s game goes, Ohio State’s scorers will have their chances.

If the Scarlet & Gray’s press can frustrate a team of mostly underclassmen, it could be a lot of scoring runs from the Buckeyes.

Projected Starters

Lineup Notes

• Buckeyes’ current starters average 63.5 points per game of Ohio State’s 87.3 total per game.
• Although guard Emma Shumate has only appeared in 13 games, averaging 11.3 minutes per game, she leads Ohio State with 13 blocks.
• Guard/forward Taylor Thierry still leads the nation in field goal percentage, even with it dropping slightly from 73% to 71.2%.

Lineup Notes

• Braun’s 17.5 points per game is a high for freshmen, and ninth overall in the Big Ten.
• Sophomore Alanna Micheaux leads the team in rebounding with 6.7 per game and has increased her scoring to 8.5 points per game.
• Minnesota allows 71.1 points per game, the third-highest in the Big Ten.

Prediction


This will be a game where the Buckeyes leverage their experience. Even without guard Jacy Sheldon, who’s still out week-to-week with a lower leg injury, there's enough energy and intensity on the Buckeyes roster to disrupt Minnesota.

Ohio State will force over 20 turnovers for the 15th time in 16 games, and forward Cotie McMahon has a strong scoring performance. Also, if forward Rebeka Mikulášiková can force the Golden Gophers’ young presence in the paint into early fouls, it’ll go a long way in securing a confident win for the No. 3 Buckeyes.

How to Watch


Date: Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Stream: B1G+

LGHL Prediction: 89-72 Ohio State Buckeyes

Illinois Fighting Illini on the horizon


So far, the Scarlet and Gray’s schedule has been pitting them against a tough opponent right after a game against a lesser team, which gives players the chance to look beyond their current challenge. Thursday’s trip to Minnesota is no exception.

Ohio State returns home for a Sunday afternoon game against the Illinois Fighting Illini. While they haven’t had a winning record in almost 10 seasons, this year is different. First year Illini head coach Shauna Greene has one of the best rebounders in the conference and a rising star in NC State transfer Genesis Bryant.

If Ohio State lacks intensity for a chunk of their game against Minnesota, which has happened throughout the early parts of the season, it might be the big orange distraction sitting three days ahead on the Buckeyes’ calendar.

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Bucketheads Podcast: Previewing Purdue with the Big Ten Network’s Rapheal Davis
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We talked with Davis about his time at Purdue, Matt Painter, Ohio State and the Boilermakers in general leading into Thursday’s bout in Columbus.

‘Bucketheads’ is LGHL’s men’s basketball podcast, hosted by Connor Lemons and Justin Golba. Every episode they give you the latest scoop on the Ohio State Buckeyes and everything else happening in the college hoops world.

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For the 60th episode of “Bucketheads,” Connor and Justin welcomed on Big Ten Network analyst and former Purdue Boilermaker Rapheal Davis to preview the showdown between the No. 24 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers later tonight.

We talked to Davis about his time at Purdue, the current Boilermaker squad and what happened in their loss to Rutgers. Davis also talks about what he thinks about Ohio State and the current makeup of their team, his relationship with current OSU assistant coach Jack Owens, and of course, some quick-hitting questions at the end.

We also talk about Ohio State’s convincing win over Northwestern and whether or not we think the Buckeyes can win the Big Ten this season.

Make sure to leave a comment and review on the podcast wherever you find it!


Connect with the Podcast:
Twitter: @BucketheadsLGHL

Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor

Connect with Justin:
Twitter: @justin_golba

Connect with Rapheal
Twitter: @RaphealDavis3

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All-American Bowl practice updates as multiple Buckeye signees stand out
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Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ohio State is bringing in some elite talent on both sides of the ball in its 2023 class.

Ohio State defensive back signee turning heads at practice


The loss to Georgia on New Year’s Eve still hurts and for many reasons. While this isn’t placing all of the blame on one single position group or factor, the cornerback spot and defensive secondary overall clearly need to improve. There’s talent in Columbus for sure, but the recruiting could still use an uptick, and the development side of things as well needs to see improvement heading into near season.

That said, even with a small 2023 class — only bringing in two real cornerbacks — the Buckeyes are loving what they have already in terms of ability and potential. The coaching staff is still looking hard at the transfer portal to bring in experienced help, but if the situation doesn’t work out in the portal, the staff is ready to get their youngsters primed for the 2023 season. With the limited depth in the room right now, they may have to play the young guys. Fortunately, what’s coming to town soon looks to be of major help.

This week has seen the All-American Bowl practices get underway ahead of the contest this weekend, and like every year the Buckeyes will be well represented. On Wednesday, further examples of Ohio State bringing in elite talent was shown, specifically with 2023 signee Calvin Simpson-Hunt.

The Texas native has dominated on the practice field as one of the top defensive backs on the rosters. The No. 79 player nationally and eighth best cornerback in the class, Simpson-Hunt is demonstrating why this staff worked so hard to flip him earlier in the process from Texas Tech and keep him in the fold down the stretch.

Adding to the impressive praise he’s drawn this week, Director of Recruiting for 247Sports Steve Wiltfong named Simpson-Hunt the “Alpha Dog” and went as far as to say that he looks college-ready to compete at Ohio State even as a freshman. His coverage ability has been what’s made the most noise, but even on reps where a receiver impresses, Calvin’s speed has made him jump routes and break-up passes down field. It seems telling to see how he has performed against the nation’s best receivers who have been invited to this prestigious event.

Exactly what you’d want to hear as a team who needs to see some help in the back-end, Simpson-Hunt is doing his part to continue working before he gets to Columbus, where his arrival will be welcomed with open arms.

Quick Hits

• In addition to Ohio State defensive signees turning heads at All-American Bowl practice, the offensive side of the ball is shining too. The receiver position, of course, continues to dominate much of the success the Buckeyes are having.

Yesterday, Ohio State’s top receiver signee Brandon Inniss continued to receive praise for his play, and it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for him. Excelling during his senior campaign all fall and now against the top players in the country, Inniss is showing why he was as highly ranked as he was and why Brian Hartline was set on picking up his commitment. Thanks to him and the other three signees, the receiver room is stocked and loaded again for the Buckeyes.

• Per Eleven Warriors, 2024 linebacker Kristopher Jones (Stafford, Virginia/Mountain View) has plans to officially visit Ohio State — likely in the summer months. A 6-foot-2, 220 pound linebacker, Jones is currently the No. 85 player nationally, the ninth best player at his position and the top player from Virginia in the 2024 class per the 247Sports Composite.

Offered by Ohio State this past June, Jones has kept in touch with the Buckeyes, and has quickly tallied up quite the impressive offer list in his recruitment. Programs such as Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Penn State, Notre Dame, and nearly 20 others already have their name in the fold, and Ohio State is working on keeping theirs near the top of the list.

With Jim Knowles being a linebacker coach at heart, he will likely do the heavy lifting in this recruitment, and with that position one of need in next year’s cycle, at least two guys will be desired. Jones is a name that will continue to be in the mix.

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247 Profile
Rivals Profile
Twitter: @JayAlmighty6



Position: Safety
School: Syracuse
Class: 2020 (high school)
Hometown: Richmond, VA
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 185 lbs
Transfer rating: .9300

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Column: When will the world realize athletes are human beings, too?
meganhusslein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s about time.

People tend to act like athletes are superheroes. In their eyes, the athlete can do no wrong. They look up to them and are inspired by them. Therefore, when they get injured, fans feel deeply for them. If an athlete does make a mistake, it is a huge shock to fans.

Shocking, I know, but no athlete is perfect, and it’s about time people start to realize that. Athletes are human beings just like the rest of us.

I feel like this column is fairly long overdue. Fans will turn on their favorite athletes in seconds if that athlete makes a pivotal mistake. There has been numerous instances just in the past few years just at Ohio State that I can call to mind.

In the 2019 Fiesta Bowl against Clemson, Justin Fields threw an interception to end the game in a loss. Everyone put the blame on him. Duane Washington Jr. missed a three-pointer against Oral Roberts that would’ve sent the game into double overtime. Everyone put the blame on him. E.J. Liddell received DEATH THREATS as a result of missing a free throw during that game. WTF is wrong with people?

The latest comes after Ohio State’s heartbreaking loss to Georgia. Noah Ruggles missed a 50-yard field goal attempt that would’ve upset the Bulldogs and sent the Buckeyes to the National Championship. Unfortunately, he has received a lot of hate on social media as well.

Do you think that anyone is beating themselves up more than the athletes themselves? Don’t you think that they replay that one play that could’ve changed the game over and over in their mind? They really don’t need to receive hate on top of it.

Additionally, one play never truly makes or breaks a game. Yes, some come at more pivotal times than others, but every single play in the game affects the outcome. If the defense didn’t give up 42 points, then the Buckeyes could’ve won. If the run game got going a bit more, if Stover and Harrison didn’t get injured, etc. You cannot blame one singular play.

Most importantly, these college athletes are KIDS. They are 18-22 year olds (unless they’re Stetson Bennett, but even as a fully grown man, he shouldn’t be treated like this). Liddell was 20 years old when he received death threats. What type of grown adults attack a twenty year old over a basketball game?

Don’t get me wrong, I love sports just as much as the next person, and they bring me so much joy — along with heartbreak. That’s the great thing about sports. They unite people, they give people something to look forward to and provide happiness. But at the end of the day, it’s just a game.

These athletes playing is what provides us that joy. I don’t know how some people can be their biggest fans one minute, and then attack everything about them the next. I’m so grateful that these athletes sacrifice so much in order to provide us with this entertainment!

These athletes are human beings, just like us. They’re trying their best every single time they step on the field or the court. No one cares more about the game than they do. So please, do not ever attack an athlete because of a mistake they made during a game. Do not ever leave hate messages. There is so much anger and hate in the world already and sports are supposed to be one of the few things that bring happiness. Let’s just appreciate the game.

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Ohio State’s defense fell short when it mattered most, but there is good reason to be optimistic
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Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images

Like Alexander, Jim Knowles and his OSU defense had a couple of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days with the Buckeyes’ season on the line. However, there should be plenty of brighter days ahead.

Jim Knowles’ defense could not stop a nosebleed on New Year’s Eve. Let’s just get that out of the way. There is no sugar-coating it. And the unit’s Peach Bowl performance was doubly concerning when combined with what we saw roughly six weeks ago.

On Nov. 26 – a day unfortunately burned into the memories of Ohio State fans – TTUN gashed Knowles’ Pewter Bullets for big play after big play, hitting on a number of what the defensive coordinator refers to as “explosives.” So it is entirely fair to say that the tail end of OSU’s season became a full-on fireworks display... in the worst way imaginable.

Full of explosions, with most taking place in the Buckeyes’ defensive secondary.


If not for a poor option read by Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, as well as a forced throw by the 25-year-old Heisman finalist, UGA could have scored 50 in Saturday night’s Peach Bowl. And made it look easy. Sure, Ohio State forced two punts, but those came on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter — after Knowles had time to make his “best” adjustments.

The Buckeyes also sacked Bennett for the first time since October, but their defensive front did little to affect his rhythm with the game hanging in the balance. The Bulldogs did what they wanted, when they wanted to do it.

And yet, OSU nearly pulled off the improbable: De-throning the defending national champions, in their own backyard, without major offensive contributors, and with a subpar defense. Calling Knowles’ defense subpar might sound like I am being generous, but at the end of the day, this actually could have been a title-winning unit! Massive warts and all.

Because in today’s world of college football, offense is king. With Ryan Day’s expertise guiding said offense, the Buckeyes are capable of winning most games with just a few stops.

Georgia will likely win it all with the fourth or fifth-ranked scoring defense (when all is said and done) in FBS, but they themselves gave up 41 on Saturday night. Meaning the Bulldogs had to light up the Mercedes-Benz Stadium scoreboard in order to win. The other CFP seminal, played between TCU and TTUN, turned into a track meet during the second half, resulting in 96 total points being scored.

All in all, the four best – or at least most deserving – teams in the country surrendered an average of 44.75 points in this year’s CFP, and any or all of them could have been crowned worthy champions while doing so. Oddly enough, Ohio State scored the least number of points in either of the two semifinals, despite entering the Peach Bowl with the No. 2 scoring offense.

Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
C.J. Stroud played his best game in a Buckeye uniform, but his heroic effort was not enough to overcome a porous defense

However, this piece is not about OSU’s offense or Ryan Day’s play-calling. Instead, it is intended to acknowledge and perhaps even call out the program’s defensive shortcomings, while also providing hope for the future. Because I think there is plenty of optimism to go around, even if it does not feel that way today.

I will not pretend to be smart enough to point out exactly what went wrong during the Buckeyes’ last two football games. Nor do I have the patience or the stomach to re-live those contests. But I will tell you that I think recent defensive failures were more execution-based than they were coaching-induced.

After all, Knowles’ scheme was not to blame for Cam Brown missing a tackle against TTUN. His playcalling was not at fault when Lathan Ransom slipped and fell in Atlanta. And he most certainly did not handpick the secondary coaches working beneath him. So I still have faith in last offseason’s most highly-coveted coaching free agent. Call me a homer or call me naïve, but don’t call Knowles a failure at this whole DC thing. His track record of improvement speaks for itself.

Does he (Knowles) need to be better? Absolutely, unequivocally, without question... hell yes. There is no excuse for the last two performances from his defense. But even though he is an experienced coach, Knowles is/was not experienced in the pressure cooker known as Columbus. Coaching at Ohio State is a whole different animal, and now he has a full season+ under his belt. We as fans should give him the benefit of the doubt that he will make necessary adjustments.


Perhaps that begins near the top, with changes made to the Buckeyes’ defensive coaching staff. Again, I am not smart enough to tell you whether or not Tim Walton is the greatest coach on God’s green earth, but I am able to plainly point out that cornerbacks regressed under his tutelage. There is always a chance Perry Eliano caught lightning in a bottle with his guys at Cincinnati, and that he is not cut out for life in the Big Ten. And maybe, just maybe, Larry Johnson is slipping just a bit.

Quite frankly, I refuse to believe the latter, but it does not matter what I think. All that matters is Knowles’ opinion, and despite how this season ended, he should have earned enough of Day’s trust to make staff decisions. It is entirely possible that we see a coaching upgrade, and upgrades are always a good thing — unless they are being offered by Southwest Airlines. In which case, the offer is likely just an empty promise.

But beyond coaching, beyond the fact that CFB’s best teams can win a national title with just “ok” defense, the reason I choose to remain optimistic about this Ohio State group is talent. The Buckeyes have a ton of it, and 2023 (and 2024 and so on) should bring a fresh infusion of players. Players who are hungry to shake the team’s recent reputation and help turn this OSU defense around.

Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
A hungry and even-more experienced J.T. Tuimoloau should lead the charge for Ohio State’s defense in 2023

For me, it starts in the secondary. As porous as this unit looked throughout the 2022 season, I am still excited to see what they can do in future seasons — with fresh faces in the room.

I am intrigued by the potential of a healthy Jordan Hancock. Same thing goes for a more-experienced version of Jyaire Brown and Ryan Turner. Out with the old, in with the new. It can’t be much worse (or more frustrating) than what we saw at times this year. There is also bounce-back potential for Denzel Burke, who was outstanding as a true freshman. If the corners go from a C- to even a B-, it will go a long way in solving some of the issues we saw this (last, technically) year.

The safety position could also be much better in future seasons. Ransom should be back to lead the group in 2023, and if he is allowed to roam – as opposed to covering mistakes – he is a dangerous, dangerous player. We got a preview of what Kye Stokes brings to the field, and if his spring game playmaking carries over, he could become Ohio State’s next version of Malik Hooker. Lastly, let’s not forget about Sonny Styles. Whether or not he sticks at safety or transitions to linebacker is TBD, but regardless of where he plays, I believe the Pickerington (OH) native will be a difference maker.

Tanner McCalister and Ronnie Hickman simply did not make enough plays this season, so with time, I think Stokes, Styles, and others will provide these Buckeyes a much-needed improvement in the back end.

Up front, the Buckeyes should be loaded for years to come. J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, and Mike Hall Jr. form an uber-talented DL trio from the 2021 recruiting class. All flashed in 2022, with Tuimoloau leading the way. He also appeared to take on a leadership role toward the end of the season, which is a huge positive moving forward. They should be joined on the line next year by some combination of Kenyatta Jackson, Omari Abor, Caden Curry, and/or Hero Kanu.

Few of those guys made an impact this season, but the talent is real. Jackson in particular has traits which you cannot teach. The long-limbed pass rusher could be an absolute nightmare if he adds the right amount of weight and develops his technique.

Behind a potentially fearsome group of pass rushers is an already much-improved linebacker unit. While OSU could lose the services of Tommy Eichenberg, he has not yet decided on his future. There is certainly a world in which he returns. And his running mate Steele Chambers has already announced his intent to return to Columbus in 2023.

Cody Simon should provide good depth, and behind him is a trio of top-100 LB from the 2021 and 2022 classes. C.J. Hicks has always received plenty of attention – for good reason – but do not sleep on Reid Carrico and/or Gabe Powers. Both were top-10 players at their position, and I would not be shocked to see them step into a starting role sooner than later.

Styles is also a viable option at LB, seeing as though he earned reps there during the Peach Bowl. So the ceiling for this position group is actually pretty scary (for future opponents), if most or all players fully develop. I even feel confident enough to say that I expect the Buckeyes to have one of the better LB cores in the Big Ten, if not the entire county in 2023 — regardless of who earns a starting role.

Of course, all of these future projections ignore the possibility of 2023 freshmen, future freshmen, and/or transfers contributing in Columbus right away. Though OSU has not been extremely active in the transfer portal (in recent years), they have previously found success bringing in the likes of Justin Fields, Jonah Jackson, and McCalister. And I believe that Day’s program will be much more active in the future. Frankly, they may be forced to do so, in order to supplement their roster.

So now you have all my reasons for optimism, at least when it comes to the future of Ohio State’s defense. Some of these reasons are projected or hypothesized, while others are based on real, factual evidence. Jim Knowles did coach up a much-better defense than the version we saw in 2020 or 2021. But it was never championship-worthy. And it fell flat in the biggest moments. It is unfortunate, but the Buckeyes will move on.

We as fans should have expected growing pains along the way, just like we should expect brighter days ahead. Rome was not built in a day, and neither was this OSU defense. But I would argue that Knowles’ unit actually moved ahead of schedule in 2022. Crazy, I know.

But consider where they were the year before he arrived: Tuimoloau and Sawyer saw very limited reps as true freshman, while Hall Jr. was a complete afterthought. Eichenberg was a good-not-great run-stopping specialist, and Chambers was just learning how to play linebacker. Corner depth was already depleted, Ransom broke his leg, and Bryson Shaw was running around the back end like a chicken with its head cut off.

But look at us now! At least we have an experienced DC (not a shot at his predecessor).

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

The foundation of a great defense is in Columbus. I truly believe that. It might take Knowles a little bit longer to figure things out – longer than we’d like as fans – but he has shown the ability to do so in his past. With lesser talent. So let’s choose to remain optimistic for the future, and have faith that our Buckeyes will be back in title contention in 2023 and beyond. Perhaps even led by a game-changing defense...

Go Bucks!

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Column: When tragedy struck, the NFL was unprepared
JamiJurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The league’s skewed priorities led to an egregious failure following Damar Hamlin’s collapse.

By this time, most of the sports-following world is aware of what happened during this week’s Monday Night Football matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, when Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in the first-quarter.

What we watched live was Hamlin take a big hit in the chest during a play, after which he got up and then suddenly collapsed. We now know from a team statement that Hamlin, 24, suffered a cardiac arrest after the play and remains in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

But for many agonizing minutes Monday night, it was unclear to everyone – fans, teammates, opponents, coaches, reporters – what had happened and whether Hamlin would be OK.

Upon his collapse, multiple players from both teams surrounded him in concern while athletic trainers, independent medical professionals and local paramedics provided help. He received CPR on the field before being taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The Bills players immediately knelt down in prayer.

It was clear to everyone watching that this was a frightening, traumatic incident for everyone in the Stadium, particularly for the teammates, coaches and staff who know and love him. And yet, it took more than 20 minutes from the time Hamlin collapsed for the game to be temporarily suspended. And it took approximately another 45 minutes from that point to call the game altogether.

The League has not yet announced whether the game will be replayed. And frankly, that doesn’t matter.

I want to acknowledge that there is little-to-no protocol in place for this because it so rarely happens. This is, thankfully, not a particularly regular occurrence. And with this game being so late in the season and the playoff and Super Bowl dates being locked, there are logistical implications for the League that those of us at home aren’t considering.

There, I’ve acknowledged it. And you know what? It’s still a load of crap that it took so long to call that game.

Those of us who love sports deeply do so because so much of the time, they feel like more than a game. The energy, the passion, the community – they are transcendent.

But it was so clear watching Monday night’s game that far too often, we forget that sports are just a game. Silly little boys throwing around a silly little ball. And never — no matter how many scheduling logistics or millions of dollars are on the line — NEVER will that be more important than the value of a human being’s life.

In the days to come, the NFL will have to sort out the logistics. But none of that needed to be discussed, let alone sorted out Monday night.

What needed to be prioritized - the ONLY thing that needed to be prioritized - was Hamlin’s health and the emotional wellbeing of those who know and love him, along with anyone who was present and dealing with the trauma of what they had witnessed.

The League failed miserably in waiting as long as they did to call the game, forcing players and coaches to wait in the locker room for the League’s decision about whether the game would continue.

Many Bills players were visibly emotional and in great distress. Receiver Stefon Diggs was weeping on the field, and while the team returned to Buffalo, some of the players chose to stay behind to be near the hospital where they could visit their teammate. And every single one of them deserved better than to have to wait in uncertainty and agony for the League’s decision about game play.

In the wake of Monday’s game, the League (and other professional leagues) need to take a long, hard look both at their priorities and their protocol to ensure games are immediately called in the wake of a tragic situation and to keep the health, well-being and emotional safety of players and coaches front-of-mind always.

While we sincerely hope nothing like this ever happens again, that is impossible to know, and the League needs to remain prepared for such a circumstance so they don’t fail their players like they did during last night’s inexplicable holding pattern.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with Damar Hamlin for a full recovery and with the Buffalo Bills organization and all his loved ones during this time. And to the NFL, such a failure on your part to prioritize human beings over football must never happen again.

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Column: C.J. Stroud deserves more accolades
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 Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Trophies on trophies. Good thing he’s got a long NFL career ahead of him.

Former Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith’s list of achievements is absurd, especially the list of things he won in 2006 alone:

• Heisman Trophy
• Davey O’Brien Award
• AP College Football Player of the Year
• National Championship runner-up

The list goes on. Of note, many of these awards are national recognitions rather than conference awards. Smith would later be drafted in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft and have a short-lived NFL career.

No offense to Smith (seriously), but if we were to put together an Ohio State All-Star roster from the last 20 years, he would not top the depth chart at QB.

One person who is competing for that top spot is C.J. Stroud. Even without the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear that Stroud has all the makings of a quarterback whose talents will have longevity and whose accomplishments will remain salient in our minds.

Consider Stroud’s performance against Georgia Saturday: 23-for-34 passing for 348 yards, four touchdowns and no picks. He was near-perfect against one of the nation’s most formidable defenses and the defending national champs. Against the Bulldogs, he did everything he could possibly have done, including leading two sub-minute drives at the end of each half to put the Buckeyes in positions to score. (For the record, this is not a knock on anyone else on the team who also played out of their minds Saturday.)

Unfortunately for Stroud, his two seasons at Ohio State have come with a theme of always being second place — and that’s not fair. Perhaps I’m being a biased Ohio State fan here (always), but Stroud’s performance over the last two seasons has been among the most impressive in that time. If there were a Heisman awarded for a two-season stretch, Stroud would have won it.

But Heismans don’t work that way and neither do national championships.

Stroud’s list of achievements as a starting quarterback look very similar to Justin Fields, minus two pairs of gold pants and a win in the College Football Playoff semi-final. Some of those accolades include:

• Two-time first team All-Big Ten
• Two-time Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year
• Two-time Brees-Griese Quarterback of the Year
• Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year
• Second team All-American

Of note, most of Stroud’s highest honors were won at the Big Ten level, as we can tell by all the hyphenated award names. These accolades should be enough to indicate that Stroud was a great quarterback in his time at Ohio State, but it still stings that he was invited to New York twice for the Heisman Trophy ceremony only to leave empty handed. Also that he had two realistic shots at national titles only to come up empty.

It’s a bummer too because Stroud entered and spent much of the 2022 season as the favorite for the Heisman, only to be usurped by Caleb Williams at the 11th hour. And in rivalry matchups, he had two games against Michigan where the Buckeyes entered The Game as the favorites only to lose both.

He does have two impressive postseason performances under his belt with the 2022 Rose Bowl and, as we said, the 2022 Peach Bowl. In fact, Stroud’s performance Saturday likely improved his NFL Draft stock and placed him in a competitive position for the No. 1-overall pick by the Houston Texans. With a probable coaching change inbound, it’s unclear if the Texans might opt for an improviser like Bryce Young, who is generously listed at just 6 feet tall, or if a traditional passer a la Stroud would be the way to go. Regardless, it’s hard to imagine Stroud falling way back in the draft.

Heck, it might even be better for Stroud to land at a more complete team like the Detroit Lions or Seattle Seahawks, who have some momentum but are missing a franchise quarterback. As we’ve seen with top quarterback prospects in the past, it might even be helpful to sit for a season behind a veteran while learning the ropes of the NFL.

Still, as a fan of Stroud the player and the person, it’s hard not to root for him and want him to get some of the honors he deserves. I’m not here saying Stroud should get a participation award for consistently finishing as the next man up, but my hope is at least that he gets his payday and can have an impressive NFL career and maybe a couple Super Bowls to boot.

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Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors becoming a regular occurrence for McMahon, Sensabaugh
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s been nearly a month since a non-Buckeye has been named FOTW in men’s or women’s basketball.

Every week, the Big Ten conference names a player of the week for both men’s and women’s basketball — an honor that has yet to be bestowed upon an Ohio State player so far this season. Many people are saying Justice Sueing should have won Player of the Week after his 33-point performance against Texas Tech on Nov. 23, but that’s neither here nor there.

The other award that is given out each week is the Freshman of the Week award, given to the freshman player that’s had the most outstanding week in both men’s and women’s basketball. And folks, at this point they may just need to rename it the Ohio State Freshman of the Week award, because two Buckeyes have locked down the award for each of the last three and four weeks, respectively.

On the men’s side, 6-foot-6 freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh has now earned the award each of the past three weeks. Over the last three weeks, 24th-ranked Ohio State has gone 3-1, and Sensabaugh has averaged 20 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He currently leads the Buckeyes in scoring at 15.9 PPG on the season, is shooting 52.4% overall, and 46.6% from three-point land — fourth best in the conference and tops among B1G freshmen.


Sensabaugh is the only player to win the award three times this season so far, and only the second (along with Purdue’s Fletcher Loyer) to win it more than once this season. He is also the third Ohio State player ever to win the award in three consecutive weeks, joining Jared Sullinger (2010-2011) and D’Angelo Russell (2014-2015).

On the women’s side, 6-foot freshman forward and Centerville-native Cotie McMahon has now won the award four consecutive weeks, making it her award for a month straight. Over the last four weeks, McMahon has averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 steals per game for the No. 3 Buckeyes, who at 15-0 are still undefeated.


During her four-week reign as Freshman of the Week, the Buckeyes are 7-0, including wins over No. 14 Michigan and No. 16 Oregon. On Dec. 20, McMahon scored a career-high 30 points during an 88-86 overtime win vs a feisty South Florida squad at the San Diego Invitational that helped Ohio State preserve their unblemished record.

McMahon’s progression over the past several weeks has helped cover the lost production from injured guards Jacy Sheldon (lower leg, out indefinitely) and Madison Greene (knee, out for season). Her increased production also takes attention away from leading scorers Taylor Mikesell and Rebeka Mikulasikova. That well-rounded scoring attack is what makes the Buckeyes so dangerous, as opponents cannot afford to commit too much to any individual Buckeye on the defensive end.

With both freshmen playing prominent roles and major minutes on their respective teams, expect both Sensabaugh and McMahon to rack up a few more FOTW awards before the season concludes.

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Big Ten women’s basketball power rankings: Beginning of conference play
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land

Conference basketball is all that’s on the calendar between now and the start of March Madness, so here’s where teams sit.

Big Ten conference play is back in a big way to start 2023, and already teams are grabbing attention. Not only is the Ohio State Buckeyes women’s basketball team the only remaining undefeated squad, but upsets to the Iowa Hawkeyes and Indiana Hoosiers thrust teams like the Illinois Fighting Illini into the discussion.

To organize the madness, Land-Grant Holy Land brings you Big Ten women’s basketball power rankings. It’s an arbitrary list based on the vibes of teams at the current moment of the season.

Check out the first edition here, created before conference play hit its stride. Now, with most schools playing four Big Ten games, it’s time to see where the teams land.

1 - Ohio State Buckeyes

Last Ranking: 2 (+1)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/5 at Minnesota & 1/8 vs. Illinois


No. 1 on the list is the easiest choice. The Ohio State Buckeyes are the lone undefeated team in the conference. Add to that the Scarlet & Gray having four wins against ranked opponents, and two within 10 days of one another.

On top of that, they’re doing it with two guards injured, including Madison Greene out for the season, announced before the two new ranked wins to close out 2022.

Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land
Rikki Harris (1) is leading the Buckeyes attack with absences to Jacy Sheldon and Madison Greene

Can Ohio State continue their play as the roster changes and tougher Big Ten opponents appear on the schedule?

2 - Indiana Hoosiers

Last Ranking: 1 (-1)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/8 at Northwestern & 1/12 vs. Maryland


It’s easy to agree for most people who watch the Big Ten that, when healthy, the Indiana Hoosiers have the ability to win the conference. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, that isn’t the case this year.

Guard Grace Berger has been out six weeks, and it led to Indiana’s first loss of the season against the Michigan State Spartans. Once the Crimson are back at full health, upsets like that are less likely to happen.

Following their loss to the Spartans, the Hoosiers bounced back with a win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Center Mackenzie Holmes scored 22 in the win, as she leads the Hoosiers and sits second in the conference averaging 20.9 points per game.

3 - Maryland Terrapins

Last Ranking: 4 (+1)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/7 vs. Michigan State & 1/12 at Indiana


As long as the Maryland Terrapins have guard Diamond Miller, they’re going to keep on winning. Miller is first in blocks per game, fifth in scoring and 11th in rebounding this season. That includes three double-doubles and a buzzer-beating shot to beat Notre Dame in the ACC/B1G Challenge.

Maryland are 8-2 in their last 10 games, and even though one of those losses was a lopsided defeat to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Miller and the Terrapins also beat a ranked Notre Dame and UConn side in the stretch.

In their two-game return to Big Ten play, Maryland won both games by double-digits, but against teams in the bottom half of the standings in Rutgers and Minnesota. In the next stretch of competition, Maryland has one of the more difficult pair of games playing a surging Michigan State team at home and the Hoosiers in Indiana.

4 - Michigan Wolverines

Last Ranking: 3 (-1)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/7 vs. Iowa & 1/10 at Purdue


If not for Maryland’s current form, the Michigan Wolverines wouldn’t lose a spot in the rankings. Michigan beat the No. 6 North Carolina Tar Heels and narrowly lost to the No. 3 Buckeyes, but the UNC win is looking less impressive as the days go on.

The Tar Heels lost their next two games, and are on a three-game skid. UNC’s also lost big to the Indiana Hoosiers in the ACC/B1G Challenge, taking a little luster away from the Maize & Blue’s win over the powder blues.

Since losing to Ohio State though on New Year’s Eve, Michigan beat the Penn State Nittany Lions Tuesday. Now, the Wolverines have the chance to reinforce their spot near the top of the conference against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

5 - Illinois Fighting Illini

Last Ranking: 7 (+2)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/5 vs. Northwestern & 1/8 at Ohio State


The Illinois Fighting Illini are the surprise team of the season in the Big Ten. Under new head coach Shauna Green, Illinois are 13-2, well on their way to their first winning season since 2012-13. Green and the Illini are doing it with a pair of transfers too.

Former NC State guard Genesis Bryant’s won B1G Player of the Week for two straight weeks. Since starting for the Illini in mid-December, Bryant averages 20 points and six assists a game. In the streak of four starts, Bryant threw a triple-double into the mix against the Florida Atlantic Owls.


Green and the Illini grabbed attention last week, defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes in Champaign, Illinois. It wasn’t a last second steal either. The Illini held the lead for the last 23 minutes of game clock.

Their form this year makes their trip to Columbus on Sunday must-watch Big Ten basketball.

6 - Iowa Hawkeyes

Last Ranking: 5 (-1)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/7 at Michigan & 1/11 vs. Northwestern


There’s still plenty of time for the Iowa Hawkeyes to bounce back from their current sixth place spot in the standings, but it’s been a rough start to the year.

It hasn’t been due to injury either. Guard Caitlin Clark, consensus First Team All-B1G and Naismith Player of the Year finalist in 2022, had a minor ankle knock but didn't miss any time. Clark also leads the conference, and her own NCAA career high, with 27.1 points per game.

Clark and center Monika Czinano are playing their best college basketball of their careers, but beyond that it’s been tough for Iowa to pull out victories. In their last 10 games they have three losses, two to ranked sides and their last game against Illinois.

Losing to teams they should beat happened last year too, so don’t count Iowa anywhere close to out yet.

7 - Michigan State Spartans

Last Ranking: 10 (+4)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/7 at Maryland & 1/11 vs. Wisconsin


The Michigan State Spartans made the biggest leap in the power rankings this time around, jumping four spots. That leap also matches their current winning streak.

Sparty played the Buckeyes tough, with Ohio State winning with their closest margin in a conference victory by only six points. Impressive considering the Scarlet & Gray averaged double-digit wins up until that point.

Since that loss, the Spartans are continuing their tough play. While two of those four were against small non-conference opponents, the other two featured a win against the Indiana Hoosiers.

Michigan State is a team to watch down the stretch, and fans of the Big Ten will see what they’re made of this week when they travel to Maryland on Saturday.

8 - Purdue Boilermakers

Last Ranking: 6 (-2)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/7 at Penn State & 1/10 vs. Michigan


West Lafayette’s own Purdue Boilermakers have a better record than the Spartans, but sit below them in the power rankings because they can’t seem to get a marquee conference win.

To be fair to Purdue, they did beat a Syracuse University team that has a 10-4 record — a vast improvement from the Oranges’ 11-18 record last year. However, when Big Ten teams come calling, the Boilermakers keep falling.

With losses to in-state rivals, the Hoosiers, and a narrow defeat at home to the Terrapins, Purdue’s best win in-Big Ten play comes against the Spartans. In that game, it took overtime for Purdue to scrap out the three-point win.

Tuesday’s game against Michigan will be an interesting test for a Purdue team that’s capable of much more than their current output.

9 - Nebraska Cornhuskers

Last Ranking: 11 (+2)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/7 at Rutgers & 1/11 vs. Penn State


Coming up at nine are the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nebraska started the year with expectations, fell hard in a week’s time, but have begun climbing back. That was until last week.

During their climb, the Cornhuskers slipped. Nebraska lost to the Michigan Wolverines and Indiana Hoosiers in back-to-back games. Sure, it’s a tough stretch, but in both games Nebraska looked like they could win.

The Cornhuskers played confidently in both matchups for roughly three quarters before their opponents showed their experience. Michigan pulled away for a 17-point win, but Indiana needed overtime before eventually pulling away.

Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
Maggie Mendelson (44) in Nebraska’s overtime loss to the Indiana Hoosiers

Someone to watch on the Cornhuskers is center Maggie Mendelson. The 6-foot-5 dual-sport athlete joined Nebraska’s basketball team at the end of the Nebraska volleyball season. Mendelson has averaged 5.5 points per game in four appearances, but it’s not bad for a 17-year-old who graduated high school a whole year early to compete at Nebraska.

10 - Penn State Nittany Lions

Last Ranking: 9 (-1)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/7 vs. Purdue & 1/11 at Nebraska


Penn State is on a high on the football side of things, winning the Rose Bowl on Monday. For the women’s basketball team, things aren’t going as great.

The Nittany Lions are similar to the Cornhuskers in their games this season. They’re competing for a majority of the game until their opponent takes over. In their 10-5 record, three of them are against Big Ten teams, including Indiana, Minnesota and an early afternoon defeat on Tuesday, in a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Michigan ultimately won by 10 points, but guard Makenna Marisa and the Nittany Lions fell in the final quarter.

11 - Minnesota Golden Gophers

Last Ranking: 8 (-3)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/5 vs. Ohio State & 1/8 at Wisconsin


The toughest spots to fill in the power rankings were at 10 and 11. It’s a toss-up really between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Penn State Nittany Lions. Both teams are younger and have better records because of the teams they’ve faced — which explains them needing three overtimes to decide a winner in their first Big Ten games of the season.

Minnesota starts two freshmen in guard Mara Braun and forward Mallory Heyer, and both are having great first seasons. They’re setting up the Golden Gophers to be a tough competitor in the next few seasons, but right now beating teams like Eastern Illinois and then getting blown out by 22 points to Maryland is about where Minnesota should be in their development.

12 - Northwestern Wildcats

Last Ranking: 12 (NC)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/5 at Illinois & 1/8 vs. Indiana


Northwestern starts the first of three teams in the conference with no wins in the Big Ten. The Wildcats break the tie because they’ve only played three games in-conference so far.

The Wildcats kept it close against the Spartans, but now face a tough stretch that’s liable to terrorize Northwestern. After facing Illinois and Indiana within three days, they travel to the Iowa Hawkeyes. It gets slightly easier welcoming Purdue, but then its another game against the Buckeyes followed by the Fighting Illini.

13 - Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Last Ranking: 14 (+1)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/7 vs. Nebraska & 1/12 at Minnesota


Rutgers has a long way to go in their development with a new head coach at the helm. The Scarlet Knights have no wins against a Power Five school, but to their credit have faced three of four conference teams that any team in the conference could lose to: Illinois, Ohio State and Maryland.

As the Scarlet Knights begin playing the Northwesterns and Wisconsins of the world, wins will come their way and maybe some motivation to build off of going into the 2023-24 season.

14 - Wisconsin Badgers

Last Ranking: 13 (-1)
Upcoming B1G Games: 1/8 vs. Minnesota & 1/11 at Michigan State


Wisconsin. Oh, Wisconsin. The Badgers are 4-11 this year, and are losing in Big Ten play by an average of 21.8 points per game.

Maybe a rivalry game against Minnesota this week will show a different side of the Badgers, but right now their lone win in the last 10 came against St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

While its been a tough season for Wisconsin, they did have a trip to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam. That’s an experience that nobody can take away.

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Why is this News? All the articles and tweets Buckeye fans need for January 4, 2023
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...


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On the Gridiron


Ohio State adds top-ranked transfer safety Ja’Had Carter
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch

Transfer portal safety Ja’Had Carter is a Buckeye: The impact
Bill Kurelic, Bucknuts

Analyzing what Ja’Had Carter pickup means for Buckeyes (paywall)
Austin Ward, Dotting the Eyes


Buckeyes cornerback JK Johnson enters transfer portal
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row

Transfer Portal: How departing Buckeyes impact program moving forward (paywall)
Austin Ward, Dotting the Eyes

Noah Ruggles ‘takes full responsibility’ for miss vs. Georgia
Colin Gay, The Columbus Dispatch

Noah Ruggles’ Mother Thanks Ohio State Fans for “Overwhelming Support,” Says Son “Takes Full Responsibility” for Missed Kick
Garrick Hodge, Eleven Warriors


Ohio State early enrollees have chance for impactful spring (paywall)
Jeremy Birmingham, Dotting the Eyes

Ohio State football’s defense took a step, but Michigan and Georgia proved a leap is necessary
Nathan Baird, cleveland.com

C.J. Stroud delivered iconic moments, solidified Buckeyes legacy, even in defeat
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row

Ohio State’s Ryan Day ‘wouldn’t change’ run call as Buckeyes came up short in College Football Playoff
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts

Column: 2022 was a letdown, so what does 2023 have in store for the football team
Megan Husslein, Land-Grant Holy Land

On the Hardwood


Brice Sensabaugh earns third straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor
Andy Backstrom, Lettermen Row

‘Ridiculous, God-given touch’ leading Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch


You’re Nuts: Which Ohio State basketball player are you most excited to watch the rest of the season?
Brett Ludwiczak and Meredith Hein, Land-Grant Holy Land

B1G WBB Week 8: Early upsets and the Illinois Fighting Illini are on the rise
Thomas Costello, Land-Grant Holy Land

Ohio State working hard to fill The Schott for match-up with No. 1 Purdue
Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts

Outside the Shoe and Schott


Men’s Volleyball: Buckeyes Open Season Thursday vs. Central State
Ohio State Athletics

Women’s Ice Hockey: Webster Named WCHA Forward of the Month
Ohio State Athletics

And now for something completely different...

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Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Defense let the offense down in Ohio State’s Peach Bowl loss
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 David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Buckeyes came up short on New Year’s Eve, and HITHL is here break it all down.

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


It didn’t quite go as either of the Holy Land boys expected, but Gene and Josh are back to recap Ohio State’s one-point loss to Georgia in the Peach Bowl. They begin with the positives, including a tremendous performance by C.J. Stroud and improved play-calling from Ryan Day. They also discuss the negatives, mainly focusing on the play of the defensive secondary that plagued the Buckeyes all season long. Somewhere in the middle, the guys react to a pair of moves in the transfer portal — one player in, another player out.

“Hangout in the Holy Land” is obviously now finished with its preview and postgame episodes each week, as Ohio State’s season has come to an end, but look for a new podcast here and there as we keep track of what should be a busy offseason for the Buckeyes. . 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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Ohio State adds Syracuse transfer defensive back
Bret Favachio via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ja’Had Carter | Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images

The Buckeyes landed a top defensive back in the transfer portal on Tuesday to help bolster the secondary.

The good and not so good of the transfer portal reared its head on Tuesday, as Ohio State saw both an addition and a subtraction to their defensive back room. Plus, a blue-chip prospect on the offensive side of the ball in the 2024 recruiting class placed the Buckeyes inside his list of top schools after trimming his list of suitors.

Buckeyes add transfer defensive back


After a tough stretch towards the conclusion of the season for the defensive secondary, Ohio State wasted no time adding to the group coached by Perry Eliano. The Buckeyes dipped into the transfer portal and were able to secure a commitment from now former Syracuse safety Ja’Had Carter.


Carter, the top-ranked safety in the transfer portal per 247Sports, has been a staple in the Orange defense over the past three seasons. The Virginia native played in 30 games over the three year span and racked up five interceptions, seven pass deflections, and 136 total tackles with the program.

It’s a key addition to Jim Knowles’ three-safety look that will be without Ronnie Hickman, who is NFL bound, and Tanner McCallister due to graduation. There is also a possibility that the Buckeyes are without Lathan Ransom at the position, depending on if he decides to move on and try his hand at the next level.

Carter is likely a shoe in replacement for one of the three mentioned above, and he will carry a respectable profile to Columbus with him that includes two accolades in specific. The latest Buckeye is a former freshman All- American just a few years ago, and was also named as an honorable mention on the All-ACC team this past season.

Edwards narrows down his recruitment


After revealing over the weekend that he has plans of a return trip to Columbus “soon,” 2024 four-stat tight end KingJoseph Edwards of Buford (GA) decided on Tuesday morning to narrow down his recruitment so that he can focus on the best options for him.

Edwards sorted through the 34 offers that he secured so far throughout the recruiting process. The 6-foot-5, 242-pounder is now locked in on finding the best fit among the 15 programs that are still in-play for his coveted services.


Ohio State, as seen above, was amongst the group of top schools for Edwards, and his high praise of defensive line coach Larry Johnson and his foreshadowing on a return visit to Columbus just days ago were likely a dead giveaway that the Buckeyes would be included. Now the attention will turn to further building the relationship with Edwards as they look to push ahead of a slew of powerhouse programs including Georgia — the current 247Sports Crystal Ball favorite to land Edwards.

As things currently stand, Edwards slots in as a Top 25 prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle. The Georgia standout also ranks as the fourth highest graded athlete since there is a possibility that he could wind up on either side of the ball at the collegiate level. Finally, Edwards grades out as the sixth best player from the Peach State, just below other Buckeye targets like safety KJ Bolden, linebacker Sammy Brown, and defensive lineman Eddrick Houston.

Quick Hits

• Despite adding a transfer defensive back on Tuesday, Ohio State also saw cornerback JK Johnson put his name into the transfer portal after two seasons with the program. Johnson, a former Top 75 prospect, played in 13 games with the Buckeyes this season and tallied 20 total tackles.
• According to Marc Givler of Buckeye Huddle, it sure seems like two incoming pass-catchers are banking on what wide receivers coach Brian Hartline brings to the table. Givler tweeted on Tuesday that both five-star wide receivers Brandon Inniss of American Heritage (FL) and Carnell Tate of IMG Academy (FL) indicated that they stuck with Ohio State because it was their best option developmentally, even despite the prospect of receiving more lucrative NIL deals elsewhere.

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Article is a few years old but I just came across it today. So it’s new to me!

Teddy Roosevelt and the institution of the forward pass
The game was changed, and lives were saved
https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2018/12/15/18139338/teddy-roosevelt-forward-pass-invented

Prior to the establishment of the NFL, football was a college game with few safety measures. Players protected their heads with a leather jockstrap and used the same shoulder pads your mom wore on date night in 1984. As a result, people died.

According to the Washington Post, 45 players died between 1900 and 1905. At least 18 of those were in 1905 alone. Injuries were also far more common, including Teddy Roosevelt’s own son who suffered facial injuries during his freshman year at Harvard. But even so, Roosevelt was quoted saying “I believe in rough games and in rough, manly sports. I do not feel any particular sympathy for the person who gets battered about a good deal so long as it is not fatal.” Well, it was. And people were calling for change. While some schools pushed for reforms, others were flat out dropping football for rugby. With the threat of Roosevelt’s own Harvard dropping their program, he decided to act.

His goal was to “minimize the danger” but not “on too ladylike a basis” because apparently only women valued their lives and real men fixed broken skulls with gin. I do not feel any particular sympathy for the person who gets battered about a good deal.

The leaders of college football met with Roosevelt in the White House and agreed upon a new set of life saving rules. The rules went into effect in 1906, and among the changes were: establishing a neutral zone to separate the offense from the defense, changing the necessary yardage for a first down from 5 yards to 10, and legalizing the forward pass. But we’re not talking about the forward pass you know and love today.

There were strict rules put in place to discourage pass attempts. Including a 15-yard penalty for an incompletion, a 5 yard penalty for more than one pass on a series, and any pass that went untouched by the intended receiver was a turnover.

These deterrents were a big reason the forward pass wasn’t immediately embraced. But also, people just didn’t consider throwing the ball to be real football.

Prior to the 1906 season, St. Louis University hired former Wisconsin Badgers assistant Eddie Cochems to be their next head coach. Giving him the reigns of a team featuring other ex-Badgers, including offensive end Bradbury Robinson and fullback Jack Schneider. Cochems was one of the few who was excited to see what the pass could bring to his offense. And he decided to take his team on a retreat to Wisconsin in order to focus on developing this new aspect of the game. Luckily for them, Robinson had learned how to throw a spiral during his time with the Badgers and had since been developing his ability to throw it.

Then, on September 5th, 1906, St. Louis kicked off their season against Carroll College, fittingly located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. 60 miles east of the Badgers home in Madison and 20 miles north of their retreat location by Lake Beulah. Carroll College was a brick wall for St. Louis’ offense, so they decided to catch them off guard and use their newly acquired air attack.

Bradbury Robinson switched positions with fullback Jack Schneider, took the snap, and heaved football’s first pass towards him. It fell incomplete, and without getting a hand on it, Saint Louis forfeited possession to Carroll.

But later that game, Robinson and Schneider gave it another go and connected for the first touchdown pass.

Schneider would later state “We were told to run after the snap and just keep going until we heard the passer yell ‘hike’ or our name. So, I ran and ran. I was about to give up when I heard Robinson call. I turned and caught the ball a yard or so short of the goal and went over with it.”

St Louis went on to finish the season 11-0 and outscored opponents 407 to 11. Eddie Cochems.

They weren’t the only team to utilize the pass that season. They were, however, the only ones to embrace it.

In reference to the forward pass, the Galveston Daily News printed in 1907 ”with the single exception of Cochems, football teachers were groping in the dark.”

Cochem’s vision of the forward pass went largely unadopted by other teams until Notre Dame’s potent aerial offense in 1913, a season that included a shocking win over Army, a game often incorrectly credited as having the first forward pass.

Two decades later, passing rules were finally relaxed, permitting multiple passes in a series and allowing a team to retain possession if a pass fell incomplete.

Now your team just needs to find the right person to throw the ball.

Don’t worry, I’m sure next year, will be different.

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You’re Nuts: Which Ohio State basketball player are you most excited to watch the rest of the season?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

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

Ohio State fans were dealt with heartbreak as the clock hit midnight on New Year’s Eve, as Noah Ruggles missed a long field goal that would have given the Buckeyes the win over Georgia and sent them to the College Football Playoff Championship Game to square off with TCU. Now that the football season is over, our attention turns to the hardwood.

For those who haven’t been keeping track of how the basketball teams are doing so far this year, you’ve missed a lot! The biggest story so far this year has been the women’s basketball team starting the season 15-0. Not only did the lady Buckeye hoopers start the season with a win over Tennessee, Ohio State is currently ranked third in the country, with the only teams ranked ahead of the Buckeyes being South Carolina and Stanford.

Following a 73-57 win at Northwestern on Sunday night, the Ohio State men’s basketball team was rewarded with a return to the AP Top 25, checking in at 24th in the weekly rankings. Chris Holtmann’s team is 10-3 so far this season, with their losses coming to San Diego State in the Maui Invitational, at Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and against North Carolina in overtime at Madison Square Garden in the CBS Sports Classic. The Buckeyes will be tested on Thursday when they host top-ranked Purdue at Value City Arena.

What we want to know today is which Ohio State basketball player are most excited to watch the rest of the season? Your choice can be from either the men’s or the women’s team because they are both having great seasons, and both squads deserve recognition. Between the two squads, there is a strong collection of great players that make a big impact on and off the floor.

Today’s question: Which Ohio State basketball player are you most excited to watch the rest of the season?

We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.

Brett’s answer: Brice Sensabaugh


As the season moves along, it feels like Brice Sensabaugh is Malaki Branham 2.0. The forward has made an immediate impact in his first season in Columbus, scoring in double figures in every game except for one, when he was scored four points in the loss to Duke in late November. Sensabaugh has played the best basketball of his young college career recently, scoring at least 18 points while hitting over 50 percent of his field goals in each of the last four games.

With each game he plays, it feels it is becoming more and more obvious that Sensabaugh is likely to head to the NBA after this season. If last year’s Florida’s Gatorade Player of the Year is looking like he’ll be a lottery pick, it is impossible for him to justify return to Ohio State for a second season, even with NIL becoming more prominent in college sports. We saw a similar trajectory from Branham last year, where it looked like he was going to be in Columbus for a least two seasons, but he got on a hot streak that made NBA talent evaluators notice.

Hopefully Ohio State doesn’t waste the time they have with Sensabaugh on the roster. It has been quite some time since the Buckeyes have made the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. If Ohio State fails to reach the Sweet Sixteen when they had E.J. Liddell and Branham on the roster last year, followed by Sensabaugh this year, the job security for head coach Chris Holtmann deserves to take a hit.

Meredith’s answer: Taylor Mikesell


The Ohio State women’s basketball team tied its best start in program history with its win over Michigan Saturday (there’s a lot to be excited about in that sentence). The Buckeyes are 15-0 and rose to No. 3 in the AP Poll. They’ve already boasted impressive wins over ranked teams in non-conference play and now are buckling down to run through the Big Ten.

All that’s to say that women’s basketball, while there’s a tough road ahead, has a real shot at a Big Ten title and a NCAA Tournament run. And leading the way for the Buckeyes is Taylor Mikesell. The senior guard is coming on strong in her final season in Columbus, averaging 18 points per game while shooting 45% from the field. Most recently, Mikesell led the Buckeyes in their win over Michigan with 16 points in a defense-heavy game against Michigan.

The Buckeyes truly do share the wealth when it comes to scoring (how else do you get to be the No. 5 scoring offense in Division I?). Six players are averaging in double figures (though Madison Greene, who was putting up 11 points per game, just went out for the season with a knee injury).

I am excited for what Mikesell can do for the Buckeyes, but I’m even more excited to see how far this team that has so much talent and that’s working so well together can go as we race toward March.

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Column: 2022 was a letdown, so what does 2023 have in store for the football team?
meganhusslein 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

Will this finally be the year Ohio State wins it all?

I think by this point, it has been belabored how much of a disappointment the ending of the 2022 season was for the football Buckeyes. There were high expectations entering the year, with sights set on a National Championship. Now, the focus switches to the 2023 season. What will happen?

Ohio State just hasn’t been able to get over the hump since its 2014 National Championship. It seems like they have the potential to get there every single year, yet somehow, they stumble along the way, suffer a key injury or they have one devastating loss that ruins the season for them.

The narrative was the same this season: new defensive coordinator, Heisman candidate C.J. Stroud at quarterback, the best receiving core in the nation, etc. All of this and it still wasn’t enough to get to the Natty. So, looking ahead to who is returning and who is coming in for 2023, what is the Buckeyes’ outlook for next season?

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The biggest player returning is obviously Marvin Harrison Jr. He will once again lead the WR room, and now with one year of starting experience under his belt, he should be able to assist whatever first-year QB will be named starter. Additionally, Emeka Egbuka and probably Julian Fleming will return too.

Staying with the receiver position, the Buckeyes will add five-star prospect Brandon Inniss, who is the fourth-ranked receiver in the 2023 class. Four stars Noah Rodgers, Carnell Tate and Bryson Rodgers are also coming in. Clearly the WR group will not be a problem, just as it wasn’t this year.

There will be a big decision to make for who the new QB1 will be. Kyle McCord, Devin Brown, Lincoln Keinholz? Whoever it is will most likely have to experience an adjustment period before the offense really comes together. Luckily, the first three opponents for the Buckeyes should be a nice way for them to ease into the season — Indiana, Youngstown State and Western Kentucky before a tough road game at Notre Dame.

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The running backs will hopefully all be healthy at the start of the season, and that includes Evan Pryor. I’m very excited to watch him make his Buckeye debut and help carry the load with the other backs. The offense is looking to be just as impressive as it was this past season, possibly even more so with the addition of some new players.

Now, the main problem heading into next season: the defense. There will be many decisions to be made on who is staying and who will be going pro, but after the way the season ended, I see players choosing to stay and try to achieve that goal of winning the natty and boosting their draft stock rather than declaring for the draft.

Linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers are two of the biggest names who will have to make that decision. Both had great years, and most certainly could go pro. If so, there will be some big shoes to fill. If not, it would be great to have them back. As for the defensive line, Zach Harrison and possibly others will be difficult to replace, but the bulk of the talented line should be staying.

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The secondary needs help. So bad. If the secondary shapes up, that could be what Ohio State needs to get over the hump. Give Jim Knowles the offseason to truly work on the secondary and see what happens. There could be some transfers and there are also six four-star defensive backs coming in. While it may be a young group, change is definitely needed, as that is what ailed the team this year.

So, all of this being put together, what does it mean? Obviously, it is impossible to tell right now. The quarterback situation needs to be solved, players need to make decisions whether to stay or leave, transfers may be added and the secondary needs to be changed. However, the team is shaping up to be really good. Will they be great? That will depend on the secondary.

I will choose to be optimistic and say 2023 will be the Buckeyes’ year.

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penn st vs utah

B1G WBB Week 8: Early upsets and the Illinois Fighting Illini are on the rise
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Head coach Shauna Green hugs guard Genesis Bryant after their win over the Iowa Hawkeyes | Illinois WBB on Twitter | @IlliniWBB

The depth of the Big Ten is clear as conference play restarts.

Teams in the Big Ten have only played between two and four conference games, but there are already stories emerging throughout the standings. In week eight, a surprise team threw their name into conversation and two favorites slipped.

It starts in East Lansing, Michigan.

Spartans Shock Hoosiers


The Indiana Hoosiers’ re-entered Big Ten play on Thursday, Dec. 29 with a trip north to face the Michigan State Spartans. With point guard and team leader Grace Berger still out due to injury, the Spartans capitalized.

Sparty accomplished their 11th win over a top-5 team by taking advantage of a usually disciplined Hoosier team’s mistakes. Indiana had 21 turnovers in the game, compared to their average of 12 giveaways per game.

Scoring-wise, Mackenzie Holmes played her usual outstanding basketball. The forward hit a new career high with 32 points. Holmes also grabbed 17 rebounds, showing why the Indiana offense goes through the 6-foot-3 senior. Around Holmes though, the remaining four starters combined for 44 points. The Hoosiers’ bench only scored four points in 23 combined minutes for the three substitutes.

On the Michigan State side, they were relentless on defense and made baskets quickly in transition. The Spartans showed a lot of the fight that they showed against the Ohio State Buckeyes women’s basketball team when they lost 74-68 on Dec. 11.

Leading the Spartans was guard DeeDee Hagemann. The sophomore scored 15 points and made a bigger impact away from scoring. Hagemann led the home side with eight rebounds and five steals, showing youthful leadership.


Michigan State won the close game 83-78 for their first conference win of the season.

Indiana got back on track three days later, beating the Nebraska Cornhuskers 74-62, but needed overtime to earn it.

Illinois is the Real Deal


Although they sit outside of the top-25, the Illinois Fighting Illini are grabbing attention. It’s also no coincidence that their newfound attention aligns with guard Genesis Bryant finding her way into the Illini starting five.

Bryant joined Illinois after two seasons playing as a substitute for the NC State Wolfpack and lately, she’s been outstanding. Since Dec. 18, Bryant averages 20 points and six assists per game. The junior’s also shooting 59% from three in the same period.

On Dec. 21, Bryant had a triple-double with 22 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, although it was against the Florida Atlantic Owls. On Jan. 1, to kick off 2023, Bryant hit a career high against a team projected to take the conference this season and it earned Bryant her second-straight Big Ten Player of the Week award.

The Illini welcomed guard Caitlin Clark and the then No. 12 Iowa Hawkeyes to Champaign, Illinois, and played their best game of the season.

Illinois led the Hawkeyes in point off turnovers, second chance points, points in the paint and points off the fast break. Bryant went 3-for-3 from deep on her way to 24 points.


Joining Bryant in having a career game was forward Kendall Bostic. The 6-foot-2 junior who transferred from Michigan State two years ago scored 17 points on perfect 7-for-7 shooting, adding 12 rebounds in her fourth double-double of the season.

Even so, it’s not a one-sided game when Clark and center Monika Czinano are on the court.

With 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Illinois brought their deficit down to three points — enter Clark. This time though, the 2022 Naismith Award finalist couldn’t get a three away, instead the guard fouled out.

The Fighting Illini’s 90-86 win is their first against a ranked opponent this year, but leading a team like Iowa, who was picked as the preseason conference champion, for the last 23 minutes of the game is an accomplishment.

It makes Sunday’s game in Columbus, against the Buckeyes, a big matchup. Not bad for first year Illinois coach Shauna Green, on her way to leading the Illini to their first winning season since the 2012/13 season.

Conference Standings


Standings through Monday, Jan. 2

AP Poll


When looking at the Big Ten standings, there’s one clear omission in the AP Poll. The Fighting Illini received votes, but only enough to be the first team left off the Top-25 poll.

3 - Ohio State (NC)

6 - Indiana Hoosiers (-2)

13 - Maryland Terrapins (+3)

14 - Michigan Wolverines (NC)

16 - Iowa Hawkeyes (-4)

Conference Schedule


With it only being conference games from here on out, every week features games that impact the conference standings.

Tuesday, Jan. 3

• Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 14 Michigan Wolverines - 1:00 p.m. ET

Thursday, Jan. 5

• No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes at Minnesota Golden Gophers - 8:00 p.m. ET
• Northwestern Wildcats at Illinois Fighting Illini - 9:00 p.m. ET

Saturday, Jan. 7

• Michigan State Spartans at No. 13 Maryland Terrapins - 1:00 p.m. ET
• Purdue Boilermakers at Penn State Nittany Lions - 2:00 p.m. ET
• Nebraska Cornhuskers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights - 2:00 p.m. ET
• No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes at No. 14 Michigan Wolverines - 4:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, Jan. 8

• Illinois Fighting Illini at No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes - 1:00 p.m. ET
• No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers at Northwestern Wildcats - 3:00 p.m. ET
• Minnesota Golden Gophers at Wisconsin Badgers - 4:00 p.m. ET

Basketball Front and Center


Now that the Big Ten football schedule is done for the fall season, basketball reigns supreme. On March 12, a little over two months away, the NCAA March Madness selection show airs live on ESPN.

There’s a lot of time and basketball between the start of 2023 and the selection show, but currently the conference has seven teams in ESPN’s Bracketology lining up for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Will all seven make it? Will anyone else enter the conversation at the top of the Big Ten between now and then?

There are no clear answers at this point of the season, so sit back and enjoy as the 12 teams battle it out each week.

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Why is this News? All the articles and tweets Buckeye fans need for January 3, 2023
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!

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On the Gridiron


Ryan Day taking ‘a hard look’ at relinquishing play-calling duties next season
Tim May, Lettermen Row

Column: Ryan Day proved himself as a play caller in the Peach Bowl, but giving that up is the next major step for his team
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land

If Ryan Day does this, it shows that he is willing to make changes and that he is growing as a head coach:


Former Ohio State Linebacker Teradja Mitchell Transfers to Florida
Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors

Ohio State football analyst Matt Guerrieri joining Kevin Wilson at Tulsa as defensive coordinator, per reports
Dean Straka, 247Sports

Ohio State long snapper Mason Arnold enters transfer portal
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts

Ohio State Defensive End Javontae Jean-Baptiste Enters Transfer Portal
Griffin Strom, Eleven Warriors

This is a very important aspect to what happened on Saturday night:


Ohio State Rewatch: A second look at Buckeyes’ Peach Bowl loss to Georgia (paywall)
Bill Landis, Dotting the Eyes

Peach Bowl Film Review: Ohio State’s heartbreaking loss to Georgia comes down to the little things
Chris Renne, Land-Grant Holy Land

What We Learned about Buckeyes in heart-breaking Peach Bowl (paywall)
Austin Ward, Dotting the Eyes

We’ll talk about this later: Ohio State turned back into a pumpkin at midnight
Meredith Hein, Land-Grant Holy Land



Ohio State’s defense improved in 2022 but didn’t do ‘enough’ when it mattered most
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts

You’re Nuts: Positive takeaways from the Peach Bowl
Josh Dooley and Gene Ross, Land-Grant Holy Land

Ohio State’s loss encapsulates ‘22 season as injuries, poor execution prove costly (paywall)
Cameron Teague Robinson, The Athletic

Grumpy Old Buckeye: Ohio State vs. Georgia
Michael Citro, Land-Grant Holy Land

On the Hardwood


Holtmann: Road to Big Ten win paved with strong Buckeyes prep
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio State returns to AP Top 25 after third straight decisive victory
Andy Backstrom, Lettermen Row

You’re Nuts: What is Ohio State men’s basketball’s most important game in January?
Justin Golba and Connor Lemons, Land-Grant Holy Land

Listen to the postgame press conference from the Ohio State women’s win over Michigan:


Women’s Basketball: McMahon Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week For Fourth-Consecutive Week
Ohio State Athletics

Game Gallery: An up-close look at Ohio State women’s New Year’s Eve win over Michigan
Thomas Costello, Land-Grant Holy Land

Hevynne Bristow shows No. 3 Ohio State women’s basketball team is tough to beat
Thomas Costello, Land-Grant Holy Land

Outside the Shoe and Schott


Women’s Ice Hockey: Trio of Buckeyes Earn WCHA Weekly Honors
Ohio State Athletics

And now for something completely different...


Terrifying situation in Cincinnati. If you are a praying person, send everything you’ve got to Hamlin and his family.


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Silver Bullets Podcast: Georgia Rewind and Postmortem
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The 2022 Ohio State Buckeyes football season is over. We don’t have to like it but we do have to accept it (and talk about it)


Ohio State’s season is over, and there were any number of tiny details Saturday night that could have changed that fact. Timeouts being given, targeting fouls being overturned, reversals of spots, and, finally, a missed field goal.

For us, the bottom line is that Ohio State gave itself a chance to beat the unbeaten Georgia juggernaut, and if the team only had a functional secondary, the game might have been a complete blowout victory for the Buckeyes. Ryan Day called a brilliant game, despite so many frustrating ones that had come before.

C.J. Stroud not only showed a willingness to scramble to pick up every yard possible, but he also demonstrated that he’s pretty great at it. Stroud made some plays with his legs that both were good in and of themselves, and others that were good because they set up plays that he made with his arm. It was a tour de force performance for one of the best quarterbacks in OSU history.

But we’re ultimately not happy, even though we predicted a loss by more than the one point it turned out to be. Getting that close makes it all the more excruciating in some ways.

The season is over and, despite the overall dissatisfaction of the OSU fanbase — or the fanbase of any elite program — it was a good one. The Buckeyes made the College Football Playoff and suffered losses only to two of the top four teams in the country.

We opened this week’s show with some overview from the game, and then discussed news that Ryan Day may be relinquishing play-calling duties next season. This is something we’ve been championing for some time, but it remains to be seen whether it actually happens, who gets that responsibility — and how it will work out.

We broke down the game as in-depth as we could, discussing key plays, calls, decisions, and statistics from a game for the ages that didn’t go our way.

As a last piece of business, we discussed Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines getting knocked out by TCU and the reports that if offered an NFL head coaching job, he would take it. We’re not sure how a report about a hypothetical is useful at all, but we’ll see if an offer does come if that’s what he chooses to do.

We’ll be back next month, or possibly sooner if news warrants, as we transition into our off-season broadcast schedule. In the meantime, feel free to reach out with your feedback and questions below in the comments section or send us an email. Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share.

Thanks for listening!

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Ohio State makes cut for four-star DL
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


2024 four-star DL Hevin Brown-Shuler via Andrew Ivins of 247Sports

Ohio State made the top-13 for 2024 four-star DL, and the Buckeyes are also a long shot for a 2023 three-star CB announcing later on Tuesday.

Ohio State fell short in its College Football Playoff game versus Georgia. The team may tell you there is no such thing as moral victories, and this is true, but you will be hard-pressed to find anyone that was not impressed with the effort this Ryan Day-coached Buckeyes team played with, including the nation’s top football recruits.

2024 four-star DL has Ohio State in top schools


Ohio State’s coaching staff enjoyed hopefully got some well-deserved rest on New Year’s Day following the 2022-23 football season. Because of this, it was a somewhat quiet day on the recruiting front. Quiet doesn’t mean silent though, as the Buckeyes made the top schools for a blue-chip 2024 defensive lineman on Monday.

2024 four-star DL Hevin Brown-Shuler (Atlanta, GA / Pace Academy) brought in the New Year by cutting down his recruitment to 13 schools. Making the cut was South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, Colorado, USC, Clemson, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, UNC, Oregon, Virginia and Ohio State.


Ohio State’s coaching staff and Brown-Shuler have long been building a relationship together. The Buckeyes offered him in March of last year and expect them to continue to recruiting him. OSU will hope to get him on campus this spring and summer for a camp, and if the interest remains mutual expect them to try and get him on campus for an in-game visit.

Brown-Shuler is the No. 20 DL in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and is the No. 72 overall prospect. He is also the No. 14 recruit out of Georgia.

2023 three-star CB target to announce today


Ohio State’s 2023 class is likely finished. If the team is to add to its current roster, it would likely be through the transfer portal. However, the Buckeyes are finalists for a three-star cornerback set to make a decision later today.

Three-star CB Ethan Nation (Roswell, GA / Roswell) took to Twitter Monday to share that he will be announcing his commitment today at the Under Armor All-American Game.


Nation included Ohio State in eight schools in May, and now has the Buckeyes in his top four schools. The blue-chip CB will be deciding between Auburn, Houston, Nebraska and Ohio State today, with Nebraska being the favorites.

Nation’s recruitment is the perfect example of how recruiting is constantly changing. Back in May when Nation released his top eight schools, Nebraska was not included. Things heated up between the two late in the year and Nation ended up taking his only official visit to Nebraska in December. A couple weeks later, and predictions in favor of the Cornhuskers began being placed in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Ohio State did lose a commitment at CB on signing day when 2023 four-star CB Kayin Lee (Ellenwood, GA / Cedar Grove) flipped his verbal commitment and signed with Georgia. Because of this, Nation would make for excellent depth at the position. However, the Buckeyes did see two blue-chip prospects at the position sign with the program on signing day in four-stars Calvin Simpson-Hunt and Jermaine Mathews.

Quick Hits

• Ohio State 2023 five-star wide receiver signee Brandon Inniss (Fort Lauderdale, FL / American Heritage) spoke with Steve Wiltfong recently about his recruitment and decision to commit to the Buckeyes. In the discussion, Inniss spoke about how he received more lucrative NIL offers from other programs, but chose to commit to Ohio State to learn under Brian Hartline in hopes to one day become an NFL-caliber WR.

With NIL being so new to college football and it seeming like the Wild Wild West, we will let you decide if this is good news, bad news, or both.


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You’re Nuts: Positive takeaways from the Peach Bowl
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 David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Sorting through the aftermath of Ohio State’s CFP loss.

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: Positive takeaways from the Peach Bowl

Josh’s Take:


With the clock counting down to midnight (ET) on New Year’s Eve, Ohio State football fans were full of nervous energy. Seconds, minutes, or what felt like hours later – literally as the ball was dropping in Times Square – that same energy left our collective souls, and we began to mourn. Rather than celebrating a new year and a spot in the CFP National Championship Game, we were left mourning the end of another Buckeye football season. One which began with incredible promise, but supposedly ended on Nov. 26, only to be resurrected by a USC loss.

But the funny thing is, even though OSU was granted a second lease on life, it still felt like many college football fans and media types had left them for dead. Coming off an embarrassing home loss against their rival, licking their wounds, and missing out on a few big-name recruits, Ryan Day’s team was seemingly in a tailspin — with no chance of defeating the reigning champs. Georgia was just too big, too fast, too well-coached. And in the end, maybe the Bulldogs were... but only by the absolute slimmest of margins.

The Buckeyes dropped a heartbreaker, in heartbreaking fashion. If you are reading this, you know the story, so Gene and I are not going to recap the 2022 Peach Bowl. Instead, we wanted to try and put a (somewhat) positive spin on an otherwise disappointing result. And I actually think there were many positives to take away from this game. Because even though Ohio State lost, they proved that they are still among CFB’s elite. One could argue that they were even the better team on Saturday night. That is not me attempting to rationalize a moral victory; It is simply fact.

Down Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TreVeyon Henderson, the OSU offense came out hot against UGA. They remained hot, despite next losing starting tight end Cade Stover. Then Miyan Williams hobbled off, clearly not recovered from his litany of injuries — didn’t matter. C.J. Stroud was borderline heroic, as he and Ryan Day kept Kirby Smart’s defense off-balance throughout the first three quarters. But then CFB’s best wide receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr., was knocked out of the game by a hit on a clearly defenseless player, effectively crippling the Buckeyes’ offense. They would not find the endzone again, while Georgia mounted a comeback against Jim Knowles’ Swiss cheese defense.

No other way to put it: that loss sucked. But the Peach Bowl did confirm something which I already felt pretty good about. And that is, that as long as Ohio State has some combination of Ryan Day, Brian Hartline, and Justin Frye, the Buckeyes can score on anybody — at any time. So my biggest positive takeaway from this painful loss, is that OSU has the offensive brain trust in place. They can carry this team along while the other side of the ball (hopefully) catches up.

Many have doubted or complained about Day’s playcalling from time to time – my co-host included – and I get it. He (Day) has gone ultra-conservative in big moments, dialed up a few head scratchers in others, and seemed strangely intent on proving toughness during the 2022 season. But since Day took over as the offensive playcaller in 2017, no team has scored more points on a per game basis than the Buckeyes. Arguably no trio of (consecutive) quarterbacks has been better than Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, and Stroud. And quite simply, when this thing is clicking, it is a sight to behold. The points, the stats, and the record all speak for themselves.

Day further proved his offensive acumen against Georgia, hanging 41 (38 in three quarters) on a team which had not allowed more than 30 points all season. UGA was second in the country in PPG allowed prior to the Peach Bowl, now they rank fifth. And this was with a shrinking collection of OSU players. By the time Harrison Jr. was forcefully knocked out of the game, Day was left with his superstar QB and one “starting” WR. Sure, the Buckeyes have talent on top of talent, but let’s be realistic. Day called a hell of a game against the Bulldogs, reminding people that he can find a way to put up points with the best of ‘em. And points win (many) football games.

But Day also has a ton of support. He is sometimes even carried or propelled by the players and coaches around him. Two of those coaches are Hartline and Frye. The former has brought in and developed players at a ridiculously successful rate, while the latter elevated a stagnant unit up front. Playcalling means nothing if the talent and execution are lacking, and Hartline and Frye have been instrumental in helping to bring it all together.

Without elite, elite (elite) wide receivers, this Ohio State offense is simply not the same. For a few years now, the running game has been hit-and-miss, while the passing attack consistently flourishes. It is not possible without Hartline. He brings in the best of the best at his position group, and then gets the best out of them. That was on further display against Georgia, as both Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka went for over 100 yards.

Lastly, let’s not forget about new OL Coach and Associate HC for Offense, Justin Frye. While the Buckeyes did not open gaping holes and/or rush for a ton of yards against UGA, they did give Stroud plenty of time. With that time, the OSU QB nearly made enough throws and plays to knock off the champs. But more importantly, Frye seemed to get the best out of these offensive linemen all year.

Paris Johnson Jr. and Dawand Jones were highly thought of, but we had not yet seen their ceiling. Frye helped them reach it. Donovan Jackson played like the real deal he was recruited to be, Luke Wypler became a legitimate NFL prospect, and Matt Jones went from “some guy” to an integral part of the OL. Frye deserves at least some credit for that, and I am excited to see what he does in his second, third, and fourth years on staff (presumably).

Defense cost these Buckeyes a shot in the CFP, but I am confident that Knowles will get it figured out. I hope that he does. In the meantime, my positive takeaway from the Peach Bowl is that Day and his collection of offensive coaches will keep Ohio State in the hunt. If the defense comes close to catching up, watch out.

Gene’s Take:


I was happy to be wrong about Ohio State’s performance against Georgia in the Peach Bowl. While they ultimately did not win the game, and that is obviously really the only thing that matters, they still put up a better fight than I had guessed on Josh and I’s preview episode of Hangout in the Holy Land, where I predicted a 38-17 win for the Bulldogs. A loss is a loss no matter how you slice it, but as my cohost said above, there was still some positives to take away from a game that was far closer than I anticipated.

Before I get into the good however, I want to at least touch on some of the things that I was correct about on the negative side. For one, Mick Marrotti and the Ohio State strength and conditioning staff are a bunch of bums. They had an entire month to get Miyan Williams back to at least close to full strength, especially knowing they would be without TreVeyon Henderson, and the running back only wound up carrying the ball three times in a game where the Buckeyes could have used his powerful running style down in the red zone — which they did once, effectively, for a touchdown.

This comes at the end of a season where Jaxon Smith-Njigba missed basically the entirety of the season with a hamstring injury, where neither OSU running every seemed to be playing anywhere close to healthy, and numerous starters missed time in the defensive secondary and along the defensive line. Mike Hall Jr., who was one of Ohio State’s best player on that side of the football early in the year, had basically no impact in the latter half of the season playing on a snap count seemingly as a result of injury.

The people in charge of keeping the team strong and healthy failed on a tremendous scale for all of 2022, and so it would behoove Ryan Day to expunge the Urban Meyer holdover from the staff next year and replace him and his guys with people that actually understand what it takes to train guys to play football, not to train like they’re olympic weightlifters and force guys to play in cookie-cutter body types based solely on what positive they play and not on their individual play style.

I also want to admit that I was wrong about Ryan Day’s ability to coach in a big game, as the offense ditched the conservative and scared approach for the most part against Georgia, but there will still some real head-scratching decisions that ultimately prevented Ohio State from winning — namely the play-calls following C.J. Stroud’s long run that failed to set the Buckeyes up for an easier game-winning field goal attempt. It isn’t what lost them the game, but it didn’t make matters any easier.

Day’s Ohio State teams have failed to close out games in the biggest spots. Against Clemson in the College Football Playoff in 2019, the Buckeyes led 16-0 in the second quarter and 23-21 in the fourth quarter, but failed to score again en route to a 29-23 loss. This year’s failure to close was even more dramatic, with Ohio State holding a 38-24 lead at the end of the third quarter and a 41-35 lead with just 2:43 left in the game. At a certain point, you have to win these games instead of choking them away, and Day’s teams have failed to do that.

Now that I've spent my entire portion of this ‘positive’ article picking apart the negatives, I want to finally get to my truly positive takeaway: C.J. Stroud.

The Ohio State starting quarterback has gotten his fair share of criticisms over the years. People wanted him benched after a slow start to his 2021 campaign, and of course his aversion to running the football has annoyed many that have watched the Buckeyes — especially in short yardage situations. The criticisms were mostly fair, and I too had questions about Stroud’s ability to lead the team against a defense like Georgia’s. He proved me wrong.

Against the Bulldogs, Stroud was simply phenomenal. He did basically everything he could have done to try and will Ohio State to a victory, completing 23 of his 34 pass attempts for 348 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers. His offensive line didn’t always give him the best of protection, and as the game wore on his lost more and more of his offensive weapons — including, of course, Marvin Harrison Jr. — but none of the blame for the loss can be placed on Stroud’s shoulders. His long 27-yard run at the end of the game set the team up in excellent position to get in range for a game-winning field goal, but it simply wasn’t to be.

I’m glad people got to see the best version of C.J. Stroud on the biggest stage, and I'm hoping his draft stock will reflect that. You can already see the overthinking from the big draft analysts placing a guy like Will Levis as QB1, a player who I would wager is far more likely to be the next Sam Darnold/Zach Wilson rather than the next Joe Burrow. Stroud has a high ceiling as a football player, and I think he will do well for himself at the next level. It isn’t going to happen overnight, but we saw growth from Stroud over his two years as Ohio State’s starting QB, and if that growth continues at the next level, he’s destined for a long professional career.

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It seems like teams with overachieving defenses that are to be admired have one thing in common.
Their offense is extremely run heavy and generally suck.
We wish we had the D Minnesota, Wisky, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky or even Michigan have.
We yearn for their DC’s and blast ours but to what end.
What is the dynamic besides TOP in play here.
Is our defense that bad or is the style of offense we play (and need to play to win a title) not conducive to a statistically highly ranked D.
Ever sense Bama went to a spread and incorporated tempo that have struggled to stop teams even with absurd talent.
Georgia couldn’t stop our offensive without most our skill position weapons.
They had a dominant D last year but also 5 first rd draft picks.
Our 2019 team came close to great O and D.
The bowls season and especially the CFP has been devoid of defense.
My thesis is if you have a high voltage offense capable of winning a title it is unlikely you will have a statistically dominant D.
It isn’t 2002 anymore.
We need to get better. Mainly in terms of talent especially in the secondary.
But we aren’t as far off as it seems.
It appears that if you want a great D in terms of ranking you need a plodding low voltage offense. And you aren’t winning crap with that.